Chapter 5

"Didn't I tell you?"

"You never said you could see what's behind us!"

"Ah, so that's it."

"Detection Mages pop up every now and then, but never one without blind spots... what the hell..."

"Is it that rare?"

"Of course it is! I've never seen anything like this. Mago, this won't do. I need to test you more—"

Kinzo's eyes glittered with excitement. His voice was practically buzzing.

"Whatever you want, but let's do it tomorrow."

"Tomorrow? Why?"

"Because I've hit the limit you mentioned."

And so, two days later.

"Let's call it here for today. Here, take this."

Kinzo handed me a sheet of paper.

I unfolded it.

[Lake]

— Date: Year 607, 1st–2nd of January

— Usable deployments within 24 hours: 2

— Duration per deployment: approximately 5 minutes

— Pond width per deployment: approximately 50m radius

— Special note: Opening your eyes during deployment consumes one use regardless of remaining time.

The results from two days of testing.

Twice a day. Five minutes.

The circular area of the lake was about fifty meters in radius.

That was the limit.

Kinzo had assisted, but the results matched what I'd discovered alone in my past life. Everything appeared exactly as I'd known.

"I figured there'd be limits," I said, "but only twice a day feels a bit tight."

"Kinzo, is it possible to extend the duration much longer? Something like twelve hours?"

"Like I said before, theoretically yes. But you'd need a teacher to train you."

"Can't you teach me?"

"I can't do Detection Magic myself. The only thing I can directly help you with is Reinforcement Magic—adding flames to your weapon. That's it."

"Adding flames to a weapon... Kinzo, about that spell."

"Honestly, a tiny flame wouldn't mean much to someone like you. Probably useless."

"No, it could be effective."

"Effective?"

"I've been thinking about it. That spell—maybe not for anyone else, but for me, it could be a huge help."

Back in the war, everyone—including Kinzo himself—had said that spell was worthless.

At least, not for me.

But I only realized its value after Kinzo died, and that regret never stopped gnawing at me.

"Not on my weapon," I said slowly. "If I put the flame on the enemy's weapon instead..."

A louder voice cut me off.

"Found you. Black hair and white hair. Quite the noisy black-and-white pair."

Unfamiliar voices.

Unfamiliar faces.

Uninvited guests had arrived in the clearing.

Four men.

"Mago, looks like they're after us."

"Probably the local thugs from this district."

"Huh?"

"You know those troublemakers from before? The ones who draw their swords first... they didn't seem like ordinary people. Must be from the same gang."

"So they came for revenge?"

"Looks like it."

I nodded, then cast a glance backward.

A beat of silence.

And then, just as we'd agreed, we bolted.

"Get them! Don't let them escape!"

"Stop right there!"

I spotted an alleyway and ducked into it.

Every corner I turned, I pushed deeper into the maze.

The chase didn't end until we hit a dead end.

"Figures it'd be a wall," Kinzo muttered, looking up at the stone barrier blocking our path.

"Kinzo, get behind me."

I put my back to the wall and to Kinzo.

Moments later, the four thieves closed in. They caught their breath, then pulled out daggers. All of them—different shapes and lengths, but every single one was a dagger.

Before they could get any closer, I closed my eyes.

Shut them. Focused.

I conjured the image of a lake in my mind, waiting for that first drop to fall.

"What's he doing?"

"Hah...! Closing his eyes? Praying or something?"

They were running their mouths.

"Mago, what are you doing?" Kinzo's voice reached me.

It reached me, but that was all. It didn't have that sharp clarity like when I used the lake.

Behind my eyelids, there was only pitch-black darkness.

"You already used both charges today," he said.

"I thought maybe—like when I first got this power—a crisis might push me past the limit. Guess not."

The experiments had run all day. Both uses were spent.

I had no technique to fight four men with my eyes closed. And if I opened them, their daggers would be all too clear.

"Sorry, Mago," Kinzo murmured. "I don't think there's anything I can do. Can't even use Reinforcement Magic. You're bare-handed."

"Remember what I was saying earlier? About that spell being useful?"

"Huh?"

His Reinforcement Magic. The fire he could put on a weapon.

"There," I said, nodding toward the thieves' daggers.

"Put it on those. I can fight."

"You want me to empower their weapons? Are you serious?"

I didn't answer. I just pulled my left foot back and clenched both fists.

"You want me to make them stronger..."

"Hey, White Hair."

One of the thieves called out to me.

It had been a long time since anyone used that name.

"Done praying?"

I ignored him. Slowly, I closed my eyes again.

Until Kinzo lit the fire.

"Mago, getting cut by a red-hot blade is going to hurt like hell."

"I know."

"You might die."

"I know."

I kept my eyes shut as I answered.

"So do you have another idea?"

Then it came.

"No."

A red glow seeped through my eyelids.

I opened my eyes at the same instant.

Flames had wrapped around their daggers.

The air shimmered.

Fire danced freely in every direction.

Of course, there wasn't a shred of sharpness in those flames.

"Good. That's enough."

It was plenty.

"Magic!"

The thieves reacted. Their blades were on fire.

Their responses varied.

"Huh?"

"Wait, isn't this a good thing?"

"What the hell is he playing at...?"

Now.

While they were still stunned, I charged.

The closest thief swung his dagger.

"Rraaah!"

I dropped low and slipped into his guard.

My fist connected with his jaw.

He went over beautifully.

He tried to get back up, but consciousness had already left him.

Second one.

I tripped him, then stomped his face.

The scream vibrated through my sole.

"Nice one, Mago!"

Kinzo's cheer came from behind.

The last two.

One of them rushed in.

I grabbed his arm, twisted it.

Kept pushing forward as I twisted.

The further I went, the more the angle tormented his joint.

"Ghh, gwaaah...!"

He stumbled backward, trying to straighten his arm.

That put him right in front of the last man.

I yanked his arm harder and hurled him into his companion.

They tangled together and rolled across the ground.

And just like that, it was over.

In this life, my weakness had begun to fade.

The lake.

Kinzo's Reinforcement Magic.

It wasn't perfect yet, but now—with my eyes shut.

And even with them open—I could fight.

A quiet surge of joy welled up inside me. I clenched my fist, hidden from view.

Then I started rifling through the thieves' pockets.

"Nothing useful."

"So you're robbing the robbers now. Seems natural."

"Still, these bastards gave us some real combat experience."

"Yeah, even if asking me to help the enemy was insane," Kinzo laughed, firing back.

"We've still got a whole month before training camp starts. You think they'll keep coming?"

He was right—this wasn't the end. They'd keep sending more until they crushed us.

"Are you thinking of joining the Special Forces? It's not easy to get in just by wanting it."

"Of course I want to. The Black Knights—that's cool."

"Aside from that."

"Mostly because it's where I can kill the most monsters."

I said it flatly, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Then let's both aim for that."

"Let's?"

"It'll be good to get our coordination down early. Practice on these thieves."

*

The capital was crammed with refugees, and every one of them brought a problem.

Arguments were the baseline. Above that—assault, robbery.

And even filthier, uglier deeds.

The refugees' restless minds showed in their actions.

The more restless they got, the bolder the thieves grew.

Their numbers swelled by the day, and so did the damage they caused.

Kinzo Shua scanned the building, his head turning left and right.

His eyes glowed bluer than usual.

He was concentrating, channeling magical power.

Clairvoyance Magic.

He spoke toward the ceiling.

"Mago! Move a little to the right! That area is all iron!"

No answer came.

"You heard me, right?"

A moment later, from the shadows, thieves slouched into view.

'So they really are here. How did Mago know this was their base?'

Five thieves emerged.

One of them snapped irritably, "Hey, who the hell are you?"

"Can't you hear? I asked what you're doing here."

"This guy must've wandered in without knowing where he is."

"Listen. If you're lost, go somewhere else. You've got no business here."

The thieves snickered among themselves, trying to drive Kinzo away.

"No. I've arrived exactly where I needed to."

Kinzo pointed at the floor.

"Hah, this place?"

"If you knew what this place was and still walked in, then what—you looking for a fight?"

Kinzo stopped his clairvoyance.

The light in his eyes died.

Without that glow, his eyes looked heavier, wearier.

Sensing the shift, the thieves each pulled out their weapons.

An axe. A dagger and a longsword. Knuckles. And a wooden club.

"Nice variety. I like it."

Kinzo's lips curled slightly.

"Get him!"

The leading thief shouted—

And in that instant, Kinzo set their weapons ablaze.

The sudden burst of flame froze the thieves in their tracks.

"A mage...!"

Fire coiled around each of their weapons.

Heat shimmer rippled through the air, distorting their vision.

"What the—he's not attacking..."

"He's empowering our weapons? What's the point?"

Kinzo let out a dry laugh.

"I'm getting used to that reaction now."

Then he pointed upward.

"I didn't just set your weapons on fire."

Hearing Kinzo's words, Mago crouched low.

He'd been waiting on the second floor, ready for the signal.

From the first floor, it looked like a skylight.

From the second floor, it was just the floor.

And Mago had positioned himself exactly where Kinzo had identified through his clairvoyance.

The ceiling was made of wooden planks joined together.

But one spot was weaker than the rest.

"The fuse is already lit."

Kinzo's voice came again.

Mago pressed his clenched fist against the floor.

Waiting for the signal.

"And the end of that fuse is a bomb."

Mago almost smiled at Kinzo calling himself a bomb.

But his movement was anything but gentle.

He drove his fist precisely into the designated spot.

The second-floor floor shattered into pieces.

Mago dropped down to the first floor.

Wood splinters and dust exploded into the air.

"Wh—"

"Above us!"

Before the thieves could finish their words, Mago landed and silently went to work.

One punch, one man down.

Simple. Fast. Efficient.

In a heartbeat, the thieves were writhing on the ground.

Mago exhaled a long breath.

"Kinzo."

He strode over to him.

"Ma—Mago."

"I've told you this every time. This is the fifth time now."

"Hold on, Mago."

Kinzo stepped back, raising both hands in surrender.

"Don't cast Reinforcement Magic on all of them at once. Wait for my signal and do it one by one."

"Yeah, I know. I know."

"Do you have mana to burn? Why did you light up the knuckles and the wooden club?"

"An accident, an accident! There were five of them, okay? Doing it one by one is hard."

"Accident or not, if you run out of mana—"

Before he could finish, more thieves spilled in from the other room.

Mago slowly closed his eyes.

*

At the same time.

A soldier spoke.

"Here are the applications for this batch of recruits."

He handed a stack of papers to the Head Instructor of the Imperial Army's First Training Center.

The Instructor took the stack with his free hand—the one not holding a cigarette.

"Let's see what kind of idiots we've got this time."

He flipped through the heavy stack quickly.

Idiot. This one too. Idiot. He muttered under his breath.

Then he stopped dead on one page.