「Gusu…hicc…sho ghladd…! Because…Tiana-san, with a smile…The magic dying, over and over again…」
「I’m sorry you had to go through that. It’s all right now, the mistress is here.」
「……I don’t know what it is, but there is something that comes over me when I see Lean-sama crying face. Demon King-sama, do you have any idea of this feeling…?」
「Hiii!!」
「All right, you shut up now. Don’t frighten Lean anymore, she’s only five years old!」
With the arrival of the Demon King-sama, Tiana’s restraints were put on hold.
The first thing I did after being freed was to hide behind the Demon King-sama.
Tiana-san is scary. In my 22 years of life, including my previous life, I have probably never experienced more fear.
「Look, Tiana, she’s shaking! I told you to teach her magic, who told you to traumatize her!」
「No, magic is all about a sense of urgency, and I foolishly thought I would teach that to her body first…」
「Don’t you know the word『limit』? Even though there is no fear of death, the Lord’s magic is one of the three best in the Demon King’s army! Take it easy, take it easy!」
「S-Sorry about that, too…」
…Hmm?
『One of the three best』?
「……Um…… Isn’t Tiana-san the most powerful magician in the demon army…?」
「No, I’m not? There is at least one magician who is stronger than I am. He is my nephew who is in the quasi-executive ranks of the Demon King Army.」
「Ah. I forgot to mention that, unlike the《Twelve Holy Apostles》of the humans, the hierarchy of the Demon King’s Army executives is not in order of merit.」
Not in order of merit… So, Tiana-san is not the third most powerful person in the Demon King Army, except for the Demon King-sama.
「Well, even so, Tiana’s strength is in the elite class. The ranks of the Demon King’s Army’s top brass, to put it simply, are based on their『contribution』to our army. How many humans have you defeated, how many subordinates have you saved, and how good is your command ability? Such details are also judged. There is also a lot of paperwork, so you have to be smart. Being strong is not enough to become an executive.」
…So, Aron, the beastman who was being beaten up by the Demon King-sama, is smart too? He didn’t look that smart to me.
「……The third place for that contribution…」
「……She’s a secretive, smug little person, but she’s so good that she’s indispensable to the Demon King Army. Would you like to hear what the humans call her?」
「…I’m afraid to ask, but what?」
「『The Devil』…In preference to the real demon tribe…」
「That’s quite an alias for excellence…」
「Why do you both praise me so much?」
「「I didn’t compliment you!」」
◆◇◆◇◆
「Then, this time I will teach magic to Lean-sama, but…」
The Demon King-sama gave Tiana-san strict orders to『change her assignment the next time she does something strange』 and returned to the castle.
As a person who has been traumatized to this point, and as a person who has developed a perfect dislike for Tiana-san, I was incredibly anxious about being separated from the Demon King-sama, so I made eye contact with her.
The meaning seemed to be conveyed immediately, and I even received a response.
『Please do so. Please stay.』
『Sorry, I have some work to do.』
And my silent pleas had no effect, and the Demon King-sama returned.
And I was transferred with Tiana to a place that looked like a university classroom.
I heard that she’s going to hold a magic class here.
「…Um, Lean-sama. Aren’t you too far away? If you could step forward a little more…」
「No problem.」
Don’t worry, I’m listening to you fine. In the last row.
「F-Fair enough. Now, let me explain. Magic, as I said before, is a phenomenon that is activated by the power of composition and imagination. A first-rate magician skillfully handles these two, completing an image in an instant, and in the next instant, he or she finishes compiling the formula and causes the event to occur.」
In short, if you develop imagination and construct a formula according to that image, the event will occur as it is supposed to.
「Among the demons, the first step to becoming a sorcerer is to develop this imaginative power.」
「Does that mean that among demons, humans are different?」
「Yes. Humans are far behind demons when it comes to magic. Of course, there are magicians of my class over there, but ordinary magicians are completely inferior to us.」
Tiana-san’s class magician, probably mom’s enemy… Noin or some other《Twelve Holy Apostles》are also of that class.
「Magic can do anything, depending on its image. Of course, the higher the difficulty, the greater the danger, but in theory, you can create your original magic without limit… However, humans sing that magic is all-powerful, but they close themselves off to its possibilities. In contrast to us, who value imagery and the ability to apply it, humans often invoke magic by singing a spell called『chanting』!」
…Chanting is that?
A certain crazy bombshell used to chant…
「Thereby, they are imaginatively deciding,『If I chant this chant, this magic will be triggered』, and they are triggering it. It certainly speeds up the learning process, but in the long run, I would have to say that it is a foolish idea. After all,『magic without chanting cannot be invoked』.」
Stupidity, mankind.
「Let’s try it. I’ll try to compile the formula now, so you can try it just by watching and imitating it.」
「What? Are you sure you’re okay? I thought it was dangerous…」
「It is the weakest of wind magic,《Soft Wind》, so there is almost no danger. Then, let’s go.」
With that said, Tiana-san raises her hand and I feel the magic power concentrate in my hand. I see, so this is the composition of a formula. Even I can feel this much.
And when the presence of the magic formula disappeared, a slight breeze blew in the classroom.
「This is how we perform the composition. Did you feel it?」
「Yes, sort of. I’ll give it a try.」
As Tiana-san did just now, I raised my hand and used the composition―――
……The composition is?
「…Um, Tiana-san. I can’t do it at all…」
「Well, that’s true. I haven’t even taught you the basics, so if you can do it just by watching and imitating, you are beyond the level of a genius.」
「Did you let me do this knowingly!?」
「Yes, well. I thought Lean-sama would be the second person in history to be in that realm… Apparently, Lean-sama is equally talented in both close combat and magic. If it were a pure demon, it might have been in that realm.」
What the heck, I thought it was an S, but there’s a good reason.
I apologize in my heart.
「By the way, is that genius still around?」
「He is my nephew whom I just told you about. He was born less than 100 years ago, but he has already surpassed my ability. Among the elves, he is called a『Divine Genius』. However, he has almost no talent for ruling or commanding others, so I am in charge of him.」
It’s a monster.
Magic that surpasses Tiana-san.
And elves have a long life span after all.
But I won’t ask Tiana-san’s age. Unlike the male protagonist who has no sense of delicacy, I am a woman with a sense of decency.
「I’m sure he has mastered several super-advanced magic that even I haven’t mastered, and it would probably take two or three demon army leaders with my level of strength to stop him… In case you are wondering, this is my ability.《Status》.」