Magic Corps

“Call me knight!”

“But I don’t think you are a knight! The book said that all knights are strong!”

“Are you saying I’m weak right now?!”

“There is no way a knight would be weaker than MarryAnne!”

“How dare you insult my chivalry!”

Richard swung his lance threateningly. But the young maid was busy glancing behind her, completely ignoring him. Slight resentment was present on her face, as if to say, ‘Why did you deceive me, I thought I was duelling with an actual knight?’

(T/N: Lance – a long weapon with a wooden shaft and a pointed steel head, formerly used by a horseman in charging.)

Unable to bear the disrespect, Richard exclaimed.

“That’s enough! Duel with me! I’ll show you the power of Vermont! Giddy up!”

Richard kicked his horse in the ribs. The horse resisted as if reluctant but was spurred into moving forward. It was a terrifying picture, a knight astride a horse, clasping a lance, racing towards a bare-handed girl. The onlookers unconsciously held their breath.

The moment Richard finally drew closer, MarryAnne gave strength to her eyes and slammed the ground. MarryAnne jumped forward and lightly landed on the head of the galloping horse.

“What....!”

The next moment she was standing on Richard’s shoulder, and before Richard realized what had happened, she kicked his head.

“Argh!”

Tang!

A clear and piercing sound was heard. Richard bounced off the ground as if he had been hit by a giant hammer.

MarryAnne landed lightly on the ground, cried out in belated surprise.

“What should I do? I kicked too hard! She told me not to kill him!”

Fortunately, the knight was still alive. MarryAnne lifted him, armor and all, gently placing him on the other knights. She shouted proudly toward the Marquis of Vermont’s camp.

“Next person, please come quickly! I mean, I have to boil the water again before the tea gets cold!”

The Marquis of Vermont’s face turned red. It was a situation where three elite knights were mistreated by a girl in her early teens, who didn’t even have a weapon.

“Give me the magic stone!”

The Marquis violently snatched the magic stone from his Lieutenant, then bellowed in anger.

“Kyrie Buchanan! What kind of special trick did you use!”

「Oh my.」

Kyrie Buchanan answered from far away, out of sight.

「If you win, it’s due to your ability, and if someone else wins, it’s magic?」

“Other than that, how could such a little girl defeat an elite knight of Vermont!”

Usually, the Marquis had the advantage of hiding his inner thoughts, like a serpent. But now, he lost the dignity of the Vermont family, as he sputtered and shouted.

But Kyrie was relaxed.

「Excuse me, but are you sure your knights aren’t just plain weak? If she was indeed interfering with the duel with magic, the magic stone would have already tested positive for it.」

“What are you saying now!”

「Isn’t that right, MarryAnne?」

In response to the mocking question, MarryAnne jumped and smiled broadly.

“You’re right, miss! MarryAnne is not strong! I didn’t even use magic! They’re just weak!”

「Really? Oh, my. But you know you can’t kill him, right?」

“Yes! MarryAnne’s mother told her not to use violence against the weak!”

「MarryAnne is very smart.」

MarryAnne was so excited that she stuck out her chest and puffed her cheeks.

“MarryAnne is smart!”

“Shut up!”

A vein protruded from the Marquis’s neck when he cried out. MarryAnne paused momentarily, then sang merrily, while dancing in circles.

“MarryAnne is smart! MarryAnne is smart!”

“Shut up!”

“MarryAnne is smart! MarryAnne is smart!”

“Ahhhhhhk!”

The Marquis stomped his feet on the ground and began to grind his teeth.

‘It can’t be like this, it can’t be like this!’

He didn’t know what the magic was, but if it keeps going on like this, he will really lose the duel. Marquis’s eyes soon became blood-shot with insanity.

’The Legend is right in front of me, you want me to go back? Because of this?’

It can’t be.

The Marquis threw the mana stone aside.

“Ballista, ready to attack! Cavalry ready to charge, archers cover!”

“Yes!”

The men began to move busily. The Marquis walked into the back of the unit, with his flying cape.

One-on-one duel? Just ignore it.

“It’s a city filled with old people who study at their desks anyway! You can push them!”

「I knew it would come to this. Is it power after all?」

Kyrie Buchanan’s voice became sharp in an instant. The Marquis of Vermont snorted in reply to her tone.

“I don’t know what you are saying, but I’ll make you pay for getting in my way without knowing the subject!”

Kyrie Buchanan then spoke sadly, as if she felt truly sorry for him.

「I understand that you are underestimating this. That’s because the Pronoia on paper doesn’t have a proper army.」

“Did you hear that? Our enemies are just untrained civilians! We’re not losing! All infantry forward!

“Advance! Advance!”

“Wahhhh!”

The infantry began to run towards Pronoia, shaking the ground. Watching him, Kyrie Buchanan’s voice grew cold.

「But isn’t there something you don’t know, Marquis?」

“Don’t listen! Yes, it’s all bullshit, spouted by a loser who will soon be forced to kneel beneath our feet! Go ahead! We will win! The head of the Legendary Lord is ours!”

The Marquis of Vermont glared at the sky.

At that moment, Kyrie’s voice seemed to be exceptionally empty as it resonated through the clear blue sky.

「I’m sorry, but smart people don’t fight with their bodies.」

“What?”

The Marquis of Vermont paused. The sound of Kyrie Buchanan snapping her fingers was heard through the communication mana stone. And then, a huge magic formula began to be drawn in the air of Pronoia.

「Magic Corps. Depart.」

(T/N: Corps- a branch of an army assigned to a particular kind of work.)

***

In the widest dining room of Pronoia’s Grand Library, carbonated liquor corks burst.

“We won! We won against Vermont!”

“Uh-huh! They were running away with their tails between their legs!”

“How can I have this kind of pleasure in my life!”

“Did you hear it? We are the corps! Oh my gosh!”

“You must choose a name!”

None of the people were modestly dressed nor did any of them seem sane. The old man with a tulip on his head smiled and handed MarryAnne a biscuit.

“Child, you are very strong!”

MarryAnne took the sweets from the people around her and hid them in her pumpkin bloomers beneath her skirt and laughed.

“It’s all thanks to the Lady!”

“Yes! It’s thanks to the Lady!”

“Yes! Whatever it is, it is because of you!”

People started calling out Kyrie’s name. Kyrie was seated at the main table, smiled as she listened to the voices of the people.

“It’s the Lord.”

“Cool!”

“Exciting!”

“Even in this situation, you can’t just pass by! It really is the feeling of the Lord!”

The scholars and wizards hugged each other and shouted, “Hey!” Kyrie smiled and turned her head to Chairman Temar, who was sitting at the same table.

“The job was easy. Thank you.”

Chairman Temar also smiled sweetly, in a good mood. He held the glass between his thick fingers and shrugged his shoulders.

“No! No! On the contrary, I am very happy to see new possibilities! You used magic to attack! Attack magic! Oh my gosh! After all, there was such a thing!”

Kyrie gave a soft, quiet smile. A bunch of wizards said, ‘We’re going to die! We are incompetent!’ and it was because she remembered how he was trembling.

“Yes. Magic must be..I’m not asking you to change someone’s hair color or have a snow swimming festival.”

Chairman Temar burst into laughter, not knowing where to put himself, whether it was a compliment or not.

“That’s right! Why hadn’t I thought of that! Haha, everyone who has been doing research for a long time is bound to go crazy somewhere!”

Kyrie laughed. It seems that such a harmless and peaceful city was created thanks to that. Outsiders didn’t know they’d have weapons, so the Marquis of Vermont would have never guessed the power of this place.

“Besides, the magic that Lord Protector told me was amazing!”

Chairman Temar’s expression was ecstatic. Since morning, he has been busy telling the wizards about the ‘magic of the Vallabriga era’ from Kyrie. Leshaux said that his magic wasn’t a big deal, but considering how prosperous magic was in the Vallabriga era, his “lacklustre magic” would have been seen quite differently in this era.

Kyrie watched MarryAnne juggling with five bearded old men, and then opened her mouth.

“As promised, the Buchanan family will continue to support Pronoia in the future.”

“Thank you for listening! Lady, no, the Lord is truly the treasure of Pronoia!”

“And this.”

A few slips of paper slid from under Kyrie’s arm. When she got up from her seat and waved a piece of purple waxed paper, the eyes of the chattering scholars directed towards her at the same time.

“It’s a letter of introduction for the chance to talk to the Lord Protector.”

“Woahhhh!”

“How much! How much can I give you!”

“Please take my money and sell it!”

“I’ll put your name on my paper as a co-author, please!”

Kyrie was startled for a moment by the intense reaction, and after coughing, she said.

“As you know, the enemy hasn’t retreated. I’m going to give this to a few people as a way of congratulations when it’s all over.”

“No, no, no!”

“Zebhaal!”

It wasn’t a very nice sight to see the seventy-year-olds howling. Kyrie coughed again in vain.

“Of course, I’ll give ‘some’ to ‘some’, but how many other ‘some’ can take this from me.... shall we talk later?”

The letter of introduction swayed gently in Kyrie’s hand as she smiled brightly. The eyes of the wizards caught fire.

“Later! All right, later!”

“Indeed! Bring the head of that chicken head Vermont!”

“Put it in a vase!”

“Give me water!”

Kyrie turned, leaving the scholars to their creative and violent musings. From afar, the drunk Dr. Poe asked where she was off to, but Kyrie just waved her hand, leaving the banquet hall.

The cold darkness of the room separated her from the ongoing festivities outside, the sound slowly dissipated. The polite smile that hung from the corner of her mouth, disappeared. She placed the back of her hand on her forehead to make a sober judgment.

‘It’s not a severe fever yet, so I’ll have to finish the rest.’

With a short sigh, Kyrie moved into the office. Her vision flickered for a split second. Letting go of her cane, Kyrie slumped against the wall. If her vision is completely black, it’s probably due to anemia.

‘It will pass if you leave it alone.’

Kyrie slowly controlled her breathing. All the while, she listened to the soft rumbling din of the party through the marble wall. No one will know that Kyrie is in this kind of condition. It was fortunate.

‘What did you eat today?’

She didn’t recall eating. Usually, MarryAnne would take care of it, but today MarryAnne was busy with Kyrie’s orders. Of course, the night would be busy too.

‘You’re disqualified as a Commander, Kyrie Buchanan.....’

She needed to eat something to give the illusion she was alright. Like in chess, the king must not be defeated. If she fell here and now, it’ll make life more difficult. She tried to lift her body, but today she was too exhausted.

“There, by any chance, someone.....”

Kyrie struggled to open her mouth. But her feeble voice was too weak to echo down the marble hallway.

‘No.’