I Already Know That My Magic Power Is Ridiculously High! Now I Just Need To Get A Lovely Bride - Chapter 6: 

“Don’t get all chummy with Elmia, you lowlife!”

A red‐haired youth with a build like a giant—at least a full size larger than me—stepped in between Elmia and Dino‐ren. It was as if a knight had come to shield a princess from the clutches of evil.

“Oh, Lord Jiruga, what right do you have to say such things?”

The red‐haired man was named Jiruga de Raanekki. He was the second son of the Raanekki Count family and had been chosen as Elmia’s fiancé.

“Naturally, as her fiancé. You Darbonny lot—what were you thinking, sending a man from a branch family? You cunning, spineless snake!”

“Oh dear, it’s downright insulting to be addressed like that by someone from Raanekki. It appears you’ve developed such sly tactics—using your former lord as a shield for an enemy nation—that I must say, you were far more endearing when you were nothing more than a ferocious beast.”

“What did you say? You yourselves seem to have let your so-called ‘shield’ rust over these sixty years. I can just picture you at those imperial socials, dejectedly bowed as our status as guardians of the east slips away!”

“That’s nothing but your baseless speculation!”

The Darbonny Marquis family and the Raanekki Count family have a long history of enmity dating back over sixty years—and even now, they remain bitter rivals. Even though we now share the same imperial nobility, our feud has not faded.

“Now, now, both of you, don’t get so worked up. Today is the day of the heads’ meeting—let’s not start fighting now.”

A boy with a neat black, boyish haircut stepped in with a friendly smile to mediate between them. This was Enkante de Neivilim, the eleven‐year‐old heir apparent of the Neivilim family. The heads’ meeting was a monthly gathering of the heads and heirs of the four major noble families of the Ortenos region. They had been staying at Ortenatoris for several days and were probably on their way to the meeting hall.

“Long time no see, Enkante. Is Lord Yukureen here at the castle today?”

“Tch, he’s not here.”

“I see—I was hoping to greet him.”

When I spoke to Enkante, he clicked his tongue. This was nothing unusual, so I paid it no mind.

“Shalka, you really are of fine birth. Here you are, prancing about outside the castle with lowly riffraff, yet simply because you’re her brother, you get to be at Lady Elmia’s side.”

“Yeah, that’s right. I’m truly honored.”

“Tch! What gives you the right to be so smug, you worthless wretch!”

“Even if you say that…”

Enkante was technically a relative, but he harbored deep hostility toward me. It seemed he had fallen in love with Elmia at first sight and now viewed me—her brother—as his enemy. After all, as the next head of the family, there was no way I could ever be engaged to Elmia. This is exactly why noble love affairs are such a hassle.

“Indeed, Shalka, you’re rumored in our lands as nothing but a foolish eldest son. I hope your first battle will help clear that reputation. By the way, what exactly does this first battle entail?”

Jiruga said this with a wicked smile.

“…It’s the defeat of 2,000 Naiya soldiers—those of Satera class or below—who have occupied a village near the border, carried out by our 5,000-strong Ortenos army.”

Since this was military secret, I made sure that Elmia showed no reaction as I met her gaze before conveying the details of the order.

“Pfft, hahahaha! This is brilliant, Shalka. To think you’d deploy 5,000 troops—including star-stellar level ones—to crush a mere 2,000 soldiers of Naiya’s lower ranks. What kind of joke is this?”

“My father insisted on it because he found the Naiya army’s movements near the border rather suspicious.”

“Heh heh heh, though 5,000 seems a bit overkill. Or perhaps not—Shalka, it’s precisely because you’re so unreliable that they had to draft extra troops just to keep the army together.”

I understood that Jiruga was bringing up my first battle solely to mock me. He probably despised me for nearly the same reason as Enkante did—and, though he’s big, he’s a really nasty guy, I thought.

“Shalka, I do hope you achieve glorious victories. Though if you can only defeat 2,000 with 5,000 troops, you’ll end up as nothing more than a laughingstock among nobles. Ha ha ha!”

I could almost hear Enkante calling me by my first name behind my back, clearly sneering at me.

“Listen, Shalka, as Elmia’s fiancé, I don’t really want to say this, but could you please refrain from further contact with Elmia?”

Jiruga glowered at me as though he were a yakuza about to cut me.

“Oh, Lord Jiruga, and why would you say that?”

Before I could respond, Elmia interjected. Though she forced a smile, her voice was chillingly low.

“Of course—this man can only bring negative influence on me. He once even got punished in the castle for covering up for those ‘stardust’ rascals. Lord Radonark may have his soft spots, but I would never tolerate such behavior from a Raanekki noble.”

(There was a pause.)

“Shalka, you are, regrettably, an immature noble—a failure who lacks proper resolve. I simply cannot allow someone like you to keep hovering around me.”

Jiruga continued to speak at length with a rugged, imposing expression, as if his words were carved in stone.