I Already Know That My Magic Power Is Ridiculously High! Now I Just Need To Get A Lovely Bride - Chapter 9

I had decided to kill Balbat, but there was one problem: to put it mildly, the military officers have little respect for me.

This first battle was entirely produced by my father, so all the officers here were picked by him. As a result, there is no common understanding between us—indeed, the officers might even feel that working with me is a burden. They are like those people who are asked by the company president to attend his son’s coming-of-age ceremony—initially thinking it’s just a casual outing, only to find themselves stuck in a dire situation. Everything went from bad to worse.

However, I must now send these men into a death trap, and that is a heavy burden for a commander. Lost in thought, I unconsciously touched the gold coin in my pocket.

(Alright, let’s do this.)

I fixed my gaze on the officers before me and braced myself.

“Everyone, listen up! We are going to defeat the Naiya army led by Balbat, and then we will go rescue Grandfather!”

I saw tension rippling through the ranks; their faces darkened. It is only natural—after all, a twelve-year-old boy from a noble family with a poor reputation is about to decide their lives or deaths.

“We know we are outnumbered. But we, the Ortenos, cannot afford to be cowards in the face of Naiya. We will now launch a cavalry charge against the Naiya army. Everyone, prepare!”

I tried to shout as boldly as I could, but the response was less than encouraging. I realized I could not match the inspiring presence of Grandfather. As the officers began their reluctant preparations, an elderly officer with an unreadable expression stepped forward.

“Lord Minashiro, you speak very boldly of defeating Balbat,” he said.

This old officer’s name is Getrard. He was sent as my supervisor, a satellite Satera-class officer, and he also serves as a knight managing the urban areas within Ortenos territory.

“Knight Getrard, I am the ‘Guardian’ of Ortenos, and I have decided what must be done. Obey me.”

Getrard’s opinion carries as much weight as the words of my father, the Marquis of Ortenos, since he has long supported Grandfather and can even represent my father in diplomacy. Even though I am the senior here, I cannot ignore his words.

“Lord Minashiro, have you forgotten the orders of the Marquis? He commanded that we defeat the enemy force—composed of satellite Satera and lower-class troops gathered near the border. He did not instruct us to engage Hoshistera-class units.”

“Even so, we cannot simply let that enemy group roam free.”

The term “Hoshistera-class” refers to magicians who possess extraordinarily powerful magic within their bodies. Their physiques are so resilient that ordinary blades cannot pierce them. Because of this, ordinary humans without magic—mere stardust—or even those with some magical ability, like the satellite Satera, are no match for them in battle. Thus, in this situation, I am the only one capable of facing Balbat.

“We should leave things as they are. Allowing Hoshistera-class units to battle each other in our first fight is far too dangerous.”

“But if we are surrounded, all will be lost. If we do not thwart their initial advance here, many will die.”

“In that case, we have no choice. We will lure Balbat away; therefore, Lord Minashiro, you must retreat to Ortenatoris immediately.”

That stubborn old man is something else. If I allow this argument to continue, I risk appearing weak as the eldest son of Ortenos. I must silence him with my own strength—as a proper noble should.

“Getrard, does your argument still hold if you see the full extent of my magic?”

I felt as if I were opening a door to the void deep within me, letting my magic surge through every fiber of my body. Generally, the act of “gathering magic” is merely a preparatory stage for using spells. However, it also has the side effect of making one’s magical aura more visible to others.

“Huh?”

Getrard tilted his head in confusion. He must have seen my magic radiating.

Those who wield magic can usually tell, in a vague binary sense, whether someone has magic or not. But that alone does not reveal the nature or quantity of one’s magic. Only by “gathering magic” can one truly perceive the flow of magic in the body—its characteristics and its potential output.

——However, there are some who are far beyond normal standards.

Suddenly, it seemed as if the very air around us had come to a complete standstill; all sound ceased. Then, a piercing noise erupted—as if the air were being torn apart—and all the objects around us (tables, tents, ceramics, and everything nearby) began to vibrate in rapid, small tremors.

It was as if an earthquake had suddenly struck.

What I had done was simply let my magic leak by intentionally losing control. When magic is too powerful to be controlled properly, it causes nearby objects to vibrate. Other Hoshistera-class magicians might also leak magic, but never to this extreme.

(Speaking of objects, the human body is an object too, isn’t it?)

The officers affected by my magic began to tremble unnaturally, as if a chill were crawling over their bodies from the outside. At first, they did not understand what was happening, and gradually they began to lose their balance. In the end, their minds started to connect the trembling of their bodies with overwhelming fear.

One by one, unable to withstand the vibrations any longer, they began to fall to their knees. I had not intended to go this far, so I immediately stopped gathering magic.

“Sorry, I got a bit rough there.”

The look in the officers’ eyes was that of someone staring at a monster.