I Was a Dropout Who Couldn’t Use Magic for 16 Years, but Then I Remembered My Past Life as a Scientist and Became OP in Another World - Chapter 10

The duel had only lasted about five minutes in real time.

But in that brief span, an overwhelming number of attacks and counters had been exchanged.

Johann darted around the backyard, utilizing his small frame and agility to unleash a variety of attacks on Marduk. But Marduk deflected most of them with ease, retaliating with heavy counters. Johann managed to soften the blows using water magic, but the damage was still accumulating steadily.

While Johann panted heavily, wincing from the pain, Marduk hadn’t even broken a sweat.

“…Hah… hah… You must have been holding back a lot earlier today… I don’t think I can win.”

“I’m flattered. As a former Knight Captain, I can’t afford to fall behind you just yet, Johann-sama.”

“Wait, hold on—Knight Captain? You mean the royal capital’s knighthood? That’s the first I’ve heard of it! How did you end up serving a marquess in the far reaches of the kingdom?”

“…Forgive me. I may have let that slip. It seems I’m more excited by this match than I thought.”

“Well, you’ve already said it. So, tell me—what’s that all about?”

Marduk lowered his head, pausing for a moment before looking up and answering.

“…I killed many of my subordinates. After that, I was reduced to a mercenary, until the Glastark family took me in.”

“K-killed?!”

Johann’s voice wavered in shock.

“S-surely there was a reason for it, right? An accident or something…”

“No, I killed them with my own hands.”

“That’s impossible! M-Marduk, there’s no way you would do something like that, right?!”

“Oh, Johann-sama…”

Marduk’s voice lowered, and the tone of his speech changed drastically. A chill ran down my spine.

“We might have spent a few minutes sparring, but I don’t recall us becoming that close.”

“—”

Even from a distance, I could see Johann was visibly shaken.

Meanwhile, Marduk swayed slightly as he took a step closer to Johann.

“Here I come.”

In an instant, Marduk’s palm glowed briefly before multiple blasts of air shot out. Although the projectiles were invisible, they struck Johann’s chest, shoulder, and knee, sending him flying backward.

Johann hurriedly stabilized himself, taking cover behind the trunk of a tree.

“Marduk!”

Johann shouted, while Marduk stood, arm outstretched, continuing to fire unseen bullets of air.

“If I win, will you tell me more about what happened?!”

“…”

For a moment, the sound of the wind died down, and Marduk let out a soft laugh.

“If you win, you say? Haha… Very well. But if you lose, the discussion ends here.”

“Deal!”

Johann’s voice echoed through the now-silent garden.

It seemed like he was waiting for the right moment to counterattack.

Then, I heard the sound of something rustling up in the trees. It seemed Johann was moving swiftly from branch to branch.

“Your earlier sneak attack was impressive, but do you really think the same trick will work twice?”

Marduk looked up toward the trees as he slowly advanced, his right hand glowing white, ready to attack at a moment’s notice.

—

Rustle.

Marduk snapped his head toward the sound, but nothing was there. Still, he was certain he had heard something.

Rustle, rustle, rustle, rustle.

This time, the sound came from multiple directions.

Tiny droplets of water splashed at Marduk’s feet, soaking into the earth.

Dozens of small water orbs were raining down from the trees.

Marduk grinned.

“How audacious…”

The backyard now resembled a battlefield under heavy hail, with branches shaking every now and then—though it was unclear whether it was Johann or the water causing the disturbance.

Even so, Marduk maintained his focus, steadily advancing through the rain of water orbs.

—

“This is it, for real this time.”

Amidst the rustling of leaves, Johann’s voice rang out.

Marduk had already turned toward the source of the voice before he spoke.

Johann stood with his arms wide open, large water spheres hovering above both his palms. In the dim light, I could hear the sound of the spheres cutting through the air as they spun rapidly.

Before Marduk could react, Johann hurled the massive orbs—one aimed at his head, the other at his chest. They flew at a tremendous speed, making a sound unlike anything I’d ever heard before.

—

BOOM!

A loud explosion rang out.

I couldn’t comprehend what had just happened. But it seemed the water spheres hadn’t made direct contact with Marduk.

Marduk stood motionless, his hands clenched tightly in front of his face as if bracing for impact. The water spheres had seemingly vanished.

I squinted in confusion, trying to figure out what had happened—

—

DOOM! DOOMDOOM!

An earth-shaking noise came from the direction of the mansion.

I turned my head toward the sound, bewildered.

“…What?”

I couldn’t even describe the emotions that washed over me in that moment. My mind went blank, unable to process what I was seeing.

But anyone would have been stunned by that sight.

“My… My room is—”

There was an enormous hole in the wall of my room, as if someone had set off dynamite.

—

Thud.

A new sound came from the direction of the trees.

“Oh.”

Right. Johann.

Snapping out of my daze, I turned to where the two figures were.

One stood, while the other lay limp on the ground.

The one lying motionless was Johann.

And the one standing, gazing down at him, was Marduk.

—

〇

The full investigation wasn’t conducted until the following morning.

Father, Mother, Fiolette, Marduk, several servants, and of course, myself, all gathered in the backyard, staring up at the gaping hole in the mansion’s wall.

Pale-faced, Fiolette bowed deeply.

“Lord Dawson, I don’t even know how to apologize for this. For one of our knights to do such a thing to the Narazario family’s home… I will bring my father to formally apologize at a later date.”

Behind her, Marduk also bowed deeply, his expression grave.

“There are no excuses. I, Marduk, am prepared to accept whatever punishment you deem necessary. However, if I may ask one thing, I beg of you not to hold Lady Fiolette responsible.”

As for me, I stood slightly behind my parents, staring up at the remains of what used to be my room.

A gaping hole, still wet with water, marred the wall.

It seemed clear that Johann’s final water spell had been the cause. I couldn’t say why the magic, aimed at Marduk, had somehow ended up blowing a hole in my room, but here we were.

Oddly enough, the damage had been limited to my room alone. The floor hadn’t collapsed, and none of the nearby servants’ quarters had been affected.

The only real casualty was my research notes, now buried beneath the rubble and soaked in water. A pang of regret hit me as I briefly wished I had backed them up on a hard drive—though that was an utterly pointless thought in this world.

Father, who had been silent until now, finally spoke.

“Please, raise your head, Lady Fiolette, Sir Marduk. I admit we were surprised, but it seems my eldest son was fortunately not in his room at the time, and no servants were harmed. The wall can be repaired, so I see no need to blow this out of proportion.”

Father glanced back at me as he spoke.

Though his eyes seemed oddly devoid of emotion for a man who had nearly lost his son, I nodded back in acknowledgment.

Fiolette, however, wasn’t so easily placated. Her trembling hand rested on her cheek as she glanced toward another part of the mansion—not at the hole where my room had been.

“Fortunate, yes, but that is a matter of hindsight. The very thought of Ronnie-sama being caught in this accident brings chills. And then there’s Johann-sama…”

“That is indeed the real issue here.”

Father’s expression hardened at the mention of Johann’s name.

“We need to understand why Johann, along with Sir Marduk, was out in the backyard at such a late hour. Sir Marduk doesn’t seem inclined to explain.”

“…”

For the first time, I could sense a hint of anger in Father’s tone.

Mother, standing beside him, glared silently at Marduk, her lips pressed into a tight line.

“H-how is Johann-sama doing?” Fiolette asked.

“He’s still unconscious. The doctor is on his way, but we don’t have a diagnosis yet.”

“I see…”

“In any case, the full story will come out once Johann wakes up. For now, Lady Fiolette, I ask that you postpone your planned departure.”

“Yes, of course. Though may I at least send a message to my father?”

“That’s acceptable.”

With that, Father instructed the servants to return to the mansion.

And so, a duel that was meant to be kept secret had ended in a disaster far beyond anyone’s expectations. I couldn’t help but sigh.

Strictly speaking, only Marduk knew exactly what had happened.

Johann had poured all his remaining magic into his final attack and collapsed, and I—despite watching from a distance—had missed the crucial moment.

While I was probably the second most knowledgeable person on the whole affair, admitting to spying on their duel would only complicate matters.

Father’s decision to wait until Johann woke up to get the full story seemed wise, and I agreed with it.

However, there was one issue I couldn’t ignore.

I called out to Father as he and Mother were heading back inside.

“Father.”

“…Yes? What is it?”

“So… Where am I supposed to sleep for the time being?”

“…Sleep? Ah, right.”

It seemed Father had only just realized what I was referring to.

Was he planning for me to continue living in a room with no wall and drenched in water? I suppose his mind had been occupied with Johann’s condition, leaving no room to think about me.

“There should be an empty room on the third floor. Use that. You can make use of whatever’s already in there.”

“…The third floor, huh…”

“Carla!”

“Y-yes, my lord?!”

“Help Ronnie move his things to the new room.”

“U-understood!”

There were certainly other servants more suited to moving furniture, but Father seemed uninterested as he walked back into the mansion. It appeared that not even a head injury or a collapsed room could hold his attention for long.

“Sorry, Carla. It seems you’ve been unofficially assigned as my personal attendant.”

“N-no, not at all, Ronnie-sama! If I can be of any assistance, please feel free to rely on me. Um, which room are you moving to?”

“Father said I should use one of the empty rooms on the third floor.”

“Whaaat?!”

Carla’s mouth fell open in disbelief.

“Are you talking about that dusty old storeroom?!”

I sighed and nodded.

“Apparently, yes.”