“...”
Mulliman cast a glance at Noel. His gaze seemed to mean something. Noel, who could instantly read the conveyed message, nodded and rose from his seat.
“Then let’s move to another place first.”
“A place where the Duchess can use her power freely would be good. Somewhere spacious and soundproof.”
“Then there is a good place.”
Irene could tell at once where it was. It was the second drill hall. A place that only Noel and herself knew.
Noel headed there with Irene and the two wizards.
♔♔♔
Since the second drill hall was located at the end of the expansive residence of the Grand Duke, it was necessary to take a thirty-minute ride.
There was no conversation until the carriage arrived. Ryun was busy admiring the Grand Duke’s residence, and the other three were pensive.
At the coachman’s saying that they had arrived, Irene got off the carriage with Noel, followed by Ryun and Mulliman. Once the carriage returned, Irene struggled to keep the exclamation to herself as she looked around them.
Wow. It’s huge.
The drill hall was so vast that the end of its space could not be seen. The manor was as small as a dot from this viewpoint. Surely at this size, even if it were loud, no one within the Dukedom would be able to notice.
However, the admiration was short-lived. Bitterness spread in Irene’s mouth right afterwards.
Noel used to be alone in a place like this...
Irene could somewhat visualise the solitude he must have gone through. Her heart ached.
At that moment, as if Noel had noticed Irene’s innermost thought, he grabbed her hand. Startled, Irene looked up at him, and Noel silently smiled as if he was telling her he was fine.
He then casually spoke to Sir Mulliman.
“How about this?”
Mulliman, unaware of Noel’s story entangled with this hall, vigorously nodded as he exclaimed.
“To have such a space in this estate…As expected of the Grand Duchy. This is more than enough. No one will be disturbed even if I turn the ground upside down.”
Turn over what...?
At the great sorcerer’s preposterous idea, Irene doubted her ears.
Isn’t it just to make sure the ring is working?
No matter how much power the ring had, it was still insufficient to overturn the ground. Moreover, both attack and defence magic must be used to check whether the ring was working well. The problem was that the magic planted into the ring had limitations, so it was clear that the power would be halved.
However, contrary to Irene’s concern, there seemed to be no hint of joking in Mulliman’s words. Irene was puzzled by that, but thinking that there must be a reason she did not know, she slowly approached Sir Mulliman.
“Have you ever used the ring’s power since you came back from Kreisen?”
At Mulliman’s initiated question, Irene shook her head.
“No, not yet.”
After Irene’s return from Kreisen, she intended to practise controlling her power. But too many incidents took place in a row, preventing her from doing so. She felt a little guilty for having become a lazy student, but Mulliman nonchalantly nodded as if he did not mind at all. Instead, a satisfied expression was seen.
“Then it means that the power of the ring is currently full.”
“Yes.”
“Okay. Then, let’s try attack magic first, Ryun!”
“Yes! Master!”
“Go stand in the middle of the hall, over there!”
“...Yes?”
When Ryun asked with a bewildered face, Mulliman repeated firmly.
“Stand in the middle so that the Duchess can attack you.”
“S-sir Mulliman?! What do you mean by that?”
“It is literally. Madame, you will use attack spells towards Ryun.”
“That, that...! He is going to hurt!”
Since she had already used defensive magic once near the Snow Tree, Irene knew how wide of a range her magic could cover. Furthermore, it was attack magic. It was apparent that he would be severely hurt.
Ryun was also worried. He looked at Mulliman with shaky eyes, but his master could not have been any more heartless. He pretended not to notice him. Suddenly, Ryun remembered what Sir Mulliman had said before coming to the Grand Duke’s residence.