I Have Become The Heroes’ Rival

“…….”

There was such a method. If you couldn’t enter the island, you could buy the island……. Well, I was a fool for not knowing such an easy way.

In most circumstances, I would have said that it made no sense. But no better solution seemed to exist.

This way, there would be no conflict with the authorities, and we could claim our rights with confidence.

If you possessed the ability to live, you better live.

That’s right. You had to pay a fair price for anything. It’s a crime and illegal to break into private property and steal spirits.

The brother and sister who had such a moral concept in mind seemed to shine so brightly today.

With tears of regret in my heart, I decided to reflect on my original plan.

“It’s great that you have a strategy.”

Yes, let’s proceed with this! Having lost my will to refute, I smiled and clapped my hands. Claudia was also very happy.

“I thought Rin’s birthday present wasn’t enough, so we can give her Camoli Island.”

You’re going to buy me an island for my birthday present? The scale of the madness left me lost for words.

‘I think I know why the perfect brother and sister called this place a playroom and not an amusement park.’

“It’s summer, so it’s good to go on vacation to an island. It’s warm in the southern region of the country, so I’ll build a villa on the coast as soon as possible.….”

“Wait a minute. What about the spirit?”

“The spirit comes together with it.”

Why were you talking about the spirit like a 1+1 deal? The spirit was our original purpose.

Claudia, who had been depressed that she would never sign a contract with a spirit, was delighted that it would now be possible.

But you liked me so much that you would even think to take the back seat¹?

My lady was so sweet.

I was deeply moved and tried to calm Claudia, who was excited to go out with me.

Actually, I wanted to say thinking, ‘Wow, it’s a trip with Chloe!’ and sympathize with her, but our situation was not good right now.

‘It seemed that Benjamin was thinking of using the devil’s relics unconditionally.’

If only there existed a spirit capable of purifying the mana, it would be very helpful if Felix does turn into the devil.

‘Of course, it would be nice if there was a way to prevent it before it happens.’

I thought so, staring silently at Felix. Then, as if he read my mind, he drew a smooth curve with lips.

I asked him.

“How far can you go by magic?”

I was asking him if we could move immediately to buy the island right now.

He shook his head.

“If we don’t want anyone knowing that we are heading to the island, we better not use magic.”

“What? Why?”

“Because all the magic spells used by the sorcerers of the magic department are all recorded.”

Felix’s explanation was like this.

All of the sorcerers of the Ministry of Magic were remarkable. They were all children who showed outstanding talents and were accepted into the ministry free of charge from a very young age, regardless of their status.

When I heard this, I thought positively, ‘Was the world of sorcerers centered on skill even in this social class society?’.

“As a result, the sorcerers in the Ministry of Magic have implanted artifacts with detection magic and air blast magic in their bodies.”

What? Wait a minute.

“It’s an implant?”

“Yes, it’s just to monitor what magic you’re using.”

It was to prevent them from using dangerous magic without the Emperor’s approval. After all, it could be a threat to the Empire.

When I heard that, I was at a loss for a moment.

The real threat to the Empire right now was the three men who planned to awaken the devil’s relics to isolate one person.

However, it was also understandable. In this fantasy world, there existed a range of magic like: hypnotic magic, enchanting magic, counting magic, magic to suck up vitality, and even magic to drop meteorites from the sky.

‘Honestly, a sorcerer was a munchkin².’

If their abilities were not limited, a sorcerer would have already turned the country upside down and became the emperor. That’s why the implants were important to help maintain the balance.

Even though I understood it with my head, I felt uncomfortable for some reason. Artifacts were planted in your body for the reason that you were a threat.

And since the detection magic had an explanation, I understood the origin, but what the hell was the air blast magic?

If you literally interpret it by its name, you could only get a very ominous premonition.

“It compresses air and explodes. It’s the same effect as an explosive.”

Well, there goes my ominous premonition.

“…….didn’t you say, you implant it in your body?”

Did you plant a bomb in your body?

Felix then tapped his shoulder with his hand and said.

“Sorcerers cannot use magic without their arms. You must have an arm to coordinate the magic.”

So, when they decided that you’re a threat to the Empire, they would blow up your arms? So that you couldn’t use magic for the rest of your life?

‘It’s the country’s handling of accessories³.’

I was so shocked, I couldn’t speak. Although magic was the essence of this impoverished novel, it didn’t make sense to treat Felix like this.

He was obviously the greatest sorcerer in the country, so I thought he would have preferential treatment in the Empire.

It turned out the Ministry of Magic only had impure intentions to accept and empower the children talented in magic.

What the hell did the writer do to our angel Felix? No matter how good of a sorcerer he was, they threatened that he could be disregarded by the country, he was treated like accessories, and if he was a threat they could explode his arm. Was his family now destined to be killed too?

‘It’s so cruel.’

I pursued my lips, not knowing what to say.

Claudia looked at Felix’s shoulder without an expression for a moment and then turned her head, grabbing the hem of her skirt.

It was a sign that she had recalled some bad memories.

Suddenly the atmosphere subsided. I swallowed a sigh by pushing it down my throat and then asked Felix.

“Then it means that if we use teleportation magic, there will be a record of the coordinates. It could reach the ears of the Crown Prince.”

“That’s right.”

The teleportation center would keep all the records, and in the first place, the act of going to such a remote island would raise suspicion.

However, it was too risky to attract other talented sorcerers.

Honestly, even if we worked hard to stop the devil’s relic, the three heroes could say, ‘Stop this? You’re the ones who summoned the devil’. Those bastards…….

It had to remain a secret that Claudia could summon spirits. That was the best and only plan they had.

Currently, the three heroes recognized Claudia as an incompetent woman who couldn’t even send salt to the spirit world despite having so much potential.

If they found out, they would obviously use more than the devil’s relics.

So we had to hide our cards away as much as we could without getting caught. That way, we could keep the three heroes guard down.

Then, was it impossible to prepare in advance? Even if we moved quickly starting from now, it would take almost a few months to reach the island without magic.

Felix then clicked his finger and said.

“Even if the record remains, you can use bypasses. Like this.”

At the same time, there was a tremendous roar and a shattering sound. I turned my head to the source of the sound with a startled look.

The angel statue which was standing beside the fountain split into two parts. It was not even a piece of chalk.….

“It’s the same principle as air conditioning, which cools the air. Since it usually doesn’t produce much power, we just recorded it as simple cooling magic.”

So, they recorded it as cooling magic, but in reality, it could actually split something. If that were a human being, they would have been dead.

“Then there’s no point in planting an artifact.”

“Not everyone can do this.”

“Only Felix can do it.”

He smiled strangely as if my words tickled him. However, it seemed that my words were correct as he did not deny it.

“Who knows?”

Felix stared at me silently and then lazily folded his eyes, placing his index finger on his lips.

“…….”

Could you just say it was a secret? I thought my heart would burst when you attacked me with your blink.

If you could effortlessly generate that much power to cool the air, then the artifact planted in your shoulder was actually just a decoration.

The problem was that the imperial side had the power to set it off, and magic that could not be replaced by other things, such as teleportation, could not be covered with this bypass.

‘We couldn’t do this or that.’

“Artifacts in the body……. Is there any way to get it out?”

I asked carefully as I looked at Felix’s shoulder with an anxious gaze.

Then, he looked down as if he was thinking for a moment.

The pale blue light contained in the half-closed eyes belonged to a beast who was hiding its claws thoroughly as if they were a domesticated hunting dog.

It was at the moment when I shifted my gaze to those eyes. I recalled Benjamin’s words saying that if you peeled the smooth shell and dug to the bottom, the essence would be the same monster as him.

I suddenly thought that it wasn’t just nonsense.

Of course, no matter what kind of monster was sleeping inside Felix, there was no way I would be disappointed.

Who I cared for was Felix, not something that made a small part of Felix.

“There is.”

He replied after a long silence.

His eyes, which began to shine again, were still beautiful and pure, and they seemed to be full of determination.

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^{1. To ‘take a back seat’ means to occupy an inferior position, and allow another to be in control.↩}

^{2. A munchkin (in this context, refers to the gaming context) where the person gains power by cheating in gaming i.e. trying to exploit loopholes and bend or break the rules for their own benefits, and with little or no regard for any other players.↩}

^{3. Here Irene is referring to ‘accessories’ as being the sorcerers. (This is explained further down the chapter).↩}

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