I Became a Magical Genius After Regression

Chapter 45

The next morning.

Someone greeted Randell fiercely as he visited the lord’s castle.

“Oh, Sir Randell!”

The one who ran out barefoot was none other than the lord.

The lord, who had been waiting in the reception room, ran out as soon as he heard that Randell had arrived.

Moreover, he no longer just called him by his name.

He even added the honorific ‘Sir’ at the end.

That meant, at least in this lord’s domain, Randell would be treated as a quasi-noble.

“I greet the lord and the young lord.”

Randell bowed his head as he saw the lord and the young lord coming in a wheelchair behind him.

Then the lord fussed again.

“Now is not the time for greetings! Is the contract with the spirit that Sir Randell gave real?”

“Yes, as you can see from the young lord.”

On the young lord’s shoulder, a blue skylark tilted its head.

“Indeed! Right? I couldn’t believe it. My son has become a spirit mage…”

The lord murmured in awe.

Surely, he must have had many worries.

Would his son, who had a disability, be able to lead the knights and manage the territory well after his death?

‘No matter how much he thought about it, there would have been no answer.’

Even if he was lucky and nothing major happened, the family itself would inevitably decline little by little.

So originally, he intended to give the position of the young lord to his daughter.

There are few female lords, but they do exist.

According to the kingdom’s law, she was fully qualified.

However, her daughter vehemently refused, so there was no choice.

As soon as the topic was brought up, she threatened to cut ties, causing a commotion. How could she be made a lord?

But now that problem was solved.

‘Even if she has a disability, she is a rare spirit mage.’

What does it matter if her legs don’t move?

A spirit mage has spirits to do everything for them.

Moreover, because she was so rare, the vassals would surely follow her with a sense of mystique.

The lord asked curiously.

“Where on earth did you get these spirit contracts? And not just one, but two…”

“Didn’t you hear from the lady?”

“I only heard that Sir Randell gave them to her.”

“I found them in your storage room, my lord.”

“…In my storage room?”

“Yes, you once allowed me to take a few items from there, remember?”

“Indeed, I did. Ha, I had treasures right in front of me, in my hands, and I didn’t even realize it…”

The lord muttered in disbelief, staring into the air.

But hadn’t both of them returned to the territory in the end?

The lord, regaining composure, grabbed Randell’s hand firmly.

“Sir Randell, we need to renegotiate our contract.”

“Are you referring to the academy-related sponsorship?”

“Yes. As I said before, I will support all the academy’s needs, including tuition. But after graduation, you don’t need to come to our territory. Do as you wish.”

“No, there’s no place as good as here.”

“Of course, Sir Randell, you are always welcome here. But what I mean is, I don’t want to bind you with a contract.”

“I understand. Thank you, my lord.”

Although there was no possibility of being tied to the territory, it wasn’t a bad thing to be released voluntarily.

Randell gladly accepted the lord’s kindness.

Then, the young lord stepped forward.

“Um…”

So-young, who came forward pushing her wheelchair, spoke shyly.

On her shoulder, the translucent skylark was still visible.

Randell asked Aris.

“Is that a spirit of the wind?”

“Yes, they get along well.”

“So-young and the spirit?”

“Otherwise, it usually stays in the spirit world.”

“I see.”

As mentioned earlier, the presence of natural affinity is usually determined by lineage. It depends on whether there is an elf among the ancestors or not.

However, not all natural affinities are the same.

There are attributes like fire and wind within them, and these attributes appear differently for each individual.

In particular, there was a high probability that something one earnestly desired would influence that attribute.

It seems that So-young, who had difficulty walking, wished to move freely like the wind.

“…Then what about Yumia?”

“Well, maybe she contracted with a fire spirit because her insides were burning with resentment rather than freedom?”

“Resentment?”

“Yes. She might have been angry, wondering why she had to suffer so much when she did nothing wrong.”

“Oh.”

There is a well-known saying.

A quiet person is scarier when they get angry.

But in Randell’s experience, quiet people usually remained quiet until the end.

The ones who would truly set the world on fire were those who lived innocently, as if they knew nothing.

“Why?”

“If you turn 360 degrees, you return to the same place, right? But a madman doesn’t come back. Even if they turn 360 degrees, they only appear normal on the outside, but inside, they are twice as mad.”

“Oh. That makes sense.”

“Of course, I’m not saying Yumia is such a madman. There’s no way such a pure and delicate girl could be like that. She probably just felt suffocated and contracted with a fire spirit.”

While Randell was lost in thought.

So-young, who had been mumbling, said something unexpected.

“Um, can I call you brother?”

“Brother? Me?”

“Yes, is it not possible…?”

So-youngju asked, tears welling up in her eyes.

Randell couldn’t help but click his tongue at the sight.

Even from a distance, he had a handsome face, but seeing him up close, he was a dazzlingly beautiful boy.

Feeling an inexplicable chill, Randell pretended to bow and subtly stepped back, answering.

“Of course. It would be an honor, Young Lord.”

“Thank you! But…”

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“Yes?”

“It’s strange for an older brother to use honorifics with his younger sibling.”

Randell looked at the lord in confusion.

Young Lord was still young and could act impulsively without knowing anything.

But no matter how much he was called ‘Sir Randell,’ could a commoner speak informally to his successor?

The lord might go mad.

However, the lord nodded with a pleased expression.

Understanding the permission, Randell also dropped the formalities.

“Then… alright.”

“Please take care of me, brother!”

So-youngju smiled brightly and greeted him.

* * *

On one side of the lord’s castle, in Manwellin’s private training ground.

Usually, only Manwellin and one dedicated maid were present in this restricted area of the lord’s castle.

But today, there was a new face.

It was Randell.

Under the hot late autumn sun, Manwellin and Randell were staring at each other from a slight distance.

Manwellin had a large two-handed sword slung over his shoulder.

Randell stood with his hands relaxed at his sides.

“……”

“……”

Their postures were peaceful, but the atmosphere was not.

A suffocatingly heavy silence flowed between them.

The two began to move in opposite directions, as if measuring the distance between them.

Had they moved about halfway across the training ground?

“Haap!”

It was Manwellin who moved first.

With a shout, Manwellin charged towards Randell.

One hand gripped the hilt of the greatsword, while the other, clad in a gauntlet, held the upper part of the blade.

Manwellin’s charge, with the momentum to pierce through his opponent, was like the horn of a rhinoceros.

Thud, thud, thud.

The boots with metal hooves echoed on the training ground floor.

Despite Manwellin’s small stature, the sound of his charge with the greatsword was imposing.

Of course, Randell didn’t care.

“Hmm.”

It was a decent charge, but it was lacking.

A ‘real’ knight’s charge wasn’t like that.

Randell had witnessed it firsthand.

A battlefield where tens of thousands clashed.

An upper-rank knight who ignored thousands of arrows raining down and charged into the soldiers.

Armed with aura, he slaughtered hundreds of guards and even turned the mages into minced meat.

‘Well, it’s hard to compare.’

Thinking so, Randell extended his hand and spoke.

“Wind Arrow.”

Whoosh.

With the incantation, a blue arrow shot forward, leaving a long trail.

Manwellin’s response was simple.

Maintaining his charging posture, he slightly moved the two-handed sword forward.

Ting.

With just that slight change in trajectory, the Wind Arrow aiming for Manwellin’s face was split by the blade.

Ping, clang.

Ping, clang.

Two more arrows flew, but it was useless.

Manwellin deflected one attack and took the other with his body.

Protecting his body with aura under the armor, he could withstand a couple of hits without any trouble.

And in the meantime, Manwellin.

“Got you!”

He managed to get right in front of Randell.

Now there were two choices.

[Reach out and stab with the two-handed sword]

[Switch to a slash to make it difficult for Randell to dodge]

Whichever he chose, the result would be the same.

It was too close for Randell to avoid.

“……”

But the strange thing was Randell’s face.

Still expressionless as if he felt nothing, Randell calmly used magic.

“Grease.”

A spell that lowers the friction coefficient of a specific area.

If hit properly, an opponent with insufficient mana resistance would inevitably slip.

“It’s useless!”

But Manwellin shouted firmly.

He had already experienced Randell’s grease before.

A few months ago, in the market while chasing Randell.

So he had made preparations.

“Hup!”

Manwellin firmly planted his weight on his lower body.

He also wrapped his feet in mana to prevent slipping.

Whoosh―

Manwellin then changed his stance and swung a long slash.

But the blade of the greatsword merely passed over Randell’s head in vain.

Because of the grease spell.

In fact, Randell had used the grease not on Manwellin, but under his own feet.

Thanks to that, he could evade Manwellin’s attack with unpredictable movements.

‘You little!’

Although it looked like he had dodged it lightly, Randel was actually terrified inside.

The sound of the wind from the passing greatsword was no joke.

Even though it was a practice wooden sword, it was a full swing.

If it hit, it wouldn’t just end with foaming at the mouth.

‘You try it too!’

Randel gritted his teeth and reached downwards from his fallen position.

At the same time, the next spell was cast.

“Wind!”

Whoosh.

The wind surged strongly.

The direction was where Randel’s hand was pointing, from bottom to top.

But it wasn’t just the wind that surged.

The sand grains scattered on the training ground also soared up with the strong wind.

Precisely towards Manwellin’s face.

“Ugh!”

At that moment, Manwellin was preparing for the next attack.

With both feet firmly planted on the ground, he was raising his two-handed sword high like chopping wood.

To strike down Randel.

But the dust that got into his eyes momentarily disrupted his stance.

And in that moment, Randel’s hand, which had completely touched the ground, grabbed Manwellin’s metal boot.

“Lightning!”

Crackle.

“Eek!”

Manwellin screamed shrilly and fell to the ground, convulsing.

But there was no need to worry.

The intensity of the lightning was adjusted to be weak, so his body would just tingle a bit and he would recover soon.

Sure enough, Manwellin soon staggered to his feet.

Supporting himself with his sword, Manwellin complained.

“No… This is cheating…!”

“What do you mean it’s cheating?”

“How can you use magic so quickly!”

“If you’re upset, you should move faster than my magic and subdue me.”

“How is that possible!”

“I can do it.”

“Ughhh!”

Randell chuckled as he watched Manwellin tremble for a different reason.

“Let’s stop now. It’s lunchtime.”

“No! Let’s do it again!”

“This is the ninth time already. Don’t you think it’s time to admit defeat?”

“I feel like I can win if I try a little more.”

“Do you really think I didn’t set it up so that would happen?”

“What…?”

Randell supported the stunned Manwellin and led him to a bench.

As he handed over the prepared cold water, they heard someone approaching from the entrance.

It was Manwellin’s personal maid.

“Miss, do you have a moment?”

“Why? Is my father calling?”

“No. A guest has come to see Sir Randell.”

“A guest? Who could it be?”

Manwellin asked Randell curiously.

The maid answered.

“They said they are from the Information Guild. They found the item you requested…”

“Let’s go now.”

Randell’s eyes sparkled as he stood up.

It seemed the time had finally come to obtain the next artifact.