Magic Academy Bans Harem

Chapter 412 Remo Elson

The massive waves that swept through Horo caused the ground to tremble slightly, even on the battlefield outside the city.

"Moo-"

The minotaur, seemingly created specifically to carry the sword case for the "Goblin Sword Saint" Hui Shi, roared loudly at the battlefield amidst the fierce fighting.

"I know something seems to have happened in the city. Our mission, after all, is to assist our fellow believers. Even if we're tempted by something exciting, we shouldn't put the cart before the horse."

After another round of fighting, Hui Shi quickly retreated and escaped the range of his opponent's counterattack, responding to the Minotaur in a slightly peculiar tone as if talking to himself.

"Don't worry, it will be finished soon."

Narrowing his cloudy eyes, gazing at Cortelene who was now like a trapped beast, Hui Shi declared with absolute certainty of victory.

Judging from the current situation of the battle, Hui Shi indeed holds an absolute advantage. He has no wounds whatsoever, only some tears in the hem of his clothes caused by the impact.

However, Cortriene, in contrast to Hui Shi, had more than half of her black armor shattered. Her arms and other outer limbs were also covered in wounds. Although most of the wounds were very shallow, their sheer number made them appear bloody and gruesome.

As a child, Cortriene was actually quite quiet. Especially when she picked up a sword, she would become completely silent in order to distract herself from the burgeoning desire within her.

Thus, most of the time, no one knows what she's thinking or doing. All you can see is a silent girl who, once she picks up a sword, will try to beat her opponent half to death.

Living at the Elson mansion and even abandoning her sword to become a mage, Cortriene's silence undoubtedly improved considerably. Especially when she picked up her wand to fight others, she could sometimes, like Ritas, use her words as part of her strategy and probing.

However, a trip to a fairytale world seemed to bring everything back to the "past".

The silent swordsman watched his opponent retreat, giving him no chance to catch his breath as he relentlessly pursued and thrust out his heavy sword.

Hui Shi, on the other hand, calmly used his sword to parry, deflect, and sidestep the thunderous blow, thus dissipating its fierce force.

"What a formidable young man."

Although for a goblin, Shining Stone's overall movements were undeniably elegant, the slight tremor in his hand after catching the sword strike revealed a hint of his diminished strength.

"I never expected that so many 'human sword saints' would appear around such a small city. So, are you humans really the chosen race?"

The goblin swordsman couldn't help but sigh.

In this duel, if we only consider pure numerical values, Cortriene's strength almost completely overwhelmed Shining Stone. As for agility, Cortriene, wielding a greatsword and wearing heavy armor, was somewhat slower. Shining Stone, being a goblin, was naturally short and agile. Thus, the two could be considered evenly matched. As for stamina and resilience, that goes without saying.

Cortrienne looked like she would never fall.

Aside from physical abilities, when it comes to combat experience, the much older and more battle-hardened Hui Shi clearly has the advantage. However, even this advantage is only slight. Or rather, their experience in swordsmanship is not on the same path.

Hui Shi was also puzzled as to why the seemingly young female swordsman in front of him possessed a ruthless aura in her sword, as if she had committed countless killings.

So why is Cortrienne, who clearly had the upper hand overall, now in a state of being battered and bruised?
The answer lies in the fact that pyroxene is not "a single person".

It wasn't some tauren who would stand by and watch, but instead, would occasionally break into the battlefield and launch a sneak attack on Cortriene, displaying no martial spirit.

Rather, it was Hikari's ability that was extremely strange. Before or after he swung his blade, a silent sword strike would always appear, precisely targeting Cortelene. While these strikes were slightly weaker than the sword strikes Hikari used in his true form, they were still far beyond what an ordinary person could withstand.

Several more invisible sword strikes landed accurately on Cortriene, with one particularly heavy blow leaving a bloody hole in her shoulder socket.

Seeing that his opponent was still standing, Hui Shi couldn't help but lament his own old age.

However, he never considered the possibility of being a decade or two younger and being able to fight the young female swordsman in front of him alone.

Because this "if" is fighting alongside him right now.

Unlike the Radiant Stone, whose mind was racing with a multitude of thoughts as she spoke, the silent Cortriene felt her thoughts "disappearing," her vision gradually turning blood red.

It was in this state of mind that Cortriñe recalled what had happened when she returned home a few days ago.

Silent night.

Remer Elson, the Elson-style swordsmanship master known for his clerical work, was surrounded by numerous documents and files in his study on this day.

At that moment, an uninvited guest appeared at his door. No, neither "uninvited guest" nor "guest" is quite right. Because this figure was none other than Remer's daughter, Cortrienne.

"I saw Xia Luoluo come to the house during the day. She probably wanted to..."

"After all this time, is this all you wanted to say?"

Remer straightened up from his desk, closed his eyes, and pinched the bridge of his nose.

Cortriene did return to her hometown that winter, but only for a day, and coincidentally, Remer was out, so they didn't meet. Furthermore, Cortriene rarely returned home while attending magic academy and working. Therefore, Remer couldn't remember the last time he saw his daughter.

Although Cortrienne did send letters home quite often.

However, when Remer opened his eyes again, he still felt a sense of unfamiliarity when he looked at his eldest daughter, who was looking uncomfortable and trying to make a request of him.

“Even if you have your own reasons, I cannot disregard the thoughts of the many others who are attached to our lineage and drag them headlong into the conflict.”

"."

Although Cortrienne had roughly guessed this outcome before she even spoke, hearing the words of rejection firsthand still made her expression somewhat somber.

"so."

But before Cortrienne could turn and leave, Remer's voice continued.

"So, if you want to convince me, show me your true abilities. According to our family's current 'rules'." Late at night.

In the dimly lit training ground, illuminated only by moonlight and starlight.

Remer selected a longsword from the weapon rack, swung it a few times skillfully, and then pointed the tip at Cortriene.

"Actually, you returned home after being missing for almost three months. I should have been concerned about you, but things turned out this way before that. I can only say that we are, after all, 'Elson'."

"Remo sighed."

Cortriene, on the other hand, casually picked through a few and finally chose a sword that looked unusually dull.
"Use me as your opponent now. You'll fall in just five seconds, Father."

Cortriene looked at Remer on the other side of the training field and said bluntly.

Because of the vast difference between them, Cortriñe chose the other's "safety" over protecting her father's pride.

"Five seconds? You're seriously underestimating the Elson style of swordsmanship. Come to think of it, you left the Cross Hall before you even received your title. So, if you can really do that, I'll hand over my master title to you!"

"Um"

Cortriene, who didn't really need the title of Elson-style swordsmanship master, didn't say much. She simply silently counted to four after the duel officially began.
With a flash as swift as lightning.

Remer collapsed.

After a short while, Remer finally recovered and lay sprawled on the training field, gazing up at the starry sky.

"I never expected that my good daughter would be thinking of me even in those five seconds."

With incredibly mixed emotions, Remer sighed helplessly.
"'So, people can become this strong—' You know, Kurt, decades ago I was lying on the ground, and that thought crossed my mind. And the person who made me think that way back then was Roland."

Cortrienne silently walked to Remer's side, hugged her knees, and sat down next to him.

Although not as exaggerated as Roland, Remer, who is half a decade older than Roland, is already showing obvious signs of aging.

“Back then, before you were born, I actually wanted a boy.”

After calming himself down a bit, Remer said somewhat abruptly,
"You probably don't know how to respond to this so suddenly, right? It's true, the order is a bit messed up. But I think I should say this first."

After the strange pre-arranged statement, Remer, having organized his thoughts, continued his story slowly.
“When I was young, I hated Roland. In fact, I was probably one of the people who was most furious when he survived many assassination attempts.”

"Is there such a thing?"

Cortrienne was incredulous at Remer's confession.

After all, ever since Cortelene could remember, the brothers Remer and Roland had always had a very good relationship. Otherwise, Remer wouldn't have left his daughter in Roland's mansion for so long.

“That’s natural. I have three older brothers, but they either passed away early or have left the Western Regions. Simply put, among my father’s remaining children, I am the ‘eldest son’ and the best candidate to succeed him. For a long time, I never doubted that I was the next head of the Elson family. Until Roland began to show his talent and, in a very special way, forcibly obtained the title of head of the family.”

"Everyone has ambition and desires. I'm no exception. What's more, in my case, things that I believed belonged to me were taken away by Roland. So, back then, I really dreamed of taking them all back!"

As he spoke, Remer reached out and clenched his fist as if trying to grasp the starry sky, then slowly released it with a smile of relief on his face.

"However, I can't do it. Although I have some talent and earned the title of Master in the Elson style early on, Roland and I are like species from two different worlds. That feeling is really too desperate and too helpless. So, I can only place my hopes on the next generation, that is, my children."

"Looking back now, I really did something that was very unfair to your mother because my marriage partner was someone I carefully chose. My purpose was to prepare a series of events so that my wife would give birth to a child with 'superpowers,' a child whose talents were no less than Roland's, but far surpassed Roland's! And such a child would naturally be better off as a boy."

Only then did Remer explain his abrupt opening remarks earlier.

"Back then, I must have been out of my mind to actually think that this method was feasible. Or rather, Roland was just too important to me at that time. It forced me to come up with this idea. And the most ridiculous thing is that even though the process was completely wrong, now it seems that my expectations have been unexpectedly met."

Remer looked at Cortrienne. Although he was no match for Cortrienne now, he still had some judgment.

After thinking for a moment, Cortrienne nodded slightly to Remer.

Leaving aside his prime, Mr. Roland is probably already...
"However, after you were actually born, everything changed? It doesn't seem like that happened. When I came to my senses, my mind, my life, and my very being were completely occupied by that tiny figure. Looking at that face with features similar to mine, and thinking, 'Will a girl with such sharp eyes and eyebrows really have any problems in the future?' From that moment on, I completely forgot all the things I had planned to place on my child."

As if recalling the scene from that time, a nostalgic and contented smile appeared on Remer's tired face.

"Father."

Cortrienne, who had just personally taken down Remer not long ago, was somewhat at a loss for words.

"Although, from any perspective, you were quite strange when you were little. It was like something was missing, and you were always spacing out. But to me, this personality trait of my daughter is not even a 'flaw'. It's just that, even though I wanted to protect you as you grew up, 'that day' still came."

Remer let out a long sigh.

Cortriene lowered her head slightly.

That day was probably the day the "demon" in her heart began to bare its fangs.

"It wasn't until then that I truly understood that I was a weak father. I was terrified."

“No, Father is not weak. It is right that he is afraid of what I have done.”

“You’re wrong, Kurt. You don’t understand my weakness. Or rather, you don’t understand the species ‘father’.”

Remer shook his finger, interrupting Cortrienne.
"What I fear is my own weakness and vulnerability. I am so weak that I cannot be sure whether what I believe to be 'right' is right for you. I am so weak that even if I know my actions are right, I cannot bring that rightness to you. I am terrified that one day will come. Even if you want to kill others, I will only become your accomplice. I will cover for you, and even hunt for your prey. Even if the truth is eventually exposed, I will use any means necessary to drag my family and everyone else into your protection. And when I am truly driven to the brink, I will take everyone down with me and destroy them all."

"Simply because that's what you expect—"

(End of this chapter)