After Retirement, Living a Stud Life in Another World - 60

Chapter 60: Principles of Magic?

The battle on the plains concluded with a decisive victory for the kingdom. The Grand Duchy forces, dubbed “thieves in the night” by His Majesty, suffered massive casualties and retreated to their border fortresses.

“What should we do, Lutz?”

Hey, Beatrice, I’m just a stud, not a strategist. Could you stop asking me for my opinions on battles every time?

“Unlike my mother, I’m not good at warfare. That’s why I need someone to advise me. Advising the queen is the duty of the king consort.”

Well, yeah, but… I’m not good at fighting either. Shouldn’t we consult with military experts instead?

“I want Lutz’s opinion. Lutz’s words become my will.”

It’s a blunt way of putting it, but it’s not arrogance; she’s completely smitten. Whatever I say, she’ll believe and act upon it… While I can’t help but wonder if it’s appropriate for the future queen to have this attitude, as a girl, it feels incredibly endearing. But if I’m told to decide the entire army’s actions based on my opinion, well, I really need to think about it seriously.

“After all is said and done, there are still thousands of enemy troops left. If we abandon this place, they’ll just stir trouble again from behind. We should thoroughly crush them to prevent further invasion, don’t you think? The northern front should hold out for a while with my mother and His Majesty.”

“I agree. Let’s give them one more beating.”

Liese and Gretel also affirm my words. Well, Gretel probably isn’t thinking straight.

“Alright, it’s decided. We’ll capture the fortress and annihilate the Grand Duchy forces.”

Beatrice made a heavy decision surprisingly casually. Hey, Beatrice, did you really think this through on your own?

***

“By the way, what about that amazing magic?”

After finishing the meeting where we decided our strategy in a closed room, the four of us finally relaxed, helped ourselves to some sweet wine from the supplies, and took a sip. Even though Gretel and I are underage, we’ve worked harder than adults today, so we should be allowed this.

“That was… taught to me by Lutz; I couldn’t have come up with it myself.”

Liese blushed as she was praised by Beatrice, with the wine probably adding color to her cheeks. My sister is adorable in moments like this.

“Huh? Lutz can’t use magic, but he seems to know a lot about it. I heard that even Liese’s specialty, ‘Water Cutter,’ was Lutz’s idea?”

“That’s right. It’s strange that my younger brother is so well-versed in water magic… ”

Well, it’s not like that. I’m not knowledgeable about magic. In the world I came from, scientific knowledge that was common sense wasn’t known in this world… and I just thought that combining it with magic would be interesting for becoming stronger. Liese, who doesn’t spare effort or time to become stronger, and I experimented with various things.

“It was an ice sword that fell from the sky, right?”

“Yes. You can think of it as something like an ‘icicle.'”

“Liese’s power can easily turn water into the shape of a sword. However, I couldn’t think of how to freeze it.”

“Well… it’s like transforming the surface of the water shaped like a sword or spear into air, so to speak.”

That’s right, what I suggested to my sister was to vaporize some of the water to cool it and turn it into ice. Water itself doesn’t have killing power, but if it’s ice, you can just let gravity do the work and drop it, allowing for mass slaughter like today.

“Huh?” “What do you mean?”

Beatrice and Gretel voice their doubts. Well, yeah… come to think of it, trying to make people in this world understand the concept of “vaporizing water, which steals heat from its surroundings” itself is incredibly difficult. The fact that water is made up of invisible, tiny molecules and that bringing them closer turns them into water, while moving them apart turns them into water vapor, is obvious to us, but it’s probably something like “What are you talking about?” in this world.

Teaching that to my sister took a good hour. Still, the fact that it only took an hour was because, ever since that Water Cutter incident, my sister’s trust in me had skyrocketed… It wouldn’t have gone this smoothly with anyone else.

But once she grasped it, she became the continent’s best in water magic. She effortlessly stripped water molecules from the surface of the spear formed from water on a molecular level, forcibly vaporizing it, and changed it from a “water spear” to an “ice spear.” And today, she displayed a god-like feat, raining countless ice spears down upon tens of thousands of enemy soldiers. Maybe I came up with the idea, but it was only possible with my sister’s monstrous level of magical power and control… I haven’t done anything special. Oh well, maybe I should ask for royalties for that idea later.

“Hmm, more strange knowledge. Lutz is a mysterious man… But that’s what makes him attractive.”

“Yes, Lutz has given me pride as a wizard with his knowledge. He feels like a different being from the brother I once knew. Almost like a prophet sent from the heavens…”

Ugh, Liese’s praise is too heavy. Sure, being praised by my beloved sister makes me happy, but… ever since I taught her ice magic, it feels like her gaze towards me has turned into the eyes of a disciple towards their revered leader, and it’s really bothering me. As if sensing my thoughts, she continued.

“Lutz, you’re not just a family member to me; you’re an irreplaceable person… After all, you’re the man who has painted my once gray life in vivid colors.”

Being pierced by such fervent, teary eyes directed at me as her brother, I could only stand there flustered. Beatrice and Gretel aren’t showing any signs of helping either… What am I supposed to do!