The Abandoned Saint I Picked Up is a Side Character in an Otome Game and Turns Out to Be the World's Strongest Mage. I Plan to Rescue the Heroine Who Couldn't Achieve Her Happy Ending in a Dungeon. - Chapter 9

While cheerfully firing capsaicin shells toward the academy grounds, we finally ran into the guards patrolling the area.

As luck would have it, the leader of the group turned out to be one of the game’s love interests, leaving me momentarily at a loss for how to respond.

“What is your goal!? Why are you pulling these pranks on the academy!?”

The speaker was none other than Roland von Andarencia, the crown prince and one of the most popular love interests in Under the Shining Starry Sky.

With his golden hair, piercing blue eyes, and a strong sense of justice, he was the epitome of a noble protagonist.

Ariel had pulled her hood low to hide her face, so it was unlikely he would recognize her immediately.

But even so, it was only a matter of time before he figured it out.

Now, what should I do?

“Ariel, how should we—”

“Take this!”

Before I—or Roland and his guards—could react, Ariel made the first move.

She conjured a glowing orb of magic and hurled it at Roland with impeccable precision.

Her throwing form was so perfect it could rival that of a professional baseball player, and I couldn’t help but let out an involuntary gasp of admiration.

Roland must have assumed the glowing orb was some sort of attack.

He quickly twisted his body to dodge it—but—

“!?!”

Bang!

With a deafening roar, the orb exploded in a blinding flash of light that seared into everyone’s retinas.

It was essentially a flashbang spell. Roland and his guards recoiled, groaning in pain.

“Argh! My eyes!”

“Ugh, what was that!?”

Unfortunately for me, I hadn’t realized Ariel could use flashbang-like spells, so I ended up staring directly into the light as well.

“Ahhh! My eyes!!”

“I… I’m so sorry, Endo-san,” Ariel said apologetically, though I had no idea where she was standing.

But at the moment, there was something far more pressing on my mind.

“Ariel, how did you do that just now?! Teach me that blinding spell!”

“Later. For now, let’s get out of here.”

“Don’t say that! Just give me the basic theory—”

Before I could finish, someone—likely Ariel—grabbed my arm and started pulling me along.

Behind us, Roland’s voice echoed.

“Wait! Stop right there!”

“No one ever stops when told to wait,” Ariel retorted coolly.

“Y-you… could it be…?”

“…So you’ve finally realized,” Ariel muttered.

I couldn’t see a thing, but it seemed Roland had figured out Ariel’s identity.

As much as I, as a gamer, would love to witness the interaction between Ariel and Roland, there were more immediate concerns.

The hand gripping my arm was trembling slightly.

“Are you alright, Ariel?”

“You should be more worried about yourself, Endo-san—”

“No, I’m not talking about my eyes. Your hand is shaking.”

“…You noticed. I was trying not to let my nerves show, but I guess it’s not enough to fool you.”

To be honest, I couldn’t help but think we should eliminate Roland, given that he likely ordered people to target Ariel’s life.

Ariel, however, wouldn’t approve of a lethal solution.

Her actions were strictly revenge disguised as mischief.

For Ariel, the priority wasn’t killing anyone but disrupting the academy’s future activities.

Because of that, retreat took precedence over combat—for now.

That was the plan, at least. But things don’t always go as smoothly as you’d hope.

“There they are!!”

“Surround them! They’re just two people!”

“Don’t underestimate them! One’s a magician, and the other’s a sorcerer!”

It seemed our constant harassment of the academy over the past few days had drawn a massive number of guards, now swarming toward us from every direction.

“This is… not good,” Ariel muttered.

“Should I just take them all out?” I offered.

“Only as an absolute last resort,” she replied.

“Got it.”

Killing them all would undoubtedly be easier, but Ariel was adamantly against it, so I held back.

Still, we had to do something.

“Blessing of Light.”

“Oh? Ohhh! Incredible!”

“I’ve enhanced your physical abilities, Endo-san. I can’t do much if they get too close, so I’m counting on you to handle the front line.”

The moment Ariel finished her chant, my body felt as light as a feather.

The spell was a buff magic that, in the game, Ariel only learned in the mid-to-late stages. All that power-leveling in the dungeons had clearly paid off.

I transmuted two revolver-style handguns and took aim.

But these weren’t ordinary revolvers.

While they looked like the ones I’d used before, they were, in reality, beam guns. Attached beneath the barrels were devices that emitted beams in the shape of sabers.

These were my latest masterpieces.

“Alright, let’s do this!”

I charged into the swarm of soldiers, slicing and firing away with my beam sabers.

The beams weren’t particularly lethal; they only caused a mild “it’s a bit hot” sensation on human skin. But when it came to cutting through metal armor, they worked wonders.

I couldn’t help but think, Where did physics go? But then again, magic exists to make the impossible possible.

No point dwelling on it.

“Ugh! Wh-what is this guy!?”

“Watch out for those light swords! They’ll destroy your armor and weapons!”

“Tch! Then let’s go for the girl first—”

The soldiers must have realized they couldn’t handle me and decided to shift their focus to Ariel.

Unfortunately for them, they were already too late.

“Thunder of Heaven’s Light!”

In an instant, countless bolts of lightning rained down on the soldiers.

Though Ariel seemed to have reduced the spell’s power significantly, the soldiers were still hit hard enough to be out of commission for days.

With the enemy subdued, Ariel exhaled a sigh of relief.

“That was amazing,” I said.

“It’s only because you held them off for me, Endo-san. Now, let’s get out of here.”

“Yeah, let’s—”

Just as I was about to run, someone stepped in front of us.

A woman with blazing red hair tied into a ponytail stood in our way, clad in a striking set of dress armor.

She was beautiful, her figure rivaling Ariel’s, complete with an impressive bust.

And I recognized her immediately.

“That woman…”

“Wow, we ran into her here of all places,” I muttered.

Her name was Christiana.

She was the captain of the Andarencia Kingdom’s knight order—and the mother of one of the game’s love interests.

Her personality? Well…

“I was off-duty today, but… you two look so strong! Come on, let’s fight!”

As you can see.

Christiana was a born battle maniac—a berserker who couldn’t resist challenging anyone who seemed strong.