The Villainous Noble Son Wants to Capture His Stepsister! - Chapter 9

Suddenly, I’d like to talk about magic in this world.

In this world, almost everyone has the ability to use magic. However, the number of people who can actually make a living solely through magic is surprisingly low.

The reason comes down to two factors: “mana capacity” and “magic aptitude.”

Mana capacity is exactly what it sounds like—the amount of mana a person possesses. This is largely determined by talent and is mostly fixed at birth.

It can increase slightly as the body matures, but significant changes are rare.

Magic aptitude, on the other hand, refers to a person’s affinity for specific magic attributes.

Attempting to use magic outside one’s affinity drastically increases mana consumption, making it difficult—if not impossible—to cast.

Most people fall into one of the four basic elemental categories: fire, water, wood, or earth. However, there are also rarer attributes like light and darkness.

Regardless of status—noble or commoner—anyone aged seven or older can have their mana capacity and magic aptitude tested at a church.

Naturally, as the heir of a duke’s family, I had mine tested the moment I turned seven.

Mana capacity: below average.
Magic aptitude: water.

Ugh, don’t call me average!

If I were the overpowered protagonist of a fantasy novel, I’d be shouting, “Water Lance!” or “Water Dragon!” while effortlessly obliterating my enemies.

But with my low mana, that wasn’t happening.

Creating water from nothing consumed an absurd amount of magic, so there was no way I’d be conjuring a massive water dragon anytime soon. At best, I could throw water balls at people and leave them soaking wet.

Oh yeah, Kraut did that in the game too…

By the way, in Swords, Magic, and Flower Crowns, the protagonist’s mana capacity is above average and their magic aptitude is all attributes.

Dude, could you sell me half of that talent?

Anyway, long story short—I had no talent for either swords or magic.

But regardless of talent, I had to become stronger.

If I couldn’t rely on just swords or just magic, then I had to combine everything I had— including the knowledge from my previous life—to find some way forward.

That’s what I had been thinking about.

◇

“Iai… is it?”

“Yes. Iai.”

I stood across from Heliotrope in the training grounds.

She held a practice wooden sword, while I gripped the katana I had acquired the day before.

“Iai is, in the simplest terms, the act of drawing the sword quickly and striking in a single motion.”

Of course, what I was about to attempt wasn’t exactly traditional Iai.

But that didn’t matter.

What mattered was mastering a single technique to its absolute limit.

Just draw faster, strike sharper.

That was all I could do.

Something like “A flawless two-stage attack with no openings!” was a pipe dream for me.

“…I don’t see how that would be practical in real combat.”

Heliotrope’s skepticism was completely reasonable.

After all, even I had no idea if this would actually work.

The entire concept was based purely on fictional imagery—any actual expert would probably lose their mind watching me.

“Well, well! The only way to find out is to try! Come at me without fear!”

I positioned myself.

My left hand gripped the sheath’s koiguchi (mouth), while my right hand firmly grasped the hilt.

I stepped back slightly with my left foot and bent my knees lightly.

As the saying goes, ‘If you will it, it shall be done.’

Since Iai didn’t exist in this world (probably), the only way to introduce it was to try it myself.

No hesitation. Just a flash of lightning—cutting down anything that dares stand before me!

“I have no fear—not even a shred. Then, here I come.”

Despite wearing a maid uniform (and a long skirt, no less!), Heliotrope charged in with a sharp step.

A downward slash from above!

I braced myself and focused all my strength.

Then—

I filled the inside of my scabbard with water using magic.

“Ah.”

“Ah.”

The blade, propelled by sudden water pressure, shot out of the scabbard at high speed—

…and flew right out of my hand.

A new sensation Iai that would shock even Battōsai.

“Abeshi!!”

A powerful blow to my head followed.

And with that, my consciousness faded into darkness.

In hindsight…

Why did I think it was a good idea to test a new technique without any practice?

…Well, I was excited about getting my first katana. That’s probably it.