When I was working as a civil servant, I was found out to be a muscle-brained knight by the princess knight and got sent to the front lines - Episode 126

Episode 126

After breaking through the outer edge of the battlefield where the 5th Legion and the monster army were clashing head-on, Erin and her group finally arrived at the ancient ruins. According to Lucretia, there was no doubt that Victor was inside.

The ancient ruins were vast, spanning a wide area, and their structure was complex. Finding one person within them would not be an easy task. Having come all the way from the capital, they couldn’t afford to let Victor escape now.

Victor had previously appeared in the capital out of nowhere, descending from the sky, and disappeared just as quickly amidst the confusion. Considering his movements, it was likely he was using some form of advanced magic or conceptual armament.

When facing Victor, the most crucial thing to keep in mind was not to fall behind. If one did, they would be overwhelmed by his inventive strategies and superior technical skill. 

The key strategy against Victor was to strike first—victory through initiative. The Alchemis family had been trying to deal with Victor for a long time and understood this in theory. But taking swift action was easier said than done.

However, Miriam Stonewell was different. Her decision-making was quick, and she never hesitated. Although she was an excellent technician at the academy, it was her boldness that truly set her apart. Thanks to this decisive nature, she had been able to directly confront and correct Victor’s reckless behavior since their school days. She forced him to apologize to various parties.

The Magic Jammer incident was no different. While it might have been wiser to study the ancient ruins a bit more before using the device, Miriam understood that delaying would only give Victor a chance to escape. Some of the other academy members accompanying her had tried to caution her, but she didn’t need to be told. She knew full well that hesitation would mean losing Victor.

They had to defeat him before he realized they were there—otherwise, they would be playing into his hands. And this time, Princess René and Jez’s lives were on the line. There was no room for delayed decisions.

It had been several weeks since they left the capital. Erin, though maintaining a brave front, had lost both her master and someone dear to her. Miriam had seen her work tirelessly, pushing herself to the brink of exhaustion these past few weeks. 

With her best friend working so hard, it was only natural that Miriam would want to do everything in her power to help. This was why, as soon as they arrived at the ancient ruins, she immediately installed and activated the Magic Jammer with the intent of securing a victory.

The Magic Jammer was still incomplete, but it represented the pinnacle of Miriam’s research efforts since joining the academy. Its potential was clear to anyone who studied it. Due to the nature of her research, it had been classified as a state secret by King Ramses himself.

For this mission, she had received the king’s approval to bring the device. There were still many challenges to overcome before it could be mass-produced, such as its size, assembly, runtime, and target settings. However, its ability to precisely affect a specific individual made it a highly beneficial technology. If it could be fully developed, it had the potential to revolutionize magical technology.

After confirming the successful activation of the Magic Jammer, Miriam nodded once. 

“Erin! The Magic Jammer is working perfectly! It’s up to you now!”

“Thanks! Strike team, follow me!!!”

Leaving one-third of her forces behind to guard Miriam and the other academy members, Erin charged into the ancient ruins. She was determined to capture Victor. 

Erin, Lilly, Lucretia, Edelmar, Jamil, and Fatima advanced in attack formation, their goal finally within reach—the elusive alchemist was now within their grasp.

・　・　・

“Whoooaaa!!! This is seriously no joke!?”

Victor was caught off guard by the effects of the Magic Jammer. He found himself suddenly unable to use magic or magical tools properly. And for once, he was panicking.

Even the avatar he had connected to Earth through split-thought was malfunctioning. He had transferred control of the conceptual armaments on that side to Princess René and Jez in case of emergencies, so there shouldn’t be any issues there. But he never expected to need to rely on such a contingency. 

While things were heating up on the Earth side as well, Victor realized he couldn’t afford to focus on that now.

Victor felt an odd sensation, a discomfort he couldn’t quite shake. Could it be that Miriam had completed her Magic Jammer? He speculated as much.

Victor wasn’t fully up-to-date on the latest developments of the Magic Jammer. However, knowing Miriam’s interests since their school days, her graduation thesis, and her publicly available research after joining the academy, he could roughly guess what she had been working on. He could predict this, but still—using such a device out of the blue in a situation like this? That was a bit much, and it left him in quite a bind.

Despite his predicament, Victor the alchemist still seemed to maintain a slight air of confidence even as he continued to flee. After all, he had anticipated scenarios where he might be unable to use magic. 

Sure, it was a dangerous situation, and yes, he had been completely thrown off when his magic suddenly stopped working. But once he understood what was happening, he calmed down. It wasn’t the first time he had faced a situation where he couldn’t use magic—running out of magical power had the same effect. Especially when acting alone, he had to be prepared for such contingencies.

Before resorting to the use of Seven-Bull, Victor pulled out some single-use magical tools he had prepared in advance to fend off the pursuing demons. These tools didn’t rely on his magical power; instead, they operated by gathering the ambient mana from the air. It functions like batteries. Although they were significantly less powerful than normal magic, they were far better than nothing.

However, something strange was happening with the demons. Despite their superior ability to handle magic compared to humans, they too seemed affected by the sudden shift in the environment. 

As Victor raced through the ancient ruins, he noticed this change in the demons’ behavior. But before he could fully process it, he heard a fierce shout.

“Victooooorrrrr!!!”

Erin charged at him with her blade drawn. Her face was filled with terrifying intensity. Victor was genuinely startled. The situation had now reached its final stage.