“Hi, I guess? Look, I just came back from a long trip, do you mind if we continue this conversation later?” I asked.
Parson’s eyebrows shot up, “Well certainly, I know what it feels like to have a stranger butt in on your life…... By all means, take your time.”
“Thank you!” I said, smiling.
I walked into my house and immediately collapsed. “Ahhhhh!” I said, “Finally I’m free! All that summoning and stuff wore me out!”
“Princess? May I prepare a cup of tea?” One of the maids that worked for me called.
“Tea? Yeah, that’d be great!” I replied.
“Very well, it shall be ready in a few minutes.” She said.
I lounged on the couch, tired to the bone. “Amber!” I called.
There was a flash of movement and the yellow-haired demon appeared. She bowed, “Master!”
“Okay! Razana gave us a break today but we have to step up our game tomorrow when we get back to work! You need to put up a good example for your juniors!” I said.
Amber displayed a carefree smile, “Of course master! I shall do my very best.”
I shot her a doubting look. “Okay, go on then,” I said.
I drank my tea and then took a long long nap in my room.
The next day I was right back to work. Razana had taken care of my work well in my absence, but there were some pressing matters I still had to take care of. One was the creation of new noble houses in my new territory. Now that we had absorbed the entirety of the autonomous region, we had to have new rulers installed. So I quickly wrote letters of peerage to the various rulers of the territories, each one investigated thoroughly by Jana and the black knights for their loyalty and perseverance.
I was finishing up the last of the letters when someone barged into my room. It was Auren and Halien.
Claudia, my personal favorite with her beautiful silver hair, became my assistant and secretary. It seemed as if many people held that job nowadays, but I had such a large workload that I needed her, or that’s what I told Traya.
“Master! I seem to find that many people around here work, and that yellow does too!” Auren said.
“That’s right, we were wondering when we were going to be put to work, I can’t stand the fact that Yellow is in a higher position than us!” Halien said.
I sighed and looked up at them, “What? Can’t you just use your brain a little bit and find something to do?” I asked.
Their jaws dropped. “I mean, Lena’s out there training with the Knight Corps, she didn’t need any prompting. I was kind of expecting a little more from the greatest aboriginal demons…” I said.
Auren tried desperately to save face, “M-master! I apologize, I shall find something to do that will awe and shock you! Purely on my own!” He said.
“That’s for me too! Master, I shall find a suitable occupation for myself!” Halien said.
“That’s great, now get out of here….” I said, turning my attention back to my work.
They scurried off. And I finished up my work.
Around dinner time I prepared to meet Parson. I wore some nice evening clothes and met him at the dining hall in my house.
Parson was tall and well dressed when I saw them. They had gotten rid of the big shield and sat with grace and nobility.
“I’ll be the first one to talk,” Parson said, “I heard about you from Ballaith, you're the hero of magic.”
“Last I checked,” I said with a grin
“If you are not aware, I do know what you learned from Ballaith. I am hoping I can have your assistance.” They said,
“For what?” I asked.
“As you know, the heroes must fight the destructive angels that fall from the heavens. Many of the heroes nowadays do not know this and have become corrupted by mankind’s feelings of greed and ambition. For example, the hero of the sword has become a king through his power and the heroes of the ax and hammer are vassals of a northern kingdom.” Parson went on, “If Ballaith taught you the things he taught me then he must have acknowledged you as worthy of fighting for humanity.”
“That honors me,” I said.
“Well yes, but I would like to take you on to judge your power. They say the hero of magic is one of the strongest heroes of all, and as far as I am concerned all I have heard about you is your governing and commanding ability rather than your strength.” Parson said, “Therefore, I ask to have a duel with you.”
I contemplated If I did what they asked I could accurately gauge my strength against another combat-oriented hero. It sounded good to me.
“Okay, I’m in, just don’t hurt anyone and try and keep the collateral damage out of the table,” I said.
Parson laughed, “I am the hero of the shield, no one will get hurt in our battle, not even you. Ballaith can heal you if you get scraped.”
“Alright,” I said. We made plans to fight tomorrow outside of the city walls. Traya protested on the account that I might get hurt but after Ballaith said he would be on standby she had to relent. Parson went to a guest room to rest and I went to bed early.
The next morning was a bright, clear day. It was a little chilly but overall it was good weather for a duel.
We went to an empty field a few miles from the city wall. Parson was wearing their adventurer gear. A large shield on the right arm and leather armor.
I wore my adventurer gear from back in the day but enhanced by William and Aurelius. My leather armor and cloak were made stronger than steel. I ditched my staff after I learned intrinsic mana manipulation that let me forgo spells and chanting. I could manipulate the mana around me like my own arm, so I think I was pretty well equipped.
Parson stood a few meters away from me. “Get ready, I am a Z+-rank adventurer you know.”
A Z+ rank? That was the highest rank that an adventurer could reach. I suppose that’s what you get for being a hero.
“Let’s start this off! Eternal Shield!” Parson said this was a physical magic spell that concentrated mana into a solid dome. The large shield covered the area. Enveloping us and the bystanders, Herbert, Traya, Razana in a force field. “This will keep anyone from getting hurt. I’m assuming your friends can fend for themselves.”
I smiled, “I’m sure they can, they’re pretty strong.”
Parson laughed, “I know,” They said.
“Now let’s get started for real.” They said with a fearsome gaze.
They clapped their hands together and a bunch of shields appeared in the air around me. “Ahhhh!” They yelled and with a wave of their hands the shields all charged at me.
“Damn,” I said. I started running and activated physical enhancement magic. This was simple physical magic that reinforced your body depending on the amount of mana you possessed.
The shields were racing towards me at an alarming speed. Even if they were blunt weapons, a bash from one of them would be enough to break my skull.
I quickly made a strong earthen wall and that only barely managed to protect me as it smashed into pieces while I ran backward.
I manipulated the mana around me to make spears of fire into the spell I knew well, Fire javelin. Throwing 100 spears of pure fire I cast wind magic to make them accelerate faster.
Parson made a shield around themself but a few javelins with a bunch of magic behind them penetrated and burned them.
Surprisingly, Parson laughed, “It's been a long time since someone has been able to wound me, you're the real deal!” They said,
“Did you doubt me?” I asked.
“Maybe, but you have the confidence of a veteran adventurer, I admire that.” They replied.
I advanced to attack again, this time conjuring shafts of light along with fire. I was about to cast a mixed elemental spell, Holy Javelin.
Again, a hundred spears appeared and were aimed at Parson. This time Parson was ready. They had made several layers of barriers around them, so I supercharged the spears with as much mana as I could then released them with a burst of high-level wind magic.
Right before they hit the barriers Parson let out a war cry. The barriers were drowned in a flash of light but when the smoke cleared Parson was left standing.
Giving me no time to think they launched a counterattack, sending waves of shields at me. These were the hero of the shield’s special magical skills.
I had to dodge every last one of them, I had poured so much mana into my physical advancement that even my near limitless mana pool was running dry.
Think! I yelled at myself, Nora, did you have any plan?
So now you come and consult me, well you're in luck because there is one flaw in this Parson’s strategy. All they do is send waves of shields at you and if you manage to catch your breath it is immediately on the defensive. You must attack while dodging. They can only attack you or defend themselves, not do both. If you manage to attack while fleeing their attacks then you might be able to win.
Wow, that was surprisingly helpful.
What do you mean surprisingly?!?!?!
I ignored Nora’s last statement and concentrated. I pushed my mind to the limits and fired off a spell in Parson’s direction. Surprised, they had no time to react, barely managing to dodge.
While disoriented, I regained my footing and fired off spell after spell, giving no time for Parson to make a shield or attack.
I cornered them into a tight spot and then held out my hand for the finishing blow.
They raised their hand, “Stop, you’ve won, I acknowledge you as an equal and a worthy comrade of the heroes.” They said.
I stopped and breathed, “Took you long enough,” I said.
“It was worth it, I see you're not just a good governor, but also a good warrior. That’s the best of both worlds. You have the brain and the brawn.”
I smiled wryly, wiping off my sweat, “Thanks, can we go rest now?” I asked.
Parson laughed, “Of course, you are the princess of these parts, you can do anything.”
ns 15.158.61.50da2
