Chapter 22 – Cheater
05-22 Cheater
“Jin-kun!”
Elsa cried who knows how many times.
Finally, Jin raised his head.
“Elsa, Reinhardt, sorry for the trouble. Valentino, let’s settle things.”
“Heheh, are you prepared?”
Valentino boasted arrogantly, while Jin stood relaxed. Reiko didn’t move.
“Alright, Albus, break his neck.”
Valentino gave out the ruthless order.
“Stop!”
Reinhardt tried to stop Albus, but there was no way it could be stopped by a flesh-and-blood human, and he was sent flying.
“I won’t let you hurt Jin-kun!”
Elsa too stepped forth to protect Jin, but Jin gently pushed her aside by the shoulder..
“Thank you, Elsa. Thank you, Reinhardt. But I’ll finish this myself.”
Jin said and took a step forward.
“Come.”,
He invited Albus.
“Die!”
With Valentino’s shout, Albus attacked.
“Kyaa!”
Elsa closed her eyes. Reinhardt also averted his eyes, but then opened them wide to see the spectacle that followed.
“[Barrier]”
“Wha- what…?”
Albus’s hands were about to grasp Jin’s head, but they stopped just 50 centimeters away, unable to touch him.
144
“What is this! You bastard! What did you do!?”
Jin replied in an indifferent voice,
“It’s just a simple physical defense barrier.”
But Valentino’s grin only got wider and he laughed,
“Ha, hahah, you seem to be using some kind of Magi Tool for defense, but I wonder how long can it last? Albus can move without recharging for two or three days!”
Hearing that Jin smiled and humphed,
“Oh, is that so. You didn’t bring an Ether Converter after all?”
“What are you saying!?”
Jin then faced Reiko and gave her instructions.
“Reiko, after I’ve neutralized this thing, could you see that Valentino doesn’t escape?”
“What the… You bastard, what are you talking about…”
Valentino was confused as he couldn’t understand Jin’s attitude or what he was talking about.
Jin didn’t pay him any attention and applied the Magi Language he had learned from the earlier analysis.
“[Erase]”
In an instant, Albus freezed.
“[Write In]”
Albus began to move again. But instead of Jin, it faced Valentino.
“Wha- how- what’s wrong!? Albus, he’s that way! Not this way! Do- don’t come hereeeeee!”
No matter how much Valentino ordered, Albus didn’t stop, and soon caught Valentino.
Snapping sounds could be heard as the bones in Valentino’s both arms were broken by Albus’s grip.
After that, Albus trampled on Valentino’s right foot.
“G-gyaaAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!”
“Oh, that’s bad.”
In a hurry, Jin said,
“[Standstill]”,
Realizing that without saying the Keyword, soon Valentino’s arms may get torn off.
And yet, Valentino foamed at the mouth and lost consciousness from the pain of having the bones of his arms and foot broken.
“*Huff* That was a bit tiring.”
Jin took a deep breath.
“Elsa, excuse me but could you give that guy some simple healing magic?”,
He asked. But Elsa replied,
“Why? He tried to kill Jin-kun. So even if he was killed by you no one could complain.”
To which Jin said,
“Mm. It’s just my selfishness. It would be troubling to let him die like this. I want to have him pay for his crimes properly.”
Elsa tilted her head a bit and said,
“I understand. You mean healing and then hurting him again. The repetition will work as punishment.”
A terrifying line like that came out.
After hearing it, while thinking that she’s indeed a person from this world, Jin tried to calm her down,
“Elsa, a cute girl like you shouldn’t be saying such savage things.”
For an instant, Elsa’s face turned red… Or so it felt.
“…Okay. For now, I’ll give him pain relief. [Schmerzmittel].”
Looks like the pain’s gone for now, but his arms are still twisted into a strange shape.
“Reiko, put splints on his arms and then tie him up.”
Reiko enthusiastically followed instructions when her turn to act finally came.
She was too enthusiastic and moved the broken arms so forcibly that Valentino let out a groan of pain, even though he was still affected by [Schmerzmittel].
Even Valentino’s mouth was gagged, and his arrest was completed.
“Next, what we’re going to do with this guy.”
Reinhardt managed the situation afterwards.
“He’s an internationally wanted criminal, so I think it would be best to take him to Elias Kingdom.”
“Sure, that sounds fine.”
But, since the group didn’t have the resources to do it, the second best option of choosing some appropriate muscle to escort Valentino back to Egelia Kingdom was chosen.
“Ahh, one of the carriages was broken to pieces.”
The carriage carrying food and water was destroyed by the golems.
They collected the salvageable food scattered about, but most of the water went to waste.
“Looks like it’s impossible to make it to the town of Phantol by today. Let’s go to the nearby Rufaat Village for water supplies today.”
Because Schwarz Ritter couldn’t be repaired here, the captured Albus carried him all the way to Rufaat Village.
In the carriage where Schwarz Ritter had been, the available space was used for the surviving food.
That’s that.
Afterwards, as the discussion about what to do with the boulder that blocked the road was about to begin.
“Aah, what a bother. Reiko, smash it.”,
Jin ordered somewhat recklessly.
“Yes, Father!”
Reiko, who hadn’t been able to do much gladly walked towards the boulder and hit it in silence.
The rock of about three meters in diameter crumbled apart. It goes without saying that except for Jin, the faces of everyone watching became stiff.
Reiko started picking up the boulder pieces and tossing them like wastepaper all the way to the other side of the cliff to clear the road.
While Reiko was tidying up the boulder pieces, Reinhardt turned to Jin.
“So, Jin, could you tell me all about that magic in detail?”
Then, Elsa approached too. It wasn’t particularly a secret matter, and thinking ahead, on the contrary it needs to be spread as a countermeasure.
“Got it. First of all, the magic that Albus used was a kind of Craft Magic called [Overwrite].”
Its purpose is to prevent the proper execution of the original instructions by overwriting the Control Core, he explained.
[Erase] and [Write In] were the results of analyzing that process.
“Bu- but how is such a thing possible without even touching the Magic Crystal!?”
Reinhardt’s surprise was no wonder. That’s because the common knowledge was that without contact, or in other words, without touching, it was impossible to inscribe the intricate and precise Magi Formula onto a Magi Crystal.
“Oh, that’s a mystery. Should we take a look?”
Reinhardt was assisting in the investigation of Albus, and then,
“Hey, Jin! This is it!”
What Reinhardt found was a shining light blue gemstone. No, Magi Crystal.
“This is Elradrite.”
It was a gem that amplified magic. Using its special characteristics, normally impossible amounts of Magic Energy could be produced, and it would even be possible to [Overwrite] without contact.
“I see, it’s done like this.”
The two accepted that as explanation.
“I wonder how come Jin was able to perform the feat that was only possible after amplification.”,
Reinhardt admired.
“It wasn’t simple. Even having analyzed the method, it wouldn’t have been possible without accumulating and storing Magic Energy.”
Jin explained when Reinhardt muttered something.
With the bracelet’s protection, he was able to relax and gain time, he said.
“But I was worried.”,
Said Elsa who had neared them at some point, and Jin apologized honestly.
“Then, after I understood the process, I faced Albus and applied it on him instead. First I removed the Magi Formula with [Erase], then using [Write In] wrote instructions to catch Valentino.”
The explanation ended with Jin saying that because of the distance, he wasn’t able to write the Magi Formula precisely and the end result was broken bones.
“Well, the bone business was just him reaping what he sowed.”
Reinhardt said, hinting that Jin shouldn’t worry about it.
“Father, the boulder has been disposed of.”
Exactly then Reiko was finished with the boulder, and the road looked clear to pass.
“Okay, let’s depart.”
They were already in Egelia Kingdom.
The group set their sight towards Rufaat Village.
The thin clouds in the sky showed that spring was near.