novelraw Chapter 164
Chapter 164
Ch.164 Cecilia just looked unimpressed.
With the entire Hero Party now staying at my mansion, things grew lively.
Leah and Cecilia played with Aria, filling the house with laughter, while Scarlet and Mia often went into town.
And I…
“Work never ends.”
Giovanni took vacation, leaving me buried in paperwork.
Seeing the towering stack of documents on my desk, I sighed.
“Sigh…”
Did I make a mistake sending Giovanni on vacation?
I wanted to call him back—but it felt wrong to interrupt his rare break.
—Creak!
As I envied Giovanni, the office door cracked open slightly.
Aria’s cute, white-haired face peeked through the gap.
“Brother? What are you doing?”
“I’m working.”
“Are you busy?”
Her curious eyes and sweet voice made me shake my head.
“Not really. What is it?”
“The sisters want to go on a picnic nearby—come with us!”
Such a kind-hearted girl.
She must worry about me cooped up alone.
But Aria… if I join, it’ll turn into a bloodbath.
Those women claim to hate me—but they’re really just competing.
And me stepping between them?
That’s like dousing myself in gasoline and jumping into fire.
“Haha, I’ve got too much to do. Can’t today.”
Aria tiptoed over and pouted.
“But Brother, why are you always in this room?”
“Lots to do.”
She stuck out her lip.
“Staying inside all day is bad for your health!”
Honestly, going out right now would be worse for my health.
Still, knowing she came here out of concern made it hard to brush her off.
How could I tell this pure-hearted child that her ‘sisters’ stage love-triangle drama over me?
I lost my innocence long ago—but I wanted to protect hers.
I gently ruffled Aria’s hair.
“I’d love to go with you, but as the steward of this land, I have many documents to review today.”
She smiled happily as I petted her head.
“Umm…”
She looked confused—maybe my explanation was too complex.
Despite being over a thousand years old, she was still very much a child.
I lifted her onto my lap.
“See this?”
“Yeah!”
“Signing or stamping these is my job. This is how our people stay happy.”
Aria pondered, then brightened.
“Then Brother, can I use magic to do your work for you?”
“Huh? How?”
She pounded her fist on her palm like a stamp.
“I’ll magically stamp ‘all’ the papers! Then you can come play!”
“No, that won’t work. I have to check each one for errors. You can’t just stamp blindly.”
How could she approve documents without reading them?
Even if I skimmed reports later, blindly approving unknown content was absurd.
Aria looked dejected.
Though unhelpful, her concern touched me.
“You’re the only one who thinks about me.”
Everyone else just pressures me.
Lately, even Aria keeps urging me to figure out how to seduce Selena.
How am I supposed to persuade her?
She’s not just any woman—she’s a fanatical Church of Death follower who kills without hesitation for her god.
No solution seemed possible.
“Hehe! Do you like me, Brother?”
“Of course—you’re the best, Aria.”
She beamed.
“I have a secret—I like you more than the sisters!”
“Our Aria really knows people!”
‘Those girls are dangerous—of course I’m your favorite.’
As I thought this, Aria hopped off my lap.
“I’ll go on the picnic with the sisters then!”
“Okay. Be careful.”
After she left, I silently returned to work.
***
An hour after Aria left…
—Knock knock.
“Come in.”
The door opened to reveal Icira.
“Oh? Finished your work?”
Icira frowned at my words.
“The spell is done. I haven’t slept properly for nights.”
She looked surprisingly fresh for someone who’d pulled all-nighters.
“You look fine.”
She tossed her hair.
“Just look. I’m actually exhausted.”
“Really? Is the spell complete?”
“Yes. But there’s a problem.”
Her unexpected reply made me ask,
“What problem?”
“It’s beyond human capability to cast.”
“What?”
She created a spell humans can’t use—what’s the point?
Annoyed, I snapped,
“We don’t need that!”
Icira gave me a half-lidded stare.
“Don’t you have Altarion’s Staff? With it, your student should be able to cast the spell.”
“Altarion’s Staff?”
The Concept Artifact that allows casting of any spell.
“You want us to channel your spell through Altarion’s Staff?”
She nodded.
“The staff enables any spell—so mine should work too.”
She had a point.
For example, teleportation requires mana beyond human limits—but Altarion’s Staff makes it possible.
But would it work for a dragon-created spell?
Even if divine, could it manifest a completely new spell?
“Will it really work?”
“We’ll have to test it.”
Seeing her confidence, I nodded.
“Fine. What’s the spell called?”
She shrugged.
“Didn’t name it. Call it Flame Bind.”
A hastily coined name—uninspired.
“Anyway, where’s your student?”
“He went picnicking with Aria earlier.”
“Good. Let’s go. Teleport.”
Icira chanted the incantation—and our surroundings blurred.
“Huh?”
“Master?”
“Mom!”
On a hilltop, the women and Aria sat on a picnic blanket.
Aria ran into her mother’s arms with a bright smile.
“Hehe! Did you and Brother come for the picnic too?”
“We came for work. Were you having fun?”
“Yeah! The sisters made delicious food!”
“Behaving well with them?”
“Of course!”
As mother and daughter embraced,
Leah asked, “Master, what’s the matter?”
Dangerous female gazes locked onto me.
“Oh! I came to test the spell to capture Roy.”
“Really?!”
Leah perked up.
“But there’s a catch—it’s not human-castable.”
Leah’s face fell into disbelief.
She frowned at Icira.
“How do we cast it then?”
“Altarion’s Staff exists, doesn’t it?”
Prompted, I pulled the staff from my spatial bag.
“What’s this?”
Handing it to Leah, her eyes sparkled.
“This is divine power?!”
“Yes. Altarion’s Staff—the artifact that lets you cast any spell.”
Leah looked unimpressed.
“Isn’t this… too overpowered for divine power?”
“Nothing’s more broken than Altarion’s Staff.”
When Roy had it, he was a nightmare—always escaping, always sniping from range.
Lucky we recovered it in time.
“So how do I cast the new spell?”
All eyes turned to me.
“Just say the activation phrase or spell name.”
In-game, you’d assign spells to hotkeys—but here, you visualize and chant.
“What’s the name?”
“Temporarily, it’s Flame Bind.”
Leah scowled.
“That’s a terrible name.”
“The name doesn’t matter.”
“Well… true.”
Leah aimed the staff at the sky.
“Can I cast it now?”
“Go ahead.”
“Flame Bind!”
Rings of fire slowly materialized in the air.
“What’s this?”
“These rings will bind the King of the Dead.”
“But it’s so slow.”
Watching the rings form, I asked Icira.
She nodded.
“Unavoidable. It combines too many magical principles.”
She meant: this is the best we can do.
“Then how does it actually bind?”
“You’ll see when you use it.”
We scanned the area—only the Hero Party, Aria, and Icira were nearby.
“Master, how about that tree?”
Leah pointed to the woods.
“Shall we test it on a tree?”
“Yes. I’m curious how it works.”
“Go ahead.”
Leah aimed the staff at a distant tree.
The rings drifted toward it.
—Whoosh!
The rings expanded, encircled the trunk, then contracted.
Multiple rings squeezed the tree tightly.
—Whoomf!
Flames raced up the bark, consuming it—until…
—Crack!
The tree collapsed in flames, but no one seemed impressed.
“Wow! Amazing!”
Leah clapped in awe.
“You’re truly great! How did you create such a spell?”
Mia looked stunned—but I wasn’t convinced.
Compared to Meteor or Flare, it seemed weaker.
Cecilia echoed my doubt.
“Doesn’t seem that powerful…”
“What?! Cecilia! Where else do you see magic like this?!”
“Cecilia, to a non-mage, it looks ordinary—but this is a revolutionary breakthrough!”
Leah and Mia passionately explained just how groundbreaking the spell was.
Well… magic resistance penetration doesn’t always mean higher damage.
The actual damage was on par with Meteor or Dragon’s Breath.
But Dragon’s Breath has stronger penetration, amplifying damage.
And our goal is to suppress Selena—if she dies, she’ll just regress.
“R… really?”
Unprepared for their fervent reaction, Cecilia just looked unimpressed.
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