Chapter 66: 66 Fighting with All Might, Unable to Win

Before the main gate of Duke Saint-Clair's mansion.

"Mr. Eric, this is a package addressed to Young Lady Inanna."

The speaker was a young man dressed neatly and behaving with courtesy.

This young man, Eric, knew he was the newly arrived junior supervisor of the local Guild Postal Station this year; whenever the Duke's mansion received a letter, he personally delivered it.

Behind him followed two guards; from the sword-and-shield badges on their epaulets, one could see they were all official personnel of the Guild.

The young man held a sealed small box with both hands; a red seal was affixed to one corner of the box—this was the highest standard of letter officially recognized by the Guild Postal Station.

"For the Young Lady?" Eric asked with slight confusion.

"Yes, a package for Young Lady Inanna." A smile hung on the young man's face; the hands holding the box remained motionless, showing not a trace of impatience.

This was strange; at this time, who would send something to Young Lady Inanna?

And it bore a red seal.

The Young Lady's social circle was not particularly wide, mostly confined within the kingdom's noble circles; in the past year, she had had little contact with the outside world.

If it were a formal letter between nobles, a unique sky-blue seal would have been used.

Then it must be a private letter sent by children from other noble families.

Could it be that child from Count Roland's family?

Although Eric thought of many possibilities, he did not keep the young man waiting long in action.

He reached out and took the box: "Thank you for your trouble, Josh."

Seeing that Eric actually remembered his name, Josh was clearly excited.

But for just an instant, he regained his composure and did not stay a moment longer.

"It is my honor to serve Saint-Clair; since the package has been delivered, please allow me to take my leave."

Having spoken, he left with the two guards.

After bringing the package back, Eric did not hand it directly to Inanna.

Instead, he returned to his own room and retrieved some magical items.

First, he tore open the red seal, and a faint ripple of magical power spread out.

Eric was not at all surprised by this; the seal was originally a small item used to ensure the package had not been opened during transit.

Opening the box, he found it divided into two compartments.

One compartment held a letter; the other held a magic crystal the size of a ring.

Eric recognized its quality at a glance—S-Rank.

This made him even more puzzled and caused him to reject his earlier speculation that it was a letter from another noble child.

No noble child would be so extravagant as to give an S-Rank magic crystal to a friend.

Though curious, Eric would not deliberately seek answers to these questions, nor did he read the contents of that letter.

All he needed to do was ensure the Young Lady's safety.

After monitoring with several types of magical items, he confirmed that neither item carried any danger.

What he did was not acting on his own authority; long before he arrived, my lord the Duke had granted him these permissions.

Having finished everything, Eric tidied up, placing both the letter and the magic crystal back into the box.

Then, carrying the box, he walked straight toward the training ground.

————

Inside the training ground, paved with obsidian and reinforced through enchantment.

Ripples of magical power caused by the battle pulsed out in waves.

Within the arena, two young men were sparring with magic.

Inanna's magic instructor, Julian, stood at the edge of the arena, observing the two fighters.

Noticing footsteps approaching from behind, Julian turned to look.

"Mr. Butler, good day."

Eric nodded in response: "Good day, Scholar."

Scholar was Julian's title within the Relics Association.

"Mr. Butler, what brings you to observe Inanna's lesson today?"

According to Julian's own observations, this butler was a very busy man, though he was not clear on what the other was busy with.

Of course, this question was purely for greeting; Julian had no interest in prying into the secrets of the Duke's mansion.

The only thing that interested him was that study.

Eric did not hide it: "There is a package addressed to the Young Lady."

Julian also noticed what Eric held: "Then I shall call her over."

"No need; let them finish." Eric shook his head in refusal.

Seeing this, Julian returned his attention to the training ground.

Several magic missiles launched by Calvin arced through the air, heading toward Inanna on the other side.

Inanna merely stood in place, using Water Mirror Refraction to condense a rippling water mirror before her.

Then she paid no further heed to the incoming attacks and focused on casting the next spell.

Facing the incoming magic missiles, the water mirror moved nimbly around Inanna, intercepting each attack at just the right moment.

Two of the magic missiles were even angled by the water mirror and reflected back.

To dodge the reflected attacks, Calvin had to interrupt his next spell in hand and take two steps to the left.

Just as he had steadied himself, Inanna's Water Snake Technique flew toward him again.

Calvin wanted to retreat, moving out of the Water Snake Technique's range, but he did not expect the condensation level of this Water Snake Technique to far exceed his expectations.

He was forced to use the Magic of the Mana Crystal to negate the Water Serpent Spell.

However, this delay allowed Inanna to prepare her next spell.

In the training ground, the scene was almost entirely Inanna standing in place, head down, casting continuously, while Calvin darted and dodged across the other side, responding to the relentless attacks.

Whenever he managed to find an opening to counterattack, the lingering Water Mirror would reflect it back, making him even more disheveled.

By the end, Calvin was nearly in tears.

Only when Inanna finally remembered to use the Mud Pit Spell to immobilize Calvin did Julian end the duel.

Looking at his eldest disciple, who had crawled out of the mud pit and collapsed like a dead dog, Julian didn't think he had performed poorly.

In fact, due to constant interference, his rate of Successfully Cast spells was far lower than Inanna's; Julian had expected Calvin to lose much earlier.

He hadn't expected his eldest disciple to endure this long purely through monkey-like agility, dodging and leaping in a most un-mage-like, ugly posture.

He didn't know whether to be pleased or exasperated.

As for Inanna…

He could only say that 【Favor of the Elemental Spirit】 was a talent even he would envy.

Sometimes fate simply favored one person—giving them not only the best birth, but also the finest talent.

Calvin lost without any grounds for complaint.

"Enough for today. Go rest."

Calvin seemed still resentful, muttering under his breath: "If I could use my ring and magic potions, I wouldn't have lost so easily!"

Julian glanced at him and asked: "Should Inanna also use her staff then?"

Calvin immediately fell silent.

Indeed, neither of them had used equipment in the duel.

If Inanna had brought her staff embedded with a large A-rank Mana Crystal, Calvin knew he would have lost even faster…

Ignoring his deeply shaken disciple, Julian turned to Inanna and said:

"Inanna, Eric has a package for you."

Unlike Calvin, who lay like a dead dog, Inanna was merely breathing slightly heavily, as if she had just finished a warm-up routine.

Hearing Julian's words, she looked toward the edge of the field and immediately spotted Eric holding a box.

She then asked in confusion: "My package?"

(End of Chapter)