Youngest 236
by Cristae236
Knights busily moved about the deck. I stood at the prow, gazing for a moment at the blue expanse of the sea.
The weather was wonderfully clear, the waves tranquil.
Strangely, I felt a sense of calm. There was no fear at all. Perhaps it was because my father was with me.
‘Alright, when all this is over, I’ll have to go boating with my family.’
Something like a luxury cruise!
‘Please, let that day come!’
With that earnest prayer, the ship cut smoothly across the azure sea.
Thanks to the acceleration magic device the Emperor had prepared, we would reach the Mage Kingdom’s waters in just half a day.
I approached Father, who was speaking with Licht nearby.
Licht, the prodigiously intelligent character who had memorized every survey report on failed expeditions to the Mage Kingdom, had dramatically joined the vanguard.
“Duke, we should be on alert in thirty minutes.”
“There were reports of sea beasts appearing in these waters, weren’t there?”
“Yes. According to the documents, they are a flying type. In the twenty-first expedition, about eight Iglius-class beasts appeared and caused severe damage…”
I turned my head and looked up at the helm. The wheel was spinning, creaking gently, with an automatic navigation magic device fixed at its center.
‘No problems with navigation.’
We weren’t yet in the Mage Kingdom’s waters, but…
Actually, for some time now, countless thin barrier films had been brushing my cheeks like veils—remnants of protective barriers scattered by the Mage Kingdom.
The structures etched themselves instantly into my mind, and I quietly dispelled the layered wards one after another.
‘No wonder people get lost here again and again.’
I gauged the magic remaining in my body.
‘Even without Wizeria’s help…’
It worked.
And with remarkably little mana consumption.
‘So this is the power of study.’
For the past eight years, I had wandered the continent, learning various magic circles in pursuit of the ultimate anti-magic formula, constantly refining them to consume less of my own mana.
“Rubian, why are you smiling like that?”
“Licht… I’m a hardworking genius.”
“Huh?”
“A genius who works hard, too? That means no one can catch up to me now…”
At that, Father gave a helpless laugh and pulled at my nose.
“This is bad. Her nose is up in the clouds.”
“Ouch!”
“Let’s see how long it gets.”
His mischievous grin made him look rather annoying. I mean, what am I not allowed to say?
Licht, watching, covered his mouth and laughed quietly before continuing.
“Back to the point: we especially need to watch out for the ward areas shrouded in illusion mist. Probably…”
Suddenly, a flash of insight struck me.
“Licht, could you move aside for a moment?”
“Hm? Why?”
“I need to put a sticker on Dad’s eyelids. So he can’t close his eyes…”
Father flinched.
Mission… accomplished for today!
“Now you won’t fall for illusions.”
“Hey, your mother told me to keep an eye on you.”
He replied nonchalantly, “Did she?”—then suddenly leaned against me at an angle. With a handsome, roguish smile:
“Oh dear. My legs feel like giving out.”
“There’s no mist yet.”
“Help me stand.”
Ever the drama king, he put his arm around my shoulder, leaning on me with what felt like all his weight—though it couldn’t have been even half, it pressed down on me like a boulder.
“Ah, I’m shrinking!”
“Are you going to tease your dad, or not?”
“I will!”
“Attack.”
“Uwah!”
“Are you going to tease your dad, or not?”
“I will! I’m stubborn too!”
“Of course. Whose daughter are you? Attack.”
“Oooh! My height!”
I used all my might (though I was never breastfed…) to shake off his arm, but failed heroically. Off in the distance, I saw Khalid and Liam, having raided the stores, approaching with trays piled high with food.
“Honestly…”
Licht watched, scratching his cheek with a laugh.
“This is a far cry from a solemn departure.”
Ch. 24
Standing in the breeze, I reviewed the plan once more.
“Attention, everyone. The vanguard’s main goal is to connect the Mage Kingdom’s portal to Babylon.”
“I know. That’s why we brought only a minimum number of knights—to cover potential emergencies at sea,” Father said.
“Right. So, after landing in the Mage Kingdom, we should minimize fighting on the way to the portal. Don’t lose the necklaces I handed out—they react to ambient mana to disguise you as mages, so keep them on at all times.”
“And after we open the portal?”
“Then we go after the Mage King.”
“That’s my job,” I said, at the same time as Khalid.
‘It’s my job.’
Of course, I didn’t say that aloud.
‘It would be good if Dad or Khalid’s attack worked, but if it doesn’t…’
I had to consider the worst-case scenario.
But fortunately, I had a backup plan.
‘I just hope I won’t have to use it.’
I thought of the Crest that still lingered, unchanged, on my skin.
“Alright, once the portal is open, Dad, Khalid, and I will head straight to the palace. Licht and Liam will join up as soon as the second group arrives!”
“But we don’t know the way to Arcadia Palace,” Liam objected.
“I’ll leave mana traces along the way, but… even better would be a map. Don’t worry! The second group will bring one.”
“A map? Who made that?”
I smirked, and Licht, who knew the truth, gave me the same sly smile.
“Senia and the children…”
“Is that the name of a new traveling troupe?”
Dad frowned deeply.
In any case, everything was proceeding smoothly.
To avoid getting in the way of Father and the knights who were starting their preparations, I headed to the cabin.
When I opened the door, a familiar face looked up from where he was oiling his sword.
“Coming to rest? Come here.”
“Khalid, are you alright?”
“Not sure what you mean,” he replied indifferently, returning to polishing his blade with an oiled cloth.
I sat a little ways off, carefully studying his face.
‘He really…’
He seemed thinner.
His jawline had grown a bit sharper, the shadows beneath his eyes a little darker…
“Are you… sick? Your complexion looks a bit off.”
“…”
Khalid’s movements froze.
He set the sword aside and slowly turned to me. His deep blue-black hair, like the ocean, fell slightly over his smooth forehead.
His long, heavy-lidded eyes narrowed as if measuring something.
“Ah, right.”
His low voice spilled out slowly. His strong eyebrows knit just faintly, and a strange light flickered in his gray-blue eyes.
“I’m sick, Ruby.”
“Where?” I gasped.
Without thinking, I reached out, and he grabbed my hand, bringing it somewhere.
“Here.”
“……”
My palm pressed against something hard as stone.
The surface was marked with fierce, jagged contours—I realized, belatedly, that it was his abdominal muscles.
“Honestly, my stomach’s been in knots since you said you were bringing the prince along…”
“What the—?!”
I recoiled, snatching my hand away.
What just happened?
Did I just touch something incredible? Are human bodies meant to be this solid? How is this a person’s stomach? I wanted to try poking it with a needle just to see, because I doubted it would go in even a little!
“You startled me! What are you doing? Not even giving me your mana!”
“Exactly.”
For a moment, Khalid bowed his head deeply.
Insane.
So he seemed to mumble, but I couldn’t tell why.
“Anyway, I’m just saying that guy’s presence puts me in a foul mood,” Khalid said with a bitter hiss.
“Why does everything have to be physical with you…” I grumbled, feigning bravado to hide my pounding heart—the lingering sensation of his body vivid in my palm. Forget washing my hands later!
“I don’t like it,” Khalid said, frowning and smiling all at once, oblivious to my feelings.
Khalid cursed inwardly.
‘Is she crazy, or am I?’
When he came to, he realized he was holding Rubian’s hand.
When his buried magic surged up inside, it was hard to restrain his impulses.
He clenched his hands tightly, stifling the throbbing headache. He hadn’t expected to feel the approach of the Mage Kingdom so viscerally, in every fiber.
‘This is driving me insane.’
When Rubian’s warmth flashed across his mind, heat shot up through him for entirely different reasons. Now his whole body ached in a new way.
Truthfully, he had wanted to grab Rubian’s reaching hand and pull her into a rough embrace. To press their bodies together, touch foreheads, brush noses, cheeks, and lips…
If not for the self-control he clung to, he’d likely have earned a slap from her by now.
He remembered the voice that used to fill him.
Take her, by force if need be. Possess her. Don’t you desire it too? That is the only way you’ll survive!