Early TBAGM Vol. 2 Chapter 1 Part 3

Full title: The Banished Advisor’s Guild Management

Note: If you found any typos/mistakes, pls write them in the comment. Thanks.

Translator: Canon

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“Annoying as it is, I can’t allow the Magic Academy’s reputation to be crushed. I’ll handle this.”

“Teacher or whatever, I’ll break your magic!”

Nero snarled at Gaius like a warning; he was clearly frayed from consecutive fights.

“Is that so? Then I shall not hold back. 【Wind Ball】.”

Gaius clicked his fingers and cast.

A small orb of wind formed and drifted slowly toward Nero.

From the side, it looked like a trivial novice spell—quaint, even.

Yet the prodigious mana concealed within rivaled high-tier magic. It was expertly disguised; without 【Appraisal】 you wouldn’t detect it.

“Hahaha! That’s weaker than the students’ spells…”

Nero taunted, underestimating the spell.

His proficiency in 【Magic Breaker】 sat at A-rank.

Against Gaius, however, every one of the latter’s stats exceeded A, many of them at S.

It was impossible for Nero to simply shred Gaius’s magic.

“…Wha—!? Ugggh…!”

Without warning, the seemingly harmless 【Wind Ball】 slammed into him with extraordinary force, and Nero gritted his teeth.

The orb detonated the moment it brushed his blades, its power multiplying explosively.

This surpassed the combined magic Nero had faced during the Guild Showdown.

Previously he’d been able to sever such spells by tracing the faint glowing “point” inside them with his blade. This time no such point could be found, no matter how thoroughly he searched.

“Guh…!”

Nero’s twin swords collided violently with Gaius’s 【Wind Ball】. No matter how much force he applied, the spell showed no sign of weakening. Judging he was being cornered, Nero angled the blade touching the orb slightly.

“Damn youuuu!”

“Ho—so you can endure it.”

Nero forced the orb’s trajectory to the left. The 【Wind Ball】 skimmed past his side and continued on, dissipating midair.

“Why is it so damned heavy!?”

“So—you can withstand a novice spell, can you?”

Gaius remarked coldly. Indeed, it was technically a basic spell; not an advanced technique, nor an ultimate.

A child could use such a spell.

“That was a novice spell!? That’s just like her!”

He meant Ellis. Her 【Water Ball】, though a basic spell, had the potency of a high-tier technique. 

But Gaius’s spell was on another level entirely. Ellis’s power derived from a Hidden Skill, she had honed that one ability relentlessly for three years. Gaius, by contrast, used an ordinary novice spell, independent of any special trait.

“Apologies, my use of a novice spell wasn’t meant as provocation.”

“Huh? What d’ya mean—”

With a single flash, Gaius cut Nero down with the long sword at his hip.

“—Ugh!”

Nero took a direct blow to the abdomen and tumbled across the ground. It seemed the sword at Gaius’s hip was a blunted replica—had it been real steel, Nero’s torso would have been sundered. Even with the advanced healing circles laid beneath the arena, a body cleaved in two would be beyond quick regeneration.

“I merely use basic spells. I am a gladiator, not a mage.”

Gaius spat the words as Nero lay collapsed, clutching his midriff in bitter pain. A replica blade still hurts; sometimes a strike from the strong inflicts more agonizing suffering than a lethal cut.

“Cough, cough…!”

Nero hacked and spat blood. Even an A-rank veteran like him could not visually track Gaius’s movements. The gulf between them was an absolute, insurmountable difference. Despair, previously unseen on Nero’s face, had now crept in.

“Don’t understand? I’ll demonstrate again.”

Gaius closed in. Nero reacted reflexively, attempting to raise his twin swords, but it was too late.

“Ugh!”

Gaius thrust his replica into Nero’s right shoulder. Nero winced, then launched a desperate counterattack instead of yielding.

“Damn you—!”

“Rough swordplay that relies on talent alone. For your age it’s forgivable, but your experience is shallow. Experience could have closed this gap to some degree.”

“Ugh!”

Gaius deftly parried Nero’s charge with his replica, unsettling Nero’s balance to the right. Seizing the opening, Gaius delivered a diagonal cut. Nero collapsed, unable to maintain his stance.

“Your tactics are simplistic. They might work on lesser opponents, but not against superior ones.”

Gaius struck at Nero repeatedly, each slash impossibly quick and punishingly heavy.

“Has your spirit already fractured? At first you were blocking my spells.”

The usually tenacious Nero had been reduced to defense. After several minutes of such punishment, he mustered his last strength and surrendered.

“I… I lose.”

With Nero’s admission, the mock duel ended. The crowd’s festival-like fervor dissipated just as quickly. The throng dispersed, and the arena returned to its usual subdued state.

“So he really was your dog, was he? Lloyd.”

“Ugh—Professor Gaius…”

Gaius strode straight toward us. Behind him, Nero trudged, then slumped against the far wall and sat with his head bowed.

“You engineered this troublesome part, didn’t you? All according to your scheme?”

Indeed, I had orchestrated the situation. If Nero entered the mock battle, he would draw attention and have an outlet for his frustration; an opportunity to release the anxiety over his waning prowess and possibly regain confidence. And if a ruckus occurred, the academy would summon its strongest: Gaius. His aim was singular—to quell the uproar. Scaring the students and punishing the spectacle was the most efficient method; he wasn’t one for gentler pedagogy. I hadn’t expected things to unfold so smoothly, though.

“Haha, whatever do you mean?”

“You were like this even as a student. Still, I suppose you’ve turned out somewhat decent.”

Gaius gave me a firm pat on the shoulder, perhaps a bit too firm. My shoulder stung; that was definitely not my imagination.

“So, how was he?”

“How was what?”

“My subordinate, of course. He’s quite promising, isn’t he?”

I asked proudly, almost bragging. After a brief pause, Gaius replied.

“…A fine sword arm.”

Gaius was a rough-mouthed veteran adventurer. After retiring, he’d been taken in by Professor Rosaria—whom he alone trusted. Toward anyone else, he had nothing but sharp words.

So to hear him praise someone outright was rare indeed. That alone proved how much potential he saw in Nero.

“You can still tell sword technique even after retirement?”

“Tch.”

“J-Just kidding!”

A chill ran down my spine, and I quickly waved it off. The killing intent he gave off was something I hadn’t felt since nearly being slain by a monster in a dungeon.

“With experience, he could someday reach S-rank.”

“Oh? That’s high praise, coming from you, Professor.”

“If someone like him could take the role of a guardian in a party… even a gladiator like myself could entrust my back to him.”

Gaius spoke while gazing into the distance.

I neither joked nor replied seriously, just stayed silent.

He had once been an S-rank adventurer, until something made him leave that world.

Those words surely touched on that past, and I wasn’t about to intrude.

“But I can still see hesitation.”

“You think so too, Professor?”

“No one is perfect. That boy is no exception.”

To discern Nero’s inner instability after only a few bouts, such was Professor Gaius.

Those were precisely the words I’d wanted to hear, the words Nero needed most.

So I bowed my head to him.

“Professor Gaius, may I ask one favor?”

“What is it?”

“Could you tell Nero what you just said? If those words came from a former S-rank adventurer—”

“Ha? As if I’d say something like that. Are you an idiot?”

“Ahaha… yeah, I figured as much…”

He cut me off before I could even finish my request.

I’d hoped his words might motivate Nero, but that hope evaporated.

Then, with an exasperated tch, Gaius muttered in annoyance.

“That’s your job, isn’t it?”

“…Huh?”

“You worked your ass off for five years to earn what you have. Use it.”

“—!”

His piercing gaze drove straight through me.

At those words, a heat welled up in my chest.

For all his arrogance, he always said exactly what others needed to hear. Truly, this man was unfair.

Seeing me fall silent, Gaius looked away awkwardly and added,

“It’s not for your sake. Don’t get the wrong idea.”

“…Professor Gaius, are you… a tsundere?”

“You little—do you have a death wish?”

“J-Just kidding! I’m sorry!”

Faced with genuine killing intent, I bowed my head at once. His aura was enough to shave years off my life. Then again, that one was entirely my fault.

“Hurry up and get that brat out of here. You’re bothering my students.”

“Thank you for everything, Professor Gaius.”

I turned to him and bowed deeply. When I raised my head, his brow twitched slightly.

The man once dubbed the Immovable Fortress—with that perpetually stony face—rarely reacted to anyone, least of all a former student.

Back in my academy days, he was the one teacher I feared most, constantly hurling barbs at me.

Yet now, I finally understood: even those barbs had been a kind of affection.

Nothing is more terrifying than indifference. As long as he was scolding me, it meant he still cared enough to watch.

In truth, Gaius might have been the one who looked after me the most.

“Tch… you’re throwing off my rhythm.”

Smiling faintly at his grumble, I made my way to Nero.

He hadn’t landed a single solid hit, and even his prized 【Magic Breaker】 had failed him.

No wonder his expression was darker than ever.

“Come on, Nero. Let’s head back.”

“…Yes.”

Nero nodded blankly.

Taking him by the arm, I led him toward the waiting carriage.

†

Once again, we rode the carriage back toward the guild.

My conversation with Professor Rosaria had ended halfway, so I intended to schedule another meeting later. When I apologized to her on our way out, she said it wasn’t an urgent matter anyway. If that was the case, it was better to focus on what lay ahead for now.

“Was he strong? The former S-rank adventurer.”

“Yes… stronger than anyone I’ve ever faced.”

Nero sat across from me, his head lowered.

Char, perhaps sensing the mood, remained quiet, grooming itself.

It wasn’t that Nero had never lost before. He’d climbed to A-rank through many defeats.

But this time was different, utterly and fundamentally different.

“That was on a completely different level…”

There wasn’t a trace of his usual fighting spirit, the drive that loss normally ignited in him.

The gap in power had been far too great; there was no conceivable future where he could win.

Even his once-unyielding mind had been shattered.

“Do I… really deserve to be in Veiled Moonrise?”

Nero asked, almost clinging to the words.

“I’m getting weaker. These days, even a B-rank opponent might give me trouble.”

He had kept quiet about it, but that doubt had been growing inside him for some time.

It began after the Guild Showdown, when he fought thirty C-rank and D-rank adventurers at once.

“During the Showdown, I only won because Ellis was there. I can’t fight like an A-rank anymore.”

His opponents then were the kind he could have annihilated in an instant back in his prime.

Yet he’d been pushed to the brink. That humiliation had been eating at him ever since.

“But Nero, you destroyed that fusion spell back then. There’s no other adventurer in the kingdom who could’ve done that.”

“Of course, I’m happy that my 【Magic Breaker】 has improved… but at this rate, I’ll just drag the guild down.”

【Magic Breaker】 was, by nature, a defensive skill.

Since Nero had always fought on the front lines, adjusting to a new position had been difficult.

“Then let me ask you something.”

“Yes?”

“You know the four roles adventurers take in battle, right?”

“Of course.”

In a party, adventurers are broadly divided into four primary roles:

The Gladiator, who leads the front lines with offensive power.

The Guardian, the team’s pillar who shields and protects allies.

The Mage, who casts spells from the rear and wields destructive might rivaling Gladiators.

And the Healer, who supports the party with restorative and reinforcement magic.

Each is indispensable to a proper unit.

“Then tell me, why are there four roles?”

“To cover each other’s weaknesses… oh.”

Nero trailed off mid-sentence, realization dawning on him.

As adventurers, blacksmiths, or alchemists grow stronger, they tend to become self-sufficient.

An A-rank or S-rank adventurer could easily clear a dungeon alone.

That wasn’t inherently bad; in fact, Incarnation of the Sun encouraged that kind of individual development.

But with time, they’d forgotten something simple, and essential.

“Haha… something so basic, and I still managed to forget it.”

He said it with a self-deprecating laugh.

By the time he earned his A-rank, Nero could handle almost everything solo.

He’d cut down enemies on the front line as a Gladiator, rush to aid allies in peril like a Guardian, leap across the field to eliminate ranged foes, and simply use potions to heal himself.

Mages and Healers? He didn’t need them.

Back in Incarnation of the Sun, Nero had been the very definition of a one-man army.

And that was why he’d forgotten the most basic principle of all.

“To rely on your comrades?”

“That’s right. That’s exactly what you need right now.”

Mastering one thing often creates new weaknesses elsewhere.

You gain specialization, but you lose balance.

Yet that specialization can also become the strength that supports others.

“I founded this guild so that everyone could complement one another’s flaws.”

The training policy of Incarnation of the Sun—recruiting only those whose attributes surpassed class-B potential—had its limits.

Competition was fierce, and even in teams, individuality always outweighed cooperation.

Groups like that always reached a wall eventually,  a point where no one could stand back up alone.

“We’re all imperfect. No matter how much we grow, we’ll never be complete. Even Professor Gaius isn’t all-powerful, you know? Without his wife, he can’t even function properly in daily life.”

“…Wait, really?”

Nero blinked in disbelief.

Learning that even the “Immovable Fortress” had weaknesses seemed to ease his tension a little.

“But together, we can be complete. Humans survive by relying on one another.”

Right now, we had reliable comrades.

To rely and be relied upon, that was the heart of Veiled Moonrise’s strength.

I wanted Nero to understand that.

By entrusting himself to others as a Guardian, he would grow stronger as an individual too.

One day, he might even stand on par with Gaius himself.

“You said earlier that you would’ve lost the Showdown without Ellis, right? But the same goes for her.”

“For Ellis?”

“Of course. Without you, she couldn’t have defended the castle. Could you really imagine her holding the line? Honestly, she’d probably destroy it instead.”

I could vividly imagine the scene, and had to laugh to myself before continuing.

“So, Nero. When you’re uncertain, it’s fine to rely on others.”

Having spent two years in Incarnation of the Sun, Nero had absorbed their creed:

Clean up your own mess. Solve your own problems.

That approach fostered growth, but only individually.

I had no intention of leading such a detached guild.

I wanted one where everyone’s hands supported one another.

“There will always be comrades you can count on.”

“Mr. Lloyd…”

Nero wiped away the tears welling in his eyes, then slapped both cheeks with a sharp smack.

For a moment I was worried, but he was fine; his eyes now burned with renewed determination.

“Starting tomorrow, I’ll devote myself completely to mastering 【Magic Breaker】!”

“Good. You can definitely do it.”

Just as Professor Gaius said, it felt right to speak to him in my own words.

The strength I’d honed over five years—the power of an “Advisor”—had reached him.

If it inspired him, that alone made it worthwhile.

And with Nero’s spirit restored, our visit to the Royal Magic Academy came to an end.

I felt as though I’d forgotten some kind of promise… but perhaps it was just my imagination.

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