One-way traffic

"Although it is a somewhat impolite request, I still hope that you, Mr. Yifang, can give me a very good reply."

And so, in front of everyone, Roswaal spoke.

"—Could we spar for a little while?"

"Eh—?!"

"What…?"

"Hey, what are you saying all of a sudden?"

Hatsune Miku, Emilia, and Beatrice all reacted differently.

Of course, there is another person.

"...Ah! You, you want to spar? That's wonderful! Sparring can really strengthen friendships and improve blood circulation—"

"Shut up, you rude scoundrel."

"Puwaa ...

Beatrice raised her hand and pushed Subaru Natsuki to the ground, causing him to fall.

Everyone stared at Roswaal in astonishment.

Including Rem and Ram.

"Lord Roswaal...?"

Rem blinked, while Ram wore a dreamlike expression.

"What... what are you planning to do...?"

"It's nothing, Ram. I just wanted to check what level someone could reach after reading the magic book in my house."

Roswaal stood up immediately.

He stopped eating the food in front of him, and instead stood up, staring intently at the figure in front of him with a half-smile.

Keep a close eye on the top-ranked Level 5 esper in Academy City.

"Oh my~ I've already heard that you were able to defeat someone of the level of the Bowel Hunter all by yourself. Even when Reinhard wrote to me, he praised you highly. It really makes me very curious~!"

"So, Yifang-kun, what is your answer?"

Now everyone's attention turned to Accelerator.

No one expected this scenario, not even Accelerator himself.

"One side..."

The idol-style girl with light blue twin tails murmured, a strange expression appearing on her face.

That was a concern.

Hatsune Miku couldn't help but clasp her hands together, her heart pounding faster as she worried about that person.

Then.

How did Academy City's number one esper respond?

"...Well done, kid."

He placed his hand on the table and gently grinned.

He looked over with a hunter's smile.

"Then let's give it a try?"

The court magician laughed.

An upright and righteous monster accepted his request.

Chapter 44 Accelerator vs. Roswaal

9:44 AM.

This is Roswaal's mansion, but it's not inside the main residence.

Everyone arrived at the courtyard, which resembled a garden.

"...Could it be that they're really coming?"

Even now, Natsuki Subaru still doesn't understand the actual situation.

He always thought that the so-called competition was just for fun, or at most a contest of golf or billiards.

Until he saw this scene.

The court magician and the number one superhuman, both dressed unchanged, stood within a radius of about fifty meters from each other.

Accelerator.

Roswaal.

What the two said earlier was not a joke; they really wanted to have a sparring match here.

Rem stood to one side, and Subaru, Hatsune Miku, Emilia, Beatrice, and Puck also stood behind her.

Ram, on the other hand, stood in the area not far away, acting as a referee.

"Hey...you're not really going to do this for real, are you?"

Natsuki Subaru still can't forget the thing Accelerator created back then.

He didn't understand neutrons or atoms, but if that thing really exploded, it would be far more than just destroying land within a two-kilometer radius. Besides, that was something that guy had created with his bare hands.

This monster is now going to have a battle sparring match with Roswaal?

This is like a joke straight out of a dream.

But nobody thought it was a joke; they were all serious, at least Roswaal definitely had that idea.

Everyone wore a somewhat serious and earnest expression.

"Um...do those two really have to fight?"

Emilia, whose heart was inherently good, immediately uttered these words.

She clasped her hands together and looked anxiously at the two people on the field.

"Roswaal, why would you suddenly make such a strange request...?"

"It's no use saying anything now."

Beatrice hugged Parker and said nonchalantly.

"No one can stop that clown magician from doing what he's going to do, not even Betty. Anyway, it's just a simple sparring match, nothing too dangerous is going to happen... right?"

"The way you put it makes it even scarier!"

Natsuki Subaru made a sarcastic remark with a twitching smile.

Hatsune Miku stared intently at Accelerator on the field, and like Emilia, she clasped her hands tightly together.

His face was full of anxiety and worry.

"Miss Hatsune..."

"...I'm fine, Miss Emilia, it's just that I really can't understand why those two had to fight like that..."

“That’s right, Rem—do you know what Roswaal is really thinking?”

Emilia and Hatsune Miku couldn't help but glance at Rem to the side.

The blue-haired maid did nothing, only blinking indifferently.

Rem doesn't believe that Lord Roswaal's actions were meaningless.

"Furthermore, Rem doesn't believe Roswaal could lose to anyone; that's impossible."

"Hey! That's going too far!"

Subaru Natsuki cried out in alarm, while Hatsune Miku's expression changed once again.

Her heart seemed to be racing from excessive tension.

"Rem... isn't that going too far?"

"...I'm sorry, Lady Emilia."

The blue-haired maid continued.

"But Rem was just stating what she herself considered to be a reasonable fact."

"Hello--!"

"Alright, shouldn't you all shut up for a bit?"

Beatrice's voice rang out immediately. Although it wasn't loud, it was surprisingly clear and immediately drew everyone's attention.

Their gazes were all fixed on the direction of the field.

"The sparring is about to begin."

The two people stood facing each other on either side.

Roswaal let the breeze gently rustle his dark robes, his face, heavily made up in white, wore a casual expression.

In contrast, the number one in Academy City simply stood there with his hands in his pockets, completely unconcerned.

This scene immediately brought a slight smile to the face of the court-level magician.

"But honestly, this is a really interesting situation~"

"what?"

The first person stood on the opposite side, and even with a range of fifty meters, Roswaal's voice could be heard very clearly.

"I don't think it's been a long time since I've seen someone dare to stand against me like this, has it? Seeing this scene again now is really something to look forward to!"

"Yeah."

The number one superpowered individual simply curled his lip.

"Then prepare to wait until you die, you makeup bastard."

"Wow~ that's quite a unique nickname!"

The two no longer needed to say anything more.

Standing on the other side of the path, Ram held up a crystal ball and also a pocket watch.

At 9:45, she would throw the crystal ball into the sky, causing this special magical artifact to explode as a signal, like preparing to fire a gun.

At this moment.

The time has come.

"Lord Roswaal's sparring match with his guest—"

As he spoke, Ram threw the ball in his hand into the air.

"Now, let's officially begin."

Bang——! !

Almost simultaneously, the crystal ball exploded.

Blue powder, like particles of light, suddenly scattered all around.

At that moment, Roswaal laughed.

"Hopefully I'll have some fun."

For an instant.

A flame-like radiance burst forth, igniting directly around him.

boom----! !

Dozens of light bullets burst forth like flames—no, they were actually tiny, compressed fireballs.

Even Emilia would need to summon Puck to unleash an attack of this caliber at full power.

Roswaal accomplished this in an instant.

Because he is a court magician who wields the ultimate magic of the three attributes: red, green, and yellow.