She Who Became Immortal

Regalo is a magician belonging to the Spade Territory.

He is thirty-four years old this year.

He doesn't have a family name because he's from commoner origins, but he rose to the position of squadron leader within the magician corps solely due to his practical abilities.

The Spade Territory is a frontier territory located at the western edge of the Louisse Kingdom. Unlike the Escard Territory, which borders the demon territory, there is no invasion by demons. Although there are remnants of the demon realm in the form of forests on the western side of the territory, they are not very deep, and the types of monsters that appear are not significant.

However, monsters are still monsters, and threats are threats.

When Regalo was a child, he lived in a village near the forest. The villagers made a living from forestry, so it was natural that they had to enter the forest to cut down trees.

Therefore, they inevitably encountered monsters.

While not frequent, it was still something that could not be ignored.

Even though it was further into the frontier territory, there was still military strength in Regalo's village. Retired knights and magicians stayed in the village to pass their time and occasionally dealt with monsters that appeared while accompanying loggers.

The elderly magician in the village recognized Regalo's talent.

The talent he recognized was considerable.

And now, Regalo is licking unpalatable alcohol in his assigned room.

---

"Boring..."

Uttering the catchphrase that had become habitual over the past few years, Regalo sipped cheap alcohol poured into a wooden cup.

His robe, indicating membership in the territory's magician corps, was sloppily worn, and his hair, which extended to his shoulders, was unkempt, with his beard almost untrimmed. He would fit in better at a cheap tavern than in the magician corps' private room.

He himself thought so too.

Why on earth was he here?

At first, he learned magic from the village magician. He quickly became able to work as a village force. As a young Regalo, he was capable enough to handle the monsters appearing in the forests of the western part of the Spade Territory.

What Regalo excelled at was a magic derived from the fire system called "Explosion Pressure".

This was not commonly used and was somewhat Regalo's unique magic. It simply generated "Explosion Pressure" at any point in space. While there was heat at the center point, it didn't involve flames or light.

It was invented to exterminate the monsters appearing in the forest but was also used against demons in the Escard Territory during wartime.

As he continued to exterminate monsters in the forest, his magic became refined. Around the age of fifteen, he was summoned to the magician corps through connections with the magicians who were staying in the village, joined, and before he knew it—yes, really before he knew it—he had risen to the position of squadron leader.

And probably, this was the end of the line.

Originally, magic and sorcery belonged to the nobility. It's well known that noble marriages value magical aptitude, as they pile up bloodlines to produce powerful magicians. Commoner magicians like Regalo are extremely rare.

Since joining, Regalo has been subjected to the jealousy of the nobles. Non-noble magicians are unwelcome among the nobles.

However, rising to squadron leader was because of his ability... However, Regalo's abilities weren't outstanding enough to silence all of that jealousy.

Practical and competent, but not exceptionally abnormal.

Regalo himself knew this well.

"If it's like this, it'd be better to be out in the field..."

With a meaningless smirk, Regalo licked his alcohol again.

Once he became a squadron leader, there were more administrative tasks and consultations from others than using magic in the field. His authority was also halfway, so if it was beyond his control, he had to hand it over to the division commander.

In other words, there was no satisfaction.

In the first place, Regalo didn't want to become a magician.

He just wanted to be useful to the village and reduce casualties.

"Maybe I should just quit..."

Muttering to himself, Regalo sarcastically thought he wouldn't bother to resign to his superiors. His birthplace village was gone, and he didn't know where to go.

If he were ten years younger, he might have gone abroad to challenge unknown dungeons, but he no longer had that youth.

He would likely spend his time like a barrel of wine.

While resigning himself halfway, he licked the cheap alcohol.

He thought that tomorrow, and the day after—

---

"Captain Regalo!"

With a loud noise, the door to the private room swung open, but it wasn't one of Regalo's direct subordinates; it was a magician from another squad, as discernible from the design of the robe indicating their affiliation.

Still young and not particularly skilled in magic.

That was a common feature among the rank-and-file members of the magician corps. They were of noble blood but lacked significant abilities. Moreover, they were not expected to play any significant role in their family. The eldest son of the head of the household, for instance, wouldn't bother becoming a rank-and-file member of the magician corps.

In other words, they were young nobles.

With at least some ability in magic.

"What's up? Who are you... and which squad are you from?" Despite the impatient demeanor of the member, Regalo, with his slightly tipsy head, sensed something unusual and placed the wooden cup on the desk to inquire.

"I am Mag Madukas of the Third Squad, sir. As Vice Captain Regalo was the only one available among the standby squadron leaders, I came to report..."

It was a relief that there was no hint of disdain or mockery in his words. The members of the magician corps knew that Regalo wasn't a noble. So, even among the rank-and-file members, there were many who looked down on him.

Regalo wasn't young enough to be enraged by that now.

But that didn't make it any more pleasant.

"What's the report?"

"Um... a... body... appeared... in the castle courtyard..."

"...Huh?"

A... body... appeared...?

It was understandable that a question mark was reflexively ejected from his mouth. It was that baffling. Unless it was an undead from the labyrinth, bodies don't just appear.

Mag opened his mouth with confusion evident all over his face.

"A-anyway... Can you come to the scene...? We can't confirm any magical residue ourselves. There's a possibility of some kind of magic... The knights are currently preserving the scene. We've been requested to confirm magical traces..."

He must have rushed to Regalo, whose whereabouts were known.

Regalo mentally considered the whereabouts of the leaders and captains of other squads, but they were either out or off duty. Regalo was the only one on standby duty.

"Ah... So, you're saying that someone might have used magic to make a body appear in the castle courtyard?"

"We can't deny that possibility."

"So... there's a body in the courtyard. It appeared, is that right?"

"That's correct."

"I see..."

He nodded, but Regalo didn't understand anything. He just nodded for now.

"...Anyway, lead the way to the scene, Mag Madukas."

Saying so, he placed the wooden cup on the desk and stood up.

Mag returned a slightly relieved salute.

"Understood. Vice Captain Regalo."