A Genius Boy Who Was Exiled From His Family Home for “Not Being Able To Use Magic” Becomes a Witch’s Apprentice and Masters All Magic in the Right Way. This Is How You Use Your Magic, You Know?

Chapter 149.1. Birdcage

(…Well then)

Hermes muttered internally while observing his surroundings. He understood the situation. The question was which one, but—

(It’s probably the First Prince.)

If it were him, then Laplace’s appearance in that place made complete sense. Likely, Laplace orchestrated it: the First Prince usurping the throne before the succession battle, aiming to eliminate the remaining candidates in his momentum. With the commotion in the royal palace, the flow of magic, and the circumstances, Hermes made a correct assumption.

Regardless, there were plenty of things he wanted to say to those responsible for this situation, but now was not the time. First, he had to escape with the Third Princess, his disciple Liliana—just as he decided on this plan—

“—Ha, haha. I see… So it’s you, the hero of the academy incident.”

A voice called out from the other side. He looked—and was shocked. The reason was that the soldier commander he’d just struck down with rapid magic was now standing up, bleeding, but walking toward him.

He’d aimed to take him down, of course… yet before Hermes could analyze his surprising endurance, the soldier commander sneered and spoke.

“Laplace-samae told us about you. Said you use all kinds of outrageous magic? Fascinating, truly enviable—but”

At the same time, the surrounding soldiers readied themselves for battle, turning their hostility toward Hermes.

“None of that matters to us.”

“…You intend to fight, do you? If you’d simply let us go, that would suffice on our end.”

“Haha, like we’d let you! Besides, did you not hear us out? We already know about you from Laplace-sama—how you fight, your quirks—and your weaknesses!”

Then, as he commanded the surrounding soldiers, the soldier commander laughed with sadistic delight.

“Now, tell me… Have you ever fought against a truly trained group of magic users?”

In that instant, a squad of soldiers—all at once—fired basic fire magic.

“!”

There’s a technique called a Focused Chant Concerto. Even simple magic, if fired without interference and without neutralizing each other, can become tremendously powerful. This very principle can even rival bloodline magic. He knew the theory, but it required an appropriate degree of magical manipulation from all involved casters. Moreover, even with all that effort, it would only be about as strong as bloodline magic. Thus, this country deemed it impractical, an academic theory at best—yet here it was, attacking Hermes.

“…..”

Even so, he kept his composure. He created a barrier with enhanced basic magic, blocking the spell and preparing to counter with bloodline magic— —until.

The next squad launched a focused lightning chant. He blocked it with ease, but another squad launched an attack, giving him no openings. With continuous long-range magic fire, Hermes was forced entirely onto the defensive.

“—I see.”

“First weakness: Though you can wield multiple bloodline magics, you require a chant to switch between them. It’s not quite the same as having multi-attribute mastery, is it?”

The soldier commander smugly announced this, while the soldiers attacked with unbroken coordination.

Then, as he wondered what role the commander played here, magic detection gave him the answer. Likely, this man was the Commander. Hermes noticed a unique magical aura emanating from him, probably some special magic tool allowing him to issue precise commands and control the soldiers’ actions.

If he defeated him, this coordination would collapse. And for the “chant requirement to use bloodline magic,” Hermes had countermeasures in place. With his enhanced basic magic, he would create an opening and charge again at the soldier commander—

But a bad feeling suddenly struck him—one that was almost a certainty. As Hermes adjusted his actions, the soldier commander’s voice rang out.

“Second weakness: You aren’t accustomed to fighting while protecting someone!”

And just as he’d expected, the soldiers’ magic was directed—at Liliana.

“Eh—”

In an instant, Hermes stepped in front of her to intercept it.

“There’s no way I’d repeat the same mistake twice.”

He protected Liliana from the magic. He’d learned this lesson in his previous battle with Clyde, when he’d foolishly taken damage for shielding someone. He wouldn’t show such weakness again.

—But the attacks did not stop there.

“Haha, you won’t go down easily, will you? But how long can you keep that up, I wonder?”

Relentlessly, endlessly, they continued to target Liliana, who had no intention of fighting and was frozen in place. This constant need to shield her prevented Hermes from taking any offensive action.

Confined entirely to blocking magic, Hermes had no choice but to defend while the soldier commander laughed triumphantly.

“Now do you understand, you so-called hero? In the end, one human alone can do nothing against this!”

Liliana could only watch in a daze. She stared, feeling defeated.

“M-master…”

“Rest assured, Lady Lily.”

Hermes took in her faint murmur and replied. His voice was firm, radiating strength. It made her feel reassured, against her will. With that voice bolstering her, Liliana reflected on her current situation and, indeed, her entire life.

…Why?

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—Her life felt like being trapped in a birdcage.

Since birth, she had been bound by forces beyond her control. Her status as royalty, her lack of magical aptitude, and her unfortunate position as the youngest. On top of it all, rumors that she resembled the “Sky Witch.”

Each of these things confined her. They branded her as useless, and encouraged her to be apathetic. Some even suggested it would be better if she simply “never existed.”

Each time, someone had protected her.

To shield her from being called the disgrace of the royal family, they gave her a lavish room in the palace. From those who saw her as a “magicless nobody,” they protected her because she was royal.

“Why, though? Her very existence as royalty is an insult to the throne.”

Last year, someone even said that. It was her brother, Aster. His eyes burned with rage when he said it. Fury over not getting his way, and—hidden underneath—disgust, a desire for her to disappear because she reminded him of someone he resented.

“Why not disinherit this failure already?”

Then her other siblings, also royalty, defended her.

“Being here is not meaningless. I’m here—and so are you. So rest easy. Even if you’re disinherited in the future… I won’t let anything bad happen to you.” “Aster surely dislikes you. But… it wouldn’t be right to let him have his way in everything. That’s why… I will.”

…She understood. Herc and Lyla were jealous of Aster. And she knew, to some extent, that they used her, the one royal less fortunate than themselves, as an outlet for their frustration. Even so, they were family. She loved them dearly. Most of all, whatever their motives, they had cared for her.

So—she chose to accept this position.

She decided to remain caged within the birdcage, persuading herself that this was her role.

Aster fell from grace. While she found it hard to believe, part of her had anticipated it. Recently, Aster had clearly been pushing things too far.

But then, Herc and Lyla changed. The siblings who had once protected her now began to distance themselves. She felt anxious, and miserable, like everything was falling apart. She lashed out, secretly hoping someone would save her, and then—

Her master arrived. A figure like from a story, someone who rescued her and led her to safety.

She relied on him. Leaned on him. Sought him out. At the same time, she felt at ease, confident that as long as she left things to him, everything would be alright. With her master, she believed she could regain the family time she once cherished. Following his guidance, she studied magic, dreaming of a return to those blissful days—

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