#97
[Are you hurt anywhere?]
“Ah, I’m fine. But what should I do about this? It suddenly started going wild.”
[In times like this, you need to speak firmly. Say ‘Stop.’]
Mujin spoke forcefully, as if scolding a misbehaving child. At that, the undulating mana hesitated before swaying again as if to engulf the surroundings. Looking at it this way, the mana seemed almost to have consciousness. I couldn’t believe that power leaving my body would respond to my words, but I decided to follow Mujin’s advice.
“Stop.”
When I spoke, the mana froze in mid-air. It really moved according to my will. Now I needed to either disperse it or draw it back in, but I didn’t know how. Normally, the mana should have scattered and disappeared, but it remained.
Just as I was wondering what to do next, I had the strange feeling that the suspended mana was watching me. That’s absurd. Mana is just power that comes from the body. It doesn’t have its own will, nor does it have eyes. Yet I felt as if I’d made eye contact with the mana.
In that moment, the mana surged toward me like a wave. With a thud, the mana charged at the protective barrier created by the artifact and, unable to overcome its own force, gradually disappeared.
“Wh-what is this…?”
Mana moving on its own whim—I had never seen such a phenomenon before.
[Sigh, I thought this might happen, but it’s rougher than I expected. Let’s stop here for today.]
I nodded at Mujin’s words and withdrew the artifact that had been protecting me.
“Just now, it seemed like the mana moved on its own…”
[Unlike magic power, mana has a tendency to move on its own. It doesn’t have consciousness, but it strongly dislikes being commanded, even by its master.]
I swallowed hard as I looked at where the mana had been raging just moments ago. It seemed my feeling of making eye contact with the mana wasn’t just my imagination.
[That’s why you need to be careful when using mana, and it seems your mana is much more sensitive than that of other demons.]
Nodding several times at the thought that this really seemed to be the case, I attached Mujin to my waist and exhaled deeply as I leaned against a tree. I thought I was making some progress, but no matter how much I think about it, I still don’t understand. How many times had I already drawn magic circles on the ground and infused them with mana?
Concealing my bitter feelings, I rubbed out the circle drawn on the ground with my foot several times.
[Don’t be impatient. You knew this would be difficult.]
“I know, but…”
Having heard that I could lose my mind and go berserk due to mana overflow at any time, I was more worried than anything. I couldn’t put people around me in danger again like last time.
[Don’t worry, Andelion. Nothing like last time will happen. I’m by your side.]
“Yeah.”
As if reading my mind, Mujin comforted me. Since that day, Mujin had continued to protect me. Not only had he looked after me during difficult times, but he had stayed with me like this to keep me safe. Even telling me to speak casually like before because formality was uncomfortable—it was all for my sake.
I felt so sorry that I seemed to always be on the receiving end. If only I were a little stronger, none of this would have happened…
Though I was learning about mana, it was overwhelming to figure out where and how to start. It was different from precisely handling magic power. I had confidence in my control, but magic power and mana were truly forces of different dimensions.
I left the open space weakly with Mujin. Then we saw a blue barrier visible only to our eyes. This barrier was a magic prepared by Yaksi that prevented others from perceiving what was inside.
After passing through the barrier, a familiar building came into view.
After what happened at the temple, we decided to return to our normal daily lives. There’s no point in hiding in fear of the imperial family’s gaze—nothing would be resolved. Rather than running away, my father’s judgment was to prepare properly and respond.
What we needed to do now was for Persis to gain a title. For that, it was important to first graduate from this academy with high grades. Also, we couldn’t forget to create connections in the meantime.
“Student, you’re late.”
Yaksi spoke to me while leaning against a large tree. As always, her face was concealed by a hood.
Though the perception-blocking magic Yaksi created was extremely powerful, she was always watching over us from outside in case of unexpected situations. Currently, she was attached to Kuatrin, secretly relaying information from his side. I still didn’t know why she was helping us, but she had once casually mentioned that she was merely repaying an old debt.
The imperial palace must have wanted Yaksi to continue working at the school because she was still remaining as a teacher. Unlike her, however, Ramtel quit the school immediately after the incident. According to Yaksi, Ramtel hadn’t told Kuatrin about us. But since we couldn’t know when or where the story might spread, we couldn’t let our guard down.
“Have you been waiting?”
“At this rate, you’ll be attending class without breakfast. I don’t want to be disliked by our Prince, so hurry, hurry up and go eat.”
Though her words sounded gruff, it was her way of showing concern, telling me to eat breakfast. After sending her off as she tried to see me all the way, I moved to get a meal as she advised. Since it was still early morning, the weather was cool. Though the blazing sun would make me sweat by midday, in the morning the wind blew as if it were early autumn.
Since we might encounter others, Mujin hadn’t said a word since parting with Yaksi. This must also be his consideration for me. Grateful, I stroked the sword a few times as I walked.
Shortly after, what caught my eye was Iria swinging a sword in the open space in front of the dormitory. My eyes widened, wondering what she was doing so early in the morning. Like performing a sword dance, Iria brought the sword down forcefully and then raised it high, attacking an imaginary enemy. Then, gripping the sword with both hands instead of one, she swung it down toward the enemy who had dodged to the side. At that moment, her eyes met mine.
Her fierce eyes slowly returned to her usual gentle expression. As this was a first for me, I stared at her face. If I could, I would have liked to save this moment as a video.
“Oh, how long have you been standing there?”
“I just arrived. Are you training this early in the morning?”
“What about you, Andelion? Training early in the morning too?”
“Ah, yes.”
It was training indeed—training that couldn’t be seen by others.
“Are you on your way to breakfast now? Shall we go together?”
“What about your training?”
“I can’t miss a chance to be alone with Andelion.”
How could I refuse Iria’s invitation, with her bright smile?
“Yes. I don’t want to miss it either.”
When I nodded in agreement, Iria hesitated momentarily. Covering her mouth with one hand and turning her head, she spoke softly as if she’d experienced something surprising.
“Wow, this is something else in its own way.”
“Pardon?”
“Ah, nothing. Yes. Let’s go. Mm.”
Iria returned to her bright expression and stood beside me. I didn’t inquire further and matched my steps with hers. In the past, I would have avoided being with Iria, but not now. No matter what I do, people who are meant to be connected will connect. The person beside Iria is Persis, and the person who will be beside Persis is Iria.
Lately, I’ve often seen Iria and Persis together. Each time, their faces seemed a bit dark as they conversed, but the time they spent together was clearly increasing.
We don’t have to follow the original story. Anyway, our world had already changed significantly from the game I played. Then, there’s only one thing I need to do: protect them so they can achieve their love without getting hurt. That’s why I was learning how to handle power from Mujin.
Just then, a constricting pain surged in my chest. It was enough to make me stop walking without realizing it. Could this be an effect from handling mana earlier?
“Andelion? What’s wrong?”
“It’s nothing.”
I smiled at Iria, who asked with concern. The mana that had been running wild seemed to have moved inside me very briefly. Ignoring the lingering ache, I headed toward the dining hall.
As we conversed, the distant dining building gradually came closer. As soon as we neared the dining hall, the first people we encountered were Persis and Rikin. Upon spotting us, Persis approached with a bright face. Though we had seen each other just yesterday, he looked like someone welcoming a person he hadn’t seen for a long time.
I glanced at Iria discreetly before stepping forward. Normally, I would have avoided the place, thinking I was interrupting Iria and Persis’s time, but since Rikin was also there, there was no need for me to leave alone. With that thought, I smiled back at Persis as he approached me.
“Ana!”
“What’s this? I was planning to eat alone with Andelion. Shoo, shoo, you troublemakers, go away!”
“Did you sleep well?”
Persis spoke to me while ignoring Iria’s words. There was no need to disregard Iria to this extent, I thought as I nodded while glancing at her expression. I was worried she might be upset. Fortunately, Iria just snorted as if she didn’t care whether Persis ignored her or not.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
