Chapter 60: Starting today, I’m becoming an SSS-Class Villainess Adventurer! (8)

“She’s not my master anymore, you know.”

“………………”

“Do this. Just one more time.”

Exia’s brainwashing was broken.

Dinavel’s was too, of course, but aside from her form of address returning to ‘Master,’ she was still the same.

Sure enough.

Dinavel was diligently teasing Exia again today.

‘By the way, Exia said something like that?’

‘The power of brainwashing must be truly frightening.’

“Well, anyway, all’s well that ends well!”

“No, it’s not…”

While I was excited that a potentially dangerous situation had been resolved much more simply than expected,

Ria, who had started following me around closely at some point, had a somewhat dissatisfied look in her eyes.

This girl, who knew all sorts of minute details, probably because she had read the original work thoroughly—though I still wasn’t sure which original work.

For reference, I had already secured the materials to fix Kiriel by ordering Dinavel.

‘What kind of items were in that research lab, I wonder….’

‘Setting that aside, I should have read it more carefully like Ria did.’

‘If I had known sooner, I would have visited it in advance.’

‘Was the timing just bad in various ways, perhaps?’

Well, I think this is my fault for reading the original work haphazardly, so it can’t be helped.

“It’s okay, it’s okay. If anything, we can just find another research lab, right?”

“What’s here is important to you!”

Ria huffed and grabbed a nearby book with both hands.

Then, Ria started hitting it with the cover of the book, thwack, thwack.

‘If she’s a possessor, she should at least be of a certain age.’

‘Her body might have changed, but isn’t she acting too much like a child?’

‘I wish she would learn a little from me, the mature villainess noble lady.’

Regardless of all this,

When it was just the two of us like this, we had become close enough to speak informally to each other without any awkwardness.

Due to the enormous status difference between a Count’s daughter and a commoner, we couldn’t help but use honorifics in front of others.

Perhaps because of that, lately, Heine has been a bit sulky or seems to be jealous of our relationship.

It’s a bit awkward because I can’t exactly say we became close so quickly due to the common denominator of being reincarnators….

“Anyway…! That’s not what’s important right now! We need to fix Kiriel quickly!”

Ria let out a faint sigh.

‘The saint who will save the world, yet she went down the alchemist path… Wait.’

‘She knows these hidden places so well, so why is she forgetting the most important element?’

‘Structurally, without the saint, the world’s destruction cannot be prevented….’

‘Hold on.’

‘This is a really big problem, isn’t it!?’

That’s right.

There was another truly urgent problem right in front of me.

One problem was about to be solved, but the scale of the other problem was far too vast.

“Now, like this here.”

“Ooooh…”

Ria’s hands, from behind me, covered the back of my hands.

Following her guiding, ticklish hand movements, I slowly repaired Kiriel’s core.

“Can you feel it? Well, even if your internal circuits are broken, your mana sensitivity seems good. You’re learning alchemy very quickly.”

“…Hmm?”

‘Circuits are broken?’

‘What does that mean right now….’

“Ugh…”

“Kiriel…!”

At that moment, Kiriel finally opened her eyes again.

The repair was a great success.

There was still some external damage, but as long as she opened her eyes, she could self-repair, so it didn’t matter.

“You’re hungry, right? Here! Eat all of this!”

“S-Slowly, please…”

I personally stuffed her with Kiriel’s favorite snacks that I had prepared in advance, and her eyes, upon waking, seemed to ask what kind of food torture this was.

“K-Kiriel… Sister…”

“……”

“I’m sorry…”

Exia, though brainwashed, still felt guilty for attacking Kiriel and approached hesitantly.

Kiriel looked at her younger sister for a moment, then with a short sigh, silently hugged Exia.

Thwack!

Kiriel finished it simply by giving her a small flick on the head at the end.

‘I’m so relieved.’

‘That everyone returned safely to normal….’

‘To think that they might have killed each other, sister against sister….’

‘Using such a cowardly and terrible method of controlling and stealing others.’

‘As a villainess noble lady, I can never forgive such vile and despicable scoundrels.’

“I’m saying this now, but. Actually, if your control over them, Lin, had been firm, this wouldn’t have happened in the first place.”

“R-Really?”

“But don’t worry. I’ll teach you well by your side. Even if your circuits are broken, there are plenty of ways to use magic and alchemy….”

“Right. My circuits are broken, you said. What… what does that mean?”

“…?”

Ria looked perplexed at my question.

As if I didn’t know something I should obviously know.

She mouthed a few words, then, as if having made a decision, spoke in a rather serious voice.

“Usually, magic doesn’t come out well, or. Wasn’t that the case?”

“Certainly, aside from water magic, that tends to be true…. But water magic works perfectly fine…!”

Ria lowered her gaze and looked at the necklace around my neck.

Soon, a look of profound pity in her eyes unknowingly tore at my heart.

‘W-What is it…?’

‘The reason I can’t use magic is then,’

‘Not simply a lack of talent, but congenitally impossible…?’

“That necklace, would it be alright if I took it off for a moment?”

Ria asked cautiously.

I had inwardly felt I had no talent for magic, but the truth was far harsher than I thought.

I instinctively felt a sense of rejection, not wanting to face it, but in the end, I took off the necklace myself and placed it on the desk for a moment.

“Let’s go outside for a moment.”

Ria picked up the necklace from the desk and strode outside.

Following her out, a wide grassy field surrounding my personal blacksmith shop spread out before me.

“Use water magic.”

“……Okay.”

I took out my wand from my bosom.

Ria immediately pointed it out.

“No, don’t use the wand either. Bare-handed.”

“Huh? But…”

Uncharacteristically firm, her demeanor made me feel unnecessarily intimidated, and I handed the wand over to Ria.

Afterward, I slowly focused, feeling the mana flowing within my body.

“Ugh…!”

However, it still didn’t work out well.

Even after years and years of training.

Without the help of the necklace and wand, all I could produce was a small droplet of water.

“Don’t help her. You’re being too overprotective. You’re not even like that usually…”

“Hmm? What did you say?”

“…Nothing. Nothing at all.”

‘Strange.’

‘It felt like my necklace, which Ria is holding, glowed faintly….’

‘No, it must be my imagination.’

‘The necklace doesn’t work unless it’s around my neck.’

‘Well, it’s always been like that until now.’

“More importantly, focus. The water droplet you just made. Try making it again.”

“Mmhmm…”

‘Still, being able to create a water droplet of this size with bare hands, isn’t that progress in itself?’

However.

That thought soon shattered into pieces.

“…Huh?”

A small water droplet,

I could create it sufficiently with my bare hands.

But to fail on only the second try?

“A-Again…!”

“Stop it. It won’t work anyway.”

“But it used to work before…!”

That’s right.

This was strange.

If anything, it felt like my ability to control the mana in my body had diminished compared to when I was younger.

“Haa… haa…. Why, why isn’t it suddenly working…”

“…Internal circuits, they start to settle properly during secondary growth. Because of that. Sometimes, people are actually better at magic when they’re very young.”

Ria’s explanation was this.

The paths through which mana flows in the body.

Internal circuits become thinner, more detailed, and thus more complex with secondary growth.

Therefore, it’s said that sometimes magic manifests better when one is a child, when the circuits are relatively wider and more loosely spread.

It wasn’t a matter of talent.

This was a disease.

A congenital one.

“Unfortunately. There’s no way to cure this disease.”

“……”

“Actually, it’s not even a disease. The vast majority of people in the world, excluding nobles and a few mutants, are born with such bodies.”

‘If anything.’

‘It’s amazing that you can draw out mana at all.’

‘Still, I suppose it’s fortunate that you have Mana Skin.’

Born a noble, yet born with the body of a commoner.

If I said this wasn’t unfair… it would definitely be a lie.

A world with magic, no less.

To be born with a bloodline that could use magic, yet be unable to use it, was certainly… unpleasant.

It would have been different if I had been born a commoner from the start.

To have hope and then be betrayed like this in the end….

“…Lin.”

Ria consoled me.

‘I see.’

‘I was born with a body that can’t use magic….’

“……”

“It’s okay. There are plenty of ways to use magic indirectly. And above all, you have alchemy….”

“…My wand! Give it here!”

“Huh…?”

With a hand full of resentment, I snatched the wand back from Ria.

Snap! 

After breaking the wand in half, I threw it with all my might over the forest as if to vent my anger.

‘What? Illegal dumping, you say?’

‘No.’

‘That wand was originally born in this forest.’

‘Now it will return to the soil and take root in its homeland to grow again.’

“Wh-What are you suddenly…?”

“Since I can’t use magic anyway! My wand will be happier this way too! Yes!”

Other than that,

I took this opportunity to dispose of several other magic-related items.

Of course, excluding my mother’s memento, the necklace.

After all, the magic I had used so far came from the necklace.

There’s no need to keep useless junk around.

And above all, it was rarely helpful or even used!

Isn’t the broom I’ve been using so well all I need?

“Kiriel! Go quickly and call Heine!”

“Yes.”

Starting today, no magic practice in my daily schedule!

I decided to erase all upcoming magic practice slots and replace them with shooting practice and alchemy training.

‘Yes.’

‘I can’t use it anyway!’

‘Let’s just forget about it cleanly!’

‘It’s not that there’s no romance in it, but alchemy is also more fun than magic.’

‘And above all, my talent lies there, doesn’t it?’

‘Ah, I’m so glad I found out before going to the academy.’

‘I’m really, really glad I can adjust my future plans accordingly even now.’

“……”

And so.

Lin cleared out all the miscellaneous items she used for magic training.

She no longer read books related to magic either.

Heine, who knew well from past experience what magic meant to Lin, even though Lin used alchemy more and had talent in it.

“What did you say, to Lady Lin?”

“……I just told her the truth.”

Hearing the whole story through Ria,

She finally understood her master’s unnatural behaviour.

“Sob…. Sob…”

“……Lady Lin.”

One night.

Heine heard it.

Though she pretended to be fine on the outside, feigned composure….

In truth, her master was deeply wounded by the cruel reality of not being able to use magic.

However,

Such sad weeping in the night was only for a very short while.

“Ria! Then, shall we begin today’s enjoyable alchemy lesson!”

“…Today might be a little difficult.”

“Huhuhu, who do you think I am?”

She didn’t collapse.

Rather than endlessly soaking her pillow,

She chose to shake off all the pent-up emotions from the past few days and rise again to move forward.

“It’s none other than the noble daughter of the Rosegarden family, Lin Rosegarden!”

Without looking back, just forward,

She only walked forward.

“Hey, that boy. Don’t tell me…”

“What’s wrong? An adventurer you know?”

“Yeah. He’s pretty famous on the west end.”

And here,

Another boy walking the same path.

‘……Ria.’

He takes his first step into Abel Town.