episode_0221

“Finger… … . I know what it feels like.”

I nodded when Amy said something about finger hooks and all. If you think of the realm as a resting place in the middle of a cliff, Amy was now only touching the resting place called Master with her fingers.

The level was so high that it could not be compared to a situation where one had to struggle to climb without knowing how far up the mountain was, but it was unclear whether or not one would be able to reach the resting place.

Not only could they not predict whether it would be tomorrow or next year to get there, but they were saying that it might even be impossible to get there.

Of course, Amy also understood that part. No, I had no choice but to understand since it was my own business in the first place.

“Originally, I was going to show it after I completely reached master level, but I wasn’t sure when that would happen.”

“In other words, you couldn’t bear it and just showed it to me?”

“Hehehe.”

Amy smiled brightly, averting her gaze as if she had hit the nail on the head.

After shaking my head for a moment at that sight, I decided to answer the question that still persisted.

“Ugh, yes. That aside, how on earth could you do it? I knew that your skills were excellent, but honestly, it was too early for your age.”

“Oh, that? Of course it’s thanks to you, Andrew.”

“… … Thanks to me?”

My head naturally tilted and bent at Amy’s words. Even though Amy only had a finger, she was experiencing the level of mastery, and I couldn’t help but wonder when she said it was thanks to me.

However, Amy seemed to not even see me like that and nodded as if it was natural.

“This! I got some help with the brand you gave me. If it weren’t for this, I wouldn’t have succeeded at all in materializing mana, right?”

“What does that have to do with stigma? All it does is allow you to use a little bit of black magic and activate black magic and curses.”

I felt puzzled again as Amy spoke while gently sticking out her lower abdomen. Step to the level of master… … No, it was hard to understand that he had pointed a finger at me, but it was even more difficult to understand that it was because of the stigma I had engraved on him.

“Andrew, do you know how mana is materialized?”

“Uh… … . From what I heard, it seems like it was some kind of compression. I don’t know the details because the form used by knights and the form used by wizards are different.”

“That’s right. It became known that way through a book written by a warrior from long ago. Since the Demon King becomes stronger as time goes by, the people of our world must also become stronger, and it is a guide book that explains how to become a master.”

“A long time ago? So it seems like it’s at least a few hundred years old. Are there still books like that?”

Regardless of whether it would become a relic and be damaged, I thought there was no way the ruling class, which did not want the people to have power, would leave such a book untouched.

The ruling class was a group that did not welcome the ordinary people gaining power for various reasons, including for easy rule and to prevent rebellion. Therefore, the majority of lords and royal families only allowed power to their family members or those who were loyal to them.

It was like a strange case for me to have been taught all about black magic by my grandmother, who was a stranger to me. Amy was able to learn swordsmanship and other skills because her father was a knight, otherwise she would have learned techniques that only third-rate mercenaries learn.

Anyway, when I pointed that out, Amy nodded as if it was true.

“That’s right. There are many parts that are missing, and some parts that are distorted or subject to someone’s arbitrary interpretation, making it easy to misunderstand. But the important thing is that if you look at the basics, it is an excellent textbook. And, it says that the easiest way to materialize mana is to compress it very strongly.”

“But what does that book have to do with the stigma… … .”

“Listen quietly.”

Amy’s index finger pressed against my lips as if to stop me from speaking.

“First of all, I couldn’t compress it properly using all my strength. No matter how hard I pushed it, it didn’t compress. Instead, it overflowed like water overflowing from a bowl. You need to be able to materialize extremely compressed mana and manipulate it freely, but you couldn’t do that from the beginning.”

Amy raised her mana again as if she wanted to show it to herself. A large amount of mana poured in in an instant, but a very different reaction appeared than before.

It became tangible and only spread like vapor or fog, showing no sign of gathering at all.

“Did you see it? We didn’t get together like this. I don’t know if it’s because I don’t have enough strength, but it doesn’t compress properly. I was thinking for a while about what I should do, and while I was taking a bath, a stigma caught my eye. And then I remembered that I could use dark magic through the brand.”

“Dark magic? Then, it looks like the mana was wrapped and compressed with black magic. You used black magic to create a vessel that prevented mana from escaping, compressed the mana inside it, and forced it to materialize? For some reason, the color of Manaragi was a bit strange. Because black magic is mixed, that color comes out.”

“… … Uh, how did you know?”

Amy looked very surprised, probably because I caught everything before she even finished speaking.

“Who branded you? Of course I know. Earlier, I thought it was a long time because there was so much mana compared to the amount of black magic and materialization was very short, but after hearing what you said, I am convinced.”

“A… … . If I had known it would be like this, I should have shown it to you after it was completely completed.”

Amy regretted that she could have made it a bit more surprising.

He was so disappointed that his lips, which had been pursed a moment ago as if he were concentrating, protruded to the extent that they were reminiscent of a duck’s beak.

I laughed lightly at Amy’s appearance, patted Amy’s hair and buttocks, and shook off the dust. Amy’s appearance was a mess because the mana that had been materialized a little while ago exploded and fell around the floor.

And, Amy returned her pouting lips to their original position and smiled brightly, as if she was okay with that.

“There was nothing I could do other than help in this Territory Battle, but next time I will perfect this power and definitely be of help! I wouldn’t have been able to do this if it wasn’t for you anyway.”

I felt like I was secretly bothered by the fact that I wasn’t able to do anything special during this territory battle.

It was clear that the fact that he was shown to me like this even though he was not completely finished and not a complete master had an influence on that aspect as well. Even though he didn’t force me, I could clearly feel that he wanted to help me.

“Okay, then I guess I should make weapons suitable for the master who will help me?”

In order to repay that feeling, I decided to make a weapon suitable for Amy, who would become the master.

Even if a strong person reached the master level, it does not mean that he or she does not need weapons. On the contrary, there were many parts that were even more outstanding due to the presence of weapons.

When making a sword, there were some parts where it was said that materializing the sword surface as if covering it with a membrane consumed less mana than using mana to make the sword as a whole, or that materialization could be done at a faster rate.

That’s why I couldn’t give Amy something ordinary. The Master said that just picking up a tree branch could turn it into a vicious weapon, but only by picking up something that matched its strength could it draw out more than 100% of its power.

Anyway, that’s why I decided to make something nice and suitable for Amy.

Of course, as soon as Amy heard what I said, she looked shocked and asked if it was true. When he nodded his head in the affirmative, he seemed very happy.

“You have to make it something really good!”

He was so happy that he jumped up and down into my arms.

I patted Amy on the back to calm her down, who was jumping up and down in my arms and expressing joy with her whole body. Only then did Amy’s violent reaction gradually calm down.

And, when Amy had calmed down to some extent but was still breathing heavily in my arms, I heard the door of the mansion open and felt the familiar presence of Jienna.

Jienna, who also sensed that I was in the mansion’s training hall, came straight to the training hall.

“Boss! You’re already here… … . Amy! How can you beat a player like this!”

Jienna, who was running towards me with joy, saw Amy smiling brightly while being held in my arms, and ran straight to her. Gienna, running at incredible speed, got between me and Amy and fell into my arms just like Amy did.

My body was pushed away by Giena and Amy, who were fighting each other and crawling into my arms. I thought that if I continued like this, I would be crushed between the wall and the two women, so I calmed them down.

Giena and Amy quickly regained their composure after patting their backs and gently stroking them. Fortunately, he was not crushed between the wall and the two women.

“Boss, are you no longer busy?”

“Uh… … . yes? After I receive payment from the estate in a month or two, I won’t have to move anything myself for a while.”

Jienna looked very happy when I told her that it would be relaxing for a while. It was because we had been going back and forth to the capital for a while these days and were busy with various things, including the Territory War, so we couldn’t spend time together.

Amy and Zienna, too, had not been able to properly pay attention to each other for a while, so we decided to spend time together for the time being.

That too from now on. I immediately went into the mansion with Gienna and Amy and started having a good time with them.

For the first time in a long time, we spent time feeding each other, enjoying a cozy dinner, taking a walk in the garden in the cool breeze of a summer night, and eventually going to bed together.

Of course, I intentionally didn’t bring up any work-related stories. If there was something urgent going on, Jienna would have figured it out and brought it up on her own, and it wasn’t a situation where taking a day or two to relax would cause problems.

Of course, that only lasted two days. On the third day since I finished all the things I had to take care of, I took on the task again.

And, the work was related to the businesses that Giena had managed on my behalf while I was away.