episode_0062

Everyone had gone back to their rooms. Asel and Ena chatted for a while before going to bed as the moon began to set.

A slightly awkward situation arose as there was only one bedroom, but they agreed that Asel would sleep on the living room sofa.

Although it was called a sofa, it was a top-quality item provided by the Academy. It was more than sufficient for sleeping or even jumping on. Asel had often fallen asleep on the sofa while reviewing research materials in the living room anyway. There was no reason for him to feel hesitant now.

“Still, this is your room. Shouldn’t I be the one sleeping in the living room?”

“It’s fine. Please don’t worry about it and sleep comfortably.”

Ena looked apologetic, but Asel’s attitude was firm. So, Ena reluctantly trudged onto Asel’s bed and lay down. She pulled the blanket over herself, turned onto her side, and buried her face in the pillow.

“……”

As she did, Asel’s scent faintly wafted around her. His presence was strongly imprinted on the blanket she was covering herself with, the pillow, and every part of the bed. Ena unconsciously savored the scent, curling her body up.

It felt like being held by Asel. She knew how warm his embrace was, as they often hugged, but she had never been held tight on a bed. This naturally caused her imagination to run wild.

Ah, Asel, no matter what, isn’t this a bit much? Why are you bothering with things like that between us? No, but still… If you don’t like it, push me away. It’s not that I dislike it… it’s just embarrassing. I like it. Ugh…! I don’t dislike it either…! Then isn’t it fine? It is, but…! Eek…!

“Asel…! No…!”

“Yes? Did you call?”

“Hiyat!”

Ena snapped out of her fantasy and back to reality at Asel’s sudden voice. She shot up from the bed like a fish jumping, gasping for breath at the sight of Asel’s face peeking through the door crack. Asel looked at her with a perplexed expression.

“Um… I’m sorry. It seems I startled you.”

“Ah, no! I’m more sorry!”

“……? What are you sorry about?”

“Th-th-that kind of thing exists. More importantly, why, why did you come?”

Ena asked, trying hard to hide her embarrassment and heightened emotions. Asel scratched his cheek and replied.

“I came to tell you not to press the button next to the bed… but I suddenly heard my name.”

“Ah, is that so? Okay. I won’t press it.”

“Yes. Then please sleep well.”

“Uh, okay. Good night.”

Asel gave a polite bow at Ena’s greeting and left the room. Ena confirmed his presence had moved away, then sighed in relief and plopped onto the bed. She quickly composed her racing emotions, took a deep breath, and lay down in a proper posture.

Her sleepiness had completely vanished because of her silly fantasy. To fall asleep as quickly as possible, she cleared her mind of random thoughts and counted the sheep running in her head. As she did, the image of Asel tending to the sheep naturally came to mind. Perhaps because she was enveloped in his scent, the image of the sheep soon changed into herself.

“……!”

Her eyes shot open. Her cheeks were flushed red, and the scent rising from the shirt she was wearing momentarily made her dizzy. The smell intensified every time she shifted.

“Ugh…”

In the end, she stayed awake for a long time before finally being able to fall asleep only after casting sleep magic on herself.

That night, in her dream, Asel was waiting for her on the bed.

***

Immediately after visiting the bedroom. Instead of going straight to sleep, Asel entered the research lab and turned on the lights.

The dark research lab was filled with light and became bright. Asel briefly scanned the various formula papers hanging on the wall, then enhanced the shadow magic he had placed on the window. The slightly blurry shadow turned completely black, covering the window.

Shadow magic had the characteristic of being more powerful in dark places. Therefore, when the surroundings suddenly became bright like this, there was a disadvantage where the magic’s output decreased. It was a troublesome aspect for use in real combat, but in terms aspects of daily life, it wasn’t a major issue as long as it could be reinforced.

Asel looked at the darkened window and sat down in his chair.

“……It’s a little cold.”

The season had already begun to enter spring. Although the temperature had warmed up some time ago, remnants of winter still lingered. But now, that feeling had long since disappeared.

However, it was still chilly in the early morning. Although the bone-chilling cold was gone, the air was still cold, and the wind blowing in was sharp. Even without opening the window, its effects reached into the room.

He had cast magic on the bedroom to maintain an optimal environment unaffected by external factors, but not the research lab. Except for defensive formulas, no other magic was installed, so it was exposed to the external environment as is.

This was Asel’s intention.

Being slightly cold was more conducive to clear thinking than a warm environment. Now was a convenient time to create such an environment without the help of magic. So, he hadn’t used any magic.

Perhaps he would install magic here when summer arrived.

Asel had such trivial thoughts as he placed Aleph on the desk. He then placed his hand over the worn cover and slowly channeled magic into it.

Aleph’s activity level should have reset past midnight.

As if to prove this, Aleph eagerly consumed Asel’s magic, but not excessively like before. It wasn’t without burden for Asel, but nevertheless, an amount of magic that didn’t require significant concern entered Aleph.

[Aleph resurrection.]

Not long after, Aleph opened its blank pages and awoke. Asel poured cold water into the cup on his desk and said.

“So it does reset past midnight. Thankfully, it doesn’t seem to be 24 hours after its activity ran out.”

[Did I not explain?]

“You just said what you needed to say and disappeared back then.”

[Ah ha.]

As he drank the cold water, he felt his mind activate despite the early hour. Asel tore off a few papers hanging on the wall and placed them on the desk.

[Then I will give you a proper explanation now. The total time I can be active is 30 minutes, and this time will increase the longer you use me.]

“You couldn’t even last 30 minutes yesterday.”

[That is because I used most of the absorbed magic to register and remember the master’s magic. Not now. This Aleph is currently in perfect condition. Ask me anything you wish.]

“Okay, well. Let’s ask some questions before experimenting.”

Asel sorted the formulas written on the papers by type and continued speaking.

“First, the Bolt of Praise. Can I consume this immediately? Or does it require specific conditions like Thunderclap Grass?”

[You can consume it as is. However, on a day when lightning pours like rain, if you consume it at a high place, it will resonate with naturally occurring lightning, allowing you to gain even more lightning energy. It is not a recommended method for ordinary people, but electric mages can gain more help this way.]

“Hmm… is that so?”

[Yes. Furthermore, the Bolt of Praise has a side effect of neatly healing wounds or illnesses all over the body the moment it is consumed. That is why it was quite a sought-after elixir in the past. However, after the only person who could create it passed away, it was forgotten and does not seem very well known currently.]

“It heals wounds? There weren’t any formulas or magic for that.”

[Perhaps it is an effect that occurs because unicorn horn powder is among the ingredients needed for its creation. It is more in the realm of alchemy than formulas or magic.]

Unicorn. A word referring to the divine beast commonly called a unicorn. It was not a creature commonly seen in the past or present, and its popularity was far higher than other divine beasts because it was an animal that favored pure and innocent people.

This popularity also applied to other divine beasts; it was said that if you killed a unicorn, other divine beasts would relentlessly pursue the killer and tear them apart. There were actual records remaining of this.

Despite this, there were still many people seeking unicorns. This was because the legend existed that drinking a unicorn’s blood granted eternal life.

Not just the blood, other body parts also tended to benefit humans, so the value of a unicorn was unimaginably high. Even the hair that occasionally appeared in auctions could fetch prices approaching hundreds of thousands of gold coins.

If even the hair was like that, what would the value of unicorn horn powder be? Asel could not even begin to guess the value of the elixir on his desk.

‘…Should I sell it.’

Asel thought that for a moment, but then shook his head and carefully put the Bolt of Praise away in a drawer.

There was no reason to sell an item that would help him advance in rank. It might be different if he were short on money, but thanks to the support from Ena and Weiheim, his life was more than abundant. Unless he was going to give up the path of a mage, it was right to keep this and consume it in a place where lightning struck.

More importantly, a day when lightning pours like rain. What Aleph said didn’t just sound like a day with a lot of thunder. Asel asked Aleph about this, and Aleph agreed with him.

[In the western part of the continent, in the Bishop Kingdom, there is a region called ‘Carved Cliff’. When summer arrives, lightning strikes incessantly from the top of that cliff for several months. The people of the Bishop Kingdom recognize the start of summer by seeing this spectacle of lightning.]

“Bishop Kingdom… that’s where the Hargelin family is.”

[They are one of the representative noble families of the kingdom. They are also a family that has produced many warriors thanks to their innate monstrous strength.]

“Maybe I’ll visit sometime during vacation.”

Asel muttered that, then channeled magic into the sorted formulas. Diverse patterns and lights rose above each formula, in various colors.

This meant they were functioning normally. He nodded and deactivated all the activated formulas.

The experiment preparations were complete. Asel placed Aleph in a holder and covered the research lab and his body with all sorts of defense formulas in case of unexpected circumstances. Aleph watched the scene and asked.

[Master, may I ask what you are planning to do?]

“Ask.”

[What are you planning to do?]

“I’m just going to check if you’re helpful in combat too.”

[It is possible. However, the magic you can use will be limited to lightning formulas based on your aptitude.]

“Who said lightning magic is my only aptitude?”

[Huh?]

Aleph expressed doubt, and Asel smiled and sent fire-attributed magic into Aleph’s interior.

[You have dual attributes? This is surprising.]

Next, he sequentially flowed magic with transformed attributes such as water flow, wind, freezing, earth, and shadow.

[Oh dear. Master, something is strange. It seems a mistake occurred during the process of reading your magic.]

“It’s not a mistake, probably?”

[Then does that mean all of this is the master’s magic? Is that even possible? Historically, multi-attribute holders didn’t basically exceed three types of magic they could use. But this is…]

Asel chuckled at Aleph’s words.

Even though it was just simple text without a face or voice, somehow he knew what Aleph was feeling. When he first touched her, he had only manifested lightning-attributed magic, so it wasn’t strange for her to be surprised.

Asel lastly inserted his fluid pure magic and asked.

“How is it?”

Aleph was silent for a moment, then replied in large letters.

[That’s insane.]

Asel burst out laughing at that crude expression.