episode_0036

That night.

The village square once again held a small festival.

With the food storage generously refilled after a long time, and with money still left over, the villagers were all enjoying a small feast together with the merchants.

“Hoo…”

Escaping the festivities, I wiped the sweat from my forehead in an open lot on the outskirts of the village, examining the magic circle drawn on the ground.

“This side is all done!”

“Mm-hmm… here too… almost finished!”

Killua, whose injured shoulder had fully healed thanks to the medicinal properties of the World Tree’s sap, was drawing a magic circle on the ground with a wooden stick.

Unlike me, who easily drew the magic circle with the sturdy axe handle given by the Hero, Killua was struggling to draw the circle, almost hugging the large stick.

Her magical knowledge and talent were just as they were during her Archmage days, but her body wouldn’t move as she willed due to her terribly weak mana and physical abilities.

“This side is done too!!”

Killua, who had completed the magic circle’s pattern by twisting her waist with all her remaining strength, let out a scream-like gasp and threw away the wooden stick she had been hugging.

“Phew… it’s hot today, so hot!!”

Killua, whose neck was damp with sweat, fanned her forehead with a hand fan, cursing the night weather, which was warmer than usual.

“This magic circle… it’s a combination of a mana amplification circle and a detection magic circle, isn’t it?”

Having received some magical knowledge from her, I could immediately discern the nature of the magic circle she had drawn.

“And since there’s a full moon tonight, the efficiency will be at its peak.”

The brighter the moonlight, the stronger the activation of mana flow in nature.

On such a day, even Killua, with her faint mana, would be able to use a somewhat effective amount of mana if she was on a mana amplification magic circle.

“By the way… will finding his former fiancée’s remains be helpful?”

I asked Killua, who was circling the magic circle once more, checking its completeness.

A sweet, undeniable current already flowed between Killua and Rai.

If left as they were, it was clear they would end up together, provided no major accidents or incidents occurred.

Despite this, I couldn’t help but question Killua’s bothersome efforts to search for the former fiancée’s remains.

“By finding and burying the remains, Rai will be able to bury his lingering regrets and guilt about his former fiancée along with them.”

Killua, who had finished circling the magic circle and nodded contentedly, calmly explained her reasons for her actions to me.

“And since his fiancée’s memento was used to save my life… I also wanted to express my gratitude to his former fiancée.”

“I see.”

Burying the remains of the dead in their homeland would be the greatest expression of gratitude one could show to the deceased.

“Alright. Come over here, Jazel.”

Killua, who had finished checking the magic circle’s condition and confirmed there were no issues, called me to the center of the circle.

“Isn’t this where the caster should be?”

Normally, the caster performing the magic would stand in the very center of the magic circle.

I couldn’t help but cock my head at her action of calling me to such a spot.

“I don’t have enough mana to cast the spell. We have to do it together.”

“Ah… I see.”

It meant her mana was so faint that she couldn’t even manifest magic with the help of the mana amplification circle.

Realizing anew that she possessed less mana than an average person, I quietly walked to the center of the magic circle as she instructed.

“Alright. Take off your top.”

As I stood in the center of the magic circle, Killua suddenly demanded I take off my top.

“Huh?”

I couldn’t help but doubt my ears, looking at her with eyes full of bewilderment.

“To use your mana, I need direct physical contact.”

Killua took out Rai’s pendant, which she had put in her pocket, and spoke as if it were no big deal.

“I-Is that so?”

“Yes. That’s how it is, so take it off quickly.”

At her firm and resolute insistence, I hesitated and carefully began to take off my top.

My meager body, far from physical training, began to be revealed under the bright moonlight.

“Squish!”

“Gah!!”

As I hesitantly removed my top, Killua’s hands suddenly gripped the flesh on both my sides with force. I screamed like a girl and covered my body with the clothes I was taking off.

“Hehehe… take care of yourself a bit. If you gain any more weight, you’ll be no different from the Hero.”

Perhaps amused by my girlish reaction, Killua burst out laughing and patted my hunched back heartily while I hugged my clothes.

“Like the Hero?”

My complexion turned pale as I recalled the Hero, whose belly fat jiggled, twice as large as mine.

My belly fat hadn’t swollen enough to be described as jiggling yet, but as she said, I was plump enough to be described as ‘chubby’.

“Ugh…”

Having never imagined taking off my top in front of Killua, I could only let out a groan, as if blaming myself for neglecting my body.

“Alright, alright… let’s just get to work quickly.”

Killua, giving a crescent-eyed smile as if she had no particular interest in my upper body, hung Rai’s pendant, which she had received from him, around her neck.

Then she gestured for me to quickly sit in the center of the magic circle.

“Let’s… let’s finish this quickly.”

Finally resigning myself, I set my top, which had been covering my body, down on the ground for a moment and plopped down in the center of the magic circle as Killua instructed.

Killua approached from behind me and placed both hands on my shoulders.

“Alright… calm your mind… and slowly move your mana as you feel my energy.”

“Understood.”

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, quickly calming my turbulent mind.

Then I felt a faint energy, as if seeping from Killua’s hands placed on my shoulders.

Carefully, I accepted her energy as it seeped into my body without resistance.

“Good. We don’t need too much… just a little…”

Killua’s energy, having seeped into my body, very courteously and carefully drew out a portion of my mana circulating within me.

I, too, as if welcoming the action of Killua’s energy, controlled the mana flowing through my body and slowly let it flow as her energy guided it.

*Hummmm…*

With a subtle resonating hum, the magic circle spread around us began to glow with a blue light.

At the same time, Rai’s pendant, which hung around Killua’s neck, began to emit a faint light and slowly started to float in the air.

“Mmm… I thought it would be nearby… I’ll extend the detection range a bit.”

Extending the detection range meant that more mana was needed.

Her energy, which had seeped into my body, gently caressed my mana, as if asking for permission to draw out more.

“I’m fine.”

Without hesitation, I imbued her energy with even more of my mana and passed it over.

Then, the light of the magic circle spread around us intensified, and a slightly heavier resonating hum reverberated in my ears.

“Good, I found it! Hmm? But something feels strange?”

Killua’s brow furrowed slightly, as if there was a problem despite having found the trace she was concentrating on.

“Is there some kind of problem?”

“……”

Killua did not answer my question.

Still with a deeply furrowed expression, Killua slowly opened her eyes and fiddled with Rai’s pendant hanging around her neck.

“I felt a worrisome energy next to Rai’s fiancée’s remains.”

“A worrisome energy?”

After a brief moment of deliberation, Killua seemed to make up her mind and took off Rai’s pendant, which she had been wearing around her neck to activate her detection magic.

But Killua’s hands didn’t stop after removing the pendant; they proceeded to unbutton her own top.

“Killua-nim?!”

Startled by her unexpected action of taking off her top, I hastily turned my head.

“The energy was too faint. To be sure, I need to activate the detection magic more powerfully and precisely.”

In short, it meant more mana was needed for a stronger magic activation.

Killua could draw more mana from my body the more skin surface area she had in close contact with me.

Needing more mana than just having her hands on my shoulders, she was taking off her top for closer physical contact.

“D-Do you absolutely need to confirm it?!”

I hastily asked about the importance of the worrisome energy she had discovered.

“Yes.”

To my question, Killua affirmed with a resolute voice, accompanied by the rustle of her top coming completely off.

“You take off your pants too.”

“P-Pants too?!”

Startled by her instruction, which was effectively telling me to be in my underwear, I looked back at her.

“What? Why?”

Killua was already taking off her outerwear pants in front of my eyes, pulling them down to below her thighs.

Her modest chest and private parts, covered by pure white underwear, were revealed without obstruction under the bluish moonlight.

As I stared blankly at her, forgetting even to breathe at the unexpectedly shocking sight, Killua let out a small sigh, shook her legs to dislodge the pants slightly caught at her ankles, and then tossed them away.

“You’re not waiting for me to take them off for you, are you?”

As I continued to stare blankly at her, Killua looked down at me with a hint of disgust in her eyes and snapped.

“N-No!”

Flustered by her rebuke, I hastily unbuckled my pants as she instructed and quickly took them off.