episode_0099

*

“Si, shall we begin… … ?”

“Yes. Please prepare.”

This place is a back mountain not far from Balharat Castle.

In front of a huge lake, Reika and I were conducting some kind of experiment.

“Well, then… … !”

Reika closed her eyes and created a fireball in her hand again.

I checked the rapier in my hand.

… … doesn’t shine

‘what?’

No matter how long I wait, there is no sign that anything will change.

I talked to Reika and sorted out the situation.

“That’s it, Reika. I don’t think I need to look any further.”

“Ah, yes… … !”

Reika erased the fireball from her hand without difficulty.

What I just wanted to experiment with was that if this rapier was a magic power amplifier, wouldn’t it be possible to use it regardless of the situation?

And, the results of the experiment had just come out.

There was no point in coming all the way to the lake just in case something happened.

Actually, I kind of expected it to be like this. That’s right, if I knew how to react to magical power, it would have been normal for the weapon to have sparkled when Reika demonstrated it in front of me.

‘Are there any conditions?’

If there are conditions, what are they?

I thought about asking Reika, ‘What are the conditions?’, but since it was not directly related to the country, the prediction result was also likely to come up with words like ‘unknown.’

“Hey… … .”

“Ah.”

As I was lost in thought, Reika approached me with a worried expression.

“Well, what’s going on now… … ?”

“I tried to see if it would work like before, but it didn’t work out.”

“… … .”

Reika looked frightened, probably remembering what had just happened.

“Mr. Reika?”

“Swen… … I think magic may be something much more powerful than I thought. I have this power… … Can you control it well? … ?”

She opened her pure white palm and looked at it.

Her voice and her delicate arms were trembling.

The only magic she has experienced so far is simply creating something like fire or ice with her hands.

However, going into battle means throwing those things at living people.

Of course, in these difficult times, the fact itself would have been accepted somehow. As an orphan, she must have figured out how the world worked, and since she is also a person who somehow survived, she would not have any intention of talking about idealism now. If I had those feelings, I would have refused to learn magic itself.

However, what if the firepower from just now was fired at the place where the soldiers were gathered instead of the castle wall?

Perhaps, with a single wave of her hand, more than a dozen lives would be extinguished in an instant.

Since you have confirmed that your abilities are beyond your calculations, you may feel anxious.

I slowly placed my hand on her trembling shoulder.

“It’s okay, Reika.”

“Swen… … .”

“Reika-san’s power is to protect everyone. Because we are fighting to protect… … If you don’t lose that heart, you will be able to control any force.”

“The heart to protect… … .”

Reika listened to me and didn’t say anything, as if she was lost in thought…

Then he slowly nodded.

Although she didn’t answer, I could sense that her trembling was subsiding at some point.

‘Anyway, it would be difficult to find out what the trigger conditions are right now.’

At that time, I looked down at the rapier, thinking, “If I used it well, it could be quite useful.”

“I… … Mr. Swen.”

“Yes?”

“That sword… … Would you please give it to me for a moment?”

“This?”

I pointed to the green rapier.

Nod.

She nods wordlessly.

It’s not that the sun isn’t shining, but… … Since it is basically a ceremonial weapon, nothing dangerous will happen.

“Here you go.”

“Thank you… … !”

Reika politely accepted the rapier I gave her with both hands, then grasped its handle and closed her eyes.

I see her taking slow, deep breaths… … Not long after, he slowly opened his closed eyes and spoke to me.

“Inside, mana… … It exists.”

“Yes?”

“This sword seems to absorb mana.”

Absorbing mana?

“How do you know that?”

“If you close your eyes… … I can feel something flowing inside this sword. At that time, I had a similar feeling when the fireball I created was attracted to this sword. So, I checked just in case… … .”

“Then why not now?”

Reika thought about my words for a while and then spoke in a very cautious tone.

“It’s not accurate, but still… … Could it be that the mana wasn’t gathered… … ?”

“Mana did not gather… … D.”

Just as I was about to lose myself in thought, I noticed that she continued to hesitate.

“Is there anything else you’d like to say?”

“Yes?! Oh, that’s… … !”

It seems like what I said was correct.

“You can talk comfortably.”

“Well, that… … It’s not accurate information, it’s just speculation… … .”

“I also make a living by guessing.”

Reika responded to my words in a hushed voice.

“Is that so… … ? But, Swen is an amazing person… … .”

“As you said, I am amazing, and I would like to hear Reika’s story. Can’t I do this?”

“Uuuh… … .”

She blushed as if she was embarrassed by my words.

“So… … Well, I guess meditating helped… … ?”

“Meditation?”

“You were always with me… … ? Every time I meditated with Swen, I felt the mana flowing within me more and more clearly. Well, this weapon was carried by Swen… … I guess it’s like Swen’s meditation… … Something like that? Maybe it was influenced by something like that… … I want to… … .”

uh?

After hearing it, I found it to be a very plausible story.

From my perspective, it was just a way to kill time, but I meditated anyway.

Moreover, the magician Reika testified that every time she meditated, she could ‘feel magical power gathering.’

They said they were overflowing with mana every time they came to the mountain behind, so they often came together.

‘then… … Would it be correct to think that the ‘battery’ is dead?’

There may still be a need to do some more verification, but-

Still, I felt like I had somehow found a small clue in a situation where I couldn’t see anything at all.

I slowly approached Reika.

The sight of her looking up at me was strangely cute, so I unconsciously stroked her head.

“As expected, it’s Reika. It was really helpful.”

“Ah… … Yes, yep… … .”

Looking at her with her head down, even her ears turning red, she thanked me over and over again –

For the first time, I thought about how I would feel if she were my wife.

*

And, a few days after that day.

The morning scenery was a little different today than usual.

“The lord gave a summons order?”

“Okay. A soldier I met on the way to the barracks told me this.”

Before the day even starts.

Irene, who was heading to the barracks to perform a mission, spoke to me as I was getting ready to go out at home.

“What’s going on?”

“I don’t know that much… … The soldier who came to me had an urgent expression on his face. It seems like something serious. Swen, you have no guesses either?”

‘Guess, Ira.’

To be honest, it wasn’t completely gone, so I naturally felt a little uneasy –

‘Let’s go first.’

If the lord calls, just head there.

“Let’s go first. Then you will know.”

“Hmm. Sure. It’s been a while since I went to the castle with you.”

“Have you been waiting for the day to be with me?”

“What? Wait, I didn’t mean that… … !”

Looking at Irene, who clearly blushed after hearing my words, I smiled leisurely.

“I waited.”

“… … ?!”

“Irene, were you okay with not being with me? I was lonely in many ways. These days, we mostly act separately, so we spend less time together.”

“But, after the mission is over… … Well, we’re always together at night… … !”

“You’re always together at night, right?”

“No, that’s not it… … !”

Irene was wide-eyed and didn’t know what to do.

She had a ghost-like expression on her face when she was on the battlefield, but I thought it was very lovely to see her relaxed like that in front of me.

“Hey, this is not the time, Swen… … ! We’ll deal with him later, so shouldn’t we go to the royal castle first… … !”

I could have teased him more later, asking if he was really going to deal with me, but there was no need to go that far.

I laughed heartily and headed to the royal castle with her.

On the way, I exchanged a few more lame jokes with Iren… … I was erasing the anxiety rising inside me in my own way.

*

When you arrive at the royal castle.

Something unpleasant floating in the air began to put more and more pressure on me.

“The atmosphere seems particularly heavy.”

Irene must have been feeling the same way as me, so she spoke in a very serious tone.

“You might have to be prepared.”

So, I carefully headed to the throne room.

In the throne room, all the generals working at Balharat Castle, including Jinor, were gathered.

I can’t see Yuuri yet… … .

How many minutes did I wait like that?

Yuuri approached the throne and sat down with a very dark expression.

And soon-

The anxiety that had been lingering somewhere in my mind soon became reality and was staring me down clearly.

“Anima… … I was captured by Serpina Army.”

As Yuuri said those words in a trembling voice-

Inside the castle, an air heavy enough to crush people to death began to float.