Episode 66. The Road to Philimond (3)
“Chloe, now that I know I have mana, please teach me how to increase it… … .”
“Really? You want to learn magic from me?”
An unexpected reaction. Chloe nodded vigorously, cutting off Rubin mid-sentence.
“Then, am I going to become a teacher?”
Chloe smiled cheerfully, but the others gathered at the dinner table could not.
Everyone sitting around the table felt the atmosphere become tense in an instant. Even the cat that was lying on the floor slowly eating the meat.
The one they were keeping an eye on was Celesne.
“… … .”
“Celestine, can I teach Luden magic myself?”
Celestia, who was serving the food she had cooked herself, on a plate. She put the plate down on the table and looked at Chloe with a serious face.
“Miss. Of course, you will teach Lord Luden just as you learned from your family, right?”
“Then… it won’t work?”
A wrinkle formed between Celestia’s eyebrows, but her lips were forced into a smile.
“Uh… Well, that won’t do. The teachings that you have been receiving on a daily basis are a vision that the Empire, no, the entire continent, wants to uncover.”
Then, Celesne’s gaze turned sharply towards Rubin. Her gaze contained the meaning of asking why he was doing such a reckless thing.
“Hmm, wasn’t it Lady Celesne who told you to do your best to help Princess Chloe to freely pass on her knowledge?”
The one who stepped forward, digging through the gap, was Kuze. In fact, he was very surprised, but he couldn’t express his surprise. Master Rubin had mana!
Instead, he quickly assessed the situation. What was the master’s intention and what he should do first to help him.
But Celesne glanced at Kuze and turned her head away.
“I don’t think it’s something that Kuze should do.”
“I feel like Lady Celesne has been a bit too harsh on me lately… … .”
“Sharp! And have you forgotten my ‘warning’ back then?”
‘Warning’? Kuze felt wronged. What on earth does that mean? He has no idea what Tina has done.
Now, even anger appeared in Celesne’s eyes. Suddenly, sparks flew towards him, and Kuze carefully put down the fork he was holding.
As the atmosphere became increasingly tense, the cat slowly went outside with a piece of meat in its mouth.
at that time.
A mana line appeared before Rubin’s eyes. Since he couldn’t create a mana line yet, it obviously wasn’t Rubin’s.
-Luden, do you see this?
It was Chloe. She was writing with a mana line, the same way she had been conversing with Celesne before.
However, Rubin and Chloe were not the only ones who could see the mana line. Celesne also noticed the mana line swirling through the air, and sighed deeply.
-I really can’t understand adults.
Chloe’s playful words float in the air.
“Miss! Really… … .”
-But you know that Celestia isn’t that cold, right, Luden? You understand. And you should definitely tell Kuze.
Rubin didn’t say anything. Instead, he observed Chloe’s mana lines moving briskly and refreshingly in the air.
Drawing a mana line is the basis of magic casting. However, it is not as easy as it sounds. If you are a magician of the Wonhwi type, magic is cast by drawing a circle according to the magic formula.
However, the problem is that just as it is difficult for an unmanned person to handle weapons and swords, it is also difficult to draw a mana line.
‘A child who handles mana lines like ribbons.’
It didn’t end there.
-Should I hide the mana line?
With those words, the mana line disappeared from Rubin’s sight. However, the mana line still existed. It was only in Chloe’s sight.
‘Internalizing the Mana Line? Are you really eleven years old?’
A novice wizard cannot hide his mana line, so he is exposed as a wizard and what spells he is casting against his enemies.
Therefore, knowing how to internalize mana lines was also a minimum requirement for being a mid-level magician.
Rubin snickered. Chloe’s abilities were certainly beyond imagination, but the way she displayed them was so childish that it made him laugh.
Chloe smiled again, perhaps taking Rubin’s laughter as admiration for her own abilities.
Boom boom boom.
“Kuje, do you need any pepper?”
This time, Chloe must have drawn a psychokinesis with her mana line. The pepper shaker floated in the air and flew between Kuze and Celesne, who were glaring at each other.
Then Celesne sighed and shook her head weakly.
“Haa… Miss, then let’s do it like this.”
“Can I teach you some magic, Luden?”
“Listen to me first. It is absolutely unacceptable to reveal the family’s unique visionary methods.”
Celesne grabbed the pepper shaker floating in the air with one hand and tapped it on one of the dishes on the table.
“Besides, realistically, there is no time for that. Unfortunately, this ship will arrive in Philimond in a few days. If you study at a difficult level now, it will only hinder your growth, Lord Luden.”
“Then what do you want me to do?”
Celestia was reluctant, but had no choice so she made this suggestion.
“Magic is a later issue, and right now, Lord Luden needs the most basic of the basics. He needs to know how to achieve harmony with mana.”
Then he added his words as if he was letting out a groan.
“If your mana sensitivity is not up to standard, it can actually harm your body and mind. In severe cases, you can even become paralyzed.”
Harmony with Mana. Rubin nodded. It was true, and it was what he had hoped for.
If you have enough Darkness, you will be less affected by the Giant Mana Stone. That was a fact, but it was also true that it wasn’t the best. It meant that you had to devote a certain amount of Darkness to resisting Mana every day.
However, if you know how to harmonize with mana, you can block the resistance of mana stones at the source. That means you can prevent the waste of darkness.
“But Celestia. Didn’t your father always say that as imperial nobles, we should be good examples for the people of the empire?”
“This alone is a stroke of luck for Lord Luden, my lady.”
“Chee. Luden, is that okay?”
“It’s okay. But there are only a few days left. Will it be possible within that time?”
——————
faqwiki.us
Join our Discord for new chapter updates!
https://discord.com/invite/xr7SxG5T6V
——————
“You idiot. Harmonizing with mana is easier than breaking a biscuit.”
Suddenly, a biscuit on the table cracked into two pieces. It was definitely Chloe’s doing.
Only then did the awkward atmosphere at the dinner table begin to flow smoothly again. Celesne looked at Rubin and said.
“Of course I will watch over you. Is that okay, Young Master?”
“Yeah. Of course.”
“And I hope Kuze-sama isn’t there. He’s the type of person who doesn’t keep his promises, so I’m a little worried.”
“No, Lady Celestia! What are you saying… … .”
Although Kuze felt wronged, Celesne chose to ignore him rather than reveal the whole story. She thoroughly felt that such a thing would hurt her pride.
Chloe giggled, and Rubin pretended not to notice anything and finished his meal.
* * *
A few days passed.
During those few days, Rubin spent some time with Chloe, taking lessons on how to harmonize his body and mana. It was more like a one-sided transfer of abilities than a lesson.
Chloe, who was constantly talking and teaching indirectly, approached the student with a stern expression when it seemed like the student was not following along properly.
Then he put his hands on Rubin’s shoulders and did something, it felt like he was tuning a stringed instrument.
Every time Chloe stepped forward like that, Rubin felt the resonance within his body become more balanced.
‘I can feel the mana.’
Near the heart. In the third ring containing Haneke’s aura, mana began to slowly rise. Aura and mana maintained their respective positions, maintaining a borderline between them that seemed to mix.
One thing that is a bit different is the nature of the two forces.
Mana was completely different from the heavy feeling of Aura.
If Aura was a dense, heavy lump of iron, Mana was like evaporating water vapor, as light as a collection of millions of grains.
‘This is Mana’s characteristic.’
If there was an abundance of mana stones nearby, each of these grains would become heavier. If not, they would become much lighter. The power of the magic would vary depending on its weight.
“Miss, if you do that, your training will be meaningless.”
Despite Celestia’s advice, Chloe couldn’t stand the frustration and ended up matching Rubin’s mana herself.
Not forgetting the nagging, “I’ve never been this in tune before. But you really can’t help it.”
In this situation, it was actually Rubin who was more comfortable. He strategically showed his ignorance and took advantage of Chloe’s personality. That was much more advantageous for his growth.
“after.”
The class was over in just three days. Rubin’s body had become in harmony with mana as he had aimed.
“What do you think?”
“It definitely seems different.”
“Hmm, it seems like you’re in a bit of a hurry, Miss, but anyway, from what I can see, your body is accepting the mana without any resistance. Your sensitivity must have improved compared to before.”
Celesne placed a hand on one of Rubin’s shoulders and spoke, sensing the texture of the mana flowing through his body.
“I didn’t do anything. Actually, Chloe did everything.”
“I know. I saw it.”
Celesne met Rubin’s eyes and continued speaking in a more serious tone.
“Master Luden. You must feel like you’ve been blessed with incredible luck. You’ve grown your mana to a level that you didn’t even know you had. But you’re not thinking of becoming a wizard, are you?”
“A wizard? I don’t think so.”
“Well, that’s fortunate. There are some people who have fantasies about the world of wizards.”
“Don’t worry. I have to continue the family business.”
“You said you were in the book business in the Avern region. I had forgotten.”
A family that rose to the third-class nobility through the success of various publishing businesses centered around the Avern region. The reason they went to Philimond was that there was a business matter that needed to be reviewed in accordance with imperial law.
It was all a setting created by Rubin and Kuze.
“The advice I have for you is that you should not become greedy because of the mana you have gained this time. Well, since you have mana, you can later become independent and try to start a business like mining mana stones. However, if you want to become a wizard or something… … .”
Celestia closed her mouth. Anyway, I knew exactly what she was trying to say. Don’t dream of becoming a wizard.
The warning between the lines was also clear. It was meant to warn Chloe and the Witherspoon family not to get involved with the connections they made while on the ship.
It was a warning that any eleven-year-old raised in a noble family would have noticed. Rubin answered meekly.
“I don’t care. Don’t worry.”
“Then today will be the last night.”
There was regret in Celestia’s words.
The sharpness she had displayed as a maid of the Imperial Noble Family over the past few days had dulled considerably. Even the warning advice she gave to Rubin was filled with a familiarity that had been built up over the course of the voyage.
“Hmm… Are you arriving in Philimond tomorrow morning?”
“Warak said. This ship is currently at the mouth of the river leading to the center of Philimond, and is on standby.”
It was a natural procedure to enter the main city of the Empire. Dozens of other ships that had arrived before the Blue Cat were also waiting, waiting for approval to board the Philimond River.
Of course, if she revealed her identity as Witherspoon, the problem would be solved easily. Then she could get to Phillymond Ferry within an hour, beating out the ships that had arrived earlier, but Chloe didn’t want to do that.
Rather, Chloe seemed to want to spend more time with Rubin and his group.
“The young lady is coming.”
From a distance, footsteps could be heard running down the hallway. As expected, it was Chloe. Chloe came running over to Rubin and Celesne, seemingly excited to see them.
“Luden! Aren’t you going to sleep already? To celebrate the last night, we’re all going to play a game together. We’ll have to split into two teams, so Celes, you should come too.”
“Yes, Miss. I will do that.”
Celestia followed Chloe.
Rubin also looked at the backs of the two people as they walked down the hallway. They were people whose fate might continue in Capotini.
Chloe’s immense talent is something to be envied, but she will not become my comrade. Rather, it would be fortunate if we do not meet as enemies.
If you meet two people in Capotini, how do you make them understand? It won’t be easy, considering the scale of what’s going on in Capotini.
But there was a more important matter waiting. Rubin went out onto the deck and looked out over there.
Dozens of ships lined up with their lights on.
And beyond.
Philimond was right in front of us.
‘From tomorrow onwards, I’m going to see only the boring color white.’
