Chapter 99

“Shall… shall we begin?”

“Yes. Please prepare.”

This place was the rear mountain, not far from Falaharte Castle. In front of the massive lake, I and Reika were conducting a kind of experiment.

“Th-then…!”

Reika closed her eyes and generated another fireball in her hand. I checked the rapier I was holding.

…It’s not glowing.

‘Hmm?’

No matter how long I waited, there was no sign of anything changing.

I spoke to Reika to clarify the situation.

“That’s enough, Miss Reika. It seems we don’t need to see more.”

“Ack… yes!”

Reika easily dispelled the fireball from her hand. The experiment I had just conducted was to see if this rapier could amplify mana regardless of any conditions.

And the results had just come out.

Our trip to the lakeside was for naught. To be honest, I sort of expected this. If the weapon reacted to mana, it should’ve shimmered when Reika demonstrated her magic in front of me.

‘Does it have conditions?’

If it has conditions, what are they?

I thought about asking Reika directly, but since it wasn’t directly related to the state, the most likely result would’ve been “unknown.”

“Um…”

“Hmm?”

Lost in thought, Reika approached me with a worried expression.

“What’s happening…?”

“I was hoping it’d work like before, but it doesn’t seem to be going well.”

“…”

Reika seemed to recall something and looked frightened.

“Miss Reika?”

“Swoen… Magic might be much more incredible than I thought. Can I really control this kind of power…?”

She spread her pale hands and stared at them. Her voice and her delicate arms were trembling.

Until now, she probably only used magic to create fire or ice in her hands. But going to the battlefield means—aiming those things at living people.

Of course, in this Era of Chaos, she must’ve accepted that fact somehow. Having lived as an orphan, she understood how the world worked, and she was someone who managed to survive. She wouldn’t suddenly start spouting idealistic notions. If she had such thoughts, she would’ve refused to learn magic altogether.

But what if she directed that firepower not at a wall but at a cluster of soldiers?

Her abilities clearly exceeded her calculations, so it made sense she’d feel uneasy.

I slowly placed my hand on her shaking shoulder.

“It’s okay, Miss Reika.”

“Swoen…”

“Your power is to protect everyone. You’re fighting to protect… As long as you don’t lose sight of that purpose, you can control any power.”

“To protect…”

Reika listened to my words, then seemed lost in thought before slowly nodding.

Though she didn’t reply, I noticed her trembling gradually subsiding.

‘Anyway, figuring out the activation condition right now seems tough.’

I glanced down at the rapier, thinking how useful it could’ve been if used properly—right at that moment.

“Um… Swoen.”

“Yes?”

“That sword… Could you let me hold it for a moment?”

“This one?”

I pointed to the green rapier.

Nod.

She silently nodded.

Though it does have a sharp edge, since it’s primarily a ceremonial weapon, nothing dangerous should happen.

“Here you go.”

“Thank you…”

Reika respectfully took the rapier with both hands, gripped its hilt, and closed her eyes. I saw her take a slow, deep breath before opening her eyes and speaking to me.

“Inside… there’s mana… present.”

“Huh?”

“This sword seems to absorb mana.”

“Absorb mana?”

“How do I know? When I close my eyes, I can feel something flowing inside this sword. I felt something similar when the fireball I created was drawn toward this sword. So, I decided to check…”

“Why isn’t it working now, then?”

At my question, Reika pondered for a while before carefully replying.

“Not entirely sure, but… maybe because the mana hasn’t gathered yet…?”

“The mana hasn’t gathered… huh.”

Just as I was about to think further, I noticed her hesitating.

“Is there something else you want to say?”

“Eh?! Oh, um, well…!”

Seems like I hit the nail on the head.

“You can speak freely.”

“But it’s just speculation, not accurate information…”

“I make a living off speculation.”

At my words, Reika replied in a timid voice.

“R-really…? Still, Swoen is such an amazing person…”

“I’m an amazing person who wants to hear your story. Isn’t that enough?”

“Uuugh…”

She blushed, embarrassed by my words.

“So… um, it might be because of meditation…?”

“Meditation?”

“Weren’t you always with me? Every time I meditated with you, I could feel the flow of mana within me becoming clearer. This weapon, since Swoen carried it… maybe it’s influenced by your meditation or something like that?”

Huh?

Now that I think about it, that sounds plausible.

To me, meditation was just a way to pass the time, but I did meditate regularly. And every time we meditated, Reika, being a mage, testified that she could feel her mana gathering. Plus, we often came to the back mountain because it was overflowing with mana.

‘So… maybe it’s like a ‘battery’ that’s fully charged?’

We still need to verify a few more things, but…

At least I found a small clue in a situation where I couldn’t see ahead at all.

I slowly approached Reika.

Looking up at me, she seemed inexplicably cute, and without realizing it, I patted her head.

“As usual, Miss Reika. You’ve been a great help.”

“Ah… y-yes, sir!”

While watching her repeatedly bow her head, red even to her ears, saying thank you over and over—

For the first time, I wondered what it might feel like if she became my wife.

*

A few days later.

The usually calm morning scenery felt a little different today.

“Lord summoned us?”

“Yeah. A soldier heading to the barracks told me on the way.”

It was still before dawn.

On my way out of the house, Iren, who was heading to the barracks for duty, spoke to me.

“What’s going on?”

“I don’t know exactly… but the soldier who came to me had an urgent look on his face. Something serious must’ve happened. Swoen, do you have any guesses?”

‘Guesses…’

Honestly, I wasn’t completely clueless, so I naturally felt a bit uneasy—but—

‘Let’s just go see.’

If the Lord calls, you simply head there.

“Let’s go. We’ll find out once we get there.”

“Hmm. Indeed. It’s been a while since we’ve gone to the Royal Palace together.”

“Do you look forward to going with me?”

“Wha?! W-wait! That’s not what I meant…!”

Seeing Iren blush so obviously after hearing my words, I couldn’t help but smile.

“I’ve been waiting.”

“Wh-what?! D-don’t say things like that…! You… you’re fine on your own…”

“I’m lonely though. Lately, we’ve been doing separate things, so our time together has decreased.”

“B-but… after missions end… w-we always spend the nights together…”

“We always spend the nights together, huh?”

“N-no, that’s not what I meant…!”

Iren was flustered, spinning around in circles. The girl who usually had a ghostly expression on the battlefield was showing me such a relaxed side, which I found incredibly adorable.

“Enough fooling around, Swoen! I’ll deal with you later… Let’s hurry to the palace!”

Even though she said she’d “deal with me later,” I decided not to push it further. With a silly grin, I headed to the palace with her.

As we walked, I exchanged a few more pointless jokes with Iren… and in my own way, I was trying to suppress the rising unease within me.

*

When we arrived at the palace.

Something unsettling floating in the air began to weigh heavily on me.

“The atmosphere feels unusually heavy.”

Iren also seemed to sense something similar, speaking in a very solemn tone.

“We might need to brace ourselves.”

With caution, we headed to the Audience Chamber.

In the chamber were all the commanders working in this Falaharte Castle, including Jinoru.

Still, Yuri wasn’t there yet…

After waiting for a few minutes…

The unease that had lingered somewhere in my heart turned into reality, staring down at me sharply.

“Anima… has been captured by the Serpina Army.”

At Yuri’s trembling voice revealing those words—

An oppressive atmosphere heavy enough to crush people began circulating throughout the palace.