Saikyou Mahoushi no Inton Keikaku (LN) - Volume 16 - Chapter 92

Ninety-Second Chapter

The World of Vessels

Alus decided to return to his temporary residence until the next day when they’d start. He stopped by the room in the practice block where Tesfia and the others would undergo the procedure.

It was isolated from the outside, and its walls and ceiling were as sturdy as the training grounds. Seeing that, he felt everything should be fine and returned to his own room.

His current temporary residence was even messier than his previous one because he’d thrown the equipment into his laboratory haphazardly, oppressing the living space. The bedding was shoved into a corner and the majority of the large room was filled with things unnecessary for daily life.

Regardless, Alus’s steps were light. The stimulation he’d so greatly desired had come. When he returned to his room, he made his way directly to the safe, paying no mind to Loki sighing behind him.

The safe itself was old, but it was able to create a password using a license’s configuration number, so it was reliable enough.

Uhm, where did I put my license... Right, there it is. 

Alus picked up the license from his desk and held it up to the safe. A white lamp lit up to show that it was reading the license, then its color changed to green as it finished unlocking. He opened it and reached in to take out the volume of the Four Books of Fegel within.

“Huh?” he exclaimed in bewilderment, finding the item he was looking for gone.

“Loki! Did you open the safe?”

“No, I haven’t touched it. Uhm, that is where you stored the part of the Four Books of Fegel, isn’t it? Do you mean it’s gone?!”

Alus nodded and put his palm on his forehead. He knew how strong the security of the safe was. It wouldn’t open without his license, and since he needed it on a daily basis, he mostly carried it around with him.

Even now... No.

Hmm? I just picked it up from my desk. I should have been carrying it around with me...so why was it there? Ah! 

Alus clicked his tongue and looked around. As he was unused to his temporary abode, it was difficult to notice any small changes, but...

“To think they got me...!”

At some point, his license had been swiped from him and his room trespassed into. And that scoundrel had probably taken the contents of the safe.

“Oh no, what should we do? If they’re this skilled they must have easily slipped through the Institute’s security screen. We should tear them to pieces when we find them!”

An exasperated voice came from the door as Loki shouted, “You shouldn’t say such violent things.”

A girl with blonde hair tied into a ponytail had appeared, though the familiar face had undergone a bit of an image change.

“I thought it was you, Lilisha,” said Alus.

“What could I do? My job included getting it back. Besides, it was only temporary from the start. Nobody said that they were giving it to you!”

It’d be childish logic to say that nobody said they weren’t giving it to him. But she was right, she had only handed one of the Four Books of Fegel to Alus. Perhaps it had only been a clue to find the escaped prisoners, but the ruler would never give anything for free.

Alus couldn’t help but click his tongue that he’d overlooked something so basic. He shouldn’t have kept it in the safe but rather somewhere nobody would ever find it. He was aghast with himself for getting so caught up in his intellectual curiosity that he’d neglected to take precautions.

But it was understandable in a way. The Four Books of Fegel were coveted by aficionados, and Alus was no exception.

No, surely nobody craved flipping through those pages as much as he did.

So even if the ruler previously possessed it, Alus was so absorbed that he didn’t even care. And having glimpsed into the book once he understood its immeasurable value.

“Damn it.”

“Sir Alus, you’ve been dancing on top of the ruler’s palm.”

He hated to admit it, but Loki was right. With his part of the Four Books of Fegel back in the ruler’s hands, the only way to get it back was to contribute to her cause. Although considering Cicelnia’s underhanded tricks, he’d rather throw some verbal abuse her way than loyalty.

Alus forgot his usual calm and restraint and glared at Lilisha, making a veiled threat. “This sucks. So did you have nothing better to do than come to jeer at me? I see, then I’ll take you up on it. It just so happens that you can hold mock battles in this building. So how bad of a headache do you want?”

“N-No, no way! Besides, aren’t you embarrassed over using a cute girl like me to distract yourself?!” Lilisha vigorously shook her head in panic. She’d also been used, since she probably knew nothing about the Four Books of Fegel’s contents.

“Damn, guess I don’t have a choice. I won’t be able to do anything against the ruler for the time being.”

Naturally, since the ruler had gone through the effort of getting it back, she understood the value of the Four Books of Fegel. The knowledge within was far too attractive to let go.

While it was only one of four books, the knowledge within was far above what humans had accomplished.

For the time being, Alus contained his anger and, leaving the room, moved over to the testing ground. For some reason, Lilisha was tagging along too.

“What are you going to do? Heh heh heh, I’m a little curious about...” she said.

“Don’t be so annoying. It’s not exactly a stress relief. I just came up with something new. But if you like, I can try it on you first,” said Alus.

“What?! You’re joking, right? Right?” asked Lilisha.

“Don’t worry, you wouldn’t even suffice to test out new magic on.”

Alus visited the testing ground because he remembered what Tesfia had told him when Lilisha first showed up. If it could be used as a substitute for the training grounds, he might as well give it a try. Moreover, he found it necessary to test his new power before tomorrow.

The space was not well leveled, but it was a sports ground that could be moved around to a certain extent, although it looked a size smaller than the training grounds. Of course, there was no audience seating and the second floor was simply a passageway.

Thanks to the rush construction there was a set of familiar equipment and a control panel for the mana substitution system there. There were AWRs for loan from the training grounds in one corner.

“Sir Alus, what is this new spell?” asked Loki.

“Yeah, it’s a spell I designed in the past, but due to certain circumstances, I wasn’t able to use it.”

“And now you can use it? When did you train for that?”

“I didn’t train,” he said. “It would be more accurate to say that I’ve become able to use it after getting used to how to handle my special ability.”

Without changing into training clothes, Alus drew Night Mist from the sheath at his waist, its chain rattling. Lilisha and Loki stepped back.

“Are you going to show off a new spell? Then are you sure I should be watching this? I do technically report directly to the ruler,” Lilisha idly whispered to Loki.

It was unusual for her to directly speak to Loki. They were quite distant. Lilisha was closer with Tesfia.

Loki answered her with a harsh tone. “Well, I am Sir Alus’s partner, so you are privileged in a way. But since you struggle against even Ms. Tesfia, I don’t think you have much to worry about.”

“Grr... You’re one to talk for someone younger than me! I’m trying to be frank here, so I would appreciate it if you weren’t so cruel to me!”

“Since Sir Alus hasn’t stopped you, I will follow his lead, but there will be no coming back from this.”

“I know, I owe Alus...and you too, of course. If Alus is so inclined, I won’t easily leak the secrets I see or hear.”

Winning over Lilisha, or rather dragging her in, wasn’t a bad idea. On top of saving her, by sharing secrets, she would become emotionally closer to Alus.

After thinking about that, Loki appreciated this series of events as a truly Alus-like approach or rather a way of showing his sincerity. They already had an inseparable tie, and in the coming Tenbram, her Frusevan family would play a role as a referee. So there wouldn’t be any problems with improving their inseparable relationship.

But as far as Loki was concerned, her usefulness to Alus was questionable. Having seemingly picked up on Loki’s thoughts, Lilisha gave her a glum look.

“What? I bet you think I’m not very useful! While it might be thanks to you two, I’m a little impressive too right now!”

“How much is a little?”

“I’m the commander of the new Aferka! With Aferka being reorganized, I practically have the most authority in the Frusevan family. I might not be the head of the family, but I’m the number one important figure in the Rimfuge family!”

“I see. So with Aferka serving the ruler with you as the top, the past power balance has collapsed. And the scales now greatly tip toward the ruler,” said Loki.

“That’s right.” Lilisha snorted in acknowledgment. “Rimfuge exists for Aferka. With my brother leaving the spotlight on the surface to me, it has brought us all together. Well, I guess we’re still being pushed around by the ruler.”

“So?”

“So I can be Alus’s backing,” said Lilisha. “Right now, your mast—partner is recklessly running around making enemies of nobles.”

“You have a point. But that is none of your business. The Socalent family is already backing Sir Alus.”

Lilisha’s eyes opened wide and she let out a heavy sigh. “The Socalent family members are treated as newcomers in high society. Lord Vizaist’s power is great, so everyone is keeping quiet, but the animosity among the old nobles is stronger than you think. Meanwhile, we have received the honor of becoming a unit directly under the ruler and finally coming out into the spotlight. Frankly, our prestige is making a comeback!”

The Frusevan family had been taking on shady work behind the scenes, so they had always been treated questionably, but according to Lilisha, it wouldn’t be long before she became well-known as the ruler’s close aide.

“Do you get it now?”

“Ah, what was that? I’m sorry. I was too focused on Sir Alus to hear what you said.” Loki’s blatant taunt did not sit well with Lilisha.

Lilisha turned her entire body to Loki, her face red from anger. “Like I said! As long as I’m here, the five families of Rimfuge will all support Alus!”

“...Sir Alus, we got her word on it.” Loki broke the good news to Alus, who was standing in the middle of the testing ground, and he answered with a simple thumbs-up.

Meanwhile, Lilisha stood dazed, realizing she’d just been played like a fiddle. “Huh?”

“Don’t give us that. You said it clearly. Well, we’ll at least need you to promise.”

Lilisha was speechless for a while, but she eventually covered her face with her hands. Once the red in her face faded, it was replaced with the sullen expression of a dog that had fallen into water.

“B-But just don’t ask to borrow a fortune or something right away, please. I just got this post, and our family has various expenses...and duties, so...well, it’s fine.”

In a slightly serious tone, Loki worried over Alus’s current state, having left the military. “Money doesn’t matter. Just so you know, Sir Alus’s fortune rivals that of a major noble family. You just need to lend him your power. And also help to make our status clear in high society. I don’t know about Sir Alus, but I have some concerns.”

“Concerns, is it? But I don’t think so.” It went without saying that Lilisha had understood Loki’s thoughts.

Having been sent by Governor-General Berwick to observe him, Lilisha knew about Alus’s records and his surroundings, as well as most likely doing some research on his current situation.

“Nobody would risk being cruel to someone like Alus with his monstrous strength,” said Lilisha.

“No, there’s no guarantee for that,” Loki said, putting her hand over her chest. Sorrow stained her face.

Alus was stubborn and obstinate by nature. Even though he had his own worries and concerns, others only saw him as self-indulgent and not giving a damn about anyone. In fact, he didn’t even bow down to the authority of the ruler and refused to let anyone hold his reins, which was why Loki feared that one day Alus would be eliminated by Alpha. That one day those who were antagonistic or feared him would unite through chance, and that through international conditions, they would have the power to threaten even Berwick’s protection.

For starters, Alus was simply too irregular for the small human domain. His overwhelming power exceeded admiration; it earned him only fear.

“So I want as many as I can,” said Loki.

“Allies?” asked Lilisha.

“Yes, I suppose you could call them merry friends.”

Lilisha couldn’t believe what she was hearing, and her cheek twitched briefly. Noticing it, Loki couldn’t help but smile.

Indeed, allies were reassuring. Not superiors or subordinates, nor colleagues, nor those with shared interests. Tesfia and Alice, the current Lilisha and Felinella—she was sure that those merry friends, connected by something gentler, would one day become Alus’s strength.

“But honestly, there are quite a few people who would help Sir Alus when necessary. Powerful helpers.”

“I can imagine. He’s surprisingly kind.” Lilisha put a finger on her light-pink lips to think.

Seeing that, Loki spoke up. “Oh, that won’t be necessary. There are already enough candidates already.”

“As if!” Lilisha frowned, but Loki cleared her throat and adjusted her voice and attempted to copy Alus’s tone. “Sorry, you’re not my type. I’m not interested. You’re always complaining about everything and don’t know anything about discretion. Uhm, also...”

“I wasn’t confessing! Why are you trying to reject me? Also, that latter part was just bad-mouthing me!”

“I see, excuse me.” Lilisha’s shoulders relaxed after this silly exchange, and with a sigh, she looked over to the testing grounds. “Looks like preparations finished while we were talking. If anything, he’s looking over here instead of starting.”

“Let’s just shut our mouths,” said Loki.

Lilisha lightly waved her hand as a sign for Alus to begin, but he returned a cold stare.

“Ah...now he’s angry. It’s your fault, Ms. Lilisha,” said Loki.

“You’re wicked, you know that?” asked Lilisha.

Immediately after that...the two sensed the atmosphere had suddenly changed and fell silent, both looking at Alus. He was holding Night Mist in a reverse-grip.

An ominous black shadow flowed out from his body. It looked slightly different from the Gra Eater Loki had seen before; this lacked any grotesque mouth. The flying, snakelike shape reminded her of the black mist with a will of its own she had seen in the Demi Azure battle. She found herself very worried.

‹‹Sword of Damocles›› 

Alus quietly chanted the spell name, wrapping Night Mist in the black mist and extending the short sword’s blade. The air shook, the ground cracked and warped, and a heavy sound filled the testing ground.

“Is that the dark element?!”

Lilisha’s surprise was understandable. From its visuals alone, it could be categorized as the dark element. However, Alus shouldn’t have been able to use the two elements...

“It’s not. That said, I don’t know what attribute it is,” responded Loki.

The air was still trembling as if it was roaring. Even with the substitution system, the raging winds broke the tempered glass.

Despite the distance, a chill ran down the two girls’ backs. They could instinctively feel that their lives were in Alus’s hands...that they were in range of that long sword.

Alus took deep breaths and built up the spell by fumbling around. He was focusing intently, not overlooking even the slightest anomaly. That was just how aberrant the spell was. The pressure was on a different level from the ultimate magic that Loki knew of.

“Singles might be monsters, but this goes beyond even that!” Lilisha spat out with a smile to hide how shaken she was.

Her feelings were understandable. Over the past few months, Alus had grown tremendously. He had a wider variety of spells, and his mana stores were on a completely different level from before.

There was a pressure beyond anything she’d ever felt and Lilisha gritted her teeth. It wasn’t the normal fear one might feel from bloodlust or tension. That would be within the realm of understanding.

This was something else. The amount of mana she felt was so vast her brain refused to understand it. If that power was turned on her, she might even consider killing herself. She wouldn’t even be able to beg for her life. Her only option would be to wordlessly surrender. The ridiculousness of the situation was so oppressive she couldn’t help but smile.

‹‹Thousand Swords Obsidian››

The testing ground warped as the two girls were assailed by even more pressure. It pushed Lilisha against the wall so hard that her back hurt, but she still couldn’t look away.

The Sword of Damocles, covered in a dark shadow, was replicated one after another. Each of the lined-up black swords had amounts of mana that were out of this world. Lilisha wondered if this could even be called a spell.

“This is similar to the Oboro Hien that Sir Alus uses,” said Loki.

“Is now really the time for that?! The substitution system has already stopped working and the building is collapsing!” exclaimed Lilisha.

“—?! Sir Alus!”

Once Loki sensed the danger and raised her voice, the swarm of black swords disappeared. Silence returned, but the building had been too damaged.

“I guess this is the limit,” said Alus.

Surprisingly, Alus was sweating. When she noticed that, Loki realized that this spell required more than just vast amounts of mana.

Meanwhile, Alus, who’d finished sheathing Night Mist, seemed dissatisfied and lightly kicked the ground with his toes. One of his eyes was closed, its eyelid twitching slightly. Eventually, he exhaled and slowly opened his eye. Loki’s sharp eyes saw a black murkiness in the white of his eye.

“H-Hey, if you’re going to use a spell like that, say something first! This is bad!” yelled Lilisha.

“What is?” Alus answered, feigning ignorance. That prompted Lilisha to pinch the bridge of her nose and point at the testing ground as if to say that even an idiot could tell what was so bad.

“There are quite a lot of soldiers stationed around here! They’re all going to come running at any moment.”

Loki nodded in agreement, not even feeling the need to use her mana sonar. However, Alus showed no regard for any commotion as he looked around. “Hmm, the substitution system isn’t broken. It must have forcibly shut down after exceeding the upper limit.”

Alus hadn’t just confirmed that the equipment was working but also the absence of mana in the room. By incorporating Gra Eater into the spell, the room had been drained of mana.

He wanted to test tearing space as well, but he knew it would exceed Dimension Thrust, so it was hard to predict its effect. Since he planned to try the secret technique for increasing mana tomorrow, he decided to bear with it for today.

“Would you like to tell me what attribute that spell just now was?” asked Lilisha.

Alus hesitated a little at the question. Showing her was fine, but he wasn’t sure if he should explain the details.

But seeing how he had explained Lilisha’s new AWR—secret weapon Magdala—to Loki, it was only fair.

“...It’s attribute-less.”

“That’s way too sweeping! But I’ve never heard of it before. Attribute-less isn’t part of the existing magic classification, is it? So it’s a completely new field? Isn’t that amazing?” Lilisha muttered in amazement.

Alus responded with a smug smile, “I guess I can say that much. That’s exactly right. Besides, did you ever learn what attribute I belong to?”

“No, but is that what you’re the best at using, then?”

“Yeah. Since it’s inconvenient to not have a name for it, I’m calling it attribute-less.”

With his business done, Alus decided to return to his room. Loki followed Alus after turning off the lights and making sure that nobody was left inside the testing ground.

On the way back, Alus decided to give Lilisha a bit of a lecture. “I’ve already done some research into it and my attribute-less magic has multiple classifications at different stages. The first stage is space-manipulation magic.”

“Hmm, I see... But wait? Don’t you manipulate space as part of using your magic?” asked Lilisha.

“Correct. You’ve done your research for someone who specializes in fighting people and not using much magic. But what I use does manipulate in order to use magic. I use the phenomenon that occurs as a result of the manipulation itself. In effect, I skip its purpose for the sake of the side-effect and expand and utilize that.”

“That’s very profound. But why don’t you make an official announcement? It’s a huge discovery.”

“It’s not the same as announcing a new spell. Since special abilities are involved, it’s best that fewer people know about it.”

“Hold on! What was that?” asked Lilisha.

“Only a few people know about it, that’s all. So do try to keep it a secret, oh commander of the new Aferka,” said Alus.

That caused Lilisha’s cheek to twitch. She groaned and came to a stop, but Loki nudged her back, causing her to walk again.

“Only Berwick and Lord Vizaist know. Well, I suppose someone perceptive might have noticed, but now that you know the secret, you will share their fate.”

Lilisha could only nod. Curiosity hadn’t killed the cat this time, but she felt like she’d been dropped waist-deep into a vast swamp.

“Yes, yes, thank you for sharing your secret. Well, I did follow you, so I won’t share it with anyone else.”

“Good, then let me continue. Going back to the categorization of attribute-less... Above space manipulation is space-command magic. Magic that warps space itself. Normal spells can’t compare to the level of spatial manipulation space command has.”

“Would that be what your Oboro Hien belongs to, Sir Alus?” Loki asked with sparkling eyes, no less curious than Lilisha.

Alus had taught Alice about attribute-less magic before, but that was something of an introductory chapter. So Loki looked like an eager student begging for the teachings from a grand sage.

“Oboro Hien would be classified as space-manipulation magic. That said, it’s a combination of spells, so the overall degree of manipulation isn’t all that great,” answered Alus.

“Then what about that spell you just used?” This was what Loki truly wanted to know. The first question had simply been the lead-up.

That said, telling Loki and Lilisha about the classifications wouldn’t be of any use to them. At the present, Alice was the only one aside from Alus that could use attribute-less magic, but Alus was the only one who could actually formulate it as magic.

“That would be complete space-command magic...I suppose.” Alus muttered vaguely, a little unsure of his naming. For now that was what he’d decided to call the step above space-command magic, which was capable of having an enormous impact on space.

Whether he could confirm it through his experiments or not, the degree of rupture through the layers of space was decidedly different from the previous stage. After using Dimension Thrust, the rupture that was formed in space was automatically repaired. Meanwhile, the space rendered when he’d used the Sword of Damocles was so deep that the repair couldn’t keep up.

The tear was like a door that led to the other side of the world, an entrance to what might be called hell or the underworld. The forbidden scar hinted at far too great a danger.

Frankly, not even Alus knew the extent of damage it might cause when he first used it against Dante. It might even be mana territory or the mana depths peeking through, but even he couldn’t explain the abnormal experience.

Regardless, he had learned something new from this experience—that his special ability could be used as the source of power for the formula without running rampant. Through the interaction of magic, he had been able to elevate the power to an unprecedented level.

This spell functioned differently from the six-element composite spell, Temple Fall, which traced space itself back to its origin. Instead the Sword of Damocles, as well as Thousand Swords Obsidian made possible through it, were literally sharpened blades.

This is supposed to be the magic I have the most aptitude with, and it drains this much mana. 

Alus had no aptitude for anything aside from attribute-less spells. He was simply forcibly using them. As a result, he typically used more than twice the mana than someone with the aptitude for it, but he made up for his handicap through sheer amount of mana.

Even with his skilled mana control using his mana as efficiently as possible, not having an aptitude for the spells he used was a large obstacle. But the Sword of Damocles still used far more mana. It was hard to say that it was easy to handle.

Part of Gra Eater is being used in conjunction after all, and who knows if it might run rampant again. It would be best to limit its use to a short period of time. 

But even limited, it was a very powerful spell and could certainly count as one of his trump cards. He would love to experiment with it more, but that wasn’t easy with powerful spells.

Maybe I could get Fanon Trooper’s assistance to try out the power. That’s probably impossible, but there’s still so much that’s a mystery around this spell. Just analyzing the formula and its appearance isn’t enough to tell what the risks are. 

As Alus thought to himself, Lilisha called out from behind, “Hey, could you not just stop the conversation all of a sudden?”

Alus didn’t have anything to say to her exasperated complaints. Giving her a bitter smile was all he could do. “Don’t get full of yourself when you’re the one being taught. I was considering my experiment.”

“You are fine at that, Sir Alus! You’re special after all!” said Loki.

“His habit of behaving so outrageous will never go away if you keep spoiling him,” said Lilisha. “If he grows up like this, it’ll be a disaster. And it’s Alus himself who will suffer for it.”

“You sound like his mother! That’s what we’d call none of your business!”

At some point, the discussion on attribute-less magic had derailed, replaced by two girls shouting at each other. But as they walked through the hall, Alus recalled he had something he needed to ask of Lilisha.

“Hey, Lilisha. Aferka was looking into the illegal drug, right? Ambrosia?”

“What? You want to make fun of me for showing up here despite that?” she asked.

“That’s not it. You’d figured out that Womruina was probably involved, right?”

“Yes, they’re the big shot behind the scenes. That said, I’ve left the investigation into the inner workings of the political system to someone else. I’m fully investigating everything related to Ambrosia.”

Surprisingly, there seemed to be another organization that could take over Aferka’s mission, and Alus had an idea of who that was. “Lord Vizaist, huh? A hard worker as always.”

Talk about being passionate about his work. Vizaist was at it even though his daughter had been hurt, even though he’d once used her having a fever as an excuse to leave early. But he might be burning for revenge.

If I recall, Felinella fought against Mir Ostayka. Considering the escaped prisoners, it was that Morwald who came to the Institute to investigate the attack on the Institute and the Human Fiend transformation. Why wasn’t it Lord Vizaist who came? 

Perhaps the top brass were trying to keep inconvenient people away from an inconvenient scene.

They purposefully let the scandalous captain of the sinking ship go unchecked, thought Alus. Thinking about it, Berwick and Lord Vizaist wouldn’t let this chance slip them by... They let him come to the Institute. Knowing Morwald’s personality, they knew he would personally come inspect the site himself. It’s also obvious that he would use this chance to bring down Sisty. 

Berwick had three figures known for supporting him and the military. Sisty and Vizaist were well-known for supporting him. As the head of the noble faction, Morwald, however, wouldn’t overlook a possibility to kick out Sisty.

Alus’s profound silence bothered Lilisha, and she spoke out with a hint of desperation. “Jeez, what do you want to hear? Just ask anything.”

“Then let me be frank. How deeply involved is Morwald in this?”

Upon hearing that name, Lilisha smiled suspiciously. “What? So you already know that much. Well, there’s no decisive proof, but I imagine he’s in a panic because things are starting to look bad around him? He only came to investigate on the first day and hasn’t shown since, right?”

“I see, so he’s just trying to put out the fire.”

“Yes, and Aferka is no longer enough. We’re reaching our limits, and I think we’re going back off. My brother is working pretty hard too.”

Lilisha’s older brother, Rayleigh, was a powerful person who’d led Aferka for many years.

But based on what she was saying, it seemed he was good at gathering information and investigating too. That said, he was also the ringleader of the rebellion against Cicelnia, making him untrustworthy.

Still, it seemed that he was at least sharing information with Lilisha.

“Lilisha, when looking into Ambrosia, did you investigate the Godma Barhong incident?” Alus asked.

“Of course, I got the information from Lord Socalent, but the background is still unknown. The details on the Element Factor Separation Project were destroyed after all. And that was your suggestion?”

Some foul research data and related information had remained, and when Alus heard that the top brass had displayed an interest in it, he’d suggested it be destroyed.

Lilisha probably wanted to find a connection to Ambrosia in that information. Considering Godma’s fate, it was likely that there was a link between Godma, the illegal drugs, and the Human Fiend transformation.

“Sorry, but you’ll have to give up on that. I was preventing Alpha from rotting any further. This nation may be a magical superpower, but there’s quite a few internal problems,” said Alus.

“I know. And I think that the ruler wanted a unit reporting directly to her to correct that.” Lilisha brought up Cicelnia, causing Alus to grimace.

“Don’t glorify that vixen too much. I’m sure she has a different, good-for-nothing reason for it.”

“Hmm, well I can tell that you wouldn’t be very good with her. You’re similar, after all.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” he said.

“Of course not,” Lilisha said. “So you wanted to know about Morwald.”

“Yeah, just tell me what you know right now. And leak any disadvantageous information on him to Sisty. In return, I’ll give you information on the background of Ambrosia that might be useful.”

“Oh, frankly, I kind of appreciate that.”

“According to Dante, one of Kurama’s executives, Mekfis, is involved.”

Lilisha ruminated, imprinting the name into her brain. “Mekfis... That’s the first time I’ve heard that name.”

“I’ve fought with Kurama, but even among them, he’s elusive. Getting a lead on him will take quite a bit of effort. You’re probably better off finding out who’s producing the Ambrosia,” said Alus.

“So you do get it. Being able to fish out a Kurama executive would be nice, but even with all nations investigating them, they can’t find anything. You’ll never get to the core without a steady hand,” agreed Lilisha.

“That’s right, so you should look into the production site first. Also, don’t fight directly against Kurama.”

His sharp tone took Lilisha by surprise, and she nodded understandingly. “Phew...thank you. Thanks to you, I think I will be able to give the governor-general a nice report.”

He’d almost forgotten about it, but Lilisha had a mission to observe Alus. He’d thought it was just for show, but she was actually making reports. “Try to make them indebted to you. Having the governor-general, the principal, and the other bigwigs owe you will be useful...maybe.”

“You don’t sound very confident. But that aside, I think it’s a little too late to let them know anything incriminating about Morwald.”

“Why is that?”

“You said it yourself. He’s trying to put out the fires. A few days ago, someone attacked three old noble families. The very foundations were burned down, and there were no survivors,” said Lilisha.

“Nobles related to Morwald, huh. Did he sense that they were trying to betray him and move first?” asked Alus. “Even if they were trying to destroy the evidence, eradicating them is reckless.”

“Indeed. How many fires will be put out, I wonder. There’s no proof, so we can only carefully supervise them, but it’s only a matter of time before it becomes a major incident. They won’t be able to silence the nobles.”

Morwald’s foolishness was stunning, but it was a testament to the urgency of the situation. It was a very aggressive move under the circumstances. If he’d done that when Lord Vizaist was looking into his background, he’d have completely exposed himself.

“But not even Morwald has power rivaling the three great noble families. So where’d he get the forces to do something so reckless?” asked Alus.

“While it hasn’t been made public, Morwald has a private army,” answered Lilisha. “According to my brother it’s even more brutal than Aferka was. But he also said that it wasn’t the clean work of professionals. They apparently kill everyone around the target. He’s never met them, but he was certain they were from the underworld.”

“Things are getting more dangerous everywhere.”

“You can say that again. But Morwald has already crossed a line. I can’t wait to see where his rampage lands him,” Lilisha said, as if she was one to talk, having taken over the command of a shady organization herself.

“Still, this is strange.” Loki suddenly turned around and spoke in a puzzled manner.

Lilisha followed her lead a little later, tilting her head. “True. Nobody’s showing up even though Alus cast a spell on that level. The entire building should be buzzing with activity by now.”

The two girls were confused, but Alus paid them no mind and reached for the door leading to his room. “I don’t know who, but we have a meddling intruder on our hands.”

For some reason, the door was unlocked. Loki immediately slipped ahead of Alus and got ready to fight.

Despite their tension, a carefree voice came from beyond the door. “Sorry, but I’m helping myself to some tea. Hmm, so even instant tea has become a lot tastier lately.”

Alus’s eyes narrowed. A strange figure lounged in front of him as if the room belonged to them. He didn’t sense any hostility or mana from the person whose back was turned to him, but it wasn’t someone he knew either. He glanced at Loki and Lilisha, but neither had a clue either.

“...So you not only intrude but demand a warm reception too. Sorry to disturb you, but who might you be?” asked Alus.

“The room might have been messy, but trespassing is not something to be proud of,” Loki added, a warning in her voice prompting the figure to spin around in their chair.

Surprisingly...it was a woman. All Alus could tell was that her face looked a little haggard and that she was around thirty years old. She was a little taller than Lilisha. Her hair was crumpled and messy, as if it had been roughly pulled at.

Everything about her was plain except the dirty white gown she wore. One could guess that she was a researcher or technician.

“Sorry about that. I’m not exactly in a position where I can walk around with my head held high. Also, do you have a cigarette you can spare?”

“This is a no-smoking room! Who are you?!” demanded Loki.

The woman in the dirty white gown didn’t answer Loki’s question. Instead, she put down the cup of tea she was drinking and put her hand into her pocket out of habit.

“Oh my, to become useless after a single use.” She pulled out a strange small machine. She put it on top of her palm and the gem inserted into its center shattered into glowing fragments.

Alus quickly realized what that was. “A machine to keep mana from leaking outside, huh? What an interesting invention.”

“Does that mean that it was in effect and covered the testing ground too? If so, it would be because of her that it’s so quiet outside. But shouldn’t you be naming yourself rather than acting all nonchalant?” Lilisha calmly asked, prompting the woman to pleasantly smile.

“What a soft and refreshing voice. How long has it been since I last heard the voice of a young, innocent child?” The woman listened carefully as if listening to classical music, and with an ecstatic expression, she drank the remaining tea. “Very well, allow me to belatedly introduce myself. I am Kwinska, a seeker of divine truth. If that’s too hard to pronounce, you can call me the ‘Professor.’”

Kwinska was composed to the level of being audacious, and Loki quickly grabbed the nearest intercom to contact the guards.

“Hello! What is security doing?! Letting these unidentified people infiltrate, both yesterday and today...” Loki started to say, but she fell silent as professor Kwinska identified herself.

“If you’re interested in my identity, perhaps saying that I am a researcher from the Trojan Prison will suffice?”

Loki turned to look at Alus in surprise. Lilisha froze, and the sharp glint in Alus’s eyes grew stronger at her introduction.

“There’s no need to be so cutthroat. Why don’t we have a leisurely chat? Ah, but there might not be enough chairs. You should prepare enough for sudden visitors,” said Kwinska.

“Being brazen doesn’t prove that you’re a guest that should be welcomed,” said Alus.

That said, it was an interesting visitor, causing Alus to raise a hand and stop Loki from reporting to the guards. Normally, he’d have thrown them to the guards without listening to what they had to say, but the Trojan name had caught his interest. According to the report on the Trojan Prison, she was supposed to be dead. According to Berwick’s report, there was only a single survivor from the Trojan Prison.

“That’s true. Even so, I believe you will accept my request, but everything has an order to it. I will leave my business to the end and first answer your questions, Alus,” said the mysterious researcher, Kwinska. “Just so you know, I was in charge of the mana storage in the prison. So I wasn’t a prisoner but rather personnel. That said, as someone working in a secret prison, I’m not someone that should be allowed to see the light of day.”

“Aside from the ones who cooperated in the escape, there shouldn’t have been any survivors among the staff. I heard that the prisoners killed them all, so how did you get to the Inner World?” asked Alus.

“Yes, well...to summarize it, I prepared a corpse and disguised it. I can’t confirm it here, but the Kwinska on the staff roster should be dead. After the prisoners escaped, I asked my collaborator to bring me here.”

“Who’s your collaborator?”

“I can’t tell you that. It’s not like I’m trying to mean, but they have their own circumstances to consider. I imagine that they will appear before you eventually. Although I don’t know if that will be as an enemy or ally.” While Kwinska couldn’t say, she’d answered immediately to show her sincerity.

“What’s the relation between you and the escaped prisoners?”

“Ha, like there’d be anything good between us. I was in charge of storing mana, but I also had another objective. Simply put, I was playing around with the prisoners’ bodies as part of my research. The disguised body that I left was like a wreck, with its head split open.”

Alus’s temple twitched. She had just revealed herself as someone who had performed human experiments on the prisoners. A weak, self-deprecating smile appeared on Kwinska’s haggard face.

“Apologies, I’ve been there for so long I can’t distinguish between good and bad. But now that I’m back in the Inner World, I plan on restraining myself. There’s no need for that anymore.”

“I don’t know if that’s true, but...what were you researching?”

“Like I said before, I was looking for the divine truth, the clarification of the unknown. A clue for that is before me, which is why I’ve come, seat holder.”

“What is a seat holder?!” asked Alus, who had heard this term several times during his fragmented conversation with Dante that had left him with many questions. He hadn’t expected Kwinska to bring up the same thing.

Despite Alus’s sharp question, Kwinska didn’t answer immediately. Instead she glanced at the two girls standing at either side of Alus.

Loki was the first to react. “Sir Alus, is this okay for me to hear? If it is, please let me be present!”

“Hmm, I bet it would be classified information. I have no intentions of revealing it either, and like you said before, we’re all in this together!” said Lilisha.

Loki was one thing, but Lilisha was unreliable, although Alus had no intention of throwing her out now. Moreover, since he’d lost the Four Books of Fegel, which was the only clue he had for his special ability, he wanted as much information as possible. He still had a lot of questions about his discussion with Dante. He needed to confirm truths, and there was still an overwhelming amount he didn’t know.

Alus made his decision immediately and urged professor Kwinska on. “It’s fine, just start talking.”

“Hmm, I’m not one to be picky about respecting your elders, but lift me up at least a little. How am I supposed to get excited?” From her appearance, it was hard to imagine her as excited, but she continued in an arrogant manner. “Also, can I get a refill? I want someone to pour it for me; I’ve spent a long time living in a hole, after all.”

Kwinska held out the empty cup to Lilisha. “Huh, me?! That’s fine, but don’t complain if it’s not good.”

“There should be coffee and black and green tea. But why Ms. Lilisha...” Loki had a complete grasp of the kitchen, and she grumbled at not being chosen.

“I just had black tea, so some green tea would be nice next,” said Kwinska.

“Ms. Lilisha, there are tea leaves stocked on that shelf. You’ll know it when you see it,” said Loki.

“G-Got it.” Lilisha took the cup and nervously walked into the kitchen as if it was her first time.

Kwinska called out to her back and said that she’d already boiled the water. It was rather impressive for someone forgotten by the world and trespassing in another person’s home to be able to be so brazen. Not even Alus was that unmanageable.

As she’d stained her hands with human experiments, she was as sinful as Godma. But she also seemed to be different from people who took a scalpel to people for their own greed. All in all, she was a strange and complex person.

“Well, maybe I should tell you why I appeared before you, Alus. Because you’ve glimpsed into the Akashic Records, haven’t you?”

Alus was taken aback.

Just looking at Alus’s reaction made Kwinska cackle in satisfaction.

“There’s nothing to be surprised about. I speak the divine truth of the Akashic Records themselves. Naturally, I’ve been on guard for people who’ve touched it. There’s a special mana wavelength released when a third party enters the divine truth...I even built a system to detect it in the Trojan Prison,” said Kwinska.

This professor might just have information that could be a massive clue to what Alus had been pursuing and researching for years. So Alus chose his next words carefully.

“What I saw was in the Outer World, leagues away from the little hole you were in. You would have had to know ahead of time in order to detect the minute waves and warped space.”

Kwinska cackled, then spoke like someone who’d seen the abyss of the world. “Ha ha ha, distance is not a problem. The Akashic Records are a universal and all-transcending singularity. It doesn’t matter where the person who accessed them is. We refer to those who have accessed and brought back a fragment of the Akashic Records a ‘seat holder.’”

“Who’s we?” asked Loki by reflex, but that was something Alus wanted to know as well. It sounded like a story that would overturn common sense, but the scale was too big and he couldn’t bring himself to question the credibility of every single story.

“We are we...all the other seekers of truth. Incidentally, seat holders are roughly defined as those who have touched the Akashic Records. I’m not exactly one of them, but the Akashic Records themselves greatly fascinate me.”

Kwinska looked at Alus as if to appraise him. Her eyes had a suspicious glow that exuded the search for knowledge and the source of the world.

“So you came to me because I accessed it,” said Alus.

“Indeed. I’m satisfied as long as I can research. Fegel was only able to cram in a fraction of the other side of the world he had looked into, but it was still a revelation that could change the world. I want to go deeper, learn what lies beyond. You can understand me, can’t you? I came here to sell you my knowledge and inquisitive mind,” Kwinska excitedly said and having finished her speech, slumped back in her chair, breathing roughly. “Phew, I got a little too excited for my age. Sorry, but I’ll be taking a seat. I only have so much stamina, you see. If I could have a smoke...” Kwinska disappointingly bit her nail.

Alus figured her lack of energy was because of her poor lifestyle and her smoking, but he didn’t say it out loud.

At that moment, Lilisha finally returned from the kitchen.

“Here is some green tea.” Lilisha clumsily placed the steaming cup on the table in front of Kwinska.

“Sorry about that, little lady,” said Kwinska. She slowly brought the cup to her mouth and then closed her eyes as if to soak it in.

“Hmm! This is practically just hot water!” she exclaimed.

“Wh-What?” asked Lilisha.

“Ms. Lilisha, you skimped on the tea leaves, didn’t you? It’s pretty transparent... How embarrassing,” said Loki.

“How am I supposed to know the amount? I don’t want any complaints!” Lilisha raised her voice in a desperate protest at Loki’s dismissiveness.

However, Kwinska seemed to have given up and poured a second mouthful down her throat. “Well, hot water is fine too. So how far did I get again?”

Alus answered Kwinska. “To the point of me touching the Akashic Records. Still, I didn’t know that Fegel was a person’s name. But as I expected, it seemed the Four Books of Fegel were a copy of the Akashic Records.”

A long-standing mystery was starting to clear up in Alus’s mind. It was like a tangled mess was being unraveled and the sound of pieces of a puzzle clicking together.

“You didn’t even know that? I’m stunned. How did you even peek into the Akashic Records?”

“Through a spell a Fiend used. I touched it directly,” Alus answered directly, purposefully leaving part of it vague.

That had been back in Vanalis, when the Fiend Shem Azah had used a strange stake as a trigger for its spell Kehenage. Alus had touched it in an attempt to analyze the information within, but at the same moment, his consciousness had been disconnected from the spell construction, and instead a vast amount of knowledge had flowed into him.

“Oh, how interesting. As I thought, Fiends are the key. So it was true that they are one step ahead when it comes to that field,” Kwinska muttered and entered a world of her own. The way she did it seemed very similar to when Alus dove into his sea of thoughts, cutting away from the world and becoming immersed in an isolated world.

“Hey, we’re still in the middle of talking. Talk about rude.” Alus snorted, but both Loki and Lilisha looked at him like he was one to talk.

“She’s just like you, Alus. That’s just the pot calling the kettle black,” Lilisha couldn’t keep herself from retorting, prompting Alus to furrow his brow.

“...Am I really this bad?” Looking at Kwinska at the moment gave Alus a good opportunity to self-reflect and see how disgraceful he sometimes appeared. “Fine.” He sighed and directed his question back at Kwinska. “Can you tell me a little more about seat holders?”

“Dante seemed to consider it just being able to read the Four Books of Fegel, but the truth is different. He probably never had the real qualifications. He’d only haphazardly touched on the truth of the world and only had half-assed knowledge. Without knowledge of the Akashic Records, it wouldn’t be strange if he confused the Four Books of Fegel for it.”

Dante not being a seat holder was unexpected but not particularly surprising to Alus. He hadn’t attached much importance to that position in the first place.

What Alus wanted was to explain the special ability within him and to satisfy his vigorous appetite for knowledge. Understanding in and of itself was what mattered, and if he happened to make a discovery in the process or contribute to humanity during it, it didn’t matter much to Alus.

At the very least, it would be enough for him if he could make a system where he wouldn’t be in the firing line for every little issue. But at the same time, he understood that ignorance of the world’s secrets was equivalent to perilous immaturity, which was why he couldn’t completely ignore the information from Kwinska.

Loki was one thing, but Lilisha also wasn’t very convinced. She wasn’t a magic specialist, and the only thing she was convinced of was that the Four Books of Fegel existed, as she’d personally handed one over to Alus.

“So what are the Akashic Records anyways?” Lilisha asked.

Alus had a general idea regarding this broad question; however, that was only because he’d personally experienced it. It wasn’t something he could easily explain to a third party. It was a direct yet vague understanding, like figuring out what shape intangible mist had.

The root of the answer to that question surely lay in the existence of magic itself.

The magic traditionally used by Fiends was unraveled and reconstructed as theories verbalized in the human language. The seven nations had used that lifeline to survive against the attacks from the Fiends.

However, magic referred to mythical or fantastical phenomena. Originally, it would even deny attempts to create theories about it.

The powers that Magicmasters used could largely be split into two different things: one was the already theorized and explained magic, and the other was a completely different kind of irrational power—special abilities.

While similar, they were distinctly different, and the gulf between them could never be filled.

Magic eyes are a good example. It’s considered just a special kind of magic, but not even renowned magic scholars have been able to identify it. And with so few samples, not much research can be made about them.

The research into the magic eyes special ability, as with the elements of light and darkness, was a questionable act of the past. When the inhumane human experiments of the past came into light, many of the research institutes were closed and their results destroyed. Supposedly, the military had even invested many soldiers into investigating it at the time. Any nation attempting to resurrect their program would face critique from all sides.

At any rate, pursuing the Akashic Records would likely lead back to those same dark practices.

While Alus’s mind was spinning, Kwinska smiled at the fundamental question of what the Akashic Records were. It was the kind of nasty smile a world-weary, corrupt teacher would give their innocent and naive student.

“Perhaps it would be easier to call it the archives of the world. That said, it is a profound thing with countless names. However, I don’t see it as supernatural. I believe it was purposefully created by someone.”

“Huh? So you mean that thing, or concept, or whatever exists somewhere in the world? Well, if I could see it with my own eyes I could believe in it.”

“Lilisha, hang on. What did you just say?” asked Alus.

“What? I was saying that even if it was an object or a concept that supposedly exists, if it can’t be seen or grasped...”

The glint in Alus’s eyes sharpened once more. “So you noticed. Its existence is quite similar to the mana area.”

Kwinska’s murky eyes opened wide, threatening to pop out. Her face was distorted with joy, as if she’d finally reunited with a long-lost family member. “As I thought, your brain is amazing, Alus. It took me nearly thirty years of research for that to occur to me. Strictly speaking, there exists a dubious layer beneath the mana territory...”

“I call it the mana depths,” said Alus.

At that, Kwinska’s smile grew bigger and darker. “No, did you know there exists an even deeper depth? I believe that the Akashic Records make up a restrictive dimension that encompasses the mana area. That seems to lead to the depths of mana, the origin of magic, don’t you think? And here’s an interesting tidbit. The older records I have say that humans didn’t originally have mana. That much can be proven by examining our DNA.”

Lilisha was taken aback by that and retorted, “Hang on! Isn’t there a chance that all this is just a figment of everyone’s imagination? The DNA thing might just be a coincidence...”

“You sound like a foolish former student of mine. Well, with no evidence, it’s impossible to prove. I suppose it would be difficult for a child to understand. But Alus appears to be different at least,” Kwinska said and glanced over at Alus.

“I won’t deny it from the onset. It’s an interesting conjecture. And it’s true that there is a lot I don’t know about this topic.”

But Alus did stop to think.

I recall being able to decipher a Lost Spell I saw for the first time after reading the Four Books of Fegel... But that knowledge can’t be transcribed like the Four Books of Fegel. Well, it’s not like I have to show these guys anyway. 

That was because there was a special trigger to draw out the acquired knowledge. It was important knowledge, but it was currently impossible for Alus to freely express it.

Meanwhile, Kwinska pointed a finger at Lilisha. “But of course it’s impossible to prove the existence of the Akashic Records, but I can point you to a portion of its blessings. It is something very clear and tangible.”

“W-Well, what is it, then?” asked Lilisha.

“Babel,” answered Kwinska.

The two girls were speechless, and even Alus’s eyes widened. He wasn’t as surprised as the girls, but he could feel his pulse speed up a little.

“But you are free to think it’s a lie if you wish,” Kwinska continued. “It would be pointless for an adult to get serious against a noisy child demanding proof of everything. The truth is that I haven’t done anything but scratch the surface of the Akashic Records. So you can just dismiss what I have to say as the ramblings of a curious researcher.”

This quieted Lilisha, but Alus couldn’t dismiss it. “So Fegel made Babel?”

“Bingo, that’s correct. And if you’re asking for proof... Like I said before, I am old. Not to brag about my age, but I’ve been researching all my life. And I have far more knowledge than any old researcher you might know. As a bonus, let me tell you that my original body has long since decayed. Oh, but don’t pry into what I mean by that. A woman has her secrets.”

If what she said was true, it was surprising. While she wasn’t young, she would pass for being in her thirties. At most, she looked somewhat older because of the lack of life in her eyes.

Elise from Kurama, who’d lived a long life as a side effect of her special ability was another, but Alus intuitively felt that the logic behind Kwinska’s longevity was different.

After all, Kwinska had said that her body had decayed.

That said, since she’d told him not to pry, it would be boorish to pursue the matter any further.

With Alus in the corner of her eyes, Kwinska continued, “Fegel was a real person and a great scholar of the past. Having gleaned wisdom from the world, he couldn’t keep himself from embodying that knowledge. That said, nobody knows what his true goal was for building Babel. Be it good or evil, or perhaps neither...nothing is clear.”

Her words suggested that the tower of wisdom might not have been originally built for humanity. But there was no room for doubt that the Tower of Babel had contributed immensely to humanity. Without it, humanity couldn’t live as it did now.

With that, Kwinska stopped talking to drink her hot water.

Not wanting to have her stay any longer than necessary, Alus brought the discussion back on topic. “That was certainly useful information. So what exactly do you want?”

“So abrupt... You don’t know how to read the room, do you? Well simply put, I just want you to back my research. I want your funding and your cooperation. In return, I will give you what I learn from it, like the taste I just gave you.”

Alus found it to be a perfectly acceptable deal.

Her personality and background were suspicious, but as a fellow researcher, he could understand her to some degree. And she’d just been working in the Trojan Prison.

She probably hadn’t assisted in the prisoners’ escape, and in a sense, she’d just lost her position and job due to an unforeseen incident. Fleeing to Alus showed she had no other choice.

Plainly put, she was a pitiful researcher who was struggling to make ends meet after years without seeing the light of day. Additionally, she was a victim of the prison break and already officially dead according to the records.

Even so, Alus didn’t agree right away. Kwinska wasn’t sure how to interpret that silence as she started to uncomfortably fidget.

“W-Well, I may have done some human experimentation, but hear me out. There were plenty of prisoners who wished for their own death because of the pain they were in. I simply had them cooperate a little with me in exchange for fulfilling their wish. Or maybe it was more than a little...”

It was clear that Kwinska had her back against the wall. And she was one of the few people who knew about the Akashic Records, perhaps the only one who could talk about that field as well or maybe even better than Alus.

“So how about it? I can understand not being able to make a decision, but I know I’m not the only one who wants to know more about the Akashic Records. At the very least, like the Four Books of Fegel, it’s hardly ever on the surface,” said Kwinska.

Alus’s eyebrows twitched. “Oh. So who else is looking into it? Tell me what you know.”

“From what I know, Kurama. And they won’t hesitate to use underhanded means; they might have an even deeper understanding than me.”

Alus nodded. The nearly immortal Elise had been a Kurama executive, and they surely had an interest in that sort of knowledge. Naturally, if they could, they would use it for themselves.

While Alus was thinking, Kwinska ran her finger around the rim of the cup. “When I first attempted to access the Akashic Records, it was through an experiment on a human. Previous cases of accessing it had been through humans as well. But I suspect that Kurama has a tendency of going through Fiends. And it might bear fruit immediately. In fact, based on what I’ve heard from you, going through Fiends might be a more effective approach. However, there is a meaningful old tome that says, ‘Fiends are the door; humans are the key.’ So there might be another method.”

Alus narrowed his eyes and ruminated on the words for a while. The recent Human Fiend transformation incident had been caused by the illegal drug Ambrosia, which the Kurama executive Mekfis may have been involved in. If Kurama was trying to access the Akashic Records through Fiends, things started to make sense.

But he didn’t have any proof. Alus pushed the conspiracy theory-like speculations aside and got back on topic.

“Door, key... It does sound profound. If opening something is related to the Akashic Records, are those seat holders related as well?”

“I’ve tried to research the key myself, but got virtually no results. Maybe I should have researched the door through Fiends instead, but unfortunately I’m no Magicmaster. I couldn’t capture those ferocious Fiends.”

“And that’s why Kurama wouldn’t leave you be?”

“There’s still a chance that my appearance and name haven’t been revealed, since I feigned my death. Then again, they have sharp senses. If they find out and capture me, I suppose they will torture me or kill me to silence me. It’s an awful end either way; I’d rather avoid letting myself get killed in the prison only to get killed again. I don’t have many replacements,” Kwinska muttered, expression bitter as she imagined the scene she’d just described. “In any case, you don’t know anything that Kurama doesn’t already know. But if they could extract knowledge from the Akashic Records as they pleased, it would be a disaster, don’t you think?”

“I can agree with that. It’s not something I’d want to think about.”

“Well, I’m sure nothing good could come from anyone getting their hands on that. It’s in children’s natures to want to use a new toy they’ve gotten their hands on.” The knowledgeable woman displayed her disdain for all humanity.

And Alus nodded without hesitation. Kwinska said something that couldn’t be ignored, her voice full of resentment.

“By the way, they have the Four Books of Fegel. It’s only one or two at most, and they may just be transcripts, but they are probably working toward getting the rest.”

Alus looked at Kwinska’s murky eyes in surprise. To think he’d hear something like that.

By some twist of fate, they were after the same thing. And if that was true, then a clash between them was inevitable.

Regardless, he couldn’t let Kurama get their hands on the Four Books of Fegel or Professor Kwinska. She’d managed to escape the Trojan Prison by faking her death and likely wouldn’t be found so easily, but...

“Sir Alus, what are you going to do?” Loki whispered into his ear.

“That’s obvious,” Alus answered immediately and looked at Kwinska. “All right, I’ll accept your demands. I’ll cover all of your research funds from my pocket money, and I’ll prepare a place for you to perform your research. But...I do have a condition. Nobody but me can know about your research. In return, I will keep quiet about you to the governor-general and ruler. There’s no guarantee that someone hasn’t slipped into the military or palace.”

“That’s fine with me. The most I can do aside from that is meddle in your young life. This was a worthwhile discussion. Also, thank you for the tea,” Kwinska said and raised her empty cup up to Lilisha.

Seeing that, Alus seemed to remember Lilisha’s presence. “Oh yeah, we’ve gotten quite far into our discussion, and this girl who’s been standing here this whole time is the ruler’s pawn, but you can trust her to be tight-lipped... Can’t she?”

As he glanced at Lilisha, she nodded rapidly. Alus pulled out a small communications device and a scrap of paper, which he gave to Kwinska.

“For starters, here’s a communications terminal and the PIN code to the account that will hold the funds you need for the time being. Stay low until I can prepare a space for you. By the way, how are you going to get out of here? I’m actually impressed you managed to get into the Institute.”

“That much is simple. I can’t use magic, but I do have some interesting devices to my name. This, for example, bends the light around me as an optical camouflage...but once you know the trick, there’s not much else to it. And this sphere here contains the mana for passing through the sensors. Although, it broke when it suppressed your mana. It’s a simple application of the military’s substitution system. They’re both prototypes I made a long time ago.”

Kwinska tossed the sphere, which was now a piece of junk, into the trash. Loki, who was strict about separating trash, furrowed her brow, but Kwinska showed no interest.

I see, Alus thought to himself.

The Institute was currently under strict surveillance with the regard to the use of magic and any signs of mana. On the other hand, with their attention being so lopsidedly focused, there were unexpected loopholes that could be used. A non-Magicmaster unable to use magic or pose a threat to Magicmasters could go by unnoticed.

After seeing Kwinska leave as casually as Alice and Tesfia with her hunched back, Alus decided to give Lilisha a reminder.

“Lilisha, make sure you don’t say a word of what happened today to Berwick or Cicelnia.”

“I know! But I can assume that means that I’ve repaid my favor?”

“Whatever you want, I don’t really care about that. More importantly, make sure you’re careful around Cicelnia. She has a sharp nose and can pick up on secrets people don’t want her to know.”

“I am well aware. More importantly, you be careful too. The flow of money could expose you,” Lilisha noted.

“Yeah, I’ll keep that in mind. Don’t worry.”

Alus’s personal wealth was naturally in the top class among the Magicmasters of the seven nations. He would need to manipulate his account discreetly, but he had some degree of skill in that area.

He often bought expensive research equipment, precious materials, and jaw-droppingly expensive antique books in secret. Since he didn’t normally spend much money, he’d only learned the skills to avoid Berwick’s nitpicking.

“Phew, it’s been a long reception before the big day tomorrow. Still, there was a lot to gain.”

“If you say so, Sir Alus. I had my hands full just trying to keep up,” Loki said with a soft sigh.

◇◇◇

The next day, Alus and Loki found themselves on the testing grounds. Since their temporary residence was in the same building, they could slowly stroll over and still have time to spare.

It was morning and they had reserved it, so the testing grounds were empty. There was a fresh atmosphere in the air, as if everything from yesterday had been reset.

But there was no harm in being cautious. The procedure he would give Tesfia and Alice, a special training of sorts, was something that he couldn’t allow anyone to interfere with.

First, Alus and Loki split up and checked the entrances. They naturally checked the locks and made sure to put no-entry signs on the doors.

But shortly after Tesfia and Alice arrived, a tired Lilisha showed up, rubbing her eyes. Alus hadn’t told her the time, but since the girls all lived in the dorm, she might have asked the others directly. It was a secret training, but Lilisha had been present at the discussion with Professor Kwinska yesterday, so they were kind of inseparable at this point.

“Don’t tell me you’re planning on joining too?” he asked.

“What?” she asked with a yawn. “No, I’m sitting out today. You hadn’t planned for it right? So can I join next time?”

Lilisha stared directly at Alus without looking at Tesfia. Seeing how she was brushing past her red-haired rival, Alus could tell this wasn’t about a childish rivalry. Even though the method for increasing mana wouldn’t show results immediately, she must have been interested enough to come watch.

Lilisha might have been his observer, but it wasn’t his imagination that she’d been showing herself more often. She was present at important situations more often than not, so there was no need to brush her off now.

Plus the bodyguard/maid called Hest standing next to Tesfia was more of a concern. She appeared inflexible, and it was hard to predict how she would act if something happened.

“Don’t worry, I told her off yesterday. Right, Hest?” said Tesfia.

“Yes, the young lady has made her decision, so there is nothing for me to decide. I will report to the family without going into details. The mistress has told me to respect her daughter’s decision if Sir Alus is involved,” said Hest. That meant that the head of the Fable family had given her permission in a sense.

Hest’s answer was composed, but her presence was confusing. Just because she wore a maid’s uniform didn’t mean she was a maid. Selva, who could read the room, would have been far more welcome.

Regardless, the method for increasing mana had some shady parts to it, so he could only hope that she wouldn’t butt in. After going over the important points with Hest, he had her watch from the sidelines.

Tesfia and Alice were the day’s stars and had come wearing sportswear. The two took off their jackets and nervously stood in front of Alus. Since it was training, they had brought their AWRs with them.

“That reminds me. I heard it was a detailed procedure, but I didn’t hear what exactly is going to happen. So what are we going to do?”

Tesfia got the ball rolling. As one might expect from a girl, she was perfectly presentable, her red hair combed to a shine. She hadn’t been good with mornings in the past, so this was a sign of growth—no, she must have had Minasha or Alice help out.

“It’s basically the same as your mana-control training. There just happens to be a few special processes. I’ll explain as we go, and I’ll guide you to some extent. Before that, do you remember what I told you about mana area and vessels yesterday?”

“Y-Yeah...” said Tesfia with a wry smile.

“I remember,” said Alice.

Alus casually responded, “Try to keep it together, Alice. You will be using tools, and there’s a chance your mana might run out of control. So make sure you don’t let your focus slip.”

The two girls nodded at the same time.

“And, Lilisha, don’t let any of your mana out, no matter what. If they fail, their mana vessels might break, and they might never be able to use magic again,” said Alus.

“What?! Seriously? O-Okay, I’ll be careful,” said Lilisha. The risk was far greater than she’d thought, and she nodded seriously but was clearly relieved to not be joining in.

Alus left the two girls’ AWRs with Lilisha and got to work on preparations. He put down a large piece of cloth with a magic formula on it on the ground. Then he put an incense burner on top, which Loki put Nox Somnia Grass into and lit on fire.

Finally, she brought over a special, small square case. Alus took it from her and checked what was inside.

“All right. Everyone step back a little,” he said.

Everyone aside from Tesfia and Alice distanced themselves as Alus focused and unleashed Gra Eater. The black mist overflowing from his body gathered in his hand.

“Tesfia, Alice, sit down on the magic formula in a posture you can relax in.”

Alus swung his finger and dispersed the mist, momentarily enveloping the three in a dome.

When it soon disappeared, the magic formula activated. This time a translucent barrier covered the three of them. It was made to isolate mana both inside and outside.

Gra Eater gradually ate the mana inside to remove all mana from inside the barrier. With that, preparations were complete.

Smoke from the incense burner began pouring out, and the two girls took deep breaths and relaxed as instructed.

“This smell is kind of relaxing,” Alice said as Alus began explaining.

“It’s used for aroma therapy after all. The Nox Somnia Grass sharpens your senses, which helps you recognize the mana in your body. Whatever you do, don’t fall asleep.”

Alice, as well as Tesfia, who had slowly closed her eyes, answered with a soft “okay.”

For now, Tesfia and Alice would be the ones training. Loki and Lilisha watched from the edge of the testing ground, and Hest stood unmoving some distance away.

After confirming that they were far enough away, Alus started by walking behind the two seated girls. “Relax. Focus solely on the mana within you. Follow the flow like you do when you train your mana control. Follow it as it circulates your body.”

The girls’ consciousness faded away as they started to become one with their surroundings. No excess mana was expelled from their bodies as the mana circulated their bodies.

By inhaling some of the smoke, Alus was able to clearly sense his flow of mana. He could sense the countless pathways for mana reaching every nook and cranny.

They’re already at the point where they don’t need my guidance. They’re quick to adapt. Is this thanks to the Nox Somnia Grass too? Either way, it’s going well. 

He welcomed the two girls reaching such a high level of mana control. By being able to grasp all mana within the body, it could be used more effectively. At this point, they’d be able to go into the Outer World without letting any mana go to waste.

There was still the matter of the time they could stay focused, but their skills were on the level of a skilled Magicmaster.

Gradually, Tesfia’s and Alice’s breathing slowed as their consciousness began to assimilate with their mana. They were skipping a few steps of mana control, but it was only possible because they were building off the basics. In any case, being able to do this naturally was a formidable talent.

“Don’t go too deep. Make sure you can still hear my voice,” said Alus.

If they focused so much on their mana control that they couldn’t even see their surroundings, they would be mistaking the means for the end. In the Outer World, they would have to keep command over their mana while fighting.

“Follow the flow of mana once more. Keep your eyes closed and slowly follow my words,” Alus said, putting his hands on their backs to tether their consciousness to the outside world. “Recall the grail, the mana vessel from yesterday. You will follow your mana pathways and probably notice something off around your stomach. The path to the grail is there.”

“The mana depths from yesterday?” asked Tesfia.

“Hey, keep your mouth closed. Failure is not an option,” reprimanded Alus. Tesfia nodded in a panic and let her consciousness sink under again. “Once you get to the end of the path, look for the grail. I will insert a very minimal amount of mana as a signal to initiate you, so make sure you don’t miss it.”

What Gra Eater had ingested was something close to pure mana. Unlike the mana within humans, which contained information about the body, it was natural mana that stayed in the air.

Before the mana could be fully absorbed, Alus poured it into the two girls. The slightest glint of mana, smaller than a speck of dust, buried deep inside of them.

In this environment, I can keep track of the mana I’ve sent in. And with a marker, I can guide them if they were to lose sight of it.

When Alus did this, the two girls exhaled as the mana inside of them became uniform and strength left their bodies.

Hmm, looks like they found it, Alus thought. While they probably can’t clearly recognize it, they should be able to vaguely see mana gathering in one location. 

Eventually, just as Alus had guessed, the two showed signs of having found their mana vessel. At this moment in their minds, they should be standing face-to-face with a giant grail with mana pouring in from above to fill it up. It was the final destination of their mana pathways: the mana vessel.

“From here on, we will forcibly expand the vessel. You will feel some pain; there is no point in this if we don’t push it to the point where the grail might break. Put your hands on the grail and let your consciousness pour into it, expanding your image of it. Keep it from overflowing. Listen, just because it’s a grail doesn’t mean that its shape is fixed like one made out of metal. Under this specific situation, you can change the maximum stores depending on the amount of mana.”

Alus removed his hands from them and opened the box he’d gotten from Loki: a core that had been prepared ahead of time glowed suspiciously. Inside it was pure mana that lacked any mana information that could be construed as noise like was found in human mana.

Alus crashed his mana into the core to stimulate it, and mana began pouring out from a slight crack. Alus needed to keep it from absorbing mana information so that it wouldn’t mix with the noise, so the girls could absorb pure mana.

Alus had Gra Eater devour the mana from the core and smoothly moved it to the two girls.

“Now I’m going to be pouring mana into your bodies, so endure it. If it seems like you’ll break, I’ll stop it from my end, so do your best.”

Pure mana poured from Alus’s hands into their bodies. The technique required precise control to ensure that he always poured in a suitable amount of mana. If he poured in too little, the girls wouldn’t be able to expand their vessel, and if it was too much their vessel might break. If the vessel broke, the uncontained mana would hurt their bodies.

By Alus’s standard, it was only a little, but after a few seconds, it exceeded the two girls’ total mana. Tesfia’s and Alice’s faces twisted in agony, and they began to sweat. Alus focused completely on making sure he didn’t pour in too much more mana than the maximum amount.

While Alus did his best, Tesfia and Alice were each terribly bewildered in their subconscious.

Tesfia found her vessel in a very mystical location. The world was black as the night sky, and glistening water ran down to the mana vessel, which took the form of a grail. But at that pace, it would take days to fill the vessel.

It wasn’t overflowing, but there wasn’t exactly an increase in volume either. She wondered if mayhap there was a hole somewhere. While the scenery was more felt than seen, as an image of the mind, it came from Tesfia herself, so it was probably the correct form.

Right now, Tesfia was in a state similar to lucid dreaming.

Her mind was calm and rational to a degree, but the distinction between reality and illusion was blurred and distances and size was vague. However, the occasional echo of a voice that struck her body told her what she needed to do.

After hearing the voice, the glistening water began pouring down as if the tap had burst. It disturbed the surface of water in the grail, and the water began to gush out. Immediately, she felt painful pressure.

What a waste... That’s right, I need to expand it... 

Tesfia understood what she needed to do. The torrent of water threatened to destroy the grail, and she felt a strong obligation to expand it.

Tesfia felt stabs of pain as cracks formed.

It needed to be wider, bigger. She was conscious, but as she was inside a dream, she could only wish and will it.

The grail slowly but surely grew bigger, obeying Tesfia’s wish to contain as much glistening water as possible. But no matter how fast the transformation, the unending glistening water overflowed from the grail.

Ah, what a waste. I need to gather more. I can’t let any of it spill, she thought.

Her wishes ruled this world, but she eventually reached a point where the pain became too intense. It felt like her body was splitting from her stomach, like her soul was tearing.

This is strange; the pain isn’t receding. The glistening water is trying to destroy me. 

However...just when the grail looked like it would break completely, the flow of water slowed dramatically, the pain receded, and eventually the amount of water coming down slowed to what it had been before.

“Fia, Fia!”

At the sound of that voice, Tesfia was finally able to wake up. The first thing she saw was Alice with a pale face.

“Are you okay? It doesn’t hurt anywhere, does it?” asked Alice.

“Y-Yeah... Was it a success?” asked Tesfia.

“Right now, the blood coming from your mouth is more important...”

When Alice said that, Tesfia wiped her lips with her arm and found crimson smeared across it. She realized she tasted iron.

“Whoa?! What is this?”

Still seated, she looked over to Alus. The expression on his face was hard to describe. He looked neither happy nor relieved that it was a success nor did he look sad or disappointed that it had failed.

He was just staring without any expression on his face. At his feet were strange rocks that looked like shattered glass that had started to visually crumble away. It looked similar to the core of the Fiend she had defeated during the extracurricular lesson, which had disappeared after running out of power.

“Hey! This is a research facility. Get the hell out of here!”

From behind them, came a man’s rude voice. In it, one could hear the arrogance of someone convinced they were absolutely in the right.

Tesfia had no idea what was going on. Looking over at Alice, she found that the other girl, who weakly shook her head, was equally confused.

Just then, Tesfia felt a slight tremble in the ground. Heavy footsteps rang out as eight men in unfamiliar uniforms entered the testing ground, all looking angry and clearly with no intentions of suppressing the hostility they were exuding. So they probably wouldn’t listen to anything the girls or Alus had to say.

The entrance had been forced open with magic and lay crumpled on the ground. With a look of hostility, Loki stood in the way of the intruders. The man who looked to be the leader didn’t care and tried to push her petite body aside.

And in the next moment, his head was pulled back and slammed into the ground by Hest’s thin arms. Her maid uniform fluttered as she turned and gave the rest of the intruders a cold, murderous glare. She’d already taken out one; she was ready to take out the rest if necessary.

Alus had been somewhat concerned, but to think Hest would rampage here. Or perhaps she should be praised for moving to protect her master. Nobody had expected her to immediately start off using force.

Lilisha’s jaw had dropped and she had frozen by the severity of the situation. On the other hand, despite having been beaten to the punch, Alus’s expression was calm.

“Fia, Alice, your mana is still unstable. Start by using mana control to stabilize it. But don’t overdo it, just correct the flow,” Alus said. Then he spun around to face the entrance.

Realizing how bad of a state she was in, Tesfia hurried to stabilize her breathing. She didn’t know if she’d succeeded at the special training or not yet, but based on Alus’s attitude it didn’t seem like it had failed. But the mana inside of her felt more disordered than ever.

Likewise, Alice was next to her meditating and focusing on her mana. Her eyes were closed as if she were trying to look away from the coming storm.

Alus clad himself in a slight amount of mana and, standing side by side with Hest, glared at the suspicious people he didn’t know.

“Did you not see the No Entry signs? I suppose if you can’t read, you’re just trespassers who don’t belong in this Institute,” Alus said.

And in the next breath, he seemed to have disappeared and reappeared in front of the man in the lead. He moved his hand and touched the man’s chest.

“Wha—?!” The man’s body flew backward, and they all heard the dull snap of his collarbone when he slammed into the wall over the door and collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

“Th-The captain and even the vice captain?! A-Apprehend them!” the third in charge shouted, and the remaining intruders moved...but not before Hest put down another one.

When the man fell to his knees from her fist to his abdomen, Hest mercilessly kicked down on the back of his head. Seeing that, the remaining five pulled out their AWRs and readied their magic.

They appeared to be a squad with some Triples, but their response to an emergency was terribly sloppy. After all, even after witnessing Alus’s and Hest’s speed, they tried to cast large-scale spells that took time.

Alus immediately read the situation and targeted the intruder who would finish his spell first. As soon as he decided on his prey, Alus closed the distance to the young man in the back.

With Alus in front of him, the man panicked and swung up his newly cast Flame Blade, which clad his sword-type AWR in a bright red flame with black smoke rising from it.

“Huh?!”

However, Alus caught his sword in his hand. The burning blade couldn’t even scorch Alus’s hand, and with a single burst of mana, the Greatest Magicmaster extinguished the flames.

The rather high-level Flame Blade had been caught by hand. Before the shock could even appear on the man’s face, the sphere of space-manipulation magic around Alus’s hand popped as it came into contact with the man’s shoulder. The bones in his left shoulder cracked, and Alus kicked him away as he fainted in pain.

Beside him, Hest and Loki had joined the fray, silencing a few more intruders. It was clear Loki was quite accustomed to fighting people from how she was pinning down the opponent after making sure they let go of their AWRs.

Once it was all over, Alus turned to look at the man Hest had taken out first. Based on his appearance and the situation, he was likely the leader of these idiots. He appeared to be military, but he wore a uniform Alus had never seen before.

The expensive-looking clothes were dirtied by nose blood and vomit, making him look all the more pathetic, but that was the consequence for getting in the way of Tesfia’s and Alice’s training.

As an exasperated Alus looked away, he saw something preposterous.

“Stop, don’t kill them!” he yelled.

Hest had seen the vice captain try to get up and easily lifted him by the head using one hand. She was about to stab him in the stomach using a metal claw she had equipped at some point.

Tsk, that’s the same type as Lilisha’s AWR, thought Alus.

Hest looked up at Alus’s call, but after looking confused, she stabbed the claw about a centimeter into the man’s stomach.

“I said stop... If you kill him, it’s the family you serve who will get into trouble.”

Alus alone could have done as he pleased. After all, it was the rank 1 Magicmaster against violent intruders. He could have used the fact that they were one-sidedly using magic as justification, and pushed through recklessly. And if they had been really serious about attacking, he could eliminate them without hesitation.

But it would be bad for a guard serving the Fable family to kill them directly. For some reason, it appeared that the intruders belonged to a different nation’s military. So it would definitely develop into an annoying incident, which would no doubt cause further problems for the Fable family, who were already dealing with the Tenbram.

“Those who threaten the young lady can not be allowed to live. They’re soldiers, and they attacked first; it’s only natural that they’d die in the counterattack.”

The way Hest said this without any expression gave Alus an instant headache. She was like a murderous doll with no intention to listen.

He’d had a creeping suspicion ever since he saw her, and as he’d expected, the training she’d received was more focused on killing than guarding. Just looking at that deadly looking claw-type AWR, it was almost definitely some sort of weapon meant for assassinations. It was the same as Lilisha’s Magdala, but out of the six fingers, Hest likely had five of them.

Alus could only turn to Tesfia, but she was still focusing on stabilizing her mana.

“What kind of guard can’t even be a little flexible? Whatever. If you want to kill him, go ahead, and in exchange the Fable family will have to solve its problems on its own. Just to make myself clear, you killing him will cause the most suffering for your beloved master.”

After a long moment, Hest said, “I understand. Then I will leave dealing with him to you.”

Hest pulled the claw out of his stomach and removed her hand from his neck, then returned to her original position as if nothing happened.

What a crazy guard. It made Alus question how Frose and Selva were disciplining her. Alus sighed and looked at the unconscious intruders. He decided he would extract information out of whichever one looked like he knew the most.

“Lilisha, who are these guys?” he asked.

With Hest, Alus, and Loki, there was no need for Lilisha to step in. Moreover, it was an unexpected happening, so she’d ended up being just an onlooker, but she didn’t neglect to make observations.

“Uhm, I think they are Magicmasters from Hydrange. That’s where the uniform comes from.”

“But why is another nation’s military here?”

“Well, at an international conference two days ago, information on the Human Fiendification was shared,” Lilisha responded. “So it might be related to that. It’s a secret to the public, but all nations see this as very important. I heard all of them have sent out investigative teams, I guess... Aha ha ha.”

Lilisha had probably come to tell Alus about that but forgotten all about it.

“I’m guessing not even the principal has heard about this. What a bolt from the blue.”

Perhaps she’d learned about it just a few minutes ago, but as Alus thought that—

“Ahhh! Wh-Why did this happen?!”

—the person in question appeared on the scene and let out a scream of despair. Looking over, Alus could see an overworked Sisty standing by the entrance with her head in her hands.

Shortly after, Alpha soldiers appeared behind her as if to support her, allowing Sisty to finally look over.

“A-Alus...start by explaining what they did to deserve this,” Sisty said, her face despondent, practically clinging to him for an explanation.

“Principal, I believe we were in agreement that nobody would be allowed in here today. So we took them to be more attackers trying to infiltrate the Institute. But don’t worry, we’ve taken care of them, so I will leave the cleanup to you,” Alus brazenly explained.

Meanwhile, Lilisha had run off somewhere, and Loki was smiling wryly. Hest was as expressionless as always, while Tesfia and Alice, who had finished stabilizing their mana, were aghast at the terrible state of their surroundings.

“Good work today. Now why don’t the two of you return to your room... Come on, let’s go, Ms. Hest,” Loki said with a vague smile, trying to smooth things over as she pulled Tesfia, Alice, and Hest along to return to their room. Alus tried to go after them.

However, Sisty grabbed a firm hold of his shoulder.

“Where are you going? Are you planning on pushing more work onto me? I’m going to die from overwork at this rate! Please tell me you haven’t killed them,” said Sisty with a heavy sigh.

“They might deserve to die, but they’re not actually dead. It’s their fault for getting in the way—worst-case scenario, Tesfia’s and Alice’s mana vessels could have broken.”

“Why are you bringing up vessels...? What were you doing here?”

“I’ll explain that later,” said Alus. “Still, I’ll leave the rest to you. Well, you can leave out my Single rank, but you can at least reveal that I’m part of Alpha’s military. That makes it a military versus military problem, and I can claim self-defense. As Hydrange soldiers, they should be held accountable for their actions in another nation.”

With a tired look, Sisty had the men behind her carry the men out.

“All right, then let’s roll with that,” she said. “Still, I see that the captain planned to investigate on his own. I just heard about it myself this morning, but apparently he was moving without the permission of the person in charge of the site. Once they arrived, they said a Spotter found the presence of a core and said something about a new case of Human Fiend transformations... Well, I’m glad that everything worked out.”

“That’s strange,” said Alus slowly. “If there was a core, Loki and I would notice.”

Alus knew exactly what they were talking about, but with the evidence already gone, he concluded that he just needed to stand tall.

“That’s true; this is my Institute, and we’ve already turned the place upside down. Hmm, it must have been some kind of misunderstanding. Really, what’s going on lately?” Sisty asked, dragging her feet to leave. Suddenly she turned around again. “Alus, I expect a proper explanation later.”

Suspecting he’d been found out, Alus straightened his back. “Of course. Good work today. I’m sure you have a lot on your hands, but please take care of yourself.”

Alus’s praise wouldn’t even serve as a comfort since Sisty had a mountain of work only she could do. With that, Alus and Sisty had come to an agreement.

Alus bringing a core into the Inner World was a very serious offense under international law.

I’d already deactivated the core, though. Well, it’s still too early to announce that research.

The circumstances were different from when Loki had brought one in. In the worst case, if they pursued him for this, Alus could just announce his research on deactivating cores.

A core was active when it was absorbing mana, but if it was stopped from acting as a Fiend’s heart before then, there were no problems.

Interfering with the mana area and using Gra Eater to scoop up part of the core was all it took. Another method was to have it absorb a small amount of mana to locate the source of the core and use a special agent to deactivate. While it required a delicate technique it had already been verified.

But if it was announced, there was a risk that there would be large-scale research in the Inner World. With the risk removed from cores, they could obtain their mana, which would be a reassuring source of energy for humanity.

However, Alus felt that it would be premature to open Pandora’s box now that the discussion on Human Fiend transformations were being held among the top.

I used a B-class core this time, but I wonder just how much you could get from an A-class core. 

While it interested him, considering the risk of an A-class Fiend appearing within the Inner World, there was much consideration that needed to be given. And if everything worked out well, there would be no end to human greed.

If an A-class core could be handled, people would no doubt reach out to get their hands on an S-class core. And if an accident happened with an S-class core, a nation or two could be completely destroyed.

After seeing the Alpha soldiers off, Alus looked over the testing ground.

I can’t say everything worked out, but it went well enough. 

Loki had cleaned up the incense and carpet at some point. With that, the special training was a success for now. When he’d seen Tesfia and Alice wake up and become fully conscious again, Alus had been more or less convinced of it.

A smile crept up on his face. “Besides, Principal, you’re the one who pawned them off on me. I can’t have you thinking that I’ll pull back from it now.”

Alus thought to himself that things were just getting interesting. There was no longer any room to doubt Tesfia’s and Alice’s excellence. They had the potential of one in a thousand, but today had been the first time he’d been certain they would change.

While it wouldn’t happen right away, they could awaken to that potential.

“I’ll have a look as soon as we get back,” said Alus.

Returning to his room in a somewhat merry mood, Alus found the familiar faces resting. Hest was also standing expressionlessly squeezed in between some equipment.

“How are you holding up?” he asked.

“Huh? Uhm, I guess it feels kind of strange...” said Tesfia.

The two girls couldn’t really put their change in words, and they exchanged looks.

“You said this would give us more mana...but is there really a big change, Al?” asked Alice.

“It seems you’ve steadily expanded your mana vessel. While there might be some difference, you’ve only really gotten a little more mana right now. But the real change is coming after this. Whenever you exhaust your mana, you should be able to feel the amount of mana within you increase. But you’ll need to control the mana inside of you, so be careful. Also, your mana recovery speed should gradually change as well. The results will be worth the risk.”

“You think so?” asked Alice.

The two girls moved a little mana to the palm of their hand and stared at it in confusion. From a glance, it seemed they couldn’t use their mana control well enough yet. But while it had only been for a brief moment, the two had overflowed with mana.

Alus realized that it might be best to silence that and return to the usual speed and flow. “All right, I think it’s time for you to use up some of your mana. And Alice, you can acquire a new spell while you’re at it. I’ll pick something out later.”

Before that though, Alus moved up to Tesfia and lightly grabbed her wrist.

“Wh-What?” she asked.

“There was a little accident, and you were out of control for a moment. Fortunately your mana vessel didn’t break... Hmm, you seem okay and your mana is stable.”

That may just have been the greatest result of the pair’s daily mana control training. If their level of control had been lower, that moment would have been enough for the vessel to be destroyed.

And despite the disturbance afterward, they had been able to quell any mana outbursts thanks to their training. Of course, if their mana control weren’t as good as they were, Alus wouldn’t have brought up the special method anyway.

“For starters, I beat the crap out of the guys who got in the way. It’s been a while since I felt such a chill,” said Alus.

“That’s what I wanted to ask about!” An anguished Lilisha held a finger up and spoke. “If the aftermath’s not handled properly, it could become an international incident.”

“Don’t be stupid. They should thank me for not letting it go further than that. I’ll explain things to the principal later, and in the worst case, I can just have Berwick step in,” said Alus.

With the governor-general’s authority, he could deal with the aftermath with Hydrange without difficulty, although it might require him explaining why a Single like Alus was in the Institute in the first place.

“Then there’s Tesfia’s bodyguard. While she may have a duty to protect, as someone not in the military, she could be more problematic,” said Lilisha.

Tesfia’s eyes opened wide at Lilisha’s comment. How strange for her to worry about the Fable family when they were like cats and dogs.

When she heard her name, Hest appeared from the gap between the equipment. Lilisha turned around to see the expressionless woman.

“Hest. It’s a pleasure to meet you,” said Hest.

“N-Nice to meet you,” said Lilisha, giving her an awkward smile.

In reality, Lilisha had already met her before. She was one of the maids she had fought when infiltrating the Fable family. It had been two-on-one back then, but she probably couldn’t win in a fair fight either.

I’m not very good with this woman. That reminds me, she used a claw-type AWR before. I guess there really were users aside from me. 

Lilisha had received one of the fingers of Magdala from Selva, and the Fable family held on to the remaining five. That said, she’d received it out of goodwill, so she had no intention of prying into it.

“Well, if it impacts the Fable family, I’m sure Mrs. Frose will do something about it, but a guard that runs wild will just cause problems. I can’t help but worry about the future,” said Lilisha.

“Oh, how unusual...”

Lilisha cut Tesfia off and turned her eyes on Alus instead. “Say, Alus. Could you do that to me too next time?” she asked.

The girl looked up at Alus with pleading eyes, hoping to charm him. Lilisha didn’t specialize in magic, but she knew enough about mana that just looking at its movement within Tesfia and Alice was enough to tell her about their change. She’d never heard about that kind of trick before. As an onlooker, it was hard to tell what they’d done, but it was clear that there had been a big change to their mana.

When it came to mana control, Lilisha was a match for Loki. No, when it came to mana steel thread, she could skillfully use it better than Loki. While she specialized in intelligence and antipersonnel combat, there were benefits that had need of enhancing.

“It’s not like I can’t do it, but don’t say it like it’s so easy.” With a reluctant expression, Alus put his hand on his forehead to start thinking.

“Wait a second, I’m first!” Loki interrupted. She stood in the way of Lilisha with her arms swung open and excitedly breathing.

“The two of them did it fine this time, so we could do it together too,” said Lilisha.

“What do you say, Sir Alus?” Loki turned around to Alus, her cheeks puffed up for some reason.

And he answered...

“Well, it’s possible. But I don’t have the materials I need for Lilisha. Just for your information, it uses a core.”

“Whaaaaat?! You brought in a core?!” exclaimed Tesfia.

“R-Really?! What should I do? To think it uses that...” Lilisha said at the same time.

“Well, there’s no danger, so don’t worry. There’s a way you can bring it with you without it activating. Anyway, I don’t have a core for Lilisha. That said, I do happen to have a B-class core on me...”

Alus revealed the core with a bitter expression. While he’d deactivated it, it was something he’d wanted to dispose of sooner rather than later. There was no guarantee that there wouldn’t be a commotion like when the Magicmasters from Hydrange had stepped in.

“Why can’t I use that then?!” asked Lilisha.

“It has a little too much mana. I’d rather want a C-class,” said Alus.

“What’s with that, you need to make adjustments for every person?” Lilisha tapped her temple to put everything in order before pointing at Tesfia and Alice. “Then what did these two use?”

“A B-class.”

At that answer, Lilisha could hear a chortle from the redhead. Tesfia used a B-class core, while Lilisha needed a C-class. As if to say the difference between them was plain.

“That kind of pisses me off! But I’m fine with that one, please!” Lilisha gave up on fighting Tesfia and changed strategy. She pleaded while grabbing hold of Alus’s clothes.

“You’re in the way,” Alus said and pushed Lilisha away. He just wasn’t good at this kind of thing.

Perhaps she’d been paying close attention to his interactions with the principal since she was showing her womanly side more blatantly and cunningly. Seeing no other option, Alus explained while keeping Lilisha away from him.

“You’re certainly good at mana control, but in a way you’re too good. So even while you’re active, you keep your mana consumption low when it needs to be consumed in order to increase. You get that too, don’t you? Frankly, your amount of mana is less than Fia’s. And due to the nature of the method of expanding your mana vessel, taking in more mana than necessary is dangerous. That was plainly clear this time. A B-class was too much even for Fia and Alice.”

“What? So in my case it won’t be as dangerous, and I’ll be properly supported. Then that’s fine.” Lilisha convinced herself and nodded with a triumphant smile. And with the smile still on her face she pressed Alus further. “So when do we do it? Now? Or tomorrow?”

“Like I said, there’s no core for you.” Alus was dumbfounded.

But the fact that they were having this kind of exchange showed Lilisha was already a part of their group, the group of “merry friends” as Loki would call it.

“Then I’ll bring it! Will you tell me how you get a core?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. You’re not the type of person to go out into the Outer World. I’ll prepare one on my side.”

“Okaaay,” Lilisha said, hanging her head.

In the end, she ended up making more work for Alus.

Honestly, Alus didn’t see all that much point in using the secret method to increase Lilisha’s mana since she specialized in fighting using mana itself rather than magic. But if she herself wanted it, he supposed he could help.

If there’s a time when Loki or I go outside... And if not I could just ask Lettie or someone. 

Alus’s shoulders dropped, but for the time being, he made plans to perform the secret method on Loki first.

“It’s a promise, okay?” said Lilisha. “Well, I’m going to be busy so it doesn’t have to happen right away. But make sure to contact me when you’ve finished preparations.”

“Yeah, yeah. More importantly...” Alus suddenly put his mouth to Lilisha’s ear and whispered, “I want you to look into the Four Books of Fegel. Whatever you can find will do. Kurama has a few books, so I want to know how they’re getting them.”

“Excuse me?” Lilisha asked, looking surprised.

However, having heard what Kwinska knew, she should understand what he meant. And with Kurama being behind Ambrosia, it wasn’t like they were unrelated to Aferka. But more importantly, it was hard for Lilisha to turn down Alus at this point.

Lilisha sighed. “I understand. But don’t blame me if I don’t find anything.”

“It’s a give-and-take deal,” Alus said with a nasty grin.

Still, being able to boss around the commander of the unit serving directly under the ruler was a pleasant feeling. It’d be a pain if Cicelnia found out, but she caused problems for him too, so it was only fair.

After that, Tesfia and Alice continued their usual mana-control training. Alus hadn’t noticed, but their goal had secretly changed from becoming a first-rate Magicmaster to becoming a Single.

Alus had only mentioned the possibility, but the lingering memories of the special training were pushing them ahead. They were completely fired up, letting their passion take over. And incidentally, Alus was busy with the necessary procedures to pick out and create a spell for Alice to learn.

While taking a breather, he considered further tasks to assign to the three girls.

Alice would have to start with mastering her control over the rings of her AWR, Shangdi Fides. The device was something Alus and Budna had put a lot of effort into, and it would no doubt hold up to being the AWR of a Single.

Her control over the rings with her fingers was near perfect. Once she got a little more used to it, he would have her move on to controlling them freely without the assistance of her fingers.

With that special function, Alice would be able to manifest any spells she learned at each of the three rings as well as the main body, for a total of four places at the same time. Plus Alus believed that by passing through a ring, the strength of a spell would double. Therefore, complete mastery of the rings was essential, as in the future, she would be able to finish a battle by only flying the rings around. She wouldn’t have to take a single step.

As for Tesfia, she would need to master Cocytus.

It was hard for Alus to know for certain without seeing it in person, but from what he’d been told, Dante had shuddered for a moment when touching Tesfia during his attack on the Institute. Alus wondered what he had seen in Tesfia. Or perhaps Tesfia had done something to Dante while losing sight of herself.

Reaching a decision, Alus looked at Tesfia and Alice and stood. He folded his arms across his chest.

“Hmm, you should start repeatedly trying to use Cocytus from today on,” Alus said to a dumbfounded Tesfia.

“You still don’t have enough mana, but you should be able to partially manifest it without problems,” Alus proclaimed, causing Tesfia to awkwardly clear her throat.

After a pause, Tesfia took out her katana-type AWR, Kikuri, prompting everyone else to take a step back.

“Don’t worry. I’m not expecting you to be able to pull it off in one try,” said Alus.

“I-I know that. But you know, I was a little reckless before, right?” asked Tesfia.

“Is that what you were worried about? You don’t seem to be in that bad of a shape to me. Your mana is pretty stable too. You won’t be running around either, so your injury shouldn’t hurt,” said Alus.

But there was still a hint of anguish in Tesfia’s face. After all, her progress was much worse than Alice’s. There may have been a matter of difference in difficulty, but she couldn’t help but compare. The assignment created a sense of urgency that she was not making any progress.

But in this situation, Tesfia could only resign herself. She exhaled and began to refine her mana. She then slowly opened her eyes...

Is that...? The magic formula on her grip is reacting. Fia’s stance on using magic is different from before, thought Alus.

Alus didn’t overlook the slight change in Tesfia. He didn’t know how aware of it she was, but Tesfia was currently lowering her heart rate to sleeping levels, and her mana was obediently responding.

Cold air began to form around Tesfia. Suddenly, she reached her hand forward, toward Alus. Tesfia, in a trancelike state, exhaled a white breath and looked at Alus with vacant eyes.

She looked like she had expelled all emotions, but it was much purer than what Alus or Hest might show. Her eyes had a pale-blue color, as if they’d frozen from the cold air. Likewise, her vivid red hair had become whiter from the cold air. And magic glowed in the five fingers she’d thrust forward.

Alus gulped.

Tesfia was tracing the magic formula with unmatched precision, but it looked like the spell itself was matching her. Like two gears, meshing perfectly together, the magic and caster made concessions to the other, forming the spell through a sort of harmony.

While Tesfia might have an affinity for the ice attribute, it was rare for someone to be so compatible. Moreover, he never really had a chance to see Tesfia’s natural talents up close, so it was even more surprising.

She’s a natural. Did she awaken after the expansion? 

Even considering her affinity for the ice attribute that was the only explanation for why she would be able to reproduce an ultimate-level spell like Cocytus to this degree. It was still far from its complete form, but she had fulfilled the necessary structural requirements.

Tesfia was tired and lowered her arm, and the space was left with five finger-sized freeze marks. They left trails in the air as if drawn by a brush.

“This is the same as Al...” Alice inadvertently blurted out as Tesfia fell to her knees and undid her spell. The ice remaining in the air fell to the ground and vanished without a trace.

Tesfia had looked composed while using the magic, but now she was sweating buckets. Heat rose up from her body.

“H-How, haah, haah... How...was it?” she asked.

“Hmm, that wasn’t what I intended, but you did do it,” said Alus.

It would have been hard to believe if she’d managed one finger, but she had done it with five. She’d cleared her assignment, but there were some points that were incomprehensible.

At her current level, she still shouldn’t have been able to manifest that spell. However, something had assisted and guided her.

That AWR, Kikuri. It looked like it forcibly adapted the magic formula, thought Alus. Having drawn out more power than usual had left Tesfia exhausted. She looked physically tired, but her brain was even more exhausted. Alus had her sit down on the crude sofa.

“You cleared the assignment, but it’s still too early for you to use this spell. You’ll need to increase your mana some more and train your processing power some more,” he said.

Tesfia took a cup of water Loki offered her, and she drank it with shaky hands.

Still, I’m a little stumped. The unexpected development bothered Alus. Perhaps this had been what had bothered Dante, in which case, the expansion of the mana vessel was probably just a trigger.

Tesfia was already starting to master Cocytus. The problem was that she was becoming able to handle the spell faster than she could understand it, and that could be cause for concern.

At this rate, rather than using magic, she might end up getting used by it instead. Or rather, being used by the AWR, which went beyond the processing power and comprehension.

It was like the AWR was the one that demanded mana in order to construct a spell. Originally, the caster would build up the magic formula with the AWR merely assisting. Otherwise, the caster was just an energy source for the AWR.

Inherited spells are probably involved so the processing power required from the caster is pretty high, thought Alus.

The Fable family’s AWR, Kikuri, might well be a trial run for the secret heir, the Ertlade. It had no doubt reacted to the hidden magic formula that was the third stage of Cocytus.

In other words, Tesfia might finally be qualified to challenge the Ertlade.

By acquiring the inherited spell, she would become the Fable family’s successor in its true sense. And that moment was surely quickly approaching.

That made Alus think about Selva’s warning, but this was probably not at a stage where he’d need to worry, so he acknowledged Tesfia’s growth.

“That’s your assignment cleared for now, Fia. There are still some problems, but they can be ironed out later.”

“All right!” Tesfia pumped her fist and smiled.

Regardless of how it came to be, her efforts had paid off. Her talents were being inflated right now, but that wouldn’t continue for long.

All that was left was Alus’s own feelings. Tesfia had talent that surpassed the somewhat-excellent Magicmasters. With a furrowed brow, Alus’s shoulders dropped and he decided not to think too deeply about Tesfia for now.

He recollected himself and focused on the next objective, as he’d given assignments to all three girls.

Incidentally, after that Loki cleared her assignment first despite it being the most dangerous one. Her talents rivaled Tesfia’s. Alus couldn’t help but pity the students that went to the Institute with people like them, excluding himself.

It was still hard to believe she’d learned Fire Ikazuchi, but the assignment Alus had given her this time required her to not just optimize the spell but also coordinate with the beast she summoned, and she was able to do so at a high level, because unlike Tesfia, she had properly learned the spell.

Alus was simply left speechless.

Alus and Loki had been in the military’s Magicmaster Raising Project since childhood and received training and experience on par with adults. They had persevered through the training and exhibited exceptional capabilities as Magicmasters, so naturally, Loki had more than enough experience to deviate from the norm.

After quickly passing her assignment, Loki was back to doing housework and speaking with Lilisha, who had nothing else to do.

Alus wondered what ranking Loki would get now and just what would happen during the next mana vessel expansion. He also wondered how high Tesfia’s and Alice’s ranks would increase after the special training.

For some reason, he felt like he was at his wit’s end, but there was nothing he could do. They were simply growing in accordance with their talent.

With a turbulent day coming to an end, it was about time for Tesfia and the others to leave. That was when an orderly knock sounded from the door to Alus’s residence.

Loki hesitated for a moment but swiftly headed to the door. Shortly thereafter, she returned with a familiar maid in tow.

“Oh, it’s you, Minasha. What is it?” Tesfia asked in surprise.

Minasha, like Hest, had been sent by the Fable family to look after Tesfia. Today, she had stayed at the dorm to clean out the room.

Normally Minasha was quite friendly, but today she seemed to be in a rush, and her breathing was ragged. It seemed like she’d run over here at full speed.

“Young lady, I received sudden word from the master...and I come bearing her message,” she said.

With some difficulty, she weaved her way through the cluttered equipment to Tesfia. On her way, she glimpsed Hest standing between the gaps and let out a scream. When she finally arrived, she had to gather her breath before speaking.

“I have a message from the master. A letter determining the date and time for the Tenbram has been received. Therefore, you are to return to the house as soon as possible and devote yourself to preparations. She also requests that Sir Alus accompany you.”

“Hmm, it’s been a point of concern for a long time, but it’s finally here. I almost forgot what I’ve studied on the Tenbram,” Tesfia said with a smile. Her former timid attitude was gone, and now she seemed like she was looking forward to it.

“Uhm, so Al. I have a request to make...” said Tesfia. And just like that, her brazen attitude had disappeared as she meekly reconfirmed Alus’s cooperation.

That said, Alus had been waiting for this too. Tesfia didn’t know, but due to Womruina’s involvement with the escaped prisoners and the illegal drug, their footing was starting to become rather unstable, although that wasn’t something that could be seen from the public stage.

If anything happened to them, they might fall from one of the three great nobles to that of a wanted family.

“Yeah, I got it.” The thought that it was finally happening came to Alus’s mind alongside the thought that they were still going to do it.

The Tenbram that would decide Tesfia’s future was a traditional problem-solving method that both the Fable and Womruina families had agreed on.

Tesfia stopped her training and plopped down on the sofa and took a deep breath. The sudden message on the Tenbram had shaken her, but it wasn’t enough to make her lose her nerves.

“I’ll be fine. Al will be with me too. I’ve been training for this.”

“You’re still injured, but a week should be enough for all the pain to go away,” said Alus.

“Right.” Tesfia’s expression drastically changed.

Alus could tell her about the circumstances behind the Womruina family, but her being overly optimistic could be problematic too, so he chose to keep quiet instead.

“Fia, you’re going to be fine! Keep it together!” Alice encouraged Tesfia in Alus’s place, holding her hand with a powerful look.

“Leave it to me, Alice.” Tesfia held her hand back and gave her a determined smile before nodding to Minasha.

There hadn’t been any serious countermeasures put in place because the date for the Tenbram hadn’t been decided. And with the escaped prisoner incident, the Inner World should have been very busy right now, so this move of Womruina’s was unexpected.

Aile von Womruina might have been unable to back down for various reasons, but what were his intentions of beginning the Tenbram now? It might have been a move to break out of the current situation.

“Lilisha, how are things looking in that regard?” asked Alus.

“You mean about the referee? Naturally, as part of the Rimfuge family, I will take responsibility to serve as the referee. I’ve crammed the rules and regulations into my head too.”

Even during the test period, Lilisha had been studying up on the Tenbram. Her test scores had been poor as a result, but that didn’t matter now.

“I see. Then I’ll be in touch when we get to the Fable family,” said Alus.

“Okay,” Lilisha casually responded.

Alus wasn’t particularly worried either. Now then, what is that slimy Aile going to pull out? I hope I can at least look forward to that. 

From Alus’s point of view, he was getting dragged into problems between nobles, but there was no point grumbling about something already decided. It had been since the Seven Nations Friendly Magical Tournament that they’d had a battle with rules. Alus could only hope that it would be a fun way to kill time. If he was going to do it, he wanted it to be worth it.

Besides...Tesfia’s value was completely different from before. And considering her future prospects, it was almost a waste to do it for free.

Although she was still somewhat unreliable and putting up a brave front, her spirit was much stronger than before. Dante’s attack on the Institute had given her a great deal of determination.

Moreover, the mana vessel expansion was a success, and there was that glimpse of talent she’d just shown... She was taking firm steps down the road to reach further heights as a Magicmaster, and the Womruinas would serve as a good springboard for her to take flight.

To reach the true strengths of a Magicmaster, overcoming difficult battles to grow further was something necessary.

Conversely, it was the only thing Alus couldn’t teach. Even the Tenbram should serve as a good foothold for her to gain more experience.

While Tesfia was still nervous, Alus thought of Aile and had a sense of anticipation of the noble boy with a nasty smile plastered on his face.

Do your best to play the clown, he thought.