Ch. 246

The moment I lay down on the bed, I fell asleep like I’d fainted. I woke on my own around dawn, and after blinking once, I was fully awake—refreshed, empty.

As if he’d been waiting for this moment, I felt Rai’s weight as he climbed onto the bed, pressing against my toes.

[Good morning! Master!]

I dragged my sluggish body upright and only nodded.

Pushing my drooping hair back, I leaned against the headboard and, for a while, mindlessly drifted in and out of sleep.

Then, to shake it off completely, I straightened my back and took a deep breath.

I started my morning training by feeling for Mana. Nothing woke my mind better.

If my usual Mana training was about drawing in external Mana to increase what I held, this was closer to rehabilitation—repairing what had been damaged inside by internal injuries.

Once Mana became mine, it was like blood. It played a different role from external Mana.

It flowed through my body according to my will, helping correct the disrupted flow and slowly opening blocked areas.

I had to do it calmly. Forcing it would only worsen the internal injuries.

Concentrating while I cleared the inside of my body—feeling impurities dissolve into the Mana or be pushed out—was its own kind of training.

Mana was like countless grains of sand slipping through my fingers. A moment of carelessness, and it scattered somewhere beyond my reach.

When I poured all my nerves into controlling it, time passed in the blink of an eye.

“Hoo.”

When the turmoil inside me, overturned by internal injuries, settled more than it had yesterday—and when I could move more Mana—I finally opened my eyes and stretched.

The clarity I felt afterward was so good it was almost addictive. My body still wasn’t in great shape, but after Mana training, I always felt like every function was running at its best.

[Are you done?]

“Yeah. How long has it been?”

[A little under three hours.]

“I went longer than usual.”

I got up and checked the hourglass.

The fact that a natural enemy might be nearby had an unpleasant but positive effect: my concentration sharpened, and my motivation spiked more than usual.

It felt like I needed to find and take medicine I didn’t want.

With that pressure weighing on me, I went to the window and peered outside through the curtain.

The street was still deserted. Rovenin was nowhere to be seen.

Well, I didn’t think he’d stand outside all day like an idiot.

Even if he was nearby, there was no way I’d sense him if he chose to hide.

“Rai.”

[Yes!]

“Find Rovenin.”

[……What can I do? That human is as hard to find as an assassin!]

“That’s your problem.”

[That’s too much! You villain!]

“Hey. Show your master some respect.”

Ignoring Rai’s whining, I stepped away from the window.

Then I started stripping off my clothes, starting with my shirt. I’d fallen asleep the moment I returned last night, so I was practically still dressed to go out.

I’d slept soundly in an uncomfortable state, with only my leather protectors removed.

I’d come back to the lodging around evening, so even if I’d fallen asleep at seven, I’d slept a full ten hours.

I woke around five. Now it was close to eight.

“Undine.”

My mornings were always the same. Open my eyes, do Mana training, then call Undine to wash away the sweat.

[Master!]

“Hm? What’s wrong? Why are you so happy?”

[Are you okay now?]

“Of course. I’m much better. I can call Undaine now, too.”

The moment she was summoned, Undine washed me with practiced familiarity, then perched on my shoulder and acted cute.

It was hard not to love a small Spirit who whispered in such an affectionate voice.

[I’m glad. Yesterday, I kept feeling like you needed me, so I was waiting.]

Every time I looked at Rovenin and wondered whether I should kill him, some signal must have reached Undine.

It wasn’t something I’d intentionally sent. It was something the Spirits sensed on their own.

[I thought you might call me. I was ready to come anytime…… But I don’t want you to get hurt. You don’t have to call me.]

“Oh, how admirable.”

[I like washing you the most! And I get to stay close to you, right?]

“You’re the best, Undine.”

Honestly, it was more accurate to say my first kiss was with Undine, not Ash.

Undine was always a good child, so whenever I praised her, I ended up stroking her and kissing her forehead again and again.

But with her egg-sized face, it was all the same—forehead, cheek, lips.

[Hmm…… I think Ash got scammed, right?]

“What!”

[You tricked him by saying it was your first kiss and stole Ash’s first kiss, right?]

“Undine isn’t human. She’s a Spirit. So it doesn’t count.”

Even as I said that, I kept showering Undine with kisses, and Rai started prowling around, openly jealous.

He kept wearing that dissatisfied face and picking pointless fights until I finally touched him—complaining that I only loved Undine.

[Do it for me too! Me too! Why won’t you do it for me!]

“I’ll do it if you find Rovenin’s weakness.”

[……That’s mean! Why am I the only one with conditions? You just did it for Undine!]

“First, Undine is the cutest in the world. Second, Undine doesn’t act up like you. Third, Undine has never fallen into a cesspool. Fourth……”

[Agh! I got it! I got it!]

Rai glared at Undine, grinding his diamond teeth like he was furious.

Their dynamic always ended with Rai’s one-sided jealousy. He didn’t care if I was close to Ash, but he couldn’t stand me favoring another Spirit.

If Ash were a Spirit, Rai would’ve been jealous of him, too.

—

When I went down to the first-floor restaurant, it was still quiet.

Normally, breakfast time was bustling, but it seemed everyone was still sleeping off last night’s Toomdra.

I sat at a table for four and started ordering.

“Two large baskets of today’s bread. Juice instead of milk…… ten boiled eggs and ten fried eggs. A breakfast set for four with sausage and fruit.”

“That’s a lot for one person. Are you sure you’re okay?”

“And two large plates of potato stew.”

I didn’t answer—just ordered more. The clerk seemed to understand and returned to the counter.

As the food arrived, the restaurant slowly started to fill. I took a sip of the fresh juice and thought the easiest way to poison Rovenin would be to put it in his drink.

Where would I even get poison?

‘If I handle it wrong, I’ll poison myself, too. Better to learn a bit and use it properly. I don’t know much about poison…… Who would? Akia knows herbs.’

I sat blankly in the sunlight, eating, when Chad and Gale showed up and casually joined me.

Chad dropped into the seat across from me and grabbed bread, eating as he pleased.

“What’s wrong with you? You’re up early.”

“I couldn’t sleep.”

“Oh? Is that all? There’s no milk?”

“There’s nothing here for you. But why are there only two of you?”

Just sitting across from them, I could smell alcohol. They looked like they’d been drinking all night.

“Enk is probably passed out until afternoon. You have no idea how much he drank yesterday. He said he was betting on the Count, but he secretly bet on Lord Fedri without telling us! He got so excited he drank like he was going to die—and he really did.”

Gale wasn’t as talkative as Chad, but he was also dealing with a hangover, silently peeling eggs as he grumbled.

“Sounds like you had fun?”

“Did we drink until three? More than that—when did you come in? I didn’t see you.”

“I came back early. I just slept.”

“Hm…… Is that so?”

“Don’t even bring it up. I’m exhausted. My back hurts, my shoulders hurt……”

It wasn’t surprising my back hurt when I’d slept in my going-out clothes.

Would my shoulders loosen up if I did Mana training one more time?

But doing it too much wasn’t necessarily good. It was mentally taxing, so moderation mattered.

If you lacked mental strength, you couldn’t sustain Mana training. If you lacked physical strength, you’d definitely end up with internal injuries. And even if you did have the physical strength to endure it—did that solve everything? Not at all.

Swordsmen exploded more often than mages because they trained too long, too hard, and too ignorantly—drunk on reckless confidence.

Slowly, but steadily.

Anyone who’d ever trained Mana had heard that. The relationship between Mana and the body was still tricky, not fully understood, and increasing Mana wasn’t difficult for no reason.

I chewed on my fork, lost in thought for a moment—

Until Chad rolled his eyes at me like I was suspicious, which immediately annoyed me.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Hm…… then what about Ash? Is he still…… sleeping?”

Something felt off.

Gale, who’d been eating just fine, suddenly crushed an egg in his hand, and unease crawled up my spine.

“Why are you asking me that? Ash is in the same room as you guys.”

“……Weren’t you with him?”

“……What?”

Silence fell.

And in that instant, I realized what they’d misunderstood. I snapped back—

“He didn’t come in?”