Chapter 353
Chapter 353
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 353
Chapter Title: Mana Scars
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[Master, should we start from here?]
"Yeah, please do."
[Tweet~!]
Eleonore didn't fly. Instead, she pecked at the ground with her beak, scanning for traces of mana.
Mana scars.
A concept that breaks down the unique properties of the mana each individual possesses.
Simply put, think of it as a mana fingerprint.
From these, you could get a rough idea of what spells had been cast here. Or what actions had been performed using mana.
[Master.]
"Yeah, Lucy. What's up?"
[Even if we follow the traces, it's impossible for just the two of us to perfectly identify the person and their actions. I've seen Sansu-yu's mana before, so it'll be easy to spot... but.]
"Do everything we can. I'll do the same. I never expected to get full results on the first pass anyway."
[...Understood.]
Lucy nodded at my words and flew off into the distance.
I stayed rooted in place for a long time, examining the surrounding mana as well.
'The info we can confirm is only partial at best.'
Sansu-yu's location was unknown.
We could only tell what certain mana bursts had been used for, then infer the rest from that.
For example, like this.
-Hum!
I brushed my finger over a faded floor tile.
The dust cleared, revealing faint mana scars beneath.
'Not Sansu-yu's mana... some kind of household spell.'
Probably mana leaking from magic stones during garden maintenance. Or power from some unknown person's cleaning magic.
In other words, a dead end.
I'd have to repeat this process hundreds of times to find the answers I wanted.
And that process was no walk in the park.
Digging through long-term traces like this drained your mental energy like crazy. Which was why investigators weren't even dispatched for most crimes.
'Even if they were, pinpointing an identity would be impossible.'
They memorized mana properties, then cross-referenced them against convicts or other criminals to check for matches.
Or used it to figure out what methods the perp favored.
'Not that they'd bother looking for someone like me.'
The Cradle was currently half-destroyed.
With Flower liable to barge back in at any moment, rescuing the tree came first.
Me? In this mess of ruins tangled with mana from over ten National Trees, dozens of hunters, knight orders, agents, and Flower?
The most feasible lead would be cross-checking my battle traces against the fight with Meihua, the hotel basement romp, or the clashes with Flower inside the foundation. Even then, confirming it was the same person would be next to impossible.
I couldn't comb every inch for my mana and preserve it all right now, either.
That'd probably require dragging in a Spirit King or something.
The cold war was over. We were basically at full war. No point wasting brainpower on it.
-Thud!
"...Hmm."
Two hours of searching turned up nothing in the garden.
At best, confirmation that a bunch of vehicles powered by magic stones had passed through recently.
Sansu-yu had probably hitched a ride on one of them.
[Chirp!]
Lucy swooped down from the sky and perched on my shoulder, panting hard.
[Master, I followed the vehicle artifact traces.]
"Results?"
[They cut off at the airport runway. After that, the scars were wiped clean. Can't tell anything.]
"Good work. Let me see the wings."
[......Okay.]
Lucy lightly opened the spot under her wing. I stroked it and slowly infused some mana.
[Hnn... haaang...]
The moment Lucy absorbed the black mana, she slipped off my shoulder.
Exhausted, she collapsed on the ground and flapped her wings wildly.
[Way better than before...]
"What? The mana?"
[Blacker... thicker. It's like the mana all spirits dream of.]
"That so. Serve hard if you want more."
[Yes.]
My mana was basically drugs to them.
I squatted down and fed a bit more to the flipped-over Lucy.
"Here, extra serving. Hup!"
[Ohhoong!!!!!!]
Lucy rolled her eyes back and thrashed her legs.
[Hic, uhic... hic!!!]
Short, repeated spasms rocked her body.
I'd seen this somewhere before.
'Ah, right.'
It was the look on Imperial Path's face during our marathon sessions.
Some renowned knight from a kingdom, huh...
She'd probably ditched all her convictions and pride by now.
Didn't sit right with me, wrecking so many like this.
[Master~~~!]
Not to be outdone by Lucy, Eleonore flapped her stubby wings and flew over.
She hopped onto the back of my hand and rubbed her face against my skin.
[I worked super hard~!]
"Effort doesn't matter. Results do."
Eleonore had zipped through the mansion interior.
The little bird spread her wings wide and crowed proudly.
[There were battle traces!]
"What?"
Battle scars in El Academy, which had top-tier security.
My face hardened as I gave Eleonore an order.
"Lead the way."
[Master... no mana for me?]
"I'll pump you full till you go crazy later. Now guide."
[Cheep...!! Off we go, Master~! Follow close!]
-Vrooom!
Eleonore rocketed off like a jet. I scooped up the downed Lucy and followed her trail into the mansion.
Second-floor hallway to the bedroom.
Mana scars were smeared everywhere like a total shitshow.
"This... is wild."
[I did good, right?]
Tree Footrest buzzed around me triumphantly.
I dropped to my knees and narrowed my field of view as much as possible.
Too much information. Way too much.
I wasn't used to scar-hunting yet, and my head was starting to throb.
I dialed back the mana a touch and scanned the surroundings.
'...Definitely. Something's off.'
The mansion was trashed. Porcelain and dishes shattered everywhere, left uncleaned.
Look close at the long red carpet, and you'd see bloodstains.
[Looks like a quick skirmish. No time to wipe the traces.]
Tree Footrest nailed it.
To track them, I'd have to read the mana again. I clicked my tongue and slowly focused my eyes.
[Haa, haa... Master.]
Lucy shook off her daze, stood, and hopped back onto my shoulder.
[Mana assimilation would be way easier for you.]
"Yeah?"
[Princess... hurry up.]
[Hmph. Was gonna anyway.]
With birds on both shoulders, my whole body went hypersensitive.
Their vision merged with mine.
The ultimate way to wield mana. Spirit assimilation.
I took a deep breath and looked around.
"......"
It started coming into focus.
Not big area-of-effect spells. Assassination magic or concealed weapons.
Backtracking the timeline of the scars, the fight had started at the second-floor stairs and dragged all the way to Sansu-yu's bedroom.
Couldn't pin down numbers.
But one thing was certain: Sansu-yu had been here.
Her mana was familiar after all this time. I could pick out even faint traces.
[That's their power.]
As I racked my brain, Eleonore chimed in flatly.
[Flower.]
"What? Flower? Doesn't match what I know."
[...The traces are faded. It's Flower, Master. Beyond what humans or Wood People can sense.]
"Flower... Been thinking this for a while, but why's their mana so unique?"
[Eh, it's complicated... Lucy?]
Eleonore glanced at Lucy, who picked up the explanation smoothly.
[Strictly speaking, it's not Flower's power. It's what happens when you force mana into a mana-less being. That creates mana with those properties.]
"......Meaning?"
[Most of Flower are human—or so they say. But unlike you, Master, humans struggle to hold mana. Only two forces can force mana into humans right now... the World Tree and Flower. Though the World Tree doesn't bother.]
All that mana I'd sensed from the humans I pegged as Flower? Artificial properties from forced infusions.
"...Different from the husband candidate, though. Same deal, mana grafted onto a human."
[Different method. Don't know the details.]
Lucy's explanation clicked.
'......'
I closed my eyes and pondered.
The spirits pegged it as Flower's handiwork.
'Weren't the Cornerus Family allies with Flower?'
The World Tree was on the verge of branding them heretics.
Even weakened, their funds would still help. No reason to cut them loose.
'If they were bait, no need to attack.'
Flower had targeted Sansu-yu.
The Cornerus Family's secret garden. Eternal immortality.
Aim for the closest one? That screamed stealing their lifelong research.
[In a word, the Cornerus Family's getting hit from both the World Tree and Flower.]
"Yeah."
Lucy read my thoughts and summed it up perfectly.
They planned to split the Cornerus funds between them.
To uproot roots over a millennium deep.
-Drip, drip.
The World Tree and Flower were implicitly trading chess pieces.
-Tap.
Footsteps from behind.
[...Master!!!!! Behind you!]
Tree Footrest shrieked in alarm.
My head snapped backward.
-Screee!
A reverse-gripped hand and dagger slashed toward my neck.
I turned and clocked the dagger—and its owner—first.
-Whoosh!
A bluish dagger hurtling straight at me.
[Master!?]
Lucy yelled at my lack of reaction, but I didn't twitch a finger to the end.
The dagger aimed at me finally stopped.
Shorts, half-sleeves. Green hoodie.
"Ye, Siheon-ge."
A low voice, laced with mockery. She flipped back her hood.
Sansu-yu's mentor. Champee stood there.
"You little shit. Long time no see, huh?"
"Champee-sek... or should I say noona?"
"Kuhuhu. You know this is straight-up illegal trespassing, right? Might have to gouge an eye or two per the laws or whatever."
"Noona must have a good nine eyes lined up then."
Champee was swamped with Hunter Association bullshit. What was she doing here?
I tapped the birds on my shoulders. Signal to head back.
[Master... that mana.]
"Here."
[...Haaaang!]
Eleonore and Lucy moaned as they returned to the spirit realm.
Champee's eyes went wide at the sounds, startled.
[Eleonore... satisfied, satisfied... aaang.]
-Hum~!
The two spirit birds convulsed their way back to their realm.
Champee looked utterly stupefied.
"Fuck....... What the hell was that? Gave me the chills. Spirits... master? The fuck?"
"Something like that."
"Something like that? Fuck, what was that sex-moan bullshit?"
"They're spirits. Just weird ones."
"Looks to me like you're the weirder one, bossing them around."
I rubbed my stinging eyes and leaned against the wall.
Burning out my mana circuits on scar-hunting had left me wiped.
"Anyway, that's not the weird part."
"Birds creaming like they're getting railed, and that's not the weirdest? Bring it on then."
Champee rubbed her arms, creeped out.
I ignored her and got to it.
"So."
Champee showing up here at the crack of dawn.
Why? Obvious. Same reason as me.
"What's your reason for being here?"