An Ancient Art on the Verge of Being Lost

"Lieutenant Jäger, follow me."

With that single remark, Serafina stepped out of the Regimental Headquarters and began walking ahead of me.

…….

I saw no reason to speak first, so I simply followed her. Neither of us said a word on the way, and eventually we arrived at the 2nd Company command barracks. Inside, it was completely empty.

Thud.

The moment I stepped in, the door slammed shut behind me with a heavy, resounding boom. Serafina walked to the center of the room, then turned to face me directly. Her ice-cold eyes fixed on me as if to pierce straight through me.

And yet, she couldn't quite bring herself to speak.

Status Analysis.

I stared intently at the words profound hesitation floating in her status window. Behind that icy mask, she was agonizing over it desperately right now. Whether it was safe to reveal her greatest weakness to this capable but inscrutable subordinate of hers.

And I had no intention of surrendering the initiative. Before she could open her mouth, I decided to make the first move.

"Captain, you don't seem to be in good condition."

At my quiet words, Serafina's shoulders stiffened almost imperceptibly. Her blue eyes flared sharp with wariness.

"What are you talking about, Lieutenant? Are you suggesting my judgment was impaired in the meeting just now?"

"No, ma'am."

I shook my head.

"This isn't a tactical matter. It's a medical one."

From here on, the performance had to be flawless. It was time to put my skills to work.

Charming Speechcraft.

With as persuasive a tone as I could muster, I pressed on.

"Back at the Imperial Central Academy, there was a field I delved into with as much fascination as tactics. Battlefield medicine—and within it, the interaction between mana and the human body. At first, I was merely reading out of curiosity about the healing magics used to treat the wounded."

Serafina's gaze wavered almost imperceptibly. She ran her tongue briefly over her dry lips and asked, her voice still sharp but noticeably softer than before,

"So what exactly did you read in those books? What's your evidence that my condition is a medical problem?"

"Your symptoms, Captain… bear a startling resemblance to a rare illness I came across there."

Meeting her eyes straight on, I continued in the manner of a scholar confronting a rare and fascinating ailment.

"In its early stages, it begins as intermittent fatigue or minor aches, but over time the symptoms worsen. Eventually it causes pain that feels as though it burns through the entire body, tormenting the sufferer with the sensation of every blood vessel being pierced by needles. A strong will can suppress it, but without a fundamental remedy, the body will collapse before long."

"……."

"At first, I thought little of it—the chronic fatigue you display, Captain. But there was something unnatural about it that didn't fit the image of a capable commander simply worn down by overwork. It was as if you were locked in a constant battle with something invisible."

I took a single step toward her. Serafina's tightly closed lips parted ever so slightly.

"The decisive evidence was what I saw in the supply depot the other day, and again in the meeting room today."

"…"

"It was only for a brief moment, but there was a spasm as though you were suppressing excruciating pain, and a sudden, drastic draining of color from your face. Those are not symptoms that simple fatigue or dizziness can produce. That was… the classic seizure pattern that appears when the mana within the body escapes control and flows backward, destroying the flesh from the inside."

"…!"

"Mana Overload. Am I correct?"

Serafina could no longer offer a denial. She simply exhaled a trembling breath. She could neither confirm nor refute it—but her silence became the most certain confirmation of all.

Got her.

Serafina slumped weakly into the chair beside the desk.

"…Yes. You're right."

She dragged both hands down her face, then finally spoke in a voice that sounded as if she had resigned herself to everything.

"It's a chronic illness I've suffered from since childhood. I've never been able to tell anyone. No—I couldn't tell anyone. If it became known that I couldn't properly control the mana I take such pride in… not only my command, but my family's standing as well would all come crashing down."

She lifted her head and looked at me.

"Until now, I've endured by suppressing it with sheer willpower. Performing in operations was somehow still possible… But lately, the seizures have been coming more frequently, and hitting harder. Even I could feel that I was approaching my limit."

She stopped and drew a breath. When she spoke again, her voice had regained its former composure. It was the voice of a commander.

"This stays between the two of us. You and I alone, Lieutenant Jäger."

An arctic chill settled over her blue eyes once more.

"Of course, Captain."

I answered without a flicker of hesitation. Keeping a secret? That suited me just fine.

Serafina was still studying my face intently. The ice mask had cracked, but the wariness behind it had not yet fully dissipated.

Her lips fluttered for a moment before she finally asked the question that mattered most.

"…In the meeting room, earlier. When you took my hand. What exactly did you do?"

A thread of hope ran through her voice.

"You only held my hand, and the pain sank away in an instant. How on earth…"

I took a slow, deep breath. What I was about to say mattered ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠even ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠more. Truthfully, everything up to this point had merely been the process of confirming, against Serafina's own account, the secret I had learned through Status Analysis.

Now I had become the only subordinate who shared my superior's secret. The question was how to put that to use. As I produced the answer I had prepared in advance, I activated my skill once more.

Charming Speechcraft.

"What I administered to you, Captain, was a form of emergency treatment. It is not a formal therapy."

Serafina's gaze flickered faintly. She seemed disappointed at the words not a formal therapy. Paying it no mind, I continued.

"Have you ever… heard of something called the Bio-Resonance Attunement Method?"

"…First I've heard of it."

"Naturally. It's an ancient manual therapy that has all but died out. Even for me, it's merely a concept I stumbled upon while digging through old papers at the Academy."

I trotted out my well-worn lie about the Academy's musty old papers. Then I began explaining what I had felt through Touch of Attunement.

"According to the papers, every living being possesses a unique bio-energy rhythm. In a healthy state, that rhythm flows steady and smooth like a river. But in a case like yours, Captain—where mana is running backward—the rhythm turns turbulent and erratic, like a raging storm. That is the source of your pain."

I paused briefly to gauge her reaction. Her expression was ambivalent. It couldn't be helped. Unlike the solid medical knowledge I'd deployed until now, this was practically folk medicine—put bluntly, snake oil. If I'd been in Serafina's shoes, I wouldn't have believed a word of it either.

But Serafina had no choice but to keep listening. She had spent her entire life exhausting every effort to ease the symptoms of her Mana Overload by even the smallest degree—and every one of those efforts must have failed. Even in the original game, nothing short of a transcendent-grade artifact had any effect on Mana Overload.

And yet that agony had been eased by nothing more than a brief touch of the hand. From her position, she'd be grasping at straws—she had to hear more of what I had to say.

"The Bio-Resonance Attunement Method uses the practitioner's stable bio-energy rhythm like a tuning fork. Through direct physical contact with the hands, the raging waves of your mana are brought into resonance with my stable rhythm, temporarily correcting the flow. That is the principle."

I was spouting whatever came to mind. But Serafina questioned me earnestly, as if this were her one and only lifeline.

"…You use your own stable rhythm?"

"That's correct. When I took your hand in the meeting room earlier, I attempted this method unconsciously. Fortunately, it appears to have worked."

"If that's really true… could it cure me?"

"A cure is impossible. This is an extremely dangerous and delicate technique—far too risky to attempt recklessly."

I drew a careful line.

"Captain, this is not a fundamental treatment. It is like building a temporary embankment on a storm-flooded river to divert the water for a short time. The embankment will eventually fail, and the river will flood again. All I can do is buy you a little time."

And then I drove in the final wedge. An offer too good to be true invites suspicion of a swindle. I had to make it unmistakably clear that this was no ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠easy favor for me either.

"To be honest with you, this carries considerable strain and risk for me as well. Making direct contact with the backflowing mana… is a dangerous gamble, one that could unsettle even my own stable energy flow. In the meeting room just now, though it was only for a moment, I nearly lost consciousness to the vicious cold ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that climbed up through my fingertips."

I deliberately laid the exaggeration on thick.

And Serafina appeared completely persuaded. Her wariness had vanished entirely.

"…Why would you go so far—risking that much—to help me?"

Serafina asked, her voice trembling. I produced the most plausible answer I had prepared.

"I simply want to serve under a capable commander. You leading the company at your best, Captain, is the surest way to raise the survival odds for me and my platoon. This may be for your sake, but in the end, it's for my own as well."

As she heard my answer, a fine crack spread across her expression. Her face settled into the look of one who had finally made her decision.

Status Analysis.

"…Very well, Lieutenant Jäger. I accept your proposal."

At her assent, I let out a quiet breath of relief inside.

And then, Serafina asked:

"Then… what do we do now?"