All Thanks to Max Jäger
"…Very well, Lieutenant Jäger. I accept your proposal."
At her acceptance, I let out a quiet breath of relief.
"Then… what do I do now?"
"First, please sit in a comfortable position. And where is the pain worst right now?"
I asked as if I'd been waiting for the question. She hesitated for a moment, then wrapped her right arm with her left hand.
"…My arm. From the fingertips of my right hand all the way up to my shoulder — a pain like an ice pick boring into me… it won't stop."
"Understood."
I approached Serafina slowly, my shadow falling across her body where she still sat in the chair. Her face was pale and bloodless, her lips pressed tightly together. A single line of cold sweat ran down her forehead.
As I took up a position near her left side, I caught the faint scent of clean shampoo mingled with something subtly, unmistakably her. She sat rigidly upright, but her right arm trembled faintly, and the lines of her shoulders and neck were locked tight.
"Forgive me, Captain."
I gently took her right hand in mine. The skin at her fingertips, unlike during her seizure, was cold as ice.
Touch of Attunement.
*Ding—*
Touch of Attunement (Lv. 1)
Beneath my palm, I could feel her mana. It spread through her whole body like something frozen solid, still poised and precarious as a blade of ice — enough just to look at it to make my skin crawl.
Once again, through Serafina's hand, I imagined sending a small, warm stream of water flowing through. The plan was to use it to widen the spring I'd carved out earlier.
…The spring I melted is gone. No — it hasn't disappeared. It's frozen over again.
I'd known it was only a temporary prescription, but I hadn't expected the effect to fade this quickly. The limits of a Level 1 skill were painfully clear.
"Ngh…."
Even with my hand still on her, Serafina's fingers began convulsing again. The pain had returned. I focused on the skill once more, pouring in far more concentration than before.
The target's bio-energy is being stabilized.
A warm stream of water flowed into her fingertips once more. This time, I didn't stop at carving out a spring the way I had before. Gathering my focus, I pushed the stream up along the inside of her wrist. The spring that had frozen over again thawed and spread, this time across a slightly wider range than before.
"Haa…."
A ragged, relieved sigh escaped Serafina's lips. The convulsions in her fingers ceased, and a faint flush of color returned to the backs of her pale, bloodless hands.
Status Analysis.
Name:Serafina von Reinhardt
Condition: Mana Overload seizure has subsided once more. Suppressed fatigue.
Emotions: Despair at the returning pain; profound relief and growing dependence on the stability that has come again.
I'd put out the immediate fire, at least.
But this wasn't enough. Without releasing her hand, I spoke in a calm voice.
"As you can see, Captain, this is nothing more than a stopgap. My power can only stabilize the flow as far as the area around your wrist."
"That alone… is enough."
Serafina answered in a trembling voice. But I shook my head.
Charming Speechcraft.
Charming Speechcraft (Lv. 3)
"I'm afraid not. This is like plugging a small crack in an enormous dam with a single finger. There's no telling when it might burst open again. A more fundamental measure is required."
"…You're saying there's a way?"
Hope crept into her voice. I didn't let that opening slip past me.
"The Bio-Resonance Attunement Method I use becomes more effective the wider the contact area, and the closer it is applied to the source of the pain. Your pain originates from your entire arm. Which means we must stabilize the flow not just at your fingertips, but across the whole limb."
I deliberately cut myself off and watched her reaction. She seemed to grasp my meaning at once — she swallowed hard. Her gaze flicked back and forth between my hands and her own arm.
Skill 'Charming Speechcraft (Lv. 3)' is influencing Serafina von Reinhardt.
She has begun weighing the treatment's effectiveness against her sense of shame.
"Of course, I won't force you. If it's unpleasant, at any time…"
"…No."
Serafina cut me off. She closed her eyes for a moment as if gathering herself, then opened her mouth with evident resolve.
"…Continue, Lieutenant."
"Understood. Then, if you'll excuse me."
I undid the button of her right sleeve. A pale, slender wrist came into view. I slowly rolled the sleeve up, revealing the snow-white skin hidden beneath her uniform. It was flawless — smooth, without a single scar.
Keeping her hand held in my left, I pressed the full palm of my right hand against her forearm.
"Hngh…!"
At the touch of my cold hand, her shoulders flinched. Her skin, unlike before, was hot as a brand. Whether from the Mana Overload or something else, there was no middle ground — either frozen cold from the ice-locked mana, or burning hot from the mana running rampant. It was always one or the other.
I activated the skill through both hands simultaneously.
Touch of Attunement.
This time was different. Two streams of water flowed in from either side and merged within her arm. The resulting current was incomparably more stable and powerful than anything before. The glacier of frozen mana began to melt at a visibly accelerating pace.
"Haa… ah…."
A deep sigh spilled from Serafina's lips. As if a gentle warmth were radiating outward from wherever my hands touched, her rigid shoulder line gradually softened and relaxed. Even her brand-hot skin began slowly cooling toward normal.
Status Analysis.
Name:Serafina von Reinhardt
Condition: Pain from Mana Overload is rapidly subsiding.
How many more minutes passed, I couldn't say. Slowly, I withdrew my hands from her arm. When the treatment was over, Serafina said nothing for a long while. She simply stared down at her right arm, the pain in it gone, as if in a daze — unable even to fathom how long it had been since she'd last felt peace like this.
"…Thank you."
At last she spoke, and her voice carried genuine sincerity.
"This should hold for a few days. But since it isn't a true cure, the seizures will come back."
I said it deliberately, coldly. If I was to bring her entirely under my control, this relationship could not be allowed to end as a one-time affair.
"The flow will need to be corrected on a regular basis."
"…Understood. Then whenever the symptoms worsen, I will receive the treatment you described."
"An excellent decision, Captain."
With a salute, I left the command barracks.
There we go.
Several days passed.
"Lieutenant Jäger! Corporal Meyer! The Company Commander is requesting your presence!"
A messenger came running up, breathless. Beside me, Hanna, who had been maintaining her gear, looked up at me with a tense face. I gave a silent nod, then led her toward the company command barracks.
Inside, Serafina sat at her desk waiting for us.
"Lieutenant Max Jäger, Corporal Hanna Meyer. Reporting as ordered."
As we saluted, Serafina rapped her knuckles lightly against the folder of documents lying on her desk, her expression hard.
"The final report on the Ashen Forest operation has come up the chain. I summoned you both for the commendations arising from it."
She turned first to me and gave a brief nod.
"Lieutenant Jäger — your flexible judgment and audacious command made you the hero of this operation. The reward for it has been submitted directly to the Regiment Commander, so you'll receive official notice separately. If you carry the rest of this campaign through safely as well… you may allow yourself to look forward to it."
Look forward to it, she says.
The meaning was unmistakable. Captain. It meant that in less than a year since receiving my commission, I could rise from platoon leader to company-command rank. A promotion speed that verged on the absurd.
"I will not disappoint your expectations, Captain."
I answered in a steady voice.
Satisfied with my reply, Serafina turned her gaze to Hanna.
"The Ashen Forest operation report singles out one soldier's contributions again and again. The decisive intelligence that determined the operation's outcome — and that shielded our forces from harm."
At the sound of Serafina's voice, Hanna's shoulders flinched. She swallowed a dry gulp without meaning to.
"Corporal Hanna Meyer."
"Y-yes! Corporal Hanna Meyer, present!"
"You distinguished yourself in the Ashen Forest operation, and your consistently timely counsel to your platoon leader enabled the 2nd Company — and indeed the entire Regiment — to achieve a major victory. It is therefore ordered that you be promoted to Sergeant. Furthermore, in addition to your existing post as 3rd Squad Leader, you are hereby granted the official designation of Special Sensor Specialist."
"Eh… ehh?!"
Hanna's shoulders trembled violently. Her large hazel eyes darted between Serafina and me in open disbelief. It seemed the word 'promotion' hadn't quite finished processing in her head.
Status Analysis.
Name:Hanna Meyer
Rank: Corporal → Sergeant (Field Promotion)
Condition: Extreme shock and joy at the sudden promotion and appointment; unable to fully process the situation.
Emotions: Boundless gratitude and awe toward the Lieutenant; anxiety over the weight of the honor bestowed upon her.
Hidden Desire: To become the Lieutenant's most devoted soldier, and to remain at his side forever.
I smirked inwardly. Looking at that innocent face, she still had no real sense of how remarkable an achievement she'd pulled off — or how important she was about to become.
Paying her reaction no heed, Serafina continued.
"In addition, in recognition of your service in this operation, a special bonus will be awarded."
She drew a thick envelope from the desk drawer and slid it across to Hanna. It landed on the table with a satisfying weight. Hanna's eyes darted cautiously toward it.
"In commendation of your service in this operation, a special bonus is hereby granted. The amount is equivalent to one full year of your salary. I trust it will be of some help to your family back home."
"A-a whole year…!"
Hanna's eyes went wide with shock. For a girl from a poor farming village, a year's salary was a fortune she'd never imagined holding in her hands.
"I-I only… I only did what the Lieutenant ordered me to! Such a reward is far too much…!"
"Think nothing of the sort, Sergeant Meyer. It is nothing more — and nothing less — than just compensation for the merit you earned."
Only then did Hanna snap into a salute, overcome with emotion.
"Thank you, Captain!"
Serafina gave a short, satisfied nod. Then she took a breath, and when she spoke again, her voice was lower and graver than before.
"One last thing. Bear it well in mind."
The air in the barracks grew subtly heavier.
"Your [Mana Sense] ability is a strategic asset of the utmost importance to the 7th Regiment. Security is non-negotiable — from the enemy, and from our own side alike. Do you understand?"
"…Yes, ma'am! Understood!"
Hanna's answer rang out loud and clear.
"Good. Dismissed."
"Sir!"
Hanna and I saluted and left the command barracks. The moment we were outside, Hanna stopped dead in her tracks, the emotions she'd been holding back surging up all at once. Covering her face with both hands, she began to sob quietly.
"Lieutenant… thank you. Truly… thank you so much. All of it… it's all thanks to you."
Her shoulders heaving as she wept, she looked nothing like the composed soldier she'd been in the barracks mere moments ago. Without a word, I wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
And that night, the bed in my barracks had no rest at all from its creaking.