The Bathroom Break Is Allowed — You Weren't Sleeping?
Aria's message came through Yohan's hand the moment she woke up.
⋯⋯How could anyone sleep in a situation like this, Professor?
Yohan, unable to voice his thoughts aloud, swallowed a sigh and nodded instead.
“⋯⋯Hmm. You’re not tired?”
Aria tilted her head for a brief moment before her finger began tracing letters across his palm again.
— Yeah, let’s set that aside. Has anything changed for you right now?
It was a request to notice something. But Yohan had no immediate guess what she meant.
“⋯⋯Hmm.”
Aria shifted the finger that had been writing on his palm and began poking repeatedly at the area near his heart.
⋯⋯Excuse me? What is this⋯.
‘What could this mean, Zeno?’
Yohan asked, genuinely at a loss. Zeno’s reply came in the same low, emotionless tone.
"I would not know either. Why not ask her directly?"
But even Zeno had no immediate answer. While Yohan slept, Zeno had detected nothing unusual. That was why he urged Yohan to ask her himself.
‘How?’
I can’t even speak⋯⋯.
"You could do the same thing she is doing. Write on the Magic Tower Lord’s hand."
⋯⋯Ah.
⋯⋯Ugh, that feels a bit much.
Ever since arriving at the cabin, Yohan had been stuck holding Aria’s hand the entire time. At Zeno’s suggestion, he shook his head in clear reluctance.
⋯⋯Writing on the professor’s hand to communicate? That’s something a student would naturally resist.
‘Well, technically I’m not a student anymore, but⋯⋯.’
Even now, he desperately wanted to pull his captured hand free. On top of that, for some reason his heart had been feeling constricted for a while now. An inexplicable sense of unease lingered as well.
⋯I don’t know why, but⋯.
Tap. Aria poked near his heart once more. As if she knew he was lost in thought, she drew his attention back to her. Focus on me.
— You really don’t know?
After conveying the message, Aria poked his body again. She jabbed at his shoulder in clear dissatisfaction, then pressed firmly against his heart once, twice.
But Yohan could only shake his head, still clueless.
“⋯⋯Well, you probably haven’t checked your mana in a while. It might be hard to notice all at once?”
Aria muttered to herself. Only after Zeno relayed her words did Yohan hurriedly examine the mana remaining in his body.
⋯⋯What is this?
Yohan lifted the hand that wasn’t being held and gently pressed it against his own heart.
⋯⋯How?
His eyes widened in astonishment.
“Looks like you’ve noticed now.”
Aria let out a small chuckle and withdrew the finger that had been prodding his heart.
"Is there a change?"
Zeno, who had been observing the situation, asked for an explanation.
‘Yes, it’s not exactly significant⋯⋯.’
No. This was enormously significant.
"What is the situation?"
‘My mana has increased.’
⋯⋯From 1 to about 2.
The mana that had never increased no matter how much he researched it over his entire life had grown.
The body recovers.
Wounds close. New flesh grows.
It was such an obvious statement, as natural as saying that being stabbed by a sharp blade causes bleeding. After all, no one fails to bleed when cut by a sword.
An utterly obvious truth.
And just like that, it was also considered obvious that every person is born with a fixed total amount of mana. That mana, once consumed, cannot be recovered.
Obvious facts.
That was precisely why Yohan could not hide his shock.
‘⋯⋯What is this?’
It made sense. The ability to recover mana was something no one in the world knew about. Perhaps only Aria, Yohan, and Zeno were aware of it right now. It might very well be knowledge shared by only these three people in the entire world at this moment.
Countless studies on mana had been conducted since ancient times. Mana was the most thoroughly researched subject, and as a result, mages had discovered theories that dramatically reduced the mana required to operate spells. Now that those theories had become commonplace, mages could actively pursue magical research and achieve progress in ways unlike the past. So much so that deaths caused by mana exhaustion had virtually disappeared.
And yet, even then, the one thing they had never discovered was mana recovery. Despite the countless studies conducted for that very purpose, it had remained elusive. In the end, some researchers who could no longer endure the process had turned to stealing the mana of others, and records remained of massacres committed during those experiments.
It was something no amount of research had uncovered. Something even mages had eventually given up on. Something believed to be impossible. That was the nature of this discovery.
"Was such a thing truly possible?"
Even Zeno, after hearing the explanation, could not hide his astonishment. It had been one of the biggest problems during the long time he had spent with Yohan. Moreover, because of Yohan’s Mana Void Syndrome, his mana was consumed far faster than others. That was why they had poured so much research into it over the years. Simply finding a way to hold onto mana at all had been close to a miracle. After that, they had naturally given up on the idea of mana recovery.
‘⋯⋯If this is the case.’
Strength began to fill Yohan’s grip. It felt like he had finally caught a clue. Perhaps he could completely solve the Mana Void Syndrome. And if this became widespread, it could resolve many inconveniences when fighting the Giants. It might even become the foundation that allowed countless people who had been forced to leave the battlefield against their will because of mana depletion to return to the front lines.
Yohan’s expression quietly filled with joy. This was an opportunity.
And at that very moment, Aria sent another message.
— Of course, this is something only I can do.
It was like a bucket of cold water had been dumped over him.
— You must be curious. I’ll quickly explain the principle.
Yohan nodded rapidly.
⋯⋯Even this much is huge.
If he understood the principle, he could research and apply it in various ways later. ‘There’s plenty of time.’
Time was infinite. At least for Yohan. And for an achievement of this magnitude, he was willing to invest as much time as necessary.
— First, I’ll open it up so you can see. Take a look.
Yohan tilted his head at Aria’s explanation.
⋯⋯See what⋯.
The situation that followed forced his expression to harden. He felt a tiny thread of mana traveling through their joined hands. Aria’s mana was being drawn out like an incredibly fine thread, flowing along their clasped hands and into him. It was such a delicate manipulation that even Zeno had said he hadn’t noticed it. On top of that, she was transferring the mana to another person without any side effects and showing the entire process without omission.
‘How is this possible?’
⋯⋯This was supposed to be impossible. Transferring one’s own mana to another person. It was something considered not just difficult, but outright impossible.
‘How can this even work?’
Without realizing it, Yohan tightened his grip on Aria’s hand. Tap. Aria lightly smacked his forehead with her other hand.
⋯⋯Ow, ow.
— That hurts.
Yohan rubbed his forehead with his free hand and leaned forward slightly. Aria’s hand twitched, but Yohan didn’t notice. She used her finger to push his forehead back into its original position.
— And you haven’t seen everything yet. Look more carefully this time.
Yohan refocused with renewed concentration. He needed to absorb as much as possible. Difficulty didn’t matter; he simply wanted to understand this principle. It was the moment his obsession as a mage kicked in.
Yohan slowly followed the path Aria had opened, tracing her mana to its final destination. That place was where her mana gathered.
— So? Do you understand anything now?
Aria moved her finger again. Yohan’s eyes widened.
He couldn’t believe it.
‘⋯⋯Wow. What the hell is this?’
⋯⋯This.
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say her mana was infinite.
‘Is this even possible?’
Yohan was stunned. Everything he had researched and studied until now felt completely overturned. A hollow laugh escaped him involuntarily.
‘⋯⋯So this is why she’s the Magic Tower Lord?’
He wondered how other mages would react if they saw this. If everything they believed was denied like this, could they even keep their sanity?
‘⋯⋯I thought I was confident in my mental strength.’
Apparently not.
⋯⋯Haa.
Yohan let out a long sigh.
"Are you all right? There are no side effects, correct?"
‘Yes, none at all.’
He checked his body once more and found nothing wrong. Even now, mana continued to flow through their joined hands.
‘For now, I should check whether I can hold onto this mana.’
It was someone else’s mana. He needed to confirm not only whether he could use it, but also whether it could bypass his Mana Void Syndrome.
‘⋯⋯But does this even have meaning?’
In the end, it would be difficult to replicate without Aria’s infinite mana and her extremely delicate mana control. And this was essentially no different from stealing another person’s mana.
⋯⋯Though others might be able to use it too.
It was clearly going to create a complicated situation in many ways.
‘I’ll just remember it for now and try it little by little multiple times.’
"Indeed. It seems this should not be carelessly revealed."
Yohan nodded. By then, Aria had apparently decided it was enough and closed the path she had opened. Only then did Yohan realize what she had meant by “open it” and “take a look.”
⋯⋯Huu.
While Yohan was sighing, Aria moved her finger again.
— You understand now, right? So we’ll stay like this until you recover to some extent.
Yohan tried to move his captured hand slightly, but Aria showed no intention of letting go. She moved her finger once more.
— Ah, the bathroom break is allowed.
⋯⋯Ah, Professor, please.