Chapter 92
Chapter 92
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 92
Chapter Title: Sien's Secret
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Inside the principal's office.
I stared blankly at the clear tea that Principal Hepsiba had poured for me, lost in thought.
‘How did things end up like this?’
I had simply planned to slip out of the principal's office, snag Ambassador Heinrich on his way, and negotiate with him.
I figured I’d just chat with him and casually ask if he could supply even a little refined magic stone to our trading company.
‘Our trading company’s already on good terms with them, so I thought there was a chance they’d provide some…’
But where had Ambassador Heinrich gone? Instead, here I was, alone with the principal!
That’s when she cut straight to the point.
“ You came about the refined magic stones, didn’t you?”
“Y-Yes…”
“As you know, Ambassador Heinrich came to donate some refined magic stones.”
“Oh, right.”
I scratched the back of my head awkwardly.
Principal Hepsiba must have dealt with kids a lot, because she seemed to have a knack for reading my mind perfectly.
She smiled softly, as if to ease my tension, and gestured toward the tea.
“Ah, look at me. Drink up first. You must be tired from rushing over.”
I slurped down the tea at her kind words.
I was dying to meet Ambassador Heinrich as soon as possible, but Principal Hepsiba was such a nice person—I didn’t want to brush her off.
I planned to exchange a bit of small talk with her and then head back out to track down where Ambassador Heinrich was.
That’s when Hepsiba continued leisurely.
“I heard the news. You applied to graduate.”
“Oh, yes.”
“Excluding Magic Studies, which you didn’t choose, you took first place in every subject every year.”
“Oh, yeah! Top of the class, that’s me.”
Saying it out loud made me a little embarrassed, so I just gave an awkward smile. Principal Hepsiba was smiling in a way that seemed to hide some hidden agenda.
“You wanted to do well in Magic Studies too, didn’t you, Sien?”
“Um… yes!”
I wondered why she was asking, but before I could ponder it long.
Hepsiba rose from the sofa across from me and opened a drawer in her desk, pulling out a sparkling stone.
I stared at the stone glowing with a mysterious purple hue, and soon my eyes widened huge.
It looked exactly like the refined magic stone from the newspaper!
‘What, what is this! That refined magic stone is tempting me so much!’
A refined magic stone touched by dwarven hands!
To my eyes, it looked like pure money. I stared at the “refined magic stone” with sparkling eyes.
So I half-missed what Principal Hepsiba said.
“…go ahead and look.”
“…Oh, yes?”
“Go ahead and touch it. You were curious, weren’t you?”
I bowed my head gratefully to the principal as she came closer.
“Thank you!”
Then I quickly touched the refined magic stone and…
Just then, a strange afterimage flashed in my mind and vanished. It felt like a memory from some day—someone gazing at me and smiling under clear sunlight.
“Why, Sien? Is something wrong…?”
‘They said it shows the flow of mana, so why did I see a weird afterimage?’
Puzzled, I moved my lips.
“The problem is… well…”
It felt vague to say there was a problem, but weird to say there wasn’t.
I shook my head as I looked at her.
“There’s no… problem, exactly.”
Were my lips trembling too much? Hepsiba tilted her head and asked back.
“Hmm, that is strange, Sien.”
“Yes? What’s strange?”
At my words, Hepsiba spoke cautiously.
“As you know, Sien, the purpose of refined magic stones is to help people with little mana or who don’t know magic use simple spells.”
“Yeees.”
That’s why I thought this “refined magic stone” was such a breakthrough item.
A stone that let non-mages, people who couldn’t use magic, cast simple spells? Revolutionary!
Plus, if I had one, I might be able to protect my body a little more easily.
Then Hepsiba continued.
“Ambassador Heinrich donated refined magic stones to the academy first, with the intent of enchanting them with protective magic for the noble children. Right?”
“Yes…”
Then Hepsiba held out the refined magic stone toward me and whispered.
“But refined magic stones have another effect too.”
“You mean the effect that lets you see the flow of mana?”
“Yes. They say you can see mana’s movements. When you touch the refined magic stone, Sien… what do you feel? Does it really feel like there’s no mana? No sensation at all? Or do you see something?”
At the same time, Hepsiba’s hand gripped my small, pale hand tightly. She pressed my hand against the refined magic stone.
Unlike the light touch from before, she squeezed hard this time.
Unlike earlier, I felt a sinking sensation like the floor dropping out, and my vision flickered black. And I was a very young baby, swaddled in cloth, flailing around.
‘What is this!’
I was shocked silently, but only a baby’s piercing cry came from my throat.
I tried to laugh in disbelief, but at that moment, a woman who looked just like me leaned close to my ear and breathed hot breath. She was dying, but her words were clear.
“Baby, my daughter. You can change your fate. My name is…”
She carved a small pattern into my hand.
The moment I heard the woman whispering in my tiny baby ear, I opened my eyes.
“…Yuela?”
Hepsiba looked at me, even more flustered than I was, and said.
“Why bring up Yuela’s name all of a sudden…”
Hepsiba looked at me with an expression like she’d realized something.
“No way… Did you see Yuela’s memory?”
I closed my eyes again, still clutching the refined magic stone. The memory from that time was still vivid before my eyes—the moment she carved the pattern into my hand.
I shook my head quietly, then suddenly stared at her.
“Principal.”
“What… What’s going on, Sien?”
“Every time I touch the refined magic stone, the same memory keeps coming up. Yuela…”
I trailed off and stared straight at Hepsiba.
My eyes were gauging if this person was trustworthy or not.
‘Can I trust Principal Hepsiba right now? Is she a lackey of the saintess or the pope?’
But I decided to tell her about my symptoms.
I’d trust about half of her trembling voice when she spoke of Yuela. I’d trust that she was friends with Duchess Lukella too.
Besides, she already knew I couldn’t use magic, so telling her a bit more should be fine.
Having rationalized it, I opened my mouth.
“…So, it’s the scene where Yuela grabs my hand when I was a very young baby.”
I decided not to mention carving the pattern. But even that seemed shocking—Hepsiba murmured in a trembling voice.
“I’m not certain, but from what I know, this refined magic stone is like an answer key for people without mana. It shows why the mana flow is abnormal.”
“…”
“Maybe, Sien, you don’t actually lack mana.”
“Yes? Then what?”
I tilted my head, and Hepsiba mumbled uncertainly, like she wasn’t sure herself.
“I don’t know exactly what it is, but maybe you exhausted all your mana back then.”
“Then, it’s not that I have no mana…”
“Mana exists, but it might be depleted right now. Think back carefully—what happened?”
I had a feeling I knew what happened. It was because of that “pattern” Yuela carved into the back of my hand—I must have used up all my mana because of it.
‘What exactly does that pattern mean?’
Lost in complicated thoughts, I stared blankly into Hepsiba’s eyes. Then she handed me the donated refined magic stone and whispered.
“I hope I can help you reclaim your past, even a little, Sien.”
It was a sage-like smile. She murmured almost to herself.
“Even if it’s just self-consolation for this old woman, who failed to fully exonerate that child as Yuela’s teacher.”
***
After my conversation with Hepsiba, I decided to go find Ambassador Heinrich.
He was at the core of refined magic stone distribution, so he probably knew more about it than me or Principal Hepsiba.
Fortunately, Ambassador Heinrich had come to the Sien Trading Company first to handle the contract between us and the duchy, and he was waiting for me. I ran up to him and bowed at the waist.
“Hello!”
“You’ve grown so much already.”
I teased back playfully.
“You’ve grown a ton too, Ambassador!”
Ambassador Heinrich chuckled heartily.
“Is that so? Haha, but you’d prefer to get straight to business, right?”
“As expected of the ambassador!”
“Of course we’ll trade refined magic stones with the Sien Trading Company.”
I smiled like I knew it and tugged lightly on the reins. A servant holding the contract came hurrying from outside the door.
“As thorough as ever.”
“You bet!”
Even though my head was spinning with my connection to Yuela and mana flows, I never missed a chance for profit!
I grinned mischievously, and he smiled back, checking the fountain pen on the table like he approved.
“The ‘patent’ system you told us about a few years ago has taken root, and the Grand Duke praised it highly.”
“Really?”
“Yes. He loved that it protects artisans. So for this ‘refined magic stone,’ he permitted an exclusive contract with the Sien Trading Company alone, as a token of gratitude.”
Heinrich smiled softly and uncapped the fountain pen. Watching him, I said warmly.
“We at the Sien Trading Company are truly grateful to the duchy for not forgetting our kindness. We repay favors twice over!”
Just you wait, Ambassador.
‘I’ll make “refined magic stones” the most famous thing in this empire.’