The Price of Mana and a Loyal Maid's Gift
Ramnusia woke to a terror so profound her heart hammered against her ribs, threatening to choke the very breath from her lungs. “Hah... haaa... hah.” Had she not just collapsed from a violent nosebleed? Yet, opening her eyes, she found herself lying in her own bed back at the academy.
Ah. Now that her mind was clearing, she realized just how precarious her situation had been. Even if Laura had been subdued by the Hypnosis Sigil, Ramnusia had fainted right in front of her. The moment the girl regained her senses, she would have choked Ramnusia to death without hesitation. Moreover, they had both been stark naked. If anyone had happened to wander into that mountain cabin... her life would have been utterly ruined.
“Haaah, hah... Ke-Keres...” But that wasn't the most pressing issue right now. “I, hah, I... feel strange. It's so h-hard to breathe... hah.” Her physical condition was bizarre, cold sweat pouring from her forehead and armpits. Just sitting up took everything she had, and the moment she did, her head spun so violently she felt like throwing up.
Creeeeak! As if answering her agonizing groans, the bedroom door swung open.
“Kere—”
“Over here! Right here! Ramnusia did those awful things to me!” Laura's screeching, ear-splitting voice rang out. Unfortunately, it wasn't just her voice; Laura herself appeared, flanked by several adults.
“Huh...?”
“That girl! Ramnusia used a forbidden, humiliating, disgraceful... perverted magic on me, Laura Arnold! She's right here!” At her loud accusation, the instructor who taught the hunting class clicked his tongue in disgust.
“It seems the rumors are true.”
“You are well aware of the academy rules, aren't you, Ramnusia? There are spells that can be settled with a simple apology between students, and then there are unforgivable magics.”
“Ramnusia!! You will be locked away in the imperial prison of Tartaros! A piece of trash who uses evil magic belongs in the same abyss where demons are sealed forever!” The instructors marched in, spitting out accusations one after another.
“N-No, that's...”
“What do you mean 'no'?! Ramnusia! You used that filthy magic on me!”
“La-Laura... I, I... ugh, I can't breathe...”
“Don't play sick, Ramnusia! You're nothing but trash! How dare you, how dare a pathetic creature like you use magic to make me lick your pussy?!” Laura pointed a trembling finger at her, her face flushed crimson with rage. “You are absolute garbage!!”
“Ah... ah...”
I'm ruined. Right, now that I think about it, Keres had warned me multiple times. Even if they are neutralized by the Hypnosis Sigil, their memories remain intact. It was only natural that Laura would vividly remember being forced to lick my pussy and having Command Magic spammed on her.
“Ke-Keres...”
“Ramnusia! Get up this instant.”
“Do not resist, Ramnusia. Subduing you is child's play.”
“Once you're locked up in Tartaros, you'll have plenty of women to look at. Hahaha!” My arms were grabbed by the instructors. Ignoring my cold sweat, they dragged me to my feet. Beyond the wide-open door, I could see armored guards and a bustling crowd of students whispering among themselves.
“N-No...! No! No! No! I—I was just trying to get revenge! I had... I had a perfectly good reason...!”
“Silence!”
“Keres...! Keres! S-Save me! Help me, Keres! Save... save... save me!!” Dragged like a sack of potatoes, my body was hauled toward the door. What's going to happen to me? Am I really going to prison? I haven't even gotten my proper revenge yet!
“No!! Keres!! Keres! Please! Someone, anyone, pleaeease!!!” I screamed desperately, grabbing onto the nearest thing I could reach and pulling with all my might.
“Mmph...”
The world warped. I heard a soft groan from Keres.
“Huh...?”
I was supposed to be in the clutches of the instructors, but when I squeezed my eyes shut and opened them again, I was lying in bed. I was completely naked, and my right hand was tightly gripping and twisting Keres's breast.
“Huh? Uh... what?”
“Lady Ramnusia.”
“I-I-I'm so sorry!” Shaking off any thoughts of how soft it felt, I desperately released my grip—which had been clenching her like a lifeline—and pulled my hand away from Keres's chest. What on earth just happened? Did Keres actually rescue me from the instructors?
“Haaah, hah...”
“You were merely dreaming, my lady.”
“A... dream?”
“A nightmare, perhaps, of a future that might have been, had things gone awry.” Keres spoke gently as she wiped the sweat from my body with a pristine white towel. Was it really just a dream? Seeing how calmly she was wiping down my naked body, it didn't seem like we were in any immediate danger.
“A dream... Oh, right! Laura!”
“As for Lady Laura, I have already taken care of the aftermath, my lady.”
“The... aftermath? D-Did you kill her?! I didn't want her dead yet...!” Keres let out a soft, quiet chuckle.
“I would never dare ruin the target of your vengeance, my lady. Even in a chaotic room, harmony must always be maintained.”
“T-Then what did you do?”
“You made a few missteps, Lady Ramnusia. The greatest among them was, of course, failing to manage Lady Laura’s memories.” Keres pointed out the exact source of my anxiety. Now that my excitement had faded and my head had cooled, the reality of what I'd done set in. I had acted like a complete lunatic. I had clearly known from the start that she would retain her memories even while neutralized...
“While it would have been simple to erase her memories entirely, doing so would render the humiliation and shame you inflicted upon her utterly meaningless. Thus, I have settled the matter through alternative means.”
“H-How? Is there really another way besides erasing them?”
“A person does not constantly hold every single memory and piece of information at the forefront of their mind.” Keres handed me a cup filled with an orange beverage from the table. Some fruit pulp was settled at the bottom of the glass.
“There is a reason people use expressions like ‘recalling a memory’ or ‘it just came to me.’”
“Right, like when you f-forget something and then it suddenly pops back into your head.”
“I have utilized that very principle. I have temporarily put today’s events to sleep within her mind. Furthermore, I have altered the records of the hunting class to a believable degree, so you need not worry, my lady.”
So the memories are still in Laura's head, but she just can't recall them right now? “Phew... I really thought the instructors caught me and were d-dragging me away...” Keres was incredibly competent. She managed to clean up my mess perfectly without letting any of the humiliation I worked so hard to inflict go to waste.
“Haaah... But... why did I pass out in the first place?” I had squirted like crazy, got a nosebleed, and then fainted. No matter how I looked at it, that wasn't normal.
“You exhausted all the mana in your body, my lady, which drained your physical stamina and caused you to lose consciousness.”
“M-Mana?”
“Yes. Every spell requires the consumption of one’s internal mana. It operates on the same principle as running, which naturally drains your physical energy.”
“Don't tell me...” I covered my chest with both hands. “That weird pounding in my heart and the cold sweat pouring down my body... was that a s-sign that my mana was being rapidly drained?”
“Indeed, my lady. Since you wield magic purely through raw talent and instinct, it may be somewhat difficult to grasp at first...”
“T-Then... how much magic can I actually use at once?”
“The total capacity of one’s mana is much like a muscle. As you use and train it, your capacity will naturally expand.”
I understood that my mana would increase the more I got used to it, but... “T-Then... how does this mana actually feel...”
“If you could describe it in more detail, I shall do my best to assist you.”
“Well, you know how exercise works. Sprinting is completely different from just standing up from a chair.”
Keres's lips curled into a slight smile. “You may think of Command Magic as a single, explosive action—like firing an arrow or swinging a bat.”
“So just like how swinging a heavier weapon is more exhausting, it uses more mana?”
“Precisely. On the other hand, Hypnosis Rune Magic requires continuous concentration. Because you perform this as naturally as a person runs, you simply failed to realize that your mana was being constantly drained.”
“S-So it's basically like running?” Keres clapped her hands together once, then returned to gently dabbing the towel against my chest and armpits.
“So in front of Laura... it was like I was sprinting while constantly throwing spears?”
“That is an apt metaphor, my lady.”
“And that's why I ran out of mana, got a nosebleed, and fainted...”
“In truth, your body was pushed to its absolute limit even before that. The Hypnosis Rune Magic was not even functioning at its full capacity.”
Oh, wow. So I was actually in a super dangerous spot right in front of Laura? “Wait... don't tell me... was that around the time Laura started talking exactly how I wanted her to? Now that I th-think about it, she answered me pretty clearly for someone who was supposed to be completely neutralized...?”
“I believe so, my lady. Though your magic was still potent enough that even Lady Laura did not realize she had partially regained her free will.”
If it was from that point on, hadn't I been in danger for a really long time? In any case, I absolutely had to master the sensation of mana consumption. Putting Hypnosis Rune Magic aside, I'd be learning plenty of other spells in the future. I couldn't afford to do something as stupid as putting on heavy armor, sprinting, and immediately collapsing.
“Even so, you are utilizing your magic remarkably well for someone relying purely on instinct.”
“T-Then... do you think I can learn a new spell from the Armonomicon?”
Keres looked back and forth between my face and the crimson grimoire for a moment. Shaking her head, she picked up the book and placed it in my arms.
“Ah...”
I could tell immediately. There was no dangerous, heart-pounding sensation. That feeling of being chosen by the grimoire—that electric, tingling sensation—was completely absent.
“...It seems the Armonomicon isn't satisfied yet.”
“The Demon King is, by nature, an erratic and whimsical deity.”
A deep sigh of disappointment escaped my lips. “I really wanted to see Laura trembling in front of me, feeling that utter humiliation...” What a shame. A real shame. While the combination of the Hypnosis Sigil and Command Magic was more than enough to play with Laura, I wanted to learn even stronger spells.
“Lady Ramnusia.” Keres gently took my hand as I held the grimoire to my chest. Her touch was wonderfully warm.
“Yes? Keres, what is it?”
“What sort of grand scheme are you plotting, my lady, that makes you yearn so deeply for new magic?”
“Well, I mean... it's a waste, isn't it? Right now, Laura can't even remember the humiliation and shame I put her through.” Keres nodded.
“I want to see Laura crying tears of pure humiliation. And while she's like that, I'll make her lick my pussy again... No, wait! Maybe I'll make her suck my breasts this time? Or maybe I could suck that proud lady's pussy instead.” My heart fluttered at the thought. “Or I could make her masturbate right in front of me! Or make her walk down the hallway completely naked! Or cast a spell that makes her pussy itch whenever she looks at me, brainwashing her into thinking she's in love with me!”
“My lady...”
“Laura... she didn't seem like a lesbian at all. If I mix up her dreams and memories to make her constantly think of me... there are so many ways! It would be hilarious to make her masturbate with the staff her father gave her! Or maybe trigger an overwhelming urge to use the restroom right in front of everyone!”
Keres smiled. It wasn't a bright, beaming smile, but her lips curled up into a distinct crescent.
“Since you are overflowing with such determination, my lady, I shall present you with a gift.” Keres reached into her apron and pulled out a strange glove adorned with numerous leather straps. Was this even a glove? If I put it on, it would probably cover my entire forearm up to the elbow.
“In this world, there exist 'runes' designed for those born with too little innate mana to cast spells.”
“Runes? I-I've heard of them. I think the old mill in our village had an ancient rune carved into it...”
“This glove is designed to easily conceal, store, and utilize gems engraved with such runes.”
Keres gently slipped the glove onto my hand. Was this really made of leather? It felt so light I could barely tell I was wearing it.
“U-Um, so you giving me this glove means...”
“Indeed. Today, I intend to gift you a gem engraved with the magic of awakening and oblivion as well, my lady.” The rune-engraved gem Keres pulled from her bosom glowed with a dangerous, fiery red light.