Chapter 106
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 106
Chapter Title: The Archmage Makes House Calls (2)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“See? I told you not to push yourself so hard.”
Seeing Prince Kallian slumped weakly on the bed, a sigh escaped me all on its own.
I focused my fingertips and drew out the mana gnawing away inside his body.
The pitch-black dead mana gathered above my fingers.
“Haa...”
I tried not to sigh, but it was impossible to hold back.
By now, I should have arrived back at my room in Linea Hall, tucked under warm blankets on a fresh bed, sleeping like a log.
But out of nowhere, Vice-Captain Albert—who had more or less barged into the academy—dragged me here by force. What the hell was I even doing?
Me, of all people. I really had no clue what this was about.
...Still, what could I do? The guy was on death's door.
Better to save whoever I could for now.
Ignoring it just because it was a hassle, only to feel guilty later and toss and turn all night—that would be the real loss.
“Huu...”
Once I pulled out the last remnants of mana from Prince Kallian's body, color slowly returned to his deathly pale face.
Soon enough, he sat up slowly.
“How do you feel?”
“Incredible. Definitely much better.”
He rolled his shoulders lightly and let out a gasp of admiration.
At the same time, soft murmurs of awe rose from the people who had been holding their breath in the room.
“How long has it even been since you recovered, and you're already throwing your body around like that?”
I couldn't help but frown for real.
“Be more careful next time.”
“Haha. Sorry about that.”
Prince Kallian gave an awkward smile.
“It's been so long since I could move my body freely. I got a little carried away without realizing it.”
“...”
That sly tone, that smirking curl of his lips—it rubbed me the wrong way.
If he weren't royalty, I would've flicked his forehead without a second thought.
“At the very least, you could've drained the building mana periodically. What, does it take minutes?”
I tossed the clump of black mana gathered at my fingertips to Arke, floating idly behind me.
He snapped it up eagerly, like he'd been waiting.
Unlike some people, he never turned up his nose at food.
“Miss Lunaris, there's something I'd like to discuss about that.”
Prince Kallian jumped on the topic like he'd been waiting for it.
“It seems other mages can't extract mana from my body.”
“...Huh?”
Now that I looked, the room wasn't filled with nobles alone.
There were Imperial Mage Corps members in white robes too.
The one who'd brought me here was none other than their captain-in-all-but-name, Uncle Albert.
With this many people around, nobody knew how to pull mana from the prince?
“Why can't they do it? It's really not a big deal.”
I blinked back at him in confusion.
Silence blanketed the room for a moment.
Awkward coughs echoed here and there—ahem, krhm.
Puzzled, I glanced around, but everyone avoided my eyes, suddenly finding other things to stare at.
“It's not that they can't—they just won't? Scared it'll go wrong or something?”
“Haha, exactly. Paid top salaries, and they can't handle something this basic.”
As the other mages kept their heads bowed, Vice-Captain Albert—who'd been standing quietly off to the side—let out a low sigh and stepped forward.
“Your Highness, didn't I tell you yesterday? This is something only Miss Lunaris can do.”
“Haha. I know. Just having a bit of fun.”
“...Huh?”
His words made me tilt my head sideways without thinking.
“No, seriously, it's not a big deal at all? You just extract the mana through the pores. Like sieving muddy water—swish, whoosh...”
“Miss Lunaris. Most mages can't even perceive that muddy water to begin with.”
Vice-Captain Albert rubbed his temples and continued.
“Controlling mana lodged inside someone else's body at will is impossible from the outset.”
“...Huh?”
“It's something only you can do—someone who can freely manipulate ambient mana, natural mana.”
Eh... was that how it worked?
As I blinked at him blankly, Vice-Captain Albert sighed once more.
“Haa... Miss Lunaris, you really need to start realizing just how extraordinary you are.”
“Haha, see? It's not like I refused treatment because I wanted to.”
Prince Kallian picked up the thread with a laugh.
“Looks like it's not as simple a fix as you make it sound, Miss Lunaris. Right?”
He gazed at me with a meaningful smile.
This felt like it was about to get annoying...
A foreboding chill crept up my spine.
“Everyone, mind stepping out for a moment?”
Prince Kallian issued the order to clear the room, still smiling.
“I need a word alone with Miss Lunaris.”
“Y-Your Highness! Are you sure that's wise?”
One noble spoke up in alarm.
“Miss Lunaris is still an unregistered archmage with the palace. If she harms you during a private meeting and flees, we wouldn't have a way to—”
“Haha. What a worrywart.”
Prince Kallian chuckled dismissively.
“My life has been in her hands from the start. No need to belabor the point. And...”
He shot me a quick glance before adding with utter confidence.
“If she meant to kill me, she never would've come to the palace to treat me in the first place. Isn't that right?”
“Well... yeah, I guess.”
I mumbled a half-hearted reply, and the concerned noble groaned before backing down.
“...Understood. We'll stand by outside.”
Led by him, the nobles shuffled out en masse.
The mages, shooting me wary glances, followed suit.
*
“Thanks for coming along without a fuss, even if we more or less dragged you here.”
Vice-Captain Albert, the last to leave, patted my shoulder as he spoke.
Thud. The door shut.
The spacious bedroom held only Prince Kallian and me now.
*
“I owe you my life once again.”
“Save the thanks.”
I flopped casually into the chair beside the bed.
No stuffy nobles or Vice-Captain Albert around to nag. A little slouching wouldn't hurt.
“I can't exactly drop everything and come drain your mana every time.”
“Haha, fair enough.”
I had my own schedule, after all.
Academy classes to attend, bed to roll around in, sleep to catch.
“Roughly a month since the inauguration ceremony...”
He gave a wry smile, fiddling with his wrist.
“I'll probably need to call on you at about this frequency. Too much of a hassle?”
“Huh? A month?”
I shook my head vigorously in protest.
“That sounds like a huge pain.”
Honestly, once a year was bad enough.
Once a decade would be ideal.
Never seeing him again? Even better.
“I won't cheap out on the house call fee.”
“I'm not hurting for money.”
Not just not hurting—I was earning way more than I needed.
“More importantly, Your Highness, if you just take it easy in your room, it won't be a month. A year—no, ten years—should be fine.”
I offered the advice straight from the heart.
“It's only because you're wandering outside that mana clings to you and causes problems. Artifacts aren't miracle cures.”
Prince Kallian fell silent at my words.
He clenched and unclenched his fist repeatedly before finally speaking.
“...I've lived more than twenty years like a walking corpse.”
He looked straight into my eyes.
A cold flame flickered deep within those kind, gentle irises.
“I know it's greed. I know it's beyond my station. But.”
His bony hand gripped the blanket tightly.
His knuckles turned white, trembling faintly.
“I don't want that pathetic existence anymore.”
Emotion seeped into his calm, measured tone.
“Do you know how it felt when my limbs moved freely again? When breathing came without effort?”
His chapped lips twisted faintly.
“It was like being reborn. The dark world shone bright for the first time.”
As if drunk on the memory.
“So much I want to do.”
Prince Kallian reached a hand toward the empty air.
“Walk barefoot through a garden that smells of rain. Lie under a tree and feel the breeze. Ride a horse across this continent, dance through the night at a ball.”
His wishes didn't stop there.
“Hunt in the fields and slit a beast's throat. Cross swords with the knights who pitied me. Attend council and cut the nobles down to size with nothing but my words.”
Heat and madness seeped into his rising voice.
“Greet His Majesty and thank him for his burdens. Embrace my mother and apologize for the worry. Prove to my siblings—who mocked my frailty—that I'm alive and well.”
He slowly clenched his outstretched hand.
“Above all, I want to etch my name into the minds of the empire's people who forgot me.”
So I—
“I want to become the master of this empire. Of Belhart.”
From the highest perch, where all look up in awe, in my most brilliant form.
“I want to burn this miraculous life in splendor.”
“...”
I stared at Prince Kallian in a daze.
Demonic fervor gleamed in his shining eyes.
As expected of royalty.
This prince was pretty unhinged himself.
“What can I say... I can't really relate.”
Must be exhausting.
That was my honest take.
Especially since I was frittering away my fresh new life in utter laziness.
“Chasing ambition like that, scrambling for it—it's suffocating just to think about.”
“Haha, I suppose so?”
He didn't seem offended by my deadpan response in the slightest.
If anything, he peered at me as if peering into my soul.
“Well, I get it. You've been handed so much from birth, Miss Lunaris.”
“...?”
“Overwhelming talent. Untouchable power.”
He leaned forward.
“No need for effort—you get whatever you want. Life must feel boring, dull.”
His face suddenly loomed right in front of my nose.
“But I'm different.”
A hand thrust out before me.
“I have to claw my way up from the bottom.”
Not a plea for aid.
“Won't you stand by my side and watch, Miss Lunaris?”
An offer to aid me, in reverse.
“I'll shake up that slothful, tedious life of yours. Stay close, and you won't have a moment's boredom.”
He whispered with eyes full of conviction.
“I'll show you a future that piques your interest.”
Become my person.
“...”
This guy was deeply, profoundly misunderstanding something.
“I'm not exactly bored with life right now.”
I was just tired.
Tired from realizing that all the fierce struggling in the end left nothing behind but exhaustion.