The Healer's Bargain

"I want a high-grade mana cultivation method or better, and an advanced sword art. On top of that, a decent mage to serve as my teacher. I'd also appreciate it if you laid the economic groundwork for me to study spirit arts. Ah — and you'll need to supply me with training materials as well. As you can see, I got a late start. The orthodox methods aren't going to cut it."

"H-hahahaha!"

Ramang exploded with laughter, as if someone had struck a laugh-bell. The sound went up like a signal flare, and before long the knights and mercenaries were dabbing at the corners of their eyes.

Two people, however, were not laughing. Messi and Ereb.

Which meant that both of them were taking the negotiation in complete earnest. Slowly… one by one, the laughter died. Every face in the room froze over.

Dismay rippled through the knights. That lunatic… he actually wants all that?The young master didn't laugh — which means those absurd conditions are genuinely on the table.Wait. Doesn't that mean the young master is measuring Messi's worth that high?

While the knights sat with their thoughts in knots, Ereb was the first to speak.

"Is that all? I get the feeling there's more."

"Please allow me to use the intelligence network and communication resources currently employed within House Ahental. Or expand my authority so that I can make use of them myself… Also, it would be worth considering a significant post in the intelligence organization."

"Intelligence as well…?"

"If you're going to go this far, even you, young master, would ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠be overreaching your present position… For my sake as well, you'll need to take the seat of family head. Even if you'd rather not, I'll force the matter myself, so I suppose it can't be helped."

He said it like a joke. It did not sound like one. It was also an arrogant declaration: I'll make you family head.

Why don't this madman's words sound arrogant… If he says he'll do it, it really feels like he will… Strange.

Ereb propped his chin in his hand and thought it over, then began picking out, one by one, the parts his counterpart had overlooked.

"Messi. I think you've said everything you want. Let's start with reality. First — do you even know which royal house House Ahental belongs to?"

"I don't. And even if I did, I wouldn't know how much full-throated support they receive from that royal house, or whether they actually have any power."

"From the way you talk, you're planning to climb right onto our family's back. I like that — it means you're staking even your fate on our house. But you know nothing. What exactly are you trusting, that you'd grab House Ahental around the waist that hard?"

"…Benuda Village and the Outer Forest lie in the domain of Tallen County, a border count of the Asiris Kingdom. A border count pays no taxes, maintains his own territory and army, and wields independent power. Politically he's distant from the central authority, but he's self-sufficient."

"When did I ask you about Tallen County?"

"That isn't the point. Consider what you yourself have done, young master. Even setting the mercenaries aside, you marched a considerable armed force of fifty knights into House Thalen's territory. You've been requisitioning supplies from Benuda Village and even conscripting its people to work for you. That is the same as saying you either overwhelmed Tallen County with raw force and influence, or you wrung an agreement out of them."

Border counts, in particular, dragged their barren outer territories along by themselves, and so were acutely sensitive about resources and population. To requisition supplies from such a man, and to put his people to work besides… whether Ereb had ignored him or negotiated with him, either way it meant House Ahental's influence was formidable.

"So in your eyes, our house has considerable power?"

"That's right. Or your talent for negotiation is exceptional… Though of course, negotiation itself requires power as its foundation, so it comes to the same conclusion."

"Kahaha! I see, I see. I really did raise a bit too much hell in someone else's territory, didn't I?"

He laughed like a mischievous brat. Which meant he hadn't done it in ignorance. In other words, he could handle the consequences. He gave a satisfied nod and moved straight on to the next matter.

"Fine. Let's talk about the other problems. The mage to teach you, the economic support — I can give you a firm answer on those. The training materials, too, of course. I could hand those over right now. But the high-grade mana cultivation method and the advanced sword art… those are going to be difficult."

"I see."

Messi accepted it without a flicker of protest.

"You fold fast."

"I don't know much about mana cultivation methods or advanced sword arts to begin with. I only know that they're extraordinarily hard to obtain."

"Well, both of them are treated as secret arts, so… if even a decent mana cultivation method or advanced sword art showed up on the open market, it would cause an uproar. Plenty of people have money and power. Those two things, you can't get because they simply aren't out there. There's a reason every house desperately guards its security and keeps researching, Messi."

He had expected as much. A vertical hierarchy like this one endured because the structure allowed the established to strip the lower classes completely bare.

Capital and class played their part in holding that structure together, but nothing was as decisive as the monopoly on force. Only those close to the ruling stratum could use mana, and only they had the leisure to learn advanced swordsmanship.

The gap between Ayla, a Silver Plate Mercenary, and the Bronze Plate Mercenaries was proof enough. The moment she began to use mana, Ayla had left human movement behind.

"That said, handing you the Ahental mana cultivation method and swordsmanship… we still don't have enough trust for that."

"I wasn't even hoping for those two. They're clearly the essence of the house — precious, high-grade methods that only the proven would ever be taught. I wouldn't qualify. And even if I did, it would be a newcomer prying the rooted ones out of their place."

A dense rank of knights stood at Messi's back. The instant the words Ahental Mana Cultivation Method left someone's mouth, their eyes had narrowed to slits.

To the knights of the house, having learned the family's mana cultivation method and swordsmanship was a matter of pride. To be taught the essence of the house meant the house trusted them — acknowledged everything they had endured.

Had Messi asked for it, at least twenty of them would have revolted on the spot.

"That as well, but… Messi. You really don't know a thing, do you?"

Messi's eyes went round, as if to ask what that was supposed to mean.

"Messi, the world divides mana cultivation methods and swordsmanship into ten stages. The evaluations are done by the Sky Castle. Those bastards rate our Ahental mana cultivation method and swordsmanship as sitting somewhere between four and five. Even if they were being generous, that's mid-grade. Or lower-mid."

"Those damned bastards, how dare they…"

Ramang ground his teeth beside them, as if the mere thought of it set him on fire.

Messi had judged House Ahental's influence to be considerable, and so had assumed the family's cultivation method and swordsmanship would rank as high-grade. They did not.

Not as high as I thought…

In truth, even the fourth and fifth stages were treated as a level at which one had founded a school of one's own — a considerable achievement. He simply hadn't known that.

"Sir Ramang, what good does getting angry do? This is something we should reflect on. Honestly, it's been a long while since a Sword Master emerged from our house."

"And the excellence of a house's swordsmanship and cultivation method doesn't necessarily scale with the house's power. We just need to keep developing what's ours. Isn't that right, you lot?"

"The young master is right!"

The knights answered in a roar.

"Anyway, Messi, you've essentially demanded something even we don't possess. So of course…"

"You can't give it to me."

"I'll find some kind of cultivation method or sword art you can learn, one way or another. That, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I pledge."

Messi made a show of thinking it over, but in truth this had been the answer he had expected from the start. He nodded.

"I'll be in your care, future family head."

"What was that? Kahahaha!"

Messi, who hadn't seemed the type at all, had slipped in a bit of flattery, and Ereb's mood soared.

"I like that. We'll draw up a formal employment contract once we return to the house. Think of this as… a signing bonus, of sorts."

Ereb drew two gems from his coat and tossed them to Messi. Opals.

"Are these… a substitute for money?"

"Haha. That's absurd. You don't even know Gemcraft? Isn't this the training material you wanted?"

Messi looked at him, puzzled.

"I suppose a commoner wouldn't know. Remember it well, since it's the house you'll be joining. House Ahental is famous for gem mining and distribution."

"As a result, processing techniques like Ahental Gemcraft developed as well. Those are training materials crafted from gems. The knights of our house receive them every two months."

"They contain energy that aids mana cultivation, so use them well. If you shatter one and then cultivate, you'll feel the difference… but they won't be of any use to you right now, so save them."

"Thank you."

He slipped them into his pocket. He couldn't tell how precious they were, but the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠gazes sticking to him so blatantly made it obvious they would help him grow.

Once Ereb and Ramang had finished their meal and withdrawn, Ayla came over.

"Messi. Are you really planning to follow that noble?"

"Ah… I'm sorry, Ayla. Still, I'd like to keep a good connection with the Red Fox."

"That goes without saying. You're already a benefactor to every member of our company. That has nothing to do with whether you join us or not. It's just… what I'm worried about is…"

There were ears nearby, so she let the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠rest trail off. He didn't need to hear it to know what she meant.

"Don't worry. I simply chose the best path to getting stronger quickly."

A chilling light slid through Messi's eyes.

His reason for choosing House Ahental was crystal clear. In this age, the gap in foundations between those inside the establishment and those outside it was so vast that dragons simply did not rise from creeks.

Nobles — who could fairly be called members of the establishment — monopolized capital and training resources, and there were not many means of catching up. Messi intended to make use of House Ahental's infrastructure.

I'll grow and grow, using House Ahental as my nutrients.

There was more. His master had been strong, yet he had not been able to uncover even the full picture of the incident, let alone take revenge. That was because he had had no comrades and no faction at all to stand with him.

Messi had no intention whatsoever of following in his master's footsteps. Strengthening himself mattered — but so did placing a meaningful force beneath his feet.

Once he had secured power and a faction, when the right time and the right pretext arrived, he would show his true colors.

Besides, people like Count Vaskas — those his master had suspected in connection with the incident — did not even know Messi existed. He had all the time in the world. He was going to teach them, down to the marrow of their bones, just how terrifying it is when someone, somewhere they don't even know, is quietly stacking up a grudge.

Click.

He shut the door and stepped into the office on the thirtieth floor. On the desk, Kkyu, who had been asleep, opened her eyes.

"You can sleep a little more. You worked hard translating for me."

Kkyu did not so much as twitch. She was asleep again at once.

Messi lit not a single lamp. He sat on the floor by moonlight alone. The dust… he simply ignored it.

He took one of the opals from his pocket, closed his hand around it with a satisfying grip, and squeezed. A crack — the sound of a fissure running through stone — and then it shattered.

"Tch. And here I thought it'd at least turn out to be a high-grade cultivation method…"

Unlike the small complaint he muttered aloud, Messi's concentration had already turned, in an instant, upon his own interior.

He was at the Brave Stage.

Having completed the training of the flesh at the Savage Stage, he now contemplated the interior rather than the exterior, and perceived himself as a single vessel.

Mana was the energy of the cosmos, and that which contained it was the cosmos. Thus, to make the self into a cosmos was mana — and a mana cultivation method was what allowed one to raise oneself into another world.

Messi followed the pathways of mana he had come to know while healing the knights as they fought in the Ant Tunnels, by understanding their bodies.

The extra processor he carried — or perhaps simply that extraordinary aptitude of his — absorbed the newly added data, and his body reproduced it at once. Once more, the process of overlaying their sensations onto his own flesh unfolded.

A low, rushing hush…

Messi's body began to shine with a blue light. The mana in the air around him flowed into his flesh. The pathways were unmistakable, and he guided the mana without a hint of hesitation.

Like a man who had been cultivating mana for a long, long time, Messi attempted a mana cultivation method for the first time. His body, unaccustomed to the flow of energy, was bewildered by that proficiency — yet slowly, it accepted it.

It flows. It flows… So this is the Ahental Mana Cultivation Method.

Once it caught its momentum, the mana raced along the pathway like an arrow loosed from the string. Messi did not even need to laboriously guide it — it ran as if this were no first journey at all. He did not stop it.

A different energy slowly mixed into the mana, most likely the power that had spilled from the shattered gem. It blended with the mana and produced a slight amplifying effect.

The thickened, amplified mana punched straight through Messi's cramped and narrow circulation channels.

There was a reason people said the first button mattered in all things. His body had never once come into contact with mana, and so it had no idea what amplified mana with such powerful compressive force even was. Completely unprepared pathways bursting open with a dull pop — that was the moment.

He had received the mana-amplification gem by mere coincidence, and he had used it with extreme efficiency. That coincidence had advanced his training by several years. For Messi, who had gotten a late start, it was a blessing.

Reproduce their mana cultivation on the basis of understanding. Repeat it until it is mastered. That is the process of embodiment.

Even in the midst of fighting General Ant, the knights' mana had been constantly turning along fixed pathways.

Messi's body reproduced that moment. And at last, it embodied it. Even without his will, the mana was moving on its own.

It was a sight that would have made Ereb or the knights of Ahental faint on the spot.

There was nothing to teach or withhold. Messi had already stolen and learned the Ahental Mana Cultivation Method.

The essence of the house, which had been their pride, had already been leaked long ago.