Morning After the Storm
I collapsed into bed and fell asleep as if I'd fainted. My eyes opened on their own around dawn, and the moment I blinked, I was wide awake. It felt both refreshing and strangely empty.
Right on cue, I felt the familiar weight of Rai climbing onto my bed, pressing down on my toes.
"Good morning, Master!"
I dragged my sluggish body upright and gave a half-hearted nod.
Brushing my messy hair back, I leaned against the headboard and spent a while drifting in and out of sleep, repeating the pointless cycle.
Eventually, to fully shake off the drowsiness, I straightened my back and took a deep breath.
I began my morning training by sensing the flow of mana. Nothing woke the mind quite like it.
If my usual mana training was about drawing external mana into my body to increase its volume, this session was closer to rehabilitation therapy—focused on healing the internal damage I'd suffered.
Once mana became truly mine, it acted like my own blood, serving a completely different purpose from external mana.
It circulated through my body according to my will, helping correct the broken flow and slowly clearing away the blockages.
Rushing would only worsen the internal injuries, so I had to proceed with extreme calm.
As I focused on organizing the flow inside me, feeling the impurities naturally dissolve into the mana or seep out of my body was part of the training too.
Mana was like countless grains of sand slipping between my fingers—if I let my guard down even a little, it would vanish somewhere.
When I poured every ounce of my concentration into keeping it from escaping my will, time passed incredibly quickly.
“Hoo...”
Once the turmoil inside me had settled more than yesterday and I could move even more mana, I finally opened my eyes and stretched.
The refreshing feeling at this moment was almost addictive. My body wasn't anything special, but after finishing mana training, I could always feel every function operating at its peak.
"Are you finished?"
“Mm. How long was I at it?”
"A little under three hours."
“Longer than usual, then.”
I got up and glanced at the hourglass.
Knowing a natural enemy was nearby had the positive effect of sharpening my focus and boosting my motivation, but it was also an effect I didn't particularly like.
It made me feel like I should go looking for medicine I didn't even want to take.
Feeling a certain pressure, I walked to the window and peeked outside through the curtains.
The streets were still quiet, and there was no sign of Robenin anywhere.
Well, of course he wouldn't be stupid enough to stand out there all day.
Even if he was nearby, if he really wanted to hide, there was no way I'd be able to sense his presence.
“Rai.”
"Yes!"
“Go find Robenin.”
"...How am I supposed to do that? That guy is as hard to find as an assassin!"
“That's your problem.”
"That's so mean! You villain!"
“Hey now, is that any way to talk to your master?”
I ignored Rai's whining and moved away from the window.
Then I started taking off my clothes, beginning with my shirt. I'd fallen asleep the moment I returned yesterday, so I was still basically in my outdoor clothes.
I'd somehow managed to sleep soundly in this uncomfortable state, only having removed my leather armor.
Since I'd returned to the inn around evening, even if I'd gone to bed at seven, I'd still slept for about ten hours.
I'd woken up around five in the morning, and now it was nearly eight.
“Undine.”
My morning routine was always the same. Wake up, train with mana, then call Undine to wash away the sweat.
"Master!"
“Hm? Is something wrong? Why do you sound so happy?”
"Are you feeling better now?"
“Of course. I'm much better. I can even call Undain now.”
As soon as she was summoned, Undine familiarly began washing my body while sitting on my shoulder and acting cute.
It was hard not to adore a tiny spirit who whispered in a voice full of love.
"I'm so glad. I could feel you needing me all day yesterday, so I waited."
Every time I'd wavered while looking at Robenin, wondering whether to kill him or not, some kind of signal must have reached Undine.
It wasn't something I sent on purpose—it was something the spirits sensed on their own.
"I thought you might call me. I was waiting so I could come here anytime... but I still don't like it when you get hurt, Master. You don't have to call me if it's dangerous."
“Oh my, how thoughtful.”
"I like washing you the most, Master! That way I get to stay close, right?"
“That's why our Undine is the best.”
In truth, it would be more accurate to say my first kiss wasn't with Ash, but with Undine.
Undine was always such a good girl that praising her made me want to keep stroking her, and before I knew it, I'd end up kissing her forehead.
But with a face the size of an egg, whether it was her forehead, cheek, or lips, it all felt about the same.
"Hmm... So you think Ash got scammed, right?"
“What!”
"You tricked him by saying it was your first kiss and stole his first kiss, didn't you?"
“Undine isn't a person, she's a spirit. So it's an exception.”
Even as I said that, I kept planting little kisses all over Undine. Meanwhile, Rai openly sulked, pacing around with jealousy.
He'd keep making that displeased face until I touched him too, picking pointless fights and complaining that I only liked Undine.
"Do me too! Me! Why don't I ever get any!"
“I'll do it if you find Robenin's weakness.”
"...That's so cheap! Why am I the only one with conditions? You just did it for Undine!"
“First, Undine is the cutest in the world. Second, Undine doesn't act as cheeky as you. Third, Undine has never fallen into a dung pit. Fourth...”
"Aaaah! I get it! I get it!"
Rai gnashed his diamond teeth in frustration and glared at Undine. Their relationship always ended with Rai's one-sided jealousy. He didn't mind me being close with Ash, but he couldn't stand me doting on any spirit other than himself.
If Ash had been a spirit, he definitely would've been jealous of him too.
When I went down to the first-floor dining hall, it was still quiet.
Normally it would have been bustling with people eating breakfast, but it seemed everyone was still asleep, probably due to the aftereffects of yesterday's drinking binge in the tundra.
I claimed a suitable four-person table and ordered food.
“Two large baskets of today's bread, juice instead of milk... ten boiled eggs and ten fried eggs. Four servings of the morning set with sausage and fruit.”
“That seems like a lot for one person. Are you sure that's okay?”
“And add two large bowls of potato stew.”
Instead of answering, I just ordered more. The server seemed to accept it and returned to the counter.
By the time the food I'd ordered started coming out, the dining hall was beginning to fill with people. As I sipped the freshly poured juice, I thought that if I were going to poison Robenin, the best way would probably be to spike his drink.
I wondered where I could get poison.
I'd better look into it first. If I handle it wrong, I might end up poisoning myself. I don't have much knowledge about poisons... I wonder who would know. If it's about medicinal herbs, Akia would probably be well-versed.
I sat there absentmindedly, soaking up the sunlight and filling my stomach, when Chad and Gail came over to the table and naturally joined me.
Chad sat across from me and casually grabbed some bread.
“You're up early. What's the occasion?”
“Couldn't sleep.”
“Huh? Is this all? No milk?”
“There's nothing for you. And why are you two the only ones here?”
Just by sitting down, the strong smell of alcohol hit me. It looked like both of them had been drinking all night.
“Enk will probably be passed out until the afternoon. You should've seen how much he drank yesterday. He said he was betting on the count, but he secretly bet on Young Master Pedri behind our backs! He was so excited he drank like he wanted to die—and he basically did.”
Chad was the talkative one, but even Gail, who was silently peeling eggs, seemed to be complaining about his hangover.
“Must've been fun, huh?”
“We drank until three? By the way, when did you get back? I didn't see you come in.”
“I slept the whole time. I came back early.”
“Hmm... really?”
“Don't even talk about it. I'm dead tired. My back hurts, my shoulders hurt...”
Since I'd slept in my outdoor clothes, it would've been strange if my back didn't hurt.
Maybe doing mana training one more time would loosen up my shoulders a bit.
But doing too much wasn't necessarily good. It was mentally taxing, so moderation was key.
If your mental strength was lacking, you couldn't train with mana for long, and if your stamina was insufficient, it would definitely lead to internal injuries. But even if your stamina was sufficient, that didn't solve everything.
The reason swordsmen went berserk more often than mages was because they recklessly trained for too long and too hard out of sheer bravado.
Slowly, but consistently.
It was something anyone who'd trained with mana had heard. The relationship between mana and the body was still a complicated puzzle that hadn't been fully solved, and increasing the amount of mana wasn't difficult for no reason.
I chewed on my fork, lost in thought for a moment.
At least until Chad started giving me suspicious looks, which ruined my mood.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Hmm... So, what about Ash? Is he still... sleeping?”
Something felt off.
Even Gail, who had been eating well, suddenly crushed the egg in his hand, making me feel uneasy.
“Why are you asking me? Ash is sharing a room with you guys.”
“...Weren't you with him?”
“...What?”
A brief silence fell. I quickly realized what kind of misunderstanding these guys had come up with and asked again.
“He didn't come back?”