Chapter 15
Chapter 15
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 15
Chapter Title: Aurellen
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Next, the place Durel and I headed to was a large inn. It was one that also ran a restaurant on the first floor, so we booked our rooms and immediately placed our meal orders.
"Everyone's pretending not to, but they're still peeking."
"It's because of Master's cloak."
From the moment we entered the inn's first-floor restaurant until we sat down at our table right now, people's gazes had been burning into us. Thanks to our status as mages, no one dared to stare openly, though.
"Hm..."
Was it because of the cloak flapping nonstop? The atmosphere around us felt strangely chaotic somehow. People who had been eating enjoyably were even peeking at me cautiously before standing from their seats.
'I need to block my mana.'
It wasn't just the cloak that made mana blocking necessary. Talisman had detected the traces of mana lingering on my body through a special sensing spell and realized I was a total novice who had only recently begun studying magic.
There was no guarantee such things wouldn't happen again in the future. Depending on the situation, I might even need to hide the fact that I was a mage altogether.
'Should I make a thin membrane? No... Better to recirculate it inward... Using the Law of Rejection I just learned...'
If I needed something, I created it right there on the spot. As long as it was a law my operable mana could handle, it was entirely possible. That was what magic was to me.
The key was how efficiently I could create magic without waste. It was like maximizing the use of blank space on a canvas of limited size to paint a picture.
'Link it to the second Mana Circle...'
Conveniently, the potential for a second Mana Circle was coming into view. If I utilized the semi-permanent operation characteristic of Mana Circles, I could easily implement the needed ability.
'What I need this time is circulation...'
What if I aimed to prevent waste of the excess mana supplied by the first Mana Circle, while having the second handle its maintenance?
'I've got the basic framework...'
Now all that remained were the detailed functions. The laws and convictions to contain within it, and the imagination to define them. That was the moment I needed. I closed my eyes.
The food we'd ordered was being brought to the table, and Durel, sitting beside me, called out to me while handing over a fork and knife, but right now, I was fully focused inward.
My mind felt like it was sinking into the abyss.
At that instant.
I arrived in a vast library.
'Ah...'
Innumerable bookshelves stretched endlessly around me, enclosing everything. It was the inner world I had created back when I first awakened to magic.
An infinite realm recording stories only I knew. Just recalling memories made the books on the shelves react all at once.
Clatter- clatter- clatter-
Books flew toward me from the wildly shaking shelves. An enormous volume of books opened simultaneously in an instant, scattering countless letters everywhere.
Within that, I could become anything.
'Even a tiny possibility is fine.'
For now, I couldn't reveal all these worlds at once. I reached out and gathered the small strands of text floating around me, weaving them together.
And the woven strands flowed straight into my body. Their destination was the small heart in my chest. The moment the strands coiled around it absorbed mana.
Kang-!
The second Mana Circle was born.
"...Ma'am? Master?"
Rumble-!
In that instant, a massive vibration shook the entire library. My concentration broke due to the persistent calls from outside. But it was fine. I'd completed what I needed right away.
It was just a bit regrettable. Amid the collapsing shelves, I snatched one book. Flutter flutter- The story on the rapidly turning pages shone with incredible freedom.
"Master. Are you all right?"
The next moment, I was no longer in the library but back in the inn's first-floor restaurant.
"Yeah."
I became aware of my own existence again through my belated voice and grasped the current situation.
"You weren't eating at all, so I thought you'd fallen asleep... But you've stopped operating your mana?"
Glance-
At Durel's words, I glanced slightly at my back. The cloak that had been flapping frivolously had become perfectly still, as if it had never done so. I hadn't stopped operating mana.
The second Mana Circle I'd just created was faithfully performing its function.
It circulated without waste, achieving infinite rotation.
A semi-permanent engine. A mage's heart that automatically functioned without conscious effort, supplying mana. It was a crucial foundation that would maintain the specific body-affecting spell Talisman had shown me and the soft winds protecting my body indefinitely.
"You can't sense anything, right?"
"Pardon? Sense what?"
Durel tilted his head as if he didn't understand my casual question. He wasn't the type to lie to me. Even someone as sensitive as him couldn't detect any traces of mana from me.
"I just operated mana."
"You're joking, right? The cloak made from witch's thread didn't react at all."
I shrugged and stabbed a steamed potato with my fork. The large potato had cooled to a perfect eating temperature.
Proper information gathering began the next morning. It wasn't anything particularly strenuous, but the problem was that we'd collapsed into the fluffy beds and fallen straight asleep.
Both Durel and I. We'd woken around dawn today.
"You seem to have slept well."
"You too."
Durel's always-fatigued expression was overflowing with leisure.
As I ordered food in the inn's first-floor restaurant, I grabbed the server and asked a question.
"Do you happen to know what the 'wind from the west' means, or where it refers to?"
"Oh, no... The wind from the west... I'm not sure either... Sorry..."
The server paled and backed away after I asked. Staring blankly at the sight, Durel spoke up beside me.
"No need to feel bad. That's the usual reaction."
"I'm not upset or anything..."
The moment I turned my head while saying that, the guests who had been eating ducked their heads and held their breath the instant my gaze reached them. Were they even afraid of a mage's mere glance?
'I see...'
Only then did I understand why Raymond and Talisman had gone around in normal clothes instead of mage-like attire. To converse normally with people, it was better to hide that they were mages.
This world was still all so new to me. Every moment brought something fresh. A smile rose to my lips at the joy of continuous learning.
"After we finish eating, let's head somewhere with lots of people. That'll be better for gathering info."
"Sure."
"Before that... You're not going to eat that?"
"No. I'll eat it."
We were enjoying a peaceful mealtime when suddenly a commotion erupted outside the inn. Soon after, the closed door slammed open with a bang!, and a shout exploded out.
"Mage! Come out!"
The situation was so sudden I couldn't even react. I just blinked and looked at Durel, who blinked back as if he didn't understand what was happening either.
The man who had kicked the door open was a burly guy with a large scar across his face. A sword at his waist and chainmail draped over his body caught the eye.
'A mercenary...'
"Which one of you is the mage!"
No one answered the man's bellow, but all eyes focused on one spot. That spot was the direction where Durel and I sat.
"Yeah, it's those guys!"
"Looks like it."
Durel whispered softly while eyeing the man. I lowered my head slightly and asked back.
"What is it?"
"I've heard it happens sometimes. Idiots who swarm like moths to a flame, craving fame from taking down a mage."
"And that guy's one of those idiots?"
"Seems like it."
The man who'd shouted so boldly didn't approach us recklessly. He placed a hand on his long sword and assumed a charging stance.
His face was flushed, and a faint whiff of alcohol drifted from him. Was he drunk? The moment I meant to ask Durel if it was okay for someone to cause a ruckus like that toward him, the man who had gripped his sword suddenly kicked off the ground.
He closed in in an instant. His face was drawing near at blinding speed.
The soft winds wafting around my body recognized the hostile intruder and erupted with a harsh boom, repelling him.
Boom-!
"Gahk..."
The man sprawled with his sword still gripped in hand. Crashing tables around him toppled noisily with a crash.
Whoooosh-
Only then did the once-calm winds assert their presence. It was the constant operation of the defensive spell that began after completing the second Mana Circle.
The winds imbued with the intent of rejection were nearing completion.
'Gentle Wind suits it.'
It was a spell to bolster the journey ahead, which wouldn't be smooth sailing. The moment the fitting name Gentle Wind was decided, the winds' presence grew even more distinct.
"Are you going to kill him?"
"Kill...?"
I furrowed my brow at Durel's question from beside me. Death was familiar to me, but I'd never thought to kill anyone.
"He attacked a mage first. He'd have no grounds to complain if you killed him. The city's administrator won't hold Master—er, Lumia—responsible either. They'll just quietly let it slide."
"No need to go that far..."
After that, Durel fell silent. No matter what choice I made, he would respect it and simply watch quietly.
I stood from my seat and took a large step forward. At the same time, fierce winds swept through the area.
Shooo-!
With one more Mana Circle, the total amount of mana I could operate surged in an instant. Unlike before, it was now enough to summon a small gust.
The winds gathered around my body coiled around the man crawling on the floor, following my will.
What they contained was the Law of Rejection. The winds rejecting the man's presence hurled him out of the inn.
Boom-!
For now, that was my answer. My aversion to killing was faint. I simply didn't see the value in it.
It hadn't even been a dangerous situation for me to begin with.
'If it had been more dangerous, maybe...'
"Innkeeper!"
Durel, who had stood, shouted toward the counter. The innkeeper, trembling behind a large pillar, barely lifted his head.
"Y-yes...!"
"Contact the guards and have them arrest that man!"
The innkeeper nodded frantically at Durel's words and tried to rush out, but there was no need. Right on cue, nearby guards who had heard the commotion arrived, heard the full story, and hauled the man away.