Chapter 69
A short 20-day closed training has begun.
I’ve already informed Louisa, the responsible professor, so there’s no worry about any interruptions from busybodies.
It’s not unusual for students to skip classes to train in solitary rooms like this at the academia, but it’s rare for anyone to formally announce it beforehand like I am.
She tends to overlook things as long as I don’t go too far beyond the academy’s regulations, so my decision this time wasn’t hindered.
However, she requested that I have a staff member check in on me at least once a day, which I arranged to substitute with Alicia.
During this closed training, Alicia won’t be conducting any swordsmanship sessions, and most contact with the outside world is cut off.
Once a day, Alicia will bring me meals and check on my condition. I’ve instructed her not to talk when she enters, so she’ll just quietly drop off the food.
For the time being, there’s no need to waste time chatting with anyone.
It’s truly an optimal environment for training.
This precious time isn’t going to last long.
“Well then… I guess I need to create the Orb Tower again.”
There are several options for training to increase the total amount of mana, but the Orb Tower is the most revolutionary way to enhance my mana quantity right now, so I’ll gather mana again, shape it into an orb, and reduce its size.
Recently, I’ve reached the point where I can condense a 1-meter diameter mana sphere down to 5cm and stack it up to 7 layers, so I need to increase the height of the layers first.
At least 10 layers are needed before moving on to the next stage efficiently.
However, starting today, I plan to adopt a more special method.
“…….”
I look ahead.
Right in front of me stands a young boy, looking just like a mini Vargan.
It’s the 10-year-old version of Vargan.
To be precise, it’s the mana he possessed at age 10.
Before I received Helion’s assignment, I created this clone to hold all the mana I had at that time. This is Little Vargan.
Among Vargan’s familiars, this one was solely for mana storage—a mana supplier.
This transparent child doesn’t recognize anyone except for the contractor. Occasionally, he may recognize spirits or unique entities, but generally, that’s it.
In the original work, Vargan, who already possessed a massive amount of mana, found it even easier to use vast spells by receiving additional mana through this familiar.
However, I decided to use this child not as a mana-supplying battery but as a comparing counterpart to evaluate my training progress fiercely.
Unlike other familiars, interactions aren’t smooth, and he only supplies the mana that he’s got stored, but because of that, he can be utilized in multiple ways regarding ‘mana.’
For example, like this.
Zing!?
Blue light gathers in the hands of the 10-year-old Vargan, increasing in intensity. As the concentration rises, the distance between the mana particles closes. The orb quickly becomes a small sphere that he can hold.
Using this familiar, ‘Supplier,’ while it’s impossible to manifest other spells, I can manage pure mana.
The mana being activated now is at the level of the 10-year-old Vargan.
The maximum level is my mana from two weeks ago, and I can adjust its intensity. Moreover, the Supplier isn’t sealed as a relic.
In other words, with my limited strength, I can now train against the record of mana that Vargan has grown over time.
While I can check progress by the height of the tower being built or the diameter of the orb, it allows for a more intuitive and effective comparison.
“Silence is even better.”
As the 10-year-old Vargan silently begins to build the mana tower, I also took action. The Supplier shows no reactions other than supplying mana and requires no sustenance, making him the perfect rival.
There was no reaction, and there was no need for lodging and meals; there couldn’t be a better competitor than this.
‘I’ve gotten used to this unpleasant feeling.’
Having become fairly accustomed to the relic that restricts my mana, I can now naturally create orbs despite the unpleasant sensations and limitations.
Of course, having experienced a higher level of completion, I cannot say that I am satisfied, but I can feel that I am steadily progressing as I now understand the realm of my abilities.
In gaming terms, it feels like seeing experience bars and levels in a reality that once had nothing. I embrace the sense of achievement.
I create another orb.
And stack them up.
As the mana circuit heats up and my physical and mental strength wears down, the achievements increase.
It’s been 20 days.
Just 20 days.
Realistically calculated, by the time the training ends, the supplier I will be facing will be around 13 years old.
Given the immense mana restricted by the relic, it’s unlikely I can properly compare myself to the 13-year-old Vargan, and the probability of finishing before that isn’t low.
However, this isn’t a pessimistic statement; it carries a positive meaning.
Vargan’s three years as a child. There’s a possibility to surpass that time within the remaining 20 days. Even if it’s an achievement related solely to mana, it’s something miraculous.
Therefore, I cannot waste even a single day, hour, or minute.
I cannot allow even the slightest distraction.
Sleeping is a luxury.
Let’s invest all my time.
…
And so,
Carefully,
The tower built with effort grows.
*
From afar, a woman’s voice reaches me. The voice grows clearer and eventually awakens another woman.
“Alicia… Alicia!”
“…Yes, yes?!”
Alicia blinks in surprise. The one who woke her up was her companion, Emily. As Emily waves her hand in front of Alicia’s eyes, she stops moving when Alicia responds.
“You finally answered. You’ve been staring blankly for such a long time, you know?”
“Ah… was I?”
“Yep, you looked like you were under hypnosis or something. Right, Emily?”
Frieda suddenly interjects into their conversation. Every time she tilts her head, her fox ears perk up and react.
Emily nods in agreement, looking at Alicia with concern.
“Are you okay? If you’re not feeling well, wouldn’t it be better to go inside and rest today?”
“Thank you for worrying, Emily. But I’m fine. I just had a bit of post-lunch drowsiness.”
Alicia tries to ease Emily’s concern with a faint smile.
Watching Alicia, Frieda holds her chin and thinks for a moment. The diligent and earnest Alicia has lost her focus while studying. There must be a reason. What’s changed here?
?Vargan’s absence.
‘Ah, I see.’
Frieda smiles with slightly glazed eyes.
“Why, what’s on your mind, Frieda?”
“Oh, nothing. I’m not giving up completely yet, so I can’t push on the back of a powerful competitor like you, Alicia.”
Becoming Vargan’s woman would be a massive advantage, but it’s true that being the second woman is preferable to the third, and the first is better still.
Frieda mentally counts the cost and keeps her mouth shut.
And just as the conversation is about to wrap up, the laboratory door swings open.
“Oh, Erica!”
Alicia stands up to greet her.
‘Wow… she’s coming in here.’
Frieda inwardly admires.
The student council’s surprise inspections have been ongoing. About once or twice a week, someone from the student council comes to monitor activities or inspect reports.
Today, the one in charge of Arbol Frutal is Erica.
The people seated at the table observe Erica, who scans the surroundings looking for someone.
“Where’s Schugenharz?”
“The Young Master will be entering closed training for 20 days starting today, so he won’t be coming out for a while… haven’t you heard?”
“Closed training?”
Upon hearing Alicia’s response, she shows a reaction of disbelief. It seems Erica has not been informed about the closed training.
Frieda, momentarily looking away and loosening her facial muscles, speaks with a completely innocent expression.
“That’s quite strange. I can’t believe they didn’t mention it to you, Erica, since you’re the fiancée. We knew about it in advance.”
Erica’s sharp eyes meet Frieda’s.
“…You, what’s your name?”
“…What’s your name?”
Frida looked innocent with her sparkling eyes, but she was different from Diphelia and Alicia. Erica felt a strange discomfort.
“It’s my first time greeting you like this. I’m Frida, one of the executives of Arbol Frutal, which belongs to Vargan.”
“Ah, I see…? So you are Frida.”
Hearing Frida’s name made Erica slightly frown. She was the one who betrayed Diphelia’s faction during the Class Battle and sided with Vargan.
From Erica’s perspective, Frida was the one who contributed to their defeat in the Class Battle and created a rift between them and Diphelia.
Although Erica didn’t inquire into Frida’s identity since it was an event from the Class Battle, the rumors about her were rampant, so she had some information about who she was.
However, it was the first time she was seeing her face… and it seemed like she wouldn’t forget it anytime soon.
Facing Erica, Frida quickly turned her head and sipped her tea, holding the cup with both hands. Her fluffy tail swished slightly.
“……”
Erica roughly picked up the report for Arbol Frutal and took a seat at a reasonable distance.
Meanwhile, Emily, who had a prior bad experience, quietly started putting her textbooks into her bag without making much noise. Her actions continued without hesitation.
“Oh, I just remembered! I had an appointment with Liam that I totally forgot about. Hehe, I… think I’ll head out first?”
Emily tried to hurry out of the place.
“Oh, really? I hope you’re not late. Be careful getting back, Emily.”
“Uh, yeah… See you tomorrow, Alicia.”
Alicia’s innocent reaction inadvertently helped Emily leave naturally. Emily waved lightly to everyone and exited the laboratory.
As if to fill the void left by Emily,
the three of them immersed themselves in their own tasks amidst the prolonged silence. The silence couldn’t be broken since no one took the initiative to speak first.
Eventually, the first words began to be exchanged about an hour later. Erica, who had reviewed all the records of Arbol Frutal, was again surprised by Alicia’s progress.
“Did Schugenhartz bring you here?”
Alicia, who was engrossed in her textbook, looked at Erica with rabbit-like eyes, as if she didn’t understand. Erica added an explanation.
“Schugenhartz suddenly barged in and took you away while you were living quietly in the village.”
“He didn’t really do it so roughly… umm. But he did bring me from the countryside.”
“Did he know of your talent from the start and then brought you here? Or did he not know that much?”
“Ah, well…”
Erica could see a somewhat hesitant expression on her face. She was Schugenhartz’s personal servant, so it was understandable that she felt cautious talking in his absence.
“You don’t have to say anything if it’s uncomfortable.”
It wouldn’t be right to put her in a difficult position without a clear purpose or gain. If Erica really wanted to know, she could just ask later.
“No, it’s not that I’m hesitant; it’s just that I don’t know much about it myself, so I couldn’t share. I haven’t heard how Lord Vargan knew me or why he personally came.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes… But I can share the things I went through. There are quite a few who already know, and especially since it’s you, I think it wouldn’t cause any issues.”
Erica wondered why she thought there wouldn’t be any consequences but decided to listen quietly to what Alicia had to say next.
Alicia simply explained the process until she came to Academia.
She had been suddenly found and taken away, told that she had a talent she didn’t even know about during the wagon ride, and made it here through various training.
Frida pretended to read while eavesdropping on their conversation, and as the story progressed, Erica squinted her eyes, deep in thought.
“Hmmm….”
A prodigy with this level of talent. Someone who has reached a considerable level in magic or martial arts, or someone from the Church, could gauge her abilities by observing her.
However, the key point was that Alicia hadn’t been attending the Church separately and hadn’t had any experience with someone resembling a Hero.
Though she might have met them unknowingly, it raised the question of how such information traveled all the way to Vargan’s ears without a sound.
It might be an unknown matter, but is it really possible for that information to only reach the ears of Vargan, who is far away, without a sound?
As Erica sunk into deep thought, Alicia added her words.
“Actually… I asked about it once before. I was just as curious as you, Erica, and wanted to confirm it even if I had to ask the Young Master for permission.”
“And then?”
“He just said there’s a way to know, but didn’t explain the details.”
Is Schugenharz hiding that process?
A small bud of suspicion begins to bloom.
“Maybe it’s just because you’re pretty?”
Suddenly, Frieda spoke up. Closing her book, she scanned Alicia from toe to head and finally looked her straight in the eye.
“With looks like that, it’s strange that there aren’t any rumors in the village. Surely there must have been a ton of guys sticking to you. I bet word spread all the way beyond the neighboring village. If Alicia’s talents hadn’t been publicized, then I’d say this seems more realistic.”
Frieda turned her gaze towards Erica.
“Isn’t that right?”
“…….”
Though her eyes still held a hint of displeasure, there seemed to be some validity in what she said. It was a perspective Erica had not considered.
“Th-that’s…! No, I’m just… average?”
“Stop there, Alicia. If you say more, it becomes deceit. It’s a bit harsh to say, but it’s almost miraculous that someone with your looks hasn’t been involved in any crime till now.”
Having lived dodging and deceiving others in the rough harem district, she understood well how individuals with decent looks were perceived.
Frieda had faced such crises multiple times and managed to overcome them with a strong spirit and survival instinct.
“While Vargan seems more interested in training or power than women, he is still a man. Isn’t it natural for him to be drawn to pretty women?”
With Vargan’s looks, power, wealth, and abilities, it wouldn’t be surprising if rumors about beauties filled the room.
By the way, she also mentioned that she probably would have done the same.
“You’re quite the bold one, aren’t you?”
“Ah! If that was offensive, I truly apologize. I had no bad intentions.”
Frieda reacted in shock, lowering her head. While she verbally expressed her sincere apology, her expression didn’t quite match.
She lifted her head and continued speaking. Her eyes and the corners of her mouth drooped down, giving her the face of someone guilty.
“Ha.”
Erica let out a short chuckle, slapping the report shut with a thud. Getting up as if there was no need to engage further, she said:
“Thank you for sharing, Alicia.”
“Ah, ah… no, you’re welcome.”
Alicia could sense the mysterious tension between the two and stiffly accepted the report she handed over.
As Erica turned away, she shot a glance at Frieda, who acted as if she was oblivious and looked away.
Creak?
As Erica disappeared, Alicia urgently called out.
“F-Frieda! What on earth was that about!”
“Just… you know, jealousy from a girl who can’t even be a mistress. But really, I didn’t say much. I didn’t lie either.”
“Y-yeah, that might be true, but the atmosphere of the conversation…”
Seeing Alicia flustered, Frieda couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Alicia, I really like you.”
Out of context, Frieda began praising Alicia. Everything about her—her looks, personality, and way of speaking—was ideal and perfect.
“I like you so much that I want to give you advice, which I usually don’t do for others.”
She lightly tapped Alicia on the shoulder.
Her voice rang with a mix of playfulness and seriousness.
“Don’t hide too much.”
“Y-yes…?”
“You might really miss out.”
With those last words, Frieda also exited the laboratory.
Alicia was left alone, quietly listening to the stillness of the spacious lab.
“…….”
She slowly mulled over what Frieda had said.
