Chapter 78. Tectonic Shift (3)
—
“Ah, you must be Swen. Welcome. I’ll take you to Miss Reika’s room.”
“Before that, could I see Jenor first?”
“Master Jenor, you mean? I’m not sure if he’s available at the moment… Please wait a moment.”
After a short wait.
“He’s about to prepare for an outing… If it’s something important, maybe it would be better to discuss it another time?”
“That’s fine. It won’t take long.”
Heading to Jenor’s room, I greeted him briefly.
“What brings you here, Swen? I heard you were looking for me.”
“It’s nothing much, I was thinking of taking Miss Reika out of the estate.”
“…What?”
Reika was the first mage to appear in this game and remained the most powerful one until the end.
For some reason, Jenor had confined Reika within the estate, preventing her from going outside.
Though she had managed to sneak out a few times, indicating the surveillance wasn’t too strict, he had still asked me to refrain from taking her outside.
Gaining someone’s favor was simple.
Give them what they want.
What Reika wanted was freedom.
I figured it wouldn’t hurt to show her some goodwill.
“…May I ask why?”
“It’s simple. Mana is much more concentrated in places with rugged terrain and less human disturbance. Meditating in such natural surroundings… While it’s uncertain if it will be effective for a real mage like Miss Reika, I’ve definitely felt the benefits. If my abilities are indeed related to ‘mana’, then wouldn’t Miss Reika benefit as well?”
“…”
After a moment of thought, Jenor murmured softly, his voice just barely reaching me.
“…If it’s with you, Swen, it might be alright.”
I was curious about what he meant but didn’t pry further.
“Understood. However, I cannot allow her outside the Balhart estate.”
“We’ll only go to the small mountain behind the castle. Going too far and ending up in danger would be troublesome.”
“Anything else?”
“That’s all.”
“Then, if you’ll excuse me.”
As Jenor was about to leave.
“Oh, right.”
I remembered I had something to ask him.
“Just a moment.”
“What is it?”
“About what you mentioned at the fortress. You said you had a request for me.”
“…”
Without a direct response, Jenor turned away.
“When the time comes, I’ll speak. Farewell.”
After Jenor left.
“When the time comes, he says…”
Whatever the request was, I had already warned him that I couldn’t entertain unreasonable demands, so it should be fine.
With that thought, I headed to Reika’s room.
—
Upon entering, an overly enthusiastic Reika greeted me.
“Ah, ah, hello…! Th-the, Swen! The we-weather today…!”
“Calm down.”
I lightly placed my hand on her shoulder.
“Yikes…!”
After a few minutes, I cautiously asked the now somewhat melted Reika.
“Are you a bit calmer now?”
“Ah? Ah… Yes, y-yes…!”
After calming her down, I looked around her room.
There were delicious-looking cakes, pastries, and milk laid out.
Did she prepare all this herself?
“You didn’t need to go through all this trouble.”
“But, it’s… It’s been a while since I’ve seen you, Swen…! And I heard you fought for our country…!”
“Well, I was in the rear. I don’t really use weapons.”
“Really…? But you have that impressive sword with you…”
“Oh, this?”
I drew the rapier by my side.
It seems Reika was the first to notice it. Usually, it was hidden by the cloak I wore.
“It’s just for decoration.”
“Decoration…”
“I’d say the generals, their subordinate officers, and the soldiers did the hard work, not me.”
Hearing this, Reika hesitated for a moment before mustering her courage to speak up.
“But still…! Even if it was the rear guard… I might not know much… but still, you fought to protect us…! I think… you did great.”
She said this, then bowed her head deeply.
Right.
What would be the point of arguing with Reika for any kind of glory?
“Perhaps you’re right, Miss Reika. Thank you.”
“No, no…! I should be the one thanking you… for protecting us…!”
She said, smiling foolishly yet sweetly. It was interesting to see how expressive she could be.
“What have you been up to in my absence?”
“Oh! Right!”
Excitedly, Reika clapped her hands and then approached me with the eagerness of a child showing off a hidden toy.
“I have something to show you…!”
—
We were in the garden behind the mansion.
Reika spread her hands and, like before, produced a ball of fire.
But what was different this time—
“Wow.”
She skillfully transferred the fully formed fireball to her other palm and repeated this several times before launching it towards a scarecrow in the distance.
Ssssh! Boom!
The fireball hit the scarecrow, which I hadn’t noticed was set up before.
Though its destructive power wasn’t immense, this was a significant achievement.
“I’m not as breathless as before… and I can somewhat control it freely now…!”
“You’ve improved a lot?”
“Yes! Just as you instructed… every day… I diligently did the ‘Buffet Test’? Without missing a day…! So, it really feels like I can sense mana better now, or… Anyway, it’s been an incredible experience…!”
So she diligently performed that pointless exercise every day.
Well, it must have been good for her health, so there’s no need to feel too guilty.
It’s unlikely that my instructions directly improved her mana sensitivity. It’s more probable that her abilities naturally developed over time.
However, given that Reika had experienced a long period of ‘blockage’, this must have been a meaningful breakthrough for her. I could easily notice a slightly different look in her eyes when she looked at me.
“It’s just the result of your hard work, Miss Reika. I didn’t do much.”
“No…! Since meeting you, I’ve become so much stronger…! Now I feel like I can do anything…!”
“Really?”
I replied with a natural tone.
“Shall we move on to the next step then?”
“The next step…?”
“Yes. It seems about time to go outside.”
“Outside…?”
Her pink eyes widened in surprise at the mention of “outside,” sparkling as if they held the Milky Way.
And then—
As she listened to what followed, those beautiful eyes briefly shimmered with the colors of starlight.
“Let’s head outside the estate. Into the outside world.”
—
“Wow…!”
We were on a small mountain not far from the castle.
She looked around, marveling at everything as if each sight was a delightful surprise.
“It’s been so long… since I’ve walked outside like this, just normally.”
I remembered then that she was an orphan.
During her orphanage days, searching daily for food and protecting herself left little time to enjoy her surroundings.
After being taken in by Jenor, it seemed she lived almost in confinement, unable to go outside.
So, it made sense she was this happy just from climbing a small mountain behind the estate.
“I’m glad I brought you out.”
“Did you bring me out here on purpose…?”
Responding to her question, I craftily fabricated a lie.
“Mana is richer in places where nature is preserved.”
“Oh…!”
She listened intently and then closed her eyes, taking several deep breaths as if meditating. Without saying a word…
Suddenly.
“Haah!”
She opened her eyes wide and created a fireball, much larger than the one before.
“!”
Surprised by her feat, I watched as the fireball gradually dissipated from her hand.
“Wow… It’s true! Just like you said, Swen… Coming here, I can feel an unbelievable amount of mana coursing through me…!”
“Really???”
Truly?
Why?
Why is this actually working?
I merely strung together plausible-sounding words without much thought.
Yet, why did she suddenly become stronger?
Is mana truly more abundant closer to nature?
Well, the theory I randomly hit upon… upon reflection, it does seem like a plausible fantasy setting.
Mana, a mystical power, being abundant in places close to nature sounds almost like a rule in a fantasy world.
Regardless.
Me standing here dumbfounded was absurd.
I pretended as if I had predicted all along and nodded knowingly.
“Didn’t I tell you? After meditating here, I too can hear the sounds of the sky much more clearly.”
“Really…! Swen, you’re amazing.”
Reika looked at me with eyes full of admiration.
…Feeling the weight of her naive gaze, I was reminded once more that I hadn’t yet grown accustomed to spinning tales to various people.
“Alright. Shall we proceed with our practice? Just repeat what we’ve always done. Are you ready?”
“Yes! I’m ready!”
Reika, filled with enthusiasm, raised her hands high, inadvertently revealing her smooth underarms due to her sleeveless attire.
Quickly diverting my gaze from that sight, I suggested,
“Then… let’s start with meditation.”
“Yes!”
Thus, we began our meditation session.
We also engaged in some light exercise afterward, making it a truly fulfilling day.
Reika, perhaps feeling good about being outside after a long time, was eager to participate in everything, making it a pleasant experience for me as well.
Honestly, aside from the practice or whatever it was – it had been a while since I could relax and enjoy my time after the battle.
That alone made it an incredibly valuable time for me.
* * *
A few hours earlier.
Jenor, just after leaving his home, was pondering over the white-haired young man he had just met.
“It was a surprise attack. Everything happened just as Swen said.”
He recalled how Swen, standing confidently before the nation’s advisor, had insisted, “Brans army’s tactic will be a surprise attack.”
Swen had expressed his opinion with unwavering confidence, and it turned out to be the right one.
After the battle, Jenor spent a long time thinking.
Though not a mage, Swen claimed to feel the power of mana and communicate with the heavens, even bringing down a stone from the sky – a man of miracles.
And this man, showing tactical prowess, even dared to question his position in the Aeshers army with brazen confidence.
Throughout his life, Jenor, despite realizing how little he knew, took pride in one thing: his ability to judge people.
And the more he observed Swen, the more he couldn’t shake off the feeling that – this man, currently holding a significant position in the Aeshers army, wouldn’t be satisfied with just that.
“If he stays with our army, that would be preferable, but in the long term, he could become an enemy of the Aeshers army.”
Such a situation would be troublesome in many ways.
Turning an individual of Swen’s caliber into an enemy was not a wise move.
While the focus in the public eye was on the high-profile knight Airen as the principal figure of betrayal, and rightfully so considering the context, Jenor couldn’t help but feel that what Brans army truly missed out on was Swen, not Airen.
Indeed, following Swen’s defection, Brans army began its implausible collapse.
Although Airen played a significant role, it was fundamentally Swen who first noticed the surprise attack.
Without Swen, it was almost certain that Epinel’s stubbornness would have led to their defeat.
“What should be done then?”
Jenor, while currently serving Yuri and hoping she could unify the continent, didn’t necessarily believe that it must be the Aeshers army to do so.
As long as it wasn’t a tyrant like Serphina, he was ready to lend his wisdom to any wise and benevolent ruler.
As such, he didn’t want to become adversaries with someone of Swen’s stature, even if they ended up serving different lords.
Jenor recalled a military treatise he had read recently.
One particular phrase stuck in his mind:
[If you cannot defeat an opponent, join them.]
“A way to establish a relationship with him that transcends factions…”
At that moment, a figure crossed Jenor’s mind: his adopted daughter, Reika.
Objectively speaking?
Twenty years old. A young lady of Swen’s age with no experience with men.
Having taken her in at a very young age and kept her mostly indoors, she wouldn’t be a bad bride.
Jenor was a man of quick wit.
Here was an opportunity to make a request.
If he were refused, so be it, but it was worth a try.
Swen appeared to be unmarried.
“And Swen is without a surname.”
The Nightart name, though he was loathe to boast, held considerable value in the continent as a distinguished family.
Though noble titles and family names had lost their significance in these troubled times, to someone of common birth like Swen, it might be quite attractive.
“It might be good to explain this to Reika as well. Being a vigorous young man, there must be something she can offer him.”
Jenor Nightart.
Even at his advanced age, he tirelessly schemed to survive in these tumultuous times.
