Chapter 49 - Ash-Gray Aura

"Ah, you were talking, so I waited."

Adrianna answered in her usual impassive voice, her eyebrows slightly lowered.

'Did she hear our conversation?'

He had cast a soundproofing spell out of habit, but this was Adrianna. It would not have worked on her.

'A difficult woman to figure out, in more ways than one.'

Magic did not even work on her...

Galahad clicked his tongue softly and asked her outright.

"Did you hear?"

"... Pardon? No. Eavesdropping on other people's conversations is terribly rude."

Adrianna spoke faster than usual. Galahad narrowed his eyes.

"... At first, I didn't realize you were having a conversation, so I overheard by accident. I apologize."

She confessed with a slight bow of her head.

"Ah, of course, I stepped away immediately."

"Did you?"

"Yes."

Her lips twitched. Her expression made it painfully obvious that she had done something wrong.

'She really is a terrible liar.'

Galahad simply stared at her.

At last, she began to confess.

"... Actually, not immediately. I wasn't expecting the Imperial Princess to come up, so without thinking..."

"I see."

"That Her Highness treasured you, Commander Galahad, that something happened to end things, and..."

Galahad clicked his tongue softly as her confessions kept coming.

"You heard quite a lot."

Her eyes wavered at his observation.

"I apologize. It had been so long since I'd heard anything about Her Highness—"

"You know the Princess?"

"Yes. We spent some time together as children. She was a very warm person."

That madwoman, warm? Galahad clicked his tongue softly.

'Then again, if they were children, that would have been before she went through that. Back when she was sane.'

"Is Her Highness doing well?"

"Why ask me?"

"Ah, you seemed close—"

"As I said earlier, our relationship was strictly professional."

"Ah, I see."

Adrianna nodded. Her eyebrows had risen slightly.

Silence fell for a moment.

Galahad's mind was crowded with everything that had happened lately.

Foremost among them...

'An upper-echelon Demon... '

The upper-echelon Demon who had told him to come to the Demon Realm alone.

The mental interference she had exerted across such a vast distance held an irresistible allure for Galahad.

He thought he could understand why those Demons called their power "authority."

To a Mage, her authority was nothing short of divine.

He wanted to rush straight to the Demon Realm, but...

'That would be idiotic.'

However alluring her authority might be, he was not foolish enough to trust a Demon and enter the Demon Realm alone.

Of course, since she wanted something from him, he might not be in danger, but...

'Not yet.'

Before going to her, he needed to be strong enough to protect himself in the Demon Realm.

He forced down his excitement.

"May I ask why things ended badly with Her Highness?"

Adrianna's question broke his train of thought.

He looked up to find her studying him, her eyes full of caution.

"She didn't believe me."

Adrianna nodded at the simple answer.

The silence continued a little longer.

Then she rose, an odd expression on her face.

"I'll return to the First Battalion. I am concerned about the Demon Realm training camp, but leaving the First Battalion unattended for too long is dangerous as well."

She spoke with an impassive expression.

Apparently, she intended to return to the First Battalion.

It was a thoroughly characteristic decision.

"I see. Before you go, may I have your hand?"

Galahad held out his hand as a matter of course.

Unlike usual, Adrianna merely gazed at it in silence.

"About what you said last time."

"What was that?"

"You said you thought you understood now—"

"Ah, so I did."

Galahad nodded.

"What did you mean?"

"The stronger the Demon, the stronger you become. That is related to your ability to burn mana. To you, mana is fuel. The better the fuel, the more fiercely you burn it. Last time, I tested that theory. I lowered my mana concentration instead. And it hurt less."

Galahad recalled what had happened last time.

There were occasions to compress mana, but never to lower its concentration. Low-concentration mana was useless.

To test his hypothesis, he had lowered his mana concentration.

Lowering it in the North, where mana was naturally so concentrated, was quite difficult, but the Egg of agony had made it possible.

He had entrusted most of his mana to the Egg of agony and worked the small amount remaining as much as possible. Impurities mingled with it, lowering its concentration.

Then, when he took Adrianna's hand, the pain had been considerably less than before.

Perhaps he had simply grown accustomed to the terrible agony of his mana burning, but...

Seeing Adrianna merely blink, her mouth slightly open, Galahad clicked his tongue softly.

"To put it simply, I've figured out how to hold your hand with less pain."

"Ah. How to hold it with less pain."

Galahad nodded and waved his hand, urging her to take it already.

Her eyes narrowed slightly.

"Did your relationship with Her Highness also play a part in the Empire's decision to send you north?"

At the unexpected question, Galahad considered for a moment, then nodded.

There were so many things he could be guilty of that he could not be certain, but that probably had played a part as well.

"I imagine so."

"Then your coming all this way to the North wasn't entirely my fault."

"You... have a point?"

Galahad answered her calmly presented argument with some reluctance.

"I promised to hold your hand because you had come north on my account."

"That's right."

"But now that we've established that it wasn't solely because of me, and that your own dissolute past also played a part, there is room to reconsider."

"... Dissolute?"

"We have already entered into an agreement, but since its conditions have changed, the terms must be amended."

Adrianna looked at him as she spoke, her voice firm.

Galahad frowned at this unexpected resistance.

Her argument was quite reasonable.

"What sort of amendment?"

"At present, I must comply whenever you ask. I think we should change it so that we hold hands only when I agree as well."

Her eyes were very serious.

Galahad gave a thoughtful hum as he looked into those clear blue eyes.

"Wouldn't it be a problem if you refused out of hand?"

"In return, I will provide appropriate grounds. For instance, today the Demon Realm training camp is not yet stable, and I am returning to the First Battalion. Considering the risks, this is not a good time to hold hands."

"That is reasonable. Very well."

Galahad nodded with a quiet click of his tongue.

"However, changing it immediately would be rather abrupt for you, so I will allow a grace period today."

Adrianna removed her gauntlet and held out her hand. Despite her confident words, the gesture was decidedly awkward.

Galahad watched her in silence. Her outstretched hand twitched, and she turned her palm inward to hide it.

"You're assuming I'll take it, aren't you?"

Her eyebrows bobbed at his question.

"... Didn't you ask for my hand first? It is an inference based on reasonable grounds. If you don't want to—"

"I was only asking."

Galahad promptly took her hand. It was rough with calluses, but quite warm.

"This sensation—"

It lasted only a moment. Once all the low-concentration mana had burned away, the mana inside him was forcibly drawn out.

At that moment, Adrianna withdrew her hand.

Galahad staggered into his chair. He closed his eyes and recalled the sensation.

'It feels almost within reach, and yet—'

He simply could not grasp it.

"Ah, I am returning to the First Battalion because I trust you to manage the Demon Realm training camp, Commander Galahad. Still, just in case, I will send a hawk. Please write me a progress report."

Adrianna watched Galahad sit quietly with his eyes closed for a moment, then left the room.

Gilberton encountered her in the corridor and bowed his head.

"Where are you going?"

"Back to the First Battalion."

With that, she passed him.

Gilberton's eyes widened at the sight.

Just now...

'... Did she smile?'

He frowned for a moment, then shook his head.

No, surely not.

Convinced he had imagined it, he knocked on the door.

"What is it?"

"You know that fellow you took on provisionally? Not the really pretty woman. The huge one—"

"Ah, First. Is something wrong?"

Gilberton frowned at Galahad's casual question.

First, Hirst, whatever his name was...

"What is that guy?"

Galahad chuckled at Gilberton's thoroughly contorted face.

* * *

Galahad followed Gilberton to First and clicked his tongue softly at the sight awaiting him.

Every soldier in the Demon Realm lay collapsed. First stood at their center.

These soldiers had grown fairly accustomed to the Demon Realm through Gilberton's training. Yet they were down, while First was still standing.

"Breathe through your nose, not your mouth!"

First was urging the soldiers to get up.

"Just what is that fellow?"

Gilberton pointed at First and asked uneasily.

"A useful man."

With that brief answer, Galahad stepped forward.

First's face lit up with a smile when he spotted Galahad.

"Galahad, you were telling the truth. This Demon Realm is quite fascinating."

He was the complete opposite of Pumpkin beside him, who was drenched in sweat.

"I can't even begin to guess how concentrated the mana is."

"About ten times as concentrated."

Galahad supplied the exact figure in response.

First's brow creased slightly. Still, he did not ask the foolish question of how Galahad knew. That was simply the sort of man Galahad was.

"Even casting a spell is difficult."

Galahad nodded at First's amused tone.

"Most Mages wouldn't even dare try."

"Galahad, I suppose a 'typical Mage' by your standards would have to rank among the Mage Tower's upper echelons."

Galahad did not answer. First curled his lips into a smile and snapped his fingers.

"Fire."

He murmured so quietly that it was almost as though he had not spoken a trigger word at all.

A flame appeared on First's finger. It was hardly a roaring blaze, but magic was magic.

Casting a spell in the Demon Realm...

Knowing First's level of ability, Galahad was mildly surprised.

"You look surprised."

"How did you do it? You shouldn't be skilled enough to cast magic in the Demon Realm."

"Heh. I am First, your nemesis."

First was a capable Mage, but not capable enough to cast spells in the Demon Realm.

Then how...?

"Ah, you stored the atmospheric mana first?"

First's smile froze at Galahad's murmur.

'So that's it.'

The mana was ten times as concentrated as in the capital.

Mana was extremely sensitive. Recklessly storing it simply because it was highly concentrated would waterlog the mana circuits, destabilizing their core instead.

There was a reason Galahad had worked so hard to adjust his mana concentration as soon as he arrived in the North.

And it had indeed been effective.

Yet First had recklessly stored mana without calculating its concentration.

'No, that's closer to absorption than storage.'

Galahad frowned at the sweat covering First's forehead.

Rather than calculating and storing mana through his breathing, as though refining it like a Mage, he seemed to have simply moved his body and crammed in whatever he could.

A truly brutish method.

"My body is sturdy, after all."

He was forcing mana into storage while enduring it with a knight's body. The brutish method, so perfectly suited to a knight, elicited genuine admiration.

There was, however, a problem with storing it that way.

"Wouldn't that make casting difficult?"

He had not stored the mana so much as stuffed it in. There was no way he could draw it out and use it at will.

"A Mage-Knight's secret."

First lifted his chin as he answered, his face brimming with confidence.

Galahad examined him. Ash had accumulated on his shoes, meaning he had remained in one place for a long time. He was also holding a sword for no apparent reason.

"You raised your aura to force the mana to move?"

First's face stiffened.

"No. Though I cannot tell you, since it is a Mage-Knight's secret."

"You could burst doing that."

"But I didn't! Because I'm a Mage-Knight! Of course, that doesn't mean what you just said is a Mage-Knight's secret!"

First tacked on the last part belatedly.

'Forcing mana to move while using a knight's aura to withstand it... '

Galahad understood the principle behind First's training.

"You're using physical exertion to force exposure to highly concentrated mana. In the process, you exploit the overload that circulates mana as it is unconsciously discharged."

Everyone possessed mana, not just Mages. Mages were those who used it consciously.

Ordinary people used it without being aware of it. When they moved their bodies, their mana moved unconsciously along with them.

First seemed to have taken advantage of that.

"Correct. Just what I'd expect from my rival."

First readily nodded.

Exposure to highly concentrated mana would certainly improve the body.

However...

"Wouldn't that only change your physique?"

First grinned at the question.

"Only if you don't have aura. With aura to unleash your potential, even a minor change can have tremendous effects."

Blue aura surged violently over First's sword.

It was larger than the last time Galahad had seen it.

Aura and mana were unrelated. Galahad had already verified that fact. It was why he had no lingering attachment to aura.

Yet First had just presented evidence to the contrary.

'Highly concentrated mana is connected to aura?'

Galahad frowned at the unexpected result.

First grinned broadly at Galahad's frozen expression. To think he had managed to make Galahad look like that...

His grin, however, did not last long.

"I see. Then would you try drinking this?"

"What is it?"

"Demon blood."

"... Why blood?"

"Demon blood contains highly concentrated mana."

"Hmm..."

First edged backward. As he headed toward Pumpkin, pretending not to have heard, Galahad smacked his lips in disappointment.

Then he noticed a familiar boy among the fallen soldiers.

Damian was patting his stomach.

He looked more comfortable than he did outside.

No...

'He's smiling.'

Feeling something odd, Galahad placed a cigarette between his lips.

First approached again. Waving the faint flame on his finger, he asked,

"Need a light?"

"Ah, no, thank you."

Galahad snapped his fingers.

At the roaring flame, First's mouth clamped shut.

Just then, Damian stood, using his sword as a cane.

Something flickered at that instant.

'Aura?'

It had lasted only an instant, but it was unmistakably aura.

Galahad had seen more than a hundred auras.

There was no chance he would fail to recognize one.

Being able to use aura was cause for celebration.

The problem was...

'It's ash-gray.'

The color of the aura.

Aura was conviction.

That was why, however much individual auras differed, their colors were fundamentally bright.

Conviction could not be dark.

Yet the aura that had flickered over Damian's sword was ash-gray.

A color even Galahad had never seen.

A color that should never appear in aura...

'Interesting.'

Galahad discarded his barely smoked cigarette and headed toward Damian.

Smiling brightly.

"Damian, who did you say your parents were?"

"Huh? A whore."

For the first time, Galahad was struck speechless by the matter-of-fact answer.