[Trantor - Kiteretsu]


    [Proofreader - Kyros]


    Chapter 11


    The quality of a Sword.


    When Ernstine unlocked the Six Swords ,there were rare individuals who did not merely regard those six swords as extraordinary weapons but perceived Ernstine himself as a “sword.”


    These individuals were what Ernstine called those with "the quality of the sword." And such individuals invariably possessed astonishing talent with the sword—an innate brilliance so radiant that no matter how much they tried to hide it, it was impossible to conceal.


    Their skill was such that, even in their youth, they could reach the rank of Sword Master with ease.


    Unless they were someone who had never even touched a sword, these individuals always rose to prominence in the world.


    ‘And yet, someone with such a gift is merely a guard knight?’


    This wasn’t some farmer who had spent their entire life oblivious to their potential.


    No, a knight blessed with such remarkable talent was wasting away as the escort to a mere count’s daughter?


    It was an iprehensible situation.


    ‘To think such a talent is rotting away… I’ll have to remember him.’


    After engraving the knight’s presence into his memory, Kaylen turned his attention to his own physical condition.


    ‘A mess.’


    It was true that forming a Mana Body had been a significant milestone, but his physical state was far from ideal.


    Though Kaylen had managed to skillfully control the mana from the Mana Stone, all he had done was avoid fatal internal injuries.


    Minor damages lingered throughout his body, both inside and out.


    Still, now that his Mana Body wasplete, these injuries were manageable on his own.


    But Kaylen chose not to heal himself just yet.


    Cough!


    A gush of bright red blood spilled from his mouth, soaking the front of his clothes.


    Simultaneously, his entire body began to swell grotesquely, as if he were transforming into a monstrous creature.


    ‘This should be enough.’


    Satisfied with the horrific state he had brought himself to, Kaylen smirked.


    “What’s going on here?!”


    He heard frantic footsteps rushing toward him.


    Thud!


    Copsing dramatically, he sprawled across the magic circle, feigning unconsciousness.


    “What is this?! What happened?!”


    Amid the panicked voices, Kaylen closed his eyes.


    It was time for his second harvest.


    From heaven to hell—that was exactly how Lina’s day felt.


    Before heading home after her after-school magic lessons, the Mana Stone she had been painstakingly charging was almostpletely filled.


    By today, it would finally reach 100%. Once sold, she’d have personal funds of her own.


    ‘Then I can finally proceed with that experiment.’


    An extremely confidential magical experiment—something she couldn’t let her family know about.


    Once she sold the Mana Stone, she’d be able to move forward with her ns.


    ‘And then I’ll be free from that Kaylen.’


    Recently, Kaylen had been pestering her with questions about 3rd Circle Magic.


    At first, he’d only asked trivial questions, buttely, his inquiries had grown unexpectedly advanced, leaving her with an uneasy feeling despite teaching him.


    But soon, all of that would be over.


    Selling the Mana Stone and Pretending Not to Know Him


    ''Once I sell the Mana Stone, I’ll keep my distance and pretend I don’t know him. Since he’s so infatuated with me, he might even stalk me. I’ll make sure to have Alkas apany me just in case.''


    ''I had alreadyid out my ns for the future… but—''


    Bang!


    “Lina!”


    Inside the office of the head of the Florence Family, the stern-looking middle-aged man, Evan de Florence, wore a grim expression.


    He was trying his best to suppress his anger, but it was clearly boiling over.


    The moment Lina saw his face, she knew something was wrong.


    “What have you done?”


    “W-what do you mean…?”


    “I asked, what have you done?”


    Crash!


    Evan’s voice thundered as he hurled the ss cup beside him to the floor.


    Her father, who was always calm andposed, was losing his temper—something Lina had never witnessed before.


    “Lina. You charged a Mana Stone, didn’t you?”


    “Ah…”


    “Attempting to charge it without informing the family… Fine. I can tolerate that. At your age, reaching the 3rd Circle proves your talent. It demonstrates your worth. I can let that slide.”


    “But causing an ident? That’s uneptable.”


    “A-an ident? What ident?!”


    “Yes, an ident!”


    Whoosh!


    Evan threw a sheet of paper at Lina.


    [An ident urred in the Florence Family’s experimental zone. It is suspected to be rted to the Mana Stone Charging Magic Circle. The mana from the Mana Stone was fully discharged and is believed to have dispersed into the surrounding atmosphere.]


    Lina’s mind wentpletely nk.


    No… What… What is this?


    [The victim has been identified as Kaylen Starn, eldest son of Baron Starn. He is currently unconscious and undergoing treatment. Although the Academy’s security team has been dissuaded from making this public, if the 1st Prince’s faction learns of this, it will escte into a serious issue.]


    “Do you understand what you’ve done?”


    “No… That’s impossible… The Mana Charging Magic Circle….”


    “Exactly. That’s the issue.”


    Evan shot to his feet and walked toward Lina, growling.


    “The perception that the Florence Family’s Mana Charging Magic Circle is perfectly stable—”


    “That perception has been shattered by this incident!”


    “Ah…”


    “If the incident had urred within our family—at the Florence Count’s estate—we could have contained it. With money, or by silencing those involved, we’d ensure no word got out.”


    “But at the Academy? The Magic Academy, swarming with our political enemies? And with you, a direct descendant of the Florence Family, implicated?”


    “Urgh…”


    “Do you think they’ll let this opportunity pass?”


    The Mana Charging Magic Circle is supposed to be wless.


    This Was the Perception of the World.


    At the same time, it was bingmon knowledge that the Florence Family''s bloodline enhanced the efficiency of Mana Charging Magic Circles.


    However, this incident had the potential to overturn that perception entirely.


    "So even the Florence Family''s Mana Charging Magic Circles aren''t perfect?"


    "Even with the bloodline involved, the Mana Stone''s manapletely disappeared, and the charger was left in aa?"


    Such a development would not only shake the Florence Family''s dominant position in the magicalmunity but also make it harder to find mana chargers willing to work for them.


    And that wasn’t the only problem.


    The Kingdom of Bormian was divided into two factions vying for power:


    The First Prince’s faction and the Second Prince’s faction.


    Though their rivalry hadn’t surfaced publicly yet, the two factions were constantly searching for opportunities to strike at each other in the shadows.


    The Florence Family was a key member of the Second Prince’s faction and served as its financial backbone.


    If the First Prince’s faction caught wind of this incident…


    "Our family would suffer immense damage," Evan said.


    “How did such an absurd ident happen in the first ce?”


    “Well… I…”


    With trembling lips, Lina exined the events so far.


    She had persuaded several magicians to assist her but eventually relied on Kaylen, the perfect pushover, to handle most of the mana charging.


    As she recounted this, Evan’s expression grew even darker.


    "You had one person do all the charging? And almost half of it?"


    "Y-yes…"


    "That boy must be insane. Still, is that the cause? It’s true that having one person charge a Mana Stone entirely on their own is unprecedented…"


    Evan noted Lina''s words with a calcting expression.


    What was done was done. Now, they had to identify the cause to prevent simr incidents in the future.


    But neither Evan nor Lina could have guessed that Kaylen had deliberately absorbed the mana for himself. Such an act was considered suicidal by conventional standards.


    After finishing his notes, Evan frowned again and said,


    "We need to bury this incident, Lina."


    "…Yes."


    "By any means necessary. If we hand the First Prince’s faction a weapon to attack us, our position within the Second Prince’s faction will weaken."


    "And the business of mana charging through magic circles would take a huge hit. The prestige of the Florence Family’s bloodline would also diminish."


    "That’s right…"


    "In all honesty, I’d kill him to silence him if I could."


    Evan spoke of murder with unsettling calmness.


    But the situation didn’t allow for that option.


    "Given the Academy''s imprable security, that method must be ruled out. The risk of failure is too high."


    "Yes…"


    "Lina, Kaylen Starn did this reckless act because he was infatuated with you, wasn’t he?"


    Lina nodded, and Evan spoke with cold precision.


    "If he wakes up, we will be the first to propose a settlement."


    "The amount we have prepared is 30,000 gold."


    Lina’s eyes widened in shock at the number.


    It was an enormous amount.


    The Mana Stone she had nned to sell was worth 5,000 gold.


    30,000 was equivalent to the value of six Mana Stones.


    "30,000 gold is too much!"


    "Yes, it is. But this matter is that serious."


    "Sigh..."


    "Still, the settlement amount could be lowered depending on who negotiates."


    Evan’s gaze swept over Lina.


    "You’ll handle it."


    "I-I will?"


    "Yes. That Kaylen boy is infatuated with you, isn’t he? If you’re the one to negotiate, we may not need to pay the full 30,000 gold."


    "Ah!"


    "Push for the settlement yourself. Make sure to draft a magic contract."


    At that moment, Lina, who had been hanging her head in uncertainty, suddenly brightened.


    This was something she could do.


    "Understood, Father. This time, I will not disappoint you."


    "Good. I’m giving you one more chance. Consider this yourst opportunity to prove yourself within the family."


    "…Yes!"


    ***


    The Medical Wing of the Magic Academy.


    Normally, this ce was quiet and empty, but now, people were bustling in and out.


    "Ah, Professor, what brings you to the medical wing?"


    "I could ask you the same. Why is the head of Academy security stationed at the door of the medical wing?"


    "Well, the medical wing is part of the Academy. Ensuring its security also falls under my responsibilities, doesn’t it?"


    "Haha. True enough. Still, as a professor, I should be allowed to enter, don’t you think?"


    "There’s a patient in very poor condition inside. If you’re here to visit them, it’d be better to wait until they’ve recovered a bit."


    "Haha. I heard there was an explosion at the Florence Family’s magic experiment site. It wouldn’t have anything to do with that, would it?"


    "Ha. I wouldn’t know anything about that."


    The two stood at the entrance of the medical wing, locked in a tense standoff.


    Kayleny inside, listening to their conversation.


    "So, there are those looking to exploit this situation," he thought.


    Several people had alreadye under the guise of visiting the patient.


    Those without proper connections were turned away at the door, though his homeroom mage had been allowed inside.


    Looking at Kaylen’s unconscious form, the mage had murmured something loud enough for him to hear:


    "If this ident is tied to the Florence Family, the First Prince’s faction might… Hmm."


    Through the snippets of conversation drifting to his ears, Kaylen was gradually piecing together the politicalndscape of the kingdom.


    "This ident… I’ll make sure they pay a higher price for it."


    It wasn’t just one party to sell to—there were two.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Two factions locked in fierce rivalry andpetition.


    In such circumstances, he couldmand an even higher price.


    "Good."


    Having finalized his n, Kaylen groaned softly and opened his eyes.


    [Trantor - Kiteretsu]


    [Proofreader - Kyros]