Even judged simply by high or low, he was definitely a high-level figure.
Moreover, he wouldn’t be unable to manage his mana after drawing large arrays for such a long period.
“However, his case was a bit different.”
The healer’s expression became quite serious, and she cautiously began to speak.
“I don’t know how to describe it, but it was difficult to see it as mana being used for normal magic. It was more like… something had seized his mana and forcibly extracted it. Or perhaps it was all drained at once while he attempted to use magic beyond his means.”
“Hmm.”
“…”
Klen and I fell into thought simultaneously.
Magic beyond one’s means.
The magic array that activated then could not be described as magnificent, as the healer’s metaphor suggested.
Rather, the monster that was about to pop out through it was the magnificent one.
I briefly imagined what would have happened if it had been summoned.
And when I pictured burning vegetation and the surrounding area in ruins, I quickly stopped the thought.
If I continued the imagination, my mind would just be unnecessarily exhausted by things that hadn’t even happened.
From now on, I need to caution Klen not to carelessly touch such arrays.
“You must have gone directly to Rodney’s room, right? Was there anything special?”
In the meantime, Klen quietly posed a question.
The person sitting before our eyes was someone who had boldly entered the enemy’s room and left.
The information she possessed would be highly valuable to us.
“He seemed to be making scrolls.”
“Scrolls?”
When I tilted my head, the healer calmly adjusted her posture and straightened her back.
I felt an ominous feeling from that smooth change.
“A scroll is a type of magic tool, where a specialized paper that can contain magic is created, and one’s own magic is stored inside it. The advantage is that it can withstand quite powerful magic… but the drawbacks are the inconvenience and weight of having to carry the paper, and the inability to store anything but one’s own magic. As magic developed, it was considered less and less efficient, so it is a method not commonly used now.”
And as my ominous premonition suggested, her explanation flowed out continuously.
Although the healer seemed to want to say more, when a brief pause arrived, I quickly interjected.
“Can teleportation be done with a scroll?”
“Teleportation magic is essentially a spell that must be drawn on the ground. It requires space along with mana, so it is useless unless the same array is drawn at both the current location and the intended destination. Therefore, I would say teleportation using a scroll is impossible.”
“Hmm.”
At least, it was certain that the magic he was preparing with the scroll was not for teleportation.
Of course, that didn’t mean we could be complacent.
He wouldn’t be making scrolls for no reason.
There must be some other scheme at play.
“He has been properly treated and stabilized, so you do not need to worry.”
“…I see.”
A slight feeling of regret passed through my heart.
But that guy would have recovered on his own even if we left him alone.
Perhaps obtaining this information now makes the situation better.
“Then, I will check your condition.”
“Alright.”
As I moved slightly away from Klen, the healer moved to follow me.
And she held out her hand in front of me.
‘Ah, right.’
When Linda saw me, the person who needed urgent treatment must have been me, not Klen.
So, she would have told the healer that.
But I couldn’t possibly say that Klen was also low on mana here.
For now, I quietly looked at her.
Light emanated from the hand held out in front of me and seeped into me.
It was a warm and peaceful feeling, like lying in a wide meadow and freely soaking up the warm sunlight.
If I continued to receive that light, my eyelids felt like they would naturally fall shut.
And when my eyelids actually did droop halfway, the light unfortunately faded.
“Your vitality is quite depleted.”
“…Huh?”
“Is the condition serious?”
I wasn’t just surprised; my body really was weak.
Was it because I clashed with too strong a presence?
“It’s not a condition that requires treatment with magic. Your poor health is due to your vitality dropping too quickly in a short period, so I will give you a tonic. If you take it consistently for about two days, you will recover.”
“I see.”
The tonic she pulled out of that pouch was clearer and purer in color than the medicine she usually gave.
A hope arose that it might taste better, unlike the previous ones which looked bizarre.
Surely the endless pouch contained many other medicines.
I quietly watched her movements, then casually asked.
“Which one is the mana recovery medicine?”
Then, I felt a gaze from beside me.
A questioning look was fixed on me, but the fact that he didn’t quickly stop me must be because he trusted I wouldn’t say anything useless.
“Are you interested in medicine?”
The healer smiled slightly and took out a bottle, placing it on the table.
“Mana recovery medicine is unexpectedly difficult to make. It is made by harvesting mana-containing herbs that grow in places rarely touched by humans, adding a few compatible ingredients, and boiling them for a long time. Because it involves consuming natural mana, a clear and pure energy will spread throughout your body.”
“…Is there any other way to recover?”
Klen’s eyes, which had been watching me, quickly turned away.
The hand that had been unnaturally raised wavered in the air and then lowered back to its original position.
He looked subtly flustered, like someone who had committed a sin.
‘Is this also acting, by any chance?’
But why now?
The question that sprang up in my mind raised its head defiantly.
“Another method, you say?”
“For example… absorbing it from another person.”
“That is impossible.”
“What did you say?”
The firm answer was impossible.
It dismissed even the smallest possibility.
“Mana is all strongly bound to its unique energy, making it difficult to casually share with others or absorb. Natural mana is pure enough that consuming it poses no problem. Since it is different from pouring out mana when using magic, a highly trained mage or healer might be able to transfer their own to another person. However, absorption is impossible. While I felt like mana was being pulled from the knight Rodney, it was certainly not absorbed by someone else.”
And finally, she drove the nail in.
“I have also never done such a thing.”
“…!”
Crick, crack, a strange sound seemed to echo from my neck as I turned my head.
My unnaturally turned head and eyes, which must have held an intense light, looked exactly at him.
Yet, Klen’s head, which must have fully felt that gaze, did not turn back toward me.
‘She said absolutely not?’
Then, what was that just now?
I pressed down on my hardening lips and turned my head toward the healer.
Then, forcing my muscles to move, I flashed a bright smile. I conjured up the brightest, most radiant smile I could manage.
“This mana recovery medicine. Do you have a bitter one? As bitter as possible.”
“Hmm.”
Just as the healer’s head tilted slightly, I caught a glimpse of Klen’s head quickly turning back toward me at the edge of my vision.
You should have looked sooner.
“I want to keep some as a reserve since I don’t know what might happen. About two bottles.”
She nodded lightly.
The fact that she had no suspicion about a non-magic user wanting to keep mana recovery medicine suggested that my actions had earned her quite a bit of trust.
“In that case, I have something excellent. I usually give a different kind to those who care about the taste, but since Lord Adrian needs it, I will give you this. It focuses more on recovery and is superior in efficacy to the others.”
“The taste?”
“…”
