Chapter: 6
She wrote “Preparing for Independence” in big letters on the paper and thought through what she would need.
“First of all, the most important thing is money.”
Without money, you can’t do anything.
You can’t buy food, you can’t find a place to sleep, and you even need money just to travel somewhere.
“Of course, having money alone isn’t enough. If you don’t have knowledge or strength, it’s easy to get robbed blind.”
Money alone isn’t everything.
In fact, having only money is dangerous. You could get scammed, or have it stolen by bandits.
Even on Earth, where public security is relatively well maintained, crime never disappears. And this place isn’t just any world—it’s a fantasy world with a rigid class system, monsters, and magic.
Living independently outside won’t be easy with just Silvia’s memories. She’s never even left the noble district, and she’s never haggled when buying things.
Silvia was the textbook definition of a caged noble lady. The five years of memories she left behind were useful in their own way, but when it came time to actually leave the mansion, they weren’t much help.
Letting out a small sigh, I continued writing my plan.
I need to gather independence funds and collect information. I don’t want to charge in blindly.
And most importantly—
I need to gain strength.
Strength to fight off criminals who might target me, and to deal with the monsters that swarm outside the city.
Strength that would let me do what I want—strength that would keep anyone from forcing me around.
Fortunately, Silvia possesses that strength.
More precisely, she has the potential to obtain it.
“Still, it’s more than enough to try.”
I shakily pushed myself up, determined to awaken that potential.
“Ugh!”
My whole body felt sore, as if I’d been beaten all over. Was this really because I moved around a little today?
What a body that makes you sigh.
I rubbed my stiff arms and legs, which felt as though blood wasn’t circulating properly. Only after the hardened flesh softened did I stop.
Closing my eyes, I recalled Silvia’s memories.
Silvia was a spirit summoner. Not now—but five years later, she would be.
Of course, she wasn’t a great one. Compared to her genius younger sibling, Eirin, she was utterly ordinary—a spirit summoner with nothing particularly special about her.
Still, spirit summoners were rare. Even with average talent, Silvia managed to enroll in a prestigious academy—Central Academy, where only the continent’s brightest gathered.
Without being a spirit summoner, it would have been an impossible dream.
Honestly, it might’ve been better if she hadn’t become one and never gone to the academy.
The ugly, disregarded young noblewoman awakened her aptitude as a spirit summoner and entered Central Academy—something no one had expected.
Bathed in admiration, Silvia became arrogant. After constantly being compared to her accomplished siblings, she finally had something of her own to boast about.
If only she’d stopped at being proud.
Drunk on her newfound status, Silvia committed every kind of misconduct imaginable.
Bullying servants was routine.
She harassed children of lower-ranked nobles and students from commoner backgrounds, earning disciplinary action. She even tried to sabotage her younger sister Eirin, who had enrolled earlier—only to end up humiliated herself.
After less than a year, Silvia was completely alone.
No friends. No one even spoke to her. Her reputation was so awful that people avoided getting close.
Not just students or servants—even the professors who taught her did the same.
I didn’t even do any of this, so why am I embarrassed?
My face burned as I recalled her academy days, and I hurriedly shifted my thoughts.
Even a low-ranked spirit summoner can do countless things.
Despite all her misdeeds, Silvia hadn’t gained nothing.
She trained lazily, so her progress was slow, but five years later she did become a low-ranked spirit summoner.
That was enough to pull her own weight.
It might be hard to work for the imperial family, but joining a mercenary group or a noble household would be possible. Just reaching that level would make life manageable.
Of course, higher ranks would be better.
A mid-ranked spirit summoner could live in luxury, and a high-ranked one would be treated with more respect than nobles from insignificant families.
But even becoming a low-ranked spirit summoner would take five years. Right now, Silvia couldn’t summon even the weakest spirit.
To command spirits, you first had to achieve “awakening.”
By gathering enough natural energy into your body, you could awaken—and only then become a true spirit summoner.
In Silvia’s memories, she awakened at seventeen.
And even that was thanks to luck.
Driven by jealousy toward her sister Eirin, she desperately searched for ways to become a mage—and awakened by pure chance.
But I can’t just wait two years for a lucky opportunity.
Fortunately, I had five years’ worth of memories.
Most of them were embarrassing recollections of her misbehavior, but there were a few useful things.
One of them was mana breathing.
A fundamental technique for mages—so basic it was barely even a technique. It was literally just breathing.
“Fuu—haa…”
I inhaled deeply, drawing in natural energy.
As it entered my body, the energy passed through my heart and transformed into mana.
Accumulating mana through mana breathing allowed awakening to happen much faster—cutting the time by at least half.
I began mana breathing.
A familiar yet unfamiliar sensation spread throughout my body.
The feeling of natural energy converting into mana and flowing through me.
I’d experienced it in memory, so it felt familiar—but in reality, this was my first time, making it strange.
Huh?
As I moved the mana, something unexpected happened.
Was it always like this?
The sensation was unnervingly vivid.
It felt like observing my body from the inside with a microscopic camera.
Silvia’s memories of mana breathing hadn’t been like this, but it didn’t seem like a bad thing, so I continued. Being able to observe my body was fascinating.
But the novelty didn’t last long.
This is serious.
I sighed at the pitiful state of Silvia’s body.
She loved greasy food, binged whenever she got irritated, and never exercised—there was no way her health could be good.
But this is worse than I thought.
Many of her blood vessels were half-clogged with impurities.
That explained the dizziness and numbness whenever she moved.
If left like this, her body would keep hurting.
I should probably do something about this…
After a moment’s thought, I altered the shape of the mana, sharpening its tip to gently scrape away impurities like a toothpick.
It didn’t work at first, but with sustained focus, I eventually succeeded.
“Phew.”
Before I realized it, sweat was pouring down my forehead.
But maybe because I cleared out all those impurities? I feel refreshed.
I ended my mana breathing and opened my eyes in a good mood.
And then—
“Huh?”
It had been daytime when I started, but outside the window it was now pitch black.
“Did that much time pass?”
It felt like only a few minutes, but I must have been so focused that I lost track of time.
“I should wash up and go to sleep.”
As I stood up to wash off the sweat—
Plop, plop.
A thick, murky liquid—half-solid and sticky—dripped onto the floor.
“W-What?!”
Startled, I looked down. The same murky substance clung to my entire body.
Don’t tell me—
“Did this come out of my body?”
This wasn’t dirt—what was this?!
As I panicked, something Silvia had once read in a book came to mind.
Those who accumulate mana over long periods through mana breathing and gain complete control over it will purge their bodies of impure energy, leaving them filled with pure energy that harmonizes with nature.
If that book was right, then this sticky substance was all the impure energy—impurities—inside Silvia’s body.
“But the book said this only happens after accumulating mana for a long time. This is my first time!”
What is this?
Something clearly didn’t add up.
I frowned, trying to figure it out—but didn’t think for long.
“I’ll worry about it later. First, I need to wash.”
The stench coming from the liquid was unbearable. It smelled like rotting food waste left out for days.
“I’ll need to scrub thoroughly in the bath, or this smell won’t come off.”
Determined to use plenty of soap, I pulled the bell cord beside the bed.
But no matter how long I waited, no one came.
When I first entered the west wing, it had been eerily quiet, so I’d wondered if no one was around—but surely not?
“What should I do? Should I go find someone? The west wing is bigger than I thought…”
Just as I was worrying, I heard hurried footsteps outside.
They stopped near the door.
Knock knock.
“Come in.”
“Did you call for me, miss?”
Bell entered the room, greeting me. Her face was flushed red and she was panting, clearly having rushed over.
I was about to tell her to catch her breath first—
If only she hadn’t suddenly twisted her face in disgust.
What’s wrong?
Confused, I tilted my head—until Bell hurriedly covered her nose.
Ah… the smell.
It must have been awful—for even Bell, who was scared of me, to openly hold her nose.
I really needed to wash.
“Could you prepare a bath for me?”
Bell nodded vigorously and hurried out of the room.
She didn’t even try to hide how badly she wanted to escape.
“Is it really that bad?”
Sniff, sniff.
I raised my arm to smell it—
“Ugh!”
Instant regret.
Bell had every reason to flee.
After bathing in the bathroom Bell prepared, I came back out.
I was exhausted from scrubbing away all the impurities, but my body felt strangely smoother than before.
Wait. This isn’t just my imagination.
Silvia had fair skin.
But due to her skin condition, her body had been covered in rashes and hives, hiding that fairness.
Now, her skin was smooth and clean at a glance. Not a trace of redness remained.
“Could you bring me a mirror?”
Bell hesitated briefly, but unlike that morning, she didn’t cry out in shock.
She soon returned with a mirror.
The moment I saw my reflection, I shouted in excitement.
“This is amazing!”
How could I not?
My skin was smooth and flawless like a baby’s—and I’d even lost weight.
All because I’d done a little mana breathing.
