Chapter 13
“Hey, what are you going to do about my brother’s nose? It’s crooked now.”
“What can I do? He rushed at me after misunderstanding things.”
Knocking Arno out was self-defense, after all.
From his point of view, it must’ve looked suspicious—me and Renia training together like that. He even used magic and came at me, so I grabbed a nearby stick and struck the bridge of his nose.
For reference, it was the head steward, Allet, who dragged the unconscious Arno away.
“You know my brother holds grudges for a really long time, right?”
“Then tell him to try beating me with that long grudge of his.”
“You’re so mean.”
Renia let out a small laugh.
“Anyway, forget about my brother. Let’s just get back to what we were doing.”
Before I knew it, it had already been two days since we started staying at the mana vein together.
At dawn, we would come here to train, and at sunset, we would return to the mansion.
Meals weren’t a problem since Cheryl brought them to us.
“We’re almost done. Maybe one or two more tries and it’ll be complete.”
“Okay.”
I gave Renia a signal. She nodded and poured her mana into my body.
“…Hoo.”
Following the Benheim mana method, I controlled my breathing and spread the mana she sent into every corner of my body.
Then, I gathered all the circulating mana into my dantian at once.
It felt like my insides were twisting.
Even though we learned the same mana method, Renia was of a higher tier than me. Her mana was far purer. And pure mana could sometimes act like deadly poison.
Taking in another person’s mana was dangerous. If I failed to control it and it flowed backward through my channels, my circuits could burn out, leaving me crippled.
But I didn’t hesitate for even a moment.
Because it was Renia’s mana—I was confident I could handle it as if it were my own.
—Fwaaah!
With full concentration, I manipulated the mana gathered in my dantian according to the “manual” Renia had left in my memories.
A technique that couldn’t be performed without almost divine-level control.
A mana method refined solely for me by Renia.
“Wow…”
Renia, standing behind me, let out a gasp.
She could sense the changes happening inside my body.
“Ugh…”
A groan escaped me as intense pain spread through my entire body.
It was like walking on a tightrope—one mistake could mean death.
But I didn’t stop.
I kept circulating her mana throughout my body so its pure heat wouldn’t fade.
Once it cooled enough, I guided it into my dantian.
Then I completely separated my mana and Renia’s mana, allowing them to coexist.
It was difficult.
But not impossible.
‘That brat managed it too.’
If Renia could do it, then I had to do it as well.
I focused all my mind on controlling the mana. Sweat poured down like rain, evaporating into steam from my shoulders. My joints felt like they were twisting, and my entire mana circuit overheated.
How much time passed like that—
“Haa… haa…”
Completely exhausted, I lowered my head.
After observing inside my body, I smiled.
I succeeded.
Renia’s mana had firmly settled inside my mana core, forming a massive barrier. That barrier acted like a partition, and inside it, two completely separate cores coexisted.
A mana core that existed nowhere else.
One that only I could use.
‘…That’s so like you.’
One core, two nuclei.
A feat no archmage had ever accomplished.
And now, I had done it.
“Hah… haha.”
“Are you okay?”
Renia handed me a water bottle.
I drank and looked at her.
“…Thank you.”
“Huh?”
“It’s always thanks to you.”
Renia tilted her head.
“Always?”
Well, it wasn’t exactly something you’d say after only knowing each other a few days.
As I gave a bitter smile, Renia grinned brightly.
It was an innocent smile—
But it overlapped with the Renia in my memories, stirring something in my chest.
“Oh, right.”
After a moment of silence, Renia spoke again.
“Can I call you ‘oppa’?”
Her sudden question made me blink.
“What?”
“You said before that you’re older than me. And since Father even taught you the mana method, you’re basically part of the family now, right? So wouldn’t it make sense to call you oppa?”
Logically, what she said made sense.
But to me, it felt strange. A woman who had been my comrade for years in my previous life now calling me something so… intimate.
“No, let’s not use that.”
“Why?”
She asked, and I quickly came up with an excuse.
“There’s only a three-year difference between us. And I’m not even a real member of the Benheim bloodline. If you call me oppa, your real brother will be upset.”
“Hahaha, yeah, he probably would. He’d act like he doesn’t care, but he’d definitely sulk. He might even come challenge you to another duel.”
“…That sounds annoying.”
“Right? I don’t like that either. Then what should I call you?”
“Just call me Reagan.”
“Okay. Reagan. I like it.”
She said my name and smiled, clearly pleased with how it sounded.
“And one more thing.”
“What?”
“My name is Renia. Not ‘hey, you.’ You should call me by my name too. Do you know you’ve only called me by my name once, when we first met?”
“……”
In my previous life, I never once called her by her name.
As a mercenary, people I grew attached to often left before me.
Maybe I avoided using names because I feared that kind of goodbye.
But now…
“…Alright.”
There was no reason to be afraid in this life.
“Renia.”
“Yeah!”
Renia von Benheim smiled brightly when I called her name.
That smile, once again, reminded me of the one in my memories.
“Ah, finally your eyes look alive!”
“Be quiet.”
A few days after returning to the annex, the head of the family, Stern, came to visit.
“So, Reagan. I heard you’ve made some progress.”
It seemed he had heard from Renia that I had formed my mana core. His eyes were full of interest.
Beside him stood a middle-aged mage I had never seen before. The man looked clearly displeased, roughly scratching his golden hair.
“Brother, no matter what, wasn’t it too reckless to pass down the family’s unique mana method to an outsider?”
“That’s enough, Markel. What’s done is done.”
At Stern’s words, the man—Markel—fell silent.
“Now then, let me see your results. Since you’ve formed your mana core, using magic should be easier now.”
“Yes.”
I raised my hand and cast rune magic.
While using Kenaz, the rune of fire that I was already familiar with, I also drew out new mana from my core.
Construction, manifestation.
Fwaaah!
Isaaz (ᛁ). A rune that creates ice.
Two opposing attributes harmonized, creating a spectacular sight.
It was a trick I had learned just by watching during my duel with Arno.
“…Dual casting.”
Stern narrowed his eyes.
Dual casting wasn’t something a beginner who had just formed a mana core could do. And Isaaz was classified as a third-tier rune. That meant my mana core had stabilized properly.
Stern nodded in satisfaction, while Markel frowned even deeper.
“That’s enough.”
“Yes.”
“It’s a clean spell. The flow of mana is astonishingly stable. You’ve done an excellent job.”
“Thank you.”
Just as I bowed my head, Stern spoke again.
“However… your mana core is somewhat different from what I know.”
As expected of a 7th-tier mage—one of the very peak figures in the magical world.
Stern immediately noticed that my mana method was different from Benheim’s.
“The foundation is similar, but toward the end, it becomes something entirely different. What happened?”
“…I’m sorry. I modified it a little.”
At my honest answer, Stern fell silent for a moment.
“What nonsense is this, brother? Are you saying this child altered a mana method refined over hundreds of years?”
Markel looked like he couldn’t believe it.
Stern raised his hand to silence him and asked me,
“Reagan, why did you change the mana method?”
“I… adjusted it to fit my body. Just like there’s no clothing that fits everyone, I thought mana methods should also suit the individual.”
“You did that yourself?”
“I had help from your daughter.”
“I see. That explains why your mana carries Renia’s trace.”
Stern’s expression became complicated.
Altering the family’s secret technique was a serious offense. And I wasn’t even part of the main bloodline.
I was prepared to be punished.
“…I will overlook this matter.”
But Stern didn’t punish me.
“…That’s… alright?”
“If you had tampered with the method poorly, it would be a different story. I would have destroyed your core and expelled you from the family.”
“……”
“But Reagan, your body is remarkably stable. It fits you perfectly, as if it was made for you.”
Of course it did.
Because it was created by the one person who knew me best.
“I’d like to question you further, but that would not be proper for someone in my position. So I’ll let it pass. From now on, keep that mana method as your own.”
“Thank you.”
Stern nodded, as if the matter was settled.
But not everyone agreed.
“This is unacceptable, brother!”
Markel shouted angrily.
“This threatens the very foundation of the family! Not only did you teach an outsider our core method, now you’re going to allow this insolent brat to alter it however he pleases?!”
“Markel, I understand your feelings. But we cannot keep dwelling on something that has already happened.”
“Brother!”
Markel called him “brother.”
Which meant he was Stern’s sibling—and Renia’s uncle.
The pieces quickly fell into place.
“The elders will never stay silent about this! I cannot accept it!”
After venting his anger, Markel stormed out.
Stern looked at me with an apologetic expression.
“I’m sorry. My younger brother has a rather rough temperament.”
“No, it’s alright.”
There would definitely be a lot of arguments within the family about my place here.
I never expected to be welcomed anyway.
Especially not by someone like Markel.
After a moment of thought, I made up my mind and spoke.
“Head of the family, there’s something important I need to tell you. Could you spare a moment?”
“What is it?”
I glanced in the direction Markel had gone and carefully said,
“That man, Markel… is a dark mage.”
I dropped a bomb.
A bomb big enough to shake the entire Benheim family.
