Chapter 47
Stella looked at me with a puzzled expression.
“Did you just ask me to grant you a Mana Circuit?”
“Yeah, I heard you could do it.”
“Well, I can do it… but why?”
“Because I don’t have a Mana Circuit.”
At that, Stella stared blankly for a moment before looking at me as if I were being ridiculous.
“What nonsense are you spouting? I mean, how have you been using magic all this time without one?”
“I don’t know.”
“…Why don’t you know?”
“It just seemed to work?”
“…?”
In that instant, I could see exactly what she was thinking.
What the heck is wrong with this guy?
“Anyway, I’m counting on you to grant me a Mana Circuit.”
Stella sighed but eventually nodded.
“Fine, then come to my sparring lesson later, and I’ll grant you one.”
“Really? Thanks! You’re the only one I can rely on, Stella!”
I held her hands in gratitude and buried my head in them.
“What!? Let go of me!”
Stella shook off my hands and turned her head sharply. Upon closer inspection, I noticed her face was flushed.
‘What’s this… she’s easy to tease.’
I couldn’t help but wonder if she’d react this way to anyone else. If it were someone else, I could never forgive that sight.
She’s different from Stella in the game.
She seems more approachable and less distant, which is actually better. Her emotional expressions feel more diverse too.
“Meow?”
It was so cute that I couldn’t resist pulling her cheeks. The next thing I knew, I heard a loud smack, and she tackled me to the ground.
Thud!
“Ahh! Stella! I’m really, really sorry!”
“Why do you keep pulling my cheeks every time you get the chance? Just stop!”
‘This is my first time doing it, though.’ Before I could even say that, Stella started yanking my cheeks wildly.
It feels like they might rip off. Ouch, that really hurts!
*
Under Amelia’s direction, the swordsmanship class began, and we paired off to practice.
“Hey, do you want to practice with me?”
“Stella-sama, I will teach you the ways of swordsmanship!”
“Everyone back off! I’m going to practice with her!”
As we paired up for sparring, many male students from the Department of Knights flocked to Stella.
“Uh… I already have someone to practice with…”
But Stella’s voice was drowned out by the male voices.
Stella is an incredibly popular first-year student. She aced her entrance exams and became a well-known face, and most importantly, she’s a Mage.
For the male students in the Department of Knights, her appearance was something they never could have imagined.
They thought she would be worse than them at swordsmanship and began to crowd around her under the pretense of teaching her.
“These idiots don’t know their place…”
Just as I was about to stride in and crush them all, I saw Stella open her mouth.
“What? Just wait a moment?”
What on earth is she thinking? I wondered as I watched her. Then Stella pointed at one guy.
“How about everyone watches me spar once?”
*
Most of the students in the sparring hall were watching Stella spar with a male student.
The guy facing her had a noticeable flush on his face.
That punk really makes me want to kill him.
“I’m gonna stop if it seems dangerous, so don’t worry.”
He probably thought he was being a gentleman, but her response was a scoff that conveyed her disbelief.
“Pfft…”
“Huh?”
“Ah, thanks.”
With that, Stella took out her dagger.
At that moment, tension filled the air so thick you could cut it. Her usual harmless smile was nowhere to be found.
The coldness radiating from her petite frame was something I had never seen before.
“It’s like…”
It was like she was going into battle with that dagger.
Beautiful, I couldn’t take my eyes off her as if she were under a spell.
In that moment, Stella’s dagger slowly began to move.
The sword began to descend and then slowly cut through the air, returning to its original position.
Swoosh!
With that simple motion, the air—no, starting from her—seemed to distort around us.
The pressure in the atmosphere caused the opponent’s eyes to waver.
“Ugh… Aaa!!!”
The guy let out a fierce yell as he charged at Stella.
Stella’s gaze turned icy. She stepped forward a pace, maintaining her stance, and thrust the dagger forward.
“Ahh!”
Her dagger cleanly struck the opponent’s wrist, causing him to drop his weapon.
“Whoa, hold on…”
“I’m sorry.”
Stella continued to wield the dagger with an expressionless face.
Her movements were not flashy at all. She simply swung it with efficiency.
Slash, swipe, stab, push.
The hall echoed with the screams of the fallen.
“Guhhh…”
“Phew… So, who wants to spar with me next?”
Turning her back on the downed guy, Stella smiled brightly at the remaining male students.
“…Ah! Speaking of which, I had promised to practice with someone else!”
“Ah, right, I have a prior engagement too…”
The male students, feeling chills after witnessing that display, began to step back from Stella, one by one.
“Alright! So, shall we go, Nova?”
“…I won’t mess around anymore.”
“Hmm? I thought if I showed you this once, you’d stop bothering me.”
I genuinely felt I’d die if I kept messing with her.
Forget that, she’s seriously scary!
*
After the guys left, Nova and I sat in a corner of the audience.
“So, you wanted me to create a Mana Circuit, right?”
“Yeah, I heard you could do it.”
What on earth is he saying? How can you use magic with no Mana Circuit?
To truly confirm he had none, I tried to channel my magic into Nova.
“…Wait, you really have no Mana Circuit at all? Is that even possible?”
The Circuit should have responded when I infused magic into him, but there was zero reaction from Nova.
“Haha… I guess I can use magic in a somewhat special way.”
“Is it possible…?”
Could he have used his Copy ability to perform magic? That might explain it.
Come to think of it, when I saw him before, he had squeezed out his magical power oddly,
So maybe he was replicating someone else’s Mana Circuit each time he did it.
“That means… I don’t know if you’d believe me, but my ability is ca…”
“…You don’t need to explain.”
I know your ability better than you do.
“Then I’ll create a Mana Circuit.”
I placed my hand on Nova’s back and began the incantation.
With a humming sound, tangible magic began to emerge from his body.
“Now, if I form this into a circuit…”
I tried to flatten the physical magic into a tattoo-like form to create a new organ inside Nova’s body.
But in that moment—
“…?!!”
Crackle!
Pop! The circuit exploded.
“Ahh! That stings…”
“Ow! Are you alright? What just happened?”
Why did the Mana Circuit suddenly blow up? It felt as if Nova’s body was rejecting the creation…
“It just stings a little; I’m fine. But wait, did it work?”
“It’s strange… I’ll try again.”
But no matter how many times I tried, the Mana Circuit kept exploding mid-creation.
“This… this shouldn’t be happening…”
“Can you really create a Mana Circuit?”
“Y-yeah! I can do it! I’ve never failed before!”
What should I do? I confidently said I could help, but now Nova was relying on me!
Feeling defeated, I hung my head, and Nova patted my back.
“It’s okay; these things happen. It’s probably because my body is unusual. It’s not your fault. Let’s look for another way.”
“… Nova…”
He was trying to comfort me, but I could see disappointment etched on his face.
“There may be a way…”
I blurted that out without thinking.
At that, Nova perked up.
“Really? Do you have another way to create the circuit?”
Oh…
*
Stella reacted with shock when I spoke.
“Uh, no? It’s not like that! Even if there is… it absolutely can’t happen!”
What’s with that reaction? It’s definitely suspicious.
“There’s definitely a way, right? Please, I’m begging you! I’ll treat you to dinner at a fancy place!”
Stella turned red and shook her head furiously.
“Ugh… No way!!”
“What on earth is going on? Just tell me the method!”
At that, Stella, in a voice that seemed like an ant might come out, managed to say something.
“It’s just that… we need to link our bodies…”
“Uh? What did you say?”
Covering her now-red face, Stella bolted out of the room.
“Ah. Anyway, no way! Absolutely not!”
“…What the heck.”
I couldn’t just give up like this. I continued to plead with Stella, but every time, she would blush and flee.
By the time school was about to end, I caught Stella’s hand as she was about to run out of class.
“Please, Stella… Just tell me the method at least! I’ll do everything I can on my own!”
“Aaah, I said no! I’m sorry, but really, this is a definite no!”
She was rejecting me this aggressively…
But this is an issue I need to solve for my future. I absolutely needed Stella’s help.
“Please… I’m begging you, Stella! I want to become stronger!”
My persistent pleas made Stella relent reluctantly.
“Ugh… Alright, then… come to my room later…”
“Eh…? To your room?”
“I’m going to ask Shia to stay out for a bit. Just come to the girls’ dormitory at 6 PM.”
“…? Alright, I understand. Thank you so much!”
“…I don’t know why you asked me for this, though?”
“Eh?”
With that, Stella hurriedly left the classroom.
*
Arriving in front of the girls’ dormitory, I waited for Stella.
“I can’t believe I’m actually going to get into Stella’s room…”
We used to sleep together often when we were kids, but I couldn’t help but feel my heart racing now.
“Hmm… maybe I should check my reflection…”
As I waited, suddenly my vision shifted.
“…Where is this?”
From the looks of it, it appeared to be inside the dormitory. I heard a sound at the front door.
“Just open the door and come in.”
…She’s using teleportation magic? She really is an Archmage, huh?
If that’s the case, is this really Stella’s room??
“…I’m coming in.”
I swallowed hard as I opened the front door and stepped inside.
The dark room greeted me.
“…Stella? Why is it so dark in here…”
“Don’t turn on the lights.”
There was an odd sense of pressure in her words.
“Come in slowly and sit on the bed.”
“…Alright.”
Though it was dark, I settled onto the bed and looked around the room.
“But Stella, where are you…?”
At that moment, a figure emerged from the shadows.
My eyes adjusted to the darkness, and her image became visible.
I couldn’t contain my shock at what I saw.
“Y-You! What are you wearing?!”
Stella stood there in her underwear, her face a deep shade of red as she covered her chest with her arm.
“Q-Quiet! You’ll get caught by the next door!”
“W-What are you…”
“From now on, I’m going to implant my Mana Circuit into you.”
The scene was so stimulating that I could hardly comprehend what she was saying.
Wha—wha—what!?
“First… you have to take off your clothes too.”
“Ex-Excuse me?!”
