Chapter 37
"What's the problem this time?"
Dante spoke as they entered a secluded corridor behind the training grounds.
Elisha glanced around several times before her lips parted.
"If I register my mana, the Emperor will be informed of all the registered mana,
right?"
"I assume so."
"Even Eric cannot fail to identify stored mana."
Elisha continued, raising an eyebrow as if annoyed. Dante, who still didn't
understand, nodded his head.
"So what?"
In truth, he really didn't understand. Why in heaven's name would such a thing
bother Elisha?
"It doesn't matter anyway, since your mana is different from what Eric
remembers."
So why did she keep showing this expression?
"What?"
But the moment Dante finished his words, Elisha's face crumpled into a frown as
she shot back with a question. Her reaction was strange, as if she were hearing
such a thing for the first time in her life. Dante, surprised in turn, shot back
with a question.
"You didn't know?"
"Know what?"
"That your mana has changed."
At his words, Elisha blinked her eyes several times in silence. Dante blinked
rapidly in return. Did she really not know? Truly?
How could Elisha not know?
"You aren't trying to tease me, are you?"
"You'd better stop if you are the one trying to mess with me."
Elisha said, her voice full of sincerity. Dante's expression became even more
bizarre. Elisha was not the type to lie about such a thing. Which meant she
really didn't know.
What is the matter then?
Of course, identifying someone's mana at a single glance was a difficult task
even for him, the second greatest mage in Cardion. But Elisha was always the
exception. And now he had to believe that someone who could distinguish people's
mana from a distance did not distinguish her own?
"I'm the one who wants to ask. What do you mean, my mana has changed?"
"Exactly as I said."
Where do I even begin explaining this? Dante let out a few dry coughs before
continuing.
"While I was searching for you, a master-grade artifact, which doesn't usually
appear in auction houses, was put up for sale. And it had the Imperial seal on
it."
"......"
"Honestly, it was obvious who it was for."
The missing Great Mage, and a master-grade artifact bearing the Imperial seal at
an auction. At Dante's words, Elisha nodded slowly. So this is who bought the
artifact Jonathan sold. It ended up in Dante Renard's hands.
"Nonetheless, just in case, I tracked the owner's mana."
"......"
"And it was slightly different from your mana that I remember."
At that time, it was a difference so slight that I was still sure it was you.
Dante shuddered, recalling the memory. The scene of Eric sitting there like a
demon king on a rainy day. Just thinking about it now gives me the chills.
"At any rate, after that, Eric went so far as to devise a spell himself to find
you. Simply put, it's magic that tracks a known mana signature..."
"And you used it on me."
"Exactly."
At Dante's words, Elisha frowned slightly. She already knew from Renard that
Eric had tried to find her, but she hadn't realized it was to this extent. Was
he that desperate for talent? Given how he's behaving toward me now, it seems
plausible.
"Anyway, I had the mana stored in the artifact, so I used the spell Eric gave
me."
Dante continued while Elisha was lost in thought.
"The tracking failed."
"......"
"In other words, your mana changed once again in the meantime."
That's why I thought you were deliberately changing your mana as you moved
around. Dante muttered, still disbelieving. Elisha, her eyebrows still furrowed,
tilted her head.
"What are the chances that Eric's magic was flawed?"
"Zero. Just in case, I tried to track Eric's mana, which was registered in a
visual communication stone. The tracking result pointed precisely to the
Imperial Palace."
"But I do not feel that my mana has changed at all."
"That is the strange thing."
To think the person who should be most sensitive to mana had not noticed until
now.
"Wait, just a moment."
Dante, who was tilting his head from side to side, suddenly opened his eyes wide
as a thought struck him. When I think about it, this is really strange.
"Do you mean to say you went to the Shilan Plains last time without knowing
that? No, does that mean you didn't know when you came to the Imperial Palace
either?"
"That is correct."
"What were you thinking, being so bold? What if you had been caught?"
"Because there is no one who can recognize my mana anyway."
Elisha answered perfectly calmly. Dante clicked his tongue inwardly. How could
she be so confident? Of course, it wasn't a completely groundless confidence. In
fact, hadn't he himself judged her the same way?
"Nonetheless, our squad members are very competent..."
"Is there anyone in that squad who can see the Hyde with their eyes?"
"Honestly, you have to exclude the Hyde."
"How can people who can't even see the Hyde distinguish a momentary mana
flicker?"
"Well..."
It is very annoying, but she is right, so I cannot argue. Sorry, guys. I
couldn't defend you. No choice but for you to come back stronger...! Dante
tightly closed his eyes, expressing his regret. At any rate, Elisha remained
lost in thought, her expression still tense.
A mysterious man appeared out of nowhere, and a change in her mana that she
herself was not aware of. Both happened after her departure from the Imperial
Palace.
"Could there be some connection?"
The timing was too perfect to be dismissed as a coincidence, yet there was not
enough information to see a link between the two. Was it just a matter of timing
and chance, or did something change because she left the Imperial Palace?
"If you really don't believe me, go check for yourself."
Finally, Dante spoke, interpreting Elisha's expression as disbelief.
"You have to register it anyway. Let's go together."
"......"
"If there's a problem with the results, I'll take care of it. As you know,
appearances notwithstanding, I possess a significant amount of authority in the
Imperial Palace."
Not something one should say in front of the Chief Mage, but what did it matter?
Now, even that Chief Mage was under his command. Dante said as he puffed out his
chest. Elisha simply stared at him without a word. A simple question flashed in
her head. How in heaven's name did Eric become close friends with a man like
this?
"You should be grateful that Eric puts up with you, Renard."
"Suddenly?"
"What could be stupider than boasting of authority within the Imperial Palace?"
Elisha muttered as she took a light step forward. Dante hurried to catch up, his
purple eyes darting to study her expression. Her expression looks slightly
better than before.
I've gotten used to communicating through eye contact, but reading her
expressions is still difficult. Although that is what makes one more curious.
To the point where he wanted to one day distinguish all of Elisha's looks and
expressions and publish them in a book. Although he wondered if it would sell.
Dante continued to stare at Elisha. All the while, Elisha's eyes never once
settled on Dante. When I think about it, she had always been like this. Unless
there was a special reason, Elisha's gaze was always directed elsewhere.
Usually, it was toward Eric or the previous Emperor.
"Now that we're in the same boat, I feel like our eyes meet a little more."
There was a time when he tried hard to fall within that line of sight. Namely, a
very long time ago. It was at that moment that a slight, self-deprecating smile
touched Dante Renard's lips at the embarrassing memory from his childhood.
"......"
At that moment, Elisha's disguised green eyes stared directly at Dante. It was a
somewhat sharp gaze, her characteristic piercing quality still the same. Dante
nearly bit his tongue.
What was so great about a look like that? To think he made such a fuss when he
was a child. Although she is beautiful, honestly.
She always had a blank expression, but when she smiles, her aura softens
significantly. For a moment, it was hard to believe she was even Elisha. The
problem was that you could count the number of times Elisha smiled on one hand.
"Still, when I think about it, her personality isn't that bad..."
"Why do you keep looking at me and smiling strangely?"
On second thought, it seems it is very bad. At her perfectly cold remark, Dante
shook his head from side to side. Honestly, every time I try to give a single
compliment, she has to go and ruin it. Finally, Dante moved his gaze away from
Elisha and shrugged his shoulders slightly. Was there anyone in the world who
could make someone like her smile?
The temporary mana registration office near the conference hall. Standing
inside, Dante had been staring at the artifact for several minutes. The test
itself was not difficult. You place your hand on the hemispherical artifact in
the center of the room, and it will identify and register the contact's mana. It
was a purely measurement device, designed so that even if the artifact was
damaged, all information would be transmitted to Eric. If asked whether the
results of Elisha's mana measurement were wrong, the answer was, in part, no.
The mana belonging to 'Lucy Forte' was different from that of 'Elisha'.
Different enough that Eric himself would overlook it. That point was the
problem. For now, he told Elisha that everything was fine and that she could
leave.
"Why..."
Dante, who had been checking Elisha's results over and over again, tilted his
head slightly.
Why had her mana become murkier than before?
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