Published: August 10, 2026
When I woke up after sleeping, I never thought I would feel this hopeless to find my mana restored.
I had finally managed to reduce it, and now it had increased again. It felt similar to the despair of the Sanzu riverbank, where no matter how many stones you pile up, an ogre comes and smashes them apart. And if more mana means more pain, then maybe it is even worse than the torments of hell.
...I feel sluggish. My head is all foggy.
I'd spent the whole day outside yesterday, leaking mana all over the place while getting excited about the sea and fish, and that must have been bad for me. My body felt heavy from the morning. But if I went back to sleep here, my mana would just recover again. For now, all I could do was get up and think about how to use my mana.
When I sluggishly headed to the dining hall for breakfast, Ferdinand was already eating. No matter how spacious the rooms were made, Myne's and Ferdinand's rooms only had enough space for a bed and a changing area, so meals were inevitably taken in the dining hall.
I sat down and slowly began sipping the vegetable and fruit juice placed before me. Since I couldn't use a healing potion right now, eating was important for restoring my stamina, so I had to eat. Even though I understood that in my head, my appetite wasn't moving.
When Ferdinand finished his meal, he stood up and came to my side. Seeing my chance, I stopped eating.
"It is obvious at a glance that you are unwell, but how do you feel?"
"...I'm trembling at the sinfulness of fish."
"Report properly: you overdid it in Kannawitz and now have a fever and chills."
He scolded me for being a fool, and I allowed him to touch my forehead and the back of my neck. When you have a fever, the feel of a cool hand is very pleasant.
"I didn't think our plan to efficiently pour mana into the territory while monitoring the balance between your mana and stamina would collapse this quickly. What should we do today..."
"I'm sorry. But I should at least be able to do something this morning..."
"Do you intend to go outside in that condition? Or are you planning to use a healing potion?"
He glared at me with terrifying eyes, and I immediately shook my head.
Just the amount of recovery from ordinary sleep had already left me feeling hopeless, and if I drank a healing potion in this state and my mana recovered even more, it would make the road to mana depletion far too distant. I would probably want to cry without caring who saw me.
"...I only meant that I should be able to move Little Lesser, rather than going outside myself."
"And what do you intend to do with it once you move it? Merely moving the Mount will not reduce your mana now, will it? If you want to use mana, you must move yourself."
I desperately worked my brain. I needed a way to use mana without moving myself. What should I do when I couldn't do something myself? The answer was simple. Have someone else do it in my place.
"You know, I have divine relics infused with the divine power of the gods, don't I? Anyone can use a divine relic as long as they chant the blessing incantation, so how about letting everyone use those?"
"Use the divine relics?"
Ferdinand raised one eyebrow and looked down at me. I nodded slowly.
"I know it's troublesome for everyone, but if they use Flutlene's Staff to heal the surrounding land, Raiden Shaft Spear to defeat demonic beasts, Shutzelia's Shield to protect the area around Little Lesser, and the Cup of Gedrurihi to hold a prayer ceremony in Bindebald, where there is no Gibe... once the divine relics are empty, I can infuse them with the divine power of the gods again. Do you know of a place where we can carry out healing and demonic beast hunting together?"
If we do that, I think I can somehow use the divine power of the gods even while barely staying in bed.
If I want to recover my stamina, I can't even lie down and do nothing.
"Also, let's see... Ferdinand-sama can draw the healing magic circles for gathering fields, right? How about drawing those in various places and having me pour mana into them? If I sleep in the morning, then in the afternoon I think I should be able to do nothing but pour mana into magic circles..."