Published: August 25, 2025
Today, three chapters posted at once.
This is chapter 2.
The next morning.
I was worried about it last night, and it seems Ms. Eleonora really did have a hangover. I had prepared miso soup and rice porridge using mushrooms that are effective against hangovers for her, so I planned to have her eat them once she was able. Meanwhile, I would have breakfast.
At this table, I passed on the information we gained last night about the lost magic, framing it as “something my grandmother used to talk about.” Lord Rosenberg couldn’t help but groan.
“The difference and impact of mana capacity… That certainly explains things, but it’s a difficult problem.”
“Can’t we just reduce the mana, then?”
“Miya, unlike mana, mana element can’t even be sensed by ordinary people. Even if you can feel the mana within your body when using enhancement magic, you can’t sense the natural mana around you, right?”
“That’s exactly what Ms. Syria said... For example, adjusting the mana amount by half or a tenth for a single spell is possible, but mana element is far more delicate than that. So, while it’s known as a concept, humans find it nearly impossible to manipulate.
If you were to let your mana dissipate without control, you might get close to mana element. But can you manipulate it while it’s in that dissipated state? We first need to verify that. If possible, practice would be necessary.”
I thought I could observe it somehow using the secret technique of the slime’s perspective, so there was still some hope. Above all, I explained to everyone that I had an ally named Korumi in mind.
“Sucking mana from nature... You’re just casually throwing around an incredible ability, Owner-san.”
“I understand it’s a power beyond the rules, but putting that aside for now, I think if we consult Korumi, we can get advice about mana element.
However, we can’t consult Korumi until we return to the Tree Sea, so we want to continue research in the meantime. Also, I’d like to start exploring methods of communication with Korumi using cursed arts. What do you all think?”
“There’s no particular deadline, so if these are things we eventually need to do, it’s fine to start little by little. Ryoma-kun’s growth has been remarkable, and I’d like to hear Korumi-kun’s opinions too.
Have you thought about what kind of cursed arts techniques you’d use?”
“As for that, I haven’t thought of anything yet. Korumi’s main body is an old house, so I tried various ideas, but none felt quite right.”
I had heard that in some overseas places with wide roads, people even load their houses onto huge trailers to move them whole. But in this world, moving a house from inside the Tree Sea to the city, even with magic, would be impossible.
We could probably move the desk, the heart of the house, but I didn’t want to separate Korumi’s body and risk something happening to her, so that was on hold. I was thinking of basing communication on phone or radio, but nothing quite clicked.
“In that case, how about putting off thinking of a specific technique for now, and instead honing your cursed arts skills one level higher?”
“What do you mean?”
“To use powerful techniques, you need a correspondingly large amount of power. With cursed arts, you face negative emotions and draw power from them. To put it plainly, it’s a challenge to your own limits.
Ryoma-kun, you’ve learned all the techniques I taught you one after another, but you haven’t used them at full strength yet, right?”
I was at a loss for words when told I hadn’t used full power.
“For the record, your attitude in class has always been serious and earnest. I have no doubt about that, and I’m not blaming you. On the contrary, I think your careful handling of negative emotions and power within your control range shows you understand the dangers of the cursed arts I taught well. That’s why I thought it might be okay to try.
Normally, this is training you wouldn’t have children with immature minds do. But Ryoma-kun has the right to challenge himself, more so than adults who’ve only aged without progress.”