By Zephyria 
Guests who welcomed the new year greeted each other and left. Afterwards, tidying up was the servants’ job.
The blood relatives gathered to finish the unfinished portraits.
It was good to see everyone’s faces shining brightly with joy despite their fatigue.
I called a painter and showed him the locket I was wearing around my neck.
It was a locket Rubel had gifted me before. If I were to put a portrait in it, a family portrait would be the most fitting, so I thought I’d get one of the right size while the opportunity arose.
The painter nodded readily, saying it was not a difficult task.
“When the large portrait is finished, I will paint another one of the same size based on it.”
“Just one?”
“On the other side, I should put the Young Master’s portrait.”
I, who had intended to ask them to paint portraits of Michael and Asdel, became puzzled and ran my hand over my face.
Did Sierren’s people have a custom of wearing their own faces on their necks? I had never heard of it.
“…My face, you mean?”
“You don’t have a lover yet, do you, Young Master? You can keep it safe and change it when you find one.”
“…Hmph.”
It was an unexpected reason.
I was about to say I didn’t need it, but it was true that I felt envious seeing everyone around me singing songs of love, so I quietly nodded.
It was an absurd thought, but who knew? Perhaps I too would meet a good connection.
For some reason, my heart fluttered. Thinking it was foolish, I found myself stroking the locket around my neck.
I was unable to visit the long-awaited Fourth Magic Tower.
The explanation was that the mages here were always busy and preoccupied, rarely meeting outsiders.
Even though I brought Aizen and Hendel, members of the Valentia family, just in case, it was the same.
At best, I could only look around the first floor where artifacts were displayed for sale, but even then, there was no one to guide me. Every time I tried to go upstairs, I felt as if I were possessed by a ghost and returned to the first-floor entrance, so I had no choice but to give up.
“Well, I’m used to it. Mages are half-crazy people anyway.”
“Mhm. We don’t meet people much unless they’re paying us. Maybe it’s because there’s still some time until the next commission. I’ll make sure you can meet them next time.”
“…Yes.”
It felt strange to persist further, so I gave up, as the siblings closest to the mages of the Fourth Magic Tower tried to console me.
Promising to try again next time, I picked out and bought a few gifts to give to my friends at the academy.
It was time to return to the academy.
❖ ❖ ❖
In the last week of January, I was able to set foot in the capital.
Though I had only been away for two months of vacation, it felt as if I had been gone for a very long time.
Much like the Count Ernhardt’s Residence where I had stayed for the past decade, the academy was like my third home.
As soon as I arrived at the academy, the first place I sought out was Douglas Mustang’s office.
I felt very sorry for not being able to help clear away the golem when finishing the last semester, as I had left in a hurry.
I knocked twice on the familiar office door and opened it, only to be greatly startled.
“What, why are you so surprised?”
“Why is that monstrosity still here?”
“Ah. The golem… I got too used to it… Come in for now.”
How could anyone get used to that monstrosity?
My guilt towards Douglas doubled, and I didn’t know where to put myself. The more I looked at its disgusting appearance, the more my brow furrowed.
Douglas, seeing me, smiled faintly and explained in a gentle tone,
“I tend to come to my office regularly even during vacations, and Mage Boulder doesn’t leave the capital either. Since he failed to create a Dantian before the winter break began, he suggested we try Circulating Qi until Young Master Ernhardt returns.”
“…And so you kept it here?”
“He said it’s difficult to restart it once it stops… But look. A Dantian-like structure has formed here. The location is a bit different, though.”
“Hmph…”
I could see why Douglas Mustang got along well with mages.
Douglas pulled up a chair and offered me a seat near the golem, so I sat down obediently and examined it together. Indeed, as a result of continuous Circulating Qi, the energy flowing within the golem’s body was five times what it was initially.
I slowly followed the flow with my eyes.
Not only the Qi and blood I had first taught the golem, but the overflowing energy in the acupoints of its entire body’s minor meridians were swirling and playing on their own.
Thanks to that, the hardened Qi and blood were easily discernible even to the eye.
“You called them acupoints, right? The paths through which mana flows have become stronger overall. This is clearly a characteristic that appears in the body of a knight, not a mage. Simply put, mana is used for physical enhancement, but it’s unique and fascinating that Qi can move along the body’s meridians rather than through bones and muscles.”
“Indeed. However, the location of the Dantian…”
“Yes, it seems to be modeled after the body of the mage who created the Circle. You said this is called the Middle Dantian, right?”
“Yes. …But it feels strange for the Middle Dantian to open before the Lower Dantian.”
“I’ve never seen mana stagnate in a Circle and form a crystalline structure. If this were a real person and not a golem, the experiment would have had to be stopped due to strain on the heart.”
“…Hmm.”
“I told you before about knights who tried to forcibly accumulate mana in their bodies, didn’t I? The result is not much different. Perhaps it’s the part about self-belief or willpower that Young Master Ernhardt mentioned.”
“I think so too.”
“So, the next step is, of course, for Mage Boulder and I…”
“Didn’t you say you would go through one more golem next?”
I didn’t want to see this kind man collapse from Cultivation Deviation.
Having only opened my Middle Dantian after reaching the Transcendent Peak in my past life, I knew. Opening the Middle Dantian and circulating mana were very different things. I had no idea what problems might arise.
Douglas, sensing my unease, shrugged with an embarrassed smile.
“It feels unfamiliar to have someone worry about my mana operation.”
I was speechless.
I remembered the name of the representative course Douglas Mustang taught: Mana and Aura, Aura and Mana.
It meant that, at least in the Sierran Empire, there were only a handful of people more proficient in Aura and Mana than Douglas.
I felt embarrassed, thinking that I, who was clumsy in both Aura and Mana, was not in a position to worry, unlike my internal energy operation.
Douglas, observing my expression, gently placed his hand on the back of mine and patted it.
“I know what you’re worried about, Young Master Ernhardt. But seeing this every day, I’ve gotten a rough idea of how to properly Circulate Qi.”
“…Yes.”
After a moment of thought, I asked if Boulder might experiment first, which made him laugh.
When I asked if it was too selfish, he said that if I said that in front of Boulder, I might see him cry, so I laughed it off as a joke.
I apologized for leaving without visiting his office again during the winter break and received his forgiveness.
After leaving Douglas’s office, I immediately set out to find Prince Rubel.
He was a child whose family home was in the capital. He wouldn’t have traveled far, so it was obvious he would be somewhere within the academy around this time.
On my way to find him, I saw wildflowers just beginning to sprout, overcoming the winter chill, and walked around a pond covered in thin ice.
As evening approached, I went to the cafeteria and ate.
I met some classmates by chance who greeted me cheerfully, and I asked about Rubel’s whereabouts, but none of them knew.
I went to the library and stopped by a cafe.
I went all the way to the front of his dormitory, but I was turned away because I couldn’t carelessly enter the dormitory of upperclassmen.
Even without a way to contact him, I knew he must be somewhere in the academy, so I wasn’t anxious at all.
By chance, I met Lucilla in the large gymnasium.
Seeing her greet me with particular warmth made me feel happy too, and I couldn’t help but smile. We exchanged brief greetings.
As I had expected, the siblings Rubel and Lucilla had spent their winter break busily celebrating the new year festival in the capital, so I nodded.
“Do you happen to know where Senior Rubel is?”
“Uh… He ate earlier and then went out for a walk, so he’s probably somewhere on the walking path.”
“Hmm… I see.”
I had sent Rubel a letter as soon as I arrived at the Duke Valentia Family’s residence, but I hadn’t received a reply.
I had assumed it was because the capital was far away and the messenger took a long time, but the thought occurred to me that he might not have had time to write a reply because he was busy.
If he had many complicated and busy affairs, I had no intention of bothering him when he was contemplating alone.
As I turned to head back to my dormitory, bowing slightly, Lucilla immediately grabbed my sleeve.
“What, you’re just going to go in now?”
“I thought I might be disturbing him while he was walking alone.”
“No, no. It would be better to look for him today if possible. You arrived today, right?”
“Yes.”
“Please look a little longer. Okay?”
Lucilla, though mischievous, must have had a reason for speaking so earnestly. Although somewhat puzzled, I agreed without refusing.
The sun was setting quickly as the days were still short.
I turned back to find a familiar path. As I walked along the well-maintained path, my breath misted in the cold air.
I didn’t mind the cold, but I wondered if Rubel had dressed warmly enough. I regretted not bringing an outer garment.
Up until that moment, I truly believed it would be nothing.
I had no idea that Rubel would make that kind of expression, not even a little.