By Zephyria 
The next day.
My body felt strangely light. With every breath in and out, a satisfying energy seeped in. It felt as if I had brewed and drunk a potent herbal decoction.
When I had first entered the Withrow Duchy, it was crowded and noisy, so I hadn’t realized it immediately, but after practicing Circulating Qi and observing my inner self, I understood. The Mana Concentration was so dense it was palpable.
A sudden urge to hurry the children and begin our dawn training welled up.
I dressed early and walked down the corridor, knocking on our companions’ doors. For some reason, only Benjamin emerged on time. Neither Marianne nor Rubel answered.
Hesitant to wake them, I lingered in the hallway. I decided it would be better to wake Ruben first than to barge into Marianne’s room, as she was a girl, so I threw open his door.
And then I was startled to see Rubel lying peacefully in bed, covered by a blanket, his face flushed and breathing raggedly.
“What is this? Why all of a sudden…”
“…Mika?”
“Yes, it’s me. No… are you not feeling well?”
“It’s… I don’t know… I just woke up like this…”
Bewildered, I touched his forehead. I was even more surprised when I found he had no fever. What was going on? Had something I ate yesterday been bad? If so, why were Benjamin and I perfectly fine?
As I hurried to find Marianne, Ruben grabbed my sleeve.
Benjamin, without a moment’s hesitation, gave a slight bow, offering a small courtesy to Ruben, and then left. I assumed he was going to check on Marianne, so I relaxed and sat on the edge of the bed, checking on Ruben.
A moment later, Marianne entered the room, looking just like Ruben, clinging to Benjamin’s arm for support.
“Ughhh…”
“What in the world?”
“Ah, it’s okay. Nothing to worry about. It’s just… Mana Sickness.”
“…What? Mana… Sickness?”
Marianne pulled over a chair and sank into it. She covered her face with both hands, then pressed her thumbs into her temples, her movements flustered as she tried to regain her senses. Yet, there was no trace of worry on her face. I, too, felt my own worries subside.
Marianne answered with a petulant expression but a casual demeanor.
“Yes. When the ambient Mana Concentration exceeds 20 mp, the unprepared human body can experience motion sickness. A bit of dizziness, tingling in the extremities, that sort of thing. It usually gets better after a few days of diligent activity. Ugh. I never thought I’d get Mana Sickness, after spending so much time in the Mana practice room.”
“…Ah.”
Hearing her explanation, I felt relieved. Rubel, who had looked confused, also seemed to relax, realizing it was nothing serious. As he burrowed into the pillow as if to collapse, Marianne gestured weakly towards Ruben.
“Once you get used to it, it gets better quickly for everyone except those with Mana Sensitivity. You need to give your body time to adapt, so Rubel, senior, you should get up too. Just lying there won’t help your body adapt; you’ll just be crushed by the Mana.”
“…Ah. …Yes, I understand.”
Rubel, who seemed to want to sleep a little longer while he was at it, reluctantly sat up, his hair disheveled. I gently brushed his fine hair with my fingers. He then nuzzled my hand like a contented cat, leaning against me. I couldn’t hide my concern.
After a moment’s thought, I spoke again.
“So then… what should we do?”
“Well, it’s too dizzy to train, but we can’t just do nothing… The second squad won’t arrive until this evening. Shall we just go sightseeing? I think walking around will help. Get some fresh air.”
“Hmm. Yes, let’s do that.”
Benjamin, who had been listening quietly, nodded in agreement. Marianne, who had cast Clean Magic on Rubel, who was still feeling weak and disoriented, put on her outer coat and stood up, saying they should meet again. Benjamin offered to support her again, but Marianne refused.
“I’m feeling a bit better now. While you were asleep, I realized that I’m a Wizard too… A few rounds of Circling should help. By the way, the Dantian’s effect is truly amazing… seeing that only Mikael and Benjamin are unaffected.”
“…Ah, so the reason we two are fine is perhaps…”
“Yes, I heard it could be operated even while the Hip-Circlet was active, but I didn’t realize it activated even during sleep. Wow, I’m jealous… No, no, don’t be jealous, Marianne. I’ll overcome this…”
“Aha.”
Marianne chattered on, explaining and grumbling to herself.
I regretted not teaching Ruben how to practice Circulating Qi earlier. My breath grew heavy with belated regret. After hearing the explanation and sitting up, Ruben rubbed his face a few times and said he would change his clothes, so I gave him space.
I was greatly relieved that it was a clear illness with a clear cause that could be cured quickly.
❖ ❖ ❖
I had seen it yesterday, but the area around Duke Withrow’s mansion was very crowded and noisy.
The residents and servants who came and went were all large and well-built. I wondered if this was also due to the dense Mana Concentration, or if it was because many rough Mercenaries had come targeting the monsters of the Yuil Mountains.
My gaze kept drifting to the Mercenaries, who carried axes as large as their heads or wore worn, patched leather armor with traces of energy. Some of the hides they wore were familiar to my eyes.
The way their clothing, made of layers of Orc or Ogre hide to protect vital areas, was put together looked quite good, and I resolved to examine it more closely later.
Marianne was intently examining the stalls of magical ingredients laid out by merchants.
In the capital, most of these merchants were Wizards selling their own Artifacts. However, here, it was common for ordinary merchants to procure goods from Mercenaries, process them, and then sell them to Wizards.
Reminded of the Alchemy district in the capital, I asked, “If there’s this much demand, wouldn’t it be better to open a shop?”
“…Wow, is this how the privileged think?”
“Pardon?”
“To open a shop, you need to buy a building, and to buy a building, you need a lot of money. But monster by-products can’t always be supplied consistently.”
“Why is that?”
“You need Mercenaries to hunt the monsters, and those Mercenaries need to bring the by-products to sell. And only if those by-products are of good quality can you sell them.”
“…Hmm.”
“If you open a shop and don’t get good by-products, you just lose money. This method is bound to be prevalent. …Ah! Mikael, lend me some money! I’ll definitely pay you back later!”
“Huh? Yes. Is there something worth buying?”
“They say it’s a collection of flowers spat out by a salamander! Wow, this is really hard to find.”
“…What do you use that for?”
“It’s useful for anything if you have it. Hurry, hurry. Just 3 gold.”
I readily opened my wallet and gave him the money. Seeing Marianne’s delighted expression as she clutched the item, I felt as proud as if I had bought a toy for my grandson, my belly full.
Marianne would occasionally stop walking and cry out, “Ugh!” clutching her head, or groan and stagger, but she generally held up well. Her clear communication of when she was in pain and when she was fine eased my worries.
Ruben, however, walked silently with the group, his face pale, sometimes bumping into passersby with a vacant stare.
The people of this land, though rough in appearance, were not cruel. They paid no mind to who they bumped into and went their own way. But I was concerned, so I grabbed Ruben’s arm and pulled him closer.
“Shall I help you walk?”
“…Ah. Um, no. No, I’m fine.”
“You’re fine?”
How nice it would be if he would just say he was in pain when he was, or that he was struggling when he was.
I was heartbroken seeing him endure it all. As my gaze remained fixed on Ruben’s face, he smiled shyly, as always, and extended his hand towards me.
“Then, just hold my hand.”
“Yes.”
From then on, I walked holding Ruben’s hand tightly. If he seemed about to bump into someone, I would pull him closer to me. If his steps slowed, I would match his pace, regardless of how briskly Benjamin and Marianne walked.
Even if they were far ahead, I wouldn’t lose my companions. I felt it was right to match Ruben’s steps, so I did.
Ruben would often smile weakly at me, but whenever I asked what he found amusing, he wouldn’t tell me. I was curious, but it wasn’t the time to press a sick child, so I didn’t pry.
Along the way, we entered the Mercenary Guild and bought a town guide booklet. It contained information on where to find restaurants in the Withrow Duchy, where to buy armor and other consumables, and where to purchase magic potions.
Following the booklet’s advice, we entered a restaurant known for its good food and soothed our stomachs with hot stew.
This well-managed land showed its status as the frontier. For the first time in a while, we had a single-dish meal instead of a spread of various foods. The stew, rich with meat and potatoes, suited the cold air, and the grease made my mouth feel slick. Even after finishing, the rich flavor lingered.
Recalling the first meal I was served at Duke Withrow’s mansion, which was also a hot stew with a few side dishes, I figured the meals here would mostly be like this. Benjamin and I had another bowl each, but Rubel and Marianne couldn’t even finish half of theirs.
So, after finishing our meal, I led the children to the street vendors we had seen earlier.
A short distance from the stalls selling monster by-products, merchants were grilling chunks of meat on skewers. The meat, seasoned with salt and spices and turned on a well-heated stone griddle, generally had a good sheen.
“I’ll buy you one, so take one.”
“Ugh…”
Ruben, who never added commentary when I told him to do something, nodded without a word. Marianne, however, was different. Frowning deeply, she lowered her voice and grumbled in protest, “What if it’s monster meat? They said not to eat food sold on the street in the Withrow Duchy.”
“Hey, that’s a serious accusation!”
As if hearing her quiet voice from afar, a middle-aged man grilling meat shouted loudly and waved his cauldron-lid-like hand, beckoning us closer.