Today was the day of the cleric's routine visit.
The cleric, who'd been holding my hand as I lay propped against the foot of the bed, tilted his head.
"......One moment."
He opened his mouth cautiously, eyes widening as he stared at me.
"Let me try again."
At those words, my parents' expressions turned grave.
My father furrowed his brow and bit his lip. My mother clasped her hands in a prayer and asked urgently.
"P-please, sir...... It hasn't gotten worse, has it?"
Whenever the cleric made that face during the weekly checkup, it had only ever meant bad news.
Hearing nothing but grim reports time after time had made me withdraw further into myself, while my parents, consumed by guilt, poured in even more money.
The cleric focused silently on the examination. My mother fidgeted, wringing her hands, and my father took hold of them firmly.
Then, in a voice low enough that he thought I couldn't hear, he murmured:
"We can't let him see us worried. Whatever the result, let's not show it in front of Lumio......"
"I'm sorry. I know, but I can't help it."
Having risen to the Second Circle, my physical abilities had improved enough to pick up words I normally wouldn't have caught.
Watching them, I slowly lifted the corners of my mouth.
I said it with my expression: 'Don't worry so much.'
Better to let the cleric deliver the news. Coming from him, it would carry far more weight than from me.
After holding my hand for much longer than usual, the cleric finally raised his head.
"Apologies. There was something I needed to verify, which is why it took so long."
"......Has his condition worsened?"
My mother asked carefully, eyes cast downward.
The cleric glanced at me, shook his head, and announced the result.
"It appears he's been cured."
"As I feared...... Wait, what?"
"What did you just say?"
Until now, Mana Reflux had never been cured.
You could search every medical text and find no treatment. Most patients didn't survive past adulthood.
'I'm sorry. There's nothing more I can do.'
That was all they'd ever heard.
"It seems Lumio's constitution has overcome the Reflux on its own. The mana flow has stabilized to a remarkably clean state, and on top of that......"
Before the cleric could finish, my father thrust both arms into the air.
"YES!"
Loud enough to knock ears off.
My father couldn't close his mouth.
He pulled the cleric into a tight embrace and shouted again, "Th-thank you!"
My mother, eyes glistening, trembled as though she couldn't believe it, and Julian, watching from the doorway, had gone red around the eyes as well.
"If he's cured, does that mean he can live a normal life? No more pain? He can live a long life?"
"Yes."
The answer was brief, but my father was so overjoyed that he covered his eyes with his hand. I'd never seen him cry before.
"There's no rush to celebrate—you can do that after hearing the rest."
The cleric continued calmly.
"Lumio appears to have a talent for magic. Likely due to the many elixirs he's taken since childhood, his body already contains two Circles. That's on par with students attending the magic academy in the capital. It seems he's become able to regulate the Mana Reflux through that power."
"A m-mage......!"
My father staggered backward in shock.
'He might actually faint at this rate.'
"Regular checkups should no longer be necessary. I'll still stop by once next month—just as a final confirmation."
"Understood."
The cleric bowed deeply and offered a polite farewell.
And then he said the words I'd always wanted someone to say.
"You've worked hard. And congratulations. Your efforts were not in vain, my Lord. The same goes for you, Lumio."
I bowed my head in thanks to the cleric as he looked my way for the last time.
Even after he left, my parents stood frozen, as if their souls had left their bodies.
'Strictly speaking, it's not a complete cure, but......'
All that had happened was that the Mage Tower had infused me with pure mana, and I was suppressing the Reflux with the power of the Second Circle.
Heavy spellcasting would bring the pain right back.
But I had absolutely no intention of spoiling this moment.
'I did live an awfully long time in my previous life, after all.'
My parents, who'd been pinching each other's cheeks to make sure they weren't dreaming, pulled up chairs beside me.
"The illness being cured is wonderful enough, but our son is a mage?"
"Maybe we should think about sending him to the magic academy in the capital, like our second child."
I intended to visit the magic academy eventually—but not to study.
I'd already completed studies far more advanced in my previous life.
And I couldn't leave the territory just yet.
"No."
My father seemed to misread my flat refusal.
"If it's the cost you're worried about, I can handle that much......!"
"I'd like to study on my own here. I want to help with your work, too, Father."
"Haha...... The future lord, eh? That works too. Shall I buy you some books?"
"Or we could hire a magic tutor!"
My parents looked ready to pluck the stars from the sky for me. After that joyous stretch, it was well into the afternoon before I finally made it outside.
***
Second Circle magic: Blur.
A spell that made the body shimmer like heat haze, rendering the caster difficult to identify in dark or complex terrain.
Julian's and my presence faded to nearly nothing.
In that state, we headed for the territory's east gate.
Our territory sat at the northernmost tip of the kingdom.
Going east instead of south meant crossing the kingdom's border.
Short of defecting to another nation, there was no law against it, but outside was extremely dangerous. If the knights caught us, they'd block our path and report to my father—that much was certain.
There was a ladder leading to the top of the rampart. Climbing it, I spotted northern knights locked in combat with three or four Garms.
When the knight order detected monsters approaching from atop the walls and judged the numbers manageable, they'd sometimes sally out to engage like this.
Julian spoke.
"No need to help."
"Right. The knights only engage when they're confident they can win."
That said, combat had a way of throwing up unexpected variables.
A knight shoved back a lunging Garm with his shield—and the rusted shield snapped clean in half.
The Garm seized the opening and clamped down on the knight's shoulder.
"Ngh!"
Its fangs punched through the armor like tofu. A fellow knight beheaded the beast, ending it as a minor incident.
But the state of the frontline knights' equipment was abysmal.
'The North still has a lot that needs fixing.'
The territory had a smithy, but with no major mines nearby, all they could do was repairs.
Once the Mage Tower upgrade was done, I'd need to see to the knights' gear. With that thought, I extended my hand.
Healing magic wrapped around the knight with the injured shoulder.
"......Huh? It doesn't hurt as much as I thought."
"Must be the muscle."
"Haha! Your muscle's tougher than your armor."
Leaving them to their cheerful banter, we descended the wall and resumed our march.
The concealment spell was effective against monsters, too. Weak ones like Garms couldn't perceive us at all.
As we walked in silence, Julian spoke first.
"With your talent, Lord Lumio, wouldn't the magic academy be the better choice?"
He must have overheard my father's words that morning.
"Self-study is more than enough. The territory's already short on money—I can't put my parents through even more."
I wasn't entirely uninterested in the academy.
In my previous life, I'd taught myself magic from scratch and had never met another mage my age.
But curiosity like that would resolve itself naturally as I protected and developed the North.
I could always ask my sibling about it when they came home from the academy.
"Even so, studying under someone would be different."
"What's gotten into you?"
"It just seems like a waste. The healing magic you used earlier, the concealment spell right now—you're overflowing with talent, Lord Lumio."
"Drop it. I like it here. I want to stay in the North as long as I can. The academy would be crawling with other nobles, and putting up with their egos is the last thing I want."
"What if there are decent nobles?"
"You've spent your whole life in the North—you're too pure."
I said it with a smirk.
He had no idea how self-absorbed and selfish the capital's nobles were.
My sibling was probably having a rough time at the academy, too.
If I had my way, I'd bring them home right now—but there was nothing I could do at the moment.
I needed to grow stronger and develop the North first.
Julian grumbled back.
"You've never been to the capital either, Lord Lumio. You've been in your room the whole time—you probably know even less than I do."
I just smiled.
I was less curious about the timeline where I went to the magic academy and more curious about the one where you went to a swordsmanship academy.
"What about you?"
"Pardon?"
"Have you ever thought about going somewhere—a swordsmanship academy—to train properly?"
"I'm fine."
"If it's about money, once the North stabilizes a bit, I'll invest. You'd do well at a swordsmanship academy."
Julian considered it seriously for a moment, then shook his head.
"Really...... I'm fine."
"Why?"
"I want to stay in the North."
"What—you're the same as me."
"I guess so."
Julian and I shrugged and grinned. We'd been walking for about an hour when the mine came into view.
'It's much bigger than I expected.'
Even at the entrance, the cave was so enormous I had to crane my neck to see the ceiling.
I'd only ever heard that a mine existed here in my previous life. I'd never actually set foot inside.
"Lord Lumio, we need to be careful."
Julian's hand went to the scabbard at his hip.
Garms, goblins, and other low-tier monsters lurked in every direction.
'That's a lot of monsters. Must be because of her.'
The monster population had spiked noticeably around this mine.
Still, being low-tier, they didn't seem to detect us.
"Let's head inside for now."
Ore that looked like a fusion of ice and stone decorated the cave in a dazzling display.
We picked our way across the uneven but slippery floor and pushed deeper in.
"This doesn't look like an ordinary mine."
"It's a mana ore vein."
Mana ore spread its mana through the surrounding ground like roots extending from where it was embedded.
As a result, other minerals in the area became far harder than normal.
Sure enough, Julian struck the ore with his sword—hard—but it showed no sign of cracking.
"I didn't expect it to be this tough either."
I turned back toward the entrance and added:
"Let's head back for today. Confirming it's here is enough. There are too many monsters—I'll need to change the approach."
Not every plan went smoothly. Sometimes even a straightforward one needed revising.
RUMMMMBLE—!
A tremendous noise shook the vein.
"......Why is that moving?"
Julian pointed at a massive boulder. I swallowed hard.
A monster powerful enough to make Garms look like nothing.
Julian backed away slowly and answered his own question.
"A G-Golem. Your concealment spell doesn't seem to work on it, either."
He drew his sword, face set like a man who'd already accepted death.
"I'll buy you time. Get out of here first."
"No. That won't be necessary."
If it was a Golem, I'd assembled them more times than I could count. The Mage Tower's crafting workshop could produce them.
"What are you saying?! Even you can't—"
I gently pushed Julian's shoulder aside and stepped forward.
"You think a sword can cut that thing?"
I'd assembled just as many as I'd disassembled. Taking them apart was my specialty.
"Leave this to me."