"Just a little more..."
Beads of sweat flowed down Derek’s face as he sat on the floor of his room.
His eyes were tightly shut as he poured all his focus on the ongoing changes in his trembling body.
Despite his heavy breathing and constant shaking, he continued to concentrate.
[Host, the limit has been reached. Any further, and—]
"I feel fine! I can keep going! Just continue to... Ack!" Derek’s eyes were forced open as he coughed out blood.
He nearly collapsed on the ground before both hands supported his weight.
He weakly returned to his seated position, but not before coughing another mouthful of blood.
His eyes were bloodshot and his skin appeared even paler than before.
"Haa... You were right."
Derek was dejected, but he also felt thankful amidst the enormous pain. His current injuries would have crippled or even killed any ordinary person, but because of the Magus Codex, he would be healed after some time.
It was only because of this feature that he had chosen something as reckless as surpassing his body’s Magia limit.
In the end, he failed.
[It is as I told you, Host. Since this is your first time being exposed to Magia, your body will have a difficult time acclimating to the foreign energy. It will take some time before immature Magia Circuits can even be formed.]
"You’re right... sorry." Derek forced a smile while enduring the burning pain that pervaded his body.
After waking up from his slumber, he had put the Magus Codex to immediate work.
By letting it absorb Magia in his stead, he was able to rapidly fill his Central Path with Magia and disperse said energy through his body to initiate the formation of his Magia Circuits.
They had been at it for over an hour now.
Unfortunately, due to his strong desire to obtain strength, he became impatient and injured himself instead.
’My body can only hold in a small amount of Magia. This will change with time, but I can’t rush the process.’ Derek’s wry smile slowly vanished as he rose to his feet.
He had to clean up the bloody mess he made on the floor.
[I will advise you not to try something like this again. I know the limits of your body, so please take my advice seriously. Overdoing the process will only damage your body. This will slow down your progress, as I will have to prioritize healing you before resuming Magia absorption. Also, negatively affecting your underdeveloped Magia Circuits will be detrimental to your growth as a Magus.]
"Sorry, Max... I’ll do that next time."
Derek laughed softly as he went to the storage closet to gather cleaning equipment.
[Host, why don’t you have one of the servants clean this up for you? As a member of the Lewis Household, surely you have that right. Instead of working on this menial task, you should be resting.]
"Well..."
Derek was silent for a moment while he continued with his task.
After some time, he finally spoke.
"The servants despise me. Even though they pretend to be nice around me, I know what they say behind my back. They blame me for the death of the family’s matriarch."
[I know that much from your memories. But that doesn’t stop them from doing their job.]
"Yes, but how will I explain the pool of blood on the floor? Surely, it will lead to speculations floating around. Right now, that’s the last thing I need."
[I see...]
"I can handle something trivial like this on my own. The late-night snow already covered yesterday’s bloodshed, so I should be safe from scrutiny. But..." Derek stopped moving for the first time since he stood and felt a small frown tugging on his face.
[But what?]
"... I still don’t know who was behind yesterday’s attempt on my life."
[Based on the data currently available to me, the most probable masterminds are your siblings. Even then, the action seems immensely extreme.]
"I agree."
Derek’s frown became deeper.
"But which one of them? And could all of them be in on it?"
Thankfully, he had survived the assassination. It was possible that the mastermind was unaware of this, which meant they would have quite the shock when they saw him still moving around.
’Ah...’ Thinking along those lines, Derek had an idea.
"I’ll be having mandatory breakfast with my oldest sister soon. Can you scan her facial features to tell me if she is shocked or hiding something?"
[Oh? You want to determine if she is the one behind the assassination by reading subtle details in her reaction?]
"Yes!"
Derek had thought about it for a long time, and the most suspicious person among his siblings was his oldest sister, Melanie.
For one, Klein and Emma were still in the Academy. They were in the middle of their promotional exams to enter the third and second years, respectively.
The chances of them plotting his death during this period were very low.
In addition, Melanie was the one in charge of administrative functions in the Lewis Estate.
As the oldest, she wielded a lot of power and could have easily given that assassin detailed information on the Estate’s security measures.
"Melanie isn’t very talented as a Magus, but she still graduated from the Academy. Her connections cannot be understated."
[Unfortunately, my purpose is very specialized, so I can’t help you scan her face to glean such information.]
"R-really?"
Derek was shocked.
For the first time, he caught a glimpse of something the Magus Codex couldn’t do.
[My functions are largely geared towards research and information gathering. I can store visual and auditory information in my database and use my sophisticated algorithm to develop logical outcomes as a result. But I cannot extrapolate meaningful results that aren’t geared towards my specialty.]
"I see..." Although Derek felt somewhat disappointed by this revelation, it made sense when he considered it deeply.
If Max could help him discern anyone’s motives just from their visual information, it would have understood why it was a bad idea for the servants to help clean the blood he spewed earlier.
’In the end, I can’t rely on Max’s application of stored information for anything that isn’t academic or Magus-related.’
Since that was the case, Derek reckoned he would have to investigate on his own.
It would be difficult, but he had to try.
’My life is still in danger as long as I don’t know who was behind that assassin. Until I can develop my Magia Circuits and protect myself, I have to tread very carefully.’
...
Once Derek finished cleaning his room and freshening up, he got dressed and stood in front of the mirror.
His current outfit consisted of a plain white shirt that perfectly matched his hair, a luxurious ruby brooch, and oversized black trousers.
He was ready for the mandatory breakfast.
Taking one final glance at his spacious but nearly empty room, Derek shut his eyes and mentally prepared himself for what was about to come.
Then, he walked out of his door.
The first thing he experienced once he stepped out was the chilly breeze, followed by the whiteness of the world around him.
Then, he felt the solitude.
One of the disadvantages of living in a different compound from the rest of the Household was that there was barely anyone around.
There were patrolling guards and other, less conspicuous, security measures stationed all over the Lewis Estate. He also had servants come around very often to fulfil their duties before hurriedly leaving.
However, apart from these specific moments, no one else dwelled in this place except him.
Everyone in the Lewis Estate avoided him like the plague.
’If Max didn’t take my body inside, I would have woken up in the snow. No single guard or servant would even bother with my wellbeing.’ A bitter smile formed on Derek’s face as he solemnly walked towards the Central Living Quarters, where the rest of his siblings lived.
It was an impossibly huge mansion, a place that made his relatively large abode feel like a countryside cottage.
Several guards and servants could be seen busying themselves in the compound.
A few spared him their peculiar glances, quietly scoffing beneath their seemingly neutral countenance.
Since they all had to acknowledge his presence, all the workers bowed once he neared them, but their actions were clearly half-hearted.
Derek was used to this treatment, so he ignored their actions and simply maintained his smile until he entered the mansion.
Once he did so, a suffocating feeling filled his chest.
Melanie, someone who was very likely behind his assassination, lived in this place. She was likely already in the dining area, waiting for him to arrive.
’Even if she was behind the failed assassination, she’s not going to kill me out in the open, right?’
Derek gulped.
He maintained his steady pace until he reached the vast dining area.
Despite it being incredibly large, with a table that was at least seven meters long, there were only six seats—each representing a core member of the Lewis Family.
The seat of honor belonged to Griffith Lewis, the patriarch of the Lewis Family.
He was currently fending off the Theocracy’s enemies on the eastern border.
The seat at the end of the table belonged to the deceased matriarch.
As for the four remaining seats, two on each side of the table, they were assigned to the four children of the Lewis Family.
Just as he expected, Melanie was already seated.
Her placement was at the right side, the seat closest to the patriarch’s seat of honor.
The seat beside her belonged to Emma.
As for the seats on the left, the one closest to the patriarch was assigned to Klein, while Derek had the seat closest to his dead mother’s empty chair.
Emma and Klein were away at the moment, but once they returned from the Academy, they would take their positions for the family’s mandatory joint breakfast session.
However, in all Derek’s fifteen years, both the patriarch and matriarch seats had never been filled.
"Greetings, dear sister."
Derek bowed respectfully once he entered the room.
He paused in his movement to observe Melanie’s countenance. It was partly because he wanted to see if she was the one behind his assassination, but also because he wondered if there would be any change this time around.
Unfortunately, he was bound to be disappointed.
Melanie didn’t even raise her head.
She simply nodded to acknowledge his presence and focused all of her attention on the book in front of her.
Her silvery white hair was short, accentuating her mature facial features.
Unlike Derek, her eyes were more vermillion than red. Although she was a beautiful woman with incredible charm, the stern expression on her bespectacled face made her even less effeminate than her younger brother.
Derek smiled bitterly and walked to his seat without saying much else.
Nothing had changed.
Just like every other time, his oldest sister completely ignored his presence and didn’t bother speaking to him.
Not long after he sat, the servants entered the room and brought all kinds of dishes to the table.
For some reason, the food seemed far more appealing compared to all the previous mandatory breakfasts.
It made Derek’s mouth water.
’Not yet...’ Despite his immense hunger, Derek waited until the servants were done serving the food and left the room before he chose to dig in.
"May the Goddess bless this meal."
As soon as he slid the food into his mouth, experiencing all the delicious flavors melt to form an exquisite taste, a loud female voice echoed in his mind.
[Host, an extremely potent poison has been detected in your meal.]
’W-what?!’
[Now detoxifying... Please remain on standby.]