章 54: Dungeon Practice (4)
"Did you leave Carla's mana core intact, Yandel?"
It had been almost a week since I heard those words, and I still hadn't given Elisha an answer.
Elisha seemed indifferent to my silence, maintaining an enigmatic smile and treating me as usual ever since.
But that made it all the more unnerving.
"Ughhhh…"
While practicing drawing magic circles before bed, Elisha's familiar voice suddenly came to mind, causing me to sigh unconsciously.
Did she hear that?
"Slurp… Hm? What's wrong, Master? Did something get in your teeth?"
Carla peeked her face out from under the desk.
I gently stroked her platinum-colored hair and gave a faint smile.
"No, you're doing well, Carla. Just a little more to go."
"Ah! Leave it to me, Master!"
Carla disappeared back under the desk.
Slurp…
Swallow…
After finishing her task, Carla crawled out from under the desk and wiped the corner of her mouth.
"Phew…"
"You did well. But you've got some cum on you."
"Ah, really? Thank you for telling me, Master."
Carla meticulously cleaned herself up before sticking close behind me and began to lightly massage my shoulders.
Squish, squish.
My tight muscles, tensed from sitting at the desk since after school, started to relax, and a tingling sense of pleasure washed over me.
"Uhmmm…?"
It wasn't like she was massaging with any significant force, but it felt incredibly soothing.
My body was already somewhat lethargic from just finishing my work, and I found myself relaxing completely under Carla's touch.
"Wow… This is really good. How come you're so good at massages? I doubt you've done this before."
"Hehe, back when I was studying magic circles every day, my shoulders used to be really stiff. And I got massages from the apprentices… so I'm just imitating that."
Carla said, grinning.
It hardly seemed like mere imitation, but if that's what she said, then so be it.
I took a brief rest, savoring the sensation of her slender fingers pressing into my shoulders and her warmth enveloping me.
Her sweet voice then reached my fully relaxed ears,
"Master, are you still concerned about Elisha?"
"Uh… Yeah, something like that."
Let's say it was because she noticed something about Carla's mana core.
It wasn't like I was trying hard to keep it a secret in the first place.
The social belief that slaves couldn't use mana or aura because their cores were broken was a secret, relying solely on that convention. Anyone who seriously suspected it would quickly realize the truth.
What I didn't understand were Elisha's actions that followed. Why was she silent even after knowing Carla's mana core was intact?
I thought she'd pester me to duel with Carla or offer a large sum of money to buy Carla from me.
But all she did was try a bit more aggressively to win me over, saying,
'Hmm, as expected. Yandel, I'm starting to like you more.'
She didn't even demand anything specific.
She had been shielding me in ways I didn't know about, and the same went for Carla's mana core.
If her intent was to incur a moral debt from me… Well, she succeeded. I was even pondering about her now, wasn't I?
But it seemed Carla had shifted her focus to a slightly different issue.
"Hmm… My chest is about the same size as hers, or maybe a bit bigger… So it must be her thighs, right? Elves are known for having strong thighs because they play a lot in the forest when they're young. Maybe I should start exercising too…"
"What?"
"Ah, it's not the thighs? Then what about her curly hair? It's hard to manage, but I can grow my hair long enough for you if that's the case!"
"What are you talking about all of a sudden?"
"You said you were concerned about Elisha."
"…"
That wasn't what I meant when I said I was concerned.
I tilted my head back to look at Carla, who was standing right behind me, with an incredulous expression. However…
Carla blinked her ruby-colored eyes and tilted her head as if she knew nothing.
"Wasn't that what you meant?"
"No, it wasn't."
"Then I don't have to dress up like Elisha?"
"As embarrassing as it is to say this, if I have to be honest, I like you just the way you are, Carla."
"Heavens…!"
At the end of our exchange, Carla suddenly clutched her chest and staggered.
"Master, could you please say that again!"
"I'm embarrassed."
"Not that, the next thing you said!"
"That's what I said, it's embarrassing!"
I'd said it without thinking, so saying it again felt awkward!
But Carla didn't seem willing to let go. She rubbed her chest against the back of my head as she spoke.
"You said you liked the nun cosplay last time, so why not the Elisha cosplay? Why? I don't understand… Should I not do the nun cosplay either?"
"No, that's not it!"
How did this get complicated over such a trivial matter?
Should I say I was ticked off, or that my irritation was boiling over?
Anyway, I turned to Carla with the intent to scold her when–
"Hehehe…"
Seeing her hesitating and fumbling as if she'd done something dangerous, I suddenly lost the energy to criticize her.
"Should I just continue studying magical circles then?"
"You're not going to say it…?"
Carla looked crestfallen, like a person who had lost their country. I felt a little sorry for her, so I added,
"I'll keep talking to you until bedtime once we're done for today."
"Ah! You said you have to get up early for the dungeon tomorrow, so you won't have time tonight!"
"If we finish studying quickly, we'll have more time."
"…Do you have any questions or parts you're stuck on? Please let me know right away!"
Suddenly, Carla became proactive. She seemed even more motivated than when she was doing her shining lion dagger research recently.
With slight awkwardness, I nodded and showed her a few magical circles I had drawn in my notebook.
"I've memorized all the magic circles for the spells I've learned so far."
"…You've already memorized all of them? Magic circles are mostly about memorization, so if you've done that, there shouldn't be any problem, right?"
Magic circles were like diagrams that helped in casting spells.
If incantations increased the power of magic, then magic circles made magic more precise or versatile.
That was why when I was learning basic magic, I started by drawing a circle with my finger.
Anyone who sees a closed circle tends to focus on its inside.
And it was easier to imagine a flame appearing inside the circle rather than in thin air.
So, essentially, magic circles incorporated these instinctual visual elements that people naturally reacted to.
For example, squares gave a rigid feeling, so they were often used in earth magic.
Curves or circles gave a soft feeling, so they were used in water or wind magic.
Of course, if you dug deeper, even the same curve could be jagged or smoothened, making things complicated…
But these were tied to universal human unconscious responses, so there was a general framework.
So, if you could memorize all that and combine them appropriately, you're halfway there.
The other half was about filling it in with unique symbols instead of common unconscious ones… I still had a long way to go on that front.
Anyway, magic circles require incredible memorization, but I had an excellent memory, didn't I? I remembered all the magic circles I'd seen while playing H&A, as well as the ones I'd learned from Carla and the academy professors.
Given this, it wasn't surprising that Carla would be astounded, but the part I struggled with was different.
"So, where are you stuck?"
"Well, you'll see. Watch this."
I stretched one hand forward, uttered a simple chant, and cast a fireball. Without paying much attention, a red magic circle naturally unfolded above my hand. A few geometric shapes were confined within the circle, and a fireball the size of a fist appeared over it.
"Why, Master? It looks well made and was cast fast."
"True, but don't you think it's too easy to understand? Any wizard who's studied a bit will know exactly what spell I'm trying to cast."
"Ah, you're right. Sometimes people do decipher the spell just by looking at the magic circle. I can do it to some extent."
"Yeah. I tried to change a few symbols to make them uniquely mine, like a cipher, but it's not easy."
"It's inevitable. Creating a specific shape that gives off a certain impression while keeping others from understanding its essence isn't easy. Sometimes it's even handed down within sects or magical towers as a secret."
Carla straightened her chest and put on a proud expression.
"But who am I? I'm your loyal servant Carla Lindelheit! I can teach you all the magic circles and their interpretations used in the Lindelheit family! It's a secret known only to me, passed down from mouth to mouth!"
"Wow… Really?"
"So, I can inherit the heritage of the Lindelheit family without starting from scratch. Whether I use it as is or get inspired to create my own symbols, it's going to be a lot better than now."
Actually, during my H&A days, some characters had such special symbols in their magic circles… But since I didn't know how to interpret them, I could only recognize their appearance.
While thinking how well I had scammed Carla into this, I waited for her to continue with a pounding heart.
"Ah, it's not possible right now."
"Why?!"
She got me all hyped up and then said she couldn't share it?
As I glared at her, filled with injustice, she leaned in with a mischievous smile.
"As I said, it's passed from mouth to mouth."
Then, she pouted her lips and gave them a light tap.
Caught off guard by Carla's blatant appeal, I couldn't help but chuckle.
"Once will be enough?"
"I'll ask once per symbol."
There was no way this wasn't happening.
The next day, after studying hard enough to make my lips quiver, the dungeon practice finally began.
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