An A-Ranked Adventurer's 'Slow-living'

Chapter 73: The Knowledge of Mana

「…Delicious」

Kurune muttered with her eyes opened wide after she took a sip of the black tea Flora made.

「Right? The tea that Flora makes is so good」

「Yeah, it surprised me. It’s much better than the black tea that nobles drink. I’m sure that you brought out the tea’s maximum flavor」

Without paying much attention to Aisha’s strangely proud look, Kurune complimented Flora earnestly.

For a tea lover such as her to compliment Flora, that probably means that the teas Fiona-san and Flora brew are pretty damn good. They are indeed better than the tea that is served in a noble’s house.

「You two are being too kind. I still have a long way to go」

Flora was humble but she seemed happy after Kurune and Aisha complimented her.

She was taking a sip of her tea to hide her embarrassment.

「No, it really is delicious. It’s so good that I want to shove this tea down the throat of those stupid nobles who brag about how good their tea is」

Kurune spoke ill of nobles in an unusual tone.

She originally was not very fond of them, but I feel like her dislike for them has exploded after teaching at the academy of magic. As I thought, she probably got involved with the nobles at the school.

I more or less understand her circumstances, but Flora and Aisha who never really came into contact with any nobles seemed a bit confused.

「…Ahem. I was being a bit vulgar because of some unpleasant things they did in my job before. Sorry about that」

Kurune coughed and said that after she seemed to have noticed those two’s confusion.

「…It must be tough to be a teacher at the academy of magic~」

「We can’t imagine it」

Aisha answered as she snacked on the picos like she wasn’t interested in nobles, and Flora smiled like she could not imagine what that’s like at all.

Well, that’s about right. If you live a normal life, ordinary villagers would rarely get involved with any nobles.

Seeing Kurune like this makes me glad that I got away from the kingdom, but I feel bad because I had put her in that situation after I left.

I’m sure Elliot will take care of the difficult stuff later. Yes, I would like to believe that.

I feel like I saw Elliot’s smile pop up in the corner of my mind, but it was only for a second before it went away.

With the cup at my mouth, I enjoyed the sweet scent of the tea and tried the tea that Flora brewed.

Then, the unique fragrance of the tea leaves filled my mouth, and I was penetrated by a mild sweetness and freshness.

The warm tea spread inside my body and calmed my heart.

It was as if it blew away all the trivial things in my mind.

After we enjoyed the tea in silence for the next short while, Aisha opened her mouth as she looked at the tea.

「Still, the magic you used to make water just now is convenient, isn’t it? If you can do that then you can always have water to drink. You wouldn’t even have to draw water anymore. I wonder if it’s possible for me to use magic too」

「I don’t really think it’s possible for people like us. Things like magic is just for the nobles and some talented people like Kurune」

Flora said with a bitter smile to answer Aisha’s murmuring.

「No, since we humans all possess mana, strictly speaking, anyone is able to use magic, you know?」

「「Whaat?!」」

As expected, Flora and Aisha who didn’t know about magic were shocked.

「However, like Flora-san says, most people can’t use magic properly because they don’t have enough mana in them. It’s stupid to just fall over after making a small flame, right? That’s why there aren’t many people who would pursue magic seriously because of that. But almost everyone is capable of using magic, it’s just that the effort you have to put in until you can do just that will not be worth it at all」

「Ohh, is that so?」

「I had thought for sure that people like us wouldn’t be able to use magic」

After hearing Kurune’s simple explanation, Aisha and Flora both replied in unexpected voices.

Yes, just like Kurune says, most commoners have a little bit of mana- Basically, most people just could not put magic into practical use, but everyone is capable of using magic.

There’s no meaning in spending many years learning magic to only be able to light up some firewood…and you’d collapse right after you do it too.

There aren’t many commoners who have as much free time as nobles since they don’t lead such easy lives. That’s why for a commoner to use magic, they would have to give an unreasonable amount of effort.

On the contrary, since nobles marry themselves with people who have good mana, their descendants would naturally be born with more mana as well.

And that’s why there are many more nobles who are able to use magic.

「So that means we might be able to use magic too」

「Yes, if you have lots of mana and put in lots of time to practice」

Kurune’s words gave Aisha a faint sense of anticipation. Aisha’s eyes were shining somewhat brighter than usual.

「That’s only if you have enough mana」

「Shaddap. What about you then, Aldo? Do you have enough?」

Aisha asked me in return with an offended expression when I added an unnecessary remark.

「I have a decent amount, you know? I can at least use a few spells 」

「Well, Aldo is no wizard, but maybe he could be of some use as an assistant?」

Kurune poured cold water on me after I replied to Aisha proudly with my chest out.

Then, Aisha snorted at me and said,

「What? Doesn’t that mean it’s an iffy amount?」

「Ugh! Who cares? It’s faster to slash with a sword than to use magic anyway」

「It’s true in your case but that is weird in itself」

Yeah, who cares about magic since I’m a swordsman. I just have to cut my opponents down faster than they can finish their chant. I will just dodge the spells that come flying at me. I don’t need to use difficult spells to fight.

「Kurune-san, how do we check if we have enough mana?」

「Yea yea. We want to know how much mana we have too!」

Flora and Aisha spoke with a bit of excitement.

Perhaps they are hyped up after knowing that there’s a chance that they might be able to use magic.

Magic is like a symbol of power similar to the sword. It’s not unreasonable for people to yearn for it.

In the past, I thought that it would have been nice to be able to use just a bit more magic as well.

「The quickest way to check your mana is to have a wizard measure it. We can get an idea of how much mana you have by flushing our mana into your bodies. Well, actually, using a crystal ball called the magic crystal ball would be more accurat-」

「「Check us! / Please check us!」」

Kurune was showing off what she knew, but Aisha and Flora’s voice cut her off.

She then looked at those two and made a bitter smile.

「Yes, that’s fine with me. Let’s measure your mana」

◆

「Okay, I’m going to measure your mana now, Aisha. It’s going to feel a little itchy after I pour my mana into your body, okay?」

「I’m ready any time!」

After Aisha said that with a nod, Kurune gently extended her arm towards her.

She placed her hand on Aisha’s arm and closed her eyes.

Then, her body emitted a light glow and started to envelop Aisha’s entire body.

「…Ehh, something is glowing」

「Stay still」

Aisha was shaken by the phenomenon of light when mana is activated, but she calmed down after Kurune spoke to her in a serious tone.

Flora was staring at the light that was coming out of Kurune’s body in amazement.

The light that enveloped Kurune’s entire body began shifting to Aisha.

It went from Kurune’s arm to Aisha’s arm.

Aisha was staring at the light in shock at first, but her expression changed as mana flowed into her body.

「Hey, what is this? It feels so creepy. It’s like someones touching my body from the inside」

Aisha’s body squirmed as if she felt her body itching.

「Please endure it for a bit longer」

「Okay…Heeeee!」

However, since Kurune told her not to move, Aisha fought against the creepy feeling that attacked her entire body.

Well, while it’s not a big deal to be measured by a magic crystal ball without permission, this method has another person’s mana creeping around your body. Having someone’s mana invade your body would feel ticklish like that.

…But I gotta say, it’s a precious moment to see the always carefree Aisha suffer with a red face.

「Ah! You can’t look at that, Aldo-san!」

Flora blocked my view with her hands as that thought crossed my mind.

「Eh? Why?」

「No reason! But don’t look at it anyway!」

I’m not even looking at a woman’s bare skin. I don’t really get it but since she’s putting it so strongly I’ll just not look.

My view is completely black but Flora’s hands feel nice.

「We’re done」

While I was waiting as I enjoyed the softness of Flora’s hands, I heard Kurune’s voice.

Brightness returned to my view along with that voice

「Mnn…okay. So, what’s the result?」

Aisha asked Kurune with a look of hope as she fixed her breathing.

「Ahaha, unfortunately, it looks like you don’t have much mana, Aisha-san. I’m afraid you won’t see results that would be worth it even if you practice hard」

Aisha’s shoulders dropped from Kurune’s words.

「…Ahh I could be living life so much easier if I were able to use magic…」

「I’m sorry」

「It’s fine. That’s not your fault. I just have no talent from the beginning」

Even though she found out that she wouldn’t be able to use magic, she didn’t seem all that depressed.

Well, she has been living her life without using magic. To her, it would have been a plus if she could use it, but it’s probably not something she’ll get hung up on if she couldn’t.

「Yes, your life could get easier if you can use magic, but it’s a tough road getting there」

「Oh yeah, I wasn’t thinking about the work I would have to put in until then. It might be a good thing that I don’t have much mana when I think about it like that」

Aisha always stays true to herself, doesn’t she?

「Okay, let’s do Flora next as well」

「Errmm, but I’m not going to have much mana anyway. Ah, we don’t have to after all」

Flora hesitated as she waved her hand. I wonder if seeing Aisha find out about her not having much mana cooled her hype down.

「Just let her check you since it’s free. It’s going to feel a bit creepy though」

After Aisha said that, Flora looked towards me.

「It’s a rare chance so just let her check you. Maybe you do have mana, you know?」

「…Okay, please check me then」

Flora rushed up to Kurune in tottering steps after she listened to my suggestion.

「Alright, I’m going to measure your mana now, Flora-san. It’s going to feel creepy but endure it, okay?」

「Ahh?! Aisha! Please cover Aldo-san’s eyes for me! It’s embarrassing!」

Flora yelled as mana started to course into her body.

「…It’s not that lewd that it needs to be hidden, right? Creepy or not depends on the person as well」

「It’s embarrassing if I end up looking like you did, Aisha」

「You make it sound like I was showing something disgraceful…Fine, whatever」

Even though Aisha was displeased, she walked behind me and covered my eyes.

Unlike Flora’s, Aisha’s hands had the scent of grapes mixed with soil.

Probably because of all the soil and field work she has been doing, the skin of her hands were a bit rougher than Flora’s, but her fingers were longer and softer than Flora’s.

「…I have mixed feelings when I see you covering his eyes with your hands, Aisha」

Oh, Flora is a little jealous. That made me a little happy since that’s a rare reaction from her.

「Well then, it’ll be over in a second so here we go-」

「Ehh? Hyaaii!」

Was she getting pissed off because things were taking too long? Kurune started to inject mana into Flora.

As mana suddenly flowed into Flora’s body, she yelled out in a high pitched voice.

「Hyaa! Something is entering me from Kurune’s hand…」

I heard Flora’s strangely sexy voice past the darkness.

「Haa, haaahh!」

「Hey, don’t make any weird sounds, okay?!」

「But…」

「…Aisha-san and Flora-san are both sensitive, huh?」

I’d just like to point out that normal people do not react so sensitively like that. It would be nothing but a nightmare if a grown man screamed out like those two. They are just a bit on the sensitive side.

「…Do you want to see?」

「I do」

I immediately replied to Aisha’s voice that came from behind.

Then, after hearing some chuckling from behind, light came into my vision.

Flora was there taking on Kurune’s mana with a hot expression on her face.

Her face was red and she bit her lower lip as she was enduring something.

It was like she was having…

「It’s like she’s doing perverted things, right?」

Aisha whispered in my ear right as I was having such thoughts.

Her breath touched my ear and tickled me.

「Stop it」

I reached behind me and pinched Aisha’s sides as punishment.

「…Ow! I’m not going to show it to you anymore」

After Aisha protested, my field of vision was covered in darkness.

Her fingers were pressing into my eyes as payback.

「We’re done」

「Nnn, *haaahh*…*haaa*…What’s the result?」

My field of vision opened up at the same time I heard Kurune’s voice, but my vision was blurry because Aisha was digging into my eyes with her finger.

「You have enough mana inside of you, Flora!」

「Really?!」

「Yeah!」

I couldn’t really see well, but I understood that Flora was all up on Kurune somehow.

「About how much is there?」

「I can’t say exactly, but she has enough that she won’t collapse quickly if she uses offensive magic!」

That’s a lot. Even for commoners who were born with a decent amount of mana, it would be normal for them to run out of mana after using two or three spells of offensive magic. That means that Flora possesses quite a lot of mana.

「That’s amazing, Flora!」

「I don’t really get it, but that means that I could use a lot of magic if I work hard at it, right?」

「Yess, that’s right!」

Aisha and Flora rejoiced after they heard Kurune’s words.

Then, Flora was so happy that she came up to me and hugged me.

「Aldo-san, I might be able to use magic!」

After I saw that happy smile on her face, I started smiling without thinking as well.

「You’re amazing. That’s great, isn’t it?」

When I told her that as I stroked her head, she looked at me with a smile. I’m glad that she’s happy.

「We now know that Flora has a lot of mana, but how is she going to use it?」

Flora came to a sudden realization from what Aisha said. Maybe she had forgotten about that.

As everyone’s eyes gathered on Kurune, she spoke as she stuck out her chest in confidence.

「Don’t worry. That’s why I’m here. I was a teacher at the academy of magic after all!」

Thank goodness. I was worried about the bad experience she had at the royal capital’s academy of magic, but it looks like that didn’t kill her passion for teaching magic to others.

If I think back, she loved explaining things to them just now.

For me, who knew about Kurune’s dream, just knowing that was plenty enough to make me feel happy for her.