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Alan, who trudged across the lawn and sat down on the floor, turned to Rumein and slapped the floor next tot him with his palm saying,
“Please sit down. This is the best place for a drink.”
In the beginning, he’d had no idea what do with the casual rudeness that seemed to emit from Alan, but now, he just wanted to see how far he could go with that insolence. So he went and sat down next to Alan.
Then, the bottle and cups that Alan had magicked away, appeared in front of them.
Alan filled a cup for Rumein, then poured himself some. He then looked at Rumein and said,
“Are you relieved? Or are you worried?”
That evening, Calian had set foot on the grounds of Seigfried and safely reached Slayman. So he asked if he was craving a drink as a celebration, or if he had any other concerns.
Before answering, Rumein drank – and then paused for a moment.
“I’m wondering when to light Camillon’s fire.”
“You’re thinking about who to put on the throne?”
“Once Calian returns, all three princes will have become adults. It also means that the day to name the crown prince is approaching.”
“Are you already so concerned about Camillon’s master?”
“The most sombre Randell has a steady surface but too much depth. The strongest, Franz, is about to go astray.”
Rumein, who mentioned the two princes, added with a small sigh,
“And Calian is still to grow.”
The Prince who was most helpful to Rumein, and the Prince his heart went out to the most, was also Calian.
But Calian was the youngest.
He was young, and had only just begun to grow his power.
Alan laughed briefly and said coldly,
“If you’re in such a hurry, the just choose the one you don’t like the most. He’ll disappear as soon as you give him the position.”
It might have just been a careless remark to a hasty concern, but the thorns in those words were obvious.
In a half-furious tone, Rumein replied,
“Can’t you do anything about that mouth of yours?!”
Ignoring Rumein’s reprimands, Alan pointed towards a certain direction. Heisa palace, the place were Silica was.
“Prince Randell will remain quiet until Prince Calian empties that palace. You’ll be able to see beyond his mask after that.”
Rumein followed Alan’s fingertip and looked towards Heisa palace as Alan continued.
“Until then, you must not show your true intentions. So don’t worry about who you’re going to sit on the seat of the crown prince. Whether it’s for Calian’s sake, or for the sake of the other two princes, don’t give any preferential treatment to just one person. If you forget to be careful and recklessly let that buddy of yours wander around -”
The King’s Sword, the knight order Kaela and Alan, who referred to Keela’s Commander as ‘that buddy of yours’ turned to look at Rumein,
“Then this old mage will indeed, need to go and rest in the southern country.”
He had once said the same words to Calian.
When Calian had heard those words, he had thought it sounded like a terrible idea for Alan to leave.
When Rumein heard those words, he looked glad to hear them – of course, that wasn’t sincerely what he thought.
Laughing, Alan resumed drinking,
“And whoever owns Camillon will prove himself in due time. Don’t worry so much ahead of time, just look how pretty the moon is today.”
Rumein considered his words, then slowly nodded.
He then emptied his cup while looking up at the moon, just as the old mage told him to.
***
Calian once again marvelled at how truly large the Siegfried Duchy was.
He had expected that, since they were at the outer castle, they would be able to meet with Slayman by late that night. That expectation was completely shattered by Yan, who, as they entered the main gate of the outer castle wall, said in a relaxed tone,
“We should be at Seigfreid castle in just a few days now.”
And so, that day, Calian gave up on any expectations to see Slayman soon, and spent the night in Citren City, which was connected t the main gate of Siegfried’s outer castle.
Early in the morning, the next day.
Calian sat down, and quietly closed his eyes. He then began to draw mana into him.
As the energy gathered around him, Calian tried to draw the mana, as always, towards his heart.
He was trying to get to the Fourth Circle, but in the end, as before, the mana flowed to his core.
It was when he was wallowing in disappointment, thinking that he had failed again today – when Sia’s words struck him.
“Even if I speak differently, it doesn’t change that I’m an elf.”
As he recalled those words, Calian’s eyes began to shine.
Just because mana was sent to his core and became aura, didn’t change the fact that it was still mana.
Why did the source of aura for a swordsman, and the source of mana for a mage have to be different?!
I might not be good at making circles, but aren’t I the best at handling aura?
‘If I can’t get rid of the habit of turning mana into aura, then I’ll just make a mana circle out of aura.’
Instead of using the mana he had accumulated int he circle, he was trying to create a fourth circle with the aura he had accumulated in his core.
Calian, who had come up with a strange solution, closed his eyes once again.
He then immediately released the power of Aura, which had gathered in his abdomen, and began to manoeuvre it carefully.
Soon, the strength and sharp power of aura began forming in his heart, creating a band.
Instead of the original warmth that came with a mana circle, it was the energy of the aura, that moved like sharpened blade and flowed as Claian intended. Calian repeated this process, speeding up as he went.
Some time later.
The mana that Calian had gathered, finally formed a ring.
And at last, began to spin vigorously.
The fourth circle was complete.
Calian, who had been focused on making the circle for a while, finally opened his eyes and caressed a hand over his heart. The heart, which was brimming with power comparable to when he had three circles, felt strong.
“At last.”
It had only been a small difference in methodology but for the first time since he had acquired this new body, Calian’s eyes looked greatly satisfied with his achievement.
Calian straightened up and began to concentrate once again, to continue refining his mana so that could fix any mistakes when creating the circle.
As he did so, there was a man standing in front of the closed door of Calian’s room.
It was Arsen Hertz. Who had felt the swirling mana in the air from early morning and rushed here to make sure nothing was wrong. He was also the only one who currently knew exactly what Calian had achieved.
“Is everything alright?” Yan asked quietly.
He was a little worried now, since Arsen had been stood outside Calian’s door for more than hour, preventing anyone from entering.
Arsen replied with a small nod.
“He is close to a breakthrough. But it’s nothing to worry about, so please wait for a while longer.” He smiled as he answered.
Far from gentle and warm, Arsen felt the chill in his entire body, as he felt Calians’ cold, murderous power gradually grow.