Chapter 32
Renoa approached me and covered my eyes with her hand.
I was completely flustered by the situation, which looked exactly like lovers teasing each other with a “Guess who~?”.
I wasn’t excited at all. I only worried she might rip my eyeballs out like this.
“Um... Young Lady? What exactly is going on here?”
“You asked me to help you.”
“And?”
“Your problem right now is that your mana is activating your senses and making you take in too much information from your surroundings. You’re gobbling up anything and everything, so of course that causes trouble. You really are a slave, aren’t you.”
Even when this woman talked, it was always like that.
“...So?”
“That’s why we’re blocking your vision. Of the five senses, the eyes take in the most information.”
“Couldn’t I just close my eyes?”
“Blocking your vision is only the first step. From here on, I’m going to tune your mana. In that sense, physical contact is indispensable.”
“Then maybe if we just held hands....”
“Why would I?”
I tried cautiously to voice my opinion because the situation was a little overwhelming, but it was shot down outright.
Her hand over my eyes tightened.
“Why would I have to hold your hand? I decide how this goes. Don’t get any ideas.”
Isn’t covering my eyes and holding hands basically the same thing? Like, ‘We can have sex, but kissing is off-limits!’
‘She’s more girly than I thought.’
Well, I was the one getting help, so I should do as I was told.
“Relax. From here on, focus only on my voice.”
I did as I was told and let all the tension leave my body, leaning back against the sofa.
Renoa’s voice reached me from beyond the blacked-out world, like ASMR.
“Breathe in. Deeply.”
I inhaled.
“Out.”
And exhaled.
“Keep going. Match my timing.”
I repeated the breathing while listening closely to Renoa’s voice.
The air in my lungs began to circulate. The nerves stretched taut inside me loosened.
“If anything feels strange, say so.”
“I’m fine. It feels calming, actually.”
It felt as though my overworked brain was finally taking a rest.
‘It’s nice that I’m more relaxed, but...’
A new problem had appeared.
With my sight gone, the other senses sharpened as if trying to fill the void.
The study’s musty paper smell. Mixed in with it, a faint fragrance brushed my nose.
Behind me, Renoa’s steady breathing tickled the nape of my neck.
She said she hated holding hands, yet she was pressed tightly against my back, practically hugging me from behind.
Because it was her, I never cared about it normally, but being this close to her... it felt strangely unsettling.
“Are you focusing?”
“Of course.”
“I’m moving on to the next step.”
-Swoosh.
At her words, all my senses vanished as if someone had powered down a computer.
Not just sight, but smell, hearing, and touch too.
It was a weightless sensation, one where I couldn’t even tell whether I was standing, lying down, or floating in midair.
“——?”
Even when I screamed in panic, I couldn’t hear my own voice.
‘Am I dead?’
Normally my spine should have gone cold, but the fact that I couldn’t even feel that chill made it even more terrifying.
Was it possible I’d never come back? Was I actually dead? Just as the thought flashed through my mind that that damn Renoa had finally killed me.
“Don’t scream. You’re not dead. How pathetic, freaking out over something like this.”
A cold yet clear voice came from within the darkness.
I still couldn’t feel any of the other senses. Sound was the same, but strangely enough, Renoa’s voice alone came through clearly.
Ah.
A sigh of relief slipped out of me.
“I’m suppressing your mana with mine. Think back to what you were doing just now and breathe slowly.”
Once again, I matched my breathing to her voice, inhaling and exhaling. My mind quickly regained its calm.
“From here on, I’ll restore your senses one by one. Don’t rush, and accept only what I allow.”
I nodded.
“First. Hearing.”
Behind Renoa’s voice, I could hear the wind. The rustle of branches, birds chirping, the faint chatter of maids in the distance.
“Second. Touch.”
At her declaration, the numb sensations of my body began to return, little by little.
I could feel the cool, soft palm covering my eyes.
“Third. Smell.”
I slowly inhaled. The smell of the study, the scent of the forest, and a sweet fragrance seeped in.
“Fourth. Sight.”
The palm covering my eyes moved away, and sunlight poured in. The familiar study came into view.
“How are you feeling?”
“...I’m fine. I feel normal.”
I felt dazed.
It felt like I had been dreaming. My mind was hazy, yet my senses were crystal clear.
My head was no longer spinning.
“Am I all better now?”
“I told you before we started. It won’t disappear unless the mana is removed. I only suppressed your mana with my power. Given time, it’ll go back to normal.”
“Then what am I supposed to do?”
“Build your own world and control it so you only perceive the sensations you want. Just like I did just now.”
I tilted my head at the vague explanation.
“World? Build it?”
“To put it more simply, filter things out. Listen only to what you want to hear, and feel only what you want to feel.”
Her explanation was intuitive. But understanding it in my head and actually doing it with my body were two different things.
So how am I supposed to do that? What’s that any different from telling me to buy when it’s cheap and sell when it’s expensive?
If I could do that whenever I wanted, I wouldn’t be going through all this trouble now.
“If you don’t learn it here, you’ll obviously come crawling back again. I’m releasing it, so from here on, do it yourself.”
“Huh?”
-Snap!
Renoa snapped her fingers. Then, as if it had been a lie, the intangible barrier wrapped around my body lifted.
-Buzzz.
With a faint ringing in my ears, the still air’s vibrations started brushing against my skin again.
The wind outside grew louder, and the rustle of fabric pounded noisily against my eardrums.
My head swam at the flood of sensations pouring over me like a deluge.
“Do it the way I did.”
I gritted my teeth and closed my eyes.
The protective wall Renoa had just created. A complete darkness that nothing could penetrate.
‘Block it.’
I grasped the thread of my consciousness and drew imaginary lines over my skin.
Like a filter.
I consciously rejected the waves of sensations rushing in. I accepted only the information I wanted.
Then something strange happened.
The noise battering my ears dropped as if by magic. The pressure of the air stabbing at my skin also lessened.
My dizzy head cleared once more.
-Ding.
======
[Proficiency Level increased.]
[Mana Sensitivity Lv. 2 > Lv. 3]
======
“……Huff, huff.”
I let out the breath I’d been holding back.
Cold sweat soaked my back. I had only concentrated for a moment, yet I was breathless as if I’d sprinted full out.
“Hmm.”
Renoa gave an intrigued hum.
“You’ve got quite the talent for mana manipulation. It’s not easy to do it in one go. Well, if you couldn’t even manage this much, I’d have to throw you away.”
“Do I have to keep this up for twenty-four hours now?”
“If you want to keep your sanity.”
“How did it come to this...”
Renoa returned to her seat and sat down.
“Still, if you handle it well, it’ll be very useful. Others spend years trying to learn even a single sense for detecting presence, but you can feel everything just by breathing.”
“Really?”
“It’s what people call a sixth sense. In the end, that too falls within the realm of highly developed senses.”
Now that she said it, that made sense.
I’d only thought of it as something bad because of the pain, and I’d never considered applying it to combat.
If I used it well, its potential would be limitless.
“Thank you. Thanks to you, I found a solution.”
This was the one time I could truly call her Lady Renoa. If not for her, I’d still be unable to get a grip on myself and floundering around.
“If you’re grateful, then get out. I’m going to rest.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Of course. A servant should do as the master says. I quietly got to my feet.
Renoa opened her book again to keep reading and pulled out the bookmark tucked between the pages.
“Oh.”
It was the pressed-flower bookmark I’d given her, with a four-leaf clover embedded in it.
“That’s the bookmark I gave you. You’re using it and didn’t throw it away?”
Renoa flinched for a moment. Then she sent me a murderous glare.
“Get lost.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
I bowed politely and was just about to dash out when—
“Ah.”
A thought suddenly crossed my mind.
Conveniently, Vivi was away, so it was just the two of us. It was the perfect timing.
“Um, Young Lady.”
“I told you to leave.”
“Just one question, seriously.”
“Haa...”
Renoa shut her eyes tight and pressed her fingers against her forehead.
I wanted to leave quietly too, but there was something I had to ask.
“Say it.”
“You know a bit about magic, right?”
“Is that supposed to be a question?”
I knew it was a stupid question. This was the Edelhaide family, after all.
Just from the fact that Renoa was controlling my mana right now, it was obvious she was skilled at magic for her age.
Then how about this?
“By any chance... do you know about black magic too?”
After asking, I watched Renoa’s reaction. A fierce aura darkened her face.
“That. What are you trying to imply by asking that?”
“Rather than any intent, I’d say it’s just pure curiosity...”
“In the Empire, merely handling black magic is a grave crime that can lead to your entire house being ruined. Are you asking because you didn’t know that?”
“I’m sorry. I’m a slave, so my knowledge is limited... I didn’t realize it was that dangerous.”
“Get out. Don’t irritate me.”
“Yes, ma’am. Get some rest.”
I had a feeling it would really be bad if I pushed her any further, so I obediently left.
I came out to the garden to get some fresh air.
“Refreshing.”
The dizziness I’d had just a moment ago vanished like a lie.
I had no idea becoming more sensitive could be this painful. No wonder people end up writhing and making weird noises after getting hit with a 3,000-times sensitivity shot.
Still, now that I’d adapted, I felt much fresher than before. It was as if my monitor’s refresh rate had doubled, making everything feel sharper.
‘So I have to keep this up for the rest of my life?’
I could do it when I was conscious, but I wasn’t sure if I could manage it unconsciously too, like when I was asleep.
Still, if I used it well, I’d be a walking human radar. I’d even be able to prevent surprise attacks.
‘More importantly.’
I remembered the question I’d asked Renoa before leaving the study.
When I asked whether she knew about black magic, Renoa reacted with violent rejection, as if it were a topic that shouldn’t even be spoken aloud.
Judging by that, the current Renoa didn’t seem to have touched black magic at all.
‘Then something must have happened after this...’
What on earth could have been the trigger that drove Renoa to use black magic?
How could she have gotten hold of black magic in the first place, when even handling it was taboo?
‘I guess it has to be there.’
The Edelhaide Duchy.
There’s a mastermind there.