Chapter 77

A secluded alley in the lake city of Elfensia. Mikhail peeled an arrow-shaped sticker from the sheet and pressed it to the wall.

Smack.

He checked that the sticker sat flush against the surface, then glanced down into his basket.

The stack of stickers he'd picked up from the request office was already running low, and a breeze had begun to graze the tip of his nose.

Mikhail tilted his head back and studied the sky, where dark clouds were scattered in uneven patches.

Judging by the timing, it was about time he confirmed that events were progressing according to the original story.

"……."

He moved deeper into the alley and reached a rough-hewn building used as a storage house.

Sounds of movement drifted through the slightly ajar door. Mikhail noted the enchantment carved into the door handle, then stepped to one side.

He slipped behind a large pillar, leaned out cautiously, and peered at the warehouse across from him.

Creeeak.

Before long, a man emerged, shoving the heavy door open.

The man bent toward the handle, fished a scrap of paper from inside his coat, and muttered aloud.

"Te—. Ron—."

His voice cut off abruptly.

The locking enchantment on the handle flared bright, then clicked and rotated half a turn.

The man jiggled the handle a few times to confirm the lock had engaged, then turned away from the door.

"Hwaaaam."

He let out a lazy, drawn-out yawn and stuffed the slip of paper into his trouser pocket.

But the note slipped from his fingers just before it made it inside and fluttered to the ground.

Plop.

The man didn't seem to notice. He shuffled off toward the mouth of the alley and disappeared.

His footsteps faded to nothing.

Mikhail stepped out from behind the pillar and approached the spot where the note had fallen.

Splish.

The scrap of paper sat in a drainage gutter, slowly soaking through.

Pooled water crept across the surface, blurring the text scrawled upon it.

The text was fragments of an ancient language—the kind whose full meaning could only be verified in the underground archives of the Northern Spire.

"……."

Mikhail stared down at the words—already dissolving beyond recognition—then looked away.

There was no recovering the contents now, but every word that had been written on that slip was already filed away in his head.

If this confirms the original storyline is playing out as expected… then what's left is—

Mikhail glanced down at his left hand.

The truth was, he already possessed the core strength needed to resolve this mission.

The wind and earth elements he'd obtained at Colton Winery.

But there was one problem he still had to solve.

The spell I need to cast this time requires an enormous amount of mana.

Mikhail traced the path ahead for a moment, then turned and quickened his pace.

He picked a shortcut leading out of the alley and reached the edge of the residential district in under five minutes.

Then he stopped.

At the end of his gaze stood someone at the mouth of an alley, looking around with a troubled expression.

"That's strange. I'm pretty sure they said this road leads to the square."

A massive travel pack on their back, clothes steeped in the rich smell of earth.

A wandering merchant who dealt in relics.

Found you.

Crunch.

Mikhail took a step toward the merchant and cleared his throat with practiced ease.

"Excuse me—are you looking for the way to the square?"

The merchant's face lit up at the sight of him. Mikhail returned it with an amiable smile.

His time walking alongside the wandering merchant wouldn't be long.

But it would be more than enough to acquire the item he needed for what lay ahead.

---

Roughly an hour had passed.

In the square—the zone Julien had claimed—every signboard and sticker was now in place.

Julien stopped by the request office to turn in his empty basket, then headed for the hotel where they'd agreed to regroup.

Whirr.

The hotel doors slid open the moment his foot crossed the threshold.

The lobby he stepped into was dotted with plush chairs and tables, and a handful of people milled about.

Some chatting back and forth. One asking the concierge about vacancies. A pair splitting a sandwich between them. And—

"—You're a little late. Julien."

A familiar voice snagged his attention. Julien startled and turned toward the window at the far end.

Mikhail sat at a table, waving at him with an easy hand.

"Over here."

Julien let out a deflating laugh and crossed the lobby.

He pulled out the chair across from Mikhail, sank into it, and asked.

"You went all the way to the outskirts, so I figured you'd be last. You're already done?"

"The streets weren't complicated. But more importantly—I've got something to show you."

Mikhail leaned over and disappeared beneath the table, then resurfaced holding a long, slender object.

"Guess what it is."

Clatter.

The object landed on the tabletop.

A rounded band of alloy, hammered to fit snugly around a wrist. Faint enchantment scripts etched into the hard surface.

Julien studied its contours carefully, placed the purpose in a matter of seconds, and spoke.

"It's a relic people use for training now and then. Heightens the resonance between wearers. Pairs who aren't used to cooperative exercises sometimes use them."

"Right. Exactly."

"But why?"

Julien lifted his gaze from the pair of bracelets and looked at Mikhail.

Mikhail smiled as though he'd been waiting for the question.

"A new way for you to release your mana."

"Huh?"

"Starting now, we're going to practice mana merging."

"Mana… merging?"

Julien blinked from across the table, eyes rolling as he fumbled with the unfamiliar term.

Mikhail gave him a confirming nod and tapped the bracelet.

"That's right. Mana merging. It's not a standard method of casting, so it'll feel a bit unfamiliar."

Mikhail reached over and pulled the writing supplies he'd set aside back toward him.

What he was about to explain to Julien was how to put the relic he'd just bought from the wandering merchant to use.

It was also the groundwork for resolving Elfensia's coming disaster.

And the first step toward breaking the restriction magic placed on Julien.

Flip.

The notebook spread open on the table, revealing a blank white page. Mikhail moved his pen-hand over the paper and began.

"The basic principle of mana merging is simple. The casters align their wills to create a shared mana channel, and through that channel, they cast a spell together."

Scratch.

The pen glided across the page and drew two circles.

"First, let me explain what a shared mana channel is. If these circles represent two casters, the mana channels that normally form look like this."

Mikhail drew a single straight line extending forward from each circle.

"But a shared mana channel opens in a different configuration. Something like this…."

He drew two more circles on the page and added a straight line connecting them to each other.

His finger came to rest on the line he'd just drawn.

"Mana responds to a caster's emotions and consciousness. So when two people focus their wills together, they can create a shared channel like this. Once you're channeling mana back and forth through it, you'll be able to cast spells on a much larger scale."

Julien watched Mikhail's fingertip in silence, then raised his eyes and asked.

"Aligning our wills… how does that work, exactly?"

Mikhail answered without hesitation.

"You strip away as much of your personal awareness and sensation as you can, and focus only on a shared objective. On top of that, you need to concentrate completely on the person beside you. The pitch of their voice, the rhythm of their breathing. Even shifts in their body temperature—until eventually you can resonate with each other's emotions and intentions."

Mikhail lifted his hand from the notebook and slid one of the bracelets across the table toward Julien.

"The details will make more sense once you try it. Here."

Julien didn't answer right away.

Instead, he lowered the gaze he'd been holding straight ahead and looked down at the bracelet in front of him.

The enchantment etched into its surface glowed with a soft, steady light.

Clatter.

Julien reached out and picked up the bracelet.

He settled his usual calm smile into place and spoke.

"Okay. Let's do it."

---

Crunch.

Free snacks always tasted better.

Edwin hummed a tune as he chewed on a generous bite of pastry.

Mikhail had been right. Coming to the shopping district was the best decision he'd made all day—a hundred times over.

Everywhere he looked, there were sights and people to take in.

Hit the souvenir shops, scored pastries at the snack stand. Anything else fun around here?

He'd placed every last sticker and signboard where it belonged, so a little sightseeing on the way back wouldn't hurt.

Edwin swept his gaze around and spotted a drink stand across the way. His face brightened.

All those dry pastries had left him parched. He was just about to head over and grab something cold when—

Plip.

Something cold landed on the bridge of his nose. He blinked and tilted his head back.

Amid the drifting white clouds, dark fragments had broken through. Raindrops were beginning to fall, one by one.

Patter. Pat-pat-pat.

"Hey, this isn't the kind of cold drink I had in mind."

The rain thickened in an instant.

Edwin scowled, then crammed the rest of his pastry into his mouth.

If he didn't want to end up drenched and looking pathetic, getting under cover fast seemed like the smart move—

"Master! What do we do?! At this rate all the magic tools are going to get soaked!"

"Kid! Run first, panic later! You don't need to make a scene—I can see that just fine!"

Edwin side-eyed the two figures that blew past him at full sprint.

A burly old man in a jacket studded with badges and insignia, and a short-haired kid who looked about his age.

Both of them were tearing down the road with crates stacked several layers high in their arms.

"The Elfensia Administrative… Bureau… Office? City center? Agh, forget it! Where even is that?!"

"Forget finding it! Just find somewhere dry! As long as the magic tools survive, nothing else matters!"

Edwin watched the two of them flail and stumble, then cleared his throat for no reason and hid the arrow-sticker basket behind his back.

His own work was done. No reason to butt into someone else's problems.

He needed to get back to the hotel before he got any wetter.

"AAAAH! Master! I'm gonna fall!"

"Terha! Watch where you're going!"

And yet—for some reason—those frantic voices kept growing louder, ringing in his ears and refusing to let go.

Edwin stood rooted to the spot and scratched furiously at his head.

He let out an aggravated breath that sounded more like a groan, then turned on his heel and jogged toward the pair.

"Hey, you two! Where are you headed! I'll give you a hand—!"