Volume 7, Chapter 51 – The Truth of the Source of Mana

Does Laxy know?

Just as the question arose in Yisi’s mind, Laxy slowly began to explain.

“If I remember correctly, ‘Source of Mana’ is a term used by the demons. In the Kingdom of God, it is called the ‘Source of Magic Power’. Have you had contact with demons, my lord? A demon capable of human speech is at least a high-ranking intermediate demon.”

“Ah, I heard about it from the Earthen Demon Lord, Tartaros. You know that Evelyn can’t leave the Tower of Ymir freely, right, Laxy?”

“Yes. If she moves too far away, she will lose all of her magic power. The reason is that a part of her body is composed of the core of the Tower of Ymir.”

Laxy’s answer made Yisi nod.

“Exactly. Tartaros gave me an invitation—no, a letter of challenge. If I find the Source of Mana, he will remove the restriction on Evelyn and answer everything I want to know.”

“A Demon Lord’s challenge? My lord, you didn’t accept it, did you?” Laxy’s face turned grim. “Once a Demon Lord’s challenge is accepted, it cannot be stopped. If the challenger fails, they will be branded with the Demon Lord’s mark and live forever as an undead being in the torment of a burning soul. Although the Demon Lord promises that the challenger will get everything they want upon victory, that is just a lure, because no one has ever succeeded…”

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“Is that a thing?”

Yisi tilted her head. The letter Sandra had delivered on Tartaros’s behalf didn’t mention anything like a curse. It didn’t even say what would happen if she didn’t look for the Source of Mana. This was the first time she had heard of such a thing.

“This is common knowledge in the Kingdom of God.”

“Is that so… If what you’re saying is true, does that mean that if I do nothing, the Demon Lord will come to me on his own?”

“Yes. We are too weak now and cannot resist a Demon Lord. If you have truly accepted the challenge, my lord… I believe it would be best to first seek the protection of the Blood Clan Queen, Andrea, or the Pope of the Ymir Church, Evelyn. While ensuring our safety, we can gradually build up our strength…” Laxy lowered her head, her voice suddenly becoming much quieter. “…Even so, it is too disadvantageous. Not being able to leave the sanctuary means we cannot go to other places to train. How can we ensure that my lord can grow up in a safe environment? Even I, as an angel of guidance, have no confidence at all…”

However, more than Laxy’s worries, Yisi was thinking of something else. She muttered in a low voice with a mischievous smile.

“Since Tartaros will come to me on his own if I do nothing, wouldn’t it be better to just give up on finding the Source of Mana and lie in bed sleeping every day…”

In any case, as long as I drag him out and give him a good beating, he’ll behave. It’s much more practical than searching for the ethereal Source of Mana.

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“Laxy?”

Noticing that Laxy had fallen behind her, Yisi stopped.

Laxy quickly broke out of her thoughts and caught up with Yisi.

“You still haven’t said what the Source of Mana is.”

“My deepest apologies, my lord, for thinking of other things. A Source of Magic Power is something that, once activated, will never stop producing magic power. It can be a stone, a crystal, or even an organ of a living creature. Sources of Magic Power, like God’s Favored—what are now called the Fallen—appear in the world irregularly and unpredictably.”

“Can you be more specific?”

“For example, if this parasol you lent me were to become a Source of Magic Power, then as long as I infused it with a trace of magic, the parasol would continuously produce new magic power, like a stable and inexhaustible magic core. The magic power produced would far exceed the magic I initially infused.”

Is this really a world of magic? So easily breaking the laws of physics.

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While snarking internally, Yisi continued to ask.

“In that case, there should be many sources of Magic Power in the world right now. Why have I never heard of them?”

“Perhaps they were intentionally collected at some point in history and then completely depleted through overuse. Or perhaps people forgot how to use them, and they were slowly forgotten. Of course, although I say that, the actual effect of a Source of Magic Power is not as great as one might imagine.”

“Isn’t something that can produce endless magic power quite powerful?”

“No. Endless production is its greatest feature, but aside from that, a Source of Magic Power is not even as good as an ordinary magic core. The amount of magic power it produces is too small, not even enough to light two magic lamps at the same time. In the Age of Gods, people wouldn’t treasure a Source of Magic Power even if they obtained one… Thinking about it this way, the reason you haven’t heard of it, my lord, is likely because its effect is so small that it has gradually disappeared from public view.”

That is very likely.

If that’s the case, then it’s understandable that I couldn’t find the Source of Mana. It doesn’t refer to something with abundant magic, but a specific type of object.

I’ve been tricked by Tartaros.

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I’ll just have to punch him a few more times when I drag him out.

With these thoughts, Yisi soon arrived at Dominic’s residence. After handing the weapon to Derrick, who was in charge of the house, she went straight to the area where the Water Tree was. Although staying in Gota and doing nothing while waiting for the Demon Lord to come to her was the best option, since she was already out, it would feel a bit dejecting to just go back.

“Speaking of which, should I give back the money I won from Dominic in poker? I feel so sorry for them.”

When she had first gone to Dominic’s residence, she hadn’t had much of an impression, as she had just arrived in a new environment. But after her second visit today, Yisi deeply felt that the city lord’s residence could be described as having nothing but four bare walls. Although it had a very spacious courtyard, it was unkempt due to the lack of money to hire help. Not only were there no flowers planted in the bare courtyard, but even green plants were rarely seen. The interior of the residence also highlighted their poverty everywhere. The walls were mottled from peeling paint, and the furniture showed signs of age everywhere. If it weren’t for the fact that the cleaning was passable, it would have been a rather miserable sight, showing none of the luxury that a noble should have.

Not only that, but when Yisi went to the residence, Dominic’s younger brother, Derrick, was eating breakfast. If she hadn’t seen it with her own eyes, she would never have believed that it was the breakfast of a noble, the son of a Marquis.

—Simple black bread with boiled beans, without even milk or eggs. When she, out of compassion, took out milk and boiled eggs from her inventory and gave them to Derrick and the servants at the table with him, they had devoured the food ravenously. Derrick had even said in a voice trembling with emotion that he had rarely eaten such a fine breakfast since leaving the Marquis’s residence. A maid working in the residence had even eaten so quickly that she had almost choked to death, to the point that Yisi couldn’t help but give Derrick some red meat before she left, so that he and the servants could improve their diet.

What was particularly strange was that after Yisi had left the residence, Laxy had remarked to herself that the slums of this era were much cleaner than in the Age of Gods. Yisi could only awkwardly correct her that the place they had just visited was actually the city lord’s residence.