“Phew..."
His face looked refreshed as if he had just had a good workout.
The homunculus, who had been trembling as if the sky was falling, looked at Michael with astonishment.
Michael, however, returned to the shelter leisurely, without paying attention to the dragon's gaze.
“I will start treatment again.”
“Huh? Oh, okay.”
I came to my senses when I heard Michael's calm voice. I, too, was mesmerized by the horrific attack that poured into the sky.
'You're really strong, Michael'
Michael looked back as if my eyes were filled with admiration.
There was.
“Your Highness, you must have a lot of work to do, so leave this place to me and return to your barracks.”
“I guess so. I’ll come by every now and then to check it out.”
After I left the shelter, Michael devoted himself more earnestly to healing through Mana Drain.
“Why am I here...?”
“Am I alive?”
When their consciousness returned, those who were puzzled were taken care of by Cadeline.
“I will start treatment again.”
“Huh? Oh, okay.”
I came to my senses when I heard Michael's calm voice. I, too, was mesmerized by the horrific attack that poured into the sky.
'You're really strong, Michael'
Michael looked back as if my eyes were filled with admiration.
There was.
“Your Highness, you must have a lot of work to do, so leave this place to me and return to your barracks.”
“I guess so. I’ll come by every now and then to check it out.”
After I left the shelter, Michael devoted himself more earnestly to healing through Mana Drain.
“Why am I here...?”
“Am I alive?”
When their consciousness returned, those who were puzzled were taken care of by Cadeline.
It was a mana drain that had already been going on for two hours. Cadeline realized that Micale had skipped dinner.
She spoke to Michael as she brought him bread and soup.
“I can’t tell you how grateful I am that Her Highness the Seventh Princess and Sir Agnito have come to Lapis Village.”
“It’s my people’s business. Sir Belcram has been looking after my people for a long time. I am the grateful one.”
“My people... I think this is the first time I’ve heard that.”
Instilled with an extreme sense of survival and blind loyalty, the homunculuss had virtually no bond with one another.
Only then did Michael realize that he had not spoken like a normal homunculus.
Micheal, for some reason, turned his words around in a stinging word.
“I can’t tell you how grateful I am that Her Highness the Seventh Princess and Sir Agnito have come to Lapis Village.”
“It’s my people’s business. Sir Belcram has been looking after my people for a long time. I am the grateful one.”
“My people... I think this is the first time I’ve heard that.”
Instilled with an extreme sense of survival and blind loyalty, the homunculuss had virtually no bond with one another.
Only then did Michael realize that he had not spoken like a normal homunculus.
Micheal, for some reason, turned his words around in a stinging word.
“We’ve finished treating the unconscious. Would you please prepare the conscious ones?”
“Yes. Leave it to me.”
“I’ll go and drain the mana.”
A long time had passed since the sunset. It was already dark and quiet at night.
The homunculus either went to sleep or lay down to rest their tired bodies.
Some were leaning against the doorless doorway, taking in the bleak village scenery. When some of them into contact with Michael, they turned their heads in amazement.
Michael swallowed a sigh. Although rejection was a familiar thing, it bothered him today for some reason.
At that moment, a golden butterfly flew in, cutting through the night air.
“Amber.”
Flap flap.
“My Princess seems busy.”
Michael let Amber rest on his finger and placed her carefully on his shoulder.
“Amber, this time you too will go. I will show you the sky that you cannot reach with your wings.”
Michael kicked the ground. His body flew high into the full moon night sky.
Wheeeeeek!
The wind in the sky was fierce. If he continued like this, amber on his shoulder would fly away like a flower petal caught in a storm.
It was.
Michael unbuttoned his collar and opened the front of his uniform coat. Amber looked desperate as if she had been waiting for him.
It dug into the uniform with a flap of its wings.
Michael looked down at the butterfly in his arms and said teasingly.
“You can’t even withstand this much wind? You take after my Princess and are weak in physical strength.”
Flap!
“What is it? There’s black powder coming out.”
Amber showed signs of displeasure, perhaps because she had offended him. Michael pretended not to know and laughed quietly.
Before he knew it, Michael had reached the distant sky.
Just like before, he was thinking of raising the sword energy and consuming mana, but then he changed his mind.
'It's night, so let's reduce noise.'
Michael was a man of common sense.
After much thought, he decided to use flame magic.
Countless fireballs began to form on either side of Michael.
The number was so huge that it was almost as if they were summoning an army of fire.
If he were to cast magic on the ground like this, he could probably destroy a city.
The consumption of mana increased exponentially as the number of flame balls increased. Mana also escaped one after another just by maintaining numerous flame balls in the cold and bitter wind.
It wasn't as good as slashing the air with a night ray, but it was pretty efficient.
His mana is slowly getting close to being depleted.
Michael detonated thousands of fireballs simultaneously in place to finish the fight.
Boom boom! Boom! Boom!
As intended, the hearing pollution was greatly reduced.
The sky was flashing. It was quite a spectacular chain of explosions. From the ground, it looked exactly like this.
These were fireworks.
It was then that Michael realized he was in a bit of a difficult situation.
'Oh, no. Mana..."
It was a calculation error. It was good until he used up almost all of his mana.
Even the mana needed to use flight magic became precarious.
Michael hurried to the ground. He was almost in a state of collapse.
It was a descent. Amber in his arms flapped her wings in surprise.
Tap.
Michael was able to land on the ground almost immediately after his mana was depleted.
Whether his heart led him or not, the landing location was in front of Eve's barracks.
Eve had just come out to watch the fireworks display that Michael had created.
Michael approached Eve, who was alone, from behind.
“Princess.”
“Michael?”
Eve opened her eyes wide as soon as she saw Michael. She was surprised.
It was strange that I made a sound on purpose to avoid it and sent Amber flying in advance.
The reason became clear soon enough.
“Your head... what happened?”
Michael looked at his bangs in the barracks lights.
It was a pale pink, like when he wore restraints.
He diagnosed his own condition nonchalantly.
"Even if the mana is depleted, the color changes."
“Ah, that’s right. The restraints are not circulating mana in the circuit. It’s fundamentally the same as being in a state of mana depletion, as it acts as a blocking effect.”
It was a new discovery about the hair color of homunculus. Usually, Homunculus were probably not well known until now because they rarely ran out of mana.
“Homunculus are really sensitive to mana.”
“Because my body is designed to sense mana well.”
Michael answered like that and turned his gaze to the side.
Because Eve had to stand up and bring her face closer to see the pink hair.
“Don’t worry about hair color. I’ll soon be able to drain other people’s mana and recover.”
“It’s a shame. The pink is pretty.”
“...I am glad that you like it, Princess.”
There was no sincerity in the reply. It was obvious that Michael himself did not like his hair color.
I recalled herself having hated lime blonde in the past, so I found a resemblance to him and made a small laugh.
After the fireworks, the night sky was filled with stars shining brightly.
Michael looked up at it and expressed his admiration.
"It's a night sky like the makeup of Lady Granice."
"I know."
Eve and Michael were dozing off inside the barracks, perhaps tired from their busy schedule.
I looked at it with a smile. I asked Peony.
“It’s late at night, are there still many patients left to treat?”
“Those who are unconscious are finished.”
“If they are conscious, they can give and receive mana. It’ll be a little easier if they can agree to do it.”
“That’s good news. I plan to finish it by tomorrow morning.”
"Yeah. Then the urgent fire is off. The problem is patients who develop or relapse after Michael leaves. I have no one to drain mana, so I have to use alchemy treatment. I'm going to make a potion to alleviate mana infarction."
“You were even thinking about follow-up measures. I am grateful for the Princess’s care.”
Michael once again expressed his gratitude as a representative of the homunculus.
Then I carefully brought up the question.
“Michael, did you notice any unusual symptoms in your body today?”
“Not at all. It’s okay.”
"I see."
I, who confirmed that there were still no signs of awakening, slumped my shoulders. Michael's eyes narrowed slightly.
“It seemed like you were feeling sorry for something just now.”
"No."
I smiled and waved my hand. Michael showed great manners by not burying as deeply as ever.
“Then I guess I’ll be going now.”
“Yeah. Don’t push yourself too hard.”
After making sure Eve entered the barracks, Michael headed back to the shelter.
During Michael's absence, Cadeline set up a treatment center for him.
Thanks to this, Michael was saved from the trouble of running around here and there.
“Thank you so much.”
“I will not forget this favor.”
Perhaps because he was their savior, the homunculus that received treatment did not feel uncomfortable with Michael.
On the contrary, countless people repeated their thanks and were then led away by Cadeline.
It was when he had sucked in mana like that and discarded it when it was full three more times.
The dim light of dawn came in through the wide-open window.
'Was it a bit much to use magic all night?'
Michael felt his vision slightly blurry. His brows furrowed slightly.
“Are you okay, Michael? If you’re tired, why don’t you rest for a bit?”
“We are fine. We can wait. Think about Michael’s body..."
Not only the homunculus be quick to notice Michael's condition, but they also added honorifics after his name.
"Okay."
It was the moment when Michael waved his hand as if to reassure her.
'What?'
His vision went blank, making his previous comment that he was okay seem meaningless.
He thought he might have fainted, but that wasn't the case. He remained conscious throughout.
Soon the white light disappeared. But the scenery that appeared again was not the clinic of the shelter.
'Here...'
Huge pupils, damp and unpleasant darkness, squeaking, reminiscent of the dragon's lair.
A nasty noise, and iron bars.
This place, so familiar that it is almost disgusting, is the floating public prison.
Michael became a monster with long hair like a mane again and was trapped in it. His fingerprints cooled down.
"Okay."
It was the moment when Michael waved his hand as if to reassure her.
'What?'
His vision went blank, making his previous comment that he was okay seem meaningless.
He thought he might have fainted, but that wasn't the case. He remained conscious throughout.
Soon the white light disappeared. But the scenery that appeared again was not the clinic of the shelter.
'Here...'
Huge pupils, damp and unpleasant darkness, squeaking, reminiscent of the dragon's lair.
A nasty noise, and iron bars.
This place, so familiar that it is almost disgusting, is the floating public prison.
Michael became a monster with long hair like a mane again and was trapped in it. His fingerprints cooled down.
That was when.
Kuuung!
The floating prison that was holding Michael crashed to the ground. Strangely, there was no impact.
Michael took a step out of the open prison door.
The handcuffs that acted as restraints for the mana circuit were broken. Accordingly, the long hair turned black as if it was absorbing the surrounding darkness.
Princess... Where is the Princess...
Here, in this suspended prison, Michael's spirit was weakened. He desperately sought light and warmth.
But his Princess was not there. Instead, what he found in the darkness were hundreds of pairs of eyes.
All the homunculus in the training center were watching Michael.
'What are you guys?'
It was when Michael showed his vigilance.
Hundreds of homunculus simultaneously knelt on one knee and bowed their heads toward Michael.
It was an example to the lord.
Michael's eyes widened. And at that moment, white light burned his vision again, dispelling the illusion.
The moment he returned to reality, Michael felt his chest heat up. His mana core was heating up.
He knew this feeling well. It was the Mana Core growing to the next level.
The mana core that determines the level of magic never grows through the mana drain.
If that were the case, the world would have already become a battleground for magicians who learned Mana Drain.
The situation was clear from the illusion earlier.
'Ah, so this is how it's done.'
He got the feeling. It is an act of sucking the mana of the same race under agreement. Through this, the power of the King can be awakened.
It was clear.
'No, I'm not a vampire.'
It was so absurd that he almost burst out laughing.
“Michael, are you really okay?”
“Ah, it’s okay. Really. I'll continue to treat them."
Michael's hand once again sucked the mana from the homunculus' chest.
After recognizing the awakening method, he felt something.
It wasn't enough to just suck up the mana of weak, low-level homunculus like that.
It seemed like it would be much more effective to suck up the mana of stronger guys.
This was a gut feeling that bordered on certainty.
'Who am I sucking?'
It was when he was lost in thought, having vampire-like thoughts.
Why was it?
The first face that came to mind was that of his silver-haired roommate.
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