The camping ground was silent, with not a single person around.
Yet, I didn’t feel lonely or desolate in the slightest.
If it were someone else here instead of me, wouldn’t they feel the same way?
After all, anyone who went out of their way to find such a secluded campsite would likely be someone seeking a quiet escape from the gaze of others.
“Don’t you think so?”
“He-eek…”
Sadly, Da-eun seemed too out of it to respond.
I clicked my tongue as I watched her unfocused black eyes wobbling unsteadily.
“Why are you acting like this when I didn’t even make you do anything difficult?”
“He-h-hick…”“…Hmm.”
…Is she an animal?
The sounds Da-eun made were becoming less and less human as time passed.
If this continued, would she regress to a monkey?
‘I’d actually like to see that.’
Of course, something like that wouldn’t actually happen.
“Let’s stop here.”
“Heeeeek…”
The moment I removed my hand from her neck, Da-eun slumped down like a puppet with its strings cut.
“You’re so dramatic.”
“I… I wish I were just being dramatic… Huuu…”
“You are. It didn’t even hurt, did it? Am I wrong?”
“It didn’t hurt, but… I don’t know! It was just an indescribably strange feeling!”
Da-eun, sprawled over the small table, shuddered.
As I took a seat in the chair beside her, Da-eun’s head turned towards me.
“This wasn’t what I expected at all… I was imagining sitting cross-legged and meditating or channeling energy through my body, or at least swinging a sword until I could feel the Mana…”
“…Channeling energy?”
I wasn’t sure what that even meant, but whatever it was, it clearly wasn’t what I had done.
What I’d actually done was let my Mana flow onto Da-eun.
To be precise, it wasn’t quite like channeling it inside her; rather, I allowed it to gently touch her skin.
Like pouring water over oneself while bathing.
“I wouldn’t normally teach it this way, either.”
I didn’t know how wizards learned this stuff myself.
Since it’s a path one can’t even begin without innate talent, I could only guess they’d sense Mana instinctively before they even started.
However, the path of a swordsman is different.
“Learning to use Mana this way wouldn’t be useful anyway.”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“If you’re a swordsman, you should know how to wield your body, right? What’s the point if you only know how to use Mana? It’s not like Mana can cast spells.”
“Oh… So you’re saying you have to unify body and mind to truly wield power?”
“Where did you even pick up something like that?”
“From a book. Want to read it, too, Kana?”
“…Maybe later.”
I wasn’t so sure about viewing Mana through the mind, but it wasn’t entirely off-topic, so I nodded.
“Just like using Mana to strengthen the body is pointless if you don’t make contact, a solid foundation in physical techniques is necessary for it to have meaning. Also, as your senses become more honed through training, you naturally become sensitive to the flow of Mana around you, making such a roundabout method unnecessary.”
“I see… Huh? But why did you do it this way for me?”
“There are plenty of reasons for that…”
There wasn’t enough time to go through all of them.
With the sun dipping low beyond the mountains, it seemed like evening wasn’t far off.
And I couldn’t ruin our dinner plans by explaining things all night when Da-eun had already said, “I prepared premium meat for tonight, so look forward to it!”
“Besides, Da-eun, you aren’t trying to learn Mana to fight, right?”
While I think there’s no harm in knowing how to fight, this country is practically a paradise compared to the blood-soaked, scream-filled land of Silia.
Time was undeniably too short to do things properly.
Moreover, if things continued the way the Administrator and Edel intended, the current imbalance between body and Mana would eventually be reconciled to some extent.
“I thought it’d be better to at least teach you the basics quickly, instead of taking too long on this.”
“Kana, you always have everything planned out, don’t you…?”
“Did you think I was teaching you without any thought?”
“…A little?”
“What?”
“No, no, I didn’t mean you’re clueless, Kana! It’s just… you know, there’s that saying that geniuses can’t understand the minds of ordinary people! And you’re the genius among geniuses, Kana… Plus, being good with a sword doesn’t necessarily mean you’re a good teacher…”
Logically, it made sense, but for some reason, it was incredibly irritating to hear.
“Have you already forgotten who taught you in Silia?”
“…Actually, that just makes me trust you less.”
“…Looks like I have to really put you through the wringer now.”
“Ugh, no…! But that’s not fair, Kana! It’s your fault!”
“It’s my fault?”
“Yes!”
Da-eun yelled back. Crossing my arms, I waited to hear what she had to say, and she raised her voice, sounding frustrated.
“You said you’d teach me swordsmanship, but then you just threw me into fights with other people…! And just when I was getting used to that, you started sparring with me yourself…!”
“…”
“What I wanted was a gentle Teacher Kana, not a terrifying drill sergeant…”
Listening to her complaints, I slowly uncrossed my arms.
Hearing her vent like this made me almost feel…
—No, not really.
“It worked, though, didn’t it?”
Da-eun’s face crumpled as she took the hit.
“Ugh… Yeah, I guess…”
“And if I recall correctly, I didn’t just throw you into sparring right from the start.”
I remembered correcting her sloppy form because I just couldn’t stand watching it any longer. Where was all this exaggeration coming from?
“I was wrong…”
Da-eun raised a white flag.
“As an offering of apology, I humbly present this chocolate to you! Please forgive me!”
“…Just this once.”
Normally, someone who failed a rebellion deserves the death penalty, but since she seemed genuinely remorseful, I’d let it slide just this once.
With that minor commotion resolved, we busied ourselves preparing dinner.
Da-eun went to the pile of firewood stacked at the edge of the campsite, grabbing a bundle and starting a fire, while pulling out various tools with unknown purposes.
As I helped her carry the supplies, I casually asked her a question.
“Do you always do it this way?”
“What do you mean? Oh, you mean the preparations? Not always like this.”
Da-eun, crouching to poke between the logs, straightened up.
“Sometimes, if I want to relax, I’ll go to a glamping site or even a hotel. But today, I came here on purpose to remind myself of when we used to travel together, Kana. Back then, we had to prepare everything ourselves, right?”
Though it hadn’t been that long ago, Da-eun looked at me with a nostalgic gaze, as if recalling a distant past.
Memories… is it?
“…It wasn’t too bad.”
“Right? Hmm, now that I think of it, I wonder how Celine is doing?”
“She’s probably eating well and living her best life.”
“That’s so cold!”
“It’s not cold; it’s the truth. Someone as capable as Celine would have a hard time not thriving.”
“Ugh! I was just wondering how she was doing. Do you have to respond so harshly?”
Pouting, Da-eun placed the meat on the grill.
Before long, the scent of roasting meat filled the air around us.
It wouldn’t be surprising if the smell attracted some wild animals.
The smell was so intense it felt like it could attract wild animals.
Though it wasn’t my first time grilling meat outdoors, why did it feel so much more mouthwatering?
‘Or maybe it’s because I already know how good it’s going to taste?’
Without Da-eun noticing, I swallowed the saliva gathering in my mouth.
“In Silia, it’s more important to know whether someone is alive rather than how they’re living.”
“Oh…”
In Silia, there aren’t many ways to contact people who are far away.
Of course, it’s different for the wealthy, but not everyone has that kind of money.
Since anything can happen at any time, you simply wish for everyone’s survival.
You can catch up on what they’ve been up to when you reunite.
Hearing this, Da-eun, who had been busy grilling, dropped her arms, looking gloomy.
“…I’m sorry.”
“? Why are you apologizing all of a sudden?”
“…I called you coldhearted without knowing all that.”
“Oh, come on. That’s hardly something to apologize for.”
Feeling sorry over something so trivial…
“I wasn’t saying it to make you feel bad. Besides, I know I can be a bit blunt.”
Dad used to say it to me all the time too.
He’d always ask why his daughter had to be so curt.
I’ve heard it so many times by now that hearing it again didn’t even faze me.
“So don’t worry about it.”
“Kana…”
“If you keep worrying, the meat’s going to burn.”
“…”
“If it burns, I won’t forgive you.”
The tears that had been welling up in Da-eun’s eyes dried up as quickly as a desert.
“Seriously…”
With a sigh, Da-eun flipped the meat with her tongs.
Fortunately, the bottom side, facing the fire, had taken on a delicious color.
“Yeah. Just like you said, Kana, she’s probably doing fine. And worst-case, we can always go see her in Laxia.”
“Laxia?”
“Oh, did I forget to tell you? Celine said she’d stay in Laxia to finish some business.”
“Right. Got it.”
“You don’t seem too surprised.”
“There’s nothing surprising about it.”
Celine staying in Laxia was hardly a big deal.
I’d already heard that Edel had given her some tasks, so there was no reason to be surprised.
Da-eun, who had been absorbed in grilling, suddenly wore a bittersweet smile.
“I wish Kana could come to Silia too.”
“Hm?”
“…Hm?”
“I can go, you know?”
“You can?”
Da-eun’s eyes widened at my response before she let out an “Oh” as if she’d realized something.
“Oh, right. You could use a capsule.”
“No. That won’t work.”
There’s no way an artificially created body could properly contain me.
“Then… how do you go?”
“Like this.”
Sometimes seeing is believing.
I picked up a stray branch and swung it, and the scene beyond the campfire split open.
Seeing the exotic view on the other side, Da-eun’s mouth fell open.
“It’s not something I can do often, but it’s not completely impossible.”
After all, my body over there is technically dead.
It may look simple, but there are a lot of details to consider.
“…It doesn’t look simple at all.”
Da-eun muttered with a serious face as I shrugged and popped a piece of meat into my mouth.
“You can eat like that?”
“Yep.”
Of course, I could.
The meat really was as high quality as she’d promised—it melted in my mouth.
—
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