After wiping the residue off his lip, Lunan got up.
"Huh. I sensed unfamiliar mana and immediately rushed to the scene. To think I would have ended up in such a situation."
Lunan looked up, a brow raised in curiosity.
"Unfamiliar… mana?" he asked, walking over toward Isalda.
She didn't glance at him, paying attention to Bastle's fallen body.
She moved her hand to his neck, then his wrist, feeling for his vitals. Confirming that he was alive, he threw him over her shoulder.
"Apologies for the late introduction. Good evening, Lunan de Mumixir. My name is Isalda van Mahaut. The unfamiliar mana is coming from this boy."
"… Thank you, miss Mahaut. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have been alive right now."
Lunan paused, deciding to speak after he felt his question was reasonable.
"The unfamiliar mana that you speak of… do you know what it is?"
"No. But it's coming from this boy."
— Now that I think about it… that strange glowing energy must be what she's talking about.
"At the same time… it feels oddly familiar," Isalda noted. She got up from her kneeling position and stood up.
"Report this to the king or the investigative branch. I heard that a murder was being investigated. This must be the murderer, correct."
"You catch on… fast."
"I'll take this boy to the infirmary."
"Yes ma'am."
— I'm a general, yet I have a strange urge to blindly follow this woman…
Lunan scratched his head.
"Shouldn't I be giving out the commands?" he said to himself, alone in the quiet night.
She disappeared quite fast.
A speed Lunan's eyes could not follow.
"It's a good thing that she intervened. I was so close to using 'that' power."
He raised his hand, staring at his palm. Observing the lines. As quickly as he raised it, he dropped it to his sides.
Lunan let out a sigh.
"Now that it's over… I have to report it. I wonder where I'll be sent to next. Should I take a break? This war is starting to stress me out. Responsibilities. I haven't even hit 70 yet.
"I'll file my resignation… go home and relax, taking nice baths every day."
"How selfish of you."
Without turning around, Lunan was certain who the cold voice belonged to. Despite knowing, he turned around anyway.
"Nueluth van Mahaut. You know, I just spoke to your cousin-"
"I don't really care. I'm here to look for Ireciez. Have you seen him here?"
"Is he even stationed here?" Lunan followed up with another question.
"… I'll take that as a no."
. .
.
(Lyrei)
"Haah…"
Without knowing, I let out a heavy sigh of stress.
In front of me, atop my large curved wooden desk, were several stacks of papers, cluttered. Ready for me to review, and look at. I knew that being the leader of a kingdom would be challenging, but goodness.
Within the royal palace, I sat in the room where all the bills and laws were approved or denied.
In these past months, I've made a lot of changes.
That lazy nun did nothing for this kingdom, besides look pretty and have a smile on her face. Besides healing people, she was useless.
Before I made a deal with the barbarians, our military was weak. It's only thanks to her status as a Saint that this kingdom wasn't invaded.
"Now that I'm thinking about it... I haven't officially registered the Barbarians. If I take in all the land that they occupy... eventually, I'll be able to unite the entire peninsula, won't I?" my thoughts slipped out.
I shuffled through papers.
"But then again, if I were to attack Venichian without any justification, how would I be seen? Haa... then I shouldn't focus on unification right now. I should really be paying attention to these papers."
A paper caught my eye. Several papers.
After straightening out the papers, I read them.
Taxes... Suggestions on taxes...
This stupid Saint... how could she make such ridiculous taxes!
Despite how beautiful this kingdom looks... the money used for infrastructure is likely all donated. When you're a kind person, people really try to help you.
But I'm not a kind person!
An increase in taxes!
People will definitely be against it. I'll figure that out later.
I need more money, so I can start building infrastructure in the barbarian lands.
Jeez... this is far too stressful.
At least, refining my alternate mana has gotten easier.