After borrowing all the books he'd been reading from the library, Kuon hurried back to his house, bringing Vierra along.
At some point the rain had stopped, but the streets, still not fully leveled with stone paving, showed the remnants of puddles that had failed to soak completely into the ground and the drainage channels.
The mud clinging to their every step annoyed Vierra a little for dirtying her trousers, but it couldn't be helped. She sighed and followed Kuon along the path she'd lately come to remember.
This wasn't Vierra's first visit to their house. At first she'd been surprised by how long it took to get there, but after considering Kanon's condition and the work environment that suited Kuon, she'd eventually come to accept it.
'Still, I never thought they'd buy a house right away….'
Vierra had already received her share of the money, but she had no clear idea what to use it for. In the end, it was simply left to pile up in her own savings. The same went for Felix.
After several minutes of brisk walking, they finally arrived at the edge of the forest, where a building resembling an old mansion stood alone. Kuon had already renovated every damaged part or section in need of upkeep, so its appearance differed slightly from when he'd first bought the house.
In the backyard stood what used to be a greenhouse. Kuon had decided to keep its shape and replace all the glass and frames, before replanting all the flowers and plants to fill the space. A few chairs and tables had been neatly arranged as well, ready to be used at any time for their little tea gatherings.
There, Kanon could be seen sitting on a patch of grass surrounded by flowers of every color. At a glance, with her eyes closed, she seemed to be doing nothing at all. But even Kuon, whose sensitivity to Aether was low, could feel it—waves of Aether flowing gently around Kanon.
One of the exercises Vierra had emphasized with Kanon was Aether control, since Kanon was rather poor at it. The method she taught was relatively simple, relying only on deep meditation.
The greenhouse door opened, and Kanon opened her eyes too. From her vision, she immediately saw Vierra's and Kuon's Aether, faintly shimmering as a sign of its purity.
"Kuon? You're home early, and … Vierra?"
Kanon tilted her head for a moment. There shouldn't have been a training session today, and Vierra had mentioned wanting to enjoy her day off alone. There was no reason for her to be here now, unless something urgent had come up.
"Sorry to interrupt your practice. I just wanted to let you know I'll be joining the training too."
"Training? If it's magic training … wouldn't that be difficult for you? Our understanding and methods have been different from the start."
A reasonable question from Kanon. Though she'd always used her magic naturally, by her own instinct, ever since training with Vierra she'd begun adapting to the methods commonly used by people. And although Kanon didn't particularly like using them, she had to admit those methods tended to be more efficient and made her control more effective.
Kanon intended to use this method for the time being, until she could find one better suited to her.
On the other hand, Kuon didn't even bother glancing at the method Vierra taught. Its foundation was more or less similar to what he already understood—namely, designing a spell's structure from scratch. He'd used a similar method before, but it hadn't suited him well, and it closed off the potential for further development since the method was considered to have already reached its peak.
Kuon was still in the process of developing his own method.
"That's not a problem, because what I want to train isn't control or method, but my Aether sensitivity."
Kanon nodded at once, as though she understood. No, she knew what that was, but she'd never done it. From the start, improving one's perception of and sensitivity to Aether was a product created to imitate the ability of her eyes. She'd had the most perfect—and most dangerous—version of it from the very beginning.
Turning toward Vierra, Kanon confirmed her own guess.
"What kind of training is it?"
Vierra smiled faintly for a moment before answering, "The same method we learned at the LSF."
***
The method the LSF taught for developing this ability was well worth trying. However, there was a reason why the training was mostly conducted only at the LSF itself.
At the LSF, they had a room specially designed to provide an environment tailored to assist the training. It was a room capable of manifesting the 'form' of the Aether of whoever stood inside, and manipulating its shape until it became chaotic, like a tangled thread. With that, the person inside had to constantly repair the flow of that Aether while being required to protect their own body and Aether from the influence of an environment designed not only to disrupt the Aether inside the body, but also to impose a heavy physical and psychological burden that would certainly affect anyone inside.
Normally, those restrictions would be an obstacle to training. But as Kuon was thinking this over, Vierra stretched her lips into a confident smile.
"You should thank me, because luckily, I remember all the core formulas used to build that room's system. So we can make a simple replica."
That was what she'd said earlier. And now, the three of them stood before a door leading to an unused room in the basement of this house.
When he bought this property, Kuon hadn't expected to find a basement, but here he was. He'd consider it a bonus.
The room had been cleaned and was ready for use at any time. Kuon and Vierra decided to try it out in this room first. If it worked, they'd build a larger space to optimize the training Kuon needed.
After Vierra explained the theories she would apply, Kuon nodded at once, looking as though he'd just received enlightenment.
"I see. Aether can't be injected into an object, but it can be used to declare a concept. I'd been wondering about that ever since you talked about applying a magic system to a building, but if that's what you meant, then it's truly remarkable."
Kuon nodded as he adjusted his monocle for a moment. The concept Vierra described was a new breakthrough for him.
The Aether wasn't injected into the walls or the building itself, but into the 'confined space' within it.
To simplify, the concept and its workings could be said to be like modifying a closed room to create a suitable ecosystem. That was why the walls and other related objects wouldn't take part directly in the system. Their only task was to create a 'room' that would then be manipulated.
'An interesting explanation, but it still contradicts the things in my mind….'
If an object couldn't receive Aether directly, then how did they explain the concept of 'materialization' in magic? The nearest example was the material-manipulation magic Kuon had mastered. And then there was organic-type magic, which directly manipulated natural elements.
With those questions, there was one core point Kuon was curious about: how had such limitations come to be, and why did they produce theories that clashed with one another?
Setting all those questions aside for now, Kuon looked back at the room, now mystically modified.
The experiment had succeeded. He'd also analyzed the formula that was used, and was confident he could replicate it himself at any time.
"The experiment worked. In that case, I'll come back tomorrow to design a bigger one. Are you sure you can build the room?"
Vierra asked him with a satisfied smile. It was the first time she'd tried out the magic formula she'd studied for so long, and it felt wonderful that it had gone so well.
"That's trivial. I'll build the room tomorrow. For now, is there anything else I need to prepare?"
Walking toward the exit, Vierra seemed to think for a moment before shaking her head. "Other than deciding what kind of trigger you'll use, you don't need to prepare anything else. The rest will be handled by me and Kanon."
Even at the LSF, that special room was impossible to operate alone. That was because the room had to be constantly supplied with Aether to keep the magic circuitry inside it running.
And not just anyone was allowed to do it. Even at the LSF, only instructors and specially chosen people were permitted to assist with operation. The selection was determined by the Aether capacity they possessed.
Vierra had never operated it herself, but with Kanon here, there shouldn't be any problem. After all, Kanon's Aether capacity could easily surpass that of most Magicians at the LSF. Vierra's own capacity was only slightly larger than Kuon's and Felix's, but her main job wasn't to serve as a 'battery'—it was to make sure everything ran smoothly.
"That's why I want Kanon to rest tonight. Meditation is fine, but don't tire out your mind."
After saying that, Vierra turned around, waving her hand, and walked away.
Midway through her walk, she suddenly remembered—
" … That damn Kuon, he never answered my question!"
***
The next morning, in the backyard—not far from the greenhouse.
On the cleared plot of land, Kuon raised one hand forward and channeled some of his Aether to create the phenomenon in his head.
Now that he understood how to use Miracle Manipulation, he no longer bothered building his spell constructs and circuits from scratch, and could directly manifest whatever was in his mind.
Of course, this method was inefficient in terms of 'fuel,' since he was directly 'commanding' natural elements to perform a task. But it was more effective when considering only activation time and the mental burden he took on.
In the shape of a cube fifteen meters by fifteen meters, a series of stone walls formed an isolated room.
Vierra put off her reaction and immediately began the activation sequence for the formula they'd used yesterday. At the same time, Kanon also channeled her own Aether to support the fuel required for the first activation.
Less than three minutes later, the room was completed. Vierra checked it once more and found no problems. So she promptly turned around and reported to Kuon.
"Everything's ready. You can go in whenever you like."
Kuon nodded. "Thank you. By the way, where's Felix? I thought you'd come with him."
"Cut that out. Felix has been keeping himself busy with training ever since we got back from the mission, and I don't really want to disturb him."
Kuon could more or less guess the reason, and so could Kanon.
" … Tell him not to overdo it," Kanon said.
As a fellow member of the long-range support units in the previous mission, Kanon naturally understood what Felix was thinking right now. In fact, Kanon was going through the same thing.
'I feel partly responsible for those who fell, but Kuon said it isn't my fault at all.'
She'd done her best in that mission, and so had Felix. If Kanon fell into depression over it, then she wouldn't deserve to stand beside Kuon. After all, Kuon surely felt even more burdened, since he was the one who led that mission—including being the reason behind the deaths of several soldiers there.
Kuon seemed to know what Kanon was thinking, but he said nothing, instead ruffling the girl's hair with one hand before walking toward the structure he'd built.
Three meters tall, with no entrance. Yet Kuon casually ignored that fact as he walked straight through, as though the wall had never existed.
The structure was still a product of his Miracle Manipulation. And using that same power, he could create a phenomenon that let him walk through it for a fraction of a second.
" … Good luck," Kanon said in the quiet, gently smoothing her hair back into place.
"Alright, now we just need to make sure this room runs safely for the next three days."
Vierra had already explained the training process to Kuon and Kanon, and with Kuon's own abilities, he was sure to complete it.
At least, that was what she hoped.
"You can leave this place for now, Kanon. Didn't Kuon tell you not to wander around the back of the house alone?"
There were no strong monsters in this forest. And even if there were, they weren't a threat to Kanon. The problem wasn't monsters, but wild, savage animals that had almost no Aether. With the Aether in their bodies so thin it bordered on nonexistent, Kanon wouldn't be able to see them, and in the end she'd be helpless if faced with a surprise attack.
That was why Kuon had sternly forbidden her from going into that area without someone accompanying her.
'But I once made it through the Salt Forest alone….'
The Salt Forest was the temporary name the two of them used for the forest where they'd been dropped as Drifter. And while it was true Kanon had made it through that place alone, the reason was somewhat different.
In a place like that, there were almost no beasts or monsters without Aether, so she'd been able to fight them all by herself. Even so, she'd still ended up captured by bandits.
Kanon let out a long sigh and turned away from where she stood. Her face was slightly pouting, and Vierra could only suppress an uncontrollable urge to poke that pale cheek.
***
And so, three days passed.
During that time, neither Vierra nor Kanon had any real contact with Kuon. They only came once a day to perform routine maintenance on the magic circuitry and to deliver food supplies to Kuon; but even that was done without the slightest contact. This was the first time they'd see him after he'd shut himself away inside for three days.
Now, the appointed time had come. Vierra and Kanon patiently carried out the procedure of dismantling the magic circuitry and erasing the Aether residue from the formula that was still active.
Once all the circuitry had been cleared, the stone walls that had stood so firmly collapsed quickly and merged back into the surrounding earth.
There, Kuon could be seen standing upright, the tail of his hair swaying as though a strong wind were blowing—though in reality it was merely the residue of the Aether he'd been controlling.
Through her eyes, Kanon could see dozens, even hundreds, of bluish-white threads interwoven, dancing gently around Kuon as they slowly faded away.
'Is that what his "Aether threads" look like?'
"Ohh? Impressive."
Beside her, Vierra whistled before laughing with satisfaction.
His Aether capacity was the same as before, but its flow had become far more stable. Even his breathing flowed in a rhythm in sync with his Aether.
It seemed the training to improve his sensitivity had also helped him improve his control over Aether.
'Even though I had high expectations, this is still terrifying….'
A wry smile formed on Vierra's face as she walked toward Kuon.
"Congratulations on your progress. You gifted people really are terrifying," she said, giving a small round of applause before continuing, "So, how long did you actually spend in there?"
Vierra lowered her head, her eyes looking up at Kuon from below.
The other figure only looked back at her for a moment before sighing.
"Three days for you, but almost a week and a half for me."
The answer made Vierra smile in satisfaction. "Longer than I imagined. No wonder Kanon's Aether supply only lasted a day. You really used every last particle of it."
Normally, the amount of Aether Kanon provided should have been enough to supply the room with sufficient Aether for the next three days. Vierra had calculated everything well. Even so, that Aether ran out quickly and had to be replenished every day.
She could only speculate that Kuon had used Accel to increase his own training capacity. With time accelerated 3.5 times for his mind, he'd managed to repeat the exercise Vierra described over and over, until even the sensation of touching the 'Aether threads,' which should have been an illusion, became something natural to him.
Kanon quickly arrived at the same conclusion after hearing Vierra's explanation and the firsthand accounts from her viewers. She looked at Kuon intently. "Is your body alright?"
Accel always placed a heavy burden on Kuon's body and mind, but this time he only smiled faintly while repeatedly clenching his fists.
"It's not a problem as long as the results I've achieved are satisfying. Besides, my body has adapted enough to minimize the side effects."
'Though the burden is still considerable, of course.'
Kuon deliberately left that last sentence unsaid as he looked at Vierra.
"Thank you, Vierra. This is incredible."
His natural sensitivity and perception of Aether had improved considerably, and would grow even stronger if he used the enhancement he'd learned from that training.
"I'm rather hoping I won't have to use that sensitivity boost too often, because it turns out the trigger I chose is a bit excessive even for me…."
"Hmm? What trigger did you choose, exactly?"
Putting back on the monocle he'd kept stowed away all this time, Kuon answered briefly, "The sensation of your head and brain exploding."
Kuon could still feel phantom pain when he imagined the sensation he'd first conjured while deciding on the trigger.
'But whether it's regrettable or not, this is the most effective one for me.'
The reason Kuon chose that trigger wasn't that he'd picked it at random, but that his own constitution had changed drastically. Now, Kuon's body didn't truly have the capacity to feel real pain. He'd tried countless times, but the result was always the same.
His body was too hard to be slashed or pierced by ordinary weapons. That was why physical pain had become a slightly foreign concept to him. On the other hand, he could still feel pain received by his internal organs; since those parts were fundamentally far softer than his outer body. Even with the reinforcement from adaptation, they wouldn't become that hard. Because of this problem, Kuon immediately thought of using his own internal organs as the trigger to activate the sensitivity boost. And the first thing that came to mind was his own brain.
To him, the brain was the most vital organ, not only because it was the 'core of life' itself, but because he relied on his brain at every moment. So if something painful happened to his brain, he would surely react faster than he would with any other organ.
Both Vierra and Kanon winced in horror as they imagined that pain. But setting all that aside, the trigger Kuon chose might well be the most fitting one for him. It was only their personal judgment, but Kuon probably wouldn't care much about mild pain, which would slow his reaction.
" … I can't really imagine it. But as long as you're alright, I suppose it's fine."
Kanon accepted it quickly and let out a sigh of relief, then smiled. "Shall we take a short break? I'd also like to report on the progress of my training."
"Sure. Let's go to the greenhouse." Kuon nodded, then turned to Vierra. "You shouldn't think too hard about it. Something like that is only possible because it's me doing it. Keep your mind intact, and never imagine pain like that, Vierra."
' … Of course I know that, idiot.'