kscans

Chapter 58 - Because I Love You, I Will Make You an Eternal Source of Mana

The Magic Furnace's mana was still insufficient. The pale pink glow of the power reactor was far too faint.

He slowly drew blood from the thin arm of the unconscious Ariel, who was bound by mana-suppressing chains, and converted it into mana.

Even when she was on the verge of stopping breathing, a dose of High Potion would bring her back. It wasn't the superior medicine she made, so its effects were mediocre. Still, it was too soon for her to die.

"Ah, you look like you're about to die. But you can't. I still need to get much more mana from you."

He caressed Ariel's cheek. But in that instant, the impulse to destroy that beautiful face flashed through his chest.

Irritation clawed at him. No matter how much I master magic, no matter how much I long for her, she never looks my way. No, she doesn't even let me enter her line of sight.

She was hatefully beautiful. So dear, yet so unforgivable. He had tried to kill her once, but her power had repelled him, and he had failed.

She really is an incredible person. Worthy of my love.

⸻

He had first seen Ariel over a decade ago. At the time, I was a commoner-born magic soldier, called a "rising star" within the Mage Order.

On the battlefield, a single swing of my arm could blow away a cluster of enemy soldiers. I felt like a god.

But our opponent was a major power. They were advanced not only in magic but also in science, and my power alone was not enough to push them back. It was then that Orphen, the captain of the Mage Order at the time, sent Ariel as "reinforcement."

She was still young. And a commoner, just like me. Yet she was the "Captain of the Tree Sea Defense Force." A higher rank than me.

My pride was torn to shreds. What's more, when I greeted her, she completely ignored me. I wasn't even in her field of vision.

Just as I was about to explode with frustration, I was caught in an enemy bombing.

A searing pain.

"Damn it, for me to die... in a place like this!"

As my vision blurred, I felt a soft sensation on my lips. A liquid was poured in.

A High Potion.

The one who had saved me was Ariel.

"You...?"

Anger surged within me. Of all people, I was being saved by her?

What's more, she was pouring High Potions into the mouths of various soldiers with her own. It was a humiliation. In her eyes, was I no different from any other soldier?

Then, in the next moment, I was speechless.

She had single-handedly wiped out the enemy's encampment. The surrounding area was a scorched plain. Until now, I had thought I was amazing for simply defeating the soldiers in front of me.

I can't win. A being like this actually exists.

I was saved by her, and I was captivated.

⸻

From then on, I desperately studied alchemy. Alchemy was for those who couldn't become mages, a way for them to taste the same kind of elation.

But I had been saved by such a thing. Yet, no matter how hard I tried, the Potions I made never once came close to hers.

I even visited the renowned Moonshadow Teahouse in the Royal Capital, but the medicines there were all just "similar." They were not the powerful High Potion from that time.

In the end, I was still unable to create anything that surpassed it.

⸻

Eventually, I became the captain of the Mage Order. I heard that Ariel was still the captain of the Tree Sea Defense Force.

In that case, I just had to make my move. I would use the King to bind Ariel to this country.

This country is weak. It lacks the power to see into the future, and it is declining, concerned only with social status. When a major power eventually invades, it will be destroyed in an instant.

In that case, I will use it to my advantage.

I will build a Magic Furnace and give her the job of pouring mana from the monsters of the Tree Sea into it. That way, I can continue to see her, and this country's military strength will increase. Life will become more prosperous.

If she refuses, I will simply make her the source of mana herself.

As it turned out, she rejected my proposal, time and time again.

Even when I had the King apply pressure, she refused me with a resolute attitude and an unwavering gaze. That cold stare was unbearably hateful.

And through investigation, I learned something. She was managing the "Moonshadow Teahouse" and raising talented alchemists there. Furthermore, she was in a romantic relationship with Supreme Commander Darius.

There was no way I could forgive that.

So in the end, you were just another woman who sold herself to a nobleman. And here I was, purely thinking of the country, and of you.

Then you will receive your just deserts. As a being connected to this country's Magic Furnace, to have your mana eternally drained.

Rainer's lips twisted into a smile.