The Top-Tier Butler of the Marquis Family

Chapter 110

There was nothing especially remarkable about the basics of magic.

What mattered was how one used mana and the Mana Circuit. In the end, magic was manifested through the hands or other parts of the body, and since my mana was condensed in my heart rather than my dantian, I could send it coursing through my entire body more quickly.

Turning mana into magic was not particularly difficult either. That was partly a characteristic of Hand-Sign Magic, but because I had been training with my own unique mana-based Mental Cultivation Method, it was much easier to apply.

In other words, even without consciously trying, I could scatter mana the way blood already spread throughout the body with each beat of the heart.

Is this what people call genius?

A talent bestowed by the heavens.

My body had changed after reincarnation, and it felt as though it was being transformed into a body perfectly optimized for using mana.

I did not know whether Dilen had originally possessed this ability before I reincarnated, or whether it appeared right after reincarnation. One important thing was certain: I could recognize this ability, and I could use it.

“It isn’t hot at all.”

I looked down at the flame clinging to my finger. It felt warm, but it did not feel as though my flesh were burning.

Just in case, I picked up the sheet of paper lying beside me. Then I held the flame to it.

WHOOSH!

The paper caught fire.

“So it isn’t an ordinary flame.”

It was only about the size of a candle flame, but it ignited things far faster than ordinary fire. The paper flared up in an instant, as though I had touched it with a torch.

“First, I should memorize the hand signs.”

The key to Hand-Sign Magic was gathering mana at the fingertips and then completing the Formula as though drawing a picture. To do that, not only did the movements have to be exact, the amount of mana accompanying them had to remain constant as well.

It looked complicated, but once you understood the mechanism, it became simple.

You just had to follow the prescribed method.

Some people might say this. If you become stuck in a rigid mold, will that not keep you from improving?

That was true.

But what I was trying to do now was not to increase its power or improve it. I was learning it, so what mattered was following it exactly as it was and making it my own.

“If I could alter the Formula a little or adapt it to my own style, it feels like the power would increase or its form would change.”

The ideal would be Non-Hand-Sign Magic. In other words, manifesting magic exactly as I envisioned it without forming hand signs at all. But it seemed I still had some way to go before reaching that level.

“Hoo.”

I blew on my finger, and the spark clinging to it went out. The rising smoke made it feel even more like a real flame.

But I did not have time to sit around admiring it.

Once again, I drew mana from my heart, dyed my finger blue, and began forming the hand signs.

Hummm, huummm!

The best way to make any knowledge or method truly one’s own was repeated practice. I kept flicking my fingers, honing the ‘Flint’ spell.

Snap!

Had I done it around a hundred times? By now, I could produce a flame on my fingertip much faster.

At first glance, the ‘Flint’ spell looked completely useless, but that was far from the truth.

There were not many good tools for starting a fire here. In the mansion, I could tilt a candle to light something, but outside, I would have to use flint.

Fire was also necessary when exploring dark places like caves or dungeons, so there was absolutely no harm in learning this spell.

If it could spare me that trouble, it would be extremely convenient.

Especially for someone like me, who still had to do menial chores from time to time.

And so I continued lighting flames on my fingertip.

How much time had passed like that?

“At this point, I could do it with my eyes closed.”

The ‘Flint’ hand sign was now completely mine.

I had not yet grasped its principles or possible applications, but I still felt proud that I had properly mastered a spell.

That only made me more fascinated by mana as an energy source.

If everyone had been able to sense mana, and if the Twilight of Mana had never occurred, allowing magical civilization to continue developing, what would the world have become?

Even some passing mutt could probably draw hand signs with its tail and cast Fireball.

“All right, then the next spell is......”

Just as I was about to turn the page of the spellbook, I heard a knock. I frowned. I had specifically warned that brat Arthas about this.

“Attending Secretary. You have a visitor.”

I closed the book, stood up, and opened the door myself.

The visitor was Arwen. My irritation eased a little. Since it was Arwen and not anyone else, that was probably why he had informed me.

“What is it?”

“Ah, well. It’s nothing much......”

She seemed awkward, so I opened the door wider and gestured for her to come in. Arwen smiled faintly and stepped inside.

“What is all this?”

She was startled by the changed scene. There had not been all these books scattered around until this afternoon, so she could hardly help being surprised.

“They’re spellbooks. They’re a gift for Young Master Prah. I ordered them earlier when I went outside the mansion.”

“How fascinating. This is my first time seeing a spellbook!”

Excited like a child, she happily opened the books one after another. Apparently, she had not heard the rumor that these were meant for Young Master Prah.

As Arwen turned them this way and that and tried reading them, her shoulders drooped.

“This is boring. It’s too hard.”

“Hahaha. Of course a spellbook wouldn’t be easy.”

“Is that so?”

There was nothing in them she could understand. At the very least, only someone capable of controlling mana would be able to comprehend them. Even so, I did not stop her from leafing through the spellbooks.

Then Arwen noticed one spellbook lying open on the table and flinched.

“So you were reading this. Did I interrupt you?”

“Not at all. I was just bored, so I was reading a little.”

“What about your travel fatigue?”

“I’m fine with this much.”

Riding in a carriage was not as easy as one might think. For a modern man like me, used to comfortable cars and subways, it had been my first experience of hell.

But I had directed mana into my backside, my vestibular organ, and the muscles of my back, so I had felt almost no fatigue.

As a result, I had enjoyed the journey as comfortably as a passenger riding first class.

“By the way, what brings you here so late at night? Did the Young Lady ask for me?”

“It’s nothing like that. I bought something earlier when I went to the Commercial District.”

She held something out to me. Looking closer, I saw that it was a bracelet. When she held it out again, it became clear that she was not merely showing it to me. She was offering it to me.

“They say it brings you good luck if you wear it.”

“If luck came just from wearing something like that, everyone would be wearing one.”

I grumbled, but I still accepted the bracelet Arwen offered me. When I put it on, it did not feel bad at all.

“Thank you. I’ll wear it well.”

“Next time, let’s go out and have fun together.”

“By the way, how was your date with Arthas?”

“A, a date?!”

Arwen’s face turned bright red as she jumped in surprise. Teasing her really was fun. I grinned and shrugged.

“It did not look like Arthas disliked you.”

“It’s not like that! Please don’t say things like that anywhere else.”

“All right. You’re touchy. Go and get some rest.”

Though she still looked a little reluctant, Arwen left the room, perhaps feeling sorry for disturbing me any longer. I ran my fingers over the bracelet she had given me.

Around my neck hung the Protective Charm Young Lady Sapiela had given me, and around my wrist was the bracelet Arwen had given me. So all that was left now was a gift from Eluna, was it? An anklet would be a little uncomfortable, so a ring would probably be just right.

“......Enough with the Premature Expectations. I should get back to studying.”

As I sat down at the table, I once again offered my gratitude and respect to the Reincarnation Truck. Then I opened the spellbook I had been reading earlier.

The next spell was ‘Warmth’. Judging from the explanation, it seemed to be a spell that infused warmth.

My eyes gleamed as I devoured the book.

***

I stayed up all night. I simply could not fall asleep. Magic was like a game. The more I did it, the more desperately I wanted to keep trying.

The problem was that the more mana I consumed, the more my stamina ran dry as well.

I spent the night using mana, replenishing it with my Mental Cultivation Method, and repeating the process until morning came.

“This is bad. I’ll have to ride in a carriage for a while today. I’ll be lucky if I don’t doze off.”

I still could not use mana to suppress drowsiness. Since I was not normally the type to get by on little sleep, I was a bit worried, but there was no use crying over spilled milk now.

To summarize it simply, I had learned the ‘Flint’, ‘Warmth’, and ‘Fire’ spells.

When it came to the dream of Fire Magic, it was naturally Fireball. But I still needed a little more training before I could reach the Fireball spell. Flint and Warmth were support spells rather than offensive ones, while Fire was a Fire Magic spell with rather ambiguous usefulness.

When I formed the hand signs, a fist-sized ball of flame appeared in midair. That was all the Fire spell did.

When I first succeeded in casting it, it had felt truly wondrous and exhilarating, but now that I could use it with ease, I could not help but start wondering what practical use it actually had.

“Well, there’s no harm in learning it. It has to be useful somewhere.”

I was learning the principles of hand signs and their applications quickly enough that, if I broadened my knowledge by consulting other spellbooks, things would probably become easier soon enough.

The problem was the amount of mana I could actually draw upon.

With my current Mental Cultivation Method, I could gradually increase the amount of mana I possessed, but it did not seem as though it could keep up with the speed at which I was learning.

To put it plainly, I could use the ‘Flint’ spell dozens of times without putting any strain on my heart, but using the ‘Fire’ spell just a few times made my heart pound and left me drained. If I went on learning higher-level spells like this, I would undoubtedly hit my limit very quickly.

It was obvious that all of these problems stemmed from one thing: my absolute amount of mana was insufficient.

If I wanted to use more magic for longer, I would have to find a new Mental Cultivation Method. That was why I had decided to read books related to Mental Cultivation Methods tonight.

That was why my eyes were shining even though I was tired.

“Good morning, Mr. Brituang.”

“Yes. Come in.”

Before starting work, I went to find Brituang. There was no Training Officer here, but he had told me to receive my work instructions from him.

“We’ll be having many visitors starting today, won’t we?”

“People are already flooding in, trying to arrange appointments. As of this morning alone, three houses have already sent word before you even came to my room. Yesterday, ten houses expressed interest.”

Brituang pointed to the desk as if to show off. There were exactly thirteen letters lying there.

Before coming to the Royal Capital, I had memorized the names and histories of the many houses that had built up power there. So even while looking at the letters, I felt neither surprise nor novelty.

Instead, I quickly finished my analysis by pouring mana into my eyes.

“You’ve already sorted them to some extent.”

“How did you know?”

“Most kingdoms divide rank according to the hierarchy of duke, marquis, count, viscount, and baron, do they not? The top row contains letters from viscount houses and baron houses, the middle row contains letters from marquis houses and count houses, and the bottom row contains letters from ducal houses.”

And then there was one letter placed slightly apart from the rest. The luxurious paper adorned with a golden design deserved separate mention.

“And there is also a letter from the royal palace. Morata. I have heard that name before. It is a very special invitation sent by the Third Prince.”

“Hahahaha.”

Brituang nodded with a satisfied smile.

“Indeed. Just as the rumors said. You’ve read them very well. Then let me ask you this. In your opinion, whom would it be best to meet first?”

It had been a while since I had heard such an interesting question.