Chapter 190: The Fox, The Wolf, And The Wardroom
Kir got to the construction site for the Academy a bit later than he’d hoped, but only because he’d needed to go over details on how to properly make the cylinder and safety mechanisms. He very much emphasized exacting precision for each part.
He didn’t know if he’d only get one chance to feed Kangetsu, so he wanted to get it right the first time.
When he asked for Kordia, he was directed to the wardroom.
Kir hadn’t thought there would be too many casualties associated with construction, but what he found inside were mages - their mana strongly indicating either magic focused on generating force or working stone - mostly suffering from mana exhaustion.
One of the secrets he’d learned from Lumin was that mana exhaustion could happen when the body directly converted fats into mana, instead of passing the energy from the fats through the body. Alternatively, a body that couldn’t handle a large intake of mana experienced a more acute form of this exhaustion.
When he’d asked why it was secret, Lumin answered, "I imagine it’s because some fool thought getting fat would increase his mana, and probably died from it. But most witches learn it without becoming archons."
Even Kiryu didn’t have a theory on why that was, so it was something Kir looked forward to discovering more about should it pop up.
He approached Kordia with the paper-wrapped pastries in a small bag.
She was presently steaming towels in water with her magic, a small, steaming pyramid of them waiting to be taken to the dozen or so patients.
"Hey there," Kir said smoothly, leaning against the wall.
"Did Nurse Bush send you here? Please just find a cot if you need it," she said, keeping her focus on boiling the water.