However, Lestia felt like she was talking to the magic book.
‘Choose, what do you mean by choose?’
[ What power do you want to put in here? ]
‘Power?’
[ I am waiting for your answer. ]
The soles of her feet buzzed as the magic circle spread out and rang. All kinds of mana were swirling above the magic circle and they looked like they were clamoring for Lestia to choose them.
But Lestia couldn’t figure out what it meant. The magic book did not write about what power she could choose. So, she answered…
‘I don’t know what power to put in here.’
Then, the magic book answered.
[ Then, here. ]
Lestia stopped reading. This was because there were no more pages for her to read. The magic circle that formed under her feet also disappeared. However, a black pebble the size of a fingernail fell on the spot.
Clap, clap, clap!
Katrina’s eyes widened as she applauded loudly.
“My goodness! It’s really possible! My lady, did you just realize what you have done! I can’t believe you were able to make this just by reading a magic book!”
Katrina shouted excitedly as she lifted the pebble up.
The pebble was so black that it looked like it could swallow the light.
Lestia was dumbfounded as she asked Katrina.
“Katrina-nim, what did I make?”
“Ah. What the little lady made is a mana stone.”
“Mana stone?”
“It’s a gemstone filled with mana. Originally, we can create this by finding the formula in the magic book and interpreting it before combining various ingredients. But you just extracted it from thin air! That’s extremely amazing!”
“Is it really that amazing?”
Lestia couldn’t understand. What was in front of her just looked like a small pebble.
“It’s really amazing! If we manipulate this mana stone then we can make a neutral mana stone!”
Lestia’s voice grew louder when she heard about the neutral mana stone.
“Ah! Then, I can make a neutral mana stone too?”
“Of course! It is possible with a magic book with that content.”
It was at that moment that Lestia realized what the magic book had asked her before.
[ What power do you want to put in here? ]
‘Perhaps it’s possible to create a neutral mana stone by pulling out the attributes of mana from the magic circle?’
But Lestia couldn’t figure out how. It was not written in the magic book. However, if she could make it then she wanted to give it to her brothers as a gift.
‘It’s more useful than the paper flowers from before so Lysian-nim will probably accept it happily.’
She wanted to make it properly so she could give Gerard, Mathias and Joel too. It sounded fun even though it was just in her imagination.
So, she asked Katrina.
“Katrina-nim, I want to see the magic book with instructions on how to make the neutral mana stone, please!”
However, Katrina looked like she was troubled.
“Uhm. I’m sorry little lady. The magic book with the method of creating neutral mana stone is being tightly guarded by the Imperial Family. So I really can’t show it to you.”
“Yes? Why is the Imperial Family hiding it?”
“Ahem. How to say this…”
Katrina thought for a while before answering her.
“Well, the young lady should know since you’re a Verchester too. Were you aware that the neutral mana stone is necessary to neutralize and stabilize the members of the Verchester Duchy?”
“Ah. Yes. Brother Joel explained to me that they really need it.”
“Then, it’s like their weakness. Since the Verchester need it badly, it has become their weakness.”
Lestia immediately understood the relationship between the Verchester Duchy and the Imperial Family. No other explanation was needed.
Lestia was fully aware about relationships that used the weaknesses of each other. That was how her uncle treated the young Lestia before. He had kicked Lestia, someone who did not have a place to go, countless times. Whenever that happened, there was only one way for Lestia to return home. And that was to sell as much flowers to gain the amount of money that her uncle wanted.
“Katrina-nim, is the Imperial Family asking for something from the Verchester Duchy in exchange for the neutral mana stone?”
“That’s right, little lady. You’re quite smart.”
Lestia wanted to ask Katrina what the Imperial Family specifically wanted from the duchy. But she couldn’t.
Bang!
The door of the room that Lestia was staying at was torn off as Mathias stormed inside the room.
“Liti! Liti! Are you here? What’s going on?! I felt the mana flow wildly in here, are you alright?!”
“Brother Mathias? Nothing happened to me?”
Lestia was shocked by Mathias’ sudden appearance. However, Mathias’ harsh and intimidating expression crumpled. He carefully checked if Lestia was truly safe.
“Lestia! Are you really alright?”
Even Joel was running behind Mathias. He was also worried about Lestia, just like Mathias.
“Brother Joel? Huh? Brother Gerard, did you come all the way here too?”
Gerard also entered the room with his violent and fierce momentum.
Lestia couldn’t understand why her brothers suddenly came into the study. All she could do was open her eyes wide and stare at them.
But the three Verchester brothers all surrounded Katrina without even hiding their brutal auras.
“What did you do to Liti? What was the mana flow just now?”
“You have to explain, Katrina.”
“Katrina. What happened?”
Katrina shrugged her shoulders as if they were troublesome.
“Haa. Oh man. I will be in big trouble if I continue to make the little lady read the magic book a few more times, is that it?”
Katrina stretched her hands out to the three furious Verchester brothers. There in her palms was the mana stone that Lestia had just created.
“That’s because this was created. The little lady made this, by the way. Isn’t she amazing?”
Joel strode towards Katrina’s hands and took the mana stone in her hands. His gaze was fixed at Katrina. He looked like this was something unbelievable.
“Katrina, this is a mana stone, right? Did Lestia really make this?”
“That’s right. She made it just by reading the magic book, without combining any special ingredients.”
“What? Is that true?”
Mathias spoke as if he couldn’t believe his ears, he quickly took the mana stone from Joel’s hands.
“But aren’t the Imperial Family wizards the only ones who can make something like this? In addition, it looks very pure.”
Mathias’ eyes twinkled. Then, as if he was not angry at all, he smiled and lifted Lestia up as he shouted…
“I can’t believe you made this! As expected, my little sister is really amazing!”
Lestia had to circle five laps in the air before she could be put down on the ground.
“Brother Mathias, I’m not that great. It’s not even a neutral mana stone, it’s just a pebble.”
“No, Liti! A mana stone is extremely useful! It is essential when someone wants to use magic that is not passed down through blood and lineage.”
“That’s right. For example, I needed three mana stones for me to use the teleportation magic that I used to arrive here in Verchestery Territory.”
Mathias shouted that she was incredible after Katrina added her words to his.
“Oh my goodness. What a weird woman. Three mana stones are already a year’s worth of salary for an academy professor. You used that to come here?”
“Oh my. Mathias, Lockevest is still quite rich even if we’re a bit worse than Verchester.”
Katrina skillfully grabbed Mathias’ ears and twisted them.
“And why are you saying that your professor, who you haven’t seen in a long time, is a strange woman? Aren’t you afraid once you go back to school?”
“Aaaaah! Let go! When was I ever afraid of my grades…?!”
Mathias shouted but caught sight of Lestia. Then, he began to worry about going back to school. He was wondering how he should answer Lestia if she blinked her big eyes at him and asked him “Brother, did you do well on your exam?”.
“Ugh. I’m sorry professor. Let go of me. Liti is in front of me.”
Mathias eventually yielded.
Katrina was left dumbfounded.
Mathias, the well-known crazy foal of Verchester, was well-behaved in front of her.
“I don’t know if the interpreter is amazing or the little lady is amazing.”
However, Lestia was more interested in the value of the mana stone than her ability to tame the Verchester brothers.
‘Unbelievable. I can’t believe that such a small pebble can be worth a year’s salary for an Imperial Academy professor.’
Lestia was a child who made and sold paper flowers every winter. She was so surprised that she could make something this expensive. And since she realized that she could make something like this, the idea of making money by selling them flashed through her head.
‘If I make and sell a lot of mana stones then I will be able to give Dora and my escort knights better gifts than the paper flowers!’
So, she excitedly told Katrina.
“Katrina-nim, can I make and sell a lot of these mana stones?”
“Huh? It’s up to the little lady…”
But Katrina was not able to finish her words. This was because Gerard, who had been quietly watching the situation, cut off Katrina.
“Lestia Verchester. Are you telling me that you will make and sell your own mana stones?”
“I… I can’t do that?”
However, Lestia felt like she was talking to the magic book.
‘Choose, what do you mean by choose?’
[ What power do you want to put in here? ]
‘Power?’
[ I am waiting for your answer. ]
The soles of her feet buzzed as the magic circle spread out and rang. All kinds of mana were swirling above the magic circle and they looked like they were clamoring for Lestia to choose them.
But Lestia couldn’t figure out what it meant. The magic book did not write about what power she could choose. So, she answered…
‘I don’t know what power to put in here.’
Then, the magic book answered.
[ Then, here. ]
Lestia stopped reading. This was because there were no more pages for her to read. The magic circle that formed under her feet also disappeared. However, a black pebble the size of a fingernail fell on the spot.
Clap, clap, clap!
Katrina’s eyes widened as she applauded loudly.
“My goodness! It’s really possible! My lady, did you just realize what you have done! I can’t believe you were able to make this just by reading a magic book!”
Katrina shouted excitedly as she lifted the pebble up.
The pebble was so black that it looked like it could swallow the light.
Lestia was dumbfounded as she asked Katrina.
“Katrina-nim, what did I make?”
“Ah. What the little lady made is a mana stone.”
“Mana stone?”
“It’s a gemstone filled with mana. Originally, we can create this by finding the formula in the magic book and interpreting it before combining various ingredients. But you just extracted it from thin air! That’s extremely amazing!”
“Is it really that amazing?”
Lestia couldn’t understand. What was in front of her just looked like a small pebble.
“It’s really amazing! If we manipulate this mana stone then we can make a neutral mana stone!”
Lestia’s voice grew louder when she heard about the neutral mana stone.
“Ah! Then, I can make a neutral mana stone too?”
“Of course! It is possible with a magic book with that content.”
It was at that moment that Lestia realized what the magic book had asked her before.
[ What power do you want to put in here? ]
‘Perhaps it’s possible to create a neutral mana stone by pulling out the attributes of mana from the magic circle?’
But Lestia couldn’t figure out how. It was not written in the magic book. However, if she could make it then she wanted to give it to her brothers as a gift.
‘It’s more useful than the paper flowers from before so Lysian-nim will probably accept it happily.’
She wanted to make it properly so she could give Gerard, Mathias and Joel too. It sounded fun even though it was just in her imagination.
So, she asked Katrina.
“Katrina-nim, I want to see the magic book with instructions on how to make the neutral mana stone, please!”
However, Katrina looked like she was troubled.
“Uhm. I’m sorry little lady. The magic book with the method of creating neutral mana stone is being tightly guarded by the Imperial Family. So I really can’t show it to you.”
“Yes? Why is the Imperial Family hiding it?”
“Ahem. How to say this…”
Katrina thought for a while before answering her.
“Well, the young lady should know since you’re a Verchester too. Were you aware that the neutral mana stone is necessary to neutralize and stabilize the members of the Verchester Duchy?”
“Ah. Yes. Brother Joel explained to me that they really need it.”
“Then, it’s like their weakness. Since the Verchester need it badly, it has become their weakness.”
Lestia immediately understood the relationship between the Verchester Duchy and the Imperial Family. No other explanation was needed.
Lestia was fully aware about relationships that used the weaknesses of each other. That was how her uncle treated the young Lestia before. He had kicked Lestia, someone who did not have a place to go, countless times. Whenever that happened, there was only one way for Lestia to return home. And that was to sell as much flowers to gain the amount of money that her uncle wanted.
“Katrina-nim, is the Imperial Family asking for something from the Verchester Duchy in exchange for the neutral mana stone?”
“That’s right, little lady. You’re quite smart.”
Lestia wanted to ask Katrina what the Imperial Family specifically wanted from the duchy. But she couldn’t.
Bang!
The door of the room that Lestia was staying at was torn off as Mathias stormed inside the room.
“Liti! Liti! Are you here? What’s going on?! I felt the mana flow wildly in here, are you alright?!”
“Brother Mathias? Nothing happened to me?”
Lestia was shocked by Mathias’ sudden appearance. However, Mathias’ harsh and intimidating expression crumpled. He carefully checked if Lestia was truly safe.
“Lestia! Are you really alright?”
Even Joel was running behind Mathias. He was also worried about Lestia, just like Mathias.
“Brother Joel? Huh? Brother Gerard, did you come all the way here too?”
Gerard also entered the room with his violent and fierce momentum.
Lestia couldn’t understand why her brothers suddenly came into the study. All she could do was open her eyes wide and stare at them.
But the three Verchester brothers all surrounded Katrina without even hiding their brutal auras.
“What did you do to Liti? What was the mana flow just now?”
“You have to explain, Katrina.”
“Katrina. What happened?”
Katrina shrugged her shoulders as if they were troublesome.
“Haa. Oh man. I will be in big trouble if I continue to make the little lady read the magic book a few more times, is that it?”
Katrina stretched her hands out to the three furious Verchester brothers. There in her palms was the mana stone that Lestia had just created.
“That’s because this was created. The little lady made this, by the way. Isn’t she amazing?”
Joel strode towards Katrina’s hands and took the mana stone in her hands. His gaze was fixed at Katrina. He looked like this was something unbelievable.
“Katrina, this is a mana stone, right? Did Lestia really make this?”
“That’s right. She made it just by reading the magic book, without combining any special ingredients.”
“What? Is that true?”
Mathias spoke as if he couldn’t believe his ears, he quickly took the mana stone from Joel’s hands.
“But aren’t the Imperial Family wizards the only ones who can make something like this? In addition, it looks very pure.”
Mathias’ eyes twinkled. Then, as if he was not angry at all, he smiled and lifted Lestia up as he shouted…
“I can’t believe you made this! As expected, my little sister is really amazing!”
Lestia had to circle five laps in the air before she could be put down on the ground.
“Brother Mathias, I’m not that great. It’s not even a neutral mana stone, it’s just a pebble.”
“No, Liti! A mana stone is extremely useful! It is essential when someone wants to use magic that is not passed down through blood and lineage.”
“That’s right. For example, I needed three mana stones for me to use the teleportation magic that I used to arrive here in Verchestery Territory.”
Mathias shouted that she was incredible after Katrina added her words to his.
“Oh my goodness. What a weird woman. Three mana stones are already a year’s worth of salary for an academy professor. You used that to come here?”
“Oh my. Mathias, Lockevest is still quite rich even if we’re a bit worse than Verchester.”
Katrina skillfully grabbed Mathias’ ears and twisted them.
“And why are you saying that your professor, who you haven’t seen in a long time, is a strange woman? Aren’t you afraid once you go back to school?”
“Aaaaah! Let go! When was I ever afraid of my grades…?!”
Mathias shouted but caught sight of Lestia. Then, he began to worry about going back to school. He was wondering how he should answer Lestia if she blinked her big eyes at him and asked him “Brother, did you do well on your exam?”.
“Ugh. I’m sorry professor. Let go of me. Liti is in front of me.”
Mathias eventually yielded.
Katrina was left dumbfounded.
Mathias, the well-known crazy foal of Verchester, was well-behaved in front of her.
“I don’t know if the interpreter is amazing or the little lady is amazing.”
However, Lestia was more interested in the value of the mana stone than her ability to tame the Verchester brothers.
‘Unbelievable. I can’t believe that such a small pebble can be worth a year’s salary for an Imperial Academy professor.’
Lestia was a child who made and sold paper flowers every winter. She was so surprised that she could make something this expensive. And since she realized that she could make something like this, the idea of making money by selling them flashed through her head.
‘If I make and sell a lot of mana stones then I will be able to give Dora and my escort knights better gifts than the paper flowers!’
So, she excitedly told Katrina.
“Katrina-nim, can I make and sell a lot of these mana stones?”
“Huh? It’s up to the little lady…”
But Katrina was not able to finish her words. This was because Gerard, who had been quietly watching the situation, cut off Katrina.
“Lestia Verchester. Are you telling me that you will make and sell your own mana stones?”
“I… I can’t do that?”
