Lord Of High Manor

"First, did you learn from Iris how to emit mana outside the body to envelop it?"

"Yes, I did."

"Good. You know that everyone has mana and unconsciously emits and loses it, right? If you hold it in your body to envelop it, it's like wearing invisible armor. Was it called Mana Convolve?"

"Yes, Karka."

"Then, what about the application of enveloping an object in your hand with mana? Did you learn that too?"

"Yes, I did."

"Oh. Then, the explanation should be easy to understand. Hmm... To cast magic, you need to practice the implementation of the magic circle and the emission of mana to inject it into the magic circle. Do you understand what I'm saying so far?"

"I don't understand."

The words coming out of Gravel's mouth seemed to bounce off immediately as they reached Nia, who was staring at Gravel with dazed, unfocused eyes.

"Uh... Hmm... Then, let's explain the details next time, and for now, I'll teach you the training method for emitting mana, which is the basic ability for casting magic."

"Woah!"

Nia's expression brightened again, and with a fist clenched, Nia stretched a hand towards the sky, expressing joy that the complicated study was postponed.

"Then, I'll explain. The first step is to be able to see mana accurately with the power of Aquillia's mana veins. Then, spread your fingers apart like this. Concentrate the mana on one finger and move it to the tip of another finger. It's like throwing a small ball of mana from one finger to another."

Gravel demonstrated by repeatedly moving a round clump of mana from the tip of the index finger to the middle finger and then to the ring finger, continuing to explain to Nia.

"Next, once you get used to that, you need to pass the ball-shaped mana between your left and right hands, but at first, it will be difficult just to maintain the shape of the mana dropped from your body."

"Ugh... It's not working well!"

The mana of Nia, whom Gravel was watching, was fluctuating wildly. Nia was concentrating fully to gather mana at the fingertips and drop it from the body as Gravel had taught.

"Take it slow. Don't try to drop the mana from your body right away; start by connecting your fingers with a thin line of mana."

"Oh... Got it, Karka."

Gravel smiled as Nia concentrated again.

A training method for casting magic of unknown origin. Gravel thought that the mana emission training method taught to Nia was probably a manifestation of the knowledge Gravel had as an Arcanist of the Grand World Online before coming to this other world.

Still, through various experiments, Gravel confirmed that it was not useless knowledge that didn't apply in this other world. In fact, by practicing mana emission, Gravel was able to reduce the time it took to activate magic when casting it, and the more mana a spell required, the more clearly the effects of mana emission training could be felt.

"Then, shall we go back to Ves-Dinas now!"

Gravel said as he walked towards the parked carriage.

"Karka, you also need to tell me where you bought that knife."

Nia said, following Gravel to the cart.

"Huh? Oh, yes. I got it. After delivering the meat loaded on the carriage to this client, we can go there on the way back. Looking at the request details, it includes delivering the Altus Boar meat directly to the client's house in Ves-Dinas, not to the guild."

Gravel and Nia got on the cart, and the cart pulled by two horses headed towards Ves-Dinas.

*****

The old streets of Ves-Dinas. This street, paved with trimmed stones without any gaps, has worn over long years, yet its appearance has changed so little that it's hard to distinguish from the past.

As befits a street in a large city, the wide and straight main road is smooth and soft, trodden and polished by the wheels of numerous carriages and the feet of passersby.

On both sides of the road, drainage ditches are dug, and the slight slope ensures that even when it rains, the water doesn't pool but flows out to the sides.

The cart, with Gravel holding the reins, is moving along the busy street filled with many other wagons and people crowding the road.

Passing through the western gate of the city wall, on the large street leading to the central square of Ves-Dinas, there are buildings of various sizes, and shop signs of equally diverse sizes and shapes hang on the buildings.

The sound of horses' and mules' hooves, the voices of people greeting each other, and customers sitting under the awnings on the second-floor terraces of street taverns and alehouses, enjoying their afternoon meals and tea while watching the street, filled the air.

The sign of the Tiabard Inn, where Gravel will stay while in Ves-Dinas, protrudes slightly from a corner of a long alley, looking small.

"Nia, the inn where we'll be staying for a while is inside that alley."

Gravel said, pointing with a finger at the sign with a bird drawn in yellow on a turquoise background, attached to a long wooden pole inside the alley.

"I know, Karka. The third floor is our room."

"Yes, I mentioned it because you might not be familiar with the way yet."

"Thank you. Karka."

Gravel smiled at Nia, who was trying to connect the fingers with a line of emitted mana as taught, and then turned his eyes to the direction the carriage was heading.

If Reave and Kein were planning to stay in Ves-Dinas for a while, they would have recommended staying at an inn or a room above a tavern in the new town south of the city wall rather than in the old town inside the wall.

They knew that the accommodations near the harbor used by sailors were noisy at night with the singing of drunken sailors and during the day with the piercing cries of seagulls, making it impossible to have a peaceful sleep, so they didn't even mention the harbor side to Gravel.

Despite their recommendations, Gravel apologized for not being able to accept them and chose the Tiabard Inn in the commercial alley of the old town.

The owner of the inn, an old man named Tiabard, said that in his youth, he spent most of his time at the shipyard on Falia Island in front of the Ves-Dinas harbor. After saving some money, he bought the warehouse building that became the current inn and has been operating it ever since, he told Gravel when he came to look for a room, and mentioned that there was a large guest room on the third floor with three rooms and a living room.

He also said that the Tiabard Inn does not provide meals, unlike staying in a room attached to a tavern, and recommended some good cookshops nearby.

Impressed by the old man's kind attitude and his emphasis that it was the quietest inn in Ves-Dinas, away from the annoying seagull noises, Gravel decided to rent the third floor of the Tiabard Inn.

Of course, he got the consent of Nia and Iris, and additionally, compared to staying at a tavern or inn in the new town, it was not far from the Great Library of Ves-Dinas, where Gravel had obtained permission to access, and the city center where the Adventurer's Guild was located, and he didn't have to use the busy southern road to get to the library and the guild, so renting a room at the Tiabard Inn had many advantages.

"Let's see. Since we have to deliver the Altus Boar meat directly to the client's house, not to the Adventurer's Guild... I received a sketch map with the location marked."

Gravel scratched his cheek while looking at the piece of paper with the client's house location, which he received when accepting the request at the Adventurer's Guild.

A moment later, Gravel and Nia were standing at the entrance of a mansion surrounded by high walls.

In front of the mansion's gate, made of black, thick steel between ivory-colored pillars that seemed to be about 10 cubits (5 meters) high, stood a guard wearing a helmet that barely showed his eyes and a breastplate without pauldrons, holding a spear.

One of the guards approached Gravel, who had gotten off the carriage and was comparing the writing and sketch on a small piece of paper in his hand with the location of the mansion, and spoke to him.

"Did you bring the meat as per the guild's request?"

With a rough, cracking voice, the guard asked Gravel while looking at the red chunks of meat loaded on the carriage.

"Yes. It's the meat of two Altus Boars, along with the gallbladders, livers, and hearts."

"Hmm. Is this a cart rented from the guild?"

The guard asked, seeing the Adventurer's Guild crest on the side of the cart.

"Yes. Is there a problem?"

"No. We will guide you inside the mansion. We will return the cart to the guild on our behalf. After the master personally checks the goods, he will directly pay the promised reward. This way, please."

The guard, with a blunt tone devoid of friendliness, gestured to another guard to take care of the carriage and then led Gravel and Nia inside the mansion.

"Let's go, Nia."

"Okay, Karka."

Gravel and Nia were walking behind the guard who was leading the way. In the mansion's garden, there were well-trimmed garden trees, shortly mown grass, and a gray gravel path leading to the distant high red-roofed mansion.

After passing through the door of the mansion building guarded by another guard and walking a bit further, they saw an obese man lying on a long chair under a large purple thin cloth draped from the pillars on the second floor of the mansion's inner courtyard.

Wearing clothes made of soft, luxurious-looking fabric that reflected the sunlight, with rings embedded with red and dark green gems on his plump hands, and a golden necklace between his curly hair that reached over his shoulders and his neatly trimmed round beard, the man, presumed to be the owner of the mansion, was approached by the guard who had been guiding the guests. The guard stopped, cleared his throat softly to alert his master without startling him, and then spoke.

"The adventurers who brought the meat requested from the guild have arrived, Master Diras."

"Oh! It's been only a short time since I requested it from the guild, and it's already here?"

Diras, who turned his neck hidden by thick jowls to check Gravel and Nia, approached them, fluttering his luxurious clothes with patterns as splendid as peacock feathers.

"Wow, the Altus Boar meat arrived much faster than expected. I guess I'll have to change today's schedule. I was planning to just lie in the garden and gain more weight anyway. Wahahaha."

Diras, with a smile that puffed up his cheeks, dismissed the guard who had guided Gravel and Nia to him with a gesture, extended his hand for a handshake, and approached Gravel and Nia.

"Welcome. Thank you for your hard work. You have brought the meat that my children love so much. Please call me Diras."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Gravel."

After shaking hands with Gravel, Diras lowered his head and greeted Nia as well.

"It's been a while since I've seen a Droko. Isn't Ves-Dinas colder compared to Ixtarn?"

"It's not cold. I'm Nia Calagon."

"Oh, ho ho ho. That's good to hear."

After finishing the handshake with Nia, Diras turned his body slightly and beckoned a servant holding a silver tray in the corner of the garden by wiggling his fingers.

Seeing Diras's gesture, the servant approached Diras with steps careful enough not to spill the small fruit berries and nuts divided into bowls on the tray.

"I was thinking of giving you the reward for the request after personally checking the goods. Is that alright?"

"Yes, that's fine."

"Then, please follow me. I will guide you to where you have placed the meat you brought."

Diras reached out to the tray brought by the servant, picked up a few purple berries with fumbling hands, and walked across the garden, humming a cheerful tune.