For Sale. Fallen Lady. Never Used. - Chapter 123: Settlement (2)

“Can I start learning about the Lintblum core’s resonance trait soon?”

So far, I’ve been simply unleashing spells with my vast mana.

Now, it’s time to use it to enhance power as well.

There was also the method of charge chanting, but that had its limits too.

Hearing my words, Carla momentarily looked dazed, then suddenly sat up and asked.

“Are you going to learn?!”

“Yeah.”

“Hooray!”

Carla raised her arms and cheered joyously.

Her ruby-colored eyes were twinkling, evidently filled with happiness.

“Are you that happy?”

“Of course! With this, Master will be born with the constitution like the founder of the Lindelheit family, learn the Lindelheit family’s breathing technique, and inherit the Lindelheit family’s secrets, right? How could I not be happy?!”

I get what Carla was trying to say. But somehow, seeing her jumping around like that made me want to tease her.

I feigned a sullen expression and nodded.

“I see. Carla sees me just as a tool for the revival of her family…”

“…What?”

Carla flinched, sensing something was off.

Of course, I had no intention of stopping there.

Pretending to be hurt, I lightly clutched my chest and continued.

“I thought I treated Carla really well. Even though she’s a slave, I never treated her like one. But Carla doesn’t see it that way. She just sees me as a means to an end…”

“M-Master? No! That’s not it! How could I dare think of Master in that way?! It’s a misunderstanding!”

Startled, Carla hurriedly grabbed my arm, shaking her head vigorously.

Watching her platinum hair flutter each time made me almost smile.

I forcibly pulled down the corners of my mouth and turned my head away in a huff.

“Hmph! Fine. I won’t play with Carla any more. I only need Elisha.”

“What? Me…?”

Elisha, caught off guard by the situation, pointed to herself in bewilderment.

I nodded and then buried my head in her embrace.

“Yes, you, Elisha.”

“Uh… Um. That’s…”

Elisha was momentarily flustered by my actions, resembling a child cuddling against her chest.

But seeing Carla’s restless demeanor, she smirked slyly.

“Oh my? Carla, how could you say such harsh words to Yandel?”

“What?! No, that’s not it! I’m happy because Master is embracing Lindelheit’s essence, not because of the family’s secrets!”

Oh.

That was an embarrassing thing to say in its own way.

Carla herself seemed too distraught to realize what she had just said.

But Elisha, unconcerned with Carla’s attitude, hugged my head.

Then, seizing the moment, she whispered to me in a sweet voice.

“Yandel. My dear. You’ve had a hard time, haven’t you? Don’t worry. I am different from Carla. Let the Mana Tower bother the master. I will prioritize you.”

“Elisha, you…!”

Carla trembled with a sense of betrayal, as if she had been cheated on.

However, Elisha seemed to enjoy Carla’s reaction.

She continued to express affection and skinship blatantly, and each time, Carla stamped her feet and sulked.

Sometimes, Carla would call out to me in a pleading, desperate voice.

“Master…”

“Hmph.”

“Whaaaaa!”

Carla made a face as if the world had collapsed when I clung to Elisha, pretending not to notice her.

After teasing her for a while, we finally started training.

“Hic… So, now I’ll explain the principle of Resonance.”

“…Will you explain it while hugging?”

“Yes.”

In the personal training room inside the dormitory, I sat in the center, gently stroking Carla’s back as she sniffled.

Each movement of my hand seemed to calm her sobs quickly.

“Sorry. I just couldn’t help it because your reaction was too funny…”

“Since Master has recognized it, I’m fine now… Elisha, you wait and see.”

Carla, glaring at Elisha sitting beside us, looked rather fierce.

Elisha just shrugged her shoulders and let it go.

In her calm demeanor, Carla sighed heavily and began to speak.

“Ahem. Anyway, now I’m going to teach Master about Resonance, a characteristic of the Lintblum Core… But before that, Master, what do you know about Resonance?”

“Not much. Just literally, the term ‘Resonance.’”

I could learn about the Lintblum Breathing Technique in H&A as well.

Naturally, I had opened the explanation window for Resonance, and its characteristics at least once.

“It’s roughly about resonating with external mana and my core to draw in more mana than what I possess, isn’t it?”

“That’s roughly right! Then, do you know how to draw in surrounding mana, and why use Resonance instead of charge chanting?”

“…That’s what I’m here to learn about.”

Such detailed aspects were not in the game. That was why there was still plenty to learn at the academy.

Carla cleared her throat cutely and continued.

“Then, let’s start the explanation from here, Master. If there’s anything you don’t understand, feel free to ask! First, how should I put it…?”

According to Carla, the Lintblum Core was quite unique compared to other mana cores.

Not in terms of performance, but the basic structure itself was somewhat different.

A typical mana core wasn’t an actual organ but a virtual organ created around the heart.

This utilized the uncertainty of mana, which existed yet also didn’t exist.

For instance, if I were to release all my mana, it could fill this training room.

But how could such an amount of mana be contained in my small body?

It was simple.

Mana definitely existed, but it was not always in a tangible form.

That was why it was possible to fit a lake in a cup, an otherwise impossible feat.

The mana core being a virtual organ was only natural, considering its role in safely containing a vast amount of mana.

But the Lintblum Core was a bit different.

Originally, where a virtual organ should exist, the mana core would partially materialize as a ring surrounding the heart.

As a result, mana, which should normally respond only to will, would also resonate with the body.

When I actively start manipulating mana, my heartbeats become more noticeable. That’s why.

“It’s somewhat an abnormal structure, but there’s an inevitable reason for it.”

“Because of the constitution of the first head of the family?”

“Right! Well, Master also has a similar mana non-responsive body constitution.”

Carla nodded as if she understood.

Well, I wasn’t as deeply understanding of the constitution of being mana non-responsive as the first head of the family.

But I did feel something when I first learned the Lintblum Breathing Technique.

The refreshing sensation that I began to faintly feel as my heart started beating in a different way than before.

The feeling that mana was drawn to my heartbeats might be the essence of Resonance.

As if to add certainty to my speculation, Carla continued her explanation.

“The founder couldn’t feel mana, so naturally, he couldn’t manipulate it. However, the amount of mana inside his body was excessively high.”

“That’s where he got the hint. No matter how much mana resonates with human will, if it’s contained within a human body, perhaps it could be manipulated not just by will but by the body itself.”

“The conclusion of that idea was to resonate mana by tuning the vibrations within the body.”

“The part where our body beats the strongest?”

The heart.

Ultimately, the Lintblum Breathing Technique involved making the heart beat in a special way, causing the mana inside and around the body to resonate with the physical body.

Even if the will didn’t resonate, it was impossible to block what was physically felt.

If it were so, it wouldn’t be non-responsive to mana but immune to mana, or something akin to an insulator.

Anyway, feeling it once with the body was enough. From now on, it was just a matter of feeling and manipulating mana in the same way.

Elisha, listening from the side, sighed deeply and shook her head.

“It’s really unbelievable. Even if it’s theoretically possible, how did you actually implement this? It’s like saying you’re going to use paper as a sword because it can cut fingers.”

“That’s why the founder was great! And Master, born with the same constitution, will become great too!”

…Why was she mentioning me too?

Slightly startled, I was hugged tightly by Carla, who rubbed her ample chest against my upper body.

Elisha chuckled and nodded at this scene.

“That’s right. No, he must become even greater. Yandel has me and the master, doesn’t he?”

“That’s a bit of a burden.”

“But you can do it. We will make sure of it.”

Carla, brimming with confidence, puffed her cheeks slightly and nodded.

“I don’t like the idea of using other magic… but if it’s for Master’s benefit, it’s unavoidable.”

Then, after coughing a couple of times to clear her throat, she continued.

“Ahem. Anyway, now that we know the foundation of the Lintblum Breathing Technique lies in Resonance, the question is how to utilize it.”

“…I think I get the gist of it. Maximizing resonance through heartbeats to draw in more external mana, right?”

But Carla, with an ambiguous expression, denied this.

“It’s a bit different. It may seem that way to an outsider, but the reality is slightly different.”

“What do you mean different?”

“Then it wouldn’t be any different from charge chanting.”

“Ah.”

Thinking about it, charge chanting was also a technique that delayed spells to pour in more mana.

No matter how much external mana was drawn in by Resonance, it was just a mana-efficient version of charge chanting.

But charge chanting had its limits.

The components of the magic would remain the same, only with more mana packed in, so there was a limit to how much it could be strengthened.

Injecting more mana than the limit would cause the magic itself to collapse or go berserk.

“What I’m going to explain next is the difference between charge chanting and strengthening through resonance.”

“That seems to be the key.”

“Exactly, Master! You have great intuition! Right, this is where the really important content starts, so listen carefully.”

Carla, having said this, gently stretched out her palm into the air.

“Tinder.”

Whoosh.

It was a familiar basic magic. Tinder turned into a small flame, dancing on Carla’s hand.

“This is normal magic.”

She clenched her fist to extinguish the flame and then immediately gathered more mana.

“Tinder.”

Whooosh!

A flame twice the size of the previous one appeared.

“This is charge chanting, right?”

“Yes. It’s enhanced to its limit. If I poured in more mana, it would just pop and explode.”

Carla waved her hand to extinguish the flame again and reached out her hand once more.

With a serious expression, she stared intently ahead.

It was unlikely for a mid-level magician to focus this deeply just to cast a basic spell.

Sure enough…

Thump!

My heart started beating on its own, trying to comprehend the phenomenon unfolding before my eyes.

It felt like ripples were spreading through the world, centered around Carla.

Perhaps because we shared the same core, I felt an extraordinary attraction to Carla at this moment.

And then…

“Tinder!”

Whoosh!!

A flame too large to be called basic magic heated the training hall.

But what caught my attention more was something else.

All the mana around Carla seemed to be burning itself for that magic. It was a strange sensation.

“This is a magic spell enhanced through Resonance. How is it? It’s different, right?”

“Yeah… It’s hard to explain how it’s different, but it’s not just about putting in more mana. That’s for sure.”

As I nodded blankly, Carla puffed her chest proudly.

“Of course! This is because, while resonating with mana, it also resonates with the magic itself.”

“Is that even possible?”

“It’s possible because I did it. You’ll be able to do it soon, too, Master.”

“…How?”

“By feeling it? Unlike with Iris’s elemental combination, there’s no fixed formula for this! You’ll just figure it out as you go!”

Carla said this with a bright smile.

As if she had no doubt that I wouldn’t fail.

“Uh, Elisha…”

Feeling overwhelmed, I sought help, but Elisha just shrugged.

“I told you before, didn’t I? The Lindelheit lineage is just too powerful.”

“……”

So that’s what it meant.

Now I understand.