Like always, I took my bath at the same public open bathhouse, and had my dinner at a pub from before.
By nightfall, I returned to the mansion and sat on the same familiar couch.
But tonight, my mind wasn't calm. Lady Saya's words echoed over and over.
_"We don't know what will happen in the future… but always believe in yourself."_
What did she mean by that? Why say something like that so suddenly?
_Sigh…_
Shaking my head, I tried to shift my thoughts.
_Let's try to remember that feeling… from when I touched the dungeon core for the Goddess's Blessing._
Back then… I felt something cold and gentle. Almost like a breeze brushing against my hand.
_Like air._
If mana is everywhere—like air—then maybe...
"A gentle and cold feeling of air…"
I slowly extended my hand toward the table in front of me, focusing.
I began to imagine that same sensation from before.
_Mana is like air… and if I imagine that air moving around—shifting, flowing—what happens if I try to change that flow?_
_rattle…_
The pouch of gold on the table trembled slightly.
"…Mana is like air. And if I imagine to shape it into something dense—a solid"
The gold pouch began to rise—slowly, unsteadily—floating into the air.
_Huh?_
"What… is this…?"
Suddenly, my vision darkened. The strength drained from my body, and I collapsed backward onto the couch.
_What did I just do...?_
Magic draws on mana using the body as a conduit—a medium to pull and shape it.
But I… I tried using mana from the outside, directly, through a body that—by nature—rejects it.
_So I was right… magic doesn't suit me._
This body… this body from Earth. It has no natural affinity to mana.
I wondered, _If I tried to forcibly intake mana and use my own body as a medium—would that make things worse? Would the recoil destroy me?_
Panting now.
_This is too reckless and stupid. I should stop before I break something inside me._
After all, I already rejected the goddess's offer to grant me the ability to use mana.
_"I shouldn't destroy my own body like this…"_
_Sigh…_
"Guess… good night to me."
My arms wouldn't move for now. My vision blurred around the edges.
I closed my eyes.
_Just rest. For now._