Episode 14
The next morning.
Luke went straight to Teo.
Because going with Teo seemed less suspicious than blindly heading to the research lab alone.
Hadn't that been the whole point of going through the trouble of rehabilitating Teo?
"Good morning."
"Huh? Luke?"
Teo was startled to see Luke first thing in the morning.
"What's up? It's not time to exercise right now."
"Why, do you find me unwelcome?"
"No, it's not that…."
"Let's go study together."
"Study?"
"What, are you just going to keep exercising all the time? Keep that up and even your brain will turn into muscle."
"Studying really isn't my thing."
"Then is taking a beating from me more your thing?"
When Luke raised his fist, Teo hung his head low.
"Where are we going?"
"I was thinking of checking out the Arcane Research Lab."
"Why there?"
"Because the wisdom of our great ancestors is contained within the secret manuals."
"Ah, I'm not so sure about that place…."
Teo muttered complaints again.
Lately, Teo had been someone who didn't complain unless it was something serious, so this reaction was a bit strange.
But that didn't mean he would meekly indulge Teo's complaints.
"So, you're not coming with me?"
"No…."
"Then let's hurry."
Teo slouched his body and followed behind Luke.
* * *
Hans Luman.
He was one of the few scholars remaining in the Schnelden Arcane Research Lab and the chief of the facility.
Currently, a single letter was in his hand.
It was a letter from the Rabach clan, an influential house competing with the Sharun clan—which currently governed the North—for hegemony over the northern region.
Inside were some money and a single artifact.
If he pressed this artifact, the Rabach family would immediately send someone.
How did he know?
Because this was a letter sent to scout him.
"Hoo…."
Hans rubbed his temples hard, as if nursing a headache.
The Schnelden Arcane Research Lab didn't even have personal research rooms, let alone basic research funds, yet had been given the grandiose goal of restoring Schnelden's secret manual.
Meanwhile, the Rabach Arcane Research Lab had personal research rooms, ample research funding, and permission to study Schnelden's secret manual.
He too was only human, so it was true that he leaned more toward the latter.
'But I still shouldn't.'
He had been a man of Schnelden from birth.
Not just himself, but his father, grandfather, and generations before them.
As someone of the Luman family who had protected Schnelden's research lab for generations, defecting to another clan was not an easy decision.
If only he could, he wished to complete his research within Schnelden.
'If only one part were solved, all of my current research would be complete….'
The problem was that this one part simply would not be solved.
"Haa."
Hans let out a deep sigh and opened his desk drawer.
Inside were piled letters similar to the one he was currently holding.
Most had been sent from the Rabach clan, but other clan names were visible here and there.
"Let's just research, just research."
Just as Hans was about to look at his book again.
"Chief."
"What is it?"
"Sir Rahitz has come to help with the research."
"Ah, I'll go out to see him."
Hans immediately went out to the training grounds.
Rahitz was waiting there.
"It's been a while, Hans."
"Thank you for coming all this way to help with the research."
"It is the work of recovering Schnelden's secret manual, so of course I must lend my aid. Have you found any clue to the part that was stuck?"
"As always, I'm just trying again today, I suppose."
Hans answered in a disappointed voice.
Rahitz patted Hans's shoulder.
"Do not worry. If you continue, you will surely find the way. I will help you until the end."
Hans was incredibly grateful to Rahitz for that.
Originally, knights' help had been essential when researching secret manuals.
Because only when knights personally demonstrated the theories that scholars studied could they know the results.
But the current knights of Schnelden lacked too much skill to help with the research.
The relatively skilled knights were overwhelmed merely carrying out their current duties.
There was almost no one who would come to help with the secret manual research, which produced virtually no results yet consumed a great deal of time.
Even so, Rahitz had come all the way here, reducing even his sleep, so Hans felt as though he wanted to bow in gratitude.
"Then let us begin at once."
"Yes, please drink the Illumination Potion first."
Hans handed Rahitz a vial.
As soon as he drank it, Rahitz's mana circuits and the flow of his mana were clearly visible through the crystal orb beside him.
"Then I'll start with the White Cloud Step."
"Understood."
Their research continued for a while.
It was a method by which Hans would explain the part of the original text he had interpreted, and Rahitz would demonstrate it exactly.
But as time went on, Hans's expression darkened.
As expected, they couldn't find any results this time either.
'Only one remains….'
Through his research so far, he had interpreted most of the secret manual currently being studied.
This much was enough to create a commentary.
Only one thing remained.
However, since Schnelden's secret manual was woven so tightly, without this one part, a complete interpretation was ultimately impossible.
The problem was that not only he, but even his father, had devoted their entire lives yet still failed to figure it out.
If only he could see this secret manual being used properly even once, he could solve the problem.
Just as such regret was rising.
"Oh, are you researching the secret manual?"
A youthful voice came from behind.
Rahitz recognized them before Hans did.
"Young Masters, what brings you here?"
"Young Masters?"
Turning around, two direct descendants of Schnelden were standing there.
Teo Schnelden and Luke Schnelden.
"We just came to observe."
Luke answered first.
"To observe?"
"As direct descendants of Schnelden, we can't neglect the place where Schnelden's secret manual is studied."
"That may be so, but…."
Rahitz trailed off.
While doing so, he alternated his gaze between Teo and Hans.
Looking closely, Hans also couldn't meet Luke's eyes.
'So something happened between them.'
When he had gone to get Teo that morning, Teo hadn't seemed very willing, either.
Obviously, Teo must have done something wrong to Hans.
Wasn't it stranger for that rascal not to cause trouble?
Anyway, Luke's task was not to restore their relationship.
He merely needed to naturally drop a hint about the commentary.
"We'll just observe quietly and then leave. Right?"
Saying this, he pressed hard on Teo's back.
"R-right. Quietly."
Teo exclaimed in surprise, chiming in.
With both young masters going this far, Rahitz had no choice either.
"Hans, is this alright?"
"Yes, well. I don't mind…."
"Understood. However, you must not cause a disturbance, Young Masters. Especially you, Young Master Teo."
"Of course."
Rahitz stood in the training grounds again.
Luke silently watched that figure.
Honestly speaking, he didn't have high hopes.
Just looking at the lab's current facilities gave him a clear estimate.
'It can't even be compared to before.'
Not that anything was any different, but research especially required investment.
Even if results didn't come out immediately, only when investment was steady did results finally come forth that were worth all that had been poured in.
But what did the lab look like in person?
Its facilities, equipment, and even personnel.
It was at a level too embarrassing to be called a single clan's secret manual research lab.
The most up-to-date equipment worthy of the name was from fifty years ago; what more explanation was needed?
It was impossible for commentary research to be going well in such a place.
That said, he didn't blame the clan for not investing more in the lab.
'From the clan's perspective, they had no choice—the lab had been neglected in their impoverished state and had produced no results whatsoever.'
It was because he hated seeing it in such a state that he wanted to restore the clan to its former glory as soon as possible.
While Luke was thinking this, Rahitz finished preparing for the experiment.
They went and stood behind Hans.
"Then I'll try the White Cloud Step once more. As I mentioned earlier, try sending mana through the Red Circuit instead of the White Circuit."
Hans said so and activated the crystal orb.
Through that crystal orb, Rahitz's mana circuits were clearly visible.
Luke tilted his head upon seeing that.
"What's this?"
"This is a device that shows the mana flow of someone who has ingested the Illumination Potion."
"Illumination Potion?"
It was Luke's first time hearing about it too.
"The Illumination Potion is temporarily absorbed into the user's mana circuits. Then it resonates with the crystal orb's mana to show the flow of mana like this."
If that was true, it was a truly groundbreaking invention.
What had it been like researching secret manuals two hundred years ago?
Knights had to explain to scholars one by one how their mana moved.
It was natural for it to take a long time, and if the explanation was even slightly wrong?
Research would sometimes fall into a deadlock because they couldn't find the problem for a long while.
But with just this Illumination Potion, there would be no need for such worry.
'If only there had been something like that in my time….'
He couldn't help but think that.
"How long have you been using something like that?"
"Actually, I made that myself."
"Oh, you made that yourself? Your skill is impressive."
"You flatter me."
"I don't usually say empty words, but this is really impressive."
Luke gave Hans a thumbs-up.
Teo pouted his lips watching that.
He was envious that Luke, who only scolded him every day, was praising Hans so highly.
"What's so great about that… If you spent that much money, you should be able to do at least that much."
"I'm sorry, Young Master Teo."
"Brother, we said we'd watch quietly."
Teo glared at Hans once and then turned his head away sharply.
How did that look like an eighteen-year-old?
Since he went around causing trouble every day, he must be mentally immature.
Luke also shook his head.
"We'll stay quiet, so start the experiment right away."
"Yes."
Rahitz's mana moving was clearly reflected in the crystal orb.
Luke focused even more and observed that flow of mana.
The moment his mana passed through the circuits in order and finally reached his feet.
Tap, step.
He began to perform the forms of the White Cloud Step.
Lower body moved lightly while upper body gracefully penetrated the opponent's gaps.
At a glance, it was definitely the White Cloud Step.
However, it wasn't perfectly reproduced.
Wasn't he leaving behind his trace with every step?
Leaving no trace whatsoever, as if treading on clouds, was precisely the essence of the White Cloud Step.
Rahitz's footwork was missing that.
This clearly meant they hadn't perfectly interpreted the original.
'It's still the early part, so let's watch a little longer.'
It was the same even as it went to the latter part.
No, rather, as it went on, his form collapsed even more.
Considering the current level of Schnelden's knights, it could be seen as fairly excellent, but Luke could be certain.
That it was merely imitating the White Cloud Step.
However, Luke's expression was not dark at all.
He even looked somewhat satisfied, bearing a slight smile.
"It seems this isn't right either after all. I'm sorry, I should have shown you something worthy in front of the young masters."
"Did you say Hans?"
Luke called out to Hans, who had been disappointed.
"Yes, Young Master. I am Hans Luman."
"Thank you for showing me your research directly like this."
"Not at all, I'm only ashamed that I've accomplished nothing."
"What do you mean, accomplished nothing?"
It wasn't something said merely to console him.
'This guy, his skill is better than I thought?'
Looking at Rahitz's White Cloud Step, exactly one thing was lacking.
If only the application when entering the middle section had been done well, it would have produced a perfect White Cloud Step.
That was probably the very part Hans hadn't been able to solve.
'With his skill, just showing him once should be enough.'
Luke smiled.
It felt like he was seeing hope for the first time in this household.