Gacha Kingdom Building-Chapter 233: Unrest (02)

Even though Agatha had no reason to lie, it was hard to believe her words when she said that Licia's situation was worse than Claire's.

The black spots in her body seemed to cause immense and constant pain, but they were not present in Licia's body, who instead had only a few cuts and injuries.

Sure, they were also pretty bad, and it was preferable not to have them, but put on a scale, it was almost nothing compared to Claire's.

At least visually...

Agatha: "Her mana is in disarray. Even in an idle state, she's unable to control it, and sometimes, it condenses into ice, causing internal cuts. There's a non-negligible chance that this causes a spontaneous organ laceration..."

As I thought, her condition was not as apparent, but Agatha had not lied about its severity.

Miwen: "And is [Healing Magic] not effective?"

My first thought was to rely on [Healing Magic]. This power is almost miraculous in its ability to heal wounds.

Agatha: "The root cause of the issue, the mana disarray, can only be healed with [Holy Magic] or Divinity since it's not physiological, however, I... Forbid Raella from trying. And... I am against you, or any other, try it either."

Agatha has stayed inside the Kingdom most of the time during this Event, so my relationship with her has not progressed as much as with someone like Lana, whom I've spent almost two years with due to her work as Isabella's bodyguard and spy.

If we were closer, I'm sure she would not have said this so lightly, and would have outright forbidden me from doing it.

And ironically, I'd be happier this way.

Even through her glasses, I could see how serious this was for her, and I was nothing if glad to her for it.

Still, there were many things I did not understand, so I had no choice but to ask her why she decided to stop treating Licia with magic.

Agatha: "When we brought her here, her arm was almost severed and bleeding profusely due to an ice formation caused by her loss of control. We focused on it first, but... Her body reacted poorly, almost as if it was being attacked, and more of her mana reacted.... Automatically... We managed to heal it, but it was challenging and could've worsened her condition."

I had never heard of one's mana reacting automatically or fighting back against [Healing Magic] like this, so I could only imagine how tense the situation must've been for Raella and Agatha.

Agatha: "Again, don't put too much faith in me. I'm not a doctor..."

She always reinforces that, but the phrase is losing power.

I've relied on her several times already, and she has yet to let me down.

Agatha: "Now, for her other symptoms... Please, show him the palm of your hands..."

Licia: "..."

It seemed like she didn't want to do it, but slowly, she extended her hands, allowing me to see how different the two had become.

Specifically, her right hand, the one stroking Claire's hair, was abnormal.

Its palm had a blueish discoloration, losing its natural color to a dark blue tone.

The back of her right hand was still normal, but prompted by Agatha, she showed me how she was moving it.

It was sluggish, and she could not close her hands into a fist. No matter how much she tried, her fingers did not move.

Agatha: "She has the same symptoms in her right ear, the soles of her feet, and a small spot on her neck. From what I could gather, she lost most of her sensation in the areas affected, and alongside hearing loss on her right side, it seems like she's unable to stand and walk correctly... Fortunately, the spot on her neck is not impeding her airway, so her breathing is stable. For now, at least..."

Miwen: "I see..."

She hid as much as she could from me using her own hair and Claire's...

With one look at her, I could tell she didn't want me to worry, but... How could I not?

Thankfully, Agatha said there was some good news.

Between Licia's message and my arrival at the castle, her hand, which was previously completely frigid, had recovered up to this point.

This meant that with time, she could heal naturally.

She also assured me that if a life-threatening condition arose, she would do whatever was necessary to save Licia.

It was quite fair. If treating her with magic could worsen her situation to the point where we couldn't predict what would happen, it was best to keep it as a last resort.

Agatha: "Regarding immediate danger, that's it... However, I believe this might also be worth taking note of."

She had a small leather bag filled with different vials from which she took a single one.

Inside it, we could see a strange light-blue liquid.

It was not something I recognized...

Miwen: "...What's that?"

But apart from the color, it reminded me of-

Agatha: "It's her blood."

...?

That was rather surprising to hear.

Almost everyone in the room had seen Licia bleed from a bruise or small cut before, and every single time it happened, the blood had its expected red color.

Whatever this was, it was clearly not natural...

Agatha: "During her attempted suicide, she forced her body so much that not only mana poured out, but also blood. However, around the time she added [Blood Magic] to her spell, the blood coming from her body started to change colors, until it became like this."

...

When I heard Licia's story, I thought something was strange.

It perfectly explained how the crystals outside formed, but the red ones still remained a mystery.

I thought that maybe they had nothing to do with her, and given how different they were from the others, it didn't seem far-fetched.

However, to Licia's dismay, Agatha's statement revealed exactly what was missing..

Miwen: "You didn't tell me you used [Blood Magic]. Since when did you have the aptitude for it?"

She told me that the only advanced magic element she could use was ice...

Licia: "Hehe... I didn't know either..."

Licia is not the type to lie so blatantly, so I instantly believed her.

Stil...

Miwen: "Uh-huh... You know you're forbidden from using it again, right?"

[Blood Magic] is quite dangerous to the user's body.

Elizabeth was the only person I had seen use it before, and even the Traveling Merchant claimed she would hurt herself using it.

I didn't want to risk Licia doing the same.

At least not until she could learn more about it and how to do it properly, without hurting herself.

Licia: "Worrywart."

Miwen: "I feel like more worries are completely justified right now."

Funnily enough, I only worried about her this much when she was first summoned.

Ever since then, she never gave me a reason...

And yet, my feelings for her have remained the same.

Even though I know she's strong, I still want to keep her safe and protect her...

Miwen: "So, the icy blue blood... What is your opinion, Agatha?"

Agatha: "I have a few theories... But I need to ask... Do you know how she broke her mana output limit?"

Oh, that...

It's quite an elaborate scheme, but...

Miwen: "Yes. I can't replicate it, but I know how she did it."

Licia: "...Eh? How do you know?"

Miwen: "Really? I wake up to you almost every morning. You really thought there's something about you I haven't noticed already?"

She became extremely embarrassed after hearing what I said, but there was no lie in my words.

I only discovered her scheme because of how much attention I pay to her.

Claire: "Well, I don't know how she did it, and I sleep in the same bed. I only realized she does something weird because even when I pour all the mana I can into an attack, she can still defend even though my output should be higher..."

There's a lot I'd like to point out about these two going all-out when training, but...

That wasn't as pressing, so I decided instead to explain to Agatha how Licia circumvents her mana output limit, as best as I could.

I believe she started doing it after she noticed how I did it.

Back during the first days after I received my Gift, even a single roll on the [Mana Banners] would exhaust all of my mana at once, considering I only had a single mana point.

However, even now, if I want to use all of my mana on them, I could still do it, even if I can't conjure as much mana when casting a spell.

This is only the way my Gift works, though. It's not a conscious choice on my part.

And I think Licia has developed a way to do the same.

I'm not too sure of the details. I tried to replicate it before and failed miserably, but if I'm not mistaken, she starts like anyone would, putting all the mana she can, or at least a large portion, into the spell she wants to cast.

At some point, probably after reaching her output limit, she triggers her [Ice Veil] skill, which has an upfront cost of mana.

This skill coats her body, and only triggers an effect if she's attacked, but... She can cancel it and then trigger it again until she spends all of her mana. frёewebηovel.cѳm

Effectively, she can throw away all of her mana.

But that's about what I figured out.

I noticed she also pierces her ears and creates a small ice piercing, though I'm still not sure exactly what she does in that step.

Ironically, I only realized something was wrong because of her pierced ears...

Even though she doesn't wear earrings, the piercings always reopen, no matter how many times she's been fully healed.

Agatha: "I see... So she's gone past her mana output limit before, and her blood didn't change colors..."

Although I couldn't explain everything, it seemed to have been enough for Agatha to change directions when it came to her theories.

On the other hand, Claire was furiously poking Licia to get an answer about what method she uses.

Miwen: "...Is it possible that she's not fully human?"

Agatha: "Oh, I also thought that, but... It's unlikely."

Miwen: "Why?"

With access to so many different worlds and such a high variety of races, it was bound that some would have blue blood.

And if Licia just happened to be a descendant of one of them, while it wouldn't necessarily explain why her blood only changed colors after she used so much mana or [Blood Magic], it would at least be an explanation for its origins.

Agatha: "Well... Personally, I only know two races with natural blue blood, the Lunar Elves and the Winter Fairies. If she were a descendant of the Lunar Elves... She'd have more than the color of her blood to show for it."

I can imagine...

Miwen: "What about the Fairies then?"

Agatha: "Pretty much the same, but... They are also rather small. I doubt anything other than a Fairy Queen could partner with a human or human-sized species. Fairies already rarely mingle with other species, so it's almost impossible. Also, she doesn't look like a fairy to me."

Claire: "Really? Look again, then. See this face? It's fairy-like."

Licia: "Awah..."

As much as I agreed with Claire that Licia was as pretty as a fairy, her attempts at stretching her face and showing her smile weren't doing much to convince Agatha.

Miwen: "I see... Since it's not causing any problems, let's leave it at that for now..."

It's not like we had much choice...

I stayed to talk a little more with Claire and Licia, but after confirming their condition...

Licia: "...I'm glad you came to see us. I truly am. But Claire and I will recover... Right now, Miwen... I think the one who's hurt the most is actually Mia."

Miwen: "...She fought another knight, right? Were they also this strong?"

Licia: "I don't know... The moment the battle started, I felt her behaving weirdly, but... After she lost some of her tribesmen... I can't imagine how she's feeling. I think she needs someone to talk with, but... Even though we got closer these past few days, I don't think she'll open up to me as much as she will to you. You're the person she trusts the most, after all."

I still wanted to talk with Licia, and I felt like she had a lot she wanted to say as well, but she knew she could wait for another time and opportunity.

Miwen: "Alright. Leave it to me."

I still had trouble turning my back and leaving the infirmary, but... The two of them were surrounded by good and trustworthy people.

Mia, on the other hand, was alone, waiting for me.