Figuring It Out
After Sir Fluffles had eaten, Nova sat on a table while Freyana leaned onto him, half asleep.
『...Huh?』[Nova]
He looked down at his hand to find that Freyana's mana wasn't entering his body, pooling on his skin instead.
『...Oh. Looks like you're full on mana, kid.』[Reischneid]
Now that he noticed it, he felt like his body was filled with a vigorous energy that raged about in a way that somehow reminded him of a serene breeze.
Freyana didn't even notice they were talking as she leaned on Nova.
『...Well, gather a bunch of it into an orb, then seal it onto yourself.』[Reischneid]
Nova nodded and raised his other hand up in front of his eyes.
『Stellaris.』[Nova]
A medium-sized orb appeared atop his palm.
He pooled as much of his mana as possible, filling the orb with a bright blue before realizing that there were two different energies inside of him.
『...You should be able to differentiate between your and her mana, right? You should put some of her mana in that orb too.』[Reischneid]
Nova nodded before willing her mana into the orb, making a storm of blue and green.
『You can actually use that to gauge your Resonance progress. Once you're there, it should be one color.』[Reischneid]
『...Wow. I see…』[Nova]
The color was already beginning to blend a bit, forming a discoloration of both of their manas.
『Well, seal it!』[Reischneid]
Nova nodded as he tried his best to recall the chant for Perpetuity.
『Beloved child of night…. whom hast wrought forth the beginning of… day? Who will bring about the beginning of night? The closing of a door opens another door, ad infinitum... Perpetuity…?』[Nova]
Though he wasn't too confident about the chant, the intended effect appeared, sealing the orb in the palm of his hand with the original snake mark.
Freyana's mana immediately began to flow into Nova's body again, causing him to feel the sensation of a gentle breeze and relaxation.
『...Yup, that's it. She makes me complete.』[Nova]
Reischneid seemed suddenly put off by Nova's out-of-the-blue confession of love.
『...Uh.. yeah. You're getting… a bit out of hand.』[Reischneid]
Nova hugged the half-asleep Freyana.
『...This is why sharing your mana is the ultimate show of PDA…』[Reischneid]
He faded and disappeared into little white particles of mana, indicating his return to Nova's consciousness.
Nova let go of Freyana's hand and picked her up in a princess carry.
『Area.』[Nova]
He went through the portal that appeared and showed up in his room on the other side.
Afterward, he slowly lowered her onto the bed and climbed onto the other side while still trading mana with her.
『...Good night.』[Nova]
He drifted off to bed while still holding her hand.
....
Nova woke up the next day to a sea of green in his room.
『...Oh my god…?!』[Nova]
Freyana's mana had overflowed while he was sleeping, filling the entire room in green mana.
He looked down at Freyana, who was still sleeping.
With that, he quietly began to seal a mix of their mana all throughout his body.
…..
After he was done sealing their mana onto his body, he ended up with about seven marks on his back.
『...I packed as much mana as possible into them, but I still needed to make seven of them..!』[Nova]
He sighed, not knowing what to think about Freyana's hidden strength.
「...I don't know why, but I haven't been able to get a proper gauge of my strength since that whole incident…」[Nova]
He thought back to all the chaos that ensued during that mission.
「...Forget it.」[Nova]
The seals on his body pulsed strangely and made him feel even stronger than it was in the past.
「...It's connected to my mana veins… It feels like it is constantly supplying me with a little trickle of mana.」[Nova]
He took a breath and felt like the air around him rushed around with his breath.
「Is this what Freyana's mana is like?」[Nova]
He wanted to do something with her mana, but felt like he had almost no control over it.
「...It doesn't feel like mana…?」[Nova]
Reischneid suddenly popped up in Nova's head, scaring him.
「Yeah. You have to adapt to the mana. It shouldn't take too long, but after a bit, you should be able to use it the same way you can use yours. There might be a couple differences in the effectivity of spells and abilities, though.」[Reischneid]
「Ah. Okay… Thanks, old man.」[Nova]
With that, Reischneid's voice faded once again.
Nova stared straight at Freyana's sleeping face.
『...Hm…』[Nova]
He poked her face a few times, causing her to start drooling on the pillow.
「...I guess that's her designated pillow from now on…」[Nova]
He made a mental check to remember which pillow had her drool on it.
Figuring that she wouldn't like it if he left without her, he laid back into bed.
「...Hey kid, I just wanna let you know… since mana is charged with emotions, the sharing of mana…」[Reischneid]
「...Huh?」[Nova]
「...It increases the bond and feelings of affection between two people…」[Reischneid]
「...What?!」[Nova]
「It shouldn't be too much, but if most of your mana right now is from Freyana, you may feel or see some weird things.」[Reischneid]
Reischneid's voice slowly drifted away.
「...Eh…?」[Nova]
Nova was left with that bit of advice to think about on his own.
「...Hmm… But… the fight against Noblesse… We're still in real trouble, huh?」[Nova]
He stared at his hand and tried to manipulate some mana outside his body.
「...It's weak, still. And Andrew…」[Nova]
A dark grimace filled his face.
「...He can't fight against high-level Houses like we can. He has his family's face and reputation to worry about…」[Nova]
Freyana showed no sign of waking up soon, but Nova's mind was beginning to be filled with other thoughts.
「...Leo doesn't represent Tsukikaze like his brother does… I'm not sure about Jack, but me and Rai are free to wreak havoc.」[Nova]
He aggressively scratched his head, not knowing what to do.
「I can't rely on any of the upperclassmen… and we're still short a person!」[Nova]
He sat quietly for a moment.
「...No, I can rely on them, can't I?」[Nova]
He turned on the earpiece that he got from Reagan, sending a couple of messages.
He quietly got out of bed and opened his room's door.
『...I'll be back.』[Nova]
With that, he closed the door silently.