"If all you want is to see your parents one last time, I don't mind you using a method that destroys yourself to grow."
Riveria didn't know what Ais had done to make Bell use the phrase "destroying yourself," but she understood one thing very clearly: Bell must have seen something they could not. He must have realized that Ais had already stepped onto a path toward self-collapse.
But the true key of that sentence wasn't Ais's self-destructive tendencies.
It was the phrase "if all you want is to see your parents one last time."
In other words—did Bell have a way for Ais to do more than just see Aria and Albert one last time?
Realizing this, Riveria felt shock roll through her like crashing waves.
But… could that possibly be true?
How could it be true?
...
In the hidden underground workshop two unfamiliar vessels stood among the usual equipment.
Each one was nearly two and a half meters tall.
Inside them was a strange liquid, and suspended within each container were two floating drops of deep crimson.
Bell, the master of the workshop, stood silently before them, watching.
"Begin."
At his command, the solution began to churn as if it were about to boil. The two suspended crimson droplets started to simmer violently. They swelled, multiplying at an astonishing rate, spreading through the liquid like rapidly breeding bacteria.
"The cell division rate is fast… but it burns through Life Solution way too quickly."
Bell rested his chin on one hand, a frown weighing on his features.
The liquid within the vessels was "Life Solution," a special substance formed from condensed spirit energy released by the overwhelmingly powerful Spirit Tree.
It behaved like a fluid infused with vitality—readily absorbed by the human body, accelerating recovery, nourishing cells, and dramatically speeding up cell division.
With just a bit of refinement, it could easily become an elite-grade healing potion.
But to Bell, these were non-sellable items.
For one, he had no desire to work in that field.
Competing with Orario's medical familia would be nothing but trouble. Any small move could be taken as provocation.
Bell didn't need that much money anyway, so there was no need to poke the medical familia.
And, to be honest, he simply found the entire field annoying.
He ruffled his hair in frustration as he looked at the two towering vessels.
"Ugh. This is such a hassle… and a huge waste of my time."
A single year was already a tight schedule for him. With that constraint, this entire project felt even more troublesome.
To Bell, the whole thing had no inherent value. It was just a nuisance. But he still needed to consider accelerating the growth of that "Sword Princess." Sometimes, the issue wasn't that he was growing too slowly—it was that she wasn't keeping up.
"Growth tainted by the 'Seven Deadly Sins' is pointless. The only way to truly accelerate her is through positive stimulation."
In truth, using corruption would be far faster, but doing so would upset Loki. So it was not an option.
Thinking about all these restrictions gave Bell a pounding headache.
"Whatever… I'll treat this as part of the path toward mastering various Authorities. It's within my one-year plan anyway."
Since he intended to give up the benefits of both the Falna System and the Type-Moon System, Bell had already decided he would eventually discard "Runes."
Not right away—but over the course of the next year, he would completely wring out every last bit of value the Runes could provide, using them as a cornerstone before abandoning them entirely.
Bell was, after all, a frugal type.
Anything valuable should be exploited to its absolute limit. Anything less would be wasteful.
Runes was a magic with enormous potential.
With different sequences, it could mimic almost any Authority. While the output was weaker, it still achieved around eighty percent of the original's power—nearly covering the entire spectrum of divine abilities…
Thus, this would be one of the major projects for the coming year.
After thinking it through, Bell felt far less irritated. The process would undoubtedly be difficult and painful—but necessary.
"The birth of life… really is incredible."
His gaze remained fixed on the crimson mass as its quantity slowly expanded and condensed into a massive cellular body.
The giant cell had begun adapting to its developmental state, steadily absorbing the energy in the Life Solution—preparing itself for a new form of life to emerge.
"Beep, beep, beep!"
Bell's brow twitched, but he still stopped the rapid cell growth inside the vessel.
It wasn't that he didn't want the process to continue quickly. The problem was that the reserve of "Life Solution" had run out.
"Tch. As expected, creating a body—simulating the birth of a body—burns through an absurd amount of energy."
And it wasn't just any energy. It had to be something carrying the properties of life. Pure mana wasn't enough to support the creation of a physical body.
Not that it was impossible—just that a normal body wouldn't survive it.
Bodies were fragile. Even the slightest mismatch and they'd simply give up and fail.
"This needs to be paused for now."
"I'll have to condense a new batch of 'Life Solution.' Well… I guess it counts as deepening my understanding of life and time. Not a big issue."
Bell didn't find the situation troublesome. Using the experiment to supplement his grasp of Authority was still a productive use of time.
"I'll wrap up things here today. Tomorrow, I'll talk to the 'Sword Princess' properly and give her the push she needs."
…If the people around her could handle this for me, I wouldn't have to go through all this trouble.
But that ship had sailed.
Since Ais's companions weren't reliable enough to provide the nourishment she needed for growth at this stage, Bell could only resort to some… special methods.