A month had passed since that sparring session.
After countless times tweaking algorithms and optimizing mana transmission paths, I finally managed to control Dark teleportation magic. By maximally reducing energy dissipation during the spatial transition, I could now successfully cast a one-star magic combined with one Dark teleportation without instantly shutting down. I'll probably call it "Nocturne" so I can shout a cool move name when using it later.
But the harsh reality was, that amount was still far too inadequate. The innate mana capacity of this body was like a degraded battery. My current state wasn't even enough to defend myself in a real battle, let alone actively attack or calculate more complex tactics. That limit was completely shackling all my efforts.
Meanwhile, Kanade was a complete opposite extreme. In merely a month, she had mastered the coordinate assignment magic technique I imparted. Not stopping there, Kanade excellently applied three-dimensional spatial equation systems into practical combat, navigating attack trajectories with quite decent precision.
Watching the abundant and precise streams of mana continuously launched from the maid's hands, I couldn't help but sigh inwardly. Is anyone carrying noble blood in this world as much of a GENIUS as Aiselin and Kanade?
Setting aside that lamentation, I was forced to return to the core problem: finding a way to upgrade my own hardware.
Over the past month, I had tested every physical method conceivable. I even recklessly forced myself to cast magic to the point of depletion, hoping that continuously breaking the endurance limit would stimulate the mana core to expand its capacity. But the results proved I was only deluding myself.
This was reality, not a fantasy RPG. There was no overpowered "system" suddenly flashing in mid-air, and naturally, there were no experience points for me to freely add to my mana stat. This body's mana core was like a component with permanently locked parameters, completely incapable of self-upgrading.
If the original component was beyond saving, the only viable option left was to plug in a peripheral device. In other words, I needed to find myself a power bank. The problem was, in this magical world, did such a power bank exist?
Carrying that hypothesis, I buried my head in the pile of documents borrowed from the library. And the effort of scanning the data finally yielded a result. My gaze halted at a page depicting a faint sketch of a bracelet. The caption below clearly recorded its properties: "absorbing, storing natural mana, and releasing."
I immediately called Kanade, who was practicing, to come closer.
"Lady Kanade, please verify this information for me," I pushed the book toward her, keeping my voice steady. "To your knowledge, does an item with this operating mechanism truly exist?"
Kanade leaned down to look closely at the page, her feline ears twitching slightly. After a few seconds of reviewing her memories, she looked up at me.
"Sir Zero, it truly exists. However, this item is exceedingly rare," Kanade slowly explained. "The magical and metallurgical technology to craft these storage items has been completely lost for many eras. According to what I have been told, they now only remain beneath ruins."
"Ruins?" I rubbed my chin lightly, my brain quickly establishing a risk analysis table. "Lady Kanade, I fear the feasibility of this plan is very low. Even if we can detect the coordinates of a ruin, it is highly likely it has long been cleared out by explorers. Not to mention, the drop rate of this specific mana storage item there is no different from a gacha pull with a 50/50 'off-rate' chance. It depends entirely on luck."
Kanade shook her head slightly, her eyes looking straight at me.
"I know of a hidden ruin, Sir Zero."
"How do you know the coordinates of such a place?" I blurted out, questioning her data source.
As soon as the question ended, the coral-orange feline ears on Kanade's head immediately drooped. A silent atmosphere enveloped us for a few seconds. Her voice trailed off as if swimming upstream through time.
"When I was little... I used to go play there often. That place is concealed by a very thorough camouflage art; perhaps even now, I am the only one who knows the way in."
My train of thought stalled. Childhood memories. A concealed ruin. I immediately realized I had accidentally touched Kanade's emotional wound—the peaceful time when she was a prestigious noble lady before disaster struck her family.
"I am incredibly sorry, Lady Kanade." I immediately stood up straight, bowing to apologize with the most sincere and solemn attitude. "I was too indelicate, inadvertently evoking your unhappy memories. I hope you will generously overlook this thoughtlessness."
Seeing me bow, Kanade hurriedly waved her hands in a fluster. Her drooping ears perked up, her cheeks flushing pink in embarrassment.
"No... it's fine, Sir Zero! Please do not do that, I truly do not mind!" she stammered, biting her lip slightly before looking up at me with her lemon-green eyes, her voice shy but firm. "If you truly need it... I can lead you there."
"Thank you, Kanade." I smiled, looking straight into her lemon-green eyes with absolute appreciation. "That you are willing to share a place holding so many memories for my sake... I am truly, incredibly grateful."
Kanade nodded slightly, her feline ears flicking gently in reassurance.
"If so, we need to ask permission from Eldest Lady Aiselin to leave the territory," I concluded, and Kanade immediately agreed.
Knowing clearly that the eldest lady's schedule today had no outside engagements, Kanade and I headed toward her private quarters. However, the standard three knocks only received silence. We had to stroll along the vast corridors of the estate to search.
While passing by the main drawing room area, my footsteps suddenly halted. A melodious, somber sequence of sounds echoed from behind the ajar wooden door.
The sound of a piano.
I gently pushed the door open. Under the soft light filtering through the large window, Lady Aiselin was sitting upright before an exquisitely crafted piano. Her slender fingers glided over the keys incredibly proficiently, weaving a melody that was sorrowful, profound, and heartbreakingly beautiful.
"This is... the Moonlight Sonata... how beautiful."
I blurted out. The volume was very low, but in the quiet space, it unconsciously escaped my throat.
This extraordinarily familiar melody suddenly dragged my train of thought adrift to my past life. Childhood memories flooded back vividly. I remembered back in first grade, seeing my older siblings start learning piano, my competitive nature, refusing to be inferior to anyone, urged me to relentlessly beg my mother to let me learn at all costs. However, a child's enthusiasm quickly burned out. After just a few sessions, I became bored and wanted to quit. If it weren't for my mother's strict compulsion forcing me to persevere, I might have put away the keys forever. It wasn't until eighth grade that I truly found joy in those black and white keys, eventually becoming passionate about playing the piano right up until the day I was brought to this world.
Just as I was immersed in that distant past, the sound of the piano abruptly ceased.
Lady Aiselin had stopped her hands. She turned around, her sharp eyes directing straight toward me. Under the pale light of the drawing room, that gaze shone with a glint of curiosity mixed with surprise.
"You know the Moonlight Sonata, Zero?"
The moment the name of the piece slipped from my lips, my brain immediately flashed a red warning light.
A fatal error. Judged by the frame of reference of my background, someone bearing a lowly commoner status—starting from a farming family—absolutely had no opportunity to be exposed to high art, let alone call out the specific name of such a classic piece of music. What logical reason must I invent to rationalize this data? My train of thought began running at full capacity but continuously reported errors. Damn it, you just played yourself, Zero.
Taking in the rare awkwardness I was trying to suppress, Lady Aiselin did not interrogate me. She only smiled slightly. Her smile curved up like someone who had just accidentally picked up an incredibly interesting puzzle piece.
"It seems you carry quite a few secrets, Zero." Her voice rang out soft and elegant. "But never mind, I will not inquire thoroughly. After all, who in this world doesn't have their own hidden corners."
Hearing those indulgent words, I felt as if I had just been released from an endless loop of tension. I immediately bowed in greeting, hiding a sigh of relief.
"I am incredibly grateful for My Lady's understanding."
Aiselin nodded slightly in acceptance. But just when I thought everything was smooth sailing, her eyes flashed with an unconcealed glint of interest.
"But say, Zero, do you know how to play the piano?"
The question dropped lightly but hit right at the core. At this point, having thrown the spear, I had to follow it. The variable had already been output to the screen; trying to cover it up or deny it further would only make my logical structure more rickety and suspicious.
"Yes, My Lady. I know how to play a little." I replied unhurriedly, maintaining my composed demeanor.
She stood up from the velvet-cushioned chair, stepping back to yield the seat with a polite, inviting gesture.
"Then could you play a piece for me to hear?"
"Yes. If My Lady does not mind."
I sat in the chair, closing my eyes. The familiar feeling of the keyboard surface transmitted to my fingertips, activating an intense sequence of nostalgic data flooding my mind.
I began to play.
It was still the Moonlight Sonata that Lady Aiselin had just left unfinished, but right from the first notes, the resonance and rhythm veered in a completely different direction. The handling of sound dynamics, the softness in the tempo transitions... that was not something a beginner could imitate. It was a level of proficiency honed and forged through thousands of hours of repetition over many years.
But right now, technique was not what guided my hands. Emotions were disrupting the system. Through every black and white key, the image of my mother in my past life appeared more vividly than ever. An incredibly strict woman, sometimes conservative, but always the most solid fortress encompassing and supporting all my decisions. If it weren't for her iron discipline back then forcing me to sit at the piano bench, if not for that rigid guidance, I might never have had the perseverance to achieve academic accomplishments before being thrown into this strange world.
The emotional current flooded in too fast, exceeding the processing limit of rationality.
"Say, Zero, are you alright? Why are you crying?"
A clear voice suddenly rang out, directly severing the stream of memories and yanking me back to reality. It was Lady Aiselin's voice.
My hands froze in mid-air. The piano sound ceased completely. I was a bit dazed, reflexively bringing a hand up to touch my cheek. Wet. Tears had silently fallen without me realizing it.
I took a deep breath, quickly rebooting my usual composure and standard demeanor. I hastily wiped the tear streak, turned around, and bowed slightly.
"I beg My Lady's forgiveness for this discourtesy. I merely accidentally recalled some distant memories from my past."
Kanade's voice rang out, gently breaking the awkward yet silent atmosphere of the room. "Sir Zero plays so beautifully."
Lady Aiselin nodded in agreement, her eyes still retaining a bit of surprise that hadn't yet faded. "You are not only excellent in academics but also so proficient at the piano? I am truly surprised."
"It is just a minor talent, My Lady," I replied, recovering my usual composed and humble demeanor.
"So... what brings you to the drawing room?" Aiselin got straight to the point.
Regaining my working state, I articulately summarized the reason Kanade and I needed permission to leave the territory for a short time to search for a mana storage item.
After listening to the brief report, Aiselin pondered for a moment, then nodded. She raised an eyebrow and asked: "I approve. What about your travel expenses?"
"I request My Lady's permission to deduct a portion from my tutoring contract remuneration." I proposed the most optimal plan.
"Alright." She replied, then took a small metal object from her lapel, placing it into my hand.
It was an exquisitely carved crest of the Shirakawa family.
"If you need to use public facilities like teleportation arrays in major cities, simply present this crest, and they won't dare make things difficult," Aiselin instructed. "And if you are short on funds, just send a letter back to me."
"Thank you for your thoroughness, My Lady." I bowed slightly, carefully pocketing the badge.
Suddenly, Aiselin cleared her throat, making an incredibly strange request. "Say, Zero, could you keep an eye on our surroundings for a bit? If anyone enters, notify me immediately."
My brain flashed a question mark at this anomalous command, but my mouth replied reflexively: "Yes, My Lady."
The moment I finished speaking, Aiselin smiled brightly. She strode close to Kanade while simultaneously snapping her fingers. A transparent soundproofing barrier was immediately established, fully enclosing the surrounding space.
Without giving Kanade time to react, the usually majestic eldest lady unexpectedly lunged forward, tightly hugging the small maid.
"I have to be away from you for a while, Kanade? I'll miss you so much! When you get back, you absolutely have to let me hug you really tight to make up for it!"
Embraced so suddenly, Kanade startled in fluster. Her eyes hurriedly darted toward me as if sending an SOS signal.
Noticing the situation, I immediately turned around, directing my eyes toward the main door with the most serious expression possible, pretending to be highly focused on guard duty. Let the two young women naturally enjoy this bit of private space.
End of Chapter 23.