21. Let’s do a Physical Exam – Part I

Finally past the much dramatic Ryeini-Euphie reunion, seems like they made peace with each other. After Ryeini calmed down from bawling her eyes out, we then sorted out our list of problems. It may seem daunting but I’ve decided that I’ll never give up on her.

Magic has the power to make people smile. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a dream or an ambition far away. I will never give up. If it’s possible to reach for it, then I’ll keep stretching out my hand towards it.

「Trust me and follow my lead, Ryeini. I wish to show you the meaning of your power.」

I was deep in thought while rummaging through my workshop. Starting today, we would be investigating Ryeini’s demon stone in search for a way to control its power. And something about it is my biggest worry something that I haven’t told anyone yet.

（When Ryeini pours in her magic energy into the demon stone and takes control of it… will she remain human?）

I’ve considered that possibility but didn’t say it out loud because I haven’t confirmed it yet.

A vampire is a magician turned monster, and vampires are half-dead. When the demon stone’s power is awakened, there’s a possibility that half of her body will suddenly decay. A quick examination revealed that Ryeini is a legitimate human being, for now.

「It’s just… not known whether she’ll remain perfectly human after taking control of her demon stone.」

Calling Ryeini a half-vampire got me wondering, can vampires make babies? Maybe it varies between individual vampires. Or maybe she was just born with truly divine miraculous odds.

It’s unknown what changes will occur to Ryeini when she takes control of her powers. Since there’s no precedence, I can only make wild guesses. Which is why I couldn’t say anything about it.

Even if she frees herself from her current misfortune, there’s a possibility she might turn into a monster after all this.

「Well, let’s just hope for the best.」

I sure hope things turn out fine. It would be ideal if it’s only an urge to drink blood at its worst. Even if we know about the existence of vampires, their way of living is still a mystery. After all, we only know of them from made-up fairy tales.

No use worrying about it. The world keeps on turning so all we can do is do what we can, little by little.

I reluctantly left my workshop. In the first place, all I had to do here was gather the tools we need. I went straight to the courtyard, where Euphie, Ryeini, and Illya were waiting.

「Sorry for the wait! Alright, let’s start Ryeini’s magical energy manipulation training immediately!」

「Understood. Please take care of me.」

Ryeini nodded her head resolutely. It was only a few days ago when she was lacking in courage, a crying mess of a damsel in distress; but now, she looks like she’s brimming with determination. I nod back, it’s good for her to feel motivated.

I gave her a magic tool—a sword hilt. It’s one of my best and most stable inventions. Let’s get her used to this first.

「This is a magic tool I invented, called a Mana Sword. Isn’t there a magic similar to this?」

「There is, does this tool imitate that magic?」

「Correct. So, the way you use this is to simply pour in your magic energy…」

Taking a short distance away, I held up the mana sword then activated it. Ryeini curiously eyed the blade made from magic energy. Next to her, Euphie relaxed her cheeks and agreed with Ryeini’s reaction, seems like she also felt the same.

「Well then, why don’t we let Ryeini try one too?」

「Got it. Just pour in my magic energy… just like doing it with magic… just like…」

After muttering the procedure a couple of times, Ryeini started pouring in her magic energy into the mana sword. Okay, there seems to be no problem with the flow of magic energy. I didn’t detect anything strange and I don’t see any abnormalities.

Eventually, a blade made out of magic energy easily slid out of the hilt. Ryeini observed the mana sword, shaking it lightly.

「Wow, this is amazing! It’s so much easier than making it with just magic! I think I like this one better. Though I’ve never used a sword or anything like that before.」

「I prefer magic because it’s more flexible, but this is probably better for those who aren’t good at magic.」

「Umm, for Euphilia-sama, that’s a bit… as expected.」

Ryeini smiled faintly at Euphilia’s words. I mean, she is the number one prodigy. It’s a privilege of those who can use magic freely.

Ryeini’s flow of magic energy is normal, but let’s continue the examination.

「Ryeini, can I have you draw the mana sword in and out at intervals, if that’s alright? I’m just curious to see how the demon stone reacts.」

「Ah, okay… By the way, where is the demon stone in my body?」

Haven’t I told her that yet? I pointed to her chest and Ryeini tilted her head, puzzled. I meant her heart.

「It’s here. I think it’s attached to the heart.」

「…to the heart… Then if you remove it, won’t I die instantly…?」

「Don‘t worry, that’s our last resort. Let’s just hope it won’t come to that.」

「I don’t want to die with my chest gouged out!…」

Oh, seems like she’s filled with motivation for a strange reason. Well, no matter the reason, it’s always good to be motivated.

“Then let me check” I said as I walked around her and hugged her from behind just like before. Then, I cup my hand firmly on her chest… Yeah, maybe bigger than me. Wait… no way, isn’t this quite big?…

「Wha– W-What!? Princess Anne-Sophia!? Why are you grabbing my breasts!?」

「To sense the reaction of the demon stone of course. But still, you got quite the good stuff…」

「Hyaa~!」

「What are you really doing?」

A dull “thump” resounded and hurt my head. I almost yelped, but I managed to hold it in as I held Ryeini and pulled her closer. Illya, shouldn’t you hold back when you hit me!? I mean, how did you even make that sound!?

I wonder if I should make a harisen for Illya next time. If I let her beat me up too bad, I’ll end up a wreck. With a paper fan though, the beating wouldn’t hurt, and Illya might feel satisfied enough just from hearing the sound when she thwacks me. Yeah, I should do that.

「Alright Ryeini, do it.」

「Y-Yesh…」

Bright red, Ryeini repeatedly activates and deactivates the mana sword. I try to sense to flow of her magic energy but it doesn’t seem like her magic energy is flowing toward her demon stone.

It’s not that her demon stone is completely devoid of magic energy. Imagine an electric circuit but for magic. Even though it’s connected to the circuit and there’s a path towards the demon stone, it seems like her magic energy is not intentionally flowing towards it; but there’s definitely a demon stone getting passed by the flowing path, allowing it to receive faint amounts of magic energy. That magic energy isn’t being used however. So, shall I call this “inactive state”?

「Hmm, I see. Alright this should be enough. Thank you.」

「…it’s just a physical exam… …just a check-up… …just like doctors…」

When I released Lady Ryeini, she kept her distance from me and hugged her chest. I didn’t mean anything by it, really. Still felt nice though, hehehehe.

As I was thinking this, my eyes met with Euphie’s. Her eyes showed not a hint of emotion, but it looked like she’s complaining about something. I cleared my throat and regain my composure. Let’s take this seriously!

「I’ve gotten a pretty good understanding of Ryeini’s demon stone and there seems to be no problem with her magic energy manipulation. So we’ll be moving on to the next stage!」

「…What do we do?」

「Now that it’s come to this, we’ll have to talk about something.」

It’s going to be a long and serious discussion so I spurred them on to move to the tea party table set in the courtyard. Illya left by herself to prepare the tea.