The first to notice my inner turmoil was Janus, who asked, concerned,
“Are you alright? You are a bit pale?”
Janus Father also looked at me incredulously, one of his eyebrows raised, after noticing that I needed far more time to analyze than the others did.
“Uh… Uhm, yeah, I'm alright. It's just that…” I turned my attention back to Wilhelm Yuwen, words tumbling out before I could stop myself, my voice shaky. “M-my lord, you already have a mana stone?”
When the other men heard that their lord already had a magic stone, their reaction was almost matter-of-fact, as if it were the most natural thing. Meanwhile, I stood completely flabbergasted, already beginning to question everything I had “learned” in God's realm. People like Benjamin were supposed to be extremely rare. Yet here he was. At the very least, Wilhelm himself seemed to remember what I had told him about Benjamin, so he and Janus and I were the only ones left wide-eyed.
The rest of the lesson went on without any major discoveries.
Thank the gods.
Some had trouble properly meditating, and only a few managed to circulate their mana properly. But this was just the first lesson, and considering that, it didn't go too badly. For most, the sensation of mana circulation was foreign and even unsettling at first, a subtle tingling warmth spreading from their core, accompanied by the faint shimmer of bluish light flickering under their skin. The initial attempts resembled a sluggish river learning to flow, stuttering and halting as concentration wavered. I went around, and whenever someone had trouble, I would send a small amount of mana through their body just like I had done with Benjamin so that they could follow the flow and eventually do it on their own. Gradually, they would learn to sense the gentle current winding through their veins and draw it along its proper path on command. Once they did, they could start to form their non-attribute mana stones.
It goes without saying that Janus, Joel, and Sir Titus made the most progress. However, even they had trouble. Janus struggled to concentrate his mana in the right area while Joel struggled to form a steady flow. Sir Titus, on the other hand, had a different problem. He had so many pathways that every flow he formed turned into an uncontrollable current that just refused to do his bidding.
But Lord Wilhelm had no trouble at all and had already figured out the perfect flow and area. Even though the amount was minuscule in such a short time, I could already feel the reserves in his stone increasing. Even his body-strengthening magic was on par with mine. The only thing I was better at was forming constructs, but I was sure that after a few lessons, he would jump above me.
At the very least, unlike Benjamin, who was older and had more fighting experience than I, I didn't feel outdone yet…
Sigh,
Who am I kidding? I'm starting to suspect more and more that my so-called teachers in God's realm didn't know jack shit. Or perhaps I'm really the most untalented demon to ever exist. Demons were supposed to be arcane killing machines, feared by all, completely outclassing any mortal.
Whatever, enough moping around.
Three hours later, the first lesson was concluded, and the next lessons were planned. With only four months left until my due date, I could feel time pressing in from every direction. Every day brought me closer to that moment, one that felt both like a finish line and the edge of a cliff. Whatever happened when the twins came would change everything for me and maybe for everyone else, too.
Since it had been days since I was last needed in the clinic, it was decided that the upcoming lessons on body strengthening magic and forming a non-attribute mana stone would be held during my usual clinic time. The attendants would be the thirty soldiers, Janus, Joel, Titus, my other magic students, and even Wilhelm.
A real mixed batch of chaotic mages, arrogant nobles, and rough soldiers, I could already see the sparks flying.
I felt a headache coming, but if any of them caused trouble, I would just switch from theory to practice and crush them properly. Let them see if they would still joke around when they're left in the dust by a heavily pregnant twenty-something girl.
Now with the lesson and plans for future lessons settled, Janus and I were finally alone again, back in my room. It was still too cold outside to do anything else, so the two of us just settled on spending the rest of our day in bed… my bed.
After a few rounds of tussling, Janus and I were lying next to each other, and I was about to fall asleep when he asked.
“Oh, I almost forgot what you were doing earlier.”
Was he talking about what I did in bed?
“Ehm, earlier, what do you mean?”
Janus looked at me, confused.
“You know, when you checked my roadways or whatever. What were you thinking about?”
“What?... Oh, you mean when I checked your pathways?”
Did he buy it?
Janus nodded.
Phew! Good, I don't know why, but for some reason, it's still awkward to talk about sex directly. But back to the topic at hand. I refocused back on Janus, but before I could tell him, I needed to make sure this would stay between us.
“I…mmhhhh. Can you keep it a secret?”
Janus nodded again.
“Especially from your mother, I don't want her to blame herself.”
“Okay, okay, just tell me already.”
Demanded Janus impatiently.
“Do you remember how I told you that your mother had a weak heart?”
“Yes, you said that it got worse from scarring? Due to her giving birth to me, right?”
“Yes. And when I checked your pathways, I noticed that your body is constantly using up a small amount of mana. I had never seen that before, so I kept looking and found out that you have the same heart defect as your mother.”
That was a blatant lie. I have seen something like that before, but only with me.
“What?! No way, I'm perfectly healthy, I don't have a weak heart.”
Janus looked at me like I was crazy, and honestly, who could blame him? His Body was muscular and lean with just enough fat to hide his abs, but nothing else, with a nice round butt and… I reigned in my trailing gaze and explained further.
“But you do or well did. Your body subconsciously used your mana to reinforce your heart continuously. But you don't have to worry because I fixed it right away. And that was what I had been doing back there.”
For a few minutes, no one said anything until Janus asked.
“Could our kids have it too?”
“No, I already checked, and they don't have it. I also made sure that their own children and grandchildren wouldn't have it either.”
“Good. Sigh! I never knew.”
“It's okay, it's not like it was your fault.”
“Now that I think about it, I remember that there was a time before I learned aura when I used to fall asleep suddenly. But that all stopped when my father, against my mother's wishes, taught me aura. She was so mad. She said that I was… too weak…!”
Janus sat up, realizing he had known about it for a long time and had simply forgotten. Full of excitement, he looked over towards me only to realize that I had already dozed off. So he just tucked me in and lay beside me until he too fell asleep.