Chapter 330

330 Carrot and Stick #4

“There is a way to make you feel mana in a short period if you’re in a real hurry.”

At Elpride’s words, I stopped trying to meditate and opened my eyes.

“Is that really true?”

“It’s not an ordinary or easy way though. Even the Elves of Albrheim spend a year meditating and doing exercises to just feel mana. You’re asking to compress that into a week.”

I had heard that the Elves of Albrheim were born with an innate affinity for mana, making them naturally talented Mages. If even they need a year to feel mana, then compressing that process into a week for me must be…

Certainly an impressive feat, but one I couldn’t even begin to fathom how extreme it would be.

“What do I have to do?”

In response to my question, Elpride seemed to rummage through her things before pulling out something long and rod-like. It would be more accurate to call it a Staff rather than just a rod.

Elpride waved the slender, long Staff around with her hand, then looked down at me sitting on the floor and asked.

“Do you know what this is?”

“If you’re thinking of hitting me with that, I’d advise you not to. A small whip might be tolerable, but that’s a real weapon. I will retaliate.”

“No, no hitting involved. Do you even know what this is?”

“Is it a switch?”

“You’re teasing me on purpose. This is a Staff, a Mage’s tool.”

“So, a Staff. You could also just call it a switch, right? So what?”

“Have you ever heard of a lightning rod?”

We had been discussing mana, and then moved to talking about Staffs, and now she suddenly asked about lightning rods. I wasn’t sure how to respond to Elpride’s peculiar way of speaking, but decided to just nod.

“Yes, that’s the rod that intercepts lightning, right? A lightning rod.”

“Yep, how do you know that?”

Elpride seemed genuinely surprised that I knew what a lightning rod was.

Sveil… Elves tend to think they alone possess great knowledge.

If I were to start explaining Fibonacci sequences to them, they’d probably faint from shock. Then again, if I were to explain Fibonacci sequences, I’d probably freak out as well since I don’t even know what that is.

Slurk-.

“…”

At that moment, I noticed Elpride’s eyes narrowing sharply, and I quickly stopped thinking nonsense.

If she caught me daydreaming, that Staff might actually turn into a switch. A bruise was bound to form if I were hit by that.

“Anyway, this Staff works like a lightning rod. It gathers the mana floating in the air so it can enter my body. Think of it as aiding the manipulation of mana.”

“Ah-.”

I felt like I was beginning to understand why Mages wield Staffs instead of swords or spears.

It’s like an auxiliary tool that helps use magic more easily and accurately.

“So, does it mean if I get one of these Staffs, it’ll make it easier for me to feel mana?”

“Yes, but regular wood won’t do for making Staffs or Wands. In Albrheim, we cut down trees planted when a child is born when they begin mana training and make them into Staffs.”

“Ah, I see.”

I wasn’t sure what she meant, but I nodded as if I understood. Seeing this, Elpride continued her explanation.

“The trees that have grown alongside the child since birth are imbued with their Karma, so they can use the Staff as if it’s an extension of their body.”

“Ah-.”

I thought I understood. A tool used for a long time can feel like an extension of oneself. This was like saying the trees that had grown alongside them since childhood, like siblings, were turned into similar tools.

Hippolyte had also emphasized repeatedly during my training, “You should regard your sword and weapons as parts of your body.”

Whether it was magic or swordsmanship, it seemed there were similarities in the stages of mastery.

I asked,

“So, your Staff is made from the tree planted when you were born?”

“No, I just bought this one from a store. Honestly, an accomplished Mage like me doesn’t care whether it’s a Staff or a broken twig.”

“That’s impressive.”

Elpride boasted, and I affirmed her appropriately. At this, the long ears protruding from her hair moved slightly.

It’s true that compliments make anyone feel good. But Elpride furrowed her brow and changed the subject.

“Anyway, the important thing is that you can feel the mana in the air with a medium like this Staff as well.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yes, I can help create that for you. However, there is a condition. What I’m about to teach you is the fruit of my efforts as a Mage, something I can’t hand over lightly.”

Elpride declared sternly, as if trying to scare me away from easily asking for information.

From her perspective, it’s the same as asking to copy her hard work, her notes or assignments, so it’s understandable that she wouldn’t readily allow it.

For this same reason, Mages don’t generally take on apprentices easily.

Phleure saying she’d teach me all she knew about hell magic if I passed her test must be out of her mind.

But still, conditions.

I tensed up not knowing what kind of demand Elpride might put forward as a condition. The world feels like I’ve ended up on the leash again, back in Elpride’s hands.

Thinking about it, I should look for another teacher immediately. However, besides Elpride, I doubted anyone could teach me the basics of magic in just a week.

Even if I went to other Mages and offered them money, I’d probably just get insulted and have to flee.

“What do I need to do?”

“Hmm, let’s see. What would be good? I’m thinking-.”

Her slender, red eyes opened slightly.

She tapped the end of her Staff on the floor, ‘thunk,’ ‘thunk,’ as if deep in thought, then declared.

“Are you free very early in the morning?”

“I don’t have any plans. I told Luna I need to study magic.”

Luna had been busy with various tasks to catch up on her workshop works, so I was free for the week starting today.

“In that case, massage my back and shoulders all morning. Don’t fall asleep. We’ll see after that.”

Hassan is no longer idle.

*

Elpride that I remember always read before sleeping.

Leaning on the bed or slouching with her back to the wall, she would read letters in uncomfortable positions.

This forces the entire body to tense up, including the neck and back, making deep sleep impossible.

She could at least stretch a little before sleeping—it would be good for her.

The same happened today.

Elpride was flipping through some unknown book under a lantern.

After reading for a while, the last thing she would do is casually comment on whether she found the content interesting or not.

“This is boring. ‘The beasts of the fallen world have appeared’- both the title and the content are strange. Who would write such a thing?”

Then, as if her interest was lost, she closed the book and yawned, lying down face down on the bed.

And then she said:

“Massage my back until I fall asleep. And keep going even after I’m asleep until morning.”

Oh, geez.

Finally, it all came down to this.

This was her condition for giving me special training in mana sensitivity.

Spending one night massaging might not seem like a big deal, but massaging is actually incredibly exhausting work.

Asking me to do this all night was equivalent to telling me not to sleep at all today.

Every time before sleeping, Elpride would always read books.

Hunched over the bed or slouched against the wall, reading in such a way naturally tensed all her muscles, making it impossible to sleep peacefully.

She should really stretch a little before sleeping.

It seems the same thing happened today.

Elpride was flipping through some unknown book under the lantern.

After a while, she casually tossed out a comment about whether she found it interesting or not at the end of the day’s routine.

“This is boring. ‘Monsters of the ruined world appeared’- both the title and content are strange. Who wrote such a thing?”

Then, losing interest, she closed the book, yawning widely, and stretched out on the bed face-down. Then she said,

“Massage my back. Keep doing it until morning, even after I’ve fallen asleep.”

Whoa, sh**t.

Finally, the moment has arrived.

This was what she intended to get in exchange for offering me the special training in perceiving mana.

Though it might seem no big deal to spend one night massaging, massaging is actually a task that takes a tremendous amount of strength.

Therefore, telling me to do this for the whole night was equivalent to saying I wouldn’t sleep at all that day.

“Hey.”

“Yeah.”

At Elpride’s prompt, I stopped thinking and slowly approached the bed. There she lay, completely unguarded, her back facing me, ready to rest.

Who could have thought that a young, vibrant man would be entrusted with a massage, while the woman herself would sleep soundly.

But Elpride was exactly that.

Because she believed I was under the two-sword curse, she felt comfortable sleeping freely.

Even letting me touch her bare feet, it was probably because she thought I was a harmless man.

But I had already broken free from that curse long ago. The thought of sharing a bed with her by the light of a lantern made my nerves jittery.

Of course, that didn’t mean we were sharing a bed in such a way. The problem was that I had to work on her body until morning.

Anyway, I naturally became tensed up.

Whether she noticed my tension or not, Elpride lying face down on the bed looked completely relaxed under a white silk negligee, seemingly ready to slip into a peaceful sleep without the slightest muscle strain.

Looking at her, this girl hadn’t changed at all since those days when she treated me like a slave.

She still considered me an utterly harmless man, and she looked down on me in that sense.

Being considered harmless to a woman, this was certainly a blow to my pride, but realistically, I was powerless against her.

Elpride, with her knowledge of magic, was my absolute superior.

I was her inferior.

It’s the same story as Dongbaek Flower’s protagonist having to endure the bullying of Jomsun, the miller’s daughter, due to a significant power imbalance.

“What are you waiting for? Hurry up and massage me. I’m so stiff from riding the carriage for so long.”

Elpride’s prompting made me slowly move my hands. My rough palms touched her negligee, reaching under to feel her delicate shoulders.

At the touch, Elpride shivered slightly.

“Your palms are- hotter than expected.”

“Should I cool them down?”

“No, it’s fine. Just keep going. I’m tired, I’ll be sleeping now, so don’t talk.”

Lately, we’ve been spending time together and overcoming various challenges as peers, which should have fostered a sense of camaraderie as colleagues, but she remained remarkably curt.

She had no hesitation in playing the role of the superior. Women who know they’re beautiful tend to act like this, and Elpride was one of the strongest of them.

Except, her shoulders were tense, far more rigid than would befit someone as haughty.

Probably from sitting hunched over during the carriage ride back to Sodomora, and also her general preference to sit or lie slouching, her muscles were tight.

Swoosh-.

Gently pressing with my thumb and forefinger, as if kneading flour into dough, I found where her shoulder was knotted.

“Yeeaaoooa-.”

Elpride made a surprisingly peculiar sound, nothing like her usually strict and sarcastic demeanor. More like the noises middle-aged men make when entering a hot bath.

I had heard this sound so many times before when Elpride received massages from me, so it wasn’t particularly surprising.

But listening to it, it reminded me somewhat of the groans made by the dragon or whatever creature I had once ridden on, and I suddenly wanted to laugh.

Still, it’s natural that when I apply just the right pressure with my considerable strength, such a sound would emerge.

Massaging her shoulders, I then pushed my hands towards her back. Using my thumb, I carefully massaged and loosened the erector spinae muscles from her neck to her lower back with circular motions.

“Yeeaaaahh…”

Elpride exhaled a slight m*an as if in pain, but conversely, I could feel through my palms that the tension was gradually melting in her body.

More than anything else, why was her body so incredibly stiff? It felt like a mechanical robot that hasn’t been oiled or a puppet made entirely of wood.

“Press a bit harder on this spot. Yeah, it’s been tight lately, and it hurt—.”

At her request for a firmer touch, I hesitated momentarily. There’s a chance my strength could end up punching a hole through her body. What should I do?

Deciding to diffuse the pressure over a broader surface area, I used my palm to rub her back gently from her waist upwards.

Slurk-.

Even though I had intended to lighten the pressure, there seemed to be a problem when I moved my hand from under her waist. The hem of her negligee that had previously reached her thighs slowly began to rise.

At that moment, her hand slipped below the hem and pulled it down.

“Did you see?”

She asked if I had seen her black lace underwear.

“Nope.”

Of course, I pretended not to have seen anything. In response, Elpride didn’t say anything more but pulled the blanket up to cover herself past her waist.

But pulling the blanket up to cover her buttocks, an inevitable issue arose with the cheap inn’s blanket.

By covering her buttocks, her lower legs were naturally exposed, and the white soles of her feet were clearly visible under the edge of the blanket.

“Hey, covering your buttocks is good, but now your foot soles are exposed.”

“What? Who cares about covering buttocks anyway? And even if you see my soles, it’s not a problem for someone like you.”

“You say that, but the soles are important to women.”

“Not at all.”

Elpride’s pride was misplaced.

Even though she was lying face down, her ears peeking through her hair were noticeably red. There was no need for further confirmation of what was obvious.

Elpride spoke to me while lying down.

“Are you really that fixated on feet? Do you think touching my feet means you suddenly have an advantage over me?”

What was she implying? Should I protest against this?

But if I did, there might be another fire at this inn. And then there goes the shrine, and everything will be wrecked.

One must learn from experience. After the arson incident that time, I spent a good amount of time reflecting on and disciplining my fiery younger self.

Thus, the ‘me’ from that time and the ‘me’ now are completely different—having gone through a 180-degree change, then another, making me twice the new Hassan.

Which allowed me to declare boldly:

“So, does that mean I can massage your feet all night?”

“Huh? What?”