Mariya Inna
A girl wearing a black dress with red frills walked out of the mist that had just begun to dissipate.
She had red hair and a curly ponytail on the upper right side of her head that dropped down to her waist before slowly turning into a black.
...But her most distinguishing feature would be the black blindfold tied around her eyes.
『Mariya Inna, at your service.』[Mariya]
She lifted up the hems of her dress and gave a small bow.
『..Ah? It's nice to meet you. My name is Nova.』[Nova]
She quickly walked over to Nova and looked up at him.
『Nova! Are you the Conqueror?!』[Mariya]
His face distorted in a horrible way when he heard that.
『...I will never call myself that.』[Nova]
Cael looked at Nova's face and was creeped out by how distorted it was.
Mariya continued happily shouting.
『So, you are the master of the blue flame!』[Mariya]
Nova didn't hate this one as much, but still exhaled when he heard it.
『...Sure. Did you need something, Mariya?』[Nova]
『Ah! So you are the Conquero-!』[Cael]
『NO. It's one of the dumbest names I have ever heard. I don't even know why they call me that.』[Nova]
Cae slowly settled down due to Nova's nonstop disdain for the name.
『...Right. But you're the one who has the legendary blue flame, right?!』[Cael]
『Legendary blue flame? I don't remember it being legendary at all.』[Nova]
『There are many stories of the "Azure Flame". Stories of how it healed people, stories of how it burns even mana to a crisp, and stories of it creating something out of nothing!』[Mariya]
Nova's eyes lit up a bit when he heard Azure Flame.
『...Azure Flame? That's a much better name, in my opinion… Why couldn't they call me that…?』[Nova]
『So, you are the owner of the Azure Flame?! That which purifies the night?! The one that burns away the very concept of evil?! THE ONE THAT BURNS AWAY MANA?!��[Mariya]
When he heard all of that, he changed his mind pretty quickly about being called the Azure Flame.
『...It burns away mana. That's it.』[Nova]
『But! Aren't there more applications?! Like when you made that healing potion?!』[Mariya]
Nova was about to nod when he realized that she had the fog around her when that happened.
『...Huh? How did you know..?』[Nova]
Her face turned from a confused look to that of happy expression.
『I'm happy that you are interested in me! As for how I know, I can't see things like how you do.』[Mariya]
She took two of her fingers and pointed at her eyes.
『These aren't used like yours are. I cannot see the physical world.』[Mariya]
『The.. Physical world?』[Nova]
『The world is made up out of…?』[Mariya]
『Atoms and molecules.』[Cael]
Nova nodded.
『And do you know what those are made up of?』[Mariya]
『Uh… quarks?』[Nova]
She laughed to herself a bit.
『Pfft. It's a cute answer.』[Mariya]
Nova got confused by her words.
『...A cute answer?』[Nova]
『The answer you gave used science as the fundamentals of the world. In theory, you'd be correct. The actual truth of the matter is that everything has mana in it.』[Mariya]
『...Then?』[Nova]
『I cannot see the world. I can only see the mana that exists in it. If the world was a video game, I would be able to see the code and all that makes the world up.』[Mariya]
『You can… see mana?』[Nova]
『Yes, by way of my constitution.』[Mariya]
Cael cut in to try to stop her from continuing to talk.
『Mariya, isn't that enough? He doesn't need to know about-』[Cael]
She quickly refuted him.
『My dear Cael, of course he needs to know! Isn't that why we, as the Magical Advancement Association, exist?』[Mariya]
Cael sighed, then let her continue talking.
『The constitution known as "Mana Heart" can perceive the minute changes in this world, at the cost of their life being chained to their mana.』[Mariya]
Nova was shocked.
『Mana… heart?』[Nova]
『Of course you haven't heard of it. It's a constitution that occurs in… maybe 1 in a billion people. Their mana lines are put into sync with their blood, which allows them to have a better sensitivity and control of mana, but causes them to bleed mana, along with blood.』[Cael]
Nova wanted to say something, but refrained from exposing himself.
『I... 』[Nova]
『It's a fortune, and a curse. That's the way most things occur. Due to this constitution, my eyes are unable to be used. I can, however, see mana.』[Mariya]
『My flame… is capable of healing things. Is it possible for me to-』[Nova]
She raised a hand up to him.
『The thought is enough. My eyes are not capable of sight any longer. Not from injury, but from the moment I awakened my mana.』[Mariya]
『From the moment you awakened your mana..? But.. Can't anything be done?』[Nova]
『...Maybe one day, when someone with a strong enough seed may come and heal me.』[Mariya]
『I-』[Nova]
『That's enough, Nova.』[Cael]
Nova looked at Cael, who had a blank look on his face.
『There is a purpose to everyone being here. We seek dreams that are outside of the grasp of modern magical theory. You have to respect that.』[Cael]
Mariya nodded with a smile on her face.
『I do appreciate your concern, though. Maybe if you find out a way to revive dead mana lines, something can be done. However, it is of no priority.』[Mariya]
She lightly strolled to the side of the wall and grabbed another mist pellet.
『I must get back to my research, but..』[Mariya]
Mariya held a huge smile on her face when she dropped the pellet and it began to envelop her.
『The world of mana is beautiful. There is no color or flower in this world as beautiful as what I can see.』[Mariya]
She gave him a light smile before talking in a very quiet voice.
『You'll see what I mean soon enough, won't you?』[Mariya]
Finally, the fog fully encapsulated her.
Nova felt an unbearable itch at the back of his heart to try and heal her eyes, but something in him told him that it wasn't possible.
Nova was woken up from his daze by a loud slamming noise.
『Damn!』[Cael]
Cael had punched the wall hard enough to cause blood to drip from his fist.
Nova stood still in shock.
Even though he stopped Nova from prying any further, it seems like he was the one holding back the most.
『Blessed Flame Rebirth.』[Nova]
A blue flame floated on top of Nova's hand as he slowly walked over to Cael.
Cael's eyes seemed to drift off toward that flame.
Once he made it over to Cael, the flame enveloped Cael's hand.
『...You're a great guy, senior.』[Nova]
Nova concentrated on the blue flame that surrounded Cael's injury.
If Nova was looking at Cael's face, he would have seen some tears run down his cheeks.
『...Thank you.』[Cael]