4th Day (3) | Well Then... Let's Build A Well! (3)

He stepped closer to the bewildered noble, meeting her gaze directly.

"S-Sir Sebas...?" Anastasia's voice wavered, taken aback and also... flustered by the closeness that he had suddenly closed between them. "W-What are you doing...?"

"My lady... you've been taught to expand your mana sense outward, reaching for any sort of disturbances, right?"

"Y-Yes, I have... That is why I questioned your assertion of this because I could not sense any mana..."

"That won't work here. Instead, you must do the opposite—shrink your focus, refine it, and... listen past the noise."

Anastasia hesitated, trying to grasp his meaning.

Seeing her uncertainty, Sebas took another step closer, his voice dropping to a softer, instructional tone.

"Close your eyes."

"E-Excuse me?" She blinked at him, startled by the command.

"Close your eyes..." he repeated, more gently this time, "...and slowly breathe."

After a moment of reluctance...

"...Okay."

Anastasia finally complied, letting her eyes slip shut.

"Now… listen carefully to my instruction, alright?"

She slowly nodded to his guidance.

"Listen well," he started, his tone patient yet firm, "don't reach out for the mana—don't chase it. Instead, let it settle... Let it flow naturally... as if you're watching the currents of a river."

She inhaled slowly, trying to follow his words. When he mentioned 'river,' though, her mind couldn't help but wander back to the river she and her servants had visited yesterday...

However, the image of that river had turned into a raging stream that could not be quelled.

She couldn't understand why that river had become so turbulent, even though she had remembered it quite fondly before as being a gentle stream...

This imagery, of course, was reflected in her state of self as her face winced in distress.

But this was something the butler had expected to happen.

"At first, it will feel like a roaring flood. Wild, uncontrollable, and overwhelming..." he murmured, his voice low and steady against her ear. "But... listen carefully. Beneath the surface, you'll find something steadier... deeper..."

Seconds passed in silence.

The redheaded noble remained focused on her senses while her butler observed her progress.

Her two other servants, Martha and Bella, watched in silence. They were worried by the somewhat painful expression their mistress was displaying right now...

However, they would have to trust Sebas. In this short span of days, brief as they might be, the butler had proven his reliability whenever it was needed.

Thus, they would have to see how his method would unfold as they waited anxiously for their mistress...

But then—

Anastasia's breath hitched.

Her closed eyelids tightened as something—something immense—came into focus!

And then her eyes shot wide open, trembling with newfound clarity as she stared at the very sight before her...!

"The ground… the air… everything—!" she whispered deeply... before she shouted out loud! "It's glowing…!"

What she saw with her own eyes was the sight of the 'mana' itself—vibrant ethereal glows that were all around her...!

The ground and grass where she stood. The air that she was breathing. Even the simple rock that lay in her vicinity.

All of them were glowing with an ethereal glow...!

Anastasia could not believe her own eyes at the very sight. It felt like she'd just opened her eyes to an entirely new reality—one different from what she had always known...

And it felt almost surreal... nauseating even...!

Her eyes trembled, confusion and awe overwhelming her. She reeled back, taking a few steps backward as she tried her hardest to stay sane...!

"Lady Anastasia!"

"M-My lady!"

Both Martha and Bella called out in alarm, concern and near panic filling their voices at the state of their mistress. But—

"You two, calm down."

Sebas halted their advance with a simple raised hand. The butler stood behind Anastasia, placing a firm yet steadying hand on her back to prevent her from falling.

"S-Sir Sebas...?" Anastasia herself stammered as she felt his rough hand on her back—but not the butler himself.

She turned her head slightly, glancing over her shoulder—

And then she saw it.

A massive, surging aura of mana—dense, suffocating, and far more intense than anything else around her...!

Unlike the somewhat gentle, ambient glow surrounding everything else...

His mana felt like an unfathomable abyss, vast and deep, pulling everything into its presence... a force of nature beyond human comprehension, dominating the space around them...!

Her breath hitched. The sheer magnitude of it made her body tense on instinct...!

And Sebas, the source of this suffocating pressure, noticed her apparent discomfort. He then calmly lowered his mana 'level' in response to her state.

In her eyes, his overwhelming surge of mana began to shrink. He controlled it with unnerving ease... until it reached a level no different from an ordinary mage.

At the very least, his mana no longer crushed her under its weight.

"Lady Ana, focus," he ordered, his voice steady but firm. "Your vision should not waver. Do not let yourself get distracted."

"I-I understand..."

Anastasia swallowed hard, forcing herself to return her gaze forward. The world still shimmered with mana, but... she couldn't ignore the lingering unease in the back of her mind.

'...What even is he...?'

"My lady," he called, his voice breaking her out of her reverie.

"Y-Yes, Sir Sebas?"

"In your own eyes... what do you see?"

"H-Huh..?" She blinked, confused, but then realized what he meant. "...I-I am seeing the mana."

"The mana...?"

"Yes..."

"From where, pray tell?"

"The ground, the grass, the rocks and pebbles, and even the wind itself..." she murmured, "...everything in my sight glows with mana."

"I see... Then can you tell me what kind of glow these things are emitting?"

"Y-Yes, I could..." she responded, "the ground glows with a light brown hue, the grass a dark green, the wind that is blowing against my face a light green..."

"Very good, my lady," he acknowledged, stopping her description for a moment. "Then... can you scan the ground and grass once more?"

"H-Huh? W-What for, Sir Sebas? Didn't I just tell you about it...?"

"Indeed, you did, my lady," the butler replied cheerfully, "but I want you to once more just scan them again. Very, very thoroughly..."