Two weeks have passed since then.

　The start date of the raid attack is finally approaching, and the city is starting to come to life.
　That's because Fero-san, who is also Master's son and the Demon King's father, is planning many things again.

　He's also preparing a special experiment for the show, and he's been making good use of this preparation period.
　The adventurers' training sessions, roundtable discussions, autograph sessions, handshake events, stamp rallies, and limited edition merchandise sales.
　They teamed up with the local merchants to make it a fun event for the residents and fans.

　Also, the video board (TV) was not going to let such attempts go unchecked, and the town where the Demon King's Castle is located was shown on the news every day.
　At one point, the space created in the dungeon in the beginning - the one that Thor and I were going to sign a contract to rent - was used for a limited period of time to deliver battle training. It became a

　Several versions of the video were made with each party as the main character, and the video was distributed on each party's channel.
　Since the official party was set at five people, there was no channel for Mr. Wraith and his team.

　The result of the reduced exposure is to incite interest, which is probably a good thing from Mr. Ferro's point of view. It might be just what he was aiming for.

Oh, look at this, Leme-san. They're starting something called the Demon King's Castle Floor Boss Introduction.

　As I mumbled and popped my breakfast into my mouth, I kept thinking.

''Yeah....''

　Mila said something to me, but I'd have to give her a raw answer.

　Yes, for the past two weeks I haven't been able to break through the walls.
　I can feel the magic power built into the core.
　I can also feel the magic power released.

　But I can't absorb it into my horns. Even if I let the magic power touch the horns and focus my consciousness, nothing happens.
　I've tried this and that, but it's all gone. It doesn't even respond with a twitch. I'm wasting time without being able to feel anything.

Mmmm........Carmilla should have a better scene. It's a shoddy job. .........But Citry looks pretty....... Should I be more concerned about camera shots too...?

'Yeah...'

The Wepal is ostentatious from its appearance, so it looks like it's in the air. Waiting for him to lead a dragon man like Fulkas is also not so bad........ Hmm, I might as well think of a more special performance than now. Is Remegeton-sama going to receive the adventurers on the throne just as he did last time?

'Yeah...'

By the way, will breakfast be to your liking today?

'Yeah...'

"...Leme. They say it's going to rain spears today.

Hmm....

'I think we've become very close. Is it time for us to get married?

...hmm?

　Kekkon?　Married....!

　I looked up in a hurry.
　Mila's cheeks were puffed out modestly, but I could tell by looking closely.

　She's eating the breakfast she just made in a daze and not even listening to herself. It's no wonder she's in a bad mood.

'Sorry I was just thinking.

　When I say this, she lets out a huff of air that has collected in her cheeks.

'Is this about the lack of magic?'

'Yeah I've told a lot of people I can do it, and yet I've had zero success...'

''........Since it's Reme-san, I'm sure you've already thought through a lot of things. At such times, isn't it important to take a break instead of forcing yourself to keep thinking about it?

Yeah, I guess.

If it's okay with you, I can help you, okay?　Or can't I be of any help?

　Mila's eyes moisten as she tilts her head.
　I guess she dares to act as she normally does.
　She laughed as if she'd suddenly lost her mind, and I realized that her expression had hardened until then.

''Thank you, then, if you'll listen to me.

Of course.

　And I told him.
　I told her about the two weeks that hadn't gone well at all.

　So far, Mila hadn't asked me about it in depth, perhaps out of concern for me. I didn't talk about it myself, so today is the first time I'm going to talk about it in detail.

''...I see. It seems like a pretty absurd method, but........ I mean, no matter how you scramble, other races can't control blood. It's the same thing, I would think.......

　The ability of vampires to manipulate blood and use it as a weapon and armor is also called a blood manipulation 'jutsu', as I recall.

''If it weren't for the precedent, I'd think so too.

''You're Reme-san's master........ He's also the Demon King's grandfather.

　The master can do it. If it's not technically impossible, it means it's possible. No matter how difficult it is to achieve, it's possible.

Yes, it may be difficult to learn at the 'magic' level or even harder, but it's not supposed to be impossible.

Can't you ask your master for guidance?

''Well there are a lot of reasons, but I don't think it's too late to do it now anyway.

　Me and Fenix's hometown is in the countryside with a do, and the raiding battle would start just by going back and forth.

　My mentor doesn't have an email account, so the only thing I can do is send him a letter.
　Well, the option of listening to the story itself isn't something I would have considered in the first place.

　Of course, it's important to ask people if you don't understand something. Even if you think for yourself, there are times when you can't get an answer. It's much smarter to ask someone else for help than it is to try to create a problem with it.

My mentor doesn't make me train for something that doesn't make sense. "My teacher doesn't give me training that doesn't make sense, even if it's unreasonable or crazy instructions, but it makes sense. By doing that, I definitely got something out of it, and it helped me grow.

He was a wonderful man, wasn't he?

'He wasn't what the world would call a 'good man,' though. He's a great person and a benefactor. So I think, 'absorbing disembodied magic power into the horns' is a tremendous skill.

'Yes, I think so. That's why it's considered an ability only for spirits and fairies.

"My master gave me the horns. He wanted me to be able to go head-to-head with an opponent who wanted to win. But I've never heard my master speak to me about this technique.

''Well.... Are you saying that it's unnatural for your master, who wished Reme-san victory, not to talk about the techniques that might be useful to him?

　I nodded back at Mira's words and continued.

'If it's going to be tricky, it is at the corner. So why didn't my master tell me? I suppose it's like this.

　And I hold up my fingers, one at a time.

　One, 'Because it's dangerous'. This is hard to think of, considering the way the Demon King talks about it.
　One, 'Because I'm still inexperienced'. It seems likely, but I think Master would say that after explaining it to you.
　One, "Because it is not something that can be understood with words. I think it's this one.

　A master doesn't make you train for nothing.
　If this is the kind of technology that he can't teach and guide, even if he reveals it to me.
　I would have been wasting my time training just like I have been for the past two weeks.

　So I didn't tell you.
　Or maybe we're going to start out backwards.
　You don't learn the technology until you know it exists.
　Maybe it's an ability that can only be acquired by reaching that state of mind yourself.

''Nah, it's kind of difficult...''

I don't think you can get an answer to 'What is love?' or 'What is justice?' by looking up a dictionary. You can be influenced by someone else's words, but at the end of the day, it's something you have to find out. My teacher didn't say it because he didn't think he could give me the answer in his own words.

Yeah, that makes a lot of sense.

　Mila nodded emphatically. She seemed to be strongly drawn to the part about love.

'So I don't think there's any point in going to talk to him.

　The truth is, there's another one.
　''I knew I couldn't master it.

　If a person who just inherited the horns (normal) couldn't master it, no wonder my master didn't tell me.
　Master was a strict person, but he never used words like impossible or impossible to deny someone's future. He said a lot of things about being unfit or gutless, though.

　Not once was he told that he couldn't become a brave man.
　I'm not someone who goes out of his way to say that I have this kind of technology about absorbing magic power and I can do it, but you can't. If there is, it would be that he would quietly tell me about it when I noticed it on my own and discussed it with him.

　But this is a no-brainer to consider.
　Since I said I could do it, I have to do it.
　Of course you have to think about what happens if you can't do it, and that's the responsibility, but I'm not giving up.

It's something I have to figure out on my own. I think it's a matter of how to handle the horns, or how to understand the magic. It's not a technical thing, but a sensory thing. The magic power is there, the horns are there, it's not impossible, but it can't be absorbed. Perception........is my preconceptions getting in the way.......?

　I mumble out a story and I seem to have turned over before I know it.
　My cheeks are gently wrapped in something soft, and my face looks up.
　There were two crimson moon-like eyes staring at me.

''Isn't it time to go pick up Kash-san?''

　She seemed to be stuck in a swamp of thoughts again.
　I looked at the clock and she was right.

　I hurriedly scraped up the rest of my breakfast and changed my clothes.
　Time is passing even if I'm mulling over it. It doesn't change its speed to suit me.

''........I feel like I've been accumulating a debt of gratitude that I can't repay to Mira-san lately.''

'I hope you don't mind, I like doing this.

　It's kind of like she's taking care of me halfway through.
　She does the house perfectly, and she often helps me in my business and personal life.

'No, it's not good. I'm the only one who helps her.

　Not long ago, I was trying to learn housekeeping chores under her guidance, but I was temporarily interrupted by a raid battle.

''Ufufu, are you afraid you won't be able to live without me?　Actually, that's what we're trying to do.

　Then she laughs jokingly.

''Haha...''

　I chuckled as I realized that Mila's presence was almost a given.

'Leme,'

　I was just putting on my shoes in the doorway when she called out to me.

'What is it?'

For the reason Master didn't explain to me earlier, I felt there was another one.

　You noticed something I didn't tell you.
　But it wasn't.

''Master surely believed that you would come to an answer on your own, didn't he?

I'm not sure...

　I didn't give him the knowledge halfway through because it was something he had to arrive at on his own.
　I would be able to do that, my master thought?　

　I don't know the answer, and there's no way that master would answer me if I asked.

'Yeah, I'd be glad if he did.'

　In that case, I've deviated from the regular acquisition route after hearing the story from the Demon King.
　At the very least, I should be able to get an answer to that question.

''I'm going to go. I'll see you at the Demon King's Castle.

　I smile. It came naturally to me.

'Go ahead. 'Of course, I believe I can do it, Reme,'

　I wasn't going to give up on being brave, no matter who told me I couldn't do it.
　But I was happy that my mentor made me an apprentice and Fenix offered to put together a party.
　Same thing this time.

　I'm just so glad that Mila believes in me.
　It certainly helps me.

Thank you.