Chapter 53
The moment she voiced it aloud, a deep-seated sense of inferiority surged up within her.
It was directed at herself, a member of the Peris family who couldn’t even manifest the family’s signature aura.
For no good reason, she started to feel resentment toward Eden in front of her, but he exclaimed brightly.
“Of course, of course!”
His face lit up with delight, like a scientist shouting “Eureka!”
Wondering if he was mocking her, Rodellia glared at him sullenly, and Eden confirmed as if checking.
“You don’t happen to have any other magical talents, do you? Like being able to manipulate mana within your body, those basic things.”
“No, I don’t. Are you mocking me right now for not having any talent?”
When Rodellia replied curtly, Eden’s eyes widened like saucers.
“Why would you say you have no talent?”
“Because I’m a Peris, but I can’t manifest aura, and I have no magical talent either!”
Do I really have to say this with my own mouth?
Rodellia shot him a glare, her face burning with utter humiliation.
Saying it out loud made it feel even more devastating.
Surprised by her unexpectedly intense reaction, Eden added an explanation.
“Of course, as you say, Lady, without aura and unable to manipulate mana, you’re no different from an ordinary person. But there are plenty of other talents in the world besides those.”
But Rodellia’s attitude had already turned defiant.
“Yeah, yeah, sure. You don’t have to go out of your way to comfort me.”
She even leaned her head back against the sofa, openly displaying her complete loss of motivation. It was at that moment that Eden asked meaningfully.
“By any chance, haven’t plants grown particularly well for you since childhood? Or animals followed you unusually closely?”
“Huh…?”
Come to think of it, she’d often heard since she was little that she had a talent for gardening.
She’d even managed to grow seedlings that were supposedly hard to cultivate, earning praise from her mother.
As Rodellia wavered, Eden added.
“Haven’t you unusually often come across injured animals?”
“Uh, yeah, I have.”
From a very young age, injured animals had frequently appeared around her.
She could never just pass them by and would treat them, to the point where she could perform basic first aid with her eyes closed.
Until now, she hadn’t thought it was anything particularly special.
She’d just assumed animals could instinctively recognize humans who were kind to them.
But Eden seemed to think differently. He adjusted his glasses and said.
“I knew it.”
Before she could even ask what he kept meaning by “I knew it,” he added seriously.
“It’s possible that Lady Rodellia has the qualities of a summoner, which might be why manifesting aura has been difficult for you.”
A summoner.
One who could directly contract with magical animals or plants and summon them from other realms.
The higher a summoner’s affinity with nature, the better they could commune with advanced magical creatures and even wield their abilities directly.
In the past, it had been a fairly familiar profession, but at some point, summoners disappeared, and with them, the lineages of advanced magical creatures were cut off.
Thus, only the lower-level ones that could exist without contracts remained.
Even those were extremely difficult to tame, visible only in places like the Magic Tower.
And yet, he was suddenly saying she might have talent for this legendary profession.
“I think you’re mistaken. There’s no way I have that kind of talent.”
“It’s certainly a rare case in the Peris family, which uses aura swordsmanship.”
“See? You’re just startling me for nothing…”
“But when I looked through your maternal lineage, there was a summoner among the direct ancestors. Perhaps you’ve inherited blood from that side.”
This relentless researcher had apparently already investigated her mother’s family.
While she was astonished by Eden’s thoroughness, she still had doubts.
“What does my inability to manifest aura have to do with summoner talent?”
“The power summoners use is incompatible with aura.”
“Incompatible?”
“Aura is a power used in swordsmanship aimed at destruction, while nature affinity is a power used in summoning arts aimed at coexistence.”
When she still wore a puzzled expression, Eden kindly added more explanation.
“It means the fundamentals are different. Trying to manifest aura, which doesn’t suit the vessel, in one suited for summoning arts would inevitably lead to repeated failures.”
Even after hearing his full explanation, Rodellia was silent for a long while.
As if she’d never been sulky, she sat demurely, sorting through her thoughts for quite some time.
She seriously stroked her chin and murmured.
“I’ve never thought about it even once.”
“It’s only natural, since the lineage has already vanished. Of course, this is just my hypothesis, so we’d need to verify it.”
Eden pulled out the item he’d prepared. It was a small stone about the size of a quail’s egg.
“What’s this?”
“It’s said to be an object used in the past to determine summoner talent. Apparently, if you plant it and make it bloom, you can open the gate to another realm.”
“Plant a stone?”
It wasn’t a seed, just a stone.
Telling her to plant this and make it bloom was no different from asking her to concoct an elixir of immortality.
When she sent him a deeply skeptical look, Eden added.
“Since not many records about summoners remain, I don’t know exactly how to plant it or make it bloom. It took quite an effort to obtain it.”
“So, if I can make this bloom, it might mean I’m a summoner. And that would help with the experiment you’re doing?”
To her confirming question, Eden declared in a tone of certainty.
“Of course. The essence of a summoner’s ability is ‘purification.’ If Lady Rodellia awakens as a summoner… you could purify the contaminated glacier of the ice dragon. The fact that Testi was momentarily purified is likely due to that influence as well.”
The contaminated glacier of the ice dragon.
It was clear without saying who that was currently eroding.
With her resolve hardened, Rodellia clutched the stone.
“Okay. I’ll give it a try.”
If she failed, she’d lose nothing anyway.
“But if this was the plan, why try to keep it a secret from Brother Ren?”
“Well, after I suggested touching Testi one more time and got rejected, he turns icy cold whenever I even mention the Lady.”
She could guess without him saying it.
He was the type to go overboard if she was in even the slightest danger.
“That’s your fault, Eden. You’re not going to take responsibility if I get hurt by the glacier or something.”
“I admit I was a bit hasty in my research-driven approach. But that summoner’s stone absolutely won’t harm the Lady, so please rest assured.”
“It better not. There are more than a few people who would raise hell if I got hurt.”
Just thinking about it, four people came to mind already.
After checking the time, Rodellia stood up from her seat.
“My companions are probably waiting, so I’ll head out now. Where should I contact you?”
“Please use this.”
Eden handed her a business card. Rodellia put it in her bag and moved to the lounge.
* * *
Having safely completed the Magic Tower tour and diligently packed up souvenirs, the members of Majia scattered in different directions.
In particular, Sierra and Glaster looked extremely satisfied.
‘Thanks to this, I learned a lot. If this succeeds, I’ll repay Rodellia generously.’
Judging by how they bombarded Eden with questions to the point of annoyance throughout the tour, it seemed like they were plotting something.
But even if I asked, it was probably in the realm of geeks that a muggle like me couldn’t understand, so I didn’t bother inquiring.
My own head was already complicated with the homework Eden had given me.
‘I shouldn’t get my hopes up unnecessarily.’
I resolved as I looked at the stone safely tucked away in my bag.
From the moment I remembered my past life, I realized I wasn’t the protagonist of this world.
And to think I was fated to be expendably erased in the flow of the novel.
It was upsetting, but on the other hand, I came to accept it.
All the things I’d strived so hard for kept failing because I was just a side character.
But now that I’d avoided the prison ending through my own efforts.
Eden’s hypothesis stirred both excitement and fear in me.
The worry that I’d get my hopes up only to be disappointed, and yet the hope that maybe, just maybe.
Pushing aside my complex feelings, the place I visited was a real estate office.
The agent smiled brightly upon seeing me.
“You’re here!”
“I was surprised you contacted me sooner than expected. You said a property came up?”
