"This is a Poco fruit. It activates the mana in your body, allowing for a faster recovery," Emilia said, handing Ayanokoji a shriveled red fruit. It looked remarkably like a dried jujube from his old world, though significantly less appetizing.
Ayanokoji bit into it. The texture was crisp, but it tasted of absolutely nothing. However, the effect was near-instantaneous. The leaden weight in his limbs began to lift.
"Any side effects?" he asked.
"None that I know of," Emilia replied. "Roswaal keeps a large stock since he's a mage. If you need them for your training, feel free to take what you like."
"Understood." Ayanokoji nodded. He didn't plan on "working hard" in the traditional sense, but he needed to be at 100% capacity before the next move from the assassination guild.
As for the "pain" of mana exhaustion that Emilia worried about? Ayanokoji felt nothing. In the White Room, he had been pushed to the edge of death and back while being forced to solve complex equations. Pain was just an electrical signal to be ignored. When Beatrice had drained him, he hadn't flinched—not out of bravery, but because the sensation didn't register as a reason to stop.
"You're heading to the village the day after tomorrow, right?" Emilia asked.
"Yes. I need to understand the geography of the domain."
"Rem will go with you! She needs to pick up household supplies anyway."
Ayanokoji's mind whirred. A trip with Rem was a triple opportunity: map the terrain, gather intel from commoners, and—most importantly—deduce the source of Rem's hidden hostility.
Day Four: Arlam Village
"Lord Kiyotaka, we are ready to depart." Rem stood at his door, bowing with clockwork precision. The hostility was still there, tucked beneath her skin like a hidden needle. Only someone with Ayanokoji's observational specs could feel it.
"Let's go."
They reached Arlam Village in thirty minutes. The scenery was objectively beautiful—rolling hills, clouds like tufts of wool, and vibrant golden flower fields. To Ayanokoji, who had spent his life in sterile white labs or concrete school buildings, this was "nature" in its rawest form.
He felt no awe. A forest was a place for an ambush; a field was a place with no cover.
If a conflict with Roswaal occurs, seizing this village cuts the manor's windpipe. They would starve in weeks, he mused.
In the Classroom...
Horikita Suzune's brow furrowed. "Even as an ally, he's planning how to starve them to death?" She felt a chill. To Ayanokoji, a "friend" was just a person whose interests currently aligned with his. She looked at the boy sitting next to her. Am I just another Emilia to him? A tool to be used until the expiration date?
The real Ayanokoji remained silent, his face a blank slate.
A group of village children swarmed Rem, their faces lit with genuine affection. Ayanokoji stood back, scanning them. Seven children. Ragged clothes, dirt-streaked faces. Standard.
Except for one.
A girl with blue-purple hair braided into two long tails. She looked about twelve. She held a small, fluffy gray puppy.
Ayanokoji's "Anomalous Entity" alarm went off. Her clothes had patches, but the fabric of the patches was high-quality. Her hair was braided with a complexity that required a professional hand—not a dirt-poor farmer. And she was too clean.
While Rem shopped, Ayanokoji "played" with the children. Children are the perfect intelligence leaks; they have no filter. He quickly learned a disturbing fact: the villagers hated Emilia. They feared her appearance and her bloodline.
Roswaal supports Emilia, yet his own subjects despise her. Either he is an incompetent ruler, or he isn't actually trying to win the election, Ayanokoji noted.
"Have you all lived here long?" he asked.
"Yeah!" a boy shouted.
"And you?" Ayanokoji turned to the girl, Meili.
"I moved here last month," she said softly.
"What do your parents do?"
"Lord Kiyotaka." Rem appeared with her basket. "It is time to return." She looked at Ayanokoji among the children, her cold gaze softening by a fraction of a percent.
"Wait! The puppy wants to say goodbye!" Meili stepped forward, thrusting the small dog toward them.
Ayanokoji's body leaned back instinctively. He didn't trust unpredictable animals—they carried germs, parasites, and lacked behavioral logic. He subtly shifted his weight, ensuring Rem was the one directly in the animal's path.
Rem reached out to pat the puppy's head.
Snap!
The dog lunged, its teeth sinking into Rem's palm. The children laughed as Meili pulled the dog back, scolding it lightly. Rem didn't flinch. She simply activated a healing spell, and the puncture wounds vanished instantly.
Efficient magic, Ayanokoji thought. But his eyes stayed on the dog and the girl.
A sudden attack from a 'docile' pet... followed by the girl's non-reaction. He didn't buy the "accident" narrative. He had used Rem as a shield to test the dog's aggression, and it had confirmed his suspicion: there was something very wrong with this "Meili."
"Let's head back," Rem said, seemingly unfazed.
As they walked away, Ayanokoji didn't look back at the village. He was already calculating the incubation period for whatever toxins or curses might have been on those teeth.