Chapter 27: A potential Leo had?
For reasons I couldn’t properly explain—
I found myself stepping closer toward the old woman’s stall.
Something about her presence felt strange.
Not dangerous.
Just...
Odd.
Her sharp eyes followed me carefully before she slowly smiled.
"You have a lot of potential, child."
I blinked.
"...Potential for what?"
The old woman leaned slightly forward.
"What rank mage are you?"
That immediately confused me.
"I’m not one."
She tilted her head.
"...Hm?"
"I don’t have any mana capacity."
For the first time since I approached the stall, the old woman’s expression genuinely shifted.
Confusion.
Uncertainty.
Almost disbelief.
"That’s impossible."
"...Unfortunately it isn’t."
The old woman stared at me silently for several moments before slowly extending a hand.
"Give me your palm."
Every instinct told me not to.
But curiosity won.
Reluctantly, I held my hand out toward her.
The woman gently traced lines across my palm with one thin finger while muttering quietly to herself.
Then suddenly—
Her eyes narrowed.
"...Very curious."
"What is?"
She slowly looked up at me.
"I’ve never seen mana burnout at your age before."
My expression immediately twisted in confusion.
"...Mana burnout?"
I had never even heard that term before.
The old woman continued tracing faint lines along my palm.
"It occurs when a mage excessively strains their mana core and pathways."
Her voice became calmer.
"Usually over a very long period of time through repeated overuse."
She paused briefly.
"Though in some cases, a single immensely powerful spell can also cause it."
I stared at her silently.
Mana pathways?
Mana core?
What was she even talking about?
The old woman continued.
"The effects vary. Weakened magical ability. Permanent instability."
Then her eyes sharpened slightly.
"And in severe cases..."
She lightly tapped the center of my palm.
"The complete destruction of one’s mana core."
My heart skipped slightly.
"Meaning the person becomes permanently unable to use mana."
Silence.
None of this made sense.
I had never even used magic before.
Not once.
So how could something like this happen to me?
The old woman meanwhile looked increasingly puzzled the longer she examined my hand.
"...This wasn’t a weak core either."
I froze slightly.
"What?"
She slowly released my hand.
"I can still sense traces of what it used to be."
Her eyes narrowed carefully.
"At minimum, you should’ve possessed a B-rank mana capacity."
Then—
After another moment—
"Possibly even A-rank."
My thoughts instantly spiraled into complete chaos.
A-rank?
That was impossible.
"Sadly it’s been completely damaged nothing you do will ever be able to bring this back"
Questions flooded my mind faster than I could process them.
How?
Why?
What did this mean?
Could mana burnout actually erase a mana capacity completely?
And if so—
When could something like that possibly have happened?
Before I could even begin asking anything—
"LEO!"
A familiar voice suddenly echoed behind me.
I turned around.
Lilith rushed through the crowd toward me with visible panic across her face.
The moment she reached me, both of her hands immediately cupped my cheeks while she frantically looked me over.
"Are you hurt?"
"I’m fine."
"You disappeared."
"I got pushed away by the crowd."
Lilith still looked deeply unsettled.
She seemed genuinely terrified for a moment there.
I quickly pulled my hand away from the old woman before standing fully.
"...Sorry," I muttered awkwardly.
The old woman simply smiled faintly.
"No need."
Lilith immediately grabbed onto my arm tightly afterward like she was making sure I physically couldn’t disappear again.
Then the two of us began walking away through the crowded market.
But—
Just before leaving completely—
Lilith glanced back once.
And the moment she did—
The old woman’s faint smile vanished.
Because Lilith’s expression had changed entirely.
Emotionless.
Cold.
Yet somehow—
Threatening.
Like a predator silently warning someone to stay away from what belonged to her.
The old woman watched silently as the two disappeared back into the crowd.
"...How frightening," she whispered quietly to herself.
////////
After the incident with the old woman, Lilith refused to let go of my arm for the next hour.
Not once.
At this point I had accepted my fate.
The two of us continued wandering through the capital together while the sun slowly began lowering over the city.
We explored more markets.
Looked through bookstores.
Passed magical artifact shops.
And at one point Lilith dragged me into a clothing store because she "wanted to see what colors suited me."
Apparently the answer was black.
And dark purple.
Obviously.
Eventually, after hours of walking, I finally sighed.
"...I’m hungry."
Lilith immediately perked up.
"Food...date?"
"It’s still not a date."
"It is to me."
A while later we entered a fairly large restaurant near one of the central streets.
Warm lighting illuminated the interior while nobles and wealthy merchants quietly conversed around the dining hall.
The moment we entered, several people immediately froze upon noticing Lilith.
Her reputation really was absurd.
We eventually sat near the corner of the restaurant away from most of the crowd.
Lilith meanwhile sat directly beside me instead of across from me for some reason.
"You know there are two sides to the table right?"
"Yes."
"...Then why are you sitting here?"
"So nobody steals you."
Concerning answer.
Before I could reply, a waitress approached our table holding a small notebook.
But the moment she looked toward Lilith—
She froze.
"...L-Lilith?"
Lilith blinked before looking up from the menu.
"...Clara?"
The pink-haired girl from the academy immediately brightened.
"IT IS YOU!"
She hurried over excitedly before stopping near the table.
Honestly—
Seeing someone casually approach Lilith this fearlessly felt strange.
Clara smiled warmly.
"I didn’t know you were in the capital already."
"I can back early."
Then Clara’s eyes slowly shifted toward me.
More specifically—
Toward the fact Lilith was practically glued to my side.
"...And who’s this?"
For the first time all day—
Lilith suddenly looked oddly shy.
Her fingers lightly tightened around my sleeve before she quietly replied—
"...Leo."
Clara’s eyes widened instantly.
Then—
A massive grin spread across her face.
"Ohhhhhh."
Lilith immediately stiffened.
"So this is the Leo."
"...Clara."
"The Leo you talk about constantly."
"...Clara."
"The Leo you compare literally everyone to."
"...Clara."
"The Leo you said smells nice—"
"CLARA."
Several nearby customers jumped slightly.
Meanwhile Clara looked completely delighted.
Honestly—
Watching Lilith get embarrassed felt surreal.
Clara giggled before looking toward me again.
"Well, it’s an honor to finally meet you."
I blinked.
"...What?"
Clara smiled brightly.
"I’m Clara Vale."
Then she pointed toward Lilith dramatically.
"She talks about you all the time."
Lilith immediately buried part of her face into my shoulder.
"...Stop talking."
"This is the most emotion I’ve ever seen from you," Clara replied proudly.
Lilith looked seconds away from murdering her.
I was impressed Clara survived this long.
Eventually Lilith sighed in defeat before quietly introducing us properly.
"Leo... this is Clara."
Clara smiled warmly before sitting briefly across from us.
"Nice to meet you."
"...Likewise."
But then—
As I looked closer at Clara—
I suddenly froze.
Pink hair.
Bright ruby eyes.
Timid personality.
Commoner background.
B-rank mana capacity.
And the surname—
Vale.
My eyes widened slightly.
No way.
Clara Vale.
The heroine.
The actual main heroine of the novel.
One of the central figures destined to eventually oppose the Void Witch.
In the original story, Clara had been one of the few people capable of standing against Lilith.
And in the end—
Lilith had brutally killed her.
I stared silently at Clara while memories from the novel resurfaced rapidly in my head.
But now—
Seeing the cheerful girl sitting in front of me laughing nervously while teasing Lilith—
It felt completely unreal.
Because the future I remembered...
And the girl currently sitting here...
Felt like two entirely different worlds.
The three of us continued talking while the restaurant slowly became busier around us.
Well—
Mostly Clara talked.
Lilith occasionally responded with short answers while remaining glued to my side the entire time.
Meanwhile I mostly listened while trying to process the fact that the heroine of the original story was casually sitting in front of me eating soup.
Reality had become strange.
"So you’re from the Aldric territory?" Clara asked curiously.
"Yeah."
"That’s really far from the capital."
"It’s quieter."
Lilith immediately nodded in agreement.
"Which is why Leo should move into my manor permanently."
"I’m not doing that."
"You’d get your own room."
"I already have my own room."
"You could also have me."
Clara nearly choked on her drink trying not to laugh.
Meanwhile I buried my face into one hand.
How did she say these things so casually?
Eventually our meals arrived.
Several plates were carefully placed across the table while the smell of fresh meat and bread filled the air.
I immediately tried to grab my utensils.
Then paused.
Because Lilith had grabbed them before me.
More specifically—
She had grabbed a spoon and was now holding it directly toward my face.
"...What are you doing."
"Feeding you."
"No."
"It’s normal."
"No it isn’t."
Lilith tilted her head slightly.
"It’s normal for a wife to feed her husband."
Clara immediately turned away while visibly trying not to laugh.
"We are not married."
"Yet."
"No."
Lilith ignored my refusal entirely before moving the spoon even closer.
"Open."
"No."
"Leo."
"Absolutely not."
This was humiliating.
There were people everywhere.
Several nearby customers were already staring at us nervously because of Lilith’s presence alone.
And now she was trying to spoon-feed me in public like we were some newlywed couple.
I attempted pushing her hand away.
And immediately realised something horrifying.
She wasn’t budging at all.
"...Are you using magic right now?"
Lilith smiled innocently.
"No."
She was definitely using magic.
Some kind of strength enhancement probably.
Because despite looking like a normal girl, her arm suddenly felt immovable.
"Open."
"No."
"Please?"
"No."
"I’ll be sad."
"You’ll survive."
Lilith’s eyes narrowed slightly before she moved the spoon even closer to my mouth.
Meanwhile Clara had fully given up hiding her amusement.
She looked like she was watching a live comedy show.
"You two are adorable," Clara said while laughing softly.
"We are not."
Lilith immediately nodded proudly.
"We are."
I tried pulling away again only for Lilith to suddenly place her free hand against my cheek to stop me from escaping.
"Stop resisting."
"Stop trying to feed me!"
"It’s romantic."
"It’s embarrassing!"
Several nearby nobles glanced toward us again.
Honestly—
I wanted to disappear.
Eventually, after nearly a full minute of struggling, I finally gave up just to end the suffering.
The moment I reluctantly took the spoon into my mouth.
Lilith’s entire face lit up with happiness.
Meanwhile Clara laughed into her drink.
"...Wow," Clara said between chuckles, "the terrifying Lilith NightBane really became completely harmless around Leo."
Lilith immediately shook her head.
"I’m still dangerous."
Then she looked back toward me while smiling softly.
"Just not to him."
That answer somehow felt more terrifying.
