"...as much as I would like to say that your guess is wrong, I can't deny the possibility of it being true..."
Burushi said with a bitter expression while sitting next to Zoemi's bed while Benevirau was standing by the other side, ready to replace the cold compress the black-haired boy was using on his stomach.
"I mean... I never heard about it being a possibility, but let's be honest, how could anyone without the proper knowledge could ever say something so outrageous. I don't even think that anyone ever imagined their mana reservoir getting busted..."
She added, massaging her forehead as the arguments she was using were continuing to convince even herself despite her original dejection.
"Honestly – that actually might be impossible for anyone other than you... after all, I haven't heard about anyone actually exploring the ins and outs of mana reservoirs besides enlarging them in hope of getting stronger."
The blond-haired heroine said, biting her lip in concern.
"...you are saying that what happened to Zoemi has something to do with him increasing the amount of mana he possessed...?"
The dark-blue-haired butler asked, looking absolutely miserable.
"No, hold on, unlce Benevirau! That's not what I said!
"It's not your fault, grandpa."
Burushi realized what the water sage had meant and immediately gasped and denied it while Zoemi who also easily seen through what the young-looking misty-gray-eyed man meant, breathed out and declared with absolute certainty.
"But Zoemi... if increasing the size of your mana reservoir resulted in it getting damaged, wouldn't that mean it's my fault? I trained with you and provided you all that mana that ended up hurting you..."
Benevirau shook his head and said in a broken self-deprecating voice.
"Grandpa – by that logic, it is my fault for messing up and converting as much mana as I could."
"N-no! I should have...!"
Zoemi rolled his eyes at Benevirau's words but the dark-blue-haired man shook his head desperately.
"How was it with you? Were you born a sage or did you increase your mana some other way?"
"I... huh...?"
Seeing that just assuring Benevirau that Zoemi's state wasn't his fault wasn't a viable option, made the black-haired boy use a different method – and judging by the surprised face of the young-looking butler, this plan had a chance of working out.
"...well... as silly as it might sound, during my awakening as a child I was struck by lighting... but that actually seemed to stunt my magic quite a bit and only after I traveled into mountains to train in seclusion and was actually struck by lighting once more, it unlocked something within me and I begin being able to take mana from nature and make it my own... My mana skyrocketed during that time and I also stopped aging then and there because of that..."
Benevirau explained, slightly blushing since he thought the story to be rather embarrassing.
"And your mana reservoir didn't break when that happened?"
Zoemi asked, raising his brow.
"Well... no... it did not... But for all the other sages that I know of, only I can take the mana from nature and use it as my own... that means...!"
"Did you fight someone like William? I mean, someone using those whole laws? Or at least someone who vould fight on par with the magicians but without the aid of mana?"
Benevirau really tried to take all the fault upon himself, even though there really wasn't a reason to do so, which prompted Zoemi to sigh and ask.
"...no..."
The dark-blue-haired man's shoulder dropped and he lowered his head and muttered, sounding apologetical.
"There you have it."
Zoemi raised his hand and shrugged his shoulders with a meaningful expression.
"Exactly! Uncle, I told you that first and foremost, eve Zoemi's physicsl wounds didn't want to heal because of the strange power that the white-haired man used against him! If something really happened to Zoemi's mana reservoir, it must have been caused by the same power!"
The blond heroine declared, clenching her fists with determination.
"...if...?"
"..."
After hearing her explanation Zoemi turned to the girl slowly and raised his brow, but Burushi only looked away with an awkward expression.
"Anyway, since you are saying that you are a special case, we could start by asking other sages whether they experienced something similar."
Either way, the black-haired boy turned back to Benevirau and calmly proposed his idea.
"Shouldn't it be finding the white-haired guy to tell us what did he do to you...?"
Even though Burushi didn't want to confront Zoemi about her earlier words, she ended up voicing her doubts properly.
"According to my sentinels, he disappeared without a trace after killing one of the Ghosts of Bellcephora – Evorietto, if I recall correctly."
The black-haired boy didn't find it necessary to hide that info, so he shared it with the blond heroine and the dark-blue-haired butler.
"..okay..."
Burushi's eyes widened and she nodded, although her expression clearly said that she did not believe even half of what was said.
"So that's why Aspaekony and many others who went missing reappeared...! With Evorietto dead, his darkness blade couldn't hold them any longer! Now that I think about it they were incredibly lucky that it worked that way and didn't erase them together with that guy...."
On the other hand, there was Benevirau, who knew far more than the heroine, and perked up as his expression brightened.
This most definitely was an improvement from him being all slouched and apologetic even though he did nothing wrong.
"They did return?! Oh, thank goodness... I don't know if it was because they found it funny, but my sentinels did not tell me about that in their report, and honestly, I was getting worried... Is Aspy okay? How about the others – I'm pretty sure that one of my classmates was abducted by that guy too."
Zoemi's face also brightened with relief as he breathed out and smiled before hurriedly asking for more details.
"Yes, Aspakeony is fine. The rightful headmaster has returned to the Academy. As for the others... that's a yes and no, actually..."
"...pardon...?"
Unfortunately, that was also a time when Benvirau's expression darkened again, causing the black-haired boy to furrow his brows and look between him and Burushi.
"I will not ask why are you talking about someone named like the Academy, but regarding the kidnappings... although there were a lot of people that showed up right after you went comatose, the kidnappings did not stop and some of the people got kidnapped again..."
"Burushi... as you said, I was in a coma – there is literally no need to be so vague."
Zoemi sighed and closed his eyes, before opening them again and frowning at the awkward blond-haired girl.
"Well – I am being vague because you will most definitely not be thrilled about that whole situation..."
"Of course, I will not, people going missing is terrible, there's nothing to be thrilled about there."
Burushi still was beating around the bush, making Zoemi's brows go higher and higher with each word she spoke.
"I am not talking about your morals. People are getting kidnapped left and right – both commoners and nobles – the thing that might upset you, is that although that said victims are getting rescued there's a rumor going around that you are the culprit behind them going missing in the first place..."
The blond heroine took a deep breath as if she was preparing to plunge into deep water and said, looking straight into Zoemi's eyes.
"...wait... what...?"
As was expected after hearing something so outrageous, the black-haired boy let out a shocked voice and blinked repeatedly thinking that he did not hear it correctly.