When I was in Hell, I often discussed strategies for the heroines with Changyeom.
For example, in Ludmila’s case—
“Ta-da, how is it?”
What is this surprise suit appearance?
“How do you think I would react if you suddenly appeared like that?”
“You’d probably ask, ‘Don’t you have a reverse bunny suit?'”
“You have one, right?”
“Of course.”
As expected of Changyeom.
“But it’s a bit inappropriate to talk about that here.”
This is why the mana suit is great.
In the original work, there are outfits you wouldn’t normally see, but with the power of mana, you can transform into a reverse bunny suit if the wearer wishes.
“So, why did you suddenly enter the shower booth dressed as a bunny girl?”
“I just put on this outfit briefly to strategize for Cutting Wind, but I came inside here because I was worried you’d pounce on me if I put the suit on in front of you.”
“Mmm.”
She knows well.
“Alright. Then tell me about Ludmila.”
“First, if we’re talking about her unique traits, you know what I mean, right?”
“Dual core?”
“Exactly. She has two childbearing chambers!”
If you ask if that makes sense from a human perspective—yes, it is possible.
“You know from trying with [Fenrir], most beastfolk inherit the traits of their respective animals.”
“When the Firebird Beastfolk give birth, they bear children like mammals, but they wrap them in a mana-made shell, like laying an egg?”
“Yes, that’s right. Although Phoenixes don’t exist in reality, most birds are oviparous, so it makes sense.”
The beastmen tend to follow the characteristics of the beastmen.
Beastfolk usually follow the traits of their species. Just like the Duke of Hell, [Fenrir], who as the ruler of the Beastfolk, passed on her traits to all beastfolk on Earth.
“And how about Miss Ludmila? She’s a rabbitfolk with the characteristics of a rabbit, but that trait acts as a restriction on her, one she’s unaware of.”
“Recognizing her identity as a beastfolk is the path for her to become S-rank.”
There are various paths to becoming S-rank, but the ‘restriction’ placed on Ludmila is a key aspect of her character development as a heroine.
“She pouts about being dual-core?”
“Would you explain it like this: as she experiences moments with the protagonist, she becomes attracted to men and realizes that her body feels twice as much s*xual desire as others, and that’s how she awakens to the existence of her second core?”
“Too long. Make it shorter.”
“How about ‘she awakens her rabbit instincts as a female and becomes S-rank’?”
“Correct! As a reward, I’ll give you the reverse bunny in another place.”
For now, it’s not appropriate here.
“Hmph. Miss Ludmila has two childbearing chambers. One is for her beastfolk nature. And the other…”
“To bear an angel.”
“Yes, exactly… A space imbued with divine power from Heaven.”
Before she develops as a heroine, [Cutting Wind] Ludmila shows no interest in men.
So, while her first chamber goes through the natural monthly cycle as any woman does, her second chamber is occupied by something else.
Mana.
Divine power from Heaven.
“If she had developed an attraction to men from a young age and desired to bear a child with someone, her mana would have filled her second chamber. Then, she would have used mana twice as efficiently through her heart and abdomen, the two cores.”
“But since she’s a heroine, she must be a v*rgin.”
“So, the plan is to break through that. One method is the usual way, and the other…”
“We remove the divine power in her second chamber and replace it with her own mana.”
“Yes, that would make her S-rank. The core isn’t a literal organ but a place where mana resides, like an organ.”
If it takes time for someone to naturally awaken their mana organ, it’s quicker to surgically remove the tumor occupying it.
“We’re removing the [Angel Power]. With our power.”
“Could you stop calling the angelic mana something like radiation?”
“Then should I call it [TS Virus] instead?”
“Let’s just stick with the original term, [Divine Power].”
Exactly.
The mana that has settled in Ludmila’s second core.
It’s a mana that Ludmila cannot control or even sense.
This vacant space, where an angel’s soul is meant to settle and eventually take over Ludmila’s body. Mana that Ludmila herself doesn’t realize is parasitic, siphoning off part of her energy whenever she uses mana.
That’s the divine power.
“You will extract the divine power from Ludmila’s body. If you succeed once, she’ll realize it too. Her desire to become S-rank is stronger than anyone else’s.” “And the method is….”
That is why the method is…”
How to remove the dormant divine power in her body.
“Kyun Kyun.”
The only way is to periodically ‘release’ it through her instincts.
“You could say it’s all about ‘Kyun Kyun’ in the end, but here at the Bread Academy, everything can be solved with Kyun Kyun.”
Kyun Kyun is always right.
* * *
Clunk.
The door locked.
Before I knew it, I was thrown into Ludmila’s room, and she had locked the door behind us, leaving the two of us alone.
“What are you doing? I almost suffocated in your chest if I wasn’t careful.”
Luckily, a soft soapy scent hit my face. If it had been a regular academy girl and not a heroine, I would have grabbed her waist and thrown her over in a back drop.
“…That thing from earlier.”
“That thing?”
“That thing! The way you released all that mana from the body!!”
Ludmila shouted, extending her hand toward the center of the room.
“Can’t I use that unless it feels like that?”
As expected of Ludmila.
She must have sensed something as if she was about to break through a wall, which is why she dragged me here.
“Until we remove all the malignant tumors in Miss Ludmila’s body, that’s how it’s going to be.”
“Ugh…!”
At my words, Ludmila blushed and trembled.
“T-Then…!”
It must be embarrassing, considering she’s showing such a reaction in front of a man.
“You should at least say something like ‘Let’s find a solution’!”
Now that she’s grasped the clue to reaching S-rank, she has no choice but to swallow her embarrassment and try to find a way.
“Finding a solution is fine, but are you sure you’re up for it?”
I gestured toward Ludmila’s room.
“Isn’t there a risk of blowing up the dormitory like you just blasted out that gust of wind earlier?”
“…”
It wasn’t until I sat down on Ludmila’s bed and patted the mattress that she began to steady her breathing.
“Or maybe we should start by practicing how to slowly release your mana, so it doesn’t destroy the furniture in your personal room, just letting out a breeze of mana.”
“Th-That…!”
Ludmila knew.
“J-Just teach me how…!”
She understood well what that sensation of releasing mana was similar to.
“So I can release that mana anytime, even without you standing by, Phoenix!”
“Ah, no. That’s impossible.”
When something’s impossible, I have to make it clear.
“Miss Ludmila. Calm down, whether you sit or stand, and try to ‘sense’ the location of that mana on your own.”
“…”
“If Miss Ludmila can find that mana without my help, then you can draw it out yourself without me assisting.”
Though that power is divine energy, as you release it, you can fill that space with your own mana, allowing you to use even more mana later.
“…Hoo.”
Ludmila sat down in the middle of the room with her legs crossed, straightened her back, and closed her eyes.
“…”
She was refining her mana through meditation.
By breathing, through her skin, and through the core inside her body, she absorbed the mana floating in the air, storing it in her body and core—this was the basic principle of mana training.
‘You could say it’s about refining external mana to suit her nature.’
If the mana in the air is pure, non-attribute mana, she filters out what suits her and expels the rest.
At this point, a tiny trace of something akin to a virus seeps into the absorbed mana, and that is divine power.
Though it’s not native to those living in the Middle World, it slips in so subtly that it seems beneficial, but its real intent is to penetrate and settle in the host’s body.
‘As expected.’
During the expulsion process, divine power discreetly burrows into Ludmila’s body and gathers in a specific location.
It’s already collected in the mass of divine power inside her.
“…Mmm.”
For a moment, I wondered if I should intervene.
“Aah, so ‘this’ is it.”
But as expected of someone who entered the Academy as an A-rank, Ludmila figured it out right away.
“Oh, really? That’s a relief.”
Ludmila had recognized the difference between divine power and regular mana.
Though she didn’t call it angelic power, she could sense the stark contrast between that mana and the non-attribute mana she was accustomed to handling.
“Is that so? Phoenix… Shouldn’t this be something you feel a little more disappointed about?”
Ludmila, with her eyes half-open, stood up and looked at me.
“I can now extract that strange mana from my body without your touch.”
“It may be a bit of a loss, but thanks to that touch, you’ve become stronger, haven’t you, Miss Ludmila?”
“…”
At my words, Ludmila’s eyes widened like a rabbit’s in surprise.
“That’s good enough, right? After all, everything I did was to help you get stronger.”
“Why?”
“Huh?” “Why are you so eager to help me?”
Helping people without a reason—that’s a line the protagonist would say.
“If I say that, Miss Ludmila probably wouldn’t believe me, right?”
I added a subtle touch of sincerity, knowing she wouldn’t easily believe it, while implying a sense of regret.
“By becoming S-rank, Miss Ludmila, you’ll become stronger and more beautiful, won’t you?”
I revealed a bit of my ‘Golden Sun Phoenix’ nature, trying to persuade her.
“When a beautiful woman gets even more beautiful, why wouldn’t I want to help? Even if I can’t touch, I still get the pleasure of seeing it.”
“…Hah.”
Ludmila let out a soft laugh, then plopped down next to me.
“That’s a lie.”
“Huh?”
“I can filter out the mana coming in from outside, but I couldn’t find the one inside my body.”
“…Oh, really?”
“That’s why.”
Ludmila fiddled with her suit for a moment.
“…There’s a ‘basic suit’ that students wear. If I wear that, maybe even with your hand touching it, you might be able to sense the mana through the suit.”
“Hmm?”
“If you massage me through that, there shouldn’t be much of a problem. I think.”
She mumbled, her face flushing red.
“But if that doesn’t work… then…”
“Then what?”
“…Well.”
“Huh?”
“…Uh…”
In a voice so soft I could barely hear, she whispered something just for me.
Bandage, she said.
