Measurement

“This works.”

“No way! How about this one, then…”

“...This one works, too.”

“I can’t believe it…”

“I don’t know how much you think I could possibly eat, but they all work to replenish mana. In fact, only your food items seem to function that way.”

Even though Yuzuki insisted that he didn’t need to stay up and help her, Kerron had remained in the kitchen while she whipped up a few other things with the few ingredients the castle possessed.

All in all, she managed to make a carrot potage, an onion soup, mashed potatoes, a vegetable pancake and even a random beet she found that she sliced up into an arrangement so that it looked like a bird (a decision she greatly regretted as her fingers were now a bright purple). These items were not only served to the Lord of Death, but also to the Lapluna as well. As observed before, the Lapluna glowed after eating the food served to them. And if Yuzuki squinted, the same happened to Kerron every time he started eating something she made.

They also tried her crafting items to see if her power imbued them with properties to restore mana as well, however they were all a bust. None of the hand made crafts had a reaction beyond the questioning looks Kerron had. None of her non-food items worked and made them glow magically. According to the male elf that was a sign that mana was being restored.

And more surprisingly fully restored. In other words, if a living being lived their lives close to the end, using what limited magic they had until it was almost spent, having one of Yuzuki’s meals would completely refill it!

“This is crazy,” she whispered to herself. Although only just recently coming to this world, she quickly grasped how it ran. And such a thing was close to a miracle.

“Not really. You are a hero summoned from another world after all,” Kerron stated.

Yuzuki sent him a dirty look. “Don’t just say it so casually, please!”

One thing she couldn’t get over was how this world seemed completely fine with the idea of people coming from other worlds. As if it wasn’t new to them and was wholly accepted. Then again, the pool of people she’d met was very small, so maybe it wasn’t normal? Aside from being within two castles, a forest and a wagon, she’d barely gotten to see any part of Vestia.

Speaking of, if Kerron wished for her to do all the cooking, she’d need more than just the basics.

“Say, do you normally get your groceries delivered here?” she asked of him as she cleaned up the mess she made, the little gadgets included.

Now it was Kerron’s turn to look at her incredulously. A fine brow raised up in response to her question.

“A delivery? Here?” There was an emphasis on the last word, which hit her hard when she realized the implications.

Right, the Forest of Spirits is not a place normal people can get through. It was sheer luck Yuzuki hadn’t somehow died in the short time she had been there.

“So then how do you get food?”

“I usually forage and hunt in the forest nearby.”

Why does that not surprise me? Despite his pretty face, it looked like Kerron was proficient at looking after himself, even if it was only the bare minimum.

“Well, if you want me to cook, I will need more than what you can find in the forest and herbs whose age I can only assume are as old as dirt.”

Kerron considered her words for a moment, before nodding his approval.

“That is fine. But I will need to accompany you.”

“Huh? But why–”

“I doubt you have the funds needed to make any purchases.”

Yuzuki blinked. “Oh, I guess that’s true.”

“On top of this,” the lord added, “you are not familiar with Vestia so would have no idea where to go.”

The young woman pressed her lips into a thin line, knowing this was true as well.

“Also, if we consider your origin, can you even read or write in the language of at least one nation in Vestia? Furthermore–” Hands clamped over Kerron’s mouth, Yuzuki being the source of them as she silently begged the lord to clam it up already. She knew she was at a sore disadvantage and needed support, for the time being. She hated the idea of needing any help at all, but he was right to offer to come with her, if only to supply her with the funds she needed as well as directing her to the nearest place she could even shop.

It was agreed that he would take her later for some shopping, though the fact that it would be later instead of now perplexed her a bit. Seeing the question in her eyes, the male elf answered her.

“I thought you were interested in finding out what kind of capacity you had for magic?”

Yuzuki’s eyes widened. He remembered. “Yeah, I did.”

“I will help you with that.”

“Oh…thank you, Lord Kerron.”

Everything in the kitchen was put back where it belonged and leftovers set aside in the cold room. The Lord of Death offered an arm for Yuzuki to take. The action confused her, not sure what she should do with it at first before realizing Kerron was waiting for her to take it so he could lead her to the measuring device. Shyly, she linked arms with him.

Satisfied with her compliance, Kerron led the way.

The walk there was quiet, neither of them saying a word. What was there to say? Normally, Yuzuki had no trouble being chatty, as she could easily carry a conversation with herself or with customers she didn’t want to see back at her job at the restaurant. She could just bring up any random old topic and be the biggest motormouth in history. However, with just their rhythmic steps echoing through the old halls of the castle, there was not much else to break the silence. However, it was not exactly bad. Having this quiet after the rush of the morning making breakfast and then test meals in order to see her power in action just felt right.

It also helped that Kerron was nice to look at.

He was a vision in the moonlight the first time they met, but there was something to be said when filtered sunlight hit his skin or lit up his eyes and made his hair shimmer. Truly, he was something out of a romance story, with perfect features and a serene demeanour. If this man was the epitome of Death itself, she thought many would be more welcoming of their end. Truly, he was a sight to behold.

As she stole another glance at his features, he caught her gaze and held onto it.

A soft half-laugh, half-sigh left him and he gave her a little, slightly smug, smile that had heat rising up to her ears and making her feel a little irritated with him. The guy probably knew he was good looking and was just laughing at her, she was sure of it.

Arriving at the storage room, it did not take long for Kerron to summon the device needed into his hand, which Yuzuki felt was a bit unfair how he could do it so easily. Much like the strange mist that carried his boat the other night through the sky, it brought the item back to him without much fuss.

“My affinity is wind,” he explained. Grasping the device, which looked like some kind of pocketwatch, the face of it turned a bright green. “When you hold it it will change color to match your affinity. Air is green, water is blue, fire is red and earth is yellow. The colors for Malice and Holy are black and white respectively.”

Without any warning he tossed it to Yuzuki who barely caught it, the little device slipping out of her fingers comically a few times before she managed to hold it firmly in both hands. When she did, a soft, warm glow emanated from the clockface of the magical item. It was white, just as Kerron had said it would be, since he had told her that her affinity would be Holy. This confirmed that for her. Now, the next part would be…

“So, how do I check for my capacity?” she asked, moving closer so he could guide her.

Leaning down, he placed his hands on her, guiding her to a button on top of the watch.

“Once you press this little button, the device will take a sample of your magic and calculate it from there. The hands on the clockface will turn the amount of times your body can carry in units times 1000.”

“So, say it turns just once…”

“It means you would have 1000 units of magic in your lifetime, which would be tragically small, but not unheard of in many humans. However, you are an otherworlder, so I suspect the number will be much higher.”

“What’s the average amount of magic someone can be born with?”

“Hmm…hard to say, but I would wager your average person would have about 10000 units. More than enough for the average person to get through their lives with enough to get them through their afterlife as well.”

“I see.”

Well, all that was left now was to push the button. More excited to see what she got than anxious, she pressed it and watched as the clockface on the pocketwatch began to shift. The minute hand began moving, at first slowly, doing one turn of the whole clock. And then speeding up as it gained momentum and going around and around. She watched it intently, counting each circle of the watch’s face, brows pinched as she concentrated. However, the speed of acceleration did not stop and seemed to only go faster and if not for the glass encasing, she was sure she would start feeling a small vortex. The minute hand was going too fast to count! And it just kept going.

Alarmed, Yuzuki lost track of how many times it had gone around after 50. She just turned her head dumbly to look at Kerron who seemed amused by all of this. Yuzuki scowled a little at him for that. At least one of us is enjoying this!

Eventually it did stop, but she couldn’t keep up, even after futilely trying to keep count, adding up to 62, though it definitely felt like more.

Gently, Kerron took the pocket watch away from her, giving the face an amused look.

“Sorry, I think I might have to do it again, I couldn’t keep up –”

“It spun 246 times. I counted each one,” he revealed to her, voice serene. “And 246 times 1000 is…”

Oh, right. The calculation for the units. So that would be….huh?!

“246000 units?!” That was at least 24 times the average person had in Vestia. And she had that much? “Is that a lot?”

“It certainly is no paltry amount,” Kerron replied, still looking amused about the whole thing.

Unable to keep her temper from flaring up, Yuzuki posed a question hotly, “And what amount do you have? Don’t give me that look!” She pointed at his face when she said this. “That is the face of a man with a ridiculous amount of mana to spare. Come on. Cough it up…how much?”

Kerron stalled by looking away, humming to himself.

Yuzuki tugged at his sleeve.

“Come on, tell me!”

“Well…” He waited a bit longer, holding onto his silence. Only when it looked like his companion was ready to explode at him did he finally reveal the amount that he had. “About 2 million, give or take a dozen.”

That amount was….insane, to say the least. A person’s lifetime usually couldn’t even see the tail end of 10000 units of mana during their lifetimes, despite it never restoring on its own. But Kerron had been born with much, much, much more and could even naturally have it restore over time! And yet, the demand on him…still managed to make such a stupidly large amount of magic drain on a nightly basis to a low enough degree to make him feel tired?

Yuzuki was floored. Just how bad was the balance of the world that Kerron had to basically bleed himself dry to keep the cycle of life and death going?

And worse yet, all alone.

Like she had been in the end, back at the restaurant.

A mixture of pity, sadness and anger welled up in her, but she bit her lip in order not to say anything. It did not feel right at the moment for one of her famous foot-in-mouth outbursts. Clenching her hand, she stuffed her knuckles into her mouth and bit down a bit. The action started Kerron who had no idea why she was hurting herself like that.

He reached out and pried her fist from her lips, shaking his head.

“...Yuzuki?” His voice was filled with concern, his forehead crinkling a little.

There was so much to say. How unfair it was for him, how amazed she was, and how angry she felt on his behalf. Everything was warring to be the first thing out of her mouth, but the only thing she managed was to shut her jaw with a click of her teeth and then shaking her head.

“It’s fine, Lord Kerron.” No, it isn’t, but you probably don’t want me to rant about the benefits of not having the magical equivalent of a sleep debt. “Thank you for helping me take my measurements and confirming my affinity…can we go shopping now?”

His mauve eyes searched her face for a few moments, a question clearly on his lips. Yet he eventually let it go, just simply nodding.

Once again, he offered his arm and she took it right away this time.

She gave him a quiet, slightly strained smile.

He nodded silently, respecting her silence, before leading the way out of the storage room with her in tow.