"What in the spirits' name did you do with your hands?" Kaede demanded, catching him off guard. Konrad visited her every day as promised, but he forgot to hide his fingers this time.
The girl—now a mere simulant—looked him up and down, scowling.
"Did Lucifer's lackeys already find us?" she asked. "I mean, I expected it. But so soon?"
"What? No, nothing like that," Konrad said, yanking his hands away.
Every single one of his fingers throbbed, each wrapped with band aids, and some still bleeding.
But it was all worth it.
"I, uh—you sent me to that music store to work, remember?"
Kaede's brows narrowed even further.
"Yes? What, did they torture you?! I knew that girl was a weirdo, but I kinda liked her style."
Weirdo would not even begin to cover it. But that wasn't it.
"She is, but um," Konrad paused, taking a deep breath. "I did this to myself."
Those brows slid high, stopping almost at the top of her head.
"You're a masochist now? What did you even do to end up like that? Your left hand's a wreck."
It was worth it. It was definitely worth it.
He had a hundred reasons to believe so.
But how to tell her?
After that sake debacle, he wanted solid proof before sharing anything. And while he did regain a hundred mana from Sunday to Friday, it was nowhere near enough.
The pain was too much, and he could only play a little.
Once the throbbing had overwritten the emotions he poured into the songs, it was over.
He gave his sweat and blood—in the most literal sense—to recover that hundred mana.
But the promise for more was there.
He sighed again, opening his mouth before she came up with another weird explanation.
"I found a way to recharge mana," he said. "For real now."
As expected, Kaede gave him the most skeptical look.
"Did you have to drink acid this time?" she asked. "Because I'm not doing that."
"No, no," Konrad shook his head. "No drinking in this one—although sake helps. It boosts my output by ten percent, not that I measured it, but—"
"Huh? What did you do?!" Kaede demanded, her legs swinging over her hospital bed.
She narrowed her eyes, trying to see through him.
She shouldn't have had the mana to read his mind, though.
"Don't laugh, okay? This is serious," Konrad said, because, well. When he thought about it, it did sound ridiculous. The girl's face was impassive. Another sigh. "I uh, it's the power of music."
"The what?" she asked. "The what is what?!"
She didn't laugh, but she was already in his face.
Too close. Not much better than mockery.
"It's like—when I play a song and put in all my emotions? That'll actually charge my mana."
"A song?" Kaede scowled. "D'you even play, like—anything?! First time I hear it."
"I didn't. Until now," Konrad confirmed, flexing his fingers. "That's why I look like this."
The dragoness laughed, catching his hand again.
"What kind of instrument does this to humans? Are you playing on blades? Mouse traps?!"
She squeezed his hand, trying to be gentle, but Konrad was still hissing from the pain.
"Guitar," he yelped, yanking away. "It's not that bad. Or at least shouldn't be. But I was a bit impatient, and now I pay the price. I borrowed an acoustic from the shop to play every day."
"You're serious," Kaede noted. It didn't sound like a question.
"I am. I took every shortcut possible, tuned it to drop D, played the simplest—"
"I'll pretend like I know what that meant," the girl scoffed, staring him dead in the eye. "And?!"
"And," Konrad said, feeling his ears turning hot. "Recovered about a hundred mana in five days."
By every metric, it was pathetic. Even before he figured out how to recharge his essence in Kasserlane, he did more daily. But for a beginner?
Not that she would understand.
He braced himself for the next tease, but it never came.
"With music? Like—you sit down and play, and your mana recharges?!"
Her eyes told him she actually believed it. Finally.
"Like bard magic? Earth has that?" she muttered, more to herself and the ground. "Or something like what the angels use? Transmuting emotions into mana—like a prayer?"
Yep, she definitely believed him, giving Konrad some food for thought.
"Bard magic?" he repeated. "Wait, I do think it has something to do with emotions."
He summarised his findings as best as he could.
"Listening to songs works, but only with those that resonate with me. Live music's much better. But when I play—well, I suck at this, but—I know it'd charge even faster."
"So when you drank that sake, she played you something?" Kaede pondered along.
"A demo recording," he nodded. "The effect was much greater when playing live the next day."
"You use music as a catalyst. Turning your emotions into mana. Genius. And alcohol helps it process faster," the girl said, getting excited. "A hundred mana isn't much, but wait—"
She looked him up and down again, stopping at his bandaged fingers once more.
"If you had the mana, why didn't you heal your fingers? Wouldn't it be easier to play like that?"
Konrad scoffed.
"You never taught me that spell," he groaned, the throbbing becoming worse.
He had thought about it, of course. He didn't enjoy the pain like Yuki said he should.
"Oh," Kaede said with a blush, reaching for his hand. "Want me to—heal you?"
He did. But she didn't have the mana.
And he remembered how she behaved the last time he tried a transfer.
Still, healthy fingers meant more mana faster. She mentioned Lucifer's minions. They were yet to show their faces, but it was only a matter of time.
If he could teleport away before they arrived—
"Can't you teach me instead?" Konrad pleaded, hoping for an alternative.
That only earned him a pout. A cute one, but a pout nonetheless.
"I don't wanna," Kaede scoffed, crossing her arms. "Then you wouldn't need me."
His jaw hit the floor.
"You kidding?!" he moaned. "I'm doing this for you, to take you home. And you're jealous?!"
To Yuki of all people? Well, she was cute, but—
"What d'you mean, for me?!" Kaede demanded, puffing her chest. It was still flat regardless.
"What do you mean, what I mean?" Konrad asked, dumbfounded. "You were the one wanting to go back, no matter what. You even got mad at me because I didn't say I wanted it immediately."
The girl paused.
"Huh? Why would you think that? Earth is fun," she claimed, confusing him even more.
Wait. There was something else.
He knew he thought about it, and concluded they had to go back, too.
But why? There had to be a reason.
Something—or someone. But what?
If it were that important, how come he forgot about it?
"Anyway," Kaede went back to pouting again. "Hurry up and give me your mana. I'll heal those puny little fingers for you. But, uh—be gentle. You always make me lose my mind."
This girl. Always a tease. And she'd be even worse in the future.
But wait. How did he even know that?