Chapter 219: Let’s Try It

We quietly opened the door that led to the room with the magic stones. Everyone was probably still awake at this time.

“Ith’sh wighther thhan thhish afthernoon.” (It’s lighter than this afternoon)

“You’re right. But Lei…”

“Ai?”

We talked in hushed voices.

“I have more magic than you Lei. I’ll do it.”

I shook my head.

“You have thoo much magic, sho ith’ww thurn purpwe righth away. Ith’sh bethther for me tho do ith.” (You have too much magic, so it’ll turn purple right away. It’s better for me to do it)

“But…”

I know. I know that Nico wants to do something.

“Loow. You can channew magic intho anothher magic shthone.” (Look. You can channel magic into another magic stone)

“I’ll do it!”

Nico’s eyes lit up. But I’ll go first. I climbed up the chair and managed to put my hand on the magic stone.

“Jushth a withthwe. A day’sh worthh.” (Just a little. A day’s worth)

I don’t know how much a day’s worth is, but I’ll stop when the pink gets a little darker. I gently covered the magic stone with my hand.

The biggest magic stone I’ve ever filled was the magic stone in Alistair’s barrier box. Can I really do this no matter how much control I have over my magic? I’m not confident.

But I can’t hesitate. I began channelling my magic into the magic stone.

Who said just a little? Me.

However, the magic power I used to fill the barrier box didn’t change the colour of the magic stone; not even by a bit. I might need twice or maybe three times as much magic to fill this. I felt as if the colour had finally changed and gently removed my hand. I was sweating a little.

“Lei are you alright?”

“I’m oway.” I responded reflexively, but I wasn’t okay. But there are two magic stones that are faint.

“I’ww do thhe othher one.”

Nico wanted to say something, but he held back.

The other magic stone was easier to fill, maybe because I was used to it. But I was tired.

“Now it’s my turn.”

Nico climbed up the chair and started channelling magic into the darker magic stones. I sat down on the floor and watched him, but he seemed to be channelling magic with ease. I felt frustrated for some reason.

“Alright, let’s go back.”

“Ai.”

I climbed up the chair to check on the magic stones. People will only notice the change in the magic stone if they were paying close attention to them, but most people shouldn’t be able to tell that magic had been channelled into them.

We went back to the waiting room and quietly closed the door. I was glad that the doors were well maintained.

“The barrier might be able to hold for another day.”

“Howwowsh are shcary.”

“Hmm.”

We leaned against the bed in relief. I actually wanted to climb into bed, but I didn’t want to mess up the bed since they might find us that way.

“I’ww shweep afther puththing food ashide for thomorrow.” (I’ll sleep after putting food aside for tomorrow)

“It’s annoying to take food out of the bag every time. That sounds like a good idea.”

“Can’t I eat just one?”

“You can’t.”

I wasn’t allowed to take a bite. We crawled under the bed, put some food above our heads, chatted in low voices then slept.

“Why isn’t the barrier going down!?” We were awoken by a loud voice. It was the Third Prince. The usually calm Prince was shouting. He seemed irritated.

“I thought the barrier would go down at night, but I haven’t received any reports telling me that it’s gone!”

“Yes. There seems to be more magic in the stones than we thought.”

No matter how busy the royals are, they wouldn’t fill the magic stones so that it would run out of magic in a day. The magic in the stones should last for a few more days even if I hadn’t channelled magic into them. I clicked my tongue. This is what happens when you don’t investigate properly.

Then, I took a bite of one of the dried fruits we had prepared yesterday while still lying down.

“Your manners are bad Lei.”

“I wnow.”

I wanted to do this. I’m sure it’s because I’m tired and irritated.

Nico also took a fruit without saying anything and started eating.

“Ith’sh hard tho eath sho I can’th hewp ith.” (It’s hard to eat so I can’t help it)

“You think so too?”

We replenished our energy while talking, then someone was summoned to the barrier room.

“I, I can’t,” I heard a voice that sounded like a scream.

“Do it. If you don’t do it then I’ll just destroy this whole pedestal.”

“NO!”

We laid face down and began listening intently.

“I see. So, the magic stones can be replaced if you control the bottom part of the pedestal.”

“Y-yes. They may be magic stones, but they don’t last forever.”

It seemed the barrier room engineer had been summoned. You didn’t need to tell that information to the enemy.

“Then remove it.”

What are you going to remove?

At that moment, I felt a familiar feeling and the air changed.

“What changed?”

“Ye… I… I don’t really know, but the air has changed.”

“Enough! The barrier’s gone now, right?”

“Yes…”

It seemed that they removed the magic stones since the barrier wasn’t disappearing.

“This is how the air feels like without a barrier.”

“Nico, you can theww?” (Nico, you can tell)

“Yeah.”

“Peopwe withhouth magic can’th theww. The Third Prince couwdn’th theww.” (People without magic can’t tell. The Third Prince couldn’t tell)

“Really?”

“Ai.”

That’s probably why he’s so irritated. Most of the people who followed him from Easter probably can’t tell the difference between having a barrier or not. The people in Wester were the same.

“Ith’sh fine in thhe afthernoon, buth ath nighth…” (It’s fine in the afternoon at night)

“The Hollows will appear.”

Nico recalled what happened at Mills Lake.

“That’s not good. Not good at all. What should we do?”

“Quieth Nico.”

There are still people here. The Third Prince was probably relieved that the barrier was gone since he had taken the magic stones out, and people left the barrier room straight away.

“I’m shicw of being under thhish bed.” (I’m sick of being under this bed)

“Me too.”

I was stressed out from sneaking around the waiting room all day. And the thing that we worked hard on last night went to waste. I sighed and suddenly realised.

“Rug Dragon.”

“Rug Dragon?”

“Thish, inshide, thhish.”

I lifted the stuffed Rug Dragon in front of my face and shoved my hand inside.

“What are you doing?”

“Thish.”

The seams loosened a little, but the thing I took out of the Rug Dragon was the magic stone I got from Mills.

“Magic stone…”

“Can’th we ushe thhish?”

“It looks like it’s the same size as the other magic stones but…”

Nico and I looked at each other and nodded.

““Let’s try it.””

But we have to stay hidden until evening. Whew.