Chapter 19: Divine Power (2)

“Divine power…”

Mana—or should I call it divine power now?

The energy gathering in my hand emitted a brilliant light.

At first glance, it resembled faith, but there was something different about it.

‘A mixture of mana and faith, maybe?’

The divine power shone as it clustered into tiny glowing particles, like fireflies gathering in my palm.

Clench—

I made a fist, then threw a few punches into the air.

The sound of my fist slicing through the air told me… my body felt lighter than usual.

As the divine power circulated through my body, it gave me vitality and strength.

To put it simply—it was a buff.

“Hah…”

It seemed I really did become someone with a Trait.

Not based on talent—just someone blessed from birth.

‘Anyway, I’ve become one of those people. Just like that.’

Something I never imagined.

Traits were supposed to be innate, not something you could acquire, no matter the opportunity.

I only wanted to learn how to wield faith—and here comes the jackpot.

I calmed my excitement.

First, I had to understand this power better.

As I activated more divine power, it circulated through my body and heated it up.

‘This is a pretty strong buff.’

The more divine power I activated, the stronger the buff became.

My entire body surged with energy, and my heart pounded with exhilaration.

But that wasn’t all—the strength of this Trait didn’t stop there.

‘It’s far more densely compressed than normal mana.’

Normally, mana takes a gaseous form.

Because of that, even a slight lapse in concentration leads it to dissipate into the air—making it inefficient and constantly consumed.

In simple terms: terrible fuel economy.

The real measure of an aura user is how long they can keep that dissipating mana tethered to their body.

But the glowing particles of divine power in my hand were different.

Even though they were outside my body, they didn’t vanish—they just hovered around my hand.

‘With this, it’ll be much easier to weave aura.’

Compared to gas-like mana, this dense divine energy was far easier to handle.

Even better—it didn’t consume faith to use.

‘If I can save faith, I absolutely should.’

It might not be as powerful as pure faith, but it was less risky than attracting demons like last time.

And the buff effect? Definitely not something to ignore.

I’d gained an incredibly useful power.

As I smiled in satisfaction, I sensed someone outside the room.

Knock knock—

“Young master, the Lord has summoned you.”

A servant’s voice came from beyond the door.

I had already expected the family head to call for me.

I gathered up my divine power and left the room.

***

I made my way quickly to the Lord’s office.

And just outside, I ran into someone unexpected.

“Oh! Young Master Richard, it’s been a while!”

A man who looked to be in his mid-30s greeted me cheerfully.

With a simple and upbeat demeanor, he struck up a conversation.

I was momentarily confused, but soon remembered his name.

“Sir Leon.”

Captain of the Bartenberg 1st Knights and the Lord’s right hand.

Despite his somewhat clumsy appearance, he had achieved great merit at the Lord’s side.

“The Lord summoned you, yes?”

“That’s correct.”

“I’d love to chat more, but I suppose we’ll have to save it for another time.”

He gave a polite farewell and walked off.

I watched his back for a moment before shaking off my thoughts.

‘No time for distractions.’

Straightening my attire, I entered the Lord’s office.

“I greet the Lord.”

As always, the stern and fierce-looking family head, Ludwig Bartenberg, looked at me.

“I heard there was a rather serious incident.”

His deep baritone voice reverberated through the room.

A man like Ludwig didn’t even need to raise his voice—his sheer presence was overwhelming.

“Yes. Over 30 undead, including a Death Knight, attacked Snowfall.”

I swallowed once and continued:

“Looking back, it seems the Death Knight was ordered to attack by someone named Krombel.”

“Krombel…”

“Based on his command of undead, it’s highly likely he’s a demon.”

“That would make sense.”

Ludwig’s face hardened.

The demon world is one of survival of the fittest.

Most demons don’t even have names.

Only the strongest among them earn one.

Krombel was one of the three named liches currently present on the continent.

“One of the liches that Vallach mentioned, perhaps.”

He muttered to himself while tapping his fingers on the desk.

Soon, his gaze shifted back to me.

“I heard you stood your ground rather than fleeing.”

“Had it not been for Sir Vallach’s help, we all would have died.”

“Right. We owe Vallach a great debt.”

Debt.

Not a word that suited Ludwig at all.

Still nodding, he suddenly changed his expression.

“And also…”

His pitch-black eyes pierced into me.

“You caused another incident.”

“Are you referring to the matter with Baron Hessen?”

“That’s right.”

I knew this topic would come up.

“During the undead attack, the Baron made a serious mistake against me.”

“Yes. It’s unacceptable for a mere baron to lay a hand on a member of House Bartenberg. However—”

I waited in silence. I could already guess what was coming.

“Why did you handle it on your own? Are you still relying on the family’s name for everything?”

Just as expected.

I calmly replied:

“I apologize for acting on my own. But it was my maid he laid hands on. Regardless of status, I believed it was right to personally exact retribution.”

Ludwig nodded slightly, showing interest.

I continued without hesitation.

“There was another reason I took Snowfall. Near the village, I discovered an ice palace created by a fairy. Although it had been corrupted, its beautiful appearance and the fact that it was built by a fairy would be highly valuable to nobles.”

The palace’s beauty was genuine.

If not for the freezing cold, I would have liked to live there myself.

“Originally, I considered offering it to Baron Hessen in honor of the family. But the circumstances changed, and so did my plan.”

Ludwig simply stared at me.

I met his gaze.

Finally, he spoke:

“You’ve changed.”

It was a simple statement, but hearing it from the tiger-like head of the house struck differently.

I could finally feel that I’d shed my old reputation as a scoundrel.

“Yes. Anyone who dares touch someone you consider yours must pay the price.”

Strangely, Ludwig seemed more focused on that than the ice palace.

Perhaps he was shocked that I referred to Mary as “mine.”

Thinking about it, that made sense—Richard the scoundrel had always tormented his own people.

“Gide will be pleased.”

“…Sorry?”

I instinctively asked back.

Why bring up Gide all of a sudden?

“I’ll assign one steward and three lower-ranked knights to the village. Don’t expect more support. Snowfall is now yours.”

“So the profits from it will be mine?”

He nodded without hesitation—like the money meant nothing to him.

Truly fitting for the head of a great house.

I bowed deeply.

“Thank you. And… I have something else to report.”

“Speak.”

“My mana insensitivity has been cured.”

His fingers, which had been tapping lightly, suddenly stopped.

But what he said next surprised me:

“So you finally said it.”

He looked at me as if he already knew.

Well, he probably did—Aaron likely reported it.

“There’s no way someone who couldn’t use mana could survive a Death Knight’s attack. But still…”

Muttering, he stood and approached me.

“Aaron seems to be hiding something.”

“?”

“Why did the Death Knight target only you? How did you unleash the power of a Sword Saint? The report only said, ‘unknown.’”

He looked down at me and asked:

“Tell me. What are you hiding?”

Of course he’d be suspicious—I left room for dramatic effect on purpose.

The real reason was my divine power, but now wasn’t the time to reveal that.

Originally, I was going to talk only about the cured mana insensitivity, but…

This was a perfect opportunity for a surprising, plausible excuse.

“It’s due to the Trait of my mana.”

“…!”

I hadn’t had it long, but this was worth showing off.

Hide what needs hiding.

Flaunt what deserves flaunting.

And this Trait—was worth flaunting.

“What did you say?”

Ludwig’s eyes widened more than I’d ever seen before.

Even when he smiled, he barely moved a muscle—an absolute poker face.

Grab—

Before I could even explain, he seized my wrist.

His mana flowed into me.

It was pure, noble, refined mana—perfectly honed for a Sword Saint, the continent’s strongest knight.

“Ghh!”

It shot straight to my mana heart.

The dormant divine power responded, whipping through my mana circuits like a horse lashed into a gallop.

Vwooom—

I felt a rush of energy through my body.

I decided to just go with it—and circulated the divine power.

“This is my mana.”

Then, to top it off, I let some divine power flow back into Ludwig through our contact.

Let him get drunk on the buff.