Volume 3 Chapter 69: Sextet

“Alright, let’s summarize the current situation.”

The mage clapped her hands together and smiled at the group gathered around a small circular pond. The once pure white space they occupied, devoid of anything but the pond, had transformed into a vast field of grass stretching beneath a brilliant blue sky.

In the distance, a structure strikingly similar to the “White Road” appeared, adding an unexpected element to the setting.

The seat of the “White King”—Noel Arlens’ designated place—stood nearby. Yet, it wasn’t Noel sitting there. Instead, the mage had made herself at home in the chair, speaking cheerfully as if it were hers.

“First, the good news!”

“Go back to your seat,” the hunter snapped.

“First, the good news!” the mage repeated, completely ignoring the hunter’s glare as she spread her arms wide.

The rest of the group looked on with a mix of exasperation and resignation.

“Noel-san has finally—finally!—recognized our existence in the real world! Yes! Applause, everyone!”

Beaming with joy, the mage began clapping enthusiastically, prompting the others to follow suit despite their annoyance. Even so, they seemed faintly pleased.

After the applause subsided, the mage once again opened her arms dramatically.

“Although he hasn’t regained his memories of this place, look! Look at this scenery!”

Taking a deep breath as if savoring the atmosphere, the mage clasped her hands to her chest with a blissful expression.

“This is a gift from Noel-san! A sign of his love, making sure we can live comfortably here. Ah, it’s wonderful… I can feel how much he cherishes us.”

She inhaled deeply once more, but her expression shifted as she glanced at the “White Road”-like structure. Narrowing her eyes, she muttered under her breath.

“Although, the fact that it’s modeled after her shop is… well… I guess I’ll have to live with it.”

“You’re not fine with it at all, are you?” the hunter interjected.

“Ah, by the way, the room with the tatami mats is mine. Nobody else is allowed in there, understood?”

Ignoring the hunter’s retort, the mage smiled sweetly, tilting her head. This time, however, the hunter leapt to her feet, visibly agitated.

“Wait, that’s Noel’s room!”

“Yes, and?”

The mage’s calm response caught the hunter off guard, leaving her momentarily speechless.

“Y-you can’t do that!”

“Why not? Why not, hmm? What’s the problem?”

The hunter was clearly outmatched, and the mage’s subtle yet sharp intensity bore down on her. Though tears welled up in the hunter’s eyes, they didn’t spill over.

“I said no, so it’s a no!”

“Alright then, as I said, it’s my room. Please don’t enter.”

“I said it’s not fair!”

Tears finally streaming down her face, the hunter slumped back into her chair, muttering bitterly under her breath, though her words were loud enough for everyone to hear.

“Fine… we’ll settle this later… settle it, for sure… so unfair… even I…”

“Now, moving on to the bad news.”

The mage’s cheerful clapping drowned out the hunter’s feeble protests. Raising a single finger, she adopted a more somber tone.

“Unfortunately, Noel-san getting caught up in trouble this time was our fault.”

“You mean your fault,” the healer corrected, elegantly crossing her legs. The mage stiffened noticeably.

“If Noel-chan becomes classified as a ‘divine artifact’ whenever we manifest, then the reason he was kidnapped is because someone couldn’t restrain themselves. Isn’t that right? Hmm? Someone?”

The healer’s piercing gaze and silky voice dripped with accusation. The hunter, who had been sulking moments earlier, brightened at the mage’s rare predicament. Though clearly itching to add her own comment, she wisely refrained, instead enjoying the mage’s visible discomfort.

Unable to deny the truth, the mage averted her gaze and muttered.

“…Well, it’s because she mentioned a date…”

The healer snorted lightly.

“I’ll admit I had my own concerns about that, and Noel-chan coming to the ‘Floating City of Firmament’ was ultimately a good thing. But you could have exercised some self-control.”

“…Yes.”

“Pfft! She’s getting scolded!” the hunter blurted, unable to contain her amusement. She puffed out her chest triumphantly.

“Honestly, I was able to control myself just fine!”

The mage cast her a dull glance, but the hunter remained oblivious in her smugness.

“I mean, what’s the big deal about her suddenly wanting a date now, of all times? It’s nothing compared to all the awful things she’s done! Honestly, I was relieved it was something so trivial. But you, mage! You couldn’t even manage that! Self-control! Have some self-control!”

The hunter’s triumphant declaration ended abruptly as she noticed the cold stares from both the mage and the healer.

“W-what? What is it?”

Her confidence wavered, and her voice shrank as anxiety replaced her earlier bravado. The mage sighed deeply.

“Must be nice for you, hunter-chan.”

“W-what do you mean?”

“Being an idiot.”

“That’s mean!”

Ignoring the hunter’s protests, the mage sighed again, this time more heavily.

“Listen. That woman—she’s never made a single proper advance toward Noel-san. Not once.”

“So she suddenly suggested something normal like a date?”

“…??? Isn’t normal a good thing?”

Despite the mage and healer gently trying to explain, the hunter couldn’t grasp their point, tilting her head in confusion.

The mage and healer exchanged weary glances, their expressions filled with exasperation.

“…It’s precisely because it’s normal that it’s troubling.”

“When a deeper affection is directed at you in a straightforward manner, it becomes a nuisance…”

“Exactly. It’s not even a calculated act, is it?”

“And that makes it all the more problematic…”

“…I don’t get it at all…”

The hunter, left entirely out of the loop as the mage and healer began a serious discussion, looked back and forth between them, her eyes brimming with tears as she muttered softly.

Watching the trio, now fully sidetracked with their deliberation, the coachman sighed deeply, visibly unimpressed. Taking charge, he opened his mouth.

“Alright, forget those three. Let’s move on.”

“Agreed.”

“Seems like the best course of action.”

The guardian and the reformer nodded in response to the coachman’s declaration, each continuing to cast their fishing lines into the pond. Though talk of dates still wafted across the group, the three had evidently resigned themselves to ignoring it.

“For Noel to escape his current predicament, we’re going to need the Magis Armor.”

“Yeah, but Noel can’t use mana right now.”

“And that’s not because of the backlash from using me. That restriction’s already been lifted.”

The reformer placed a hand on her chest, closing her eyes. In truth, Noel Arlens’ inability to wield mana had nothing to do with her influence. The cause lay elsewhere entirely.

The reformer slowly opened her eyes.

“The recognition Noel has given me—or rather, the fact that we’re all together now—has triggered changes in both him and us. We’re currently in the process of adapting to a new power. In short, we’re still in the preparatory phase.”

“To put it bluntly, it’s our fault he can’t use mana right now,” the coachman said with a shrug.

“We’ve caused him nothing but trouble,” the guardian added.

The reformer chuckled wryly.

“That’s true. But I still don’t know how to leave his body, and honestly… I’m not ready to part ways with Noel yet.”

“Neither am I!” the mage suddenly interjected, nostrils flaring.

The healer nodded in agreement, her serene smile betraying her shared sentiment. The hunter, who seemed to have missed her cue, hastily raised her hand, looking flustered.

The reformer smiled faintly at the group’s reaction.

“Yeah, I think everyone feels the same way.”

“But I’m number one!” the mage declared.

“Alright, alright, calm down, mage… Anyway, we all want to stay with Noel. But that’s why we can’t keep burdening him. We need to support him.”

If Noel himself had been present, he likely would have shrugged it off with a casual “No need to worry about that—it’s not like anyone meant for it to happen.” But the residents within Noel were unanimous in their determination.

“And besides, this is also for the sake of the benefactor who brought us together. Let’s give it our all. We’re stronger now than we’ve ever been.”

“True. You reminded me—originally, our strength was only complete when all six of us were together.”

The coachman set aside his fishing rod and clasped his hands behind his head, looking up at the clear blue sky with a satisfied grin.

“Though, honestly, we didn’t really need big brother around,” the mage remarked sharply.

“Hey, now,” the coachman retorted, his grin instantly fading into a deadpan expression.

Even the usually stoic guardian allowed himself a faint smile, as if indulging in nostalgia.

“To think I would join forces with you all again,” the coachman remarked, shaking his head with a nostalgic grin.

“We really owe Noel-chan our gratitude,” the healer said with a gentle smile.

The hunter, noticeably more carefree and childish without Noel around, raised her hand enthusiastically.

“Oh, oh! I remembered our party name!”

“Yes, we are—” the reformer began, only to be joined by the others in unison:

“Sextet.“

The group exchanged warm smiles, reminiscing about the past.

“At some point, when we combined our Magis Armors for battle… someone started calling us that,” the reformer added.

“But let’s not forget,” the guardian interjected, crossing his arms, “we managed it back then because we shared the burden amongst ourselves. Noel’s mana alone isn’t nearly enough for that.”

“Yeah, especially since, if that glasses girl was right, we’ve been siphoning off Noel’s mana constantly just to stay functional,” the coachman added, scratching his head.

Through Tesea’s Analyze, they had discovered that Noel’s mana was being dispersed among multiple sources—used to maintain the existence of the souls within him. Noel himself remained blissfully unaware of this.

Humans cannot exist as souls alone for long. A vessel and mana—the life energy itself—are essential. The Soul Sealing Orb had previously provided an alternative energy source, but once they had left it to inhabit Noel Arlens’ body, their need for mana returned.

The bodies of the “Sextet” had long since decayed, their mana gone with them. Now, they survived by borrowing Noel’s mana, unknowingly draining his reserves.

“…I suspected as much, but Noel-san really is something extraordinary,” the mage said, clasping her hands before her chest, her expression almost reverent. “Oh, and big brother? Calling her ‘glasses girl’ is creepy.”

“S-shut up!” the coachman barked back, his face flushing.

The mage’s adoration for Noel bordered on excessive, but there was no denying that someone who could sustain six people’s worth of mana demands must possess an extraordinary reservoir.

Noel, however, underestimated himself greatly. He dismissed his remarkable capabilities, believing his talents to be average at best. His assumption stemmed from two factors: his childhood inability to handle his own Magis Armor, and his mana reserves appearing unexceptional due to constant, unconscious distribution to the Sextet.

Born with overflowing talent, Noel’s peculiar circumstances had hidden his true potential, leaving him to grow into an ordinary man, at least in his own eyes.

The Sextet, however, had always suspected the truth, and Tesea’s findings had confirmed it. This realization brought the mage a mix of pride and frustration.

After basking in her admiration for Noel, she averted her gaze and muttered:

“…What can we do?”

Their existence was undeniably a burden on Noel. If they could return the mana they’d taken, Noel would likely regain his original strength and fully wield the Sextet’s power. Yet, that act would mean their dissolution, their erasure from existence.

Moreover, they didn’t know how to sever themselves from Noel or how to return his mana. And, above all, none of them wanted to leave him.

Desperately searching for a solution that wouldn’t result in their disappearance, the mage came up empty.

“We’ll have to rely on her,” the healer sighed, her displeasure evident.

“Her?” the hunter asked, tilting her head in confusion.

The mage, whose expression soured visibly, answered with a muttered name.

“Noel Sialsa.”

The healer’s idea had already crossed the mage’s mind, but she hated to admit it. Noel Sialsa’s Magis Armor could likely complement Noel’s, allowing him to utilize the Sextet’s full power. Though Sialsa wasn’t currently with Noel, her arrival was inevitable. Collaborating with her seemed the only viable path forward.

But the mage disliked Sialsa. In truth, she disliked any woman who grew close to Noel, but Sialsa was particularly irksome.

Those kinds of women are the most troublesome… she grumbled internally.

Still, she couldn’t let her feelings interfere. As much as she detested it, she would have to accept the situation.

With a sudden slam! the mage struck her own thigh, startling the hunter, who flinched in fear. The coachman rolled his eyes skyward, the healer frowned, and the guardian shook his head in mild disapproval.

The reformer, wearing a strained smile, stepped in to calm the group.

“Well… soon enough, Noel’s power will return. When that happens, let’s give it everything we’ve got. Let’s set aside our emotions and focus purely on helping Noel.”

SLAM! Another sharp sound echoed. The group fell silent as the mage exhaled deeply, raised her head, and fixed them with a steely gaze. The hunter let out a tiny squeak of terror.

“…Have you cleared your mind?” the guardian asked dryly.

“Yes, I’m fine. Ready to go,” the mage replied, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth as she forced a smile.

Meanwhile, the hunter, shrinking in on herself, quietly began to sob.