I Think My Fiancé Has Regressed

Chapter 72: Magic Amplifier (3)

It’s been about three hours since Miss Sophia started sleeping in my room.

If we’re going by the usual cycle of REM and non-REM sleep, it’s probably time to get up.

Conversely, if she doesn’t wake up now, I’ll have to wait another hour and a half.

“…….”

Looking at Ms. Sophia, who is sleeping with a relaxed expression, making only slight breathing sounds, she is probably not going to wake up right now.

I’ll probably have to wait another hour and a half for the next cycle to come around.

“Elise, would you please replace this book with ‘Water Magic Has the Answer’ volume 5 from the library?”

“Sure, sure.”

Taking my student ID from me and the book I had just been reading, Elise did as I asked and walked straight to the Academy library.

I’ll wait a little longer, there’s still three more hours until dinner.

* * *

Another hour and a half passed, and by then it was five o’clock in the afternoon.

Miss Sophia’s third REM sleep cycle was approaching, so I turned my attention to her.

“…….”

I’m still not sure, she doesn’t look like she’s going to wake up.

Well, she’ll wake up sometime today, no matter how late.

“Elise, can you exchange this book for Volume 6 from the library….”

“Ummm…ugh….”

As I tried to focus on reading while Miss Sophia slept soundly, I heard a faint groan from the side of the bed.

She must be trying to wake up.

“Ugh!”

After stretching so hard that she felt refreshed, Miss Sophia looked around and looked confused for a moment.

As soon as she realized where she had last slept, she scrambled out of bed.

“I’m sorry, Lady Ariana, how long have I been asleep!”

“About four and a half hours. Is your fatigue gone now?”

“Yes, I’m really fine now!”

It’s certainly a nice change from the groggy voice she had before she went to sleep.

The fatigue and lack of sleep that had accumulated over the past few days must have been fully relieved as she woke up like this.

As proof, her hair and skin color are also much better than they were before she went to bed.

Now we can get down to business.

“Shall we get down to business, Miss Sophia?”

“Oh, yes!”

Miss Sofia agreed to my suggestion, so I immediately asked her about the doubts I’d had since she entered my room.

“Miss Sophia.”

“I’m sure you’re curious about the effectiveness of the magic amplifier, and I thought I’d be the first to tell you.

Thanks to a grant from Ariana, I’ve been able to improve upon the last prototype, making it even more efficient at activating magic and improving the effectiveness of….”

“We can talk about that later, but more importantly, where is your maid?”

“……?”

As if she hadn’t anticipated the question I was about to ask, a dumbfounded look and response came back from Ms. Sophia’s face.

“My maid, why are you asking that out of the blue…?”

“For someone who can’t even take care of her own employer, of course.”

Because the Ms. Sophia I met today was not, to put it nicely, a young lady in care.

“What kind of maid does nothing to help you while your skin dries out, your hair splits, and she has no idea how to apply makeup to hide your deep-set eye shadows.

I suppose you could say that Miss Sophia’s sleep deprivation is her own choice, but isn’t taking care of your skin and hair an essential virtue, at least for a maid? Perhaps I should speak to her in person about her dereliction of duty.”

Even though she’s Viscountess Young Lady, Miss Sophia’s beauty is a resource that can’t be wasted.

And I don’t like the fact that it’s being wasted by a maid who’s supposed to be taking care of it.

She’ll have to be trained by House Anastasia, or in some cases, forced to quit her job.

“…I don’t have any.”

“What?”

“I’m ashamed to say, I don’t have a maid….”

“…….”

“Viscount Kylie is not a family of means. The estate is small and underdeveloped, and the crops, our mainstay of production, have been disastrous after three consecutive years of drought.

As a result, at the beginning of last year, all but two of the main house’s servants were purged, so all I can say is that I’ve been without a maid for the past year or so….”

…That was a slip of the tongue.

Apparently, the obvious question that flowed from my anger had inadvertently touched a sore spot.

“…Is it for a similar reason, then, that you’ve been working on alchemy?”

“Yes….It’s because I have mediocre magic and magic power, and the only way I can revive our estate is through alchemy research.

The others who were with me when I first started the club left when they realized I was seriously immersed in my research, so I guess I was the only one who really thought about it.”

“…….”

“Ah, but at least I got to make what I wanted to make anyway, thanks to you, Ariana, and that’s good enough for me!”

Hearing the bittersweet details behind the story, my heart naturally ached as well.

…I guess I can’t just ignore it now that I’ve heard it.

“I see, so you’re saying that you’ve finished the magic amplifier?”

“Yes!”

“Then I guess we should give it a try. I’m sure there are a few magic training grounds that are empty because it’s still vacation, so why don’t you show me your work there?”

“Yes, of course…ah, Lady Ariana?”

Miss Sophia continued her energetic reply to my answer, then suddenly her voice started to tremble when she saw something in my hand.

“Zee, what is that thing you’re holding in your hand?”

“If you’re going to go outside, don’t you think you should comb your hair again, and you should change your clothes.”

“Oh, I’ll comb it, I’ve already gotten used to combing it myself!”

“How are you going to comb your own hair while you’re getting dressed? We don’t have a lot of time, so you’ll have to stand still and let me do your hair.”

“Oh, I can’t….”

Miss Sophia voiced her resistance in a weak voice, but with the difference in our numbers, she couldn’t resist my and Elise’s touch.

What can I say? It’s Miss Sophia’s bad luck that she doesn’t have a maid with her.

By the time Miss Sophia’s clothes had been completely changed back into her going-out clothes, she was flushed to the point of tears and turned to me.

…I guess I need to practice my combing a little more.

* * *

I walked to the academy’s magic practice field with Sophia, who had changed back into her going-out clothes.

Normally, the facility was off-limits to Elise, the maid, but since it was summer vacation until today, there was no one to stop us.

“Well, let’s get started then!”

Still with a wistful look on her face, Miss Sophia turned to the magic practice area and began to chant a few words.

A sphere of flame shot out from her fingertips towards the target, and one of the practice dummies caught fire and began to burn.

An ordinary fireball.

“You mean this is the power of the fireballs Miss Sophia usually uses?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

It was definitely a subtle level of magic.

If it was a really powerful fireball, the heat alone would have caused the dummy to start shaking before the flames even touched it.

Given the power of the fireball, it didn’t look like that, but rather like the fireball of a student who had just learned magic.

Perhaps she was so absorbed in her alchemical research that she tended to neglect her studies a bit.

“Oh, and this is the finished product of my latest magic amplifier.”

Pulling out a suspiciously bright green vial from her bag, Ms. Sophia waved its contents at me.

“Well, first of all, I tried to formulate it in such a way as to enhance its performance as much as possible, as Lady Ariana said….”

“And?”

“Well, the side effects of it are a bit severe, so I’m afraid….I thought I’d warn you about that first.”

Side effects.

“Are these side effects similar to the prototype you used before?”

“Yes. Since the whole point of this magic amplifier is to make the magic in your body spin faster, it’s a side effect of the blood flow in your body also spinning faster.

You’re more in touch with your emotions than usual, and it’s a little harder to control your instincts.”

I naturally blush as I recall the embarrassment I experienced when I used a prototype of the magic amplifier.

The prototype alone was embarrassing enough, but the side effects were worse than that….

I guess it’s something I can’t use unless I really need it.

“That said, I’d like to ask you a favor, Lady Ariana.”

“What?”

“No matter what I look like to you from now on, Lady Ariana, I’m asking you to please forget about it.”

With that, Miss Sophia unscrewed the cap of the vial and poured all of its contents down her throat.

“…….”

When she finally finished, she stood still and fixed her gaze on me.

Like a magical golem waiting to be commanded.

“…….”

“…….”

“…….”

“…Miss Sophia?”

“Yes, Lady Ariana.”

“Would you like to demonstrate the effects of the magic amplifier, and don’t just stand there and stare at my face?”

“…Okay.”

Shifting her gaze to the practice field, Sophia began to create a fireball in her hand.

The size of the fireball she was creating in her hand was already far exceeding the size of the fireball she had used in her first spell.

The fireball, which was probably nearly ten times as large, flew towards the group of practice dummies.

Dozens of dummies, most of them shattering and exploding at the mere touch of the heat.

The few that remained were instantly charred to blackness.

“Wow….”

I couldn’t hide my astonishment at the noticeable change in the power of the magic.

Elise, too, saw what was happening in front of her, her eyes widening as she looked back and forth between the scene and Miss Sophia.

This is definitely going to be useful.

As long as this magic amplifier is effective, the magic power consumption of the dark magic I use can be reduced to an extreme degree.

“It’s really good, Sophia…huh?”

When I shifted my gaze to Ms. Sophia to thank her for her hard work, the figure that was standing next to me just a moment ago had disappeared.

“Thank you, Lady Ariana.”

Miss Sophia’s voice came from just below my line of sight as she continued.

“Then please give me the following command.”

…So this is what it meant to be true to your feelings.