How About Calling Yourself a Demon Lord?

And so, having safely finished my private lesson, I got my socks.

… Just kidding. I learned proper magic too, I promise.

"Blade of wind, cut them down, Air Cutter!"

A feeble little blade of wind flew toward the target, hit it with a tiny clink, and vanished.

"I did it… I did it, Iz-sensei! Dea-kun!"

"Um… yes. That's right?"

"You did it, Onee-san!"

"It's all thanks to you, Dea-kun. Who'd have thought casting the chant would make the magic weaker? What a discovery."

"Normally, chanting is supposed to make it stronger, though…"

"Khh… I lost to a student at teaching…!"

Iz-sensei, I'm sorry. When you showed me a spell and asked, "Can you do this?", all I could think was that I could do it with Spatial Magic.

It couldn't be helped that things went a lot smoother once Dea-kun told me, "Just chant without thinking about anything. It'll activate on its own."

"N-now then, for the next step, let's try putting in just a tiny bit of mana."

"… Blade of wind, cut them down, Ai—"

"Wait wait wait!!!"

"Yes? What is it, Iz-sensei?"

"… I said just a tiny bit, didn't I?"

"Um? It was just a tiny bit, though?"

To me it really was just a tiny bit? It felt like less than a tenth of what I use for a Spatial Magic Air Cutter.

"Ahh. Mind if I say something I've been keeping quiet about until now?"

"Sure, what is it, Lakto-sensei?"

"Karina-san, please don't use mana. Even a hundred-thousandth of that is probably overkill."

"… No… way…?"

Impossible. Does that mean my power is too immense?!

"I can only agree."

"Right? Going by what Iz-sensei told me earlier, you must have power befitting a god to wield, hmm?"

"Huh? Lakto-sensei, you didn't think it was a lie or some made-up story?"

"It's far too astonishing for me to disbelieve at this point. The sheer pressure of mana leaking out of your magic, Karina-san."

"Ehehe."

Aww, you're making me blush. I don't really get this "mana pressure" thing, though.

"How about calling yourself a Demon Lord? Or maybe a Demon God?"

"Calling myself a king when I don't have any subjects feels off… and I'd rather not carelessly step on a god-shaped landmine, so I'll pass."

But, mana pressure, huh… Hmm. Wonder if I can suppress it somehow.

"Iz-sensei. Please teach me how to suppress my mana pressure!"

"… You should be able to do it by, you know, squeezing it down tight."

"There, Air Cutter! How's that?"

"Yes, that attack just now was leaking completely… No good."

No good, huh.

… Ah! I've got a great idea!!

"Sensei! Is it okay to have a Magic Tool made for it?!"

"… If there's a craftsman who can make a Magic Tool capable of suppressing this much mana, then yes."

"Then I'll have one made by tomorrow!"

"Um, are you listening to me?"

"It's fine, I've got top-notch Magic Tool craftsmen on my side!"

"I-is that so… Well then, let's call it here for today."

"A Magic Tool that can hide Karina-san's mana… Maybe, if the first-rate dwarves known as the Five Elders used top-grade materials like dragon parts, they might just manage it…"

If those are the conditions, it sounds like it'll be easy to make.

The private lesson broke up there.

"I don't really understand it, but you're an amazing mage, aren't you, Karina-san? You completely overwhelmed Iz-sensei."

"That's right, Fletta-chan. Apparently I might just have the most mana in the whole world, no exaggeration."

"My! How amazing!"

Yep yep, it's amazing. The teachers next to us were nodding along too, going "It's no exaggeration" and "Yes, it's no exaggeration…"

"Flaretart. So it's pointless to try to get rid of Karina-oneesan, understand?"

"Yes, I understand, Deasalt-sama. Karina-sama did say she'd be fine as a concubine."

"Conc—?! Eh, ah, ehh?!"

Dea-kun's looking over here, rattled out of his mind. I-I'll pretend I didn't hear that. Pretend I didn't hear it. I didn't hear a thing, so I won't say "yes" or "no."

… Ah, it's Rena. Did you come to pick me up?

"Your capable maid has come to collect you… Karina-sama, your face is bright red, you know?"

"It's your imagination."

"Well, if that's what you think, then I'm sure that's how it is. In your head, anyway."

I parted from Fletta-chan with a "see you tomorrow," and headed home together with Dea-kun.

From there I went straight to the workshop to put in a request with the Five Elders.

Oh, everyone's here!

"Everyone! Please, make me an item that hides my mana pressure!!"

"Mana pressure… ahh. I see. So it leaks out when you cast magic?"

"Hiding that is gonna be a real pain."

"Hmm, what if we used your bones, Karina-chan, and did an inversion process to make an opposite phase to cancel it out?"

"If the timing's off the pressure doubles, so we'd have to be careful… should we try sealing it with a curse?"

"Want to try drinking a weakening potion? Ah, but if that made it impossible to maintain this space it'd be a disaster, so scratch that."

I only use mana around when making the entrance and exit, so even if I were weakened I think it'd be fine. Well, I'd hate for there to be a one-in-a-million accident, so I won't try it.

Ah, here's a copy of my bones. If you can, make it by tomorrow morning!

"Ah, tomorrow morning, huh."

"Heheh, this is getting fun…?! It's a death march!"

"Kari-chan, we're not letting you sleep tonight, okay? With Magic Tool testing."

"We've gotta start by building the measuring instruments…"

"I'll brew some pick-me-up tea."

After that, my personal mana-pressure-hiding item, the God-Bone Bracelet, was completed in a rush job.

To think it actually made it by morning. My wives are way too capable!