Walking down the corridor that led to the audience chamber, Kuro found himself replaying the events of the previous night. That golden afterimage still wouldn't leave his mind. The white negligee. Bare feet. A massive greatsword. And fragments of a smile that seemed to fear nothing at all. (Calm down. That wasn't a dream or an illusion. It was real. And today, I have to formally face that reality.) The escort officer Lucian—a man in his thirties, a court knight of the Deluxia Kingdom with a meticulously groomed goatee—led the way through the stone corridor with practiced steps, continuing his briefing in a low voice. "Buff Mage, during the audience, please answer His Majesty's questions honestly. King Philibert dislikes unnecessary embellishment. If asked about your abilities, be precise." "Understood." He understood. In his head, anyway. The problem was that something was churning violently in his chest. When they stopped before the doors, the guards on either side silently grasped their handles. The heavy stone doors slowly swung open. The audience chamber was larger than he'd expected. The throne room of "Château Blanc"—the royal castle that governed Blanche, the capital of Deluxia Kingdom, a fortress of white stone with seven towers stretching toward the sky, among the most formidable in the south-central continent—was the most formal room in the castle. The ceiling soared high, and morning light streamed diagonally through the tall windows on either side. Courtiers lined both walls, their gazes alone conducting an appraisal. On the throne sat a large man with a white beard. King Philibert. He looked to be in his seventies, but his eyes remained sharp, retaining the intensity of a general still in his prime. And beside the throne. (…She's really here.) The person from last night was there. Though today, mercifully, not in a negligee. A lightweight tunic and a knee-length skirt that looked easy to move in—but even so, it was shockingly casual for an audience chamber. Golden wavy hair cascaded over her shoulders, and her azure eyes were fixed intently on him. The same greatsword from last night rested against her knee, and she was observing Kuro with her chin propped on the sword's hilt. (Wait. Is it normal to bring a greatsword into an audience chamber?) "State your name," King Philibert's voice rang out. Kuro reflexively stepped forward. He straightened his chest. He opened his mouth. "—K-Kuko." Silence. He could feel the courtiers' atmosphere freeze. Kuro froze too. (What did I just say? Kuko? My name is Kuro. Kuro. Why did I stammer?) Once more. A deep breath. "Kwo, if I may." (That's not it either!!!!) One of the courtiers brought a hand to his mouth. He was clearly suppressing laughter. Kuro felt sweat beading on his forehead as he forced out the words a third time. "Kuro. My name is Kuro. I am a Buff Mage." In that instant. A bright voice came from beside the throne. "[excited]Oh! You're the person from the hallway last night!" Solange stood up. The greatsword clattered as it nearly fell, but she caught it with one hand. Shouldering it, she walked straight toward Kuro. The courtiers murmured. "[excited]Buff person! I ended up defeating all the monsters by myself—but hey, if you'd given me a buff like yesterday, wouldn't it have been like three times easier? There was a goblin group, and the first seven went down quick, but the last one had fast legs, so it took a while to chase it down. I wish I'd had a buff for that part." King Philibert stopped the enthusiastically reporting princess with a heavy sigh. "Solange. This is an audience chamber." "[surprised]Oh, right. Sorry, Father." The moment she apologized, Solange was already gazing at Kuro again. Her clear azure eyes shone with pure curiosity. Two voices erupted simultaneously in Kuro's mind. One said—isn't this existence the embodiment of the ideal I've dreamed of for 35 years? The other said—wait. There's no way someone like me would catch the attention of something like this. Seal it. Seal it immediately. Erase it now. King Philibert spoke again. Questions about his abilities as a Buff Mage. His experience in actual combat. And—the threat coming from the north. The Goldra Coalition Army. A military alliance of twelve tribes from the northern highlands united under Groflik, with a total force of 48,000 orcs. The combat strength of individual soldiers was equivalent to three human knights. This Goldra Coalition was advancing toward Halgeit, a fortress city at the northern edge of Deluxia. "With a single Buff Mage, our military strength would change. Therefore, I wish to assign you to the princess's guard unit and consider countermeasures." Kuro accepted those words while quietly calculating in his mind. Buff Mages—specialists in auxiliary magic that temporarily amplified others' physical abilities, magical power, and mental fortitude—numbered only about 200 across the entire continent. Serving at court meant an annual salary five times that of a knight. On the battlefield, one could multiply a unit's combat strength by two to three times. The reason for their rarity was simple: without innate talent, no amount of training could make one capable of learning the craft. The terms were good. There was no reason to refuse. And when he glanced sideways at Solange's face, she was still looking at him with evident enjoyment. (So this is… my charge.) --- On the first day of guard duty, Solange was already gone by breakfast. "[serious]…She's disappeared again." Lucian was holding his head in the dining hall. When Kuro asked for details, he learned that a report of a Garmwolf—a magical wolf over two meters long that inhabited the primordial forest "Aldo's Deep Green" forty kilometers east of Blanche—had come in last night, and that Solange had obtained this information before her four guards. "[angry]She's like this every time! The moment she gets information, she charges in alone. Half the battle's already over before we can catch up!" Kuro borrowed a horse. He entered the eastern edge of the Deep Green Forest about half an hour after departure. As the density of trees increased, the sound of birds faded. The smell of dead leaves and damp soil. Ancient claw marks appeared on more and more trees. He heard a voice. More precisely—the sound of metal singing, something flying through the air, and a cheerful "Got it!" In a clearing beyond the thicket, Solange stood. A small group of goblins—small magical beasts about half human height that preferred group behavior—roughly ten of them surrounded her. Solange stood in their center with her greatsword raised, clearly enjoying herself. The sleeves of her lightweight tunic were already torn, and she had a grazing wound on her left arm. "Distance is good." Kuro dismounted and entered the thirty-meter casting range. His right hand—the stigma marking him as a Buff Mage, inscribed at his rebirth—glowed faintly. He drew magical power from deep in his chest and poured it into his target. Strength enhancement buff applied to Solange. The change was immediate. The trajectory of the greatsword changed. Same movements as before, but the speed was clearly different. And the power—tripled. The shockwave from sending one goblin flying knocked three more into the air simultaneously. Three seconds. Total annihilation. The moment Kuro exhaled in relief— Solange spun around, her eyes blazing. "[excited]This! This feeling! It's completely different from before!!" And she swung the greatsword with all her might. "[excited]Amazing! It's so light! Why!? I can swing it more!!" The first massive tree fell from its roots. Boom. The second. Boom. The third. Boom. Kuro couldn't speak. By the principles of Buff magic, the caster couldn't control the target's movements. Whatever the strengthened person did was their choice. He understood that logically. But seeing it actually applied to the princess before his eyes was an entirely different matter. The fourth tree. The fifth. The last one fell directly toward Kuro. "Shit." He dove sideways with all his strength. BOOM! The ground shook beneath him. As he rolled, his lower back hit a stone, and sharp pain shot through him. Covered in dirt, lying on his back, Kuro's vision was filled with golden hair leaning over him. "[gentle]Are you okay?" Solange was offering her hand. Her face was open and unguarded. "…I'm fine." "But I want you to come every day! It's completely different with a buff!" Kuro looked at that smile and wore a complicated expression. It was the day he came to understand the meaning of "putting the cart before the horse" firsthand. --- A short walk from the goblin subjugation, there was a clearing where dappled sunlight filtered through. Solange sat down on a tree root and patted the space beside her. Kuro sat down a little distance away, suppressing the pain in his lower back. "[curious]Hey." "Yes?" "What does reincarnation mean? Father said yesterday that you came from another world. What's your world like? Do monsters come out there too?" Kuro thought for a moment. "There are no monsters. But there was something called a 'crowded train,' which was a kind of hell." Solange tilted her head. "What's that?" "A habit where large numbers of people are crammed into a narrow metal box and transported for dozens of minutes." "[surprised]The metal box moves!?" "It does." "How!? Without horses!?" "It runs on electricity." "What's electricity?" "It's like artificially created lightning. That's what makes the box run." Solange's eyes grew wider and wider. "[excited]That's amazing! But if everyone hates it, why do they ride it? They could just escape." Kuro thought for a moment. "If you escape, you can't go to work. Without work, you can't survive." "…" Solange fell silent. It was rare. She stared at Kuro's face for a moment, then spoke quietly. "Isn't that harder than war?" Kuro laughed without meaning to. She had a way of hitting the core of things without any intention. This kind of naturalness couldn't be trained into someone. After the laughter faded, Kuro felt something warm quietly filling the depths of his chest. In his previous 35 years, no one had ever looked at him with shining eyes and asked, "Tell me about your world." Not family. Not coworkers. No one had ever taken pure interest in his story—ever. That loneliness was slowly melting away in this moment. That's why he became afraid. (If I get used to this, it's over. Don't expect anything. It won't last. It never lasts for someone like me.) Kuro was about to cut the conversation short when he opened his mouth— "[excited]I want to hear more! What does the inside of that metal box smell like? It must smell amazing, right!?" He was stopped. In the end, they talked until the sun began to set. --- They returned to the castle at dusk. Shortly after Kuro returned the horse and began walking through the castle corridors, footsteps approached from ahead. "So you're the reincarnated Buff Mage." The woman who spoke was slightly older than Kuro. Around twenty-seven, perhaps. Behind round glasses, intelligent brown eyes. A deep indigo robe, with several small notebooks tucked into her belt. She had refined features and was beautiful, but she showed no smile whatsoever—instead, she looked at Kuro as if she'd discovered a rare mineral. Layla Verne—the court mage of Deluxia Kingdom, researching the structural formula of Buff magic. She explained this in almost a single breath. "I'd like you to cooperate with my experiments. Living data on Buff Mages barely exists on the continent. If you'd allow me to examine your magical structure in detail, it would be of tremendous academic value." As she spoke, she'd already grasped Kuro's wrist. She was taking his pulse. Kuro's mind became slightly confused. (A woman… holding my wrist at this distance… h