"A stone?"
"I think the key is this half-rune."
"It looks like something very ancient. I've never seen it before. If even Lady Nanoda doesn't recognize it..."
Yuna took the mysterious stone, examined it closely, and shook her head.
Nanoda also felt somewhat helpless. In truth, her age was mostly just a number. Since she transmigrated here, she hadn't inherited her predecessor's memories; she only gained a name and that difficult-to-control power.
If it were Serie, that genuine old elf geezer from the Mythical Era, she might have some clues.
However, for now, Nanoda still didn't want to make contact with Serie. Although she might not necessarily lose if her power went out of control, being targeted at this stage would likely be somewhat troublesome.
"Then it can't be helped. I'll go ask Qual and Aura later."
Saying that, Nanoda put the stone away and prepared to resume meditating. Although this operation by the nations of the Central Lands was destined to be a fruitless endeavor, Nanoda couldn't waste this free time either.
Beside her, Yuna seemed to remember something, looking a bit hesitant.
"What's wrong?"
"Um... Lady Nanoda, do you remember that mana stone I gave you back when you left Gaderia? Do you still have it?"
"Oh, you mean that? I'm keeping it safe and sound."
Nanoda pointed to her own stomach, which made Yuna very confused.
"Because carrying it on me still poses a risk of losing it, I just put it directly in here. Do you want me to take it out and show you?"
Seemingly understanding Nanoda's meaning, Yuna covered her mouth in shock, blinking several times.
"You... ate it?!"
This was a situation Yuna had never anticipated.
"To be precise, it's stored inside my stomach. The anatomy of the Demon Race is different from that of Humans. Previously, my broken horn was also stuffed inside my body, and when I took it out, it was still perfectly intact."
"Want to see? I can take it out right now. Hmm, I can sort of feel it... it's probably around here."
As she spoke, Nanoda extended a hand shaped like a knife blade, looking as if she were about to slice her stomach open to retrieve the object.
Seeing this, Yuna hurriedly grabbed her arm.
"Please don't! It will definitely hurt... I believe you!"
"It's fine. For me, something of this degree can only be considered a minor injury. It's just reaching into my body to grab something."
Yuna's grip on her arm tightened, and her face turned somewhat pale.
"No, no matter how you think about it, this is weird! A normal person would die from excessive blood loss doing that!"
"I'm a Demon, and my regenerative abilities are very strong. Look, it's true, I really did put it in here."
"I said I believe you! Please stop mutilating yourself."
Seeing Yuna's anxious expression, Nanoda temporarily relented.
"Alright, alright, I won't take it out."
"Really?"
"I swear."
Only then did Yuna let go of her arm. But before she could even heave a sigh of relief, she heard a sickening 'squelch'. The next moment, a mana stone stained with dark red appeared before her eyes. The originally green mana stone mixed with the red blood, reflecting a slight lemon-yellow gleam, causing her brain to instantly crash.
"See? I told you."
As she spoke, Nanoda even rubbed the mana stone in her hands, wiping away the residual red upon it.
At this moment, Yuna's eyes suddenly reddened, forcefully suppressing the discomfort in her heart.
"Didn't I say you didn't need to prove it?!"
"Ehe."
Nanoda balled one hand into a loose fist and lightly knocked on her own head. Combined with her expressionless face, she looked somewhat adorkable.
It was also at this moment that Yuna realized Nanoda was surprisingly stubborn.
Half a month later.
The investigation into the barrier had finally yielded some leads.
Back then, even a Mage with over a thousand years of experience—Frieren—took two months to crack Böse's barrier. This demonstrated Böse's mastery over barriers.
Even after his death, Böse had left behind plenty of trouble for Humans.
Yuna was actually doing quite well. She usually joined the Mages sent by the Continental Magic Association in attempting to analyze this barrier left behind by Böse. She also learned a great deal about barrier magic from those Mages.
It had to be said that under the management of the Continental Magic Association, humanity's magical endeavors had seen tremendous development, with outstanding Mages emerging in an endless stream.
As for Nanoda, she had been eating military rations lately to the point of nearly throwing up.
The military rations for this army from the nations of the Central Lands consisted mainly of hard bread, with very little dried meat. Moreover, both the bread and the dried meat were as hard as rocks and utterly tasteless. Although it was slightly better than Linie's dark cuisine, eating too much of it was genuinely unbearable.
Nanoda was already missing the food in Gaderia.
"Denken, I want to file a complaint. What is the deal with your military rations?"
At this time, Denken and Lerne were outside the barrier's veil discussing something, each gnawing on a piece of dried meat in their mouths.
Yuna followed behind Nanoda, looking somewhat embarrassed.
"Eating rations like this, how will the soldiers have the strength to fight once the barrier is broken?!"
Knowing that there were likely no Demons left inside the barrier, Nanoda still found an excuse just to improve their meals.
Some soldiers standing guard also sneaked glances over.
"My apologies, I suppose it was an oversight on my part. Because this barrier has delayed us for so long, the supplies from the nations of the Central Lands were mostly consumed on the way here. Now, as you can see, we only have these easily stored dry rations left."
Denken habitually adjusted his monocle, while Lerne quietly leaned closer.
"Uh, to be honest, Denken, I'd like to eat something decent too..."
Lerne was born a noble. After encountering a bottleneck while studying magic at the Continental Magic Association, he attempted to join the army to improve his magical strength and simultaneously earn military merits.
"Sigh... how about this. I'll go apply for a new batch of supplies. Before that, everyone just try to endure it. You're right, military rations affect army morale, so it really should be improved."
Unlike the era of war with the Demon Race, Humans had now entered an era of peace, and resources were no longer scarce. Denken knew that compared to the wealthy kingdoms of the Southern Lands and the militaristic Northern Empire, the nations of the Central Lands were relatively stingy.
And in reality, most of the nations of the Central Lands had splintered from a unified empire a thousand years ago. Disunity was only natural.
The army was hastily cobbled together, and the military rations supplied were meager. It was no wonder that when the Demon Race marched south back then, many of the nations of the Central Lands were wiped out.
Their current alliance was merely to guard against the resurgent Northern Empire, which showed a trend of uniting the world. In truth, they all harbored their own hidden agendas.
Today everyone was an ally, but tomorrow a civil war could break out and wipe out your nation; it wasn't an impossible scenario.
However, Denken had already thought of a reason and was fully confident in securing new military rations. He was, after all, quite talented and capable when it came to political maneuvering.
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