Someone might wonder; why was Ellis being so fixated on Silas?
Was it just because she was beautiful and had big breasts?
Naturally, no... Okay, maybe that was part of it. But it alone was never enough!
Ellis wasn't someone so desperate for the opposite sex... someone who had never even held a woman's hand in his entire life.
… No, he was someone who had a few girlfriends and had done everything that could be done.
So then, why was he so drawn to this particular maid? He had already been cared for by many maids before her, yet when they stopped tending to him after his move to this palace, and didn't even come together, he hadn't cared at all.
The reason was actually simple- it was her personality, her behavior.
The way she took care of him, the way she fed him.
The way she conducted herself, how she humbled herself before him.
The carefulness with which she handled his small body.
How she didn't just meet his needs but even tried anticipated them, moving before he even expressed them… like how she would adjust his position when he seemed to be getting uncomfortable, and bring him against her soft breasts; his favorite place already.
Bringing his bottle the moment hunger struck.
Slowing her movements when he was drowsy.
All of it, without the slightest irritation, without boredom, without annoyance. Without complaint.
It was addicting!
And sometimes, Ellis would even forget how he was an abandoned son, but a treasured one instead, due to it.
To that extent!
Then, was there any discomfort in being fed, considering he was an adult inside?
Naturally, no!
He felt pampered, and it was nice!
If anything, the real issue wasn't being fed—it was having to rely on someone else to take care of his other needs. That was humiliating.
And the worst part? He had no control over it in this body!
Anyway, that embarrassing topic aside, back to the present—Ellis was alone in the room.
His eyes were closed, and while keeping just enough awareness to avoid falling asleep, he was giving his all to enter that state.
That empty, clear-minded concentration... or whatever it was!
Ellis focused all his attention on his body, trying to sense something he had never possessed before: mana. It was a force he'd lived without his entire life, something he'd only read about in novels and stories. Nothing more.
For nearly ten days, he'd been at it, meditating… or attempting to meditate is more correct?
He was trying to make sense of something he could not yet grasp. And the results naturally had been not that optimistic.
This in turn led him to form assumptions. He had thought he would first gain the meditation skill, then feel the mana. But as always, reality shattered those expectations.
This time, though, it betrayed him in the most unexpected, yet pleasant way.
As after only a brief moment, like a bolt of lightning or a sudden flash of inspiration, he felt it. The subtle presence deep within him.
At first, it was faint… so faint that he feared the slightest distraction might make it slip away. Worse yet, it could be nothing more than his imagination, a trick of his mind, shaped by his relentless obsession with sensing the mana inside his body recently.
His body tensed, instinct urging him to follow the sensation and disregard all else.
So, he gathered his focus, clinging to the feeling, determined not to let it slip away.
And then, in that fragile moment, he caught it.
He felt like he saw a calm sea, a cloud—seemingly there, yet not. And it was blue.
The sea, that was calm, had suddenly stirred.
Was it because of him? Had his discovery, his action of sensing it, caused something to change?
Ellis wasn't sure, but he tried to cling to the sensation. He tried to interact with the blue, foreign sparks that were forming this sea inside him, and had now suddenly gone rampant.
But, his actions caused the already restless mana inside his body to stir even more.
It was like a wave starting from a single point and rapidly spreading throughout his entire body.
The strain on his body, on his mind, grew immense.
Nevertheles, he tried to adujust himself… to push himself through this strain, with every bit of concentration he could muster.
He attempted to interact with the mana, to feel it… and hopefully control it.
But his will alone was not enough, apparently, as the strain became unbearable eventually.
His mind burned with the thoughts that he should push through regardless of anything, but as the wave of mana surged through him, the sensation became overwhelming.
The pressure mounted, and before Ellis could even comprehend what was happening, he felt his awareness slip away.
With a sudden and unexpected wave of exhaustion, he lost consciousness.
...
[You have learned the skill Mana Sense Lv.1]
[Mana Sense (Active) Lv.1]
By consuming mental strength, you will be able to sense the mana inside your body more easily.
As soon as he regained consciousness, Ellis found himself staring at the glowing system window before him, reading the description of his new skill. And after a moment of silence, he thought in his mind, 'So, was the reason I lost consciousness because of my weak mental strength?'
[Not just that. But yes. With your soul still unrecovered, your small body, and other factors that must be accounted for... it naturally makes things more straining for you.]
Ellis barely paid attention to the mention of his soul or body. Instead, his mind fixated on the vague mention of "other factors." What else was Aurora referring to? He was tempted to ask but decided against it. He had already gotten the answer he wanted.
His mental strength would naturally increase over time. More importantly, he had already learned a skill!
That meant things should probably get easier from now on, right?
A sense of satisfaction welled up within him. He had finally taken the first step toward the future he dreamed of, after all.
… And like that, time passed.