I Was Reincarnated As The Older Brother Of A Villainess Destined to Die, So I Want To Change The Future By Raising My Younger Sister With My Own Hands. I Am The Strongest In The World, But My Little Sister Must Be The Cutest In The World - Volume 3 Chapter 3.6

“What business do you have with my disciple, Nina?” I asked straightforwardly.

“What are you talking about?” the Count feigned ignorance, his eyes darting around and beads of sweat forming on his forehead. It was astonishing that he could even utter those words under the circumstances.

Letting out an intentionally exaggerated sigh, I intensified the pressure on him.

“You can’t deceive me or lie your way out of this. I’ll ask you again. What is your purpose concerning Nina?”

“Eeek!”

As my voice laced with killing intent reached his ears, the Count’s legs gave way, and he stumbled back, trembling in fear. His emotions were colored by sheer terror, leaving no room for acting.

I had merely given him a light warning, yet for someone who wasn’t a combat professional, this was likely the expected reaction.

Witnessing his pitiful state, I couldn’t help but feel disappointed.

—But I never let my guard down. I had to admit, my focus wavered slightly, but I remained attentive to the Count’s movements.

Nevertheless, I couldn’t prevent such a subtle action as “touching the ring.” Even with my strengthened body, I couldn’t react faster than such a small movement.

“Haah!”

“Gyaaah!”

Sensing the ominous presence, I kicked the Count’s hand away just in time. However, it had already triggered… whatever it was.

In the next instant, an unpleasant sensation coursed through my entire body—or rather, through the world itself.

“What is… this!?”

I dropped to my knees, overwhelmed by an intense headache that robbed my limbs of strength.

The pain in my head was excruciating. It felt as if a nail had been driven directly into my brain, threatening to shatter my consciousness. My vision spun, and I struggled to gather my thoughts.

Taking deep breaths, I fought to endure the pain. Even the slightest relaxation would render me helpless. With sheer determination, I focused on assessing the situation and organizing my thoughts.

…Most likely, mana manipulation is being hindered, causing the difficulty to increase drastically. As a result, my brain processing is unable to keep up. Indeed, the spell “Bauler de Tesoro” is starting to crumble, and the “Disguise” is wavering like electronic noise.

Neutral magic tests the power of mana manipulation more than any other magic. It requires bold and precise manipulation of immense mana, compressing and moving it in an instant.

Through training, I have reached a point where I can control it even unconsciously, but the current situation has overwhelmed me. It is abnormal and a critical situation.

There is no longer any doubt. That ring is likely the cause of this situation. Moreover, despite breaking it with my previous attack, mana manipulation is still being hindered. It appears to be a type of magical tool that maintains its effect for a certain period once activated.

I have never heard of a magical tool that interferes with mana manipulation. Neither the information gathered by Foranada nor my knowledge of games included anything similar. In fact, I couldn’t even detect mana, and it’s doubtful whether it is truly a magical tool.

While desperately maintaining my “Disguise” — the “Otherworld” is beyond saving — I look at the Count. He is there, clutching his shattered hand and crying out pathetically.

It will be difficult to extract information from him in that state. Moreover, the Count’s behavior up until now was genuine. If there were such a hidden trump card, it would be unnatural for him to be so afraid.

The conclusion that can be drawn from this is that the Count didn’t fully grasp the effect of the ring. There must be someone behind Count Putepe, someone who handed him the ring as a trump card.

“Ah, I see.”

Suddenly, an idea occurs to me.

The mastermind may not have anticipated the extent to which the effect would be manifested. After all, even if they intended to interfere with mana manipulation, the perceived difficulty has practically doubled. With regular elemental magic, it would have only resulted in significantly increased mana consumption. The current situation is undoubtedly the result of being a neutral magic practitioner specializing in inherently high-difficulty magic.

However, remaining on my knees won’t do. “Otherworld Bauler de Tesoro” is about to collapse completely, exposing both me and Count Putepe to the outside world.

It’s uncertain whether the mastermind is monitoring us through an alternate route, but it’s not a situation where we can casually reveal ourselves. If this situation is exposed, it will be noticed that my magic is of a neutral attribute.

Fortunately, since I’ve abandoned the maintenance of “Otherworld Bauler de Tesoro,” the headache has lessened compared to before. However, I still experience a level of pain that makes me dizzy, but I can’t afford to complain.

I admonish myself and slowly rise to my feet. Every movement causes the “Disguise” to sway unnaturally, but I have no room to be concerned about it.

By the way, even if the burden lessens, I have no intention of releasing the “Disguise.” I don’t want to leave even the slightest chance of my true identity leaking to the outside.

Finally, after a struggle, I manage to stand up and approach the Count. He is still crying out, completely oblivious to my approach.

When I reach the Count’s side, I activate the “Phase Concealment Cover Texture.” The headache intensifies, but there’s no other choice.

I retrieve a sturdy rope and proceed to bind him with it. Naturally, I conduct a thorough body search to see if he possesses anything else of significance.

At the moment when Count Putepe, who had been causing a nuisance, was knocked unconscious, the “Otherworld Bauler de Tesoro” completely collapsed, and we returned to our original world.

“Telepathy… is impossible.”

I considered contacting my subordinates, but it was difficult to unleash any more magic.

Due to fully shifting into “Telepathy,” I regretted not bringing the “Long-Distance Communication” magical tool. I couldn’t have anticipated such a turn of events.

??Switch gears. There’s no point in regretting now. Due to the interference with mana manipulation, the range of my detection spells has drastically decreased to a radius of only ten meters. I can avoid unexpected attacks, but I won’t be able to sense any surveillance. I should quickly withdraw. If I can distance myself from this location, the effects of interference are likely to diminish.

I lifted the fallen Count Putepe and started walking with heavy steps.

However, my progress was immediately halted. I had no choice but to stop.

“Damn it.”

A curse slipped out involuntarily.

The reason being that Nina was standing before me.

Her figure, flickering like a heat haze, firmly recognized the wavering me.

“What’s going on?”

Nina’s softly spoken words made it clear that there was no more room for deception.