“Hello, freshman. It’s been a while since the ball, hasn’t it?”

When Nigel raised her head, Oliver was grinning.

Gone was the time when he was groaning about graduation; now Oliver’s skin was glowing.

“You look better than last time, senior.”

“It shows, doesn’t it? I finished the first draft of my graduation thesis.”

“Ah, congratulations.”

Nigel answered lifelessly and quickly turned her head.

Unfortunately, Oliver’s words were faster than Nigel’s hand reaching for the teleportation stone.

“Why don’t you listen first before deciding, hm?”

Nigel nodded silently.

“One. As a responsible student council president, I feel obligated to fulfill a promise made to our department’s freshman before graduating.

Two. Also, as the student council president, I’m somewhat uncomfortable leaving the highest scorer in our department alone at the academy during the holiday.

Lastly, three. You won’t have to face adults throughout the holiday. Our family uniquely holds family gatherings during the harvest festival. The library is closed during the harvest festival holiday.”

“…Where is it?”

“The capital, Solef. It’s only an hour by carriage from the academy. Our original family home was in the east, but we moved the main house to Solef unanimously because there’s a master book restorer there.”

Having finished speaking, Oliver extended his hand to Nigel and wiggled his fingers frivolously.

“So. Are you going or not?”

It was an utterly shameless attitude, as if saying ‘you won’t be able to resist coming’.

Nigel was greatly interested in the Wellider family’s library, said to house all the information in this continent. But when asking herself if she really needed to go now, the answer was no.

More than rare books, she needed to firmly correct her deranged heart that had fallen in love with her elder sister’s man, by any means necessary before it deepened further.

‘But it would be a shame to miss such a good opportunity.’

Nigel rubbed her chin, falling into thought for a moment.

“Have you decided?”

“I’m still thinking.”

“What’s there to think about? Just shout ‘Thank you, senior!’ loudly and come along.”

“You know what it means to be stuck with you for four days, don’t you?”

Nigel said playfully.

“Ah. You’re already at a loss, wondering what to do if your heart bursts from being with me for four days?”

Of course, Oliver wasn’t one to fall for such shallow teasing.

‘…Patience, he’s my senior.’

Nigel, with a sour face, exercised superhuman patience in controlling her fist that was about to fly out.

Nigel nearly lost her patience at Oliver’s frivolous laughter, but ultimately she inwardly applauded her self-control for safely overcoming it.

‘Why does this emotion, so easy to control, become a bubble in front of Noah?’

No matter how many times she asked herself, the answer never came.

“If it’s difficult, how about coming to our house?”

As if that thought had been a prophecy, Nigel’s mouth opened on its own, about to accept Noah’s words.

Nigel forcibly turned her head away from Noah and looked at Oliver’s annoying face.

“…Can I think about it and let you know?”

“Of course. Just let me know by lunchtime tomorrow.”

Knock knock.

Amidst everyone being busy preparing to go home, someone knocked on Nigel’s door.

Nigel, who had been studying at her desk, stood up abruptly.

“…Professor Nubilus is waiting. Hurry and go.”

Stella said, watching Nigel’s expression. As soon as Nigel thanked her for delivering the message, Stella quickly turned away.

Nigel squeezed her body through the gap of the door that was about to close. Fortunately, her body slipped out without any injury.

Nigel spoke to the terrified Stella.

“Don’t worry too much about what happened at the ball, it’s fine.”

Stella blinked several times at Nigel’s words.

While it was true that Stella had behaved inappropriately at the ball, watching her be wary of others due to her reputation at the academy deteriorating because of that incident didn’t sit well with Nigel.

Stella remained silent for a while before slowly opening her mouth.

“…Alright.”

Leaving that short word, Stella quickly turned her back.

And in that fleeting moment, a faint voice saying ‘sorry’ was heard.

Snicker.

Nigel went down to the dormitory with a light heart.

“Ah, Bodley! Over here, over here!”

As soon as Nubilus saw Nigel’s black hair, he waved his hands vigorously.

To keep the contract with Nubilus, Nigel had advocated for opinions favorable to Gwangsil and Nubilus in the interview attended by Widrun and Heres.

And today, finally, it was decided to maintain the current status for Gwangsil’s disposition.

Heres, who tended to be overly fond of students, seemed displeased with the result but understood, saying it was good since it was Nigel’s wish.

Also, Nubilus became very, very favorable towards Nigel.

“It wouldn’t be strange to say that humans built civilization on betrayal and lies, so honestly, I only half-believed you even though you’re an immature Bodley…! Thanks to you, I can live with Gwangsil. Thank you so much! I should give Gwangsil a special treat today!”

After giving Nigel a thank-you that wasn’t really a thank-you, Nubilus had already immersed himself in his world full of magical beasts and magical plants.

“Magic stones or jewels with magic are too obvious, so magic-infused soil might be good too. Ah! Giving a luminous flower would also be a great idea!”

Nigel, who had been listening to Nubilus without any self-awareness, suddenly flinched. And stared intently at Nubilus.

“What did you just say?”

“Huh? Oh? Magic stones or jewels are too obvious…”

“Not that.”

“Magic-infused soil?”

“No. The last thing.”

Nubilus, who had been rejoicing even in front of Heres who was forcing a smile at Gwangsil’s disposition result without fear, blinked and opened his mouth.

“Luminous… flower?”

Hearing those words, Nigel’s aura suddenly became so fierce it seemed about to devour Nubilus.

“By luminous flower, you mean the glowing flower, right? The flower that only naturally forms in places full of magic.”

Nod nod nod, Nubilus kept nodding his head up and down.

“Bo-Bodley, do you want to try a bite of the luminous flower to celebrate Gwangsil’s liberation? It-it’s precious, but since I let you research Aldonggli, I’ll specially give you one flower.”

“Alright.”

Contrary to Nubilus’s expectation that she would immediately refuse, Nigel nodded and took out a teleportation stone.

“Are… you going right now?”

“Yes, I want to eat it right away.”

There was not a trace of playfulness on that face, with eyes blazing as if they were about to catch fire.

Nubilus, feeling unpredictability from a human rather than a magical beast for the first time in a very long time, gently placed his hand on Nigel’s teleportation stone.

Blink.

When Nubilus opened his eyes, the surroundings had already changed from the principal’s office to the annex.

“…Now I understand. I’ve always wondered how Bodley, who’s bad at finding her way, manages school life, but it was thanks to the teleportation stone.”

Even at Nubilus’s best attempt at a joke to lighten the mood, Nigel’s face showed no change, busy muttering “luminous flower” with her lips.

That sight was similar to seeing himself in a mirror when he was completely absorbed in researching magical beasts.

Nubilus, engaging in self-reflection for the first time since coming to the capital, grabbed Nigel who was about to run off in another direction and went down to the basement of the annex.

“Bo-Bodley? Do you want to observe Aldonggli first? I’ve derived meaningful results.”

Nigel was tempted for a moment but soon returned to her original expression.

“No. The luminous flower is more important than my egg.”

Realizing that look in her eyes wouldn’t change, Nubilus sighed and led Nigel to the deepest part of the laboratory.

The modest room felt stuffy with heat as soon as they stepped in after opening the door. Following that, a dense magic was felt even without intentionally sensing it. And in one corner of the room, there was a flower glowing in cool, colorful lights.

Nigel couldn’t take her eyes off that flower and stared at it intently.

“Bu-but you must know this. The luminous flower has so much magic that it could kill a magic-rich human child like Bodley if eaten…”

As Nigel’s aura became like Gwangsil’s when faced with a magic stone, Nubilus firmly grabbed Nigel’s arm and spoke quietly.

“…Don’t worry, I have no intention of eating it.”

Nigel turned her head slightly to answer. Only then did Nubilus relax and let go of Nigel’s arm. As soon as her body was free, Nigel sprang like a coiled spring to observe the luminous flower.

And she began to bombard Nubilus with questions.

Starting from things everyone would be curious about, like the conditions of the environment where the flower blooms and the characteristics of its habitat, the content of the questions gradually narrowed down to specifics.

Nubilus, who was explaining the typical flower forms that appear in luminous flowers, stopped mid-sentence and blinked. Then, tilting his head, he said:

“…Bodley, I’m just asking in case, but you’re not looking for a glowing rose, are you?”

“…!”

Nigel’s body instantly stiffened, hit right on the mark.

“I see. But it’s better to give up.”

Pat pat. Nubilus patted Nigel’s shoulder, looking at her pitifully.

This time, Nigel tilted her head.

“The rumor that the glowing rose cures any disease is indeed true, but that rose has already disappeared due to human greed. Hmm… it might be difficult to give up, but I’ll introduce you to some effective potions or divine items! Believe it or not, I have some connections in the healing field.”

As if saying to trust only him, Nubilus confidently pounded his chest.

“…Nigel?”

But no matter how many times Nubilus called, Nigel only blinked blankly.