The one who broke the silence that had continued for a while, with even the orchestra’s music stopped in a situation that was neither heard nor seen, was none other than the Grand Priest of the capital.

“No change even after drinking the holy water imbued with divine power… I see.”

He stared at Kyle intently with narrowed eyes, as if measuring him.

“Northern Grand Priest, do you also not sense any divine power from Candidate Kyle?”

“Yes…”

“This fact may seem very complicated to human eyes, but if we raise our gaze upward, it can be extremely simple.”

“You mean…!”

“Yes, what the Northern Grand Priest suspects is correct.”

At that moment, colorful light passing through the stained glass shone upon Kyle.

“It means that the Goddess does not desire this young man’s body.”

“But in such a case…”

The Northern Grand Priest frowned slightly and trailed off.

As the priest appointment ceremony is held only once every four years, he wanted to conclude it without any mistakes, but to think that a candidate not recognized by the Goddess had appeared.

There was nothing more dishonorable for the temple than this.

“Surely, Grand Priest, you wouldn’t value the temple’s honor over the Goddess’s will, would you?”

“…Of course, naturally that’s the case. The Goddess’s will is what I must serve and worship for my entire life.”

The Northern Grand Priest smiled gently and clasped his hands reverently, as if he had never frowned.

The capital’s Grand Priest slowly approached Kyle with steady steps.

“Unfortunately, it seems the Goddess wishes for you to spread her name widely in the world outside the temple rather than within it.”

Though he was clearly speaking to Kyle, strangely, it felt as if his gaze was fixed on Nigel wrapped in a robe.

The priest’s uniquely refreshing and crisp atmosphere only gave Nigel an unpleasant feeling, and Nigel tried not to move while keeping the robe deeply draped.

“Our meeting may end here, but within the Goddess, we are no different from family. Please remember this without fail.”

Having finished speaking, the two Grand Priests sent Nigel and the two of them out of the temple.

“…Has a real miracle occurred?”

As he followed Kyle out of the temple, Kyle turned to look at Nigel with an unbelieving face.

“It seems so.”

Nigel calmly raised the corners of her mouth.

“They say the Goddess bestows miracles upon those who seek them.”

Despite Nigel’s banter, the expression of the skeptical Kyle showed no signs of relaxing.

“Not developing divine power even after drinking the holy water means I have no affinity for divine power, but the day before the appointment ceremony, the test clearly showed high affinity. And currently, there’s no known method to manipulate affinity.”

Nigel’s eyes sharpened for a moment, but immediately softened when they met Kyle’s gaze.

“…That’s what they call a miracle, I suppose. What does it matter? It’s all good.”

Kyle pondered deeply over the unsolved puzzle but eventually gave up and turned away.

‘…That was close.’

Only then did Nigel loosen her tightly clenched fist.

Kyle was right.

It wasn’t the will of the Goddess who didn’t recognize Kyle as a priest that took away the divine power affinity that causes divine power to manifest, but none other than Nigel.

And all the credit for this went to Widrun, or more precisely, the mad dog of the original work.

It all started last night.

Unable to persuade Kyle no matter what, racking her brains and pondering over and over for a solution, Nigel finally recalled the story of the mad dog who controlled and used divine power, leading to a crazy idea.

But it was an idea that the mad dog could certainly come up with.

It was to temporarily steal the priest’s divine power affinity to prevent them from manifesting divine power, and then use this as an excuse to drive out a perfectly fine priest from the temple.

With the strange conviction that the mad dog must have attempted this, Nigel contacted Widrun via communication stone last night.

“Did the mad dog ever steal a priest’s divine power affinity?”

−…Nigel, how did you know about that?

Got it!

Nigel felt grateful to the mad dog for the first time.

And so that night, Nigel and Widrun discussed how to steal divine power affinity until dawn, munching on chocolate cookies.

As a result, this morning, Nigel completely stole Kyle’s divine power affinity by kissing the back of his hand under the pretext of congratulating him on his appointment.

After briefly worrying about what to do if Kyle didn’t regret his choice, everything flowed easily thanks to Sid’s tearful persuasion.

And once again, the gazes of the two brothers, who had been far apart, met.

In front of Kyle, dressed in pure white priest robes, stood Sid, sobbing without knowing why.

Kyle couldn’t approach Sid readily and just stared at him for a long while.

Then.

“…Won’t you return to the family with me?”

Kyle extended his hand to Sid.

Sid grasped Kyle’s hand tightly without a moment’s hesitation.

And so, the brotherly quarrel, long if considered long and short if considered short, came to an end.

“‘Shocking! The secret surrounding the Cromwell family’s succession ceremony’, ‘Kyle Cromwell’s mysterious trip to the temple, the cause a love escape?'”

Oliver’s exaggerated high-pitched voice pierced Nigel’s ears.

Nigel’s vision was filled with dangling graduation cap tassels and newspaper article headlines written in large bold letters.

“What’s your intention in reading the Cromwell family’s article titles to me, of all days, on graduation day?”

Nigel pushed away with all her might, but Oliver, far from distancing himself, only drew closer.

“Hmm… If you look around you, Nigel, wouldn’t the answer be obvious?”

As Oliver’s breath whispered softly in her ear, Nigel flinched and frowned.

At that moment, Sid Cromwell, who was being thoroughly scolded by Allen, and Jayden Galloway, who had been conversing with a classmate, quickly approached.

“…Nigel! You don’t look well. What’s wrong?”

“Oliver, are you bothering the junior even on graduation day?”

Then, Oliver’s sharp gaze, demanding an explanation of what was going on, turned towards Nigel.

Yes, a lot had happened.

Thanks to a miracle that occurred by chance, the Cromwell brothers safely completed their succession ceremony, and Nigel was able to easily arrange a meeting between Zeronin and Jayden under the pretext of her divine power being discovered by the temple.

Unable to eavesdrop on Zeronin and Jayden’s conversation for privacy reasons, the brightness of their faces suggested that things had ended well between them.

She thought that would be the end of it, but she had no idea that the way the two treated Nigel would change.

The two, who had previously maintained a strong sense of courtesy towards Nigel as classmates and juniors, now had every small action filled with affection.

“…So everyone except Allen went to the temple?”

Meanwhile, Oliver was busy grinning as he analyzed Nigel’s situation.

“…”

“Oh ho~ Your tight-lipped silence confirms that I’m definitely right…”

At that moment, Oliver’s eyes widened blankly as if he had seen a monster.

“…Lifne?”

“Nigel, it’s been a while.”

Ignoring Oliver, Lifne naturally detached Oliver from Nigel and took over the vacant spot.

Oliver, who had been left out for a while, was only able to open his mouth after Lifne had left.

“At this rate, how about opening a counseling office after graduation?”

“What nonsense are you spouting this time?”

Oliver, undeterred by Nigel’s sour face, dared to put his arm around her shoulders.

“Why, after meeting you, both Lifne and I, and Sid and Jay, everyone’s relationship with their elder brothers improved.”

“It’s just a coincidence.”

Nigel sighed.

While other people’s relationships had improved, paradoxically, the relationship between the D’Ein ducal family and herself was like a tangled ball of thread, unsure where to begin unraveling.

And this was the same for Noah Beselion.

“I understand Nigel’s feelings, but… don’t do anything too reckless.”

Somehow knowing it was Nigel’s doing, Noah admonished her with a cold face, never meeting Nigel’s eyes.

‘…Ah, he’s still avoiding me.’

Feeling Noah’s gaze, she turned her head towards him, but those blue eyes were annoyingly focused on someone else.

This wasn’t just once or twice, but continued, and even trying to act nonchalant, a bit of hurt gradually accumulated.

With him not even making eye contact like this, Nigel tightly grasped the signet ring in her pocket, wondering if it would be possible to return it within the year.

“…gel, Nigel.”

At that moment, Oliver’s voice, which had been faint, gradually became clearer.

A familiar playful smile came into view.

Though she thought it would only be satisfying, now that she realized Oliver was graduating, a bit of sadness began to creep in.

“I understand your reluctance to part with this senior, but you still need to participate in the graduation ceremony. Ah, of course, you prepared flowers, right?”

…Thinking about it again, she seemed to feel particularly sad about not being able to use the magic department’s student council room comfortably anymore.

Nigel forced a smile and sat down in the auditorium chair.

“You found your way here well for once?”

Allen greeted her cheerfully from the next seat.

“…Ah, I’m still not over it, so don’t talk to me today.”

No, Allen, still harboring resentment over being left out when everyone except him took the Evans Trading Company’s train to the north, turned his head away abruptly.

But as the graduation ceremony showed signs of ending, he slowly inched closer to Nigel.

“What flowers did you prepare for Senior Oliver?”

“Didn’t you say not to talk earlier?”

“It’s okay for me. But you and Noah can’t speak except to answer my questions.”

It was an absurd sophistry, but Nigel swallowed her rising objection and obediently gave an answer.

“…What, it’s the same as mine? Nigel, you were secretly a sensitive person, huh?”

“…Shut up.”

“Huh? You just broke the rule!”

And as soon as the graduation ceremony ended, Nigel and Allen presented Oliver with a bouquet of yellow freesias.