Widrun’s lighthearted laughter flowed from the communication stone.

“It’s absurd, isn’t it? That Leparo is related to holy power. People are voicing their discontent, suggesting that the frustrated temple, having lost Pai, is now targeting Leparo out of spite since the saint hasn’t appeared.”

Widrun seemed to find the situation ridiculous, even as he relayed the facts.

“After believing a child’s words and imprisoning and searching all the people from your hometown, only to cower at the emperor’s command, it seems their frustration has grown, and now they’re meddling with poor Leparo.”

“…No.”

“Pardon? Nigel, what did you just say?”

Nigel barely parted her quivering lips.

“I’ll call you back in a moment, just a little later.”

As soon as she finished speaking with difficulty and withdrew the magic from the communication stone, it glowed indigo.

Nigel took a deep breath and answered the call.

“…Hey, it’s me.”

“You heard everything, didn’t you?”

Trying to act as if nothing had happened was futile in front of Zeronin.

“Yes.”

Nigel quickly admitted the truth with a sigh.

“Nigel Ars. I’ve told you so many times. Release your magic regularly to avoid magic addiction.”

“More importantly, are you alright? Even with an anonymous vault, there’s still a contract, isn’t there?”

“Yeah. I just confirmed confidentiality with the guild. That’s why I’m lecturing you now. Worry about yourself… You could really die if you’re not careful.”

Zeronin’s choked voice had never sounded so welcome as it did today, despite how unpleasant it usually was.

“What about your vault? It’s not completely blocked off, is it?”

“Strictly speaking, entry isn’t prohibited.”

“Then right now…”

Nigel’s words tumbled out in her urgency.

“Listen to the end. While access to the anonymous vault isn’t blocked, the priests are planning to make a round of inspections. It’s just a pretext; they’re actually trying to find where Leparo is hidden. Evans’ anonymous vault is a likely candidate for hiding Leparo.”

Nigel took a moment to untangle her complex thoughts, like a knotted thread, before speaking carefully.

“…By the way, how did they figure out that Leparo is similar to holy power? Surely you didn’t leak the information.”

From its initial development in the barren Tilin, when it was first used to release magic in the deep forest, Leparo had gradually evolved.

This was evident in the efficiency of the vials that could contain Nigel’s holy power, the magical plants that disguised it as holy power, and the various magical formulas engraved on the vials.

Moreover, since these formulas disappeared instantly upon contact with Nigel’s holy power, even the High Priest would have difficulty recognizing it without thoroughly examining it to the point of writing a thesis.

“…Well, it’s my father’s work.”

The Gallowway family, built and grown through potions.

In the original story, he was the one who gained great wealth and honor by reporting that holy power caused berserk reactions in magical beasts after experimenting with the potential effects of holy power while staying close to the saint.

“I’m sorry, Nigel. I tried to surpass my father, but I was caught red-handed.”

“Stop calling that man worse than a dog ‘father’ with such respect.”

He was also the one who killed his sister with potions, abused his eldest son who had the same eye color as his sister until he ran away to an orphanage, and left scars on his remaining child.

“Ron and Handel might be your fathers, but that man is not.”

A faint laugh came through the communication stone.

“You’re laughing now? When the other person was speaking seriously.”

“Yeah, it’s funny. Like a mayfly lecturing a dragon about the world.”

“So, does the developer have a plan?”

Unable to contain her irritation at the sarcastic tone, Nigel reverted to her usual manner of speaking, casting aside her worries.

“As you know, the main problem is the enormous amount of your holy power. Compared to the amount you usually release into Leparo, what you use for practice or training at the academy is just a drop or two.”

“Enormous? You know if I were in the temple, you’d be executed immediately for blasphemy?”

Zeronin continued without responding to her remark.

“It’s been almost a month and a week since you last released your magic, so you’re probably starting to get mild headaches.”

“…Yeah.”

“You know that headache medicine won’t help with magic addiction since it can only be resolved by extracting magic, right? Next week, your whole body will start to feel feverish, slightly interfering with your daily life. The week after that, you’ll find it hard to endure as your entire body feels like it’s about to shatter.”

Nigel frowned as she vividly recalled the pain of her first magic addiction at age 10, feeling as if her entire body was being burned in a pit of fire.

“Well, an even bigger problem is the light produced when releasing such vast amounts of holy power. It’s difficult to create an environment where that light doesn’t leak out, and with the temple’s heightened vigilance, they might only give you a day or two for traces of holy power to disappear. Leparo was good because traces disappeared immediately upon magic release.”

“In short, you’re saying you don’t have any solution either, Zeron?”

“That’s right.”

“Then I guess I’ll just wait quietly for my death in Sienna. Or maybe I’ll be unable to endure the magic addiction, leak holy power, and be captured by the temple as they wish.”

Nigel patted Rus, who was trembling and hiding deep in the bed after overhearing the communication stone’s contents.

“Magic addiction… Rus can’t just absorb your warm magic, what should we do, Nigel…?”

Even if Rus could freely change his body shape and swap the contractor’s magic, he couldn’t do anything about Nigel’s magic addiction.

While they could exchange magic or Rus could lend magic to Nigel, it was impossible for Rus to unilaterally take Nigel’s magic.

At that moment, the communication stone sparkled in the sunlight.

“But I’ll find a way.”

Zeronin declared, as if stating the fact that the sun rises in the morning and stars and moon appear at night.

“Yeah, I’ll hold out as long as I can, so find it. Definitely.”

“Right, stay alive until I find a way. Definitely.”

As the light from the communication stone faded, an intense headache struck almost simultaneously. Nigel closed her eyes, furrowing her brow at the sudden pain.

A dull ache spread throughout her head, making her want to let go of everything.

“Nigel… are you alright?”

At Rus’s worried voice, Nigel opened her eyes wide.

How, with what thoughts had she endured for 18 years, only to stumble over her own feet and be pathetically taken by the temple?

Nigel clenched her fist, gathering her resolve.

“Nigel, are you feeling unwell?”

Sid, who had been glancing at Nigel throughout the class, spoke up as soon as the bell rang.

“No. Nothing’s wrong.”

Nigel slowly shook her head, conscious of Noah behind her, but even that small movement caused a sharp pain in her head. Nigel endured the pain by tightly clenching her fist behind her back.

It had been a week since contacting Zeronin, and despite deliberately increasing magic training and frequently greeting Heres, who came to repair the damaged training grounds, it was, as Zeronin said, like scooping a cup of water from a massive dam.

The headaches, which used to occur once or twice a day, became more frequent, and flu-like symptoms had already taken over Nigel’s body, interfering with her daily life.

“Are you okay, Nigel?”

While she had hidden it from Sid in front of her, Noah, standing behind, noticed the deep, red nail marks on her hand.

Her palm was a mess of marks from clenching her fist every time a headache struck. Noah looked pitifully at the nail marks on Nigel’s palm that seemed about to bleed.

“Why did you clench so tightly? It hurts to see.”

Every time Noah’s careful touch met Nigel’s hand, it felt like cool rain falling on a hot desert as Nigel’s magic flowed out.

“What other reason could there be? I guess Beselion isn’t enough for you.”

At that moment, amidst the crowd leaving the classroom, someone’s sharp mockery was heard, and Noah let go of Nigel’s hand, placing his hand on the sword at his waist.

“How dare you…!”

Such backbiting had increased since Nigel’s engagement to Noah.

“Don’t.”

At Nigel’s single word, Noah’s aggressive stance, ready to draw his sword, subsided.

Nigel felt more heartbroken by Noah letting go of her hand than by the gossip of those she barely knew.

However, Nigel didn’t reach out to touch Noah first. Holding Noah’s hand would make breathing easier, but once she breathed easily, she wouldn’t be able to let go and would keep wanting him.

Her mind had organized her thoughts, but her heart, clouded by pain, burrowed deep into the wounds on her palm.

If she used magic addiction as an excuse, she could justifiably seek refuge in Noah’s embrace for treatment, and in his arms, even the brain-wringing headache would subside for a moment.

Should she really give up such a good opportunity? Really?

“…gel, Nigel!”

“Huh…?”

Noah’s stern face came into Nigel’s blurry vision.

“What’s wrong all of a sudden? You’re bleeding.”

The blood that had finally broken through the skin ran down Nigel’s palm, staining the sleeve of her shirt red.

…It feels cool.

The sensation that cleared her head was more intense than the pain from Noah’s tight grip or the sting of the wound. Nigel absent-mindedly let her magic flow into Noah’s touching hand.

Maybe a little more would be okay? Noah is magic-deficient anyway, so even if I’m not Meriel, I could help a little bit more.

When she had let too much magic flow, Noah frowned and let out a groan.

“…Ah, sorry.”

Only then did Nigel’s eyes clear, and she quickly shook off Noah’s hand and left the classroom.

It was too soon. In just a week, she had progressed from the middle to the late stages of magic addiction.