Ludin warmly welcomed a sharp-looking young man with deep navy hair almost black, wearing thin-rimmed glasses and white gloves.

“Ah, you’ve arrived just in time. Please, come in…”

“…Zeron?”

Nigel immediately uttered the man’s name.

The man dryly waved his gloved right hand at Nigel, who was standing with a straight back.

“It’s been a while since we’ve seen each other face to face. Hello, Nigel.”

Zeronin naturally sat down on the sofa opposite Nigel.

“You must have nothing better to do?”

“Thanks to you, I’m always busy. But I had to see you off to the academy.”

“Unnecessary meddling.”

“The director also asked me to take care of you.”

“…Fine, whatever.”

Just then, Su and Lina brought in refreshments.

“We’ll be outside, so please have a comfortable family conversation, hoho!”

Creak.

The three closed the door and left.

Zeronin poured tea into Nigel’s cup and then filled his own.

“By the way, you chose the dress I picked? I thought it would suit you well.”

“Well, Madam Ludin’s skills are so excellent that it was worth considering.”

Zeronin raised the corner of his mouth as he watched Nigel awkwardly turn her head.

“I heard you’ve already made a friend on your way? That’s good.”

“Who told you that? You didn’t put surveillance on me, did you? That’s creepy.”

“Of course not. A letter came from the orphanage a few days ago. Ah, don’t feel upset that you haven’t received a letter yet. The little ones are practicing their handwriting to write you a good letter.”

“…”

Nigel silently raised the corners of her mouth.

“You’ve grown up. The kid who was always running away or escaping is now going to the academy and making friends.”

“Don’t treat me like a child. You’re not even ten years older than me.”

“If seventeen isn’t a child, who is?”

“As if.”

Nigel sneered.

‘I’ve lived for over thirty years already.’

Of course, I’ve never been an adult before or now.

“I’d like to draw you a map of Sienna, but unfortunately, it’s been a long time since I graduated.”

Zeronin playfully shrugged his shoulders.

“Ah, that’s right, you were from there.”

“Don’t pretend you don’t know when you know everything. Your life was saved thanks to that.”

“…”

Nigel turned her head away again.

She was annoyed, remembering her pathetic self who had seriously considered asking Zeron yesterday if he knew where the golden dragon was.

“Ah, right.”

Zeronin took out a pocket watch.

This object, which looked like an ordinary watch on the outside, was none other than a sound-blocking magic tool.

“By the way, you were cutting it close with your magic release this time too? I told you not to go over a month. It might be fine now, but it’s definitely straining your body.”

‘…Here we go again.’

Nigel’s eyebrows furrowed.

Zeronin seemed desperate to nag whenever he met her.

“It was winter, and I was busy preparing various things. Besides, I know my body condition best.”

“I understand that, but you’re too casual about ignoring the cycle. It’s a matter of your life, you know.”

“…”

This is the problem, leaving her with nothing to say.

This is why Nigel hated meeting Zeronin.

“What if you collapse at the academy like this? Most people would call for a potion or a priest for treatment, but magic is poison to you with your magic addiction.”

“Alright, I get it, so stop. I’ll keep to the cycle, okay? There are holidays at the academy anyway.”

“Right. As you said, you’re not a child anymore, so you’ll keep to it well, right?”

Nigel sighed deeply and forcibly nodded once.

Zeronin slightly narrowed his eyes as he looked at Nigel.

No matter how much she pretended to be an adult, she was still just a child at times like this.

“So what’s the real reason you came here? It’s not just to see me off, right?”

Zeronin raised the corners of his mouth and took out a ring case from his pocket.

Nigel’s face immediately crumpled.

“…What is this?”

Creepy.

Even without saying it, the unspoken words were written on her face.

“Open it.”

When Nigel opened the case, a thin silver ring caught her eye.

“It was quite a challenge to make this.”

“What is it?”

“It’s a ring that converts your holy power into regular magic. Holy power is included in magic, but it’s mainly used for healing purposes, so people tend to forget about it. It’s also not a well-known field. So what happens is…”

“It’s probably because of the purity of holy power, right?”

Nigel said, crossing her arms.

“Right, compared to magic which has high resistance and is difficult to utilize in magic tools, holy power has almost no resistance. Like a child who absorbs everything without knowing good or evil.”

“I don’t like that term, I told you. Zeron, you probably haven’t taken care of young children much, but it’s a misconception that children are pure.”

Hearing this, Zeronin’s eyes became playful.

“Why, when you were 8 years old, your Christmas wish…”

“On second thought, I think you’re right.”

Nigel hurriedly cut off Zeronin’s words.

“Anyway, it might be a bit difficult to control magic at first, but if you wear this ring, you shouldn’t have any problems in daily life. Congratulations on your admission.”

Zeronin’s eyes were dark underneath as he spoke as if it were nothing.

“Yeah. …Thank you.”

Nigel answered in a crawling voice.

Although she hated to admit it, it was the admission gift she needed most.

“Alright.”

Zeronin smiled as he looked at Nigel with her head bowed.

“Then, this uninvited guest will be going now.”

“Good to know.”

“Oh, contact me if anything happens. I’m off then.”

Zeronin gave the same dry hand gesture as when they met.

Ding.

And he left the shop without any lingering attachment.

“Phew…”

Now it was really her turn to leave.

[This is the timeline separator]

The carriage prepared by Madam Ludin, or more precisely, Zeron, drove vigorously towards Sienna.

Sienna was barely located to the east of the capital.

The academy was built in the outskirts of the imperial forest for reasons such as creating a quiet learning environment for students and the convenience of securing a large site.

As a result, the scenery outside the window gradually changed from the light emitted by street lamps and buildings to a lush forest.

Seeing the tall trees, Nigel felt at ease as if she had come to Tillin.

“We’ve arrived.”

Nigel’s eyes widened as she got out of the carriage.

Beyond the large entrance gate, a vast expanse of land unfolded, too big to take in at a glance.

She never imagined that such a huge place would exist in this deep forest.

It wasn’t for nothing that ‘Imperial’ was attached to its name; like the vast territory of Arenium, the Imperial Academy was also expansively wide.

“Ah, are you a new student?”

A guard guarding the entrance gate approached Nigel, who was standing dazed.

Nod.

“What’s your name?”

Nigel silently held out her admission certificate.

“Ah…!”

He was startled for a moment, but Nigel was too busy looking for where the golden dragon statue might be to notice his reaction.

“You’ve been verified. We sincerely welcome you to Sienna. We’ll take your luggage to your dormitory room separately, so please enjoy the banquet comfortably.”

He continued speaking without even looking at the list in his hand.

“The new student party is held in the banquet hall up front. It’s also a good choice to take a walk around the area before the banquet. Sienna has many beautiful places!”

“Thank you.”

“Then have a good time. Sienna will always be by your side.”

He bowed politely and opened the large main gate.

“…”

Nigel entered through the gate with an indescribable strange feeling.

Until now, she had been indifferent without much response, but once she actually entered the academy, her impressions changed.

Belonging somewhere gave a considerable sense of relief.

Especially for Nigel, it resonated more particularly.

Life as Nigel had always been a series of choices, so even in times of joy or sorrow, worries about an unpredictable tomorrow took precedence over indulging in those emotions.

To have an identity that she could proudly claim as her own…

“Well, not bad.”

Nigel smiled slightly and walked forward.

[This is the timeline separator]

However, Nigel’s smile didn’t last long.

“Where on earth is the golden dragon?”

Firmly believing Allen’s words that she would know right away when she got to Sienna, Nigel walked, and walked, and walked again looking for the golden dragon.

But even after walking for more than 20 minutes, she couldn’t see a single animal statue, let alone the golden dragon statue.

Thinking it might be this one, she would look, only to find a bunch of innocent human statues.

In this way, Nigel cursed at 8 statues, including the first emperor.

“What kind of trouble is this because of Allen?”

Moreover, the people who were occasionally visible gradually disappeared.

In front of such a Nigel, three forking paths appeared.

“…”

The decision didn’t take long.

Nigel chose to go straight.

And walked.

Choosing to go straight brought one good point and one bad point.

The good point was that, as the guard had said earlier about Sienna having many beautiful places, a blue lake could be seen in the distance.

And the bad point was that Nigel’s feet, completely unfamiliar with high heels, began to protest in pain.

“This is uncomfortably dirty.”

Since there were no people around anyway, Nigel sat on a rock, took off her silver high heels, held them in both hands, and walked towards the lake.

Having walked too far to turn back, she thought she might as well properly see the lake while she was at it.

“…!”

Just as she was approaching the lake, she sensed a presence nearby.

‘Is it a person? Or an animal?’

Objectively speaking, there shouldn’t be anyone else but her coming to the lake on the day of the party, so Nigel leaned more towards it being an animal.

‘I need a weapon to deal with an animal. Where’s something suitable… !’

Nigel, who was seriously looking around the forest, suddenly looked at the two high heels in her hands.

The thin and high heels of the high heels, which had been so annoying when wearing them, now felt so reliable.

‘…This should be enough to handle it somehow. Thank you, Lina.’

Nigel firmly grasped the high heels in both hands and waited with bated breath for the owner of the presence to reveal itself.

Rustle.

Soon after, the sound of brushing against the undergrowth was heard. Nigel gripped the high heels in her hands even tighter.

In the tense moment, the identity was revealed.

“…!”

“…!”

Elegant silver hair shimmering in the moonlight, deep blue eyes as if they had swallowed the sea, sharp yet gentle eyes…

The boy about her age, who seemed to be an exact representation of the description Nigel knew so well, was standing right in front of her in a threatening posture as if about to draw a sword.

Even though it was her first time seeing him, Nigel could easily recall his name.

‘…Noah Beselion’

He was the male protagonist in the original story.

‘I’m thoroughly screwed.’

It would have been fine if everything else in this world had changed from the original.

As long as Noah Beselion remained the same.