Delphia noticed the poison in the tea as soon as her lips touched the cup.

‘Could it be that I can’t purify it because it’s Grandma’s poison?’

Delphia’s ability was physical transformation; she thought she could easily purify the poison. It seemed she was wrong. I shook my leg as I watched her.

“I can save you.”

Delphia looked at me as if intrigued. Her lips were gradually turning violet. I bit my lip while furrowing my brows.

“……Oh, really?”

Even though she was clearly being poisoned, Delphia seemed disinterested. Her eyes twinkled with curiosity toward me.

I nodded vigorously.

“Yes!”

“How can you save me?”

I murmured, recalling yesterday’s events.

“I have a weapon that can save you.”

“……A weapon?”

“Yes!”

For a moment, color returned to Delphia’s eyes.

“Really? What do I have to do for you?”

I was momentarily flustered.

‘I was just going to cure her… I’m worried she’ll be hurt…!’

However, that wouldn’t do here. This is a villainous family, after all. I narrowed my eyes and spoke.

“Obviously, you have to do something for me.”

The corners of Delphia’s eyes softened.

“Hmm, what is it?”

“That is…”

Thinking that stealing a little of her power to not endanger my father would be good, I opened my mouth.

“Give me a portion of the power you possess.”

People with abilities like Delphia could convert some of their power into mana orbs.

Axel Mirmode, the final boss of the Mirmode family, was such a wicked person.

He extorted a part of the power possessed by other ability users attacking him by absorbing their mana orbs into his own body.

“So you want a mana orb?”

“Yes! Just a little!”

As I answered cheerfully, Delphia burst into laughter.

I became more and more perplexed.

It was questionable why she looked so happy when she should be feeling bad.

“So, I become your subordinate?”

She seemed quite pleased just to spit out the word ‘subordinate.’

“……Yes? Not exactly.”

Just because she’d given up a part of her power didn’t mean she was my subordinate. I merely held a portion of her power.

As I tilted my head in continued confusion, Delphia clapped her hands.

“I like it. I’ll be your subordinate.”

“……?”

“I want to entrust my life to you. It seems like it would be a lot of fun.”

Delphia’s lips curled lazily.

‘What’s with her? This person!’

I was a bit awkward; I didn’t want to take charge of her life.

But Delphia was already excited. She placed her hand near her heart and produced a small mana orb.

“Take it. This is my leash.”

Mana orbs usually follow the characteristics of the person. I swallowed as I looked at the mana orb in her hand.

The orb, slightly smaller than my fist, shone a brilliant silver, much like her hair.

“Ah, should I make it into a necklace for our baby?”

I shook my head innocently.

“……I’m not a baby.”

Delphia extended her hand and answered laziously while smiling.

“Alright, master.”

The mana orb in Delphia’s hand transformed into a beautiful silver necklace.

She leaned toward me and hung the necklace around my neck. Delphia whispered into my ear.
“Save me now.”

It wasn’t the demeanor of someone who truly wished to live… Yet, her mana orb was already in my hands.

For some reason, Delpia had been rather docile.

Come to think of it, I remembered that Delpia had a particular trait that made her quite malleable around people who piqued her curiosity.

For whatever reason, it seemed that I greatly intrigued her.

However, she felt like a burdensome, perverted older sister to me…

I quickly turned away from her and shouted loudly toward the door.

“Now, come in!”

As if he had been waiting, the door opened and a young boy dressed in white, Acid, walked in.

A cheerful smile graced my lips.

Just the day before yesterday, he was an ordinary person, but since yesterday, Acid had become someone with abilities!

“That little boy has the weapon to save me?”

Delpia seemed skeptical, but I was more certain than anyone else.

“Yep! He can save you!”

As for what happened during the divine power test yesterday…

I smiled widely as Acid approached us.

(This is a time separator.)

Just yesterday, inside the divine power testing room of the Senoa Temple.

The divine power testing room was a place only the clergy and the person being tested should enter.

Leaving Cien and Matthias outside, Acid entered the room alone.

The moment Cien disappeared, Acid seemed a little daunted, but he had to overcome it.

Not because he relied on Cien, but because he wanted Cien to believe in him.

However, the atmosphere inside the testing room was cold and chilling.

The clergyman administering the divine power test had a rather annoying expression.

It wasn’t that he was anything other than genuinely tedious and annoying; in fact, he was a bit irritating.

‘Everyone and their dog are getting divine power tests these days. Tsk.’

Lately, the people had begun to long for divine power, especially given the good deeds of the temple contrasting the evil actions of the Mirmod family. That longing manifested as the hope, ‘Could I also possess divine power?’