Rosette, who blushed instantly, changed the subject.

“I’ll introduce my familiar too. This is Pipi. I named her Pipi because she chirps ‘pip pip’. She’s my first friend.”

“Wow, how cute. Is it a sparrow?”

“Yes. Despite her looks, she can do many things. She can deliver notes, and also…”

“That’s amazing!”

Teresa exclaimed in pure admiration. Pipi puffed up with pride.

[Pip!]

“She can also pick flowers for me. She actually brings me flowers sometimes.”

“How romantic. But can you understand what Pipi says?”

“Yes. I can understand Pipi’s words.”

“That’s really cool.”

Clara lamented.

“I want to learn magic too! I want to have such a cute familiar!”

Rosette was about to say ‘Not all familiars are small and cute like Pipi’ but stopped herself.

After all, Clara had no magical talent, so she would never summon a familiar anyway.

Soon, Clara, recovering from the shock, asked with sparkling eyes.

“If Pipi is your first friend, what number friends are we?”

“Friends?”

“Yes! What number are we?”

“Well, um. More importantly, are we friends?”

“Yes! Why? Don’t you like it?”

“No, it’s not that…”

Rosette mumbled timidly.

“Is it okay for me to be your friend?”

“What are you saying?”

Clara laughed again.

“I should be the one asking if I can be your friend! A magician’s friend! I’m going to brag to my elder sister. She’ll be so jealous!”

“Me too!”

Teresa, who had been quietly whispering all along, raised her voice a bit excitedly.

“I like it too. I want to be your friend.”

Rosette blushed.

“Then I like it too!”

Pipi, flying above the three children’s heads, sang happily.

[Pip! Pi! Pi!]

Rosette chattered excitedly.

“My first friend is Pipi, and my second friend is a girl named Melody Osera. We learn magic together.”

As soon as Rosette finished speaking, she realized her mistake.

‘Will they be disappointed that they’re not second?’

However, such worries proved unnecessary as Clara shouted, “Wow!”

“Then Teresa and I are your third friends?”

“Huh? Yeah.”

“We’re in the top five! That’s amazing!”

“You’re right, it’s amazing.”

Teresa quietly agreed. Rosette unconsciously counted on her right hand fingers, one, two, three. Looking at it that way, it really did seem amazing.

“It is.”

Rosette, Clara, and Teresa burst into laughter simultaneously.

Later, while the three children were eagerly discussing what items they had donated today.

“Her Majesty the Empress has arrived.”

At the servant’s words, everyone stood up quickly and paid their respects. Thanks to the special training over the past three weeks, Rosette could now strike a fairly decent pose.

“Everyone, rise. Thank you all for coming.”

“It’s our pleasure, Your Majesty.”

“The items you donated today will be put to good use. As a token of gratitude, I’ve prepared refreshments and a puppet show, so please enjoy yourselves.”

Ophelia smiled gently and walked gracefully to sit beside Joshua. As she clapped her hands, servants began to bring out refreshments.

“Wow, that looks delicious.”

Rosette whispered to Clara, who was swallowing her saliva.

“Elder brother Lucas says the imperial kitchen chef is good at making tarts.”

“Really?”

Clara quickly grabbed a tart topped with green grapes and took a big bite. She savored the taste and gave a thumbs up.

“It’s delicious! The tart crust melts in your mouth! I’ve never had such a crispy tart before!”

“I want to try too.”

Teresa, who also ate a tart, exclaimed in admiration.

“It’s really delicious. It tastes like heaven.”

Finally, Rosette, who took a bite of a walnut tart, smiled brightly.

“It really is delicious.”

There was a reason why Lucas had emphasized eating a lot, a lot.

As the children enjoyed the refreshments while chatting with each other, the puppet show began on stage. It was a mythological story that all children in the empire knew.

Rosette forgot about eating dessert and focused on the puppet show.

Although it was a familiar story, watching it again brought a fresh wave of emotion.

While everyone was absorbed in either the desserts or the puppet show.

“…?”

[Pi?]

Rosette, startled by the sudden vibration, asked Pipi.

“Pipi, did you feel that too?”

[Pip!]

Clara, who had been listening to their conversation, asked with a fork in hand.

“Why? What did you feel?”

“A vibration…”

Before Rosette could finish her explanation, this time the floor shook so much that the table trembled.

“Eek!”

In an instant, everything on the table toppled over, creating chaos.

“Protect Her Majesty!”

As Joshua helped Ophelia to her feet, about half of the guard knights escorted her. The rest began to tend to the children.

[Pip! Piip!]

Pipi, seeing a large crack forming on the wall, quickly urged them.

“Clara, Teresa! Let’s get out quickly!”

Being still young children, some were paralyzed with fear in this first crisis situation, unable to move.

Teresa was one of them. She clutched her head and trembled violently.

“What should… I’m scared.”

Clara roughly shook Teresa’s shoulders.

“Snap out of it! We need to get out quickly!”

The guard knights picked up the children who couldn’t move and ran outside. Teresa was also carried out by a knight.

However, with the frightened children rushing out in disorder, the evacuation was slow. By the time about half had escaped, it happened.

[Piieek!]

Pipi warned again from above Rosette’s head.

“…!”

Rosette instinctively spread a defensive magic circle. She felt mana draining from her body all at once.

Thanks to practicing expanding her mana core with Celline over the past few months, her mana core had become quite solid. Morning training had also toughened her body.

But she was still in an eight-year-old body with an eight-year-old mana core. It was difficult to maintain a large-scale magic circle for long.

“Rosette?”

“Everyone get out quickly!”

As soon as she said that, the building began to collapse. The children screamed and ran out.

“You go too, Clara.”

“But…!”

“I’ll be fine. In fact, you leaving will help me.”

Clara nodded at Rosette’s firm words.

“Alright. Then come out quickly.”

Rosette gritted her teeth and endured. Thanks to Pipi’s help, she could hold on a bit longer, but her arms and legs were trembling.

Only after seeing Clara and all the other children leave did she reduce the defensive magic circle. Then, the building started collapsing from the edges.

Rosette soon found herself trapped in the debris.

It was pitch black all around. Pipi trembled in fear.

[Pii…]

“It’s okay, Pipi. I can get out on my own.”

There was enough mana left to use magic once or twice. It might have been difficult if Clara or the others were with her, but it was fine alone.

“Thank goodness. That the other kids got out safely. Let’s hurry out before it collapses more.”

[Pii.]

Just as Rosette was about to quickly search for an exit with Pipi.

“Help me!”

An urgent voice was heard from somewhere. Turning her head, she saw Anthony trapped with his leg under a pillar, calling for help.

As their eyes met, he desperately cried out.

“Please save me! Please! You’re a magician with a familiar, right?”

Above her head, Pipi urged to leave quickly. However, Rosette couldn’t just leave Anthony behind.

‘He may have teased me, but…’

Still, she couldn’t stand by and let this child come to harm.

Rosette hurriedly approached Anthony.

She tried to lift the pillar with both hands, but it didn’t budge. Realizing this, Anthony burst into tears.

“Please save me. Your familiar can breathe fire, right? Can’t it clear this pillar?”

Rosette hesitated for a moment, then stepped back slightly. Then she began to squeeze out the last of her mana.

[Piit!]

Pipi also perched on her shoulder to lend strength.

Thanks to Pipi’s help, the mana that seemed about to disappear stabilized a little.

As Rosette stretched out her palms and focused on the magic, the pillar that hadn’t budged began to move slightly.

‘Just a little more…’

Cold sweat broke out on her back. As she scraped the bottom of her mana, strength left her entire body. Still, she focused a bit more.

Eventually, the front of the pillar began to move slightly, then noticeably. When enough space was secured, Rosette urgently shouted.

“Get out quickly!”

“Ugh, but my leg…”

“Is that the problem right now?!”

Snapping to his senses at Rosette’s shout, Anthony crawled out from under the pillar.

Rosette put Anthony’s arm, who was getting up limping, over her shoulder. At the same time, the pillar crashed to the floor with a loud noise.

“Let’s hurry. We just need to get out a little further.”

“Okay. Let’s get out quickly.”

Anthony limped along with Rosette’s help. It was pitch black all around, so the exit wasn’t visible, and they just walked forward aimlessly.

[Pi!]

Pipi, who had gone ahead, let them know to keep going straight.

“He says we’re almost there. Just hang on a little more.”

“Okay.”

Thus, the two children moved forward, relying on each other.

How long had they walked? Far away, light could be seen coming through a crack.

“We’re here.”

But their joy was short-lived as the two children who had approached closer despaired.

“The hole is too small. We can’t get out!”

Anthony wailed.

The crack seen up close was just a bit larger than an adult’s palm. It was far too small for children to squeeze through.

Still, hoping against hope, Anthony tried hard to push his head through, but even his head wouldn’t fit.

Unlike Anthony, who had completely lost his mind, Rosette became calmer.

Although she had been living like a child under her family’s care, she had lived up to twenty years old after all. She had experienced such dangerous situations a few times before.

‘It would be good to send Pipi, but…’

Due to using too much power earlier, not much mana remained. The stone swaying precariously above could fall at any moment.

If she were alone, she might try to defend herself somehow without Pipi, but to use magic enough to protect Anthony, it was better to have Pipi.

In that case, rather…

“Calm down, Anthony.”

“Huhuhu. We’re going to die. We’re going to die!”

“Get a hold of yourself!”

Rosette slapped his cheek hard. Anthony clutched his cheek in shock.

“You, you hit me?”

“Let’s look for another exit. There must be another place where people are gathered besides here.”

“O-okay.”

Rosette put Anthony’s arm over her shoulder again and stood up.

As they were about to go back the way they came.

[Pip! Piieek!]

Be careful! Stop!

Hearing Pipi’s warning, Rosette instinctively stopped in her tracks. Just a few steps ahead, the ceiling collapsed.

They couldn’t see ahead for a moment due to the thick dust. Anthony, who had been coughing, despaired after the hazy dust settled.

“It’s blocked!”

The way back had disappeared.