“!”Ciel froze for a heartbeat, stunned as she grasped the situation.“Lo… Sir Loen!”Coming to her senses, she hurried over to where Loen lay collapsed on the floor.With trembling hands she immediately checked the pulse near his neck, then his breathing and the flow of mana.“……”After examining his condition with a hardened expression, Ciel finally exhaled in relief.'Thankfully, his life isn’t in danger.'Given how dire it had looked, his state wasn’t as severe as expected.His pulse and breathing were faster than usual, but there was no critical abnormality.However, judging from the pool of blood on the floor and the faint stains at the corner of his mouth, he had suffered internal bleeding from internal injuries, and the clash of energies within had left his body extremely weakened.On top of that, the mana flow was very unstable and his mana hole was empty—mana exhaustion was likely.First, emergency measures were necessary.“W-what happened?”Chloe, who had followed after Ciel into the lab upon hearing her panicked cry, saw Loen lying in a puddle of blood and began hopping in place, at a complete loss.“Eek— eek! T-the infirmary, the infirmary… No, should we call the Relief Paladins? It’s evening, so they’ll be at the dorms!”Chloe seemed about to sprint outside for help, but Ciel stopped her.“Please be quiet. And I will handle this matter myself—do not inform anyone else.”“Y-you’ll handle it? Isn’t this dangerous? We need to move him to the infirmary right aw—”“Shh.”Ciel pressed a finger to her lips, silencing Chloe.Then she lifted Loen in both arms and stood in one smooth motion.She laid him comfortably on the bed in the nap room attached to the office, removed the outer jacket of his uniform to ease his breathing, then fetched the two potion bottles and a mana crystal that had been lying near him earlier, studying them closely.'He must have kept these by his side to use in an emergency.'Click—.Ciel first uncorked the healing potion and let it flow into Loen’s mouth.The green liquid gurgled from the bottle and ran down between his lips.Chloe yelped from behind.“You can’t just pour liquid into an unconscious person’s mouth! He could choke!”“I’m aware of that much.”Ciel nodded calmly.“T-then, are you going to…?”When Ciel leaned in closer over Loen, Chloe flustered, covering her face with both hands.Because, in such cases, the method of mouth-to-mouth administration was sometimes used.'D-don’t tell me!'Her imagination running away with her, Chloe parted her fingers just enough to peek through.Of course, nothing she was expecting happened.Fwash—.Ciel tipped the bottle to fill Loen’s mouth with the potion, then infused her hand with mana and pushed the liquid straight down his throat.Gulp—.With the magically induced movement of his throat, a gentle green radiance spread around Loen’s body.The healing potion was taking effect, treating his weakened body.After ensuring he had absorbed all of the potion, Ciel glanced at Chloe and asked,“…What exactly were you expecting?”“N-nothing at all.”“……”Ciel sighed softly, then guided the remaining blue reagent into Loen as well.Given the faint chill it carried, it was likely a Frozen-System reagent.From this, she inferred that Loen had ingested something from the flame family before collapsing.His mouth also seemed slightly burned.After administering the Frozen-System reagent, she even crushed the mana supplement stone and sprinkled it over his body.Fsssh—Soon, a soft blue light spread over Loen.With this, his body was treated and his mana restored. His complexion, too, looked more at ease.Only then did Ciel, looking down at the peacefully sleeping Loen, let out a relieved breath.“It seems this should suffice for now.”“Are you sure this is okay? He lost so much blood.”“…The blood loss was considerable, so he’ll likely be feeble for a few days. Healing potions don’t replace the blood that’s already spilled.”Ciel glanced toward the lab.“But that dark red blood pooled on the floor—that was bad blood that had been inside him. With sufficient rest, once fresh blood begins to circulate, he’ll be healthier than before.”“Healthier… If so, that’s a relief.”“You look a little disappointed to hear that.”“N-not at all!”When Ciel narrowed her eyes, Chloe frantically shook her head.Loen’s high-handed manner could be irritating, but he was Chloe’s collaborator at present.Whether he’d pulled strings or not, the number of malicious complaint letters she’d received recently had dropped significantly.Moreover, she still hadn’t gotten the promised information on the Academy’s Seven Major Mysteries—Chloe didn’t want anything unfortunate to happen to Loen.She had to be compensated for writing that article defending Verdandi against public opposition!'Anyway.'Feeling awkward, Chloe changed the subject, eyeing the empty potion bottle.“Why use a pricey healing potion instead of a Holy Power potion?”“……”At Chloe’s pointed question, Ciel’s face went still.Whether that was a reporter’s eye or she was just blurting whatever came to mind, Ciel couldn’t say.Ciel fixed her with a sharp gaze for a moment, then answered evenly,“…It’s Sir Loen’s personal preference. He says Holy Power potions taste bad.”“Ah. Yeah, Holy Power potions are pretty awful.”Chloe pursed her lips, then nodded in understanding.If one had to describe it, a Holy Power potion tasted like pine-needle tea mixed with mint chocolate.Refreshing if you were being generous; skull-splitting if you weren’t.Of course, thanks to their potency, they were more cost-effective than general healing potions.On the other hand, healing potions were a bit more expensive, but came in various flavors. Was that green one melon-soda?“In any case, Miss Chloe, you should head back for today.”“Ah… yes, understood.”Chloe nodded obediently.With Loen, her original purpose, unconscious, there wasn’t much else to do here.She couldn’t exactly cling to a collapsed man, and lingering in this tense situation would only be a nuisance.She’d be content with having found one story.Chloe began brainstorming a headline to write back in the dorm tonight.[Loen Collapses, Vomits Blood.]Given the public attention on him at the moment, it should rack up decent views.'But… why did he cough blood and collapse? Is he terminally ill or something?'As Chloe scribbled notes in her notebook, Ciel added, as if to caution her,“Ah, and please do not write an article about what happened today.”“Huh? But…”Chloe tried to protest, but Ciel’s icy stare made her clamp her mouth shut.“For reference, this is not a request—it’s a warning.”“Y-yes, ma’am.”There was a weight and pressure in Ciel’s eyes that Chloe couldn’t define. She could only nod.***“Mm.”I opened my eyes slowly, parched as if my throat were on fire.A water cup sat conveniently at my side.With effort, I pushed myself up and gulped it down.“Phew.”Catching my breath, I looked around—familiar surroundings.The nap room attached to the Student Council office.I was sure I’d passed out in the lab, so unless I’d sleepwalked here, someone must have moved me.My clothes had been changed from the blood-soaked uniform to comfortable loungewear, and the burning in my gut had eased considerably.Ciel must have found me collapsed in the lab and handled the aftermath.'…I did something troublesome to her.'I’d make it up to Ciel later. Maybe prepare a nice birthday present.Scratching my head for no reason, I stood up.Wobble—The moment my feet touched the floor, my legs gave out and my balance wavered.I grabbed the side table in a rush and steadied myself, sinking back onto the bed.'My condition isn’t normal.'I’d spat a lot of blood and had internal injuries to boot—my body was weakened.Add mana exhaustion, and it was the full hospital package.I’d been exercising and eating more lately, so things had improved, but Loen’s body had always been frail to begin with—so this wasn’t surprising.I’d need a few days of rest to fully recover.But the cause of the sudden collapse wasn’t my physical state. It was most likely mana exhaustion.When your internal mana is completely drained, you instantly pass out.'I clearly had enough remaining mana, though.'I narrowed my eyes quietly.I had used mana to refine Bell’s mana orb, but I’d been in the final stage and still had a fair reserve left.So the orb work wasn’t the cause of the mana crash.Which left the Fire Bolt I’d cast right before collapsing.I opened my status window.[Flame Orb – Bell Ludwig]Category: Artificial OrganGrade: RareA mana orb imbued with Bell Ludwig’s Extreme Flame. After refinement, it has been absorbed into the body and is neutralizing internal yin energy.[Synchronization Rate: 4%][Total Mana after conversion: 2]The system description had changed somewhat.Recalling what I’d seen before blacking out, I re-read it carefully.'Synchronization rate is four percent.'Since it hadn’t been long since I’d ingested the orb, the rate was low.My current total mana is 50, so with a 4% sync, the “Total Mana after conversion: 2” makes sense.Which means that when casting any magic other than those under [Alchemy], I can only perform actions equivalent to a mana value of 2.And in exchange for using that 2, I burn through all my mana in an instant.No wonder I collapsed after a single Fire Bolt.After finishing the rough calculation, I let out a wry smile.'…Useless for now.'Being able to use non-alchemy magic at all was good, but the efficiency was abysmal.I’d have to keep synchronizing Bell’s absorbed mana orb with my internal mana through continuous mana assimilation to raise efficiency.'Of course… even if I raise it, it won’t be permanent.'No matter how “unquenchable” Bell’s primordial flame was, it wasn’t perpetual motion.Eventually, when the orb’s power was spent, I’d have to receive Extreme Flame again, re-refine it, re-absorb it, and resynchronize through that cumbersome process.And I wasn’t eager to go through such a tedious process repeatedly.I needed to find and ingest, as soon as possible, an elixir that could fundamentally cure [Nine Yin Severed Meridians], like a Red Dragon’s Heart, Ifrit’s Divine Core, or a World Tree Seed.The problem was, none of those were °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° easy to obtain.Curing Nine Yin Severed Meridians required at least a [Legendary]-grade elixir.I was already making inquiries for rare elixirs through Alfredo, the butler of the Panopticon Western Branch, and Rize, but the trail wasn’t easy to find.I knew a few methods of acquisition, but being [Legendary]-grade, even if I moved personally, it wouldn’t be simple.And I was still bound to the Academy.In any case, it was a problem solvable with time and money.Me getting impatient wouldn’t make it happen.All I could do was wait quietly for intel to come in while preparing as much funding as possible.'Come to think of it…'Speaking of a Dragon Heart reminded me of what I’d asked Alfredo to do.As one of the baits to win over Professor Zimmer, there had been word that a fragment of the Light Dragon Calvador’s heart had been discovered recently.Sheika had also written that things were proceeding smoothly—seemed it was about time to reap the seeds I’d sown.I could use the chance to see Rize’s face again—drop by the Underworld this weekend.After resting on the bed for a while, I slowly left the nap room.It was dawn.Soft moonlight streamed through the window, washing the Student Council office in a deep blue.And—“……”Someone was asleep on the sofa, uncomfortably curled up.Sss— sss—.Shallow, regular breaths.Obsidian-black hair breaking into the moonlight.Normally she would have returned to the dorms, but Ciel was still at her post.“……”I looked down at her sleeping soundly and let out a small sigh.'She’s going through trouble because of me.'I took a fresh blanket from the nap room and spread it over Ciel.In the quiet, the night only deepened.

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