More than a week had passed since I started helping Laneige with her training every day. However, on this day, I brought up something I had been holding off on saying.

“Laneige. Let’s take a break today,” I said.

Laneige was startled. “Eh? Huh? Why? Do you have something else to do?”

I let out a deep sigh and shook my head. “Laneige. Do you even know what your face looks like right now?”

Her face had grown so pale and haggard that it hurt just to look at her.

“I-I’m fine! Really!” she replied.

I shook my head firmly. “No. You’re not. Come on. We’re going to your dorm room.”

“M-my room? Why?”

Instead of answering her, I simply took her by the hand, pulling her along. “Just move.”

I didn’t know what she would do if I left her here alone. If I had to, I would stay in her room and personally make sure she rested.

After reaching her dorm room, I opened the door. It was my first time stepping inside it, and the word that came to mind was “barren.” The only things inside the room were a bed, a small desk, and a tiny dining table. There wasn’t even a hint of the cozy, pastel atmosphere one would imagine a girl’s dorm room to have.

She flushed red, sneaking glances at me with clear embarrassment. “Uu! T-this is so embarrassing. Sorry. It’s too plain, isn’t it?”

“Why would you apologize? It’s your room.”

“Still...”

“Well, you could decorate it a little. When there’s nothing around, it just feels kind of lonely, you know?”

Though, I had no right to say that since my own room wasn’t any livelier.

“Y-yeah. You’re right,” she replied.

“Good. Now, sit down. I’ll cook something for you.”

“C-cook? You’re cooking?”

“Yep.”

I lifted the grocery bag I had brought with me. It was something I had bought at the campus store early in the morning before meeting her.

She reached for the bag. “Ah, no! I’ll do it!”

“Hey, I told you to rest today. That means no cooking.”

“B-but...”

I gently pushed her shoulders down and made her sit back in the chair. “Sit. Now, let’s see. Alright.”

Today’s menu was samgyetang, a ginseng chicken soup from the Republic. It was a classic stamina dish, perfect for recovery and not too hard to make. I wasn’t as skilled as Laneige or Iris, but I could manage basic cooking.

After cleaning the chicken, I stuffed it with rice, garlic, and ginseng, then simmered it together with a few herbs. Thirty minutes later, a rich, milky broth began to form, and the fragrant aroma filled the entire room.

Giving the bowl of soup to Laneige, I said, “Careful, it’s hot. Eat slowly.”

“O-okay.”

Probably because she was starving, Laneige finished it quickly. “T-thank you, Dale.”

“It’s nothing.”

“I-I’ll do the dishes then!”

When she tried to stand up, I pressed her shoulders down again, making her sit. “I said rest.”

Just then, the doorbell rang.

“Ah, looks like morning classes are over,” I muttered.

“Huh? Did you, um, invite someone?” Laneige asked.

“I mentioned you to some people, and they insisted on coming along,” I replied.

When I opened the door, two girls were standing there.

Laneige was surprised to see them. “Iris? Yurina? What are you two doing here?”

Walking in, Iris said, “Dale told us you’ve been overexerting yourself lately.”

“I was worried too, so I came,” Yurina added.

Iris stepped up to Laneige, who was still sitting in the chair, and studied her face carefully. “He’s right. Your complexion is terrible. The dark circles under your eyes are awful too.”

Laneige replied. “I-Iris...”

Iris gently touched Laneige’s cheek and traced her fingertips near her eyes. “Shh. Don’t move. I’m examining you right now.”

Then, without warning, she grabbed Laneige’s left breast. “Excuse me for a moment.”

Laneige flinched. “E-eek!”

However, that made it worse. Iris pressed in harder, her grip tight enough that the soft curve was visible even through Laneige’s clothes.

“Ah, please, don’t move,” Iris said.

“Hhhn!”

M-my eyes! I need to quickly channel mana to my eyes and imprint this in my memory, I said to myself.

Yurina, who had come up behind me, promptly slapped her hand over my eyes. “Hey!”

“Y-Yurina?”

Her icy cold voice came from behind me. “Dale. You pervert.”

I turned away, suppressing a strangled groan of despair.

Laneige asked, “I-Iris, what are you...”

Iris’s hand still rested over Laneige’s left breast, right where her soul stigmata was etched. “Please stay still.”

She focused her mana, and a soft white light began to seep into the soul stigmata. “Just as I thought.” 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

Iris’s face twisted with concern. “Her mana circuits are badly damaged.”

Laneige had been overusing her Blessing, and because of that, her internal mana pathways were frayed and torn.

Iris said, “Dale, please move her to the bed. Wait!”

She abruptly stopped when she saw Yurina and me. “What are you two doing?”

I quickly replied, “Nothing!”

Only then did Yurina finally take her hand off my eyes. “Hmph.”

Following Iris’s instructions, I carefully lifted Laneige into my arms and carried her to the bed.

“Y-you really don’t have to,” Laneige said.

Iris shook her head firmly. “No. In this state, you’re officially a patient. Please stay still until I finish treating you.”

She clasped both of Laneige’s hands and gently pressed them to her forehead, as if she were praying. “Holy Seven Gods, please grant peace and rest to this child.”

Her quiet invocation filled the air, and a soft radiance flowed from her body and seeped into Laneige.

A faint sigh escaped Laneige’s lips. “Ah!”

Little by little, color returned to her cheeks, and the tension melted from her face.

“Feeling a bit better now?” Iris asked.

“Y-yeah. Thank you, Iris.”

“Still, I want you to take absolute rest for at least three days.”

“T-three days? That long?”

“If you start training before that, I’ll withhold the photo I promised you, the one of Dale drying his hair after the hot spring.”

“W-wait, no! You can’t do that!”

What the hell did I just hear? That sounded like a black-market deal that should not exist, I thought.

Yurina seemed surprised too. “Dale drying his hair?”

Iris looked at her. “Oh my! Are you interested too, Yurina?”

“Ahem! N-not exactly, but, uh, when did you even take that?” Yurina asked.

“Fufu! I asked Jules to snap it for me during the field trip.”

Jules, you little... Ah, that was why he suddenly insisted on taking commemorative photos that day!

As I stood there, too stunned to react to the blatantly shameless conversation happening right in front of me, a knock came at the door.

“Hm? Did you invite someone else?” Iris asked.

“No,” I replied.

Puzzled, I opened it, and there stood Senior Sophia and Berald.

Berald looked around. “Huh? Why’s everyone gathered here?”

“We came to check on Laneige. I heard she wasn’t doing well,” I replied. “What about you, Senior Sophia?”

Senior Sophia snorted and glared at Laneige. “Me? I’m here to catch a delinquent cadet who’s been skipping class lately.”

Laneige flinched and averted her gaze, shoulders trembling.

I was surprised to hear that. “Skipping class?”

“Yeah. Apparently, she hasn’t shown up even once in over a week. I’m in a different class group, so I only found out today when Professor Baldwin mentioned it.”

Clicking her tongue, Senior Sophia marched into the room. Behind her, Berald followed sheepishly, scratching his head as if to say he got dragged into this.

Senior Sophia said, “If you were sick, you should’ve at least submitted a medical leave form. Why disappear without saying anything?”

Laneige fumbled for words, looking flustered and guilty. “I-I just...”

“Hah! Fine. I’ll talk to the professor myself and turn in a form saying you were sick.”

“S-Sophia...”

“Jeez! You really like making people worry, don’t you?”

“Sorry!”

“Don’t be. Friends are supposed to trouble each other a little. It keeps things interesting.”

Laneige lowered her head, her shoulders trembling slightly. “Thank you, everyone.”

Her voice cracked as tears welled in her eyes. Clear droplets streamed down her cheeks and soaked into the blanket.

Senior Sophia panicked. “W-what’s this now? Why are you crying all of a sudden?”

She turned to Berald. “B-Berald! Do something! Make her stop crying!”

“What? How am I supposed to do that?”

Senior Sophia shoved Berald forward. “Just do something!”

“Hmm.”

Berald scratched his head, then went over to the kitchen and grabbed a metal spoon. He pinched the spoon’s neck between his fingers. “Allow me to show you a mysterious spell. Now, if you hold it like this and shake gently.”

With a clink, the metal spoon split cleanly in two.

“Tada!”

“Tada, my ass! You just used brute strength—” Senior Sophia blinked, staring wide-eyed at the broken spoon. “Wait, what? You actually tore metal? Without using mana?”

“Fufufu! That, my friend, is the power of magic!”

Senior Sophia looked at him, utterly baffled. “T-that’s not how magic works.”

A clear, melodic laugh burst from Laneige. She laughed so hard she had to hold her stomach.

Berald clenched his fists triumphantly. “Ooh! I did it! Then for my next trick, I’ll split this table in half—”

Senior Sophia smacked him over the head. “Are you trying to destroy everything in here? She barely has any furniture as it is!”

“Alright, that’s enough. Let’s all head out and give her some rest,” I said.

That was probably for the best; Laneige needed peace and quiet more than anything.

“Get some rest, Laneige.”

“And don’t forget, absolute rest for three days!” Iris reminded her.

“Once you’re recovered, make sure you come back to class.”

With a few parting words, everyone filed out of the room as Laneige waved from her bed.

“Thank you, everyone.”

After the door closed, the room, which had been bustling and full of laughter, fell silent again. It was so still it felt almost unreal.

With a faint smile touching her lips, Laneige whispered to the closed door, “I won’t forget. Ever.”

***

The next day, since Laneige was resting, I figured I would train with Yurina for the first time in a while. I was just about to head out when the door flew open with a loud crash.

Senior Sophia burst into my room, breathless. “D-Dale!”

“What’s wrong?”

She thrust a piece of paper into my hands. “L-Laneige. She left this behind!”

The world seemed to blur for a moment, like a night sky swallowing a snow-covered plain. Across the stark white paper, in cold black ink, were the words: “Letter of Withdrawal.”