After bringing Laneige back to the academy, I immediately had her admitted to the intensive care ward. The wounds from the shards of ice lodged all over her body were already severe, but the worst of all was the complete necrosis of both arms.

Her mana circuits were strained to the point of rupture. The cold had invaded all the way into her internal organs, and even the nerves in her arms were dead. Even Iris, with her Seven Eyes, would struggle to heal damage like that.

Standing beside me, Yurina held out a vial glowing with a soft, white radiance. “Dale, give this to Senior Laneige.”

It was the Blessing of God, a holy elixir said to heal any wound as long as the target was still alive.

“Are you sure about this?” I asked.

The Blessing of God was a treasure so expensive that with it, one could buy a mansion in the center of Valhalla City. Even though Yurina was the heiress of House Helios, it was not something she could give away lightly.

Yurina shrugged as if it were no big deal. “Our teammate is injured so badly. If we don’t use it now, then when?”

She turned around as if to walk away, then suddenly froze. “Oh!”

Her eyes sparkled, like a brilliant idea had just come to her. She scurried back to me. “Dale, I did something good, right?”

“Huh? Well, yeah. You did.”

Giving such a priceless potion for a teammate’s sake was something even a devout high priest of the Seven Star Church would hesitate to do.

“Then, I want a reward,” she added.

Yurina looked up at me, with bright, expectant eyes that clearly said, “You know what I want, right?”

I let out a small laugh. “Alright.”

There was only one kind of reward Yurina ever wanted. I slowly reached out and placed my hand on her head. Her soft silver hair slipped gently between my fingers. Not too hard, not too soft, I applied just enough pressure as I stroked her hair gently.

“Hehehe!”

The normally sharp, high-energy Yurina melted into a puddle, pushing her forehead against my hand like a cat seeking affection. If she had a tail, she would surely be wagging it like a puppy.

I kept patting her until she looked fully satisfied, then said, “Okay, I’m going to check on Laneige now.”

“Mm! Tell her I was really worried.”

Potion in hand, I headed toward the intensive care ward where Laneige was resting. Laneige lay on the bed, breathing shallowly. Her severely frostbitten arms were attached to medical magic devices.

It seemed she had sensed me. Even through the pain, she forced an awkward smile when she saw me.

“Da-le?” she said in a broken voice.

I held the vial before her. “Drink this.”

“W-what is... it?”

“You’ll know once you drink it.”

I removed the cap and carefully let the potion flow into her mouth. The white liquid slid past her cherry-red lips, and divine energy burst from the vial, filling the room.

“Ah!”

Color returned to Laneige’s once-pale face, and in the blink of an eye, her necrotic violet arms returned to their original form.

Shocked, she asked, “Is this... Could it be?”

“Yurina gave you the Blessing of God,” I answered.

Laneige’s eyes shot open, and she tried to sit up. “T-the B-Blessing of God?”

I chuckled softly and pressed her shoulder down. “Don’t get up yet. Your wounds are healed, but the exhaustion won’t disappear that easily.”

Having died and revived countless times, I knew that better than anyone.

“B-but...”

“You can thank me later. For now, can you tell me what happened?”

I could tell that the place where I had found her had been a battlefield. Clearly, she had been in a fight that had pushed her into drawing out the full power of the Blessing of the Frost.

Laneige’s lips quivered for a long moment before she finally replied, “I was attacked.”

“Attacked? By whom?”

She shook her head weakly. “I don’t know.”

She slowly explained, “Not long after I left Valhalla City, a hero wearing a wolf mask appeared before me.”

My eyes narrowed. She had been targeted. In that case, I had two questions. Who was that human with the wolf mask? And why were they after Laneige?

I stared at her. “Laneige.”

“Y-yeah?”

“You said he wasn’t a demon, but a hero, right?”

She nodded. “Yes.”

Recalling the fight, she continued, “I did not sense any dark mana at all.”

A deep sigh escaped me. Her confirmation immediately reminded me of what Jackal had said. Among the heroes was a traitor who was colluding with Mephisto. And that traitor wasn’t alone.

It seemed my face looked darker than I realized. Laneige shrank back with an expression a child would make if caught stealing. So, I set aside the matter with the traitors for now and placed my hand on her forehead.

“Let’s see. No fever at least,” I muttered.

“D-Dale...”

“Do you need anything?”

Laneige, still curled up like a frightened animal, blinked in confusion. “Need... anything?”

Pulling the blanket up to her chin, she fidgeted, then averted her eyes and whispered in a tiny voice, “Hun...”

“Hm?”

“H-hungry.”

“Ah!”

That made sense. She had run away from the academy and wandered outside with no proper meals. Of course, she would be starving.

“Wait here,” I said, leaving the ward.

I asked the infirmary staff and brought back a warm bowl of mushroom soup, something easy for patients to digest.

“I brought you soup. Here, the spoon,” I said to her.

“O-okay. Thank you.”

“What?”

Her expression was strangely stiff as she said, “N-no! It’s nothing!”

She took the spoon and gulped down the soup as if she hadn’t eaten in days.

“Ah!”

Clatter!

Maybe her body hadn’t fully recovered yet. The bowl slipped from her hands and clattered onto the floor. Thankfully, it didn’t break since the medical wards used sturdy dishes, but the soup splashed up and splatted on my shirt.

She immediately apologized, “S-s-sorry, Dale! I-I didn’t mean to. It wasn’t...!”

“It’s fine. Don’t panic. Did you hurt yourself?”

“N-no, I’m okay, but D-Dale, your clothes.”

“I’m fine too.”

It was just a bit of soup on my shirt.

“D-Dale! Give me your shirt! I-I’ll wash it and return it!”

“It’s fine. It’s just a little.”

“N-no! Please. Please let me!”

Was she afraid she would get scolded? Seeing her trembling with that terrified expression, I silently held back a laugh. Earlier, for a moment, I had wondered if she had changed after mastering the Blessing of the Frost on her own. But seeing her like this, I could tell she was unmistakably the same Laneige.

Well, that timid look of hers is kind of cute, I thought.

She was like a little frightened squirrel. I couldn’t help but feel protective when she looked like that.

I took off the soup-stained shirt right there since I was wearing an undershirt beneath and handed it to her. “Here.”

“Th-Thank you.”

“I’ll clean up the spilled soup and get you a new bowl.”

“Okay.”

After spending a bit more time being cared for in the hospital, Laneige was soon discharged from the intensive care ward. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

As we left the room, I said, “I’ll walk you back to your room.”

“N-no! It’s okay! I can go by myself!”

She refused my offer and hurried off alone toward her dorm.

And that was how the whole chaotic mess of her unauthorized withdrawal came to an end. Though, there was still the aftermath to deal with.

I looked back toward the main building of the academy with a bitter smile. Sighing deeply, I headed toward Professor Kane’s office.

***

Professor Kane sat behind his desk, shaking his head firmly. “That is impossible. Laneige has committed one of the most serious violations in the Hero Academy. She will not escape punishment.”

“But she returned within a day,” I replied.

“By that logic, should we erase the crimes of someone who returns stolen goods?”

I sighed deeply. As expected, this wouldn’t be swept under the rug.

I asked, “What kind of punishment are we talking about?”

“Well, we won’t know for certain until the disciplinary committee convenes. But in the worst case, her cadet status may be revoked, and she could be expelled.”

Being expelled from the Hero Academy didn’t mean just being kicked out of school. It meant being magically bound to never use their soul stigmata again, forced to live wearing a surveillance magic device. They would essentially be branded criminals for life.

“Is there no other way?” I asked.

Professor Kane bit his lip before answering, “No. The report has already reached the higher-ups. If she had simply run out of the academy, as you did once, I could’ve reduced the punishment to a suspension at my discretion, but...”

He let out a sigh so heavy it could sink the floor. “Why did she have to leave behind a letter of withdrawal?”

The moment Laneige submitted a signed letter of withdrawal, the situation had escalated beyond repair.

When I had escaped the academy to save Yurina, the professors at least had the option to claim there had been a clerical error in the leave permit. This time, the evidence was too clear. Laneige had left with the explicit intent to withdraw. Just like how crimes were judged differently depending on intent, that letter of withdrawal now acted as a shackle around her neck.

“I’ll still do everything I can to defend her since she returned, but...” Heaving another sigh, Professor Kane closed his eyes. “With most professors already biased against her, avoiding severe punishment will be difficult.”

Laneige carried the blood of demons. Many professors viewed her as a threat; it was not just the cadets.

The professor continued, “I’m sorry. There’s nothing more we can—”

Before he could finish, I interrupted him and said, “I ordered her to do it.”

“What?”

I leaned back comfortably in my chair and calmly said, “I coerced Senior Laneige into writing the letter of withdrawal.”