Reality

Would you follow this light with your eyes?

The academy infirmary.

The infirmary medic moves a mana-stone-fitted penlight left and right in front of Renoa.

Seated on the bed, Renoa’s eyes slowly follow the movement of the light.

"Can you tell me how many fingers I’m holding up this time?"

"……No."

"And this time?"

"……I can’t see."

"You can’t see anything at all?"

"I can vaguely sense the light, but everything else is too blurred to make out."

"Hmm. Understood."

The medic let out an ominous murmur and scribbled something on the paper.

Watching from the side, Leon couldn’t hide his unease and asked,

"What happened to the young lady?"

"For now, there’s no trauma or defect in the eyeballs or corneas themselves. Since she reacts to light, the pupils are functioning too."

"But she says she can’t see."

"There seems to be a problem with the tiny mana circuits surrounding the eyes."

"Mana circuits?"

At Leon’s question, the medic nodded.

"Yes. The mana circuits connected to the optic nerves seem to have stiffened abnormally and are pressing hard on the nerves. It’s a symptom that sometimes appears after extreme stress or mana reflux..."

The medic trailed off and looked over Renoa’s ashen face.

"I’ve never seen a case where the circuits hardened this quickly. Is this the first time?"

"Recently, once... I suddenly couldn’t see in front of me, just like today."

At that, Leon was startled.

"Young lady, if something’s wrong with your body, you should say so. Why did you stay quiet?"

"I thought it had recovered right away, so I figured I was fine..."

"What are you saying? There are things you can brush off and things you can’t. You can’t see, and you just let it slide?"

"……"

Leon wanted to say more, but because Renoa looked so dejected, he couldn’t bring himself to scold her further.

At this point, the most confused person was Renoa herself.

"Can it be cured?"

"I can’t give you a definite answer right now. It looks like she’ll need precise treatment from a high priest or a magical physician."

"I see..."

"For the time being, complete rest is absolutely necessary. Especially, using mana is forbidden. If she pushes herself, she may lose her sight forever."

The medic’s diagnosis ended there.

A complete halt to magical training.

And the possibility of permanent blindness.

For Renoa, who was aiming for Edelheid’s heir, those words were no different from a death sentence.

"Ugh..."

"Young lady..."

Elodie looked at Renoa with worried eyes, while Aither wore a complicated expression.

Renoa clenched both fists until her knuckles went white.

A heavy silence fell, making it hard for anyone to speak.

[How about it? Should this old man take a look?]

Iskalon broke the silence.

"Old man, you mean?"

[Am I not the Great Sage Iskalon, who knows everything in the world? Let me take a look myself at what the problem is.]

"…How do I do it?"

[Put your hand on the grimoire.]

Renoa did as she was told and placed her hand on the grimoire. The energy flowing out of the book seeped into Renoa’s body.

[Hmm....]

Iskalon let out a long, low hum.

"Do you know what the cause is?"

[Hmm. The medic’s words were half right and half wrong. It’s true that the mana circuits stiffened, but the cause is neither mana reflux nor stress.]

"Then?"

When Renoa asked with a grave face, Iskalon’s voice sank even colder.

[Seokrinhwa.]

"Seokrinhwa?"

[A poisonous herb that turns the mana core as hard as stone. The poison has spread, causing the circuits to stiffen. The circuits around the optic nerves, the most sensitive ones, are the first to harden.]

"A, a poisonous herb?!"

"That’s a name I’ve never heard before."

Elodie cried out in shock. Aither’s expression also hardened fearfully.

"Is there no antidote?"

[Boil Silver Thistle and drink it. It’s a herb that grows by feeding on poison.]

It would slowly eat away at Seokrinhwa’s poison and return the stone-hard core and circuits to normal.

That was Iskalon’s explanation.

"Thank goodness there’s an antidote! Then we need to get that Silver Thistle right away!"

[It’s not a common item. It’ll take time to obtain.]

Still, it was good news. Just knowing there was an antidote gave Renoa some relief.

[Brat.]

Then it happened.

Iskalon’s thought echoed in Leon’s mind.

[What you hear now is only for you. I have something I need to tell you separately.]

Hearing that this was a private conversation, Leon didn’t react outwardly and spoke inwardly.

'What do you want to tell me separately?'

[I told you Silver Thistle is the antidote, but it won’t help in her case.]

'What?'

[Do you remember when I said I sensed witch’s energy flowing through her? I checked just now, and it wasn’t a mistake after all.]

'What...'

Leon had already suspected as much. At the time, he’d only brushed it off because of the people around them.

[If she eats Silver Thistle, it will consume not only the poison from Seokrinhwa, but also the witch’s energy.]

'So that means...'

[It’s worse than not taking it. It would actually put her life at risk.]

Leon’s eyebrows twisted.

It was absurd enough that Renoa had ingested poison, but now they were saying she was a witch and couldn’t even use the antidote.

What kind of damned situation was this, with disaster piling on disaster?

At that moment, one thing flashed through Leon’s mind like lightning.

'What if she used dark magic?'

[What?]

'Can dark magic cure it?'

Iskalon’s voice turned harsh.

[Brat, do you know what you’re saying right now?]

'I do. I’m just asking out of curiosity. Just tell me whether it can be done or not.'

[If we speak only in terms of principle, it isn’t impossible. The essence of dark magic is equivalent exchange. If you have a sacrifice that corresponds to it, you should be able to erase the poison.]

"Tsk."

Leon couldn’t hold back a sharp click of his tongue at that unexpected answer.

He thought it silently so Iskalon wouldn’t hear.

'So that’s why Renoa turned to dark magic.'

Right now, he was acting as Renoa’s knight and gathering fame.

The escort knight in the original story is Gerard. Far from building honor, he makes a habit of destroying it.

For someone like Renoa, magic must have been the only means by which she could prove herself, and her source of pride.

But if someone schemed to take even that magic from her, leaving her on the brink of becoming a cripple who could never see again?

Isolated, with no one she could trust or rely on, dark magic would have been the only lifeline she could grab to survive.

But something felt strange.

'The timing is much earlier than in the original.'

They were still in the early days of academy life. In the original story, this was when Renoa boasted overwhelming magical talent.

And the point when Elodie was cursed by Renoa was summer vacation.

If Renoa first turned to dark magic then, there should still have been months left.

'What pushed it forward?'

Of course, there was only one reason.

The only difference from the original was that Renoa’s escort knight was Leon rather than Gerard.

It was the butterfly effect.

But he had no idea exactly which factor had advanced Renoa’s turn to dark magic.

"Young lady, let’s return to the mansion for now."

"That’s right, young lady. Since there’s an antidote, don’t worry and get some rest."

"Right. I think it’d be best to go back and rest. I’ll also mobilize the imperial connections I have and search as much as I can."

"…Understood."

Renoa, who had been about to get out of bed without thinking, flinched.

Leon immediately came over and looped his arm through hers.

Renoa’s body, taut and on edge because she couldn’t see, jerked stiffly, but the familiar hand and warmth soon made her quietly accept his support.

The way back to the mansion was heavy and silent.

Renoa, who always walked ahead with confidence, carefully took each step while clutching Leon’s arm tightly.

Whenever a rock or pebble caught at her toes, her shoulders visibly hunched.

Watching Renoa from beside her, Leon felt deeply unsettled.

His emotions churned in confusion.

Before long, they arrived at the mansion. Vivi, who had been loafing around, came out to meet them at the entrance.

"You’re both earlier than usual. Normally it would be late afternoon before you got back. Naturally, I wasn’t slacking off and was tidying the study..."

Vivi’s eyes went wide like a rabbit’s at the sight of Renoa practically hanging off Leon’s arm.

"Young lady, why do you look like that? Did you get hurt somewhere?"

"I’ll explain later. For now, I need to take the young lady to her bedroom."

"Understood."

After taking Renoa to the bedroom, Leon carefully laid her on the bed.

Only after Leon covered her with the blanket did Renoa, unable to hide her unease because everything before her was a blur, let out a tired breath and closed her eyes.

Perhaps because of the extreme tension and stress, she soon drifted off to sleep.

After confirming that Renoa was asleep, Leon moved to the study with Vivi.

"What exactly happened?"

"Someone poisoned the young lady. Her mana circuits stiffened and pressed against her optic nerves, which caused problems with her sight."

"Does that mean she’s gone blind?"

"Not yet to that extent. But it looks like using magic will be difficult from now on."

"…I see."

Vivi’s face darkened.

"Is there no way to treat it?"

"We’re looking into it. But it seems like it’ll take some time."

"…Understood. She’ll be hungry when she wakes up, so we should prepare some food that’s good for her eyes."

Vivi left the study with weary steps. She seemed to have taken quite a shock as well.

After all, Vivi had been the one at Renoa’s side the longest.

She must be deeply saddened.

"Hoo..."

Leon let out a deep sigh.

His mind wasn’t working properly after the sudden incident. His chest felt tight, and his throat was dry.

Looking around, Leon spotted a teapot. It was the tea Renoa had been enjoying lately.

It must taste so good that Renoa, with her little lisp, drinks it nonstop from morning until bedtime.

'Just what kind of flavor is it?'

Just then, Leon, who was thirsty, poured himself a cup and drank it. His eyes widened just like Renoa’s had when she first drank it.

"...What is this?"

It’s insanely delicious.

It was completely different from the tea Leon knew.

A distinctive fragrance.

Its addictiveness was on par with soda.

He immediately understood why Renoa was always drinking this tea.

"If it’s this good, you should’ve told me to try some too."

Anyway, she’s the kind of person who only thinks about herself.

Thinking he’d drink up every last drop of her share as well, Leon guzzled the tea down.

Before long, the teapot was empty.

His thirst was gone, but ironically, the craving for more tea did not disappear.

'From now on, I should ask them to prepare some for me too.'

With that thought, Leon set the cup down.

-ding.

An alert appeared before his eyes.

======

[Proficiency level has increased.]

[Status Ailment Resistance Lv. 4 > Lv. 5]

======