ALL NOVEL Chapter 128
One hour of trying to calm Stella, who keeps muttering that she’s definitely going to commit suicide.
During that time, Pina and Yurasia were busy getting rid of the impurities and smells that had flowed out of Stella’s body.
Just shy of two hours later…
I was starting to think about knocking her out by hitting her on the nape when Stella finally calmed down.
“Huh, huff…”
“Are you calmed down a bit?”
“…I-I don’t know about that kind of stuff…”
“Sure.”
“It’s, it’s something that came out of my body… but it’s not mine.”
“Right.”
“I… I feel wronged.”
“Hey, it happens to anyone.”
After roughly patting Stella on the back, I recalled the impurities that had flowed out of her body.
There were way too many.
Not in a way that I was trying to tease her, but in a truly pure sense—it was excessive.
There was even poison that flowed out, too.
I have no idea why there was poison in the first place.
And I have no idea why that poison remained in Stella’s body without disappearing.
Yurasia, Pina, and even Stella herself didn’t recognize it as poison, but I knew exactly what it was.
Someone had tried to kill Stella.
Looking at the discolored stuff that hadn’t disappeared from her body, it felt like at least ten years had passed.
And seeing that amount… it looked like even a tiny bit more would have killed her.
Ten years. Before Stella’s mother went missing.
And before Stella distanced herself from her family.
The timing is strange.
Who fed her the poison?
Should I say something?
I turned my gaze to Stella.
She looked like she was still buried in shame, with a face that seemed like it would burst into tears if poked.
Of course, even if it wasn’t that face… just thinking about the expressions she had shown since coming out of the Labyrinth, it seemed better not to say anything for now.
“…Hah.”
Why am I…?
Am I really worrying this much about Stella getting hurt?
Compared to my previous life, my personality has really… softened.
I wonder if it’s the body or the environment…
“Why, huf? Why are you sighing? Am I dirty…?”
“I’m not sighing because you’re dirty, you brat. Do you know how hard it is to help like this?”
“I don’t know…”
Stella, who was fidgeting with hesitation, started rubbing her fingers against her freshly changed clothes.
Then she slowly came over and wiped the sweat off my face.
“Still… thanks.”
“Of course you need to be thankful.”
“Hmph…”
“Just pick one. Is it a ‘hmph’ or a ‘yeah’?”
“Both.”
With a coy reply, Stella giggled, handing me the one remaining potion she hadn’t ingested yet.
“I’ll eat this later then.”
“No. Since you’ve struggled, let’s continue straining today. Sit down quickly.”
“…Is that okay?”
“Yep. You eat, Pina eats, and let’s finish up.”
With a thud, I plopped down on my seat, patting the area in front of me.
Still hesitating and moving timidly, Stella swallowed hard and sat in front of me.
“Now… no more… those things are coming out, right?”
“Yep, no more dirt coming out now.”
“D-Don’t say it’s dirty!”
“Then is that clean?”
“W-Well, still!”
She was about to cry again, so I clamped my mouth shut.
“This potion we’re about to eat is something that could kill you if you mess it up, so you have to concentrate.”
“D-Die? No, no, it’s not! Ugh, I’d rather die than let something like that come out.”
Somehow, Stella seems to have grown a bit braver.
Nodding her head with a determined expression, she was about to pop the potion into her mouth without me even asking her name.
“Are you not going to ask for my name this time?”
“You said the name isn’t important.”
“Sure… that’s true.”
Slurp, she licked her lips.
I know the name of this potion.
…I kind of want to say it.
Knowing the name of this potion… later on, when I reveal my identity, I want to tell her the backstory of the potion she drank today.
Well… that can wait.
I can’t forget today’s memory.
How could I forget after expelling those impurities?
Feeling the excitement of how Stella would react when I tell her the story behind the potion, I placed my hand on her back.
“Just swallow it without chewing.”
“What? How can I swallow something this big? Am I going to choke and die?”
“You just said dying would be better.”
“W-Well, that’s true!”
“You won’t die. Just think about swallowing and it’ll smoothly go down.”
“…Really?”
I nodded. In response, Stella also nodded and popped the round potion into her mouth.
Then, she flinched—Stella trembled.
It seemed she gulped it down, so I immediately sent my mana into her body.
“Don’t resist my mana, and just channel it along that path. It might be hard to control since the Blood Path is open, but still, try your best.”
Instead of Stella answering, purple mana burst forth.
*
After Stella, it was Pina’s turn.
In fact, Pina needed no extra help. Her natural constitution, along with the connected Flora, led her potion absorption smoothly.
So now, over there in the corner, she’s playing with Flora.
From now on, it seems she can keep Flora out all the time since her connection to the spirit realm must have strengthened.
And for Stella…
She absorbed around 70% of the potion. Quite impressive.
Maybe it was because she expelled the accumulated impurities and immediately took the potion.
Most of the necessary things were absorbed cleanly.
In fact, she seemed to have enough energy left to shoot magic around, squawking happily.
It looked like she completely forgot about the impurities she had just expelled. Such a simple-minded brat.
“That’s amazing!”
“It has to be amazing.”
“W-What’s all this?”
“What’s it look like? It’s the mana you’ll be using now.”
“Wow… awesome!”
I had expected it, but it seemed like Stella was experiencing potion effects for the first time.
She probably didn’t have any potions back then when she wasn’t estranged from her family during her childhood, right?
Well, that’s not worth worrying about right now.
Now, I don’t need to fret over it anymore.
“If this continues, I might soon be able to complete the 5th circle!”
“That’s great.”
“Ehehe! Eliaernes! That means I’ll finally be just like you! Get ready!”
“What does it matter if we have the same number? There’s a huge gap. You should be able to make at least a 6th circle if you can talk that much.”
“Ugh…”
I chuckled at Stella, who was getting overly frustrated, and approached Yurasia, who was cleaning up.
“How about you, Yurasia? Are you doing okay?”
“Ah, yes! It’s a bit hard to adapt since my output has changed, but I think I’ll get used to it by tomorrow if I practice all day today!”
“Good. Then from tomorrow, let’s train properly.”
“Hmm? Train for what?”
“What do you mean? You need to train until you can handle the weapons I gave you like a proper human.”
Yurasia’s mouth gaped and then frowned.
“…It’s still difficult for me to manipulate Strong Magic…”
“That’s something you should train steadily, except when sleeping. What we’ll do tomorrow is physical training. That’s completely different. Do you think you can spend every hour of those 24 on Strong Magic training? What will you do if you run out of mana and can’t create any? I’ve always said this—while body training is important, it’s all about the harmony of mind, spirit, and body.”
“Waaah! I get it! I’ll do it!”
“Wow! Does my advice sound like nagging? This is all valuable advice that’s going to be food and nourishment for you, Yurasia!”
As Yurasia grimaced and took a step back, Stella approached with narrowed eyes.
“Are you really talking to your sister like an old-timer again?”
“What?”
“Pina will just keep nodding along, and I’m the one who never listens to you, so you always do this to Yurasia!”
“…That’s not true! I genuinely worry about Yurasia! And I should talk to someone who actually listens, not to someone like you who just ignores me! It’s pointless!”
Even though Yurasia seems to dislike me saying this…
She still remembers everything I say and tries to follow it faithfully.
That’s commendable, so I always give her advice.
But Stella’s reaction is weird.
“Sometimes, Eliaernes, you really feel… how should I put it? Like a professor at the Academy… you know? Not a new, passionate professor, but neither an indifferent, older professor. Just, like… an ambiguous professor?”
“What kind of nonsense is that?”
It stung a little.
Fifty? If I add the age I lived in my previous life to my current age, isn’t that around what I should be now?
Probably.
“Whatever it is, just stop bothering my sister.”
“When did I ever bother Yurasia?”
Tsk, clicking my tongue, I picked up the broom that had fallen to the ground. Just then, Flora fluttered over and landed on my shoulder.
“What is it?”
For now, I decided to speak politely.
When Flora first popped out, she tried to call me Ronan, so I knocked her unconscious.
When she woke up after that, her eyes widened as she realized the situation and began speaking to me formally.
And… the reason Flora kept sticking to me, she explained as “it’s because I’m Eustetia.”
A killer argument that anyone can understand instantly, anywhere, anytime.
“Oh? Huh? Ah, haha! It’s just comfortable here!”
Flora, awkwardly laughing, suddenly stopped and whispered in my ear. Not so much whispered as directly spoke into my head.
“There’s a strange being outside.”
‘A strange being?’
“Yeah. Not a Demon Race, but how should I put it… similar to one? A being that feels like it’s somewhere between a Demon Race and a Human?”
‘…A hybrid?’
“No, it feels different from a hybrid. It seems more like… an artificially created existence.”
An artificially created existence…?
I glanced over at Stella.
Yurasia, Pina, and the three of them were chattering, laughing together about something.
Stella… definitely wouldn’t be it.
Flora hadn’t sensed anything strange about Stella either.
Then… who could it be?
“It’s getting closer…!”
‘Is it waiting by the door?’
“No, that’s not it. It’s walking this way. It’s definitely coming closer now. It’s a very… mysterious being. It has absorbed Demon power into its body but isn’t a Dark Mage or a Mage… more like… a doll?”
‘For now, hide inside my clothes.’
“Got it. Just in case, be careful!”
The word “doll” triggered a suspicion, but I thought, is it really that? as I opened the door.
And then—
“…Oh? Junior?”
I came face to face with the very person I had suspected—Ophelia.