After finishing today's training with plenty of time to spare until the closing time of the training grounds, Ars left Tesfia and Alice on the road and headed home.

　Incidentally, both Loki and Flynn were chatting in the background. However, it is unusual for Loki to be so talkative.
　Ars scratched his cheek at Flynn's disturbing dialogue, which he could hear even if he didn't listen.

'So, it's not a purge then, is it? I don't know much about it, but I'm told that when you are a single mage, you have a certain amount of discretion and execution.
'Mr Flynn, that's an exaggeration. It's just training. There's no need for Al to go out of his way to deal with it, but he's a goody-two-shoes.
　I don't understand that part at all.

　Flynn turned a slightly skeptical eye on Loki, wondering if all magicians were like that. If that was the case, he would want them to heal on their own.

　Ars walked in front of them, feeling the danger of easily mixing in with the girls' conversations, as he led the way. Since he can't say anything back, it is arranged as if he is experiencing the mood of an executioner on his way to the decapitation. Even more so since the topic of the conversation is himself.

　As for why Flynn is accompanying him to the laboratory, it seems that she is staying overnight today and then returning to the association headquarters tomorrow.
　Nevertheless, Ars looks down at his right hand.

　--The actuality of this is not as good as the saintly Nexolis, but among all the healing magicians, there are probably as many as fingers that can handle this level of healing magic.

　A hand that immediately retracts not just the scars, but even the pain. Probably as a substitute for anesthesia, he is using a method of temporarily numbing the sense of pain apart from healing. Magic interference with the nervous system, and that too at a level that doesn't interfere with the other party's information, is certainly a godsend even with Ars. It's a good thing that she has the talent to be touted as a saint because of her simultaneous healing.

　It's a good thing that you're not going to have to worry about it. It was not a mistake to bring Flynn into the association.


'Oh, oh, it would have been nice if you would have done that... or maybe it wasn't free.'
Of course. I want to work as a general practitioner in the city in the future. I'm going to make a lot of money.

　For the first time, Ars and Loki saw the actual planned side of it, with a face that seemed indifferent to money.
　At the same time, just like Ars, Flynn's healing magic skills, the detrimental effects of making his dreams come true were nothing but money, but for now, he decided to keep quiet about it.

''And yet you're busy over there?''

　Flynn opened his mouth with a dumbfounded look on his face, and there was a slight pause before he could speak.
　A dumbfounded expression that I could tell without asking - he must have come all the way here in his busy schedule.

''Of course!　Even with this, I'm still in charge of training new healing mages. Besides, I'm going to accompany you as a healing mage unit in the outside world, so I'm extremely busy right now!

　Even though he tried to strengthen his words, he still had time until tomorrow.
　I've noticed since I became a member of the association, but more than Flynn imagined, the words of a single mage would generate a reasonable amount of compulsion.
　There is certainly a tendency to not allow people to refuse, even if it's not an order.

　That's why the career of a single wizard, the one who healed the reigning pinnacle, Ars, is praised for that alone - just like a saint.
　In the healing magician world, Flynn's name was well known without his knowledge.

　As for why she was so busy, Loki's military experience led him to ask a simple question.

'A healing mage unit?　It's rare to have a large scale healing mage sent to the outside world.
'You two know each other, don't you?　It's an external test survey that will be conducted by a select group of students from seven countries.
There it is. About time.
''Yes, in the early stages of the launch, the Association is in full readiness. A number of high-ranking mages will be dispatched from each country, including a vigilance of the surrounding area, and the Association will be bringing ten healing mages along with them.
That's true. The association's centripetal force will be bottomless if this is a mockery. At the very least, we need a show of force that will allow us to remain neutral.
'That's what Ilyce-san said too. 'They plan to erase the shadow of the demons not only near the deposit where they are going to be destination, but also all around Barmes.
You're fired up.

　It is easier to receive help from other countries if they understand the usefulness of the association.
　There may be some opposition to the association in each country, but it is clear that the association has no choice but to take a cooperative stance. After the collapse of Babel, the association has been able to show that it can take on this role.
　The upper echelons of each country must lead the way in a better direction now that we have entered a very transitional period.

　-- Come to think of it, Felli will also be leaving from the Second Academy of Magic, right?

　With time to spare and also feeling the impoliteness of putting it off any longer, Ars changed his destination.

I'm sorry, Loki, but you have to go home first. I'm going to see Felli. And I hadn't even thanked her yet.
I understand. Now will you tell him I appreciate his help?
Okay. And I want you to put Fiona's AWR on my desk.
...Yes, what are you going to do again?

　The expression on Ars' face as he tried to do something again was completely unreadable. Still, Loki took it politely, knowing that he wasn't headed in a bad direction.

'As I told those guys, AWR is just a tool for a mage to handle their power. That's why AWR is something only mages need.


　After passing the research building, Ars heads to the girls' dormitory.
　It's also because Loki is there that he's able to keep Flynn in the lab. In general, it would still be undesirable to sleep and eat with a man. Otherwise, I'm sure Tesfia and Alice would have invited him to their room, just as they did with Loki.

　As expected, it was uncomfortable to subject Flynn to the blame of questioning. There was also the fear that she would leak out about the most top-secret things she could learn.

　Night was approaching, and its visual dimness and the cold wind that flowed in from the outside world signaled that winter was in full swing.
　A chill that made his accustomed skin stick out, and occasionally Ars would feel the outside world in this wind since the protective barrier of Babel was gone, and his nerves would be sharp.

　Maybe a monologue would be just the thing to distract him. That's what he thought, but he didn't want to voluntarily turn into a dementia sufferer. However, it's the season when my mind is a little buzzed to be alone.

　It's a good idea to have a good time with your friends.
　There was one thing that stuck in his mind.

　It's also the reason why Ars went to the extent of hurting his own hand to make Fiona understand.
　I'm sure you'll be able to find out what's going on here.

　Perhaps the cold was unbearable, but as Ars became more and more thoughtful, he frowned.

　-- There's no way the Chancellor wouldn't know about Fiona's lineage in the first place, right?

　On top of that, it was Sisti, the chancellor, who had offered conditions that the current students would not be put in the dark to learn. It's easy for her to figure out who the students are that have booked the training grounds.
　Conveniently, the reservation was cancelled........

'No, let's not. I think I can hear someone's high-pitched laugh.

　Even if you ignore those thoughts, it was Ars's intention to carry them out.

　The boy named Maine may be a terrible wizard, but he also has latent physical strength. It may be instinctive, but he has a sense of smell that can reliably identify injuries that are fatal.
　That was one of the purposes of the training I imposed on Tesfia and Alice this time. In that sense, the two people who have found and trained Maine have good eyesight.

　And Fiona's state of mind was really interesting. Perhaps it would be rude to be in front of the person in question, but she is still trying to overturn the stereotype. It was unusual for her own personality to betray her lineage like this.

　Magic power is a collection of personal data. Because of its inherent elemental nature, its divergence is noticeable.
　The suppressed self, the denied self, she was faking herself. Everything that identifies and defines an individual is sufficient with magical power.
　Then if you deny it, or refuse to do so........

At all, both Tesfia and Alice have found someone interesting.

　Ars walked with his cheeks lightly lifted as the streetlights flickered on and off. His back was commonplace, as if he were a student of one, not a mage fighting alone in the outside world.
　Just an eerie elation stuck to his back.
　As someone who presented a problem and waited for an answer, Ars was interested in her answer.

　The path prepared for Fiona was a single path. A large, wide road, where the students of the academy line up and scramble daily to move on. So she has been standing at the starting line and not moving for a long time. She is only moving her feet on the spot, as if on purpose, in order to tell herself that she is advancing.

　So the destination she is heading to is a straight line, and the road ahead of her is either an endless road like darkness, or a road that follows behind her, or will she get turned off the road again?

　Unaware of such expectations, Ars arrived at the fortress-like women's dormitory. Before he knew it, there was no one to point out the voice that had come out of his mouth, as he was alone.