CHAPTER 88……………………………………………….
“Right. Sierra, there’s something I need you to look at.”
Setting aside the conversation happening in his mind, Alec gestured with a casual air.
“There’s some research material I left over there.”
“Over there?”
“Yeah. It’s almost finished, but there’s a bit that seems off. Take a look.”
She walked into the laboratory as Alec indicated.
But from behind, amid Alec’s chattering, she caught her name mentioned.
Sierra stopped instinctively and listened closely.
“Hey, Ashur. You act like Sierra’s made of glass or something, huh?”
“…Did I?”
“She’s tougher than she looks. Want me to tell you a story?”
Ashur already knew that she was persistent.
But he was also curious about Sierra before they had met, so he stayed silent.
“It was near the end of our research on the reinforcement magic circle.”
Alec pressed his forehead playfully and began speaking seriously.
At his words, Theo chimed in as if remembering something.
“Oh, that time.”
“After I helped finish it and went home… I thought it would be done the next day, so I went into the lab?”
Alec deliberately paused, seemingly waiting for a reaction.
“And?”
“And… she was still in the same position as the day before, working on the research without moving! She said something was wrong!”
Theo slowly added a comment.
“Yeah… she probably stayed at that desk like that for almost a week…”
Eventually, Ashur’s eyebrows furrowed slightly.
‘Not taking care of herself… she’s always been like that.’
Alec and Theo didn’t notice, continuing their story.
“Right. Even if we brought her food, she wouldn’t eat it properly. She only collapsed to sleep after finishing everything.”
“Still… she couldn’t have not slept at all, right? She must’ve dozed off for a bit?”
Theo’s skeptical remark was met with a firm shake of Alec’s head.
“Nope. You just didn’t see it. She’d pass out after carefully putting the results aside. If you had seen her hollow eyes… ugh.”
“…That’s true.”
“I was debating whether to call a doctor because she wouldn’t wake up for a long time, and then suddenly she’d sit up and devour the cold food like a maniac.”
Alec recounted the story, his face turning pale.
“Do you know how terrifying that was? I thought, ‘If corpses could come back to life, this is what it’d be like!’”
Sierra let out a small sigh and tried to quietly slip away as if she hadn’t heard.
‘Why are they talking about this so casually… it’s embarrassing.’
But Ashur’s response to Alec and Theo’s chat was unexpected.
“Sierra had moments like that even in the Sanctuary… but if you fed her directly, she would eat properly.”
Alec and Theo were stunned by the unexpected answer.
“What? Ah… that method.”
“Now that I’m here to take care of her, she can do as she pleases.”
“Hmm… so you thought that even after seeing that.”
Alec and Theo shook their heads and chuckled, clearly admitting defeat.
Sierra ignored their ongoing conversation and walked further inside.
Even though her friends were teasing, Ashur didn’t seem embarrassed—but she herself felt very self-conscious.
‘Talking about things like that so casually… I can’t blame them for calling me spoiled.’
Her heart fluttered inexplicably.
She loved how Ashur was always honest and yet blushed at every little thing she did.
Moreover, her time immersed in research at the magic tower was completely different from her time in the Sanctuary.
When developing the reinforcement magic circle, it felt like she was endlessly digging through tunnels just to be acknowledged.
Even if successful, the joy only lasted briefly.
The compulsion to accomplish something again soon after left her always feeling chased.
But her research in the Sanctuary came from a genuine desire to help others.
She enjoyed working with Kadiya and appreciated Ashur’s kind attention.
Seeing the villagers delighted whenever she unveiled a new magic brought her satisfaction.
Even in just three seasons—a short period, in a sense—the warmth of those moments filled her heart completely.
She wanted to return to the Sanctuary immediately and enjoy that happiness with Ashur.
With her eyes closed, she could vividly imagine it.
The villagers’ happy laughter, the fragrant scent of swaying leaves, the abundant mana that appeared whenever a divine beast showed up.
‘Just a little more strength.’
Now that a method to bypass the mana suppressor was devised, she had to look for openings.
Participating in suspicious experiments would have been ideal, but unexpectedly, the magic tower demanded nothing from Sierra.
So she had to delve deeply into the magic circle under research.
From Sierra’s perspective, this reinforcement magic circle was highly suspicious.
Although it was claimed to be a modified version of her creation, it contained unknown gears she couldn’t identify.
No matter how much data she examined, she couldn’t find it, which led her to conclude:
‘Adrian must’ve tampered with something using dark magic.’
It would be nice to ask him directly, but since the suspicious experiment began, he rarely appeared at the tower.
Sierra studied the modified reinforcement magic circle closely.
‘If it’s Adrian…’
The man who cursed villagers, was strong enough to transform at will, yet simply desired war, and didn’t seem particularly loyal to any country.
If the hidden component of this magic circle was truly dark magic,
how could it be prevented from activating—or purified?
Sierra recalled purifying curses in the Sanctuary.
If it had been meant to harm people, it could have spread a far stronger curse.
The strongest warrior, Ashur, wasn’t there, and she was trapped and powerless.
Perhaps… Adrian’s goal wasn’t to destroy the Sanctuary.
Then, what was he hoping to gain by instigating war?
Currently, there was too little information.
‘If only I could meet him one more time, I might figure it out.’
She wasn’t sure she would get a proper answer.
Thinking about Adrian reminded her of something else.
Sierra quickly laid out long formulas and magic circles on paper.
Wondering if this would be the feel of creating a transformation magic circle.
Theo came closer and looked at the paper.
“What’s this? Changing hair color or something?”
Even understanding it from such a casual attempt—typical of a wizard who sparred with Sierra in the tower.
“Not exactly…”
Sierra glanced at the observer behind her.
Seeing her caution, Alec communicated mentally.
-“Why? Is this magic circle dangerous?”
“Hmm… I thought it could be viewed from a completely new perspective.”
“New perspective? Huh.”
-“Ah, it’s frustrating to speak alone. I can’t hand over a comm device because they’ll ask what it is… what could this mean… hmm…”
Theo also moved closer to inspect the formulas.
-“Quite complex.”
-“Hair color, eye color, muscle… shape? Bones? Does it include all of that? Trying to modify the person rather than just enhancing the magic circle?”
Alec and Theo discussed Sierra’s magic circle intensely.
Magic that transforms someone entirely.
Perfect transformation like Adrian’s might be difficult, but perhaps something similar could be achieved.
Just enough to buy time for an escape.
Sierra, noticing their seriousness, tapped Ashur’s arm lightly.
The muscles she touched flinched.
Finally, Theo seemed to realize and muttered.
“Ah.”
-“Got it!”
“New perspective, huh? That’s a good idea. Need to study it more.”
-“Trying proper disguises, huh? Thinking of this…”
-“This will be difficult.”
-“And fun.”
Alec and Theo exchanged grins.
From then on, they focused entirely on researching the new magic circle.
To seize the chance to escape.
With the three of them competing in the magic tower, progress on transformation magic came faster than expected.
Separately, a few days after submitting the research results on the reinforcement magic circle,
someone at the tower called Sierra.
