TLVGAJ 40

~Chapter 40~

Fabian Alfonso.

I had expected it, but hearing his name felt like a final confirmation.

I had really run into the fourth male lead of this novel.

I never thought I’d meet all four male leads during my trip.

I pressed my lips together, feeling awkward.

I should probably introduce myself too.

In the unfamiliar room, I reached out and shook his hand.

“…I’m Irene Hartmann, daughter of the Duke Hartmann of the Hashit Empire.”

Still, questions swirled in my mind.

Strange. In the novel, Irene and Fabian had no connection before the original story began.

Yet here he was, showing up before the plot even started.

As if he’d been looking for me… and even going so far as to abduct me!

Why was he trying to help me?

What exactly did he mean by that?

Almost as if reading my thoughts, he said:

“Not long ago, I found traces of a massive magic outburst in a region called Sinks.”

“…Ah.”

“When I followed those traces… I found you.”

My heart sank at the mention of Sinks.

So that was it — I now understood why he’d come after me.

I really didn’t think the Master of the Tower would track me over the outburst.

But of course, if someone like Irene had left traces of a magic surge, even I would have hunted down the source.

Why hadn’t I thought of that?

Too focused on the outburst itself, I never considered Fabian might come for me.

So this wasn’t a coincidence — I’d practically called him to me.

“Then, was saving me earlier intentional?”

“That part was a coincidence. Once I found you, it just happened that your magic was about to go out of control again.”

“….”

“So I absorbed your magic. Luckily, I can handle more magic than you can.”

Of course — Fabian wasn’t the Master of the Tower for nothing.

He had the strongest magic of any mage alive.

The magic I couldn’t control, he could contain — acting as a buffer so it wouldn’t reach anyone else.

“…Thank you. Thanks to you, I got through that moment without causing any trouble.”

I meant it. Without Fabian, I might have ended up a wanted criminal.

“Then… when can I go back?” I asked cautiously.

Surely he wouldn’t keep me here… right?

“…As long as you answer my questions properly.”

He waved a paper in front of me.

“Why haven’t you registered with the Mage Association?”

“…Ah.”

“You should have been under supervised training since you were a child.”

His tone almost sounded scolding.

“Well… I was busy trying to heal my magic from a young age. I’ve always had too much, and I often collapsed under its weight.”

So instead of embracing magic, Irene had focused on suppressing it through the temple, since holy power could reduce it.

“And registration with the Mage Association isn’t mandatory, as far as I know.”

“…Hmm.” Fabian frowned.

“How’s your heart? If you’ve only focused on controlling that much magic, it must have suffered.”

“…Yes. I was told recently that I’m terminal.”

I gave a bitter smile.

They said the magic had clumped in my chest — I had about a year left.

“That’s… the worst-case scenario.”

“So I gave up everything and decided to travel. But lately, my magic keeps going out of control — Sinks was the first time.”

It was frustrating. In the original story, Irene never experienced magic surges.

Why did they start after I possessed her body?

Fabian explained:

“Magic outbursts happen in extreme situations.”

“…What?”

“What happened in Sinks at the time of the outburst?”

Extreme situations… yes.

I remembered it vividly — the moment when poachers nearly killed everyone.

“Once you’ve experienced your first outburst, it’s easier to trigger again, even from minor stimuli. That’s what happened in the Colosseum just now.”

“…Right. There were a lot of people, and I was watching the match.”

It all made sense now — after Sinks, even small triggers could set me off.

“But I’ve been taking my medicine regularly.”

“Now the medicine won’t help much. The magic you’ve suppressed has already been released — it won’t respond to suppression like before.”

“Then what should I do…?”

I couldn’t travel like this, collapsing and surging without warning.

“Please help me. I can’t keep going like this during my trip.”

I looked at him with the most desperate eyes I could manage.

“…I’ll send you back for now,” he said after studying me.

“And… I’ll accompany you for the rest of your trip.”

“Huh? Together?”

He nodded.

“You’re basically a walking time bomb right now. As the one responsible for magic control, I can’t let you harm civilians. This is the only way.”

“….”

“And if I have time, I’ll teach you a quick way to calm an outburst.”

“….”

I stared at him. A way to calm it…

Alright. Soon, I nodded.

This was the only safe way to finish my trip.

Even if traveling with the fourth male lead felt a bit burdensome…

I decided to accept it. He would be helpful. And somehow, Fabian… felt a little comforting.

“…Alright. Let’s travel together for the rest of the trip.”

This time, I held out my hand to him with a small smile.

“I’m counting on you, Fabian.”

And just like that, my journey gained an unexpected companion.