Noren, wearing a black-and-white maid outfit, was carefully removing the bandages from her brother’s body.
Because the wounds burned by Holy Power were quite large, the process was extremely painful for Lance.
However, considering his pride as an older brother, no matter how great the pain was, Lance gritted his teeth and didn’t make a single sound.
‘It hurts so much… hiss…’
He grumbled in his heart, wondering whose idea it was to wrap him up like a mummy. It wasn’t effective at all!
As an Undead, the recovery system inside his body was almost useless! To recover from injuries as a Ghoul, the simplest way was naturally to consume flesh and blood!
Rip, rip… hiss…
The strips of cloth were removed one by one, revealing the dull complexion of Lance’s body, which showed a faint grayish-black color.
This infusion of Holy Light had actually knocked him back to his original form.
Previously, he had managed to grow a more normal outer skin tone by biting an Elf lady; at the very least, the color and luster had looked normal then.
Seeing her brother’s appearance change so drastically and noticing his heavy injuries, a wave of sharp pain shot through Noren’s heart.
“Brother… I’m sorry…”
Lance, who was still gasping in pain, froze. He turned his head to look at Noren, who had a look of guilt on her face, and asked in confusion, “Huh? What happened?”
“It’s all because of me that Brother was eaten by the Dragon…”
Hmm? Was she overthinking again? With a light sigh, Lance reached out and gave Noren’s forehead a gentle flick.
Thump~
The little maid cried out in pain, letting out a small “ugh” as she stumbled back two steps.
She then moved forward again to return to Lance’s side, though her eyes were already brimming with tears.
Lance smiled, reaching out to rub his sister’s head as he comforted her softly, “Brother being eaten by the Dragon was entirely due to my own greed and recklessness. How could it have anything to do with a shut-in like you?”
“But…”
Noren looked pitiful and wanted to say more, but Lance immediately interrupted her.
“Alright! Didn’t I come back safely? Look! Brother actually gained a blessing in disguise this time!”
With that, Lance spread his palms out in front of Noren. As Noren looked on in confusion, Lance activated his Holy Power and Mana, condensing two small whirlwinds of different attributes.
“How is it?”
Lance was clearly a bit smug to finally be able to show off in front of his sister.
After Noren sensed them, she realized his Holy Power and Mana had indeed recovered.
Sister Cecilia had already told her about this, but Noren still opened her eyes wide in ‘surprise.’
“Brother! Your Mana and Holy Power have both recovered?!”
Lance chuckled, becoming even more proud. “It’s not just that~ My strength has now recovered to Mid-stage High Rank! It’s not much different from my previous peak!”
At this, Noren skillfully played along, clasping her hands over her chest with stars shining in her eyes as she said admiringly, “That’s so amazing~”
“Hmph, of course! With your brother’s current skills, earning money will be a breeze. I’ve already decided! Once the problem with your body is solved, I’ll send you to the City of Wisdom to enroll this autumn!”
As he said this, Noren’s adoring expression froze. Her tone dropped a few notches, but she still forced herself to say, “That… that’s great…”
Although he knew Noren’s agreement was a bit forced, Lance still enjoyed it.
Noren just didn’t want to go to school; it wasn’t that she didn’t admire her brother.
And who could hate a cute little sister who idolized them?
While Lance was enjoying his sister’s admiration, two crisp knocks suddenly came from the door.
Lance looked over to see the gentle Saintess standing at the entrance, leaning against the frame as she knocked on the Wooden Door.
Lance instantly straightened up, cleared his throat twice, and quickly put on the ordinary Adventurer clothes lying nearby.
Noren also took the opportunity to regain her usual expression.
Standing up with the professional air of a maid, she moved out of the way and stood quietly to the side, leaving enough space for the two ‘adults’ to talk.
Cecilia walked over, not in a rush to talk about her own business. Instead, she looked at Noren and said with a smile, “You want to send Noren to the Magic Academy to study?”
This wasn’t hard to understand. After all, in the entire North Continent, anyone who craved knowledge and progress would flock to the City of Wisdom.
Naturally, there was nothing to hide, so Lance gave a confident affirmative. Cecilia nodded, but then she fell into thought, stroking her chin as she pondered.
After a moment, Cecilia asked a question that was both perfectly normal and incredibly mundane: “Is there enough money?”
“Uh… if I sell the loot, the first two years shouldn’t be much of a problem.”
Lance had considered this long ago, so he answered without hesitation.
“And after that?” Cecilia pressed.
“I’ll work hard; I should be able to earn it eventually…”
“Where will you earn it?”
“Huh? Maybe be a guard for some large merchant group?” Lance hesitated, unsure what Cecilia was planning.
But reaching this point, Her Highness the Saintess was still unsatisfied and continued to probe, “Too vague! Which merchant group?”
“Well… I haven’t decided yet…”
At this, Cecilia was finally satisfied, while Noren, standing to the side, became wary.
The Saintess, dressed in pure white clerical robes, pursed her lips and said softly, “It seems your plan is still a bit unclear~ In that case, why not choose me?”
“Ah? But Your Highness, you are currently the San—”
“No!”
Before Lance could finish, Noren suddenly interrupted the conversation.
The voice came so abruptly that Lance was momentarily dazed.
Noren had already forcefully stepped in front of Lance, separating her brother from the Saintess.
Cecilia was also a bit surprised, soon realizing something.
However, she wasn’t angry, only watching the girl who seemed to be protecting her brother with a faint smile.
“Eh? Noren, what are you…”
“Brother, don’t speak yet!”
Lance tried to ask, but he was once again forcefully interrupted by Noren.
Since he didn’t understand the situation, he had to shut his mouth and wait for Noren to explain.
“Sister Cecilia wants Brother to return to the Restoration Army, right?”
Noren had an unfriendly look on her face, her ruby-red eyes staring intently at Cecilia.
‘Return to the Restoration Army?’
Lance murmured in his mind, also starting to feel hesitant.
Given what he had done to the Restoration Army before, if those people found out he was still alive, those old fogies would probably go crazy sending people to kill him.
How could Cecilia let him walk into a trap at the Restoration Army?
But to Lance’s surprise, Cecilia nodded, confirming Noren’s theory.
“That is indeed the case. Is there a problem?”
This time, Lance couldn’t sit still. “Your Highness, how could I possibly return to the Restoration Army?!”