Lance stood by the window of Cecilia’s bedroom, looking out into the compound of the Church of Holy Light’s station.
People were coming and going, seemingly busy with official business; there wasn’t a single moment when the courtyard was empty.
‘I can’t get out…’
He pondered to himself, feeling a bit troubled.
‘According to Noren’s description, Cecilia flew me directly in here. We didn’t even use the main gate, so naturally, I don’t have a pass for the Church of Holy Light station. By contrast, Noren has much more freedom than I do. Could she take me out?’
The thought had barely crossed his mind before Lance immediately dismissed it.
‘No, no! That wouldn’t stand up to questioning. It’s safer for Cecilia to take me out. I wonder where she went…’
He needed to go to the Adventurers’ Guild as soon as possible to explain the situation to Astrid; they had been out of contact for a long time.
‘After handling these things, should I set out for the Restoration Army to face those old fogies?’
Lance still felt a bit lacking in confidence. After all, those four old men were, at the end of the day, in the Elemental Tier.
At most, he would only be leveraging Cecilia’s prestige to ensure his life wasn’t threatened.
If he wanted to push for any actual changes, it probably wouldn’t be that easy.
Sigh~
Letting out a soft sigh, Lance felt worried about his future.
Only he knew how much of his previous explanation to Noren was true; most of it had been to comfort her so she wouldn’t worry about him.
‘If only someone could directly solve Noren’s problem, I wouldn’t have to go to that gods-forsaken place to try and find a way to get the experimental data…’
As he murmured to himself, a flash of inspiration suddenly struck.
‘Don’t I have a mysterious Witch living in my head who possesses an incredibly high status and claims her knowledge far exceeds that of the Academy of Sages?’
How could he have forgotten her?
Thinking of this, Lance immediately asked in his mind, “Master, can you solve my sister’s physical issues?”
“Hmm?”
Falia’s voice sounded somewhat ethereal, as she had previously exerted all her strength to break through Siofra’s summoning restrictions.
She was only a step away from falling back into a deep slumber and was barely maintaining consciousness.
She hadn’t been of much help earlier. Although Lance hadn’t said anything, Falia still felt a sense of shame and embarrassment.
Hearing the question now, she felt a jolt of energy, thinking that she had to redeem herself no matter what this time.
She immediately responded, “Call your sister over. I’ll perform an investigation first.”
“Thank you, Master!”
Lance thanked her internally and turned back toward the dressing table on the other side of the room, where Noren was smoothing out her ruffled hair.
“Noren, come here for a moment.”
Lance beckoned her over.
Hearing this, Noren’s little face crumpled. She slowly stood up, looking reluctant.
“Brother… didn’t you say you forgave me?”
Noren spoke as she walked. In an instant, her eyes became watery, and she looked at Lance pitifully, attempting to awaken their long-standing sibling bond.
Lance’s face darkened, and he couldn’t help but scold her, “I’m not a violent maniac! Just come over here; you’ll be fine!”
“Oh~”
Hearing that she wouldn’t have her head drilled by his knuckles, Noren felt greatly relieved. Her steps lightened, and she reached Lance in just two or three strides.
Looking into Noren’s ruby-like eyes, Lance couldn’t help but sigh again.
Now both his and Noren’s eyes had turned red; they looked more like siblings than they ever had before.
The sky-blue eyes of the Pharos family would likely vanish from now on… He wondered if the next generation would ever have blue eyes again.
‘Master, can you investigate now?’
“Huh? Why is it like this?”
Falia’s slightly confused voice came through, causing Lance’s heart to tighten instantly. He hurriedly asked, “W… what’s wrong?”
Within the Mental World, Falia snapped out of it, realizing there was an issue with her wording. She explained, “I can’t see clearly… wait a moment.”
Hearing the explanation, Lance breathed a sigh of relief. It was good as long as there wasn’t a major problem.
‘But why can’t she see clearly? Falia’s status is so high; it shouldn’t be difficult to investigate using her mental power.’
As he pondered, Lance lowered his head and carefully studied the sister he hadn’t seen for over a month.
She didn’t seem to have changed much?
Err…
Under Lance’s gaze, the heart Noren had just put at ease began to race again.
‘Why isn’t he saying anything? Why is he just staring at me…’
‘I… I only made that one mistake recently. Didn’t we already agree that I was forgiven?’
While she was feeling uneasy, a faint blue light suddenly burst from her brother’s eyes.
Noren’s gaze sharpened as she stared unblinkingly at her brother’s eyes, very curious about what new skill he had mastered.
But Noren soon realized something wasn’t quite right. That faint blue light was gradually converging into a human shape, and it was becoming clearer and clearer!
This change left Noren somewhat at a loss, and she instinctively took a small step back.
This movement went unnoticed by Lance, who was equally bewildered.
“Ma… Master? Are you okay doing this?”
The faint blue light finally formed Falia’s distinct features.
Her exceptionally noble magus robes billowed without wind, making Falia’s form appear agile and ethereal.
Sensing Lance’s internal concern, Falia chuckled and said, “Don’t worry, don’t worry. This is just a Mental Projection.”
“No one else can see me except for you.”
‘Huh?’
‘Should I not be able to see her?’
Noren’s eyes widened, taking in everything Falia had just said. From those words, she seemed to be talking to her brother?
Filled with confusion, Noren looked at the female ghost surrounded by blue light, unsure of how she should react.
While she was dazed, the female ghost suddenly turned around.
The wide magus robes passed through Noren’s eyes, causing her to close them instinctively.
After realizing nothing had happened, she quickly opened them again.
The female ghost was circling her, looking her over.
‘What… what are you doing…’
Noren’s ruby eyes followed the floating ghost as she moved, staring at Falia without blinking.
Falia, who was observing the little girl of the Blood Race with great interest, was slightly stunned.
She suddenly stopped her floating posture, looking confused.
‘Is… is it an illusion?’
A question arose in her mind. Falia moved instantaneously from Noren’s front-left to her front-right.
Noren’s eyes flickered, and then she quickly adjusted her direction to look at Falia once more.
“You… you can see me?”
Falia had a look like she had seen a ghost, the panic in her eyes impossible to hide.
“I… I can also not see you…”
Hearing the alarm in Falia’s voice, Noren weakly stated her far-from-firm stance.
Falia was terrified. She quickly pulled back and hid behind Lance.
“Lan… Lance! There’s something very wrong with your sister!”
“Huh?”
What was going on?
Noren scratched her right cheek, wondering where she had messed up again.