Vol 2. Chapter 51: Can You Play Without Cutting?

Mirexia stood frozen for a long time in front of the Radiant Sanctum, which was empty of anyone. When tutors and students finally arrived, she began searching other parts of the cathedral but still found no trace of Vanessa.

This left Mirexia somewhat panicked, her mind spinning with endless possibilities.

Could it be that Vanessa successfully summoned the Goddess of Radiance, but at the cost of her own life?

Could Vanessa have run into trouble? Was she abducted by someone before everyone else arrived?

Where exactly was Vanessa now?

Without any clue, Mirexia felt lost and despondent—but she kept her composure outwardly. She knew that if Vanessa was still alive and safe, this would be the moment she needed her the most.

Normally, after disasters, the busiest people would be the academy’s top officials and the tutors not directly involved in combat, then the student council responsible for maintaining order. This was undoubtedly the time the academy needed Mirexia most.

But Mirexia had no thoughts of overtime at all. Until she received definite news about Vanessa’s condition, her mind was a tangled mess—no room to think about anything else or handle any work.

Every single thread of her thoughts was pulled by that girl, unable to focus on anything else.

Only now did Mirexia clearly realize just how important that girl was to her.

To that end, she found Vanessa’s roommate, Shikondell.

“Eh? Vanessa? Now that you mention it, I don’t think I saw Vanessa at the shelter. After he handed me over to Milian, I didn’t see where he went—seemed like something urgent came up,” Shikondell looked anxiously at Mirexia, who approached her with a sense of urgency. She too began to worry about Vanessa’s safety.

She had thought Vanessa had also entered the shelter, but with so many people there, she just hadn’t seen him.

Yet according to the student council president’s words, Vanessa hadn’t gone to the shelter at all?

“W-what exactly is going on? President, Vanessa didn’t come to the shelter?” Shikondell glanced around, hoping to spot the familiar figure among the dispersing crowd—but of course, she found nothing.

Mirexia remained silent. Of course she knew it was impossible to find Vanessa here. Asking Shikondell was just a faint hope—maybe Vanessa had returned at some point.

In truth, she also knew that was almost impossible.

“He’s fine. You take care of yourself,” Mirexia said before leaving, not wanting to worry Shikondell further.

“Eh? Eh eh??” Shikondell watched Mirexia hurry away, feeling a bad premonition despite the reassurance.

Could something have happened to Vanessa?

Shikondell’s heart was uneasy.

“Shikondell... don’t worry. That guy’s thick-skinned and tough. He’ll be fine. Even if he ran into fanatics, they still couldn’t kill him,” Milian stepped forward to comfort her.

Shikondell said nothing, silently gazing up at the sky, hands clasped.

Though an elf, she prayed earnestly to the Goddess of Radiance for Vanessa’s safety.

For the next few hours, after intense battles, Mirexia pushed herself without eating or drinking, scouring almost every important corner of the academy, but still saw no trace of the familiar figure.

If, if she couldn’t be found anywhere on campus—then, could it be...?

No, no way. Such a thing wouldn’t happen.

Mirexia firmly believed Vanessa was waiting somewhere for her help.

At that moment, for some reason, a childhood memory of Vanessa suddenly flashed in her mind.

“Park—right, the park...”

“Are you there?”

So Mirexia headed toward the neglected park in the abandoned old school building, a place almost never visited, especially at such times.

The golden-haired girl flew over the abandoned building, lowered her altitude, retracted her dragon wings, and landed in the deserted little park.

She didn’t know why she chose this place, when the academy had many small parks.

She only felt that if Vanessa was safe and had recalled their childhood promise, she would surely pick the most secluded park.

But this possibility was very slim. Aside from whether Vanessa was safe now, could she even remember the childhood promise as Mirexia did?

The odds were low—unless they truly shared a meeting of minds.

Just as she waited, seeing no one for a long time and feeling discouraged, she suddenly lifted her eyes—and saw a cloaked figure intruding into her view.

The silhouette was clearly that of a girl.

In an instant, she was overjoyed.

When the girl removed her cloak and confirmed it was Vanessa, Mirexia’s heart finally settled.

‘Virtue +400.’

‘Current Virtue: 5704.’

“Vanessa, how did you find this place?...”

“Didn’t we promise as kids?” Vanessa smiled faintly at Mirexia’s stunned question. “In emergencies, when we can’t reach each other, we meet at the park. So I came to keep the promise.”

“Wasn’t Mirexia here for the same reason?”

“Vanessa...” Mirexia hurried forward in three steps and embraced her.

‘Virtue +100.’

‘Current Virtue: 5804.’

Held close by Mirexia, Vanessa was momentarily stunned. The warmth pressing against her chest thawed her heart as well.

Looking at Mirexia who took the initiative to hug her, Vanessa softened her expression, realizing she had worried Mirexia too long.

“Mirexia, you still love to act spoiled just like when we were kids,” Vanessa gently patted Mirexia’s back and stroked her wonderfully soft hair, her voice soothing like a mother comforting a child.

“...I’m just glad you’re okay.” Realizing how forward she’d been, Mirexia quickly let go, cheeks flushing, and stepped back, clearing her throat.

“I just wanted to check if you were hurt.”

“Eh? Why stop checking then?” Vanessa smiled warmly at Mirexia. “You only checked for a short time. What could you find out in that?”

“If you can say things like that to tease me, then you probably aren’t seriously hurt,” Mirexia crossed her arms over the Fertile Valley, averting her gaze. “Besides, your spirit soul is still a Divine Envoy.”

“What happened to you before? You were silent for hours.” After confirming Vanessa had no injuries, Mirexia sighed in relief, then asked hesitantly.

At this moment, she wasn’t the genius princess who rationally decided the country’s fate, but a pure young girl seeing her crush—awkward and half-hurt, subtly questioning why she had ignored her before.

“Well, there was a bit of an incident earlier. I wanted to come find you immediately,” Vanessa explained.

“You just say that,” Mirexia muttered quietly.

Most people couldn’t imagine this usually calm and composed princess ever showing such a cute expression in private.

“Well then, who else would I think of first in a crisis besides my most trusted and beloved childhood friend?” Vanessa smiled charmingly.

“Mos-mos... beloved...?” Mirexia’s breath hitched.

“What? You don’t believe me?~ Need me to say it again? I love my childhood friend the most,” Vanessa teased.

‘Virtue +300.’

‘Current Virtue: 6104.’

“...Honestly, don’t do such dangerous things alone anymore.” Once Vanessa said this, Mirexia’s earlier doubts vanished, leaving only relief.

She said that, and thankfully nothing bad happened this time.

So everything was fine.

However, before Mirexia could say more, she suddenly noticed a scent on Vanessa—not unfamiliar, but clearly not her own.

A cold fragrance of wild rose and rose.

“...Vanessa, where did you just go?”

“I—” Vanessa felt bothered and wanted to simplify the answer, but then noticed Mirexia’s eyes narrow like a cat’s, unnervingly calm, triggering an inexplicable sense of danger in her mind.

...Fine, if it’s troublesome, I’ll just tell it all.

“So here’s what happened.” Vanessa recounted how Aesphyra had saved her, leaving out the part about Divine Favor and the nonsense Aesphyra said—just saying she was rescued and brought to Aesphyra’s home to recover.

“Aesphyra saved you??” Mirexia recalled then—the soothing cold scent was definitely Aesphyra’s.

“Yes. It was really critical then. Thanks to Aesphyra, I was taken away just in time, narrowly escaping exposure. The consequences would have been unimaginable,” Vanessa sighed.

“I see.” Mirexia had wondered who could have the ability to take Vanessa away in front of so many people—and when she learned it was Aesphyra, she understood.

To her, Aesphyra had always been a mysterious prodigy with unmatched talent. If anyone could do what ordinary students couldn’t, it was her.

Her admiration for Aesphyra grew considerably.

Though that was entirely because Aesphyra helped Vanessa.

Still...

Watching Vanessa, Mirexia’s intuition told her something was left unsaid.

Aesphyra took Vanessa home, then what?

According to Vanessa, she couldn’t move at all and needed Aesphyra’s help just to eat.

That should be normal and reasonable—but somehow, Mirexia felt something odd. She couldn’t say exactly what.

It was a feeling somewhat like a guy sensing another guy eyeing his girlfriend.

But Mirexia didn’t know what the feeling really was—just that something was strange.

She didn’t dwell on it long.

Leaving aside why Vanessa hid it, Mirexia’s high opinion of Aesphyra remained intact.

Aesphyra had helped her many times and, to Mirexia, was a noble girl with selfless spirit—definitely not someone who’d do anything immoral.

So it was just a passing suspicion, nothing more.

“By the way, Mirexia, I have a favor to ask.”

“What is it?” Mirexia was puzzled.

“Do you have anything that can detect magic or enchanted items on a person? I want to check if I’m under any spells or curses.”

“I do, but why do you suspect that?” Mirexia asked, confused.

“Well, the Bronze Blood and Elrunas use very dirty tricks—you know that. I’m afraid after fighting them, I might have curses or something left on me.”

Vanessa didn’t tell the whole truth.

Mostly, she wasn’t worried about Bronze Blood’s magic items—but about Aesphyra’s.

After all, she’d been in Aesphyra’s presence for so long, unable to move. If Aesphyra wanted to slip a tracking enchantment or spell on her, it would have been easy.

Though Aesphyra probably wouldn’t do that, Vanessa had to be cautious.

“Alright, but the detector’s at my place. Let’s go get it.” Mirexia glanced at Vanessa, then asked, “How much longer will you need?”

Naturally, she meant how much longer until Vanessa could become Vinny again.

“Well, there’s still some time left before twenty-four hours.”

“Then let’s just wait at my place.”

“Yeah, sounds good.” Vanessa agreed without hesitation—partly because she trusted Mirexia, and partly because Mirexia wouldn’t cause trouble.

“Alright then, I’ll count on you to give me a ride.” Saying that, Vanessa put her hood back on to conceal her face and nestled into Mirexia’s arms.

Holding Vanessa, Mirexia suddenly recalled the last time they were together in the Demon God Domain.

‘Virtue +50.’

‘Current Virtue: 6154.’

With virtue points increasing at this rate—can you even play without cutting?