Chapter 66

Chapter 66. The Elixir (2)

The day after receiving the magic stone from Professor Elisha.

I contacted Iris and asked for her help.

Without even hearing what I was going to ask, Iris rushed straight to my dorm room.

“Purify the magic stone?”

“Yeah.”

I showed Iris the magic stone inside the box.

A faint, eerie glow emanated from the stone, about the size of a fist, carrying the ominous aura unique to dark magic.

“This… seems like a fairly high-grade magic stone.”

Iris frowned slightly as she felt the dense dark magic emanating from the stone.

“It’s a high-grade stone.”

“A high-grade stone? Where on earth did you get something so precious?”

Iris’s eyes widened as she stared at me.

“I helped Professor Elisha with something personal, and this was the reward.”

“What kind of help would warrant a high-grade stone as a reward… Gasp!”

Iris’s face turned pale as she grabbed my shoulders.

“D-Dale! You didn’t… exchange your body for this, did you?!”

“No.”

What kind of nonsense is this girl spouting?

“It’s not like that.”

“Answer me properly! Look me in the eye!”

“Really, it’s not like that.”

I stared straight into Iris’s eyes and shook my head slowly.

“Hmm.”

Iris scrutinized my face intently.

As if that wasn’t enough, she leaned closer and started poking and prodding me like she was kneading dough.

‘What are you trying to figure out by touching me?’

As I looked at her with a baffled expression, Iris let out a slightly heated breath and muttered.

“Y-You’re more muscular than I thought… Broad shoulders… and, uh, chest.”

“Excuse me?”

Miss Iris?

“A-Ahem! Anyway, you’re saying nothing inappropriate happened with Professor Elisha, right?”

“I swear on the heavens, nothing like that happened.”

“Well… I’ll believe you.”

Iris nodded and carefully took the magic stone out of the box.

“So, you want me to purify this stone for you?”

“Yeah, I’d really appreciate it.”

“*Giggle*. Alright.”

“…But are you sure you can do it?”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“I heard purifying a magic stone is a pretty complicated technique.”

In her past life, she could purify magic stones as easily as breathing, but that was her past life.

I wasn’t sure if she could use purification techniques during her time as a candidate.

“*Giggle*. Who do you think I am? I’m the Saintess, you know.”

As if to dismiss my concerns, Iris confidently thumped her chest.

The dynamic movement of her chest, filled with divine grace (?), instantly boosted my trust in her.

“I haven’t done it much, but purifying a magic stone isn’t that hard.”

“Really? Then I’ll leave it to you.”

“Just trust me.”

Iris exhaled a determined breath, full of enthusiasm.

She placed the stone on the table and slowly closed her eyes.

“O seven shining gods in the high heavens.”

Iris began to chant an incantation, drawing a holy symbol with graceful movements.

“Bestow your grace and purify this impure energy.”

Whoooosh!

A pure white light burst forth from Iris’s body.

A power so pure and clean that it inspired awe just by looking at it.

Iris clasped her hands together as if in prayer, further amplifying her divine energy.

The white light emanating from her body took the form of a ‘Holy Mark.’

‘The Holy Mark of the Sky God.’

It was the Holy Mark Iris possessed, and the one most commonly used by candidates in the Support Department.

‘It’s still as vivid as ever.’

The Holy Mark of the Sky God, which naturally appeared whenever Iris used ‘Prayer,’ was far more vivid and radiant than those used by priests of the Holy Kingdom.

‘Seeing that, the purification should go smoothly… Huh?’

At that moment.

Something unexpected began to happen.

“Haa.”

Iris exhaled a low breath and opened her eyes.

Her irises shimmered with a rainbow-like glow.

The ‘Seven Eyes’ activated, and the number of Holy Marks floating in the air increased.

Sun, star, moon, sky, earth, sea, forest.

Seven Holy Marks intertwined in the air as if dancing.

‘This is… the power of the Seven Eyes.’

I let out a soft gasp as I watched Iris.

In her past life, I had seen her use ‘Prayer’ countless times, but this was the first time I had seen all seven Holy Marks appear simultaneously.

‘Well, it makes sense that this is the first time.’

In her past life, Ashtaroth, the Grand Archbishop of Dreaming, had stolen her ‘Seven Eyes,’ leaving her unable to use the power of any Holy Mark other than the Sky God’s.

‘I changed that.’

Every time I saw the rainbow-like glow in her eyes, an indescribable emotion welled up in my chest.

‘This isn’t the end.’

In fact, this was just the beginning.

There were still many futures I needed to change, not just Iris’s.

‘It feels like it’s not decreasing but increasing.’

I forced a bitter smile as I thought of Professor Elisha.

Every time a new connection formed that hadn’t existed in my past life, I felt the burden grow, but it didn’t matter.

I had decided to live this way.

To lead a life where I took the lead, not one where I was dragged along by others.

‘To do that, I need to get stronger faster.’

Honestly, even my current growth rate was historically unprecedented.

But my goals were so high that I still felt unsatisfied.

“Haa, haa. Ugh…”

Iris continued the purification process, sweating profusely.

In response to her efforts, the ominous black glow emanating from the stone gradually turned into a clear, transparent blue.

About five more minutes passed.

“Whew! It’s done now!”

Iris, drenched in sweat, exhaled heavily and withdrew her power.

The white light that had filled the room disappeared, and her irises, which had been shimmering with a rainbow-like glow, returned to their original color.

“Good job.”

I handed her a glass of cool water.

Iris, seemingly parched, gulped down the water in one go.

“Phew! Check if it’s done properly.”

“Okay.”

I channeled a bit of magic into the purified stone, and the faint blue glow grew stronger.

‘Huh? What’s this?’

My eyes widened as I sensed the magic within the stone.

‘The purity of the magic has increased?’

The stone, which had a somewhat disappointing purity despite its massive magic capacity, had somehow increased in purity after the ‘purification.’

“This is unbelievable…”

Just as polishing rusted iron doesn’t turn it into steel, purification and increasing magic purity were originally unrelated.

‘In her past life, Iris couldn’t increase the purity of a magic stone through purification.’

If Iris, who was far more skilled in her past life, couldn’t do it, but the current Iris could, then…

‘Is it because of the Seven Eyes?’

It was a moment when I understood why Ashtaroth was so obsessed with the ‘Seven Eyes.’

“What’s so unbelievable?”

Iris, who had finished drinking and caught her breath, asked.

“Well… I checked, and the magic purity has increased.”

“Huh? The magic purity increased?”

Iris’s eyes widened as if she hadn’t expected it.

“You didn’t know?”

“N-No. I didn’t know the ‘Seven Eyes’ had the power to increase magic purity. I just thought using the Seven Eyes would make the purification cleaner…”

“……”

Come to think of it, Iris still didn’t know much about the ‘Seven Eyes.’

‘Well, whatever.’

Good is good.

Looking at the result, this was the best possible outcome.

‘Originally, the stone was rated as high-grade due to its low purity… Now it might even be rated as top-grade.’

High-grade stones were already worth over 5 million gold, but a top-grade stone…

‘If I use this to make an elixir…’

Gulp.

A dry swallow slid down my throat.

A thrilling shiver ran down my spine.

“Saintess!!!”

I grabbed her hands and shook them up and down.

“Ah. D-Dale…”

Iris’s face turned red as she trailed off.

Iris waited calmly until my excitement subsided, then smiled beautifully and spoke.

“I’m glad the process went well.”

“Thank you so much.”

“*Giggle*. I’m just happy I could help you, Dale.”

“Ugh.”

How can she say such sweet things, our Saintess!

“By the way, Dale.”

“Yeah?”

“You’re not planning to just say thank you and leave it at that, are you?”

Iris looked at me with sparkling eyes.

A mischievous smile had formed on her lips.

“Do you want something? If it’s within my power, I’ll do anything.”

She turned a high-grade stone into a top-grade one—what request could I possibly refuse?

“Really? You just said you’d do anything, right?”

“Yeah.”

“You’ll really do anything I ask?”

“Y-Yeah.”

What is this?

Suddenly, I have a bad feeling.

“*Giggle*. Then…”

Iris rummaged through her bag and pulled out a headband with dog ears.

“Ta-da!”

“Wait.”

Why are you carrying that around in your bag?

“*Giggle*. It’s a headband I gave out as gifts to the kids during the Sealing Festival.”

“No, I mean, why are you carrying it around?”

“I thought an opportunity like this might come up!”

An opportunity like this…?

Wait. Is that request what I think it is…?

“Put this on and act like a dog!”

“Alright. This stone is going in the trash.”

“Ah! W-What are you doing?!”

Of course, I didn’t actually destroy the stone.

“You want me to wear this and act like a dog?”

“Yes!”

Iris nodded with a bright smile.

‘Ah.’

Suddenly, a memory from my past life flashed through my mind.

‘Come to think of it, she had this kind of taste back then.’

During our intimate moments in her past life, she would occasionally request this kind of play (?).

Back then, since her eyes were gone, I didn’t have to wear a headband, but who would have thought it would come to this?

“You promised to do anything I asked, right?”

“Ugh.”

“Or were you lying to me?”

“……”

Damn it.

I sensed there was no way out and reluctantly accepted the dog ear headband she offered.

* * *

“…Dale hasn’t been coming lately.”

The private training grounds, which could only be accessed by those ranked within the top 50 in the year-end evaluation or by paying a hefty donation fee.

In one of the top-tier private training grounds, a blonde youth stared blankly into the air.

“Sigh.”

Yuren let out a deep sigh and turned on his Hero Watch to check the messages he had exchanged with Dale.

Two days ago.

[Let’s train together today.]

[I have something else to do today, so it might be tough.]

One day ago.

[Are you busy today too?]

[Professor Elisha called me, so I have to go there. Sorry.]

And today.

[So… today?]

[Ah, sorry. I have a prior engagement with Iris today, so it might be difficult.]

“……”

For the past few days, Dale had been too busy to train with him.

“…You said I did well and praised me.”

Yuren aimlessly pressed his foot against the training ground floor.

While idly passing the time without even practicing his swordsmanship, a brilliant idea suddenly crossed his mind.

‘Should I go visit Dale’s room?’

He said he had a prior engagement with Iris today, but unless they were staying overnight, he should return to his room eventually.

“Ahem. W-Well. It’s just to see his face! Friends can do that, right?”

Yuren walked excitedly toward Dale’s dorm room.

“Let’s see… I think he said it was Dormitory Building C?”

It was the cheap dormitory mainly used by scholarship students.

“…It’s pretty run-down.”

Compared to the A Building where he stayed, it looked like a building in a slum.

‘There it is.’

He stood in front of the door with the room number Dale had mentioned.

“Now, I’ll just wait here until he gets back… Huh?”

At that moment.

A ‘woof woof’ sound came from inside the room.

‘A dog?’

Of course.

Keeping pets in the dormitory was against the rules.

‘Is Dale secretly keeping a dog?’

If someone passing by heard this, Dale would be in trouble.

At worst, he could get a penalty for breaking the rules.

‘He already got a zero this time!’

I can’t let it go into the negatives.

Yuren decided to take the dog Dale was secretly keeping out before anyone noticed and opened the door.

And what he saw was.

“Woof woof.”

Dale, wearing a dog ear headband, acting like a dog.

“……”

The reunion with his friend was the worst.