Chapter 28: The Leaking Vessel

According to Noah, her younger sister suffered from a rather rare illness. Even the Church hospital could do nothing about it.

“To relieve this strange illness, my sister has needed large amounts of mana recovery potion since she was little.”

“A strange illness? Why does she need mana recovery potion?”

Aelian was confused. He knew nothing about the illnesses of this world.

“Her constitution is very similar to mine. I have never been able to sense mana. My sister’s body is like a leaking bucket. Since birth, she has been losing mana constantly.”

“When the mana in her body runs out, it starts consuming her life force. No matter if it is medicine, healing, or the Church’s blessing arts, once mana is poured in, it slowly drains away. The doctors at the Church hospital also said my sister cannot be saved.”

“But I don’t want her to die. Even if it’s just one more day with me.”

She lowered her head. Her purple hair fell and covered most of her face, but her voice was strangely calm. Her hands lay folded on her knees, nails pressing lightly into the skin of the back of her hand.

“To delay her death, I have to work desperately to earn money and buy mana recovery potion.”

Noah still did not dare look at Aelian.

After signing the master-servant contract, she should have no right to make demands of her master.

Aelian understood. He had fully grasped her intention.

“So you came to borrow money from me?”

She gave an almost imperceptible nod.

The nod was as light as wind passing over wheat, and Aelian nearly missed it.

Aelian did want to help, but he believed simply giving money would not work. If he gave it this time, there would be a next time and the time after that.

“First take me to see your sister.”

Hope lit in Noah’s eyes. Her mood lifted a little, and she nodded firmly.

“Okay!”

***

Aelian followed Noah out of Tyrande Academy. She turned left and right through narrow alleys, stepped over puddles and piles of rubble, and finally stopped before a wall that had mostly collapsed.

Night wind poured through the gap in the broken wall, stirring dust and dead leaves on the ground. The air held a faint smell of damp earth, mixed with a barely there bitterness of potion.

This was where Noah and her sister lived.

He had expected this. The two sisters spent all their money on mana recovery potion, so of course they could only sleep on the street.

In a corner of the broken wall, in what could barely be called a room that kept out wind and rain, there was an unremarkable bed.

It was pieced together from old boards and bricks, and one leg was propped with a stone to keep it level. A thick cotton quilt covered it.

The quilt had been washed until it was pale, but it was folded neatly. Its edges were frayed, yet there was not a single stain.

A small, thin figure seemed to be sleeping peacefully inside. She was curled into such a tiny ball that the quilt barely showed a human shape.

Noah did not wake her directly. Instead, she said to Aelian:

“This is my sister Grace. Her schedule… is not very regular. She often cannot sleep at night.”

She kept her voice very low, afraid to wake her sister from this rare rest.

He leaned closer to look. The girl had the same purple hair as Noah, but she was so thin she was almost skin and bones. Her whole face had wasted away.

Her cheeks were deeply sunken. Her lips had an unnatural gray-white color. Only the tip of her nose showed a faint rise and fall, proof that she was still breathing.

‘Little Nether?’

‘It matches what she said. She is indeed losing mana slowly. In this situation, the best option would be to heal her completely in one go with a sixth-circle spell, True Resurrection. No wonder the Church could do nothing.’

Little Nether did not say the rest, but Aelian understood what he meant.

A priest who could cast sixth-circle spells, was that not a legendary priest?

Hiring someone of that level for one treatment would probably cost enough to buy hundreds or thousands of bottles of mana recovery potion.

Who was a legendary priest in the original work?

Of course it was Mia. By the end of the game, the girls in the protagonist party had all reached legendary level without question.

But right now Mia was only an elite priest. The highest she could cast was the third-circle intermediate resurrection spell.

For a moment, Aelian felt there was nothing he could do.

But Noah’s hopeful gaze beside him…

It was burning.

Like a thin needle pricking his cheek, impossible to avoid.

‘Hey, Little Nether! We can’t let a beautiful girl down, right?’

‘Oh oh!! Could it be!!’

Little Nether suddenly grew excited too.

‘That’s right. There should still be that move!’

Of course, Aelian himself had no idea how to solve it. All his insights and methods came from the old man inside the weapon.

‘Mana replenishment!’

The two played off each other. Under Aelian’s guidance, Little Nether said the solution himself.

So it could be solved through mana replenishment. I thought it could only be fixed with True Resurrection.

Aelian thought sneakily.

‘Noah has no mana herself, so she cannot do it at all. This can only be done by this young master, heh heh…’

‘Hey hey, you brat. Weren’t you going to hold yourself to the standards of a beautiful girl? Taking advantage of someone in trouble is not how a beautiful girl should act!’

Unfortunately, Little Nether promptly pulled Aelian back from straying onto the ‘right track.’

“Your sister’s condition is complex. Even I cannot fully cure her.”

Aelian spoke in Aeliana’s tone.

No matter when, one must maintain the demeanor of a beautiful girl. (Probably.)

Noah did not notice Aelian’s rich inner drama at all. When she heard her master say she could not be cured, the sliver of hope that had just risen in her heart shattered instantly.

The purple-haired girl lowered her head. Her shoulders first stiffened, then collapsed as if all supporting strength had been pulled out of her. Bean-sized tears pattered onto her knees.

Even Aelian had not expected this turn. He quickly said:

“I cannot cure her, but I can indefinitely delay her condition by actively replenishing her mana. That way, you will not need to run around earning money for mana recovery potion.”

“Huh?”

Noah froze. She wiped the tear tracks from her face and then said:

“Master, please save Grace! From now on, Noah will do anything you ask!”

She scrubbed hard at the tear tracks, only to smear half her face. Her whole face was covered in dust and tears, exactly like a little cat that had crawled out of mud.

Ah, I think I have heard that line before.

He zoned out for a moment, then put on a smile he believed was quite wicked.

“Hey hey, really anything? I should warn you in advance. Your master Aeliana likes women.”

Purple light flowed through the night. The boy’s figure stretched, narrowed, and became slender in the glow. Silver-white hair cascaded down like a waterfall, and the hem of a skirt swayed gently.

The whole process took only two or three breaths. The delicate boy became an elegant, mysterious silver-haired girl.

It was both for the mana replenishment later and to tease the ninja lady.

‘Ah, today I’m wearing a dress Little Nether conjured. Not bad taste.’

‘Hmph hmph, this great one’s taste is of course no problem!!’

She used her index finger to gently lift Noah’s chin, studying this purple-haired idiot ninja.

“Mmm… Master, don’t do this…”

The ninja lady’s face turned scarlet. She tilted her face slightly, wanting to refuse, but she did not know how to refuse.

Her ears were completely red, and a thin pink flush spread over her neck. She said “don’t,” but she stood frozen in place without the slightest sign of pulling away.

Soft fingers traced lightly over her face and finally pinched her lips.

Just when she thought the other would kiss her, the beautiful silver-haired girl in front of her withdrew her hand.

“I’ll take this as payment.”

Even Noah could not help feeling dazed. She believed her orientation was normal, but she could not summon any thought of resisting.

Her master had not issued any order through the contract. So why was this happening…

‘Hey, Little Nether, how do I replenish Grace’s mana?’

Following Little Nether’s guidance, Aeliana chanted the spell.

She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and slowly raised her palm upward. Then she placed her palm gently on Noah’s forehead.

A pentagram spread out from beneath her palm, carrying a quiet halo, and slowly rotated in the air between them.

At that moment, as if the other had become part of herself, she could clearly feel that Grace’s mana was almost completely depleted. She also knew how to channel her own mana into her.

A seemingly endless amount of mana poured into Grace’s body through the spell. In terms of pure mana capacity alone, even most mages of the Holy See could not compare to her.

The process was quite long. Grace’s body was like a bottomless pit. Even Aeliana began to feel she could not hold on.

Her fingertips began to tingle. A thin layer of sweat seeped from her temples, and the ends of her silver-white hair actually took on a faint red tint.

“Phew, it’s done.”

She casually brushed back her silver hair, which had been blown into disorder by the mana, and spoke with relief.

The purple-haired girl on the bed opened her eyes as if waking from a long dream.

“Sister… and a guest?”

Grace asked in confusion. Her voice was still very weak.

“The mana in her body is enough to leak for a while. Let her rest well for the next few days. When she needs me again, I will come back.”

Seeing that Grace was no longer in trouble, Aeliana said to Noah.

Noah bowed repeatedly to Aeliana, crying and thanking her.

The silver-haired girl let out a soft breath, and a faint smile curved at the corner of her lips.

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