Chapter 47: Not caring about the consequences

“When I first saw you use holy light, I was really surprised, Manager. I didn’t expect you to be such a rare cleric.”

Alice took a sip of tea and spoke casually.

“In fact, I’m more or less living in seclusion here, so I don’t want too many people to know I’m a cleric.”

Lila replied casually.

She suddenly recalled the method Cecilia had taught her for using holy light to detect dark power.

A restless urge stirred within her, this seemed like a rare chance to practice.

“Alice, I remember you were taken to the infirmary for a checkup, right? There shouldn’t be any problems now, right?”

Alice shook her head, her hair swaying gently with the motion.

“Miss Cecilia checked my condition back then. After telling me what happened, she also said the dark power had been completely removed, so she let me leave.”

“I see. But just to be safe, I’d like to check again. Is that okay?”

Lila leaned forward slightly, putting on a very concerned expression.

“Of course! Honestly, I’m still a bit shaken. If possible, please check again, Manager.”

So Lila walked around the table and stepped lightly in front of Alice. She slowly raised her right hand and gently placed her palm against Alice’s forehead.

Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and tried to recreate Cecilia’s instructions in her mind, carefully guiding the holy light within her body, letting it seep little by little into Alice.

Unlike healing, where one could simply pour holy light into the injured, this method required constant control, letting the holy light flow through the body along the bloodstream, circulating throughout.

Alice closed her eyes slightly, feeling a warm and gentle energy flowing slowly inside her.

In general, Lila could sense that Alice’s body was pure and empty, there was not a trace of dark energy.

“I don’t feel anything at all. It seems there’s no dark power left in your body, Alice.”

After saying that, Lila turned to the other person present.

She wasn’t going to waste such a good opportunity to try.

“Simon, want to give it a try too?”

“I’ll pass.”

Hearing the suggestion, Simon instinctively shrank back a little, showing resistance, and immediately refused.

“Come on, just try.”

Lila blinked, her long eyelashes fluttering like small fans, her expression full of expectation, hard to refuse.

Simon knew he should refuse. After all, his body concealed dark magic, and he didn’t know what the manager might see.

But when he met her expectant gaze, he found himself unable to say those words.

“Silence means consent.”

Before Simon could react, he felt something soft and warm cover his forehead.

“Wait-”

It was Comflor’s hand, pressed gently against his forehead. His thoughts froze, and he suddenly found himself lingering on that warmth.

Lila’s holy light flowed through Simon’s bloodstream, spreading throughout his body.

She felt it, a boundless ocean of black.

Endless, heavy, and desolate. The darkness was thick like liquid; even the slightest contact made her feel as if she had fallen into an abyss.

There was nothing but darkness.

The string in Lila’s mind snapped instantly.

‘So it’s just… a black ocean?’

****

‘Huh?’

Lila opened her mouth soundlessly, unable to say anything, at a loss.

“What’s wrong, Manager?”

Seeing her freeze, Alice was the first to ask.

“Nothing,” Lila replied instinctively.

Now she finally understood why Simon had resisted the check.

Even if Simon had been implanted with a dark seed, she wouldn’t have been able to detect it.

That black, viscous ocean was likely Simon’s own dark magic. Compared to it, the aura of a so-called dark seed felt like nothing more than a drop of water.

Rather than a reservoir of infinite power, it felt more like the source of disaster.

With such immense power yet unable to use magic, was it because he didn’t know how, or because he was rejecting it?

“There’s nothing. There’s no dark seed in Simon’s body.”

That was her conclusion.

Even if the dark tide within Simon could drown the entire world, Lila didn’t care.

As long as she could continue to draw from him the time she needed to survive, it wouldn’t matter even if everything else was destroyed.

Simon scratched his head.

“Is that so?”

He couldn’t be sure what the manager had seen within him. He felt that something far more dangerous than a dark seed existed inside his body.

For example, the “younger brother” who constantly tempted him to accept dark magic.

But he still chose to trust the manager.

Lila nodded, then said,

“The reason I gave you both time off isn’t just so you can rest. Exams are coming up, right? Use this time to prepare properly.”

That included herself as well, Lila thought silently.

She was on the verge of collapse.

As for the swordsman qualification exam, she was completely confident.

But who decided that even those without magical talent had to study Introduction to Mana Circulation, Outline of the History of the Spera Continent, and Basic Principles of Enchanted Objects…?

The truth was, for most of these subjects, Lila hadn’t even read a single chapter. She was about to fail!

And more urgently, the mock arena tournament was about to begin. She still had to devote time to training Simon.

So she simply decided to close the shop for now and focus on studying.

Of course, that also meant losing a convenient way to treat Simon.

For the time being, Lila decided to give up on physically harming him to generate hatred. Maybe verbal insults would work better.

The thought flashed through her mind, she no longer had the luxury to worry about such things.

“The mock arena is coming up soon. Are you ready, Simon?”

Various thoughts flickered through her mind, but she showed none of it outwardly, sipping her tea as she spoke.

Immediately, she heard Simon sigh.

“I’ve been squeezing out all the time I can to train. And with Lila… that person’s help.”

He paused slightly when saying Lila’s name.

Even though he was filled with disgust toward that “villainess,” Simon had to admit she had taught him wholeheartedly.

Sometimes, no, many times, he couldn’t understand what lay behind those crimson, deep eyes that always carried either disdain or mockery.

Perhaps she was waiting for the moment when he felt the most hope, only to push him into the abyss.

A shadow passed through Simon’s eyes. His heart was still filled with unease.

“But it still feels really uncertain. Only the top eight in the mock tournament pass… it feels so hard.”

After all, it wasn’t just students like him, struggling to pass finals, who would participate. Many others would join to gain recognition, including powerful mages.

Lila thought: she really should give Simon an enchanted weapon. Otherwise, he wouldn’t stand a chance, he might get eliminated immediately.

She did have an enchanted longsword in her apartment, but it had been brought from her family. Strictly speaking, it belonged to the Stuart family.

“It’s okay. At least you’ve tried, Simon. That means you still have a chance. If you just sit and wait, then everything is truly over.”

Lila patted his shoulder.

“Anyway, thank you, Manager!”

“You two really get along well,”

Alice murmured softly.

She no longer had any intention of competing.

Sunlight streamed through the window, draping over the manager’s white hair like a veil. The white-haired girl had gentle features, lightly patting the black-haired boy’s shoulder while offering words of encouragement.

What should she do?

She felt like she was starting to envy Simon.