Chapter 134
“You mean there was no explosion…?”
Winter slowly nodded.
“It’s possible that Agrisen isn’t dead.”
I pressed my forehead, the headache slowly fading, and took a deep breath.
“There’s no way Agrisen could have surfaced without me seeing it. I watched the coastline and even the cliffs, but there was no sign of anyone. The other side is just an endless ocean.”
“Maybe he went deep underwater, so deep we couldn’t see the explosion?”
Winter brought over a steaming pot from the table. Pouring a cup of sweet-smelling red tea, he nodded.
“That’s possible. Probably the most likely. Even if he could swim, his injured body wouldn’t survive the waves, and even if he did, he couldn’t climb ashore without me noticing.”
So… he wasn’t certain.
“If only I didn’t have this stupid teleportation allergy…”
I couldn’t stop the deep sigh of frustration.
“There’s one more problem.”
Another one?
Winter’s face darkened even more.
“Izana, there’s a problem with your Circle. Simply put, it’s cracked. To be exact… it’s a permanent injury.”
“A permanent injury?”
I instinctively placed my hand on my stomach and tried to feel the Circle.
If I followed the flow in my body—not blood, but magic—it should be there…
“Wait. It’s gone!”
When the Circle is active, magic flows through your veins. Ever since it activated, I could always feel it—
but now, it was like a dry well. Nothing.
That’s when I noticed the strange bracelet on my wrist.
“What’s this?”
It was a thick, deep-blue bracelet, plain and smooth, with no decorations.
“That’s a magic suppressor. Not the exact one Agrisen wore, but the same type.”
“Why am I wearing this?”
“Because if your Circle breaks, you die. Magic is like blood—lose it all, and you die.”
I kept touching the bracelet, feeling a deep, instinctive dislike.
“The Circle is like a heart. It pumps magic through your body by contracting and expanding. You called the ancient spirit without warming up or training, so your Circle almost broke. The spirit must have barely stopped it from shattering.”
The spirit?
“Since your Circle is cracked, you must not use it. That’s why I sealed your magic. An active Circle keeps circulating magic, and in this state, even a small trigger could break it completely. The only safe option was to seal it entirely.”
Wait. Does that mean I can’t summon the spirit again?
Then how are we going to travel? I can’t teleport because of my allergy, and now…
“I’m totally screwed…”
And there was an even worse thought—
“So… did the tower not make it back safely?”
What if the spirit dropped it midway? People in the tower could have died, and maybe even random bystanders crushed by it falling from the sky…
“No, it returned safely. There was chaos, of course, but traveling from the Western Empire to the Eastern Empire’s skies and back took less than five minutes. Anyone could tell it was the spirit’s doing.”
Phew.
That was a relief—though honestly, there was still too much that had gone wrong.
“The tower assumed Agrisen had escaped. They also suspected Serzan and Tia of helping him. Those two were the only new people to enter the tower before the incident, and then they vanished inside.”
That meant Winter could no longer walk around in Serzan’s appearance. I’d probably have to disguise myself too.
But there was another problem first. I rubbed my stomach and muttered with a pale face:
“Stepfather must be furious…”
I’d said I’d be back in two days, but three had already passed. I couldn’t teleport, couldn’t summon the spirit… So how much longer until I got home? And what about the Duchess?
Winter, hearing me, said:
“I contacted the Duchess two days ago. I told her it would take a bit longer and asked her to stall for just two more days. I also included a letter to the Emperor, imitating your handwriting.”
“Two days? But without the spirit, how…?”
“Izana, do you know where we are right now?”
Winter walked to the window—not a huge glass wall like in the palace, but a small inn window.
When he pulled back the curtains, I saw it was early evening.
“We’re at an inn right at the path to our destination—the forest. Travelers heading to the forest or the Balt Plains stop here to rest.”
Looking out at the endless forest, I asked:
“But how did we get here? You couldn’t teleport.”
“I just ran all night. I also flew at dawn, avoiding people.”
He said it like it was nothing.
“I don’t need to sleep, so don’t worry about me. Oh, and I burned seraphine candles so Ampelos wouldn’t invade your dreams.”
Wow…
He must have worked so hard while I slept. I felt guilty.
“If only I didn’t have that teleport allergy…”
This was supposed to be a short trip or a little rebellious outing… but now I’d met a mad scientist, had a teleport allergy, gone through hundreds of regressions, and broken my Circle.
“Hehehe…”
A strange laugh slipped out. Winter closed the curtains and reassured me:
“Circle recovery depends on the person, but I’ll use all my power to fix it somehow, so don’t worry too much.”
Then my bracelet spirit, Raglia, appeared, sparkling.
“[Hahaha! Serves you right, Master! This is what you get for stealing from others!]”
I smiled faintly. Honestly, I found Raglia’s sass endearing sometimes—but now was not the time.
“It’s been three days. Nice to see you, Raglia. And goodbye.”
I aimed the bracelet at the fireplace. Raglia’s laugh stopped.
“[You’re joking, right?]”
“Yes.”
And I threw it.
“[Waaait!]”
But Raglia was a living weapon—it flew back like a boomerang.
Oh right, I forgot to disable that.
“Raglia, don’t do anything. Just quietly die in my hands. I enjoyed our time together.”
“[Wait! I think I know a way to fix your Circle! Even other spirits wouldn’t know—it’s probably a lost method!]”
I chuckled darkly.
“No, it’s fine. Since my Circle’s broken, maybe I’m destined to be a Sword Master. Magic’s nice, but I’m done with dangerous adventures. I’ll just live quietly now.”
Magic weapons don’t burn easily… but maybe Winter could melt it later. Or I could throw it into the sea.
“[Sword Master?! Are you crazy?!]”
“I loved you, my bracelet.”
I threw Raglia again—
—but Winter caught it midair.
“Why not at least hear the method first?”
“[My kin…]”
Raglia’s voice trembled like it was about to cry.
