"You'd better hurry up and improve your ability scores. The important thing is to make the expedition go more smoothly. If your skill still works by then, we might finally put an end to our expeditions always running at a loss."
The skill Riveria was talking about was the "Luck Boost" description in Ode to Spring.
Just how lucky Noah was hadn't been obvious before, but yesterday, on the way back, Riveria had noticed while carrying an enormous haul of magic stones and drops.
Kid, is your drop rate just a billion points higher than everyone else's?
Anyway, for one reason or another, Riveria kicked Noah out of the dining room and ordered him to hurry up and get to the Dungeon.
"Oh, and take Ais with you. Let her be your supporter so she doesn't cause trouble."
Only after Riveria reminded him did Noah realize—right, where was Ais?
At that moment, in the Divine Chamber of the Central Tower in Twilight Manor,
Loki had been roused from a beautiful dream by two slaps from Ais. In it, Uranus had served her drinks, Hera had washed her feet, and Freya had massaged her back. Now, looking at the figures on the sheet in her hand, she fell silent.
Ais Wallenstein
Lv. 1
Strength: D593 → B770
Endurance: D559 → B712
Dexterity: B788 → A850
Agility: A801 → A870
Magic: I0
Loki knew that half a month ago, Ais had entered the Dungeon and fought like a madwoman, even battling a mutant Jet-Black Wyvern whose potential ability scores were estimated to be around Lv. 4. So she wasn't surprised by this degree of growth.
The only problem was what came below—
Magic:
[Ariel]
[Wind-Chasing Lightning-Pursuing]
· Wind and Lightning Echo
· Magic Resonance
· Liberate True Self
Skills:
[Avenger Princess]
[This Heart This Intent]
· Longing and aspiration, protection and transcendence
· Unfading admiration, relentless pursuit, breaking through limits
· All attributes increase when fighting to protect and transcend what one admires
· Exceptional resistance to mental pollution
· Constantly active
Watching Ais walk away, looking perfectly satisfied, Loki trembled as she took off her nightcap.
Then she saw that it was green!
"Noah!! We're kicking you out of the Familia!!"
Amid: Giving Herself for the Women of Orario!
That day, Amid woke earlier than usual and began processing various ingredients and preparing potions.
As the city's leading medical Familia, the Dian Cecht Familia purchased and processed large quantities of ingredients every day to make potions.
Amid still wasn't very good at negotiating prices with all kinds of adventurers, but she had already shown extraordinary talent for potion-making.
Even when using the same ingredients, following the same steps, and taking the same amount of time, potions made by Amid's own hands were always a cut above the rest in both effectiveness and quality.
The wall of talent stood right before them, leaving everyone feeling powerless.
It was easy to predict that sooner or later, Amid would become the best potion maker in the Familia, perhaps even in all of Orario.
And that she would surpass the many long-serving veterans in the Familia and take over as its captain was already a foregone conclusion.
Fortunately, this future captain wasn't someone the Familia members would dislike.
Though she was still very young, she often pointed out other people's mistakes without mercy, even those of her elders, all while wearing a serious expression. But with her delicate, porcelain-doll-like face, it was hard not to feel fond of her.
More importantly, Amid didn't just point out other people's mistakes. She held herself to even higher standards.
Despite having astonishing talent, she never slacked off. If anything, she worked even harder.
Under those circumstances, being corrected by her wasn't humiliating at all. Instead, people accepted her criticism wholeheartedly.
Sure enough, when many members finished washing up and having breakfast and arrived at the Pure White Hospital, they found Amid at the front desk, already handling the most tedious part of making potions: the initial processing of ingredients.
Judging by the quantity of ingredients, Amid had probably been working for quite some time.
With a captain like her, how could the Dian Cecht Familia fail to prosper?
—Just as the Familia members were marveling at her diligence, Amid, the very person they were praising, lost focus and ground a precious crystal-colored medicinal herb into powder. She froze all over.
I-I ruined another one...
This one wasn't supposed to be ground up. It had to be boiled until it dissolved...
Sneaking a glance around, Amid made sure no one had seen. Then, with practiced movements and a heavy sense of guilt, she swept the powder into the scrap pile beside her and buried it.
After successfully covering her tracks, Amid patted the chest beneath her white robe, whose shape was impossible to make out, and quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
A breath of white mist escaped her small, rosy lips.
It was late autumn, and the morning air was bitterly cold. Frost and patches of ice could be seen in every corner along the street, and even the rising sun couldn't drive the chill away completely.
Whether to preserve ingredients and potions or to provide patients with a stable environment, the Pure White Hospital had strict requirements for keeping its indoor temperature constant.
So, when the Familia first built it, they had spent a fortune installing a magic-stone heating system that warmed or cooled the entire building, keeping it warm in winter and cool in summer.
Even so, sitting near the street, Amid couldn't help feeling the cold.
If someone asked why she insisted on sitting there—
Her vivid violet-blue eyes drifted toward the street outside. She glanced over the stream of people on Adventurer Street with a hint of longing, trying to spot a familiar silver-haired figure.
Why hasn't he come yet?
Didn't he promise to come here for a checkup every time he finished exploring the Dungeon?
Amid pulled the plain white scarf, so simple it could have been mistaken for a pillowcase, over her cheeks and breathed in its faint fragrance. Before long, she was lost in memories.
When had she started caring about that person, and why?
Was it because of his words, "I fight to protect," which had helped her resolve her troubles?
Or because of the old scars on his body that made her heart ache?
Or perhaps it was because of how Noah acted during treatment—
It really was astonishing that he could keep a straight face while she broke and reset the bones in his thighs, arms, and even his lower back, all without any anesthetic.
But what if he refused anesthetic because, like a little kid, he couldn't stand the taste of medicine?
Was he mature or childish?
Even Amid had never expected to encounter a patient like him. The treatment she'd thought would be troublesome had gone smoothly, while the aftercare she'd expected to be easy nearly drove her over the edge.
That guy was already seventeen, wasn't he?! And he was still afraid of taking medicine?
He would only drink it if he had candy or dessert to go with it! What was he, some little kid?
No, even seven-year-old children in Orario weren't that childish!
On top of that, he'd tried to run away several times, and after she caught him, he complained that she nagged like an old woman.
At the time, Amid could hear the blood vessels throbbing at her temples. She'd been on the verge of exploding.
She'd wanted to kick him out of the Pure White Hospital, or even out of Orario, and never see him again.
...But after Nine Hell came to take Noah out of the hospital, the girl still couldn't help worrying about him.
She'd decided never to see him again, yet she couldn't stop imagining Noah back in the Dungeon, his body covered in wounds once more.
Those previous injuries made it clear that he must have gone through many brutal battles where he'd risked his life, and that he hadn't even had reliable teammates to help him. Otherwise, his injuries wouldn't have gone untreated for so long.
Was it pity? Curiosity? Or heartache?
Whatever it was, Amid couldn't help feeling that she couldn't just leave that silver-haired boy alone. He was much older than her, and he belonged to another Familia, but she still couldn't ignore him.
...She'd just consider it protecting her reputation as a healer!
After all, he was the first patient whose treatment plan she'd devised and carried out entirely on her own. If he went straight back to the Dungeon and got himself killed, her reputation would inevitably suffer, at least a little!
People might think that she hadn't treated the poor boy properly, that she'd left him with hidden injuries that killed him. Even if only one person in ten thousand thought that way, Amid couldn't allow it!
More importantly—
Breathing in the faint fragrance from the scarf, Amid narrowed her eyes like a kitten being petted by its owner, her expression turning dreamy.
Over the past half month, Noah's body had undergone all kinds of changes during his treatment.
Perhaps even Noah himself didn't know as much about it as Amid, who had personally treated and cared for him.
It wasn't unusual for adventurers to undergo changes after receiving a Falna, but those were basically limited to improvements in physical traits like strength, eyesight, and stamina.
The extent of Noah's transformation, from his skin to his bones, was so rare that Amid was certain he might be the only case.
It felt a little like a werewolf transforming beneath the moon. Perhaps it was a bloodline awakening?
Amid still didn't know what effect the change would have.
But the thing she needed to pay attention to most right now was the fragrance coming from Noah!
It wasn't like divine wine or certain incense, which brought on such intense pleasure that people could barely think straight. Instead, it cleared the mind and lifted the spirits, improved efficiency at work and study, and even made sleep more restful.
But that was precisely what made it so dangerous!
Whether Amid wanted to accept it or not, she had to admit that she was already a little hooked on Noah's scent!
After getting used to that fragrance, being away from it made her spirits sink despite herself. She couldn't bring herself to take an interest in anything, and she even suffered from insomnia quite often...
What was this? Some kind of legendary succubus? It didn't seem like it!
Anyway, if even Amid, a physician, had fallen victim to it, then just imagine how many women Noah would corrupt with his fangs if he went after them!
That guy Noah was going to be the enemy of all women!
So, for the sake of the women of Orario and their chastity, I absolutely have to keep an eye on him!
Even if it means giving up my own—
But another voice quietly rose in her heart: Oh my, Amid. I never knew you were such a shameless girl. You're completely addicted and can't pull yourself away!
N-no! I'm not addicted!
I'm doing this for the women of Orario!
Amid was so caught up in her inner struggle that she didn't notice a few girls enter the Pure White Hospital and come to the counter in front of her.
"Amid? Amid?"
"Miss Amid Teasanare!"
The sound of someone slapping the counter jolted Amid awake. She sprang straight up.
"I'm not addicted! I don't hug it while I sleep every night—"
Before you continue