That was not why Ruger had been stunned, of course, though it had been a small regret of his. Now that he heard these damaged books could grow back on their own-not merely recover as flowers and plants, but, judging by her words, restore their contents as well-the discomfort of accidentally destroying a patch of greenery diminished until it could barely penetrate his thick skin. He immediately felt much better.
He staggered along, his gaze sweeping over those little things, especially the shortest blades of grass, several of which had been snapped into pieces by the collateral damage. He kept feeling that these little things possessed spirituality as well.
Lady Kailyn was walking unhurriedly into the distance.
Looking in that direction, Ruger knew where she was going.
Ruger delayed no longer. Holding his forehead, he moved his short little legs to follow the tall figure gradually drawing away.
Something unpleasant seemed to have already happened to him. Waves of strange sensations were coming from his mental power space. The changes in that brief instant, the entanglement and collision, maintaining his spell, the decision he had made-so many things demanding his attention in so little time had consumed his energy.
Ruger raised his eyebrows.
His mental power space seemed to have developed cracks.
In truth, he had noticed signs of it already, and had felt it coming.
He thought of Wizard Jillian. For many years, she had devoted herself to cultivating her combs, all sorts of combs, and had always looked rather gloomy. That had been the only significant improvement available to her, because something had gone wrong with her mental power space. For a long time, she had been unable to advance, remaining at the level of a Two-Ring Wizard. Only later, when she found that crumbling Fairy Kingdom, a