So Embarrassing, Just Leave the Group Yourself

About an hour had passed—though it might only have been ten minutes. The burning flames had completely robbed Bell of his sense of time.

Finally, Fina's body stopped trembling. The flames on her body, along with those inside the surrounding house, returned to her with every breath like fledgling swallows returning to their nest.

Naturally, the flames on Bell, who stood so close by, were absorbed by Fina as well.

Then, Fina, exhausted from her transformation, tilted her head and fell asleep.

Seeing this, Bell finally relaxed his taut nerves.

Puff~!

A plume of black smoke escaped Bell's mouth, drifting several dozen centimeters before finally settling on Fina's beautiful golden fur.

Bell did not feel the slightest bit sorry about dirtying Fina's fur. He had no energy left to think about such unnecessary things.

At that moment, Bell was black from head to toe, as though he had rolled around in a coal mine three hundred and sixty times. Other than his two eyes, which could barely still be made out, every part of him looked like charred coal. Whenever the wind blew, black flakes would rustle down from him.

Crack~!

As Bell drew back his right hand, disrupting the delicate balance on his body's surface, the black ash that had once been his school uniform fell away and scattered in every direction.

Not only that, even the Wand in Bell's hand had been destroyed. All that remained was its Dragon Heartstring core, giving off a scorched fragrance that made Bell swallow involuntarily.

I really want to... No, no! This is not the time to think about lunch!

Crouching down, Bell quickly dug a grimy little cloth pouch out of the ashes on the ground.

This was his Space Pocket, usually sewn into the inner lining of his school uniform.