Yona swayed, and Alebians tried to support her.
But Yona harshly pushed her hand away and glared at Alebians.
She knew too.
It wasn’t Alebians’ fault that it failed, nor was it Eskara’s.
It was because of those strange characters—whatever those inscriptions on her right arm were—and Vervaria embedded in her left arm.
It was because of those things, but she couldn’t just chop off her arm.
So this anger, the anger that had no direction to pour itself out, would inevitably seep out if there was even a tiny crack.
Just like right now, with Alebians.
Alebians silently stared at Yona, who swatted her hand away.
Her expression flickered between a soft, pitying light and some kind of mysterious glimmer, only to return to a gentle gaze again.
Yona watched Alebians change her expressions repetitively.
Those golden eyes shone brightly.
In fact, now that the singular goal she had been pursuing had lost its light and vanished, Yona bit her lip tightly.
“…This arm, this thing on it. This is why we failed, right?”
Yona’s voice wasn’t excited.
It wasn’t filled with rage either.
It merely trembled a bit from all the pressure she had been putting on it.
With a voice more suppressed than usual, Yona asked Alebians.
“If it wasn’t for this, we would have succeeded, right? Right? Alebians, what you said earlier was the truth, correct?”
Yona’s voice slowly started to heat up.
If they failed, where did they fail?
For what reason did they fail?
How can they overcome it?
With Yona trying to grasp those things, Alebians nodded.
It wasn’t a lie, so it was easy for Alebians to respond to Yona.
“Yeah. Pretty girl, you definitely turned back into a guy in some parts. But those tattoos on your arm—”
Alebians paused for a breath.
The snake pattern drawn on Yona’s left arm was definitely that of Vervaria.
Now that they had reached this point, Alebians would need to revise her plans.
They had already passed the stage she could deal with right now.
“You failed because of those. If it weren’t for them, the magic would have definitely succeeded.”
“Yeah.”
Yona nodded.
Then, she picked up the nun’s robe that Eskara had brought and began to change her clothes.
“Got it. Then it’s a fresh start from now on. I’m satisfied that I found a way back. I’ll just erase these tattoos, and then I—”
Right.
It wasn’t all for nothing.
Now that she knew she could, it was just a matter of starting again.
“When I get the next treatment, Alebians, you’re paying for my gold coins. If you tell me to gather another 120 gold coins…”
Yona said that while her body shivered.
Is 120 gold coins a joke?
The weight of that statement Alex made suddenly felt incredibly heavy.
“Yeah. Next time, I’ll pay for it. No, Eskara will pay for it. Right? Eskara?”
“I’ll give it to you. No, Eschara will give it to you, right? Eschara.”
As Alenbian turned around, Eschara, standing awkwardly behind her, also gave an awkward smile and nodded.
“120 gold coins isn’t a lot for them, so I guess it doesn’t matter.”
“Got it. I’m leaving now.”
“Okay, then let’s go to the griffon—”
Yona waved her hand towards Alenbian, who was trying to follow.
“It’s fine, I want to take the stairs down. Just show me the way.”
“…Alright.”
Alenbian took Yona’s hand and pulled her along.
As she felt the warmth in his hand, Yona remembered Alex.
‘I wonder what expression he’d make if he saw me like this.’
Would he laugh and say, “Serves you right”?
Maybe she should just smack him.
*
Alex rushed over to the reception desk, panting heavily.
Seeing him red-faced and out of breath, the receptionist pointed to the stairs behind her.
“Your party is on the 13th floor—”
“Thank you!”
As soon as he heard that, Alex sprinted to the stairs.
His breath was caught in his throat, each step making him feel like he was going to explode, but Alex didn’t stop.
With each step up the stairs, his body begged for rest.
Even though he was a tank with stamina, he still had limitations, yet a single woman’s face kept flashing in his mind, demanding that he keep running.
Driven by that urge, Alex raced up the stairs like a man possessed.
He had to go up these stairs; he had to get to her as fast as possible. That baseless conviction shouted at him that rest was a luxury he couldn’t afford, and he jumped up two or three steps at a time.
4th floor.
5th floor.
6th floor.
.
.
10th floor.
11th floor.
Finally, the sound of his footsteps began to slow down.
That sound.
That stride.
That walking sound.
And the breathing sound.
And finally came the—
“…Hey, you.”
That voice.
Alex looked up.
Dressed in a black nun’s habit, Yona stood there.
Her white hair was a messy disaster, sticking out in every direction, and a brown hunting knife was attached to her thigh.
But above all, it was her wide, golden eyes staring at him.
He could see her.
So clearly.
The tears pooling in those golden eyes fell down like a single tear as soon as she saw Alex.
That was it.
No more tears flowed.
Despair, sorrow, frustration, and anger that had surfaced in those eyes were all painted over with Alex’s presence.
Reflected in her eyes was the figure of Alex, and her gaze began to change.
Despair turned into hope.
Sorrow became joy.
Frustration transformed into relief.
Anger shifted to tranquility.
As Yona saw her growing reflection in her own eyes—
“Yona!”
Alex squeezed out her name, struggling to breathe.
His weak legs suddenly regained strength. He felt like he could climb the stairs he thought he couldn’t manage anymore.
He reached out.
As Alex’s face reflected in Yona’s golden eyes, it kept getting bigger.
“Fa, fudging…”
But those words never finished.
The moment Alex reached out, Yona’s warmth wrapped around him.
“What are you doing? Why are you so happy when I’m a mess?” she playfully jabbed at his side, but since Alex wouldn’t let go, she eventually gave in, wrapping her arms around his waist.
“Good, good… really, really good…”
What “good” was there when I just blew my money and failed, Yona chirped.
Sure, she was fuming, but Alex felt like Yona was like a bluebird chirping in his ear.
Wasn’t it that voice he thought he would never hear again?
Wasn’t it that warmth he thought he would never hold again?
Wasn’t it that face he thought he would never see again?
The fact that her voice was chirping in his ear made the world look so beautiful to Alex.
This mage tower stuff, and the explosion?
He didn’t care about that at all.
Even if the entire Mage Tower crumbled, he wouldn’t mind.
Yona hadn’t turned back into a guy, and here she was.
Cuddled in his arms.
He vowed he wouldn’t let go of this warmth again.
He would make her feel so good she would never think about going back to being a guy.
He would show her that what’s here is a hundred times more valuable than turning back.
Yeah, Yona.
I won’t just be the person who stands by your side anymore.
I’ll be the one reaching out to you.
So that you can erase the thought of going back.
I will become the man who takes the biggest place in your heart.
So you won’t even think about it anymore.
That’s how it will be.
I’m going to make it happen.
Alex made that vow, holding Yona close.
“Let go, you idiot!”
*
“Did you ask to contact Ceres?”
“Yep.”
The explosion on the 13th floor was being somewhat managed, but neither Alebians nor Eskara could be responsible for the aftermath, so the tower’s managers were getting busy.
With the cleanup left to them, Alebians brought Yona and Alex to her room for a cup of tea.
Then Yona’s remark made Alebians furrow her brows.
Of all the people, why Ceres? But thinking of her personal magic, Alebians could understand why Yona said that.
“Is it because of the purification?”
“Yeah. Do we really need to go into detail?”
“Hmm…”
Alebians set her teacup down and fell into thought.
She knew that Ceres’s personalized magic was purification.
She couldn’t reveal her identity just yet, but for Yona to sabotage her plans, Ceres had to cast purification on her.
Since the magic to turn back into a man had definitely failed because of that tattoo, it would be much smoother if she got Ceres to remove the tattoo.
But would Ceres really be so generous with her personalized magic…?
“Alright, I’ve got it. I’ll contact you personally. What are you all going to do now?”
Alebians glanced at Alex.
He had been sneaking glances at Yona and couldn’t hide his joyful expression.
Alebians understood why he was happy, but she thought it would be better if Alex let go of his feelings sooner rather than later.
“I’m going to see Kaiyak. This place is too expensive, and I can’t stay long.”
Yona had over a hundred gold coins, but after paying for magic expenses, she was now broke.
Because of that, even if she wanted to have a meal at the inn today, she had to rely on Alex.
“Kaiyak? Kaiyak… Who was that again, Kaiyak…”
Alebians rummaged through her memories.
It was a name she had heard before, but she couldn’t remember who it was.
“That guy we met in Evian. The lizard.”
“Oh. I remember now. The Lizardman.”
Yes, it clicked.
Alebians recalled the Lizardman warrior she had observed through the crystal ball.
She thought the only ones who had entered this magic tower were Yona and Alex, and that he had died in the meantime, but it seemed that wasn’t the case.
“There’s a house up there by Kantasia River, right? I’ll stop by there before heading back to Evian.”
“I see. I’m planning to stay here for a while longer, so I can’t accompany you.”
“…Uh, going together… No, it’s fine.”
The urge to say, “In fact, that would be better,” was right on the tip of her tongue, but it didn’t seem necessary to say it.
“When are you leaving?”
“I’ll get ready tomorrow morning and head out in the afternoon.”
It was time to buy a new sleeping bag anyway.
After preparing various things, she would probably be able to leave in the afternoon.
Yona stood up, licking her lips.
She had spent 120 gold coins, and that had ended up being a failure.
Even so, she now knew why it had failed, and since they decided not to charge for the next attempt, she hadn’t lost all that money for nothing.
Moreover—
“Let’s go, Baldy. It looks like we’re going to be busy again.”
“Oh, okay. Sure.”
As Alebians watched Alex quickly down the tea from his cup and rush to his feet, she felt a bit, just a little bit, relieved without even realizing it.
It was truly a curious thing, Yona thought.
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