"All... all of this, you did it alone?"

  Semiris stared at the gruesome battlefield before her, easily envisioning the brutal carnage that had unfolded here.

  Hulim Heyerar said nothing, merely nodding silently.

  "Why didn’t you call me back..."

  "You could have, couldn’t you? So why didn’t you summon me?!"

  "I..."

  Hulim Heyerar opened her mouth, but in the end, she offered no explanation.

  "You—"

  Semiris was half indignant, yet she also understood the reasoning behind Hulim Heyerar’s choice. Her expression, instead, fell into an unprecedented state of dejection.

  "How am I supposed to feel at ease leaving you like this... This was a pack led by a Forest Giant Wolf, for crying out loud..."

  Hulim Heyerar hung her head low.

  "I’m sorry."

  "But..."

  "I’m so glad you’re alive, Hulim!"

  "S-Semiris..."

  Hulim Heyerar looked up at Semiris, and for some reason, a surge of sorrow welled up in her heart.

  "Alright! Enough of that!"

  Semiris suddenly broke into a smile, her voice ringing out brightly.

  "Taking down a Forest Giant Wolf’s pack all by yourself! Your growth has far exceeded my expectations!"

  "......"

  "Oh! And you wrapped everything up in half a day! I was planning to cast a little glamour on your family to buy you a few days to handle this mess. Who knew you’d not only finish the job in record time, but pull it off in such a jaw-dropping fashion!"

  "......"

  "Well, that means you won’t have to camp out in the woods anymore. You can sleep in your own cozy bed tonight! No time to waste—let’s head back right away. You’ll just make it for dinner!"

  "Oh, right! Before we leave, we can’t have you going home looking like this~!"

  Hulim Heyerar’s current state was a sorry sight—covered in cuts and bruises, her clothes tattered and torn, her whole body caked in grime. Even the beggars from the old quarter would tip their hats and hail her as their ringleader.

  Whoosh~!

  Emerald motes of light showered down on Hulim Heyerar.

  The filth vanished in an instant, every wound on her body—inside and out—healed completely, and her tattered clothes slowly mended themselves under the strange glow.

  In fact... they looked even more exquisite than they had originally.

  "There we go! My beautiful Hulim is back!"

  Semiris nodded in satisfaction, then grabbed Hulim Heyerar by the hand and soared into the sky in a single leap.

  "Oh, right! We need to tidy up this place too~!"

  Glancing down at the devastated goblin village below, Semiris casually cast a spell.

  "Fireball~!"

  Then Hulim Heyerar watched as a ball of flame as bright as a miniature sun slowly descended toward the goblin settlement.

  BOOM——!!!

  A dazzling burst of light exploded across the land. Not only was the goblin village reduced to ashes, but the forest for kilometers around was incinerated in the blink of an eye.

  That... was a Fireball?

  Whoosh——!

  A shooting star streaked away from the site of the explosion, hurtling toward the distant horizon.

  ......

  In the forest outside Mentor Town.

  A shooting star landed beside an unassuming little lake.

  Hulim Heyerar glanced around—unlike usual, Semiris hadn’t dropped her off right at the edge of the woods.

  "......"

  "......"

  A heavy silence hung between them.

  In the end, it was Semiris who broke it, forcing a smile as she spoke.

  "What’s wrong, Hulim? Why aren’t you heading back—"

  "Hey, Semiris..."

  Hulim Heyerar cut her off abruptly,

  then looked up, her gaze locking onto Semiris’s eyes—eyes as beautiful as polished emeralds.

  "—Are you leaving?"

  "......"

  The smile froze on Semiris’s face, then faded gradually, replaced by a lonely expression as she hung her head.

  "So you figured it out..."

  "We’ve been together for a long time."

  "A long time, huh... It’s only been three years, really."

  "Three years is a long time for a human."

  "......"

  "I see... So it has been three years, hasn’t it?"

  "Semiris..."

  "Will you come back?"

  Semiris lifted her head, her eyes meeting Hulim Heyerar’s once more.

  Then she reached out, pulled Hulim Heyerar gently into her arms, and stroked her hair.

  "You once told me my eyes were beautiful, didn’t you~?"

  "But you know what? I think your eyes are the most beautiful I’ve ever seen in all my tens of thousands of years! So... so promise me you won’t miss me too much, okay?"

  A sharp pain pierced Hulim Heyerar’s heart at those words.

  She forced herself to hold back her tears.

  After a long while, she managed to speak in a steady voice.

  "I’ll miss you... sometimes."

  "Haha~! That’s my girl~!"

  Semiris released Hulim Heyerar, knelt down gently in front of her, and cupped her small face in her hands.

  "You’re such a strong girl, my Hulim. Now... I can leave in peace."

  Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

  "......"

  "Yeah!"

  Hulim Heyerar nodded vigorously,

  "I... I’ll never bring shame to your name, Semiris! So... so you can go back to the Celestial Realm without worrying! Just wait and hear the legends about me!"

  "Hahaha~!"

  Semiris let out a hearty laugh,

  "Then I’ll be waiting for your name to echo through the Celestial Realm!"

  "Yeah!"

  Hulim Heyerar nodded again, even more firmly this time.

  "Well then, Hulim..."

  An intricate, arcane magic circle spread out beneath Semiris’s feet—familiar, yet somehow different from the one she’d used three years ago.

  "—Farewell."

  "Farewell, Semiris..."

  Semiris and the magic circle dissolved into a beam of light that shot toward the sky, then vanished without a trace.

  Hulim Heyerar’s outstretched hand froze mid-air as she stared at the empty space where her mentor had stood just moments ago.

  "......Semiris?"

  No answer came.

  ......

  In the Celestial Realm, Tiramsuin.

  As a beam of light expanded, a figure materialized in a vast, pure white space.

  No sooner had Semiris returned to Tiramsuin than the smile she’d forced to her lips crumbled completely. She sank to her knees, burying her face in her hands.

  "I wanted to... I wanted to stay by your side a little longer..."

  "Semiris? You’re back?"

  A voice echoed from above the white void.

  Semiris quickly wiped her eyes, stood up, and bowed respectfully. "Yes, Mother Goddess. I’m home."

  "......You returned so soon this time. Did something happen to you in the Mortal Realm? Wait a minute—"

  The voice of Terra, the Earth Mother Goddess, suddenly turned urgent.

  "—What happened to your body?! Why is your vital essence so depleted! Don’t tell me you bestowed your blessings on more than one person?"

  "No, you must enter hibernation at once. If you keep pushing yourself like this, your core essence will collapse completely! Do you want to die?"

  "Please wait, Mother Goddess! Could you give me a little more time? Not long—just a few hundred... no, a hundred years! Please let me wait a hundred years before I sleep!"

  "You foolish child... What are you even saying? Don’t you realize how grave your condition is? At this rate, even a minute longer could send your essence spiraling toward collapse! Are you suicidal?"

  "I can’t agree to this! You must rest immediately!"

  "Mother Goddess——!"

  "We’ll talk about whatever it is after you wake up."

  "No! I’ll be asleep for far too long this time! I’ll miss it! I promised her I’d watch over her from Tiramsuin! I came back here to stop my condition from worsening! So... even if it’s selfish of me, please help me, Mother Goddess! Just help me maintain this state!"

  "......"

  Terra fell silent. In all her tens of thousands of years, this was the first time Semiris had begged her for anything—not even during the darkest, most desperate times had she ever asked for help...

  "......Sigh. Very well, tell me what happened. I’ll help you. But even with my intervention, given your current state, you’ll have to hibernate for ten months for every three days you’re awake. Are you still willing to go through with this?"

  "I... I am!"

  Semiris hesitated only for a moment before nodding firmly. It was barely three days a year—but if she could wake up in short bursts like this, she wouldn’t miss the girl’s growth, would she...

  After that, Semiris told Terra everything that had happened to her in the Mortal Realm—about the extraordinary human girl with affinity for all magical attributes...

  Once she finished recounting her experiences, Semiris immediately slipped into hibernation.

  But in the empty white space she’d left behind, a soft murmur lingered.

  "A girl with affinity for all elements."

  "And a descendant of him."

  "Could it be that..."

  The voice trailed off, and the figure who’d spoken vanished, leaving the white void to sink back into its endless silence.

  ......

  In the Mortal Realm.

  Hulim Heyerar returned home very late that day.

  Though she put on a calm face, her parents instantly sensed that something was amiss deep within her heart.

  The Rezelian couple wanted nothing more than to comfort their daughter, but without knowing what was wrong, they didn’t know how to reach her. Even when they’d quietly asked Hulim Heyerar’s best friend Fran, they’d gotten nowhere.

  Instead, their daughter continued on with her daily routine as if nothing had changed—practicing swordsmanship and reading in the mornings, heading out in the afternoons, and returning home long after sunset.

  But the more "normal" she seemed, the more anxious Rezelian and Lilia became. It was as if every time their daughter came home, the invisible wound festering in her heart grew a little deeper...

  ......

  A month later.

  Beside that same ordinary little lake.

  Hulim Heyerar, her mana completely drained, beads of sweat dotting her forehead, lay sprawled on the large rock where she’d first met Semiris, staring silently up at the sky.

  "Tiramsuin... Where exactly are you? Can Semiris see me from up there......"

  A gentle breeze rustled through the trees, carrying the soft whisper of leaves. The forest was wrapped in complete tranquility.

  After a long while, Hulim Heyerar murmured to herself again.

  "I’ve been such a coward lately..."

  "......If Semiris could see me now, would she be disappointed......"

  "I told her I was strong when she left......"

  Hulim Heyerar sat up, her gaze falling on the lake’s calm surface.

  But lately, she’d felt completely adrift, like a machine—coming here every day, practicing magic frantically until her mana was empty, as if trying to drown her sorrows.

  Was this really keeping her promise to Semiris?

  "......I can’t go on like this. Semiris isn’t really gone. She might be watching me from the Celestial Realm right now! I won’t let her down!"

  At that moment, a spark of resolve reignited in Hulim Heyerar’s eyes. After a month of wallowing in despair, she finally found herself again.

  Then she stood up and walked straight toward Mentor Town.

  She’d still come back to this place often, she was sure.

  But from now on, things would be different.

  Even without Semiris by her side, she would keep training—no matter what.

  When Hulim Heyerar stepped through the front door, Rezelian and Lilia stared at her in stunned silence. On the surface, she looked no different from usual—but somehow, she was. The invisible weight that had hung over their daughter’s heart seemed to have lifted at last.

  "I’m sorry, Father. I’m sorry, Mother. I’ve worried you both so much this past month!"

  Hulim Heyerar apologized sincerely. Just as her parents had sensed her pain, she’d felt their concern all along.

  Rezelian and Lilia broke into relieved smiles, the cloud of worry that had hung over their home for a month finally dissipating.

  "It’s alright, dear. We don’t know exactly what happened, but as long as you’re feeling like yourself again, that’s all that matters!"

  Lilia said with a warm smile.

  "Alright——!"

  Rezelian beamed with joy,

  "Lilia, I suddenly feel like today’s a perfect day for a celebration! How about we have Holbivero roast ribs for dinner?"

  "Really——?!"

  Before Lilia could answer, Hulim Heyerar’s eyes lit up with excitement, and she looked at her mother expectantly.

  Lilia shook her head with a fond sigh.

  "Alright~, alright~, alright! It’s settled then."

  "Yay——! Roast ribs!"

  "Laurent! Bring the grill out to the yard!"

  "Right away, sir!"

  "Mrs. Jaeger! Help me get the ribs from the kitchen, and prepare the tableware, please!"

  "Of course, sir. I’ll get on it right away."

  "Jessica! We’re having a barbecue tonight! The marinade is all up to you!"

  "You can count on me~!"

  "......"

  Hulim Heyerar’s life was finally back on track.

  Though her first mentor could no longer walk beside her, the journey of the Seventh Sorceress was only just beginning.

  ————————

  This takes place the day before Semiris set her final task for Hulim Heyerar.

  "See you tomorrow, Semiris!"

  Hulim Heyerar waved goodbye as she always did.

  But behind her back, strange words flickered across Semiris’s eyes, glowing faintly like ancient runes.

  【Hulim Heyerar

  Race: Human (Female)

  Age: 10

  Vitality: C+ Rank

  Mana: C+ Rank

  Magical Affinity:

  Fire Affinity S-Rank (Fairy Queen’s Fire Blessing),

  Water Affinity S-Rank (Fairy Queen’s Water Blessing),

  Earth Affinity S-Rank (Fairy Queen’s Earth Blessing),

  Wind Affinity S-Rank (Fairy Queen’s Wind Blessing),

  Light Affinity S-Rank (Fairy Queen’s Light Blessing),

  Dark Affinity S-Rank (Fairy Queen’s Dark Blessing),

  Non-Elemental Affinity S-Rank (Fairy Queen’s Non-Elemental Blessing)

  ......

  】

  "......Hahaha, she really is incredible. Only ten years old and already on the verge of B-Rank. Even in the annals of history, that’s a prodigy of unparalleled talent! Though, I suppose that makes sense—she’s one of a kind, after all......"

  "Yep! But that’s all thanks to my amazing teaching skills!"

  Semiris, the Fairy Queen, lifted her chin proudly.

  "Ugh——"

  Suddenly, she clutched her chest in agony, her face paling rapidly.

  "......Is my time already up..."

  She’d never done anything like this before—so she hadn’t realized just how dangerous bestowing seven different blessings would be until she’d actually done it.

  Her fairy core had nearly collapsed!

  She’d never imagined the cost would be this high—but now that the blessings were given, there was no taking them back.

  Originally, if she’d returned to the Celestial Realm immediately and entered hibernation, her core would have slowly recovered with no lasting damage—she’d have lost nothing but a bit of her vacation time.

  But when she’d looked into the girl’s bright eyes, a foolish thought had crept into her heart: I can stay a little longer.

  Then...

  Just a little while more.

  A few more days.

  The girl’s almost D-Rank—I’ll leave once she hits D-Rank...

  She’s learning so fast! I should stick around to observe her—she’s such a unique case, after all...

  She’s already C-Rank?! That was fast! Can she go even further? I want to see—just a little longer...

  Now the girl was finally on the cusp of B-Rank.

  She’d kept making excuses to stay—but it seemed her time was truly up at last......

  "I really wanted to stay by your side a little longer, I’m so sorry, Hulim......"

  "At the very least, before I go... let me see you become truly independent..."