Rebirth Lives Up to the Stars

This feeling is not unfounded.

Since the new dean took office, the orphanage has received many threatening letters, along with disgusting things such as decapitated ghost dolls and blood-stained clothes.

Recently, there have been many cases of missing persons—even Xavier's friend, Fat Pyne, disappeared completely without a trace after going out to work.

The outside world began to have doubts, and the Pansen Welfare Institute, which had always had a good reputation and image, began to encounter an unprecedented crisis.

I often see the house where the dean lives is brightly lit all night.

Not long after, the orphanage began to implement a new curfew system, which stipulated that we could not leave the orphanage at night. In addition, every time we went out, we had to go to Sister Bai to get a certificate.

The dean even invited a group of mercenaries to come to Pan Sen to protect us.

As expected of a descendant of aristocrats, it really is a big deal.

Now that the dean has made such a gesture, I should be able to get rid of my inexplicable worries before.

However, at the beginning of the new semester, the house that the Academy of Magic planned to build a few years ago has been repaired. I have submitted an application for accommodation, and it should be approved soon.In this way, I can temporarily leave the Pantheon Welfare Institute and live and study in the Academy of Magic.

— After all, I have selfish intentions.Staying away from the Pansen Orphanage, I can also disguise myself and stay away from danger.

If I live in the magic academy, the more troublesome thing is that I have to come back every once in a while—in order to get Ryan's letter.

It's just that I always want to come back to visit Master Buzz. It's good to do the two things together.

But... Xavier, since Pine disappeared, seems to have been stimulated by something, and he goes in and out with me every day.He has a lot of friends, and he often walks, and we follow a group of weird guys.

It took about seven or eight days to be surrounded by people like this, and I really couldn't take it anymore. Fortunately, the School of Magic finally sent the approval results... I was finally saved.

After explaining to Master Buzz, I went to get the certificate from Sister Bai, and after finishing almost all the things that needed to be done, I went back to the room and started to pack my luggage.

"Kroll, are you there?"

There was a knock on the door suddenly, followed by Xavier's voice.

I put the folded clothes into the backpack, turned and opened the door.

"Hi." His face was flushed abnormally, and his eyes seemed to be covered with a layer of mist.

"Cough cough..."

Before I could speak, he started to cough violently. This...should be sick, right?

I stretched out my hand and covered his forehead, the temperature under my palm was really hot... Let's use healing magic to let his fever subside a little.

Thinking of this, I withdrew my hand, condensed a turquoise elemental core in the palm of my hand, and then crushed it, the elemental fragments in the palm of my hand exuded a shining light, looking very cute.

However, I am not in the mood to appreciate their beauty for the time being. After gathering these fragments a little, I raised my hand and put my palm on Xavier's forehead, urging these elemental fragments to enter his body.

His illness is not very serious. After my treatment, he only needs to drink a few more bottles of potion and he will be cured.

"...thank you, Kroll...I...cough...much better."

Xavier smiled weakly at me. I didn't expect him to be much more gentle and well-behaved than usual after he got sick.

"Is there something wrong with me?"

"Sister Tracy asked me to inform you that... your sponsor, Ryan, has a letter."

"Ryan?"

I haven't heard from him for three months, so it's really a bit happy to see him suddenly.

"I'll go with you."

"You? I think you should go to Master Buzz's infirmary to get the medicine for healing."

"You have treated me just now. I feel much better. Let's go."

Xavier seemed to regain his energy, stretched his arms, leaned on my shoulder, and dragged me to Sister Tracy's residence involuntarily.

"What kind of person is your sponsor..."

After getting Ryan's letter, I accompanied Xavier to Master Buzz to get the potion. When I was looking at the light yellow envelope on the road, I suddenly heard Xavier's question.

"...It's a..." I thought about it carefully, and replied, "He's a very interesting...very gentle person."

"Gentle..." Xavier's shoulders slumped: "I also want such a beautiful and gentle sponsor."

Beautiful and gentle?

I think Xavier seems to have misunderstood something. A "gentle" man like Ryan should have nothing to do with beauty.

"I don't seem to have met your sponsor. Is he busy?"

"Actually... I haven't seen it before..." I sighed.

"You haven't seen it?" Xavier was shocked: "It's really mysterious."

Yes, it's very mysterious, maybe... I will have a second chance to meet him when I am 17 years old and no longer need his sponsorship.

After hearing that I had moved to live at the Academy of Magic, Xavier threw a big tantrum at me.

He felt that I did not tell him this because I did not trust him and did not treat him as a friend.

...I don't really understand.

He will always know about this matter, so what does it matter if I inform or not?

Besides, apart from Master Buzz, Pan Sen is the one who is the most familiar with me, so he must be the first to know about this matter.Getting so angry at me for no reason is as difficult as Master Booth.

After he slammed the door angrily and walked away, I didn't chase after him, and I didn't want to explain anything. After all, when a person is angry, if he rushes to comfort him, he will only talk more and make more mistakes.

——This is the valuable experience I have gained from battling wits and courage with Master Buzz over the years.

But... I seem to have miscalculated the situation for the first time.

Since the new semester, I have gone back to the orphanage three times, but every time... I can't see Xavier. Only Master Buzz will accompany me to eat something and talk about daily life and so on.

Master Buzz's health has been getting worse these days. He was originally an excellent healing magician, so logically speaking, he should be very good at taking care of himself.It's just because he ran around with the mercenary group in the early years, injured his body, and left the root cause of the disease.Now that I am old, no matter how good the potion is, no matter how pure the core of the magic element is, it will not be able to repair the damaged body.

Although he is a troublesome old man, he has taken good care of me all these years. If there is anyone who is most important to me in this world, I should choose him without hesitation.Therefore, he is not in good health now, and my mood is not much better.

This is the fourth time I've come back. In addition to the beef Master Buzz likes, I also brought him a bottle of wine. Although it's not a high-end product, he shouldn't care about it.

He seems to be in good spirits today, so let me have a drink with him.

I had no choice but to taste a few sips. The wine was spicy and fell into my stomach through the throat, giving me the illusion of being burned.

While drinking, there seemed to be some movement outside the door. I wanted to go out to have a look, but when I stood up, I felt a little dizzy. The aftertaste of drinking is quite strong.

There was a vaguely sweet fragrance in the air, and suddenly the alarm bells rang in my mind, and I instinctively wanted to hold my breath, but...it was too late.

My head was hurting, my body was so soft that I couldn't control it, and I was about to hit the corner of the table.

In a blur, a figure broke through the door of the medical hall and rushed in, catching my falling body.

"Kroll!" Xavier's flaxen hair was scattered on my cheeks, he was wet all over, and looked at me anxiously.

"... X... Xavier?"

"I'll take you out!"

He put me on his back, and after a jolt, I seemed to see a blazing fire lighting up the entire Pantheon Orphanage.

The smoke made me breathless, and I barely had the strength to grab Xavier's shoulders.

Out of Pantheon, Xavier put me in the woods near the water, I felt a pair of rough hands caressing my face, and then Xavier's voice.

He says--

"Kroll, you stay here, I'm going to save others, listen, you must wait for me here."

"Too...too dangerous...too..."

"It's okay, Kroll...I'm going to rescue Master Buzz...and others."

"..."

I didn't have the strength to speak anymore, and I didn't have the strength to hold him back.In my hazy field of vision, there is only the soaring fire that seems to be inexhaustible in the distance, and the black figure of Xavier running far away there.

And then... the world fell into darkness.