Flaminia finally managed to give one last push to Lucinda and have her enter Clodia's office together with Joey, "I'm sure you have plenty of things to talk about! There are many legal documents to go over! You can start now!"

The pink-haired [Chef] slammed the door behind them, leaving Joey and Lucinda gazing at each other. Then, Joey erupted into laughter.

"I don't know what she told you," Joey said to her, "but it's been a crazy two weeks for pretty much all of us. It's funny seeing her like this now."

"The new class…" Lucinda trailed off for a second. "She had doubts whether to accept it or not. Flaminia was obsessed with reaching level 40."

"Isn't everyone around here obsessed with levels?" Joey shot back.

"Not like… not like that," Lucinda took a deep breath and exhaled, "some think that reaching certain levels will give them the happiness they never had before. But then, they reach the level that they always thought they needed, and nothing changes."

Joey stayed silent for a moment, with an eyebrow slightly arched upward, which made Lucinda scoff, "What, you think I'm an idiot who doesn't know anything? I'm not a kid."

"I didn't say that!" Joey raised both his hands. "I'm sorry. I just—it's been a while since we last saw each other, you know? I didn't really remember you that well. I'm sorry, really."

"It's fine," Lucinda looked around and sat on one of the chairs in front of Clodia's desk. "So, Flaminia, huh? She doesn't care about reaching level 40 anymore?" Joey inquired.

"She liked you," Lucinda said casually, looking at her fingers.

"Huh, what?"

"She liked you," Lucinda repeated.

"I don't think she did," Joey explained, "she was just very confused. I think she broke up with—"

"The [Sergeant] broke up with her, and she thought she needed a nice guy for once," Lucinda deadpanned. "You."

"Aren't we supposed to be talking shop?" Joey asked nervously.

"She hasn't had it easy. She told me about her family, her life. Mana doesn't last forever, and we had a lot of free time to chat when working on the steaks. I spent more than a week almost 27/9 with her.

"And she avoided the topic for most of the time, but it was clear she liked you. Not too seriously, but she did. And her obsession with levels… it went away together with her liking you. I don't know what happened, exactly. I haven't asked."

Joey now took on a serious expression and nodded slowly.

"Sometimes, we realize our values have changed, that the person whom we believed ourselves to be never truly existed, that we were just hiding."

From the way he spoke, Lucinda wasn't sure whether he was talking about Flaminia or himself.

"Anyway, she doesn't seem interested in me anymore," Joey smiled.

"She clearly wants us to be together," Lucinda nodded.

After that casual remark, embarrassing silence descended upon the two.

Lucinda looked into the Human’s deep blue eyes focused on her. There had been a constant smirk on his face the first time she met him; now, instead, it was a soft smile. Less naughty but no less entertaining.

"I didn't know you practiced so much magic," Lucinda suddenly blurted out. "It's good."

Joey laughed in response and kept his mouth semi-open, his teeth flashing at her and his eyes twinkling, looking for something to say.

"I have a good teacher," he said cryptically. "But I had to take a detour and also learn how to fight hand-to-hand. He said it's important to be able to defend yourself no matter what."

"I am training to become an Enhancer myself," Lucinda replied, her voice tinged with excitement.

"A what?" Joey looked confused.

"A [Mage] focusing on combat and empowering themselves with magic."

Lucinda looked around and lowered her voice before continuing, "Learning [Mana Sense] was great. I couldn't lay my ears on it! I have almost mastered the rest of the spell in one day! One day!"

As Lucinda kept explaining the finer details of her training, she noticed that something about Joey seemed weird. She had noticed it since she had presented her cake to her. He had not made one improper joke, and he looked somewhat downcast.

That's why she stopped talking about her and tried asking what was up, first going for something she knew quite well.

"You are pretty good with magic, aren't you?" She asked.

"I'm good," Joey nodded with a sigh.

"…but?"

Stolen story; please report.

"But I started magic on a whim. I embarked on this journey to have fun and make some little lights. It's like starting to play a vid—a game, and then finding out that the game has real stakes that impact what people will think of you."

"And you don't like that," Lucinda said. It wasn't a question.

"Like? Heh, that's a weird word. I am not… comfortable with it. With great powers comes great responsibility—we had this saying back where I come from."

"A tree with great roots can save a forest or kill it," Lucinda nodded.

"Huh, interesting variation," Joey half-smiled. "Yes, it's… it just means that I need to step up. There are things I need to do… I—I know I'm good at magic. I've made my peace with that. But the other stuff…"

Joey, who had been standing up till that moment, sat down on the couch rather far from Lucinda and placed his forearms on his knees, looking down at the floor.

"What's the other stuff?" Lucinda asked.

Joey turned to the door, holding his breath, and shook his head.

"Joey, whatever it is, I'm sure you can try. You have an evolved version of [Mana Sense], don't you?"

This time, he looked up with surprise in his eyes.

"I'm not stupid, I told you."

"Yeah. Something like that. I hope you won't take this as bragging, Lucy. I'm not good by Elven standards; I'm good by Vanedeni standards. Old Vanedeni standards."

Lucinda's heart skipped a beat. Among the things she had studied, she had researched some of the greatest [Archmages] in history and, obviously, she had come across one of the most talented women in the known history of the world.

"[Princess] Valarith was an Enhancer," Lucinda spoke softly. "Wait, are you saying you’re good by those standards?"

Joey gave her a sad smile and nodded.

"Yes."

Lucinda felt a strange pull toward the man, the kind of interest one only has when they find something similar inside themselves and the person they have in front of them. It felt like a missing piece of her had just materialized in front of her.

"If you are that good, why are you so worried? You could be anything you want."

"Great powers and great responsibilities," Joey looked at the ground again. "There's something I need to help someone with. It's… I haven't told them yet."

"What is it?"

Lucinda saw the man bring his hands together and squeeze them against each other, twitching slightly. His expression twisted several times, alternating between grimacing and biting his lips.

Joey swallowed and looked up.

"Do you know what [Rottenbone] is?"

…

"[Rottenbone]?" Lucinda asked, confused after a long stare-down.

"It's the greatest of Mauser's curses," Joey explained. "It infiltrates the bones and spreads to the organs and the tissues. In time, it slowly kills the ones affected by it. Where I come from, we call it something different, but it's essentially the same thing, just magically enhanced."

"Wait, who has it? You?"

Joey shook his head and hesitated.

"Please, don't tell him yet. I haven't found the courage to. It’s Antoninus's mother, Claudia."

Lucinda's eyes went wide. She had read in some Watch reports that Antoninus's mother had just come back from a great raid against a cult of [Necromancers] up North, but she had no idea she had contracted such a curse!

"How do you know?" Lucinda asked, wide-eyed. "Wait, is she going to die? Didn't a high-level [Healer] just visit town?"

"He won’t be able to do anything against it," Joey stated calmly, "this is not something you can take care of without magic. And not just any magic. No one on this continent is apparently good enough to kill the curse."

"But how do you know?" Lucinda felt her heart clench.

"My teacher," Joey said. "I know thanks to him. I can't say anything more than that."

Lucinda knew a lot more about magic than the average Elf. She knew even more than the average exam taker at the Nine Towers Academy, she thought. She knew enough, honestly, to take Joey's words seriously. And once she did take them seriously, there was nothing else to feel but despair.

"Joey, you need to tell them," Lucinda said, steeling herself.

"I know," the man replied. "But what good will that do now? I can't do anything. I'm not good enough. Before I complete my training, there is no way I can help. My teacher… he can slow down the process. But she's still going to have her bones crumble away slowly and painfully. This is not a [Curse] meant just to kill. This is going to be pure torture until the moment she actually dies from the complete failure of every living part of her."

Lucinda closed her eyes for a moment, breathing in deeply. The weight of Joey’s secret, the threat of impending doom over Claudia, all of it was heavy on her shoulders. But she knew Joey felt it a thousand times more acutely. She felt a sudden urge to share, to ease his burden by revealing some of her own struggles.

“You know,” she began softly, “I understand the weight of trying to live up to expectations, the overwhelming need to prove something – sometimes to others and often to ourselves.”

Joey looked at her, surprised. “What do you mean?”

She hesitated for a split second, but the need to connect, to share her vulnerabilities with someone who seemed to understand, was stronger. “When I was younger, my parents would always tell me that I was meant for something great. They often suggested classes for me, hinting at what they felt I’d excel at. Yet, nothing ever felt right until I found magic.”

Her eyes shifted to the floor, thoughts running wild as memories flooded her consciousness.

The room's ambiance dimmed as Lucinda remembered the evenings when she would sit alone in her room, separated from the laughter and chatter of her friends outside. The days when the sun seemed to shine brighter for everyone but her. The vibrant colors of life often faded to grayscale in her world, shadowed by a cloud of isolation.

The chasm between her and her peers deepened when they started working jobs and getting classes. She remembered the subtle glances they shared when she passed them by – a mix of pity and perplexity. They couldn't understand her hesitation, her resistance just to move on with her life. The truth was, neither did she.

Despite the often-jovial chatter around her, Lucinda felt a hollowness echoing inside. An unspoken pressure loomed over her from all sides – from her parents' gentle prods, her friends' success stories, and her own inner critic, constantly reminding her of her supposed shortcomings.

Every night, she'd stare at her reflection, searching for that spark of talent, that undeniable potential her parents believed lay dormant within her. But her reflection always stared back, silent and unwavering, withholding answers.

The Academy's imposing structure, the Nine Towers, was more than just a landmark for Lucinda. It was a beacon, the place where she believed she could finally find her true calling. However, the road to its gates was paved with challenges – the greatest being the weight of financial constraints, where her family's limited means acted as both her motivation and her anchor.

The deep, relentless drive she felt came not from ambition alone but also from a gnawing sense of isolation. While others danced through life, joining the rhythm naturally, Lucinda felt like she was forever struggling to catch the beat.

It was only when magic beckoned that she felt a resonance, a natural inclination she hadn't experienced before – it felt like she was born for it. But with this newfound talent also came a renewed pressure to prove herself, to finally step out of the shadows and into the limelight.

And it had been almost too late for her. She was old by [Mage] standards, almost too old to pick up magic from scratch.

Feeling the connection with the Human in front of her thick in the air, Lucinda took it upon herself to say the words she would have loved to hear from anyone else before.

She looked Joey straight in the eyes and spoke resolutely.

"I want to help."