The gold ingot in the ring troubled Mira.

If she took such a gold ingot into the town to buy things, she would definitely attract attention, right?

The young woman sighed and quietly put away the king’s gift of gold ingots. She then took out her money pouch and retrieved a single gold coin from it.

This was the subsidy provided by the Magic Nexus. The stipend for apprentice-level mages was small, but fortunately, meals at the cafeteria were free, and the Magic Nexus provided uniforms for mages all year round.

She saved a bit of it.

She had initially thought she could use the king's gold. Mira tucked the gold coin away. She couldn’t afford to attract trouble. Before she grew stronger, she needed to protect herself with these small details.

She lowered her gaze at the gray robe she wore, the standard Magic Nexus attire, which was incredibly inconspicuous.

But Mira decided to change it. She was going into town to shop, and this unremarkable gray robe would stand out even more.

The gray standard magic robe. It was like having the words “Magic Nexus” written all over Mira’s face.

But the princess’s dowry didn’t include any modest clothes.

Mira picked a beige dress from her belongings. She paired it with stockings and matching leather shoes.

After all, the procession that had just delivered her to the castle had passed through the town in a grand display.

In small towns like this, everyone knew each other. It would be impossible to hide an unfamiliar face.

She couldn’t always think of staying low-key; she had to be sensible. Only by blending in naturally could she avoid appearing strange.

Mira changed into her new clothes, braiding her hair into two pigtails. She topped it off with a wide-brimmed hat, dressing herself like a young lady going out for some shopping.

The princess’s maid. This was the identity Mira decided on for herself. Someone from the royal palace wouldn’t be dressed in coarse clothing, so the outfit she chose met this standard. It wasn’t too extravagant, and it fit her role as a maid.

It would make sense for the princess to need some daily supplies now that she had just arrived at the Dragon’s castle, right?

As long as she acted naturally, no one would suspect anything.

Mira placed the shopping list she had written into her basket. She adjusted her hat and walked toward where Lance was.

"I’m ready," Mira said to Lance.

Lance tilted his head. A gorgeous white veil dress, a dull gray magic robe, a beige skirt—this was the third different version of Mira he had seen.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

Human girls were so changeable. He squinted, taking note of this new piece of information.

"Step in front of me," Lance said in a serious tone. He had to be serious. His human form made it more difficult for him to use magic, but Lance didn’t want to embarrass himself in front of Mira.

He was a Blue Dragon, and a Blue Dragon couldn’t lose their dominance over magic.

Mira’s eyes sparkled with anticipation as she stepped in front of him, asking, "How will I return?"

"Two hours later, I will cast the teleportation spell again."

"Will you be able to track my location in two hours?"

Lance fell silent for a moment. If he were at his peak, he could easily teleport Mira back. But now, it was a bit more difficult.

Lance coughed awkwardly twice. "You need to return to the place where I sent you."

Mira didn’t realize that Lance, because of his injuries, couldn’t cast the full-strength teleportation spell. Even so, this was already quite impressive.

Mira adjusted her basket, feeling both nervous and excited. "I’ll watch the time carefully and return early."

"That’s best," Lance reminded her. "If you’re late, you’ll have to walk back."

Mira nodded. She took out a pocket watch from her basket. "It came with the dowry."

Lance glanced at the pocket watch.

He raised a hand. "The nearest town, right?"

"Mm."

Mira kept her eyes on him, not wanting to miss any moment of his spellcasting.

Oddly enough, she didn’t see Lance take out any medium.

He closed his eyes, not even chanting an incantation. A faint blue glow began to form around the man lying on the cushion.

Like a mist dispersing into fine droplets, the flowing blue light, under Lance’s control, opened a light blue portal right in front of Mira.

"Go in." Sweat beaded on Lance’s forehead. For him, casting such a high-level spell in his current state was pushing his limits.

Mira took a deep breath and stepped into the blue portal.

The moment the girl stepped into it, the magic exploded. Lance gasped for air. Everything before him spun. His limbs became uncooperative, and faint electrical pain pulsed through his muscles.

What a huge joke—this Blue Dragon, yet he was dizzy from casting a spell.

He kept gasping, eyes shut tightly, trying to concentrate and resist the damage.

The injury caused by the thunderbolt was far stronger than it appeared. What was even worse was that it triggered the latent injuries from his battle with the Black Dragon.

Blue Dragons were never a race skilled in direct combat. His magic had injured the Black Dragon, but in the end, he had barely thrown it off, sending it crashing into the mountaintop.

Lance’s true dragon form was only about a third the size of the Black Dragon, and colliding head-on with it was like an egg smashing into a hard stone.

It had been ten years since that battle, and he thought the injuries had healed, but the thunderbolt had rekindled those deep, lingering wounds.

Lance’s chest heaved up and down, the numbness in his limbs slowly fading.

He exhaled, watching the magic portal disappear.

He needed to hurry and gather his magic again. He had to make sure to pick Mira up in two hours.

Mira’s figure appeared at the end of the alley. The blue magic energy enveloped her, slowly outlining her form.

Mira took a step forward, and the magic, like ripples in water, naturally faded. She turned around, and everything around her had returned to normal.

The gray-brown walls, the broken cobbled streets—nothing was different. Had she not still been standing there, no one would have suspected that a long-lost high-level magic had just briefly appeared here.

Mira suppressed the excitement in her heart.

The man lying on the cushion was indeed a powerful spellcaster. She had to take better care of him now. If she could learn the teleportation spell from him, she wouldn’t have to fear the pursuit of the Magic Nexus.

Mira smiled and stepped out of the alley.

Whether it was intentional or not, stepping out of the alley led her right into a bustling marketplace.

The morning market had just begun. It was the liveliest time of the day in this small town.

Mira walked toward the crowd with her basket.

After spending one night in the Dragon’s tower, she had returned to the world of humans.