My hand is itchy...

Such was the first thought that crossed Sylphia's mind when she opened her eyes. Weakly, she turned her half-asleep gaze sideways. Like a camera coming into focus, a hazy blur soon took shape in the center of her vision.

"Rika...?" Though she tried to speak, her first attempt was nothing more than her breath escaping her lips.

"Ah, good," whispered a low, raspy voice, "You're awake."

The figure stood up. Details soon coalesced from its shadowy silhouette, forming a familiar image. It was an old man in dark robes.

"Alphonso...?"

"Don't push yourself. Rest. You should be fine now."

Her memory was hazy at best, but once she turned her head down, and saw the aftermath of recent events, she quickly recalled them in full.

"Ah..." She drew her uninjured hand inward and covered half her face. "I remember..."

"Miss Carlisle came by earlier and helped tend to your injury. She was quite shocked to see you unconscious while I carried you back."

Urgh... that's right, I fainted when I was trying that magic...

"Now," he then crouched by the bedside and asked, "how do you feel? Is the wrapping too tight? Is it itchy? Tell me so I can fix it."

At first, she shied away from asking anything more from Alphonso, having troubled him so much already. However, once she found her moment of respite, she was quickly dragged back out by a nagging itch on her injured hand.

"A-actually..." she said, "it is a bit itchy."

"I see," he said with a tiny smile, "let me fix that. This may sting a bit..."

As he unwrapped the bandage, the little girl turned her eyes away, evading even a passing glimpse of what her hand had become. Now and again, she would flinch as both stripping and laying the bandages shot sharp needles up her arm. The consequent flinching made his job that much harder, despite him trying to be as gentle as he possible could - even going so far as use wind magic to aid his work.

Perhaps in a bid to calm her down, Alphonso thus opened a conversation.

"What in the world were you trying to cast, anyway?" he asked, "I've never seen fire and metal magic used in that configuration before... You even left this on the floor."

From his pocket, he then pulled out the bullet she created earlier and placed it on the bedside table.

A quick glance show that it was nothing but a solid slab of metal with only the form of a bullet - even the casing and shot were melded together, separated only by the grooves that defined each part.

She couldn't help but snicker.

The heck?

I thought I could make a gun just from my imagination... but it's all wrong! The bullet is a wash. The explosion probably needs a solid barrel to work... urgh, it's getting more and more complicated. How come it's so much easier to make the megaphone and lighter work, but not this?

She gnashed her teeth in serious consideration. Now that she had her mind set on a goal, she felt restless, and wanted to give it another go. However, that was clearly not an option at her current state.  

Soon, frustration got the better of her and her head started to ache.

What a pain. At this rate, it's probably easier to just teach Letty how to make a gun and have her build me one...

Her eyes flickered at her own idea.

...actually, that might be worth a try.

While she was caught up on her internal post-mortem, Alphonso said, "Of course, I am glad that you are finally making strides towards your studies, but try not to overextend yourself. Knowledge is dangerous when not tempered with wisdom. This is doubly true when dabbling in the arcane. You might consider yourself lucky to have learned this lesson for just the cost of a few minor burns."

"Eh...? Ah..." Her expression turned glum. "Sorry..."

'Just' 'minor' burns...? It certainly didn't feel minor. I thought my skin was peeling off, it was so painful...

...or does this body just have extremely low pain tolerance? I mean, I've been burned before, but I've never felt something like that before.

"It's fine. Irrespective of the real damage to your body, getting seared by a rogue fireball is one of the most painful things a novice mage can experience." He nodded. "Coincidentally, it is also regarded as one of the most important lessons one can learn when studying magic. Humility in failure. Diligence to avoid further failure." Then, he lifted his face and looked her in the eye, adding, "All that means is that you have grown in wisdom. Congratulations."

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As he delivered those final words, he gave a light pat on her injured hand, finishing the wrap once more.

"There, all done." He said, with a confident glint in his eye.

Congratulated after frying my own hand... I guess there are lows I haven't visited yet after all.

She took her first good peek at the aftermath when Alphonso finally stood away. The whole thing from wrist to fingertip was wrapped in cloth. It bulged in many places with the herbs crammed in between. And looking at it faintly reminded her of stuffed turkey.

Then, she tried lifting it once more. It was noticeably heavier than she recalled. Moreover, she had hardly moved it for a split second when a sharp sting rippled through the back of her hand.

"Guh-!" She winced.

"Allow that hand to rest, for now. The magic herbs I've wrapped inside should allow it to heal in just a few days, but for a while, it will be quite painful to move in any direction."

"Nnnnggh..."

"Don't be impatient now," he said, tucking the little girl in her bed, "I understand your excitement - you must have seen the world of the arcane opening before your eyes when you finally deduced the key to your affinity. But there is a time and a place for all things, and the time now is to rest."

Those words, calm and alluring, like a warm blanket in a cold winter night, finally soothed her restlessness.

Hiding part of her face beneath her sheet, she then mumbled, "Th-thanks... Alphonso."

"Miss Evrika said she would be back soon, so I'll stay with you for a while. If there's anything else, don't hesitate to ask."

"M-mm."

An unsettling quiet lingered in the room.

He's really staying around... come to think of it, he was also the one who patched me up when we came back from Ealdton, right?

She bit her lips.

Without even thinking about it, I'm actually relying a lot on him, aren't I? But acting like this... he reminds me of my dad.

She felt too awkward to sleep, but at the same time, she didn't really know what to talk about with him. And in her indecisiveness, her drowsiness soon caught up with her.

Hey eyes became heavier and heavier.

Then, just as she was about to drift off into sleep, she remembered their conversation from yesterday.

"Alphonso..." she said.

"Yes, Miss Heroine? What is it?"

"I forgot to ask - what happened to the heroes after they beat the Demon King?"

"Afterwards? Hmm..." At this point, he was back on his chair. He pondered for a long while, no doubt going through his mental library of the books he had read. But afterward, he only shook his head, saying, "I'm sorry, Miss Heroine, but I do not know. All myths end with heroes' triumph over the Demon King."

"Eh...? All of them? What about the lesser ones you told me yesterday?"

"Even those. Perhaps it is an indirect way of expressing that they perished during the final battle? Or perhaps, after they slew the Demon King, they all were returned to their previous worlds? Who knows?"

He closed his eyes.

"All I am sure of, is that there is only the grand magic of summoning heroes into our world. None to return them."

"Eh...?" It was as if a bolt of lightning struck her, shaking off every ounce of drowsiness she had accumulated.

Hold on, that's right! It's not a given that I'd just beat the Demon King and everything will end with happily-ever-after.

It could be one of those stories where the hero actually dies when slaying the final boss!

Her eyes widened.

That... that's not fair! I didn't ask to be part of this! I don't want to die in this world!

If I die, I don't even know if there's anything to go back to!

No. This is serious.

I can't fail. And more importantly, I can't die!

But... even then...

What do I do if there's still no way to return afterwards?

She shook her head.

No, that doesn't matter right now.

But one thing's for sure...

...if I'm to survive what's coming, I need to be OP!