Chapter 112: About to Step Onto the White Album Battlefield

“Ah, the familiar ceiling...”

Miona opened her eyes to the morning chorus of birdsong. Her gaze, still a bit dazed from just waking, fixed on the ceiling for a long moment before she realized she was back. There was no doubt this was her room. She recalled how she had claimed the larger dorm room for herself, pushing Ruby into the guest room.

Her mind slowly began to stir, and Miona started to piece together what had happened. She remembered stepping in to block an attack aimed at Ruby and then losing consciousness from the pain. So, the figure lying beside the bed must be Ruby. She had gotten hurt protecting him and felt guilty enough that she was cared for until she collapsed from exhaustion. It was unfolding just like a story.

“Nana, not there, hehehe.”

“!?”

Just as Miona was lost in thought, the figure by the bed suddenly murmured in their sleep. The young goddess of magic quickly sat up and glanced at the person lying there. Unless her mind had seriously slipped, there was no way Ruby could have golden hair like that.

“Ruby!!! Where have you been!”

The room fell into an eerie silence. Aside from the occasional smacking sound from Giffney, Miona felt her efforts had all been wasted on Aqua. Annoyed, she shouted towards the door, wondering why even in her unconscious state she had to endure this yuri fantasy!

“If you can shout that loudly, it means you’ve recovered, right?”

Before long, Ruby entered, still wearing an apron and seemingly in the middle of preparing something. Yet, Miona saw no sign of concern on his face.

“What’s going on here?”

The goddess pointed at the now-awake drill girl, who was pouting so much her mouth looked like it could hang several clothes on it—heartless indeed. That was Miona’s sole evaluation of Ruby after waking up.

“You were unconscious for two days, and she’s been taking care of you the entire time. It was inconvenient for me to come.”

“Nana, you’re awake! That’s wonderful—I was planning to take care of you forever.”

Giffney wiped the drool from her mouth, tears of relief in her eyes upon confirming Miona was okay, and immediately tried to embrace her.

“Don’t move.”

Miona, disgusted by the drool-streaked Giffney, shrank back. At her words, the drill girl indeed froze in place—words are law… While Miona hadn’t quite reached that level, an instant petrification spell was no problem.

“You heartless creature! For whom exactly did I get injured? You couldn’t even bother to care for me while I was unconscious!”

Miona shoved Giffney down to the floor to lie still, then turned to interrogate the ungrateful Ruby.

“Do you want me to handle changing clothes and cleaning the body?”

“Uh, well… although it’s hard to accept, having her do it feels even more dangerous.”

Miona hesitated, feeling a bit embarrassed at the thought of Ruby seeing her private parts. But seeing the figure sprawled on the floor, she’d rather have Ruby see than Giffney.

“Don’t worry, I’m watching her closely while she’s doing it.”

Perhaps sensing Miona’s worry about her chastity, Ruby reassured her carefully that he wasn’t letting Giffney get out of line.

“Then what’s the point?”

Miona lamented dramatically. At this point, she was too tired to ask whether Ruby had actually seen anything. Let him be.

“Did anything happen while I was unconscious?”

Miona asked casually, not really expecting much. Ruby’s answer, however, made her feel she had missed quite the spectacle.

Once her magic resumed flowing, the dorm supervisor promptly contacted the headmaster. Harvey, upon hearing the news, rushed over personally. More concerned about Miona’s condition than the attack on students, he knew if she died here, not only would his magical source fail to recover, but he would be a sinner before the world—the sole goddess of magic dying under his watch was unthinkable. So, he gathered every capable female healer from Trillima to treat Miona, only breathing a sigh of relief once she was confirmed safe.

Next came dealing with the assassins. Harvey had only ever heard of the magic prohibition array. Those villains, empowered by the invincible and evil formation, had even assassinated a sacred mage. With their magical powers sealed, even he would be helpless. Yet, the array’s flaw was its complexity—once set, it could only wait for prey to enter. Without a doubt, there was a mole inside the academy leaking Ruby’s whereabouts.

Harvey was genuinely shocked to learn that Ruby single-handedly wiped out all the enemies. The group was a notorious criminal organization that had never suffered losses under the array. He could only sigh, “Truly the man favored by the goddess of magic.” Next, Harvey set out to root out the traitor; those caught, it was said, were frozen solid and thrown into Thousand Islands Lake as floating ice blocks.

“That’s amazing—I want to experience a magic prohibition array too.”

“Could you even use magic if you were caught in one?”

“Probably, I guess.”

Miona pondered the array’s mechanics. It simply eliminated magical energy and elements from the air; it couldn’t completely drain the magic inside the human body. It only absorbed magic after it was released, rendering spellcasting impossible. As long as the output frequency exceeded the array’s absorption capacity, she could still blast them with pure magic cannonfire until they doubted their own lives.

“Why did you do that?”

Ruby sat on the edge of the bed, pulling Miona closer. After staring into her eyes for a long moment, he finally asked.

“Huh? What do you mean?”

Miona, unnerved by his gaze, feigned ignorance with a drifting look.

“You know what I’m asking. That beast’s attack wasn’t lethal to me at all—my physical durability far exceeds yours. Why did you step in front of it? Don’t you know your body is weaker than most? Do you even realize how much blood you lost?”

“Because I said I would protect you. How could I break my word?”

A faint smile curved Miona’s lips. She didn’t feel she had sacrificed anything for Ruby; she was simply fulfilling a decision made long ago.

“You’re a goddess of magic—the only one in the world. I’m just an ordinary person. If you died saving me, wouldn’t that be ridiculous? You have plenty of time ahead to enjoy life.”

“No. I don’t want to hear anything about goddesses or ordinary people. I only know that in the same situation, you would do the same for me. We’ve already become parts of each other. You’re so naive to wield a blade to take lives—can you honestly say it’s not for me?”

Miona shook her head, her expression earnest. Ruby’s momentary frustration struck her as oddly endearing. After hearing her words, Ruby suddenly reached out and pulled Miona into a tight embrace.

“Wait… you’re crying, aren’t you?”

It was their first time this close, and Miona felt flustered. Being pressed so tightly, she could clearly hear discordant sounds by her ear. Gently pushing Ruby away, she saw his reddened eyes and the hint of tears.

“Yeah.”

“Isn’t this the moment to say things like ‘the roof is leaking’ or ‘there’s sand in my eye’? Suddenly admitting it makes things awkward. Don’t be like this—just think of us as best friends for the next few months...”

Miona had no idea how to continue the conversation. To cheer Ruby up, she even joked about her menstrual cycle, but he remained just as solemn.

“I already told you—cheer up and give me some witty comebacks!”

“Thank you.”

“Well, thinking positively, I’ve cried for you once before. So that evens things out.”

Sighing, Miona pulled Ruby into her arms and gently patted his back in comfort. No one noticed the two lines of warm tears streaming from the drill girl’s eyes on the floor.

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Miona (proudly): If I don’t wake up soon, all the men will be completely swept away!

Drill Girl: I was clearly first—whether it’s liking Nana or caring for her, why did it turn out like this? And this love triangle is so hard to swallow!