That morning, Dila sat quietly at the wooden dining table in the healer's home, her bandaged hands carefully clutching a piece of warm morning bread. She took a bite—soft, slightly sweet, with a buttery crisp edge—and her eyes widened.
"Num… num…" she mumbled, chewing slowly. "Wow… this is delicious."
Beside the bread sat a small wooden cup filled with warm choco milk. She took a careful sip, the rich sweetness flooding her mouth and spreading a strange warmth through her chest.
I never thought food in this world could taste this good… she thought to herself, pausing mid-bite.
Tears prickled in her eyes.
She sniffed once, blinking quickly, and then looked down at her half-eaten bread. This is… the first time I've actually eaten a real meal since arriving here…
She didn't say anything else. Just quietly tore another piece with her bandaged fingers and brought it to her mouth, still chewing as the morning sun slipped through the window.
No fancy dishes. No plates. Just her, a loaf of bread, a cup of choco milk… and the soft hum of peace that, for now, filled the healer's modest kitchen.
For Dila, it was enough.
Meanwhile, at another table just across the room, Sarios, Stella, and Toi sat quietly—though not for long.
Stella, perched beside Sarios, had her cheek rested in her palm, her eyes fixed on Dila. A soft smile curved her lips as she watched the girl eat.
"She's cute," Stella murmured to herself with a quiet beam. "Look at her, munching like that…"
Toi chuckled under his breath, eyes closed in his usual calm way as he sat across from them, elbows on the table, hands clasped beneath his beard.
Sarios glanced sideways at Stella, raising an eyebrow. "Thank goodness you're not clinging to me for once," he said with mock exaggeration, leaning back slightly in his chair.
Stella turned to him with a sly grin. "Still clingy, though—aren't I?"
Before he could react, she scooted a little closer and suddenly clung to his arm.
Sarios groaned with a light sigh, his expression dry. "Here we go again…"
Toi let out a slow laugh, shaking his head. "Youth these days…"
Across the room, Dila sat unaware—or perhaps simply too absorbed in her meal to care. She happily stuffed her mouth with another bite of warm bread, her plate nearly empty already, and reached for her second cup of choco milk.
Her cheeks puffed slightly as she chewed, and her bandaged fingers cradled the cup with surprising gentleness. There was a faint smudge of chocolate near her lips, but she didn't notice.
For now, everything was peaceful. And delicious.
The old man Toi's lighthearted smile faded for a moment as he shifted his gaze from Dila to Sarios. He leaned forward, clasping his hands together on the table, his tone becoming more serious.
"So," he began, voice low and calm, "what made you bring that kid here, Sarios? Is she special or something?"
Before Sarios could respond, Stella beat him to it, her tone bright and firm.
"Yeah, she's very special," she said, eyes still on Dila. "She has untapped abilities. If she learns to use them well, she could become one of the strongest support mages out there."
Toi raised an eyebrow. "Oh? How so?"
Sarios leaned in a bit, resting one arm on the table. "It's because she's already shown signs of potential. Real potential. She can summon things—not just basic creatures, but powerful ones like a golem."
He glanced in Dila's direction as he spoke, voice steady with a quiet kind of admiration.
"And she didn't just summon it. She buffed it, enhanced it mid-battle. She even buffed me. Her timing, precision—it was sharp. All while keeping her mana flow stable."
Toi scratched his chin, unimpressed at first. "Hmm. Sounds useful, sure. But nothing that special yet."
Sarios didn't flinch. "No, you don't get it. She's got control. Her mana pool isn't massive, but the way she uses it is precise. It's not about raw power—it's how she handles it. She even saved our lives back at the Veil. When the crystal core blew, she cast a barrier fast enough to shield us from a corrupt mana explosion. That kind of control, under pressure, is rare."
Toi's gaze turned thoughtful. "Interesting… If it were a normal mage, no one could've withstood that kind of corrupt energy. Not even the strong ones." His voice lowered with a bit more weight. "The fact her body didn't get obliterated from that alone says a lot."
Stella nodded. "Exactly! That's why she's mysterious. Maybe she's been hiding what she can do. Maybe… she's afraid of being used."
Toi glanced back at Dila, who was still sipping her choco milk peacefully, completely unaware of the quiet weight her presence carried at the table nearby.
"Maybe," the old man muttered. "Or maybe not. She still seems far from strong. If she's that gifted… why's she so injured?" He narrowed his eyes thoughtfully.
Sarios didn't answer right away, but the tension in his shoulders showed he'd thought about it too.
Stella gave a gentle smile, breaking the heaviness. "Maybe she just needs more training," she said softly, still hopeful. "Power doesn't always show right away."
Toi leaned back slowly, watching Dila again with new eyes. "Hmph. Guess we'll see, won't we?"
Meanwhile, back at Dila's side of the room...
She sat on the wooden bench, still munching on her third piece of bread, cheeks full like a chipmunk, when Nari's delicate voice echoed sweetly in her mind.
☆ Master... it appears the people on the other side of the room are currently talking about you~ ☆
Dila didn't move a muscle. She just kept chewing slowly, her eyes shifting sideways like a suspicious squirrel. Her lips tugged into a fake little smile as she sipped her choco milk politely, but inside her brain—
Screaming.
"I KNEW IT! Of course they're talking about me—ugh, it's not enough that I nearly exploded myself into elf-paste and now I get treated like some kind of mystery box? 'Oooh she's got potential~' Yeah, potential to DIE, thank you very much!"
She continued sipping calmly as the inner chaos spiraled.
"'So mysterious,' they say. NO, I WAS DYING, STELLA. I WAS RUNNING ON 1 HP, NARI! I THREW A BARRIER AT THE SPEED OF PANIC AND PASSED OUT LIKE A RAGDOLL!"
☆ They're saying you have untapped power, Master~ Maybe even enough to change the world ♡ ☆
"Change the world? I can barely change my bandages right now!" Dila shrieked internally while keeping her smile so sweet it could kill a diabetic man.
She wiped her mouth slowly with a cloth, then mentally pointed at Nari.
"Next time I pass out from saving people, can you make sure I land somewhere with less emotional damage?"
☆ Aww~ You're so humble and adorable when you're broken inside, Master ☆
Dila just sighed, letting her head thunk softly against the wooden table. "Mmmph... I'm gonna need five more breads for this level of stress," she muttered under her breath.
And with that, she reached for another slice like a soldier preparing for round two.