They walked in silence for a while after Ophélia walked away. The path along the east side of the grounds was narrower than the main one and lined with low bushes covered in small white flowers. There was no one else around that area.

Takeshi waited.

Clearly, Nyx was processing something, because she had spent almost two minutes walking forward without saying a word.

’Though I’m not sure whether she’s processing the Ophélia thing or what happened earlier.’

Eventually, Nyx spoke, but not about what he expected.

"What Ophélia did wasn’t elemental magic."

Takeshi looked at her. The earlier tension had been pushed aside by an expression of concentration.

"I noticed."

He replied.

"There wasn’t any visible element produced."

"It’s not just that. When someone converts internal energy into fire or water, there’s a transformation process you can perceive, even slightly, like heat, pressure, or a change in the air, but what Ophélia did had none of that."

"And what about impregnation?"

"Impregnation requires an object to act as a channel, and she didn’t use one. The contact was direct between her hands and the boy’s knee."

Takeshi thought about what he had seen. The faint light between Ophélia’s hands and the boy’s skin closing without any intermediary object, any elaborate gesture, or any visible effort.

"How difficult is healing?"

He asked.

Nyx took a moment to answer, as if organizing how to explain it.

"Very difficult, more than it looks from the outside."

She paused briefly.

"When you use elemental magic to attack or move something, the target is external, so you push energy outward and the result happens. Mistakes have consequences, but they’re mistakes on things that are already broken or that don’t have a correct state you need to preserve."

"And healing is different?"

"Completely, because living tissue has structure. To properly close a wound, it’s not enough to just apply energy to it. You need to apply the correct energy, in the correct direction, with the correct intensity, in the correct order."

"And if you mess up?"

"Depends on the mistake. Too much energy can burn healthy tissue around the wound. The wrong direction can close the surface before the internal tissue heals, which causes infection. Poorly calibrated intensity can interrupt processes the body was already carrying out on its own and make the result worse."

Takeshi processed that.

"So healing badly is worse than not healing at all."

"In many cases, yes."

"And can you heal?"

Nyx nodded.

"Minor wounds like shallow cuts, bruises that don’t affect deep tissue. I can do it because I know my own energy well and I know how to direct it precisely, but it’s slow. A wound that the body would take two days to close on its own, I can close in a few hours."

"Why is it slow?"

"Because I work with one element at a time and I have to go layer by layer to avoid mistakes. It’s the safest method when you don’t have specific healing training."

"And more serious wounds?"

"I don’t attempt them. The risk of error increases with the complexity of the injury. If the internal structure is damaged, I need to manipulate several elements at the same time with simultaneous precision. That’s something practically nobody can do reliably."

Takeshi looked at her.

"Practically nobody?"

"I can’t."

Nyx said in a direct tone.

"And I know my own capabilities pretty well. What it would take to heal another person’s serious injury quickly and without margin for error is beyond what elemental magic or impregnation can practically do."

They reached the end of the path. There was a low stone structure with a closed door and two small windows. No one was nearby, so they turned onto a side path that would take them back toward the main building from the other side.

"So what Ophélia did..."

Takeshi began.

"Is dissonant magic."

Nyx finished without hesitation.

"There’s no other classification that fits. She did something neither elemental magic nor impregnation can do in that way. She healed another person’s wound quickly, without a channeling object, without a visible process, without apparent effort."

"Can dissonant magic do that?"

"Dissonant magic can do things the other two categories can’t because it doesn’t operate under the same restrictions. It functions according to its own conditions. In this case, the condition seems to be the direct healing of living tissue."

Nyx paused.

"What I don’t know is the extent of it. Whether it can only heal minor injuries or if it can do more. What we saw was a scraped knee, but I don’t know what would happen with something more serious."

Takeshi thought about that while they walked.

’If I die, my sanity drops, but with that ability...’

If Ophélia could intervene, the situation changed.

’If I don’t end up dying thanks to timely healing, my sanity won’t drop from that death.’

It was a direct and concrete advantage. It didn’t depend on the point system or the shop, which probably meant the deity hadn’t taken it into account when designing the rules.

’Or maybe it does know about this and it’s part of the entertainment.’

That possibility was equally valid, but even if it was part of the design, the advantage was still there.

"Are you calculating something?"

Nyx asked, making Takeshi look at her in surprise.

"Is it that obvious!?"

"You’ve been quiet for a while and you have the expression of someone doing math in their head."

"I was thinking about what you explained."

"I see..."

"Did you know this type of magic existed before?"

"I knew it existed theoretically. Healing-focused dissonant magic appears in academic texts, but it’s always presented as something extremely rare. Most mages with an affinity for dissonant magic develop other kinds of abilities, and direct healing of living tissue is one of the rarest cases."

"And is it normal for Ophélia to do it so naturally?"

"It indicates she’s practiced it for a very long time or that her affinity for that ability is exceptionally high. Probably both."

Takeshi nodded.

’Makes sense. She said she grew up in the shrine, so if she’s had that ability since she was little, then she’s been using it for years.’

The shrine’s main building appeared in front of them as they rounded the final curve in the path. From that angle, they could see the side entrance where Merwyn and Aoi had disappeared earlier. The door was still closed, which probably meant the meeting was ongoing.

Nyx slowed her pace until she stopped. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

Takeshi stopped as well and looked at her.

Her arms were crossed and she was staring toward the building, although it was obvious she wasn’t actually looking at the building.

"It wasn’t necessary..."

Nyx whispered, leaving Takeshi confused.

"Sorry?"

"What happened earlier... with Ophélia."

Nyx kept looking ahead.

"You didn’t have to deny it so quickly."

’Oh, damn, here we go.’

Takeshi considered how to respond. He had answered quickly, but the reason he had answered quickly was simple: the question had a direct answer.

"We’re not dating."

He continued.

"It was the correct answer."

"Yeah, I know, but you didn’t have to answer that fast."

"What difference does it make?"

Nyx finally looked at him.

"There’s a difference in what it communicates."

Takeshi processed that.

’She’s saying I answered so fast it sounded like I was trying to make something clear. Like there was some extra reason to deny it.’

"There wasn’t any extra reason!"

He replied firmly.

"No?"

"No."

Nyx held Takeshi’s gaze for a moment.

"Then why so fast?"

"Because it was the answer."

"Or did you specifically want Ophélia to know?"

Takeshi opened his mouth and closed it again.

The chat appeared.

[Nyx has him completely cornered]

[The protagonist processing whether that’s true or not]

[Spoiler: he doesn’t know]

[Takeshi’s expression right now is priceless]

’I didn’t specifically want Ophélia to know. I literally just met her, and I had no reason to want to communicate anything to her in particular.’

"I wasn’t thinking about Ophélia when I answered!"

Takeshi continued.

"I was just answering the question."

"Just that?"

"Just that."

Nyx’s expression was that of someone evaluating whether the information she had received was complete or whether something was missing.

"I don’t think you’re lying."

She finally concluded.

"I’m not lying!"

"But I’m not completely convinced either."

Takeshi stayed quiet for a moment.

’Why is she overthinking such a simple answer so much!?’

Takeshi finally sighed.

"I didn’t think about it at the time. I just answered, that’s all."

Nyx looked at him for a few more seconds and then uncrossed her arms.

"Alright."

She didn’t sound completely convinced, but she also didn’t sound like someone who planned to continue the topic for now.

[Was that a resolution?]

[More or less]

[Nyx archived the issue, but she didn’t delete the file]

Takeshi ignored the comments, although internally he admitted the last one made a lot of sense.

Nyx looked toward the main building and then at Takeshi.

"There’s a place near the high school I want to try."

She began in a tone different from a moment ago. More direct and less charged.

"They sell northern-style food and they opened recently."

Takeshi looked at her.

"You want to go now?"

"No, but after we finish here... or any day this week."

’Is that an invitation to eat together? That sounds pretty normal coming from her.’

"Could work."

Takeshi replied.

"We could invite the others."

"Well... I was thinking the two of us could go... you know, to see if the place is good enough for everyone else."

Takeshi nodded.

"Alright, then we’ll go sometime this week."

[Takeshi has absolutely no idea what he just agreed to]

[Zero clue]

[What he thinks this is and what Nyx thinks this is are two completely different things]

’What are they talking about? I’m just going to eat with a friend.’

For Takeshi, that was all it was.

Nyx, meanwhile, said nothing else, but when she started walking toward the main building again, her pace was different from before. Calmer and happier.

They reached the side entrance and waited beside the closed door.

A minute later, footsteps could be heard from the other side.