Kai raised his fists, ready to fight.

Or at least, he thought he was ready to fight, but he clearly wasn’t.

He could barely keep his hands up.

"It’s me. It’s me." The person standing across from him said, raising her hands to show that she meant no harm. Her voice was light and meek, but familiar. "I’m not here to harm you. I only want to help you."

"Abigail...?" Kai lowered his hands when he realized that it was Abigail.

Just the blue hair alone made it easy to recognize her.

"Can I approach you now?"

"Yes..."

"Okay," Abigail finally approached after getting permission and helped Kai sit down on the bed. She took out a vial from her pocket—and popped the lid with a flick of her thumb. "Drink this. It’ll help with your internal trauma."

Kai took the vial, stared at the glowing blue water, and then drank it in one go.

Knowing that it wasn’t enough, Abigail took out another one.

But the water in this one looked like normal water; it hadn’t been blessed by her abilities.

She held the vial with both hands, pinching it with her thumbs, and channeled her mana.

Slowly, the water inside began to clear; the impurities faded as the purification took hold. But only a few seconds in, Kai’s brow furrowed. The aura around Abigail was climbing. Her blue hair began to drift and flutter as though she were underwater, and a soft glow kindled behind her eyes.

Abigail remained in that state for almost an entire minute.

And when she returned to normal, she blinked her eyes and stared at Kai in surprise.

"I-I got a blessing!" She announced with clear shock.

"Really?" Kai was also surprised to hear that. "What imprint did you get?"

"I... I can do this," Abigail raised her hand toward Kai, eager to use her new imprint and also show it to Kai. Water began to bloom from the empty air—droplets gathered and clung to his skin, layering over him until he was cocooned by them. She swept her hand through the air— and the water glowed softly before splashing away. "Did you feel it?"

Kai didn’t answer instantly.

He looked down at his hands and then his body.

Not because all his wounds were miraculously healed, but because his vision was cleared.

"I feel it," Kai nodded. "All my wounds are better now."

A Patron God could bestow a blessing upon a Supernal as a reward whenever the Supernal performed an act that aligned with the god’s own nature and tendencies. In Abigail’s specific case, that meant healing others.

Maybe those who are critical would make her Patron God happier.

Or perhaps healing someone she has a problem with.

Either way, that triggered a blessing, and she gained an imprint from it.

Pity had brought her here—watching Kai being beaten up by Alex in front of a staring crowd had been too pitiful to ignore. She wanted to help him a bit. But what began as a simple act of compassion had bloomed something else entirely.

Her kindness had been repaid in ways she hadn’t anticipated.

Doing good really did bring fortune.

"I got a blessing!" Abigail threw her arms over Kai’s shoulders, hugging him in a jolly manner out of sheer excitement. She was really happy. It seemed she had been trying, but never quite pleased her Patron God. "I really got a blessing!" 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

"Congratulations," Kai patted her back, not wanting to ruin the moment.

Just then, she realized what she was doing and immediately pull away.

She was embarrassed as her face turned red, though she tried to remain composed.

"I’m sorry."

"It’s fine, no need to worry about it."

Over the next few minutes, Abigail continued healing Kai—treating him as a willing subject for her brand-new imprint. She didn’t stop at surface wounds. She sent droplets seeping into his body, mending the deeper trauma hidden beneath the skin.

Abigail messed up a few times, causing Kai to hiss in pain.

Healing the internal trauma without being able to see it with her eyes is very hard.

She would need to locate the trauma first, sensing it with mana, before using her new imprint.

But with full focus and dedication, she succeeded.

Her imprint was quite miraculous.

After only a few minutes of treatment, most of the pain across Kai’s body had healed.

"I think this is as far as I can go in one setting," Abigail lowered her hands and offered a small smile. "I ran out of mana. Should I do a second treatment later? Tomorrow, maybe?"

"No need," Kai waved his hand. "I think I can manage from here, thanks a lot."

Now that the severe wounds and internal trauma were almost completely healed, Kai’s body began to regenerate on its own. Give it a day or two, and he will be back to normal again, so he doesn’t need a second treatment.

Abigail didn’t move.

She remained seated on the side, looking down at her hands as she fidgeted.

"Let’s call it even," Kai suddenly said, thinking that she was still guilty for what happened.

"Eh?" Abigail looked up, caught off guard by his words. She quickly shook her hands in front of her. "No, it wasn’t that. I’ve already accepted that I was the one who made a mistake, so it’s only natural for you to be angry. I mean... don’t get me wrong, I’m happy that I can make it up for what I did. But this is not... that."

"Then what? It’s rare for us to be alone like this. Say what you wanted to say."

"I..." She inhaled deeply and decided to cough it up. "I don’t think I can join your group."

"Your reason?"

"I’m not comfortable being near... you."

Kai nodded his head in understanding.

Even though he could somewhat let what she did go, she’s the type to still feel guilty despite already being forgiven. Being a part of the new group would mean being in his space, and that might feel overwhelming for her.

I don’t really need her now. I already have more than enough members.

Bryan already swore to Zeus to be in Kai’s group, so the fifth member is practically secured.

Now, his only problem was to gather mana ores again for the last requirement.

"Okay, that’s fine. If you don’t want to, then you don’t want to."

"R-Really? You’re not angry?"

"I told you," Kai stood up with a grunt and headed for the door. "I’m not going to force you, and I won’t do anything to your sister. I’m sure you already understand that. Anyway, thanks for the help."

He waved his head and exited the room.

Abigail remained in her place and smiled inwardly as things ended up well.

Her sister, Talitha, had visited her several times already and explained what her situation was like as Kai’s assigned servant. According to Talitha, Kai had demanded nothing from her. In fact, he had told her outright that he didn’t view her as his servant at all.

And the simple fact that Talitha could pay her a visit confirmed that completely.

So, Abigail knew that Kai was telling the truth.

That he’s not leveraging the fact that he has Talitha as his servant against her.

For that, she was forever grateful.

Kai returned to his room, scooped up Iris, and headed back to the main building. He made his way straight to the professor’s headquarters, inviting surprised glances from the students he passed.

He remembered that he was supposed to be hurt.

People would know someone helped him if he suddenly could stand straight again.

So, he decided to act a little bit, taking a few stops and hunching his back a little to feign pain.

Professor Evie wasn’t in the professors’ headquarters.

After approaching a few who seemed friendly enough to answer a Lesser Angel’s questions, he learned she was at her personal residence. All professors have a special house area where they live as long as they are professors.

And of course, their families are there with them.

A pair of grey-masked Angels stopped Kai at the entrance, barring him from stepping a foot into the restricted area. Both of them looked down on him sharply. But when he explained his purpose—business with Professor Evie, and the return of her cat Iris, they surprisingly let him through.

One of them even petted Iris.

Seems like everyone knew Iris and was expecting her return.

Inside, Kai passed a few houses before reaching Professor Evie’s house.

Everything in this neighbourhood was clean, oxygen-rich, and adorned with beautiful flowers.

On the side, he saw the bald professor was drinking tea outside his porch with a middle-aged woman whom Kai assumed was his wife. Unlike the sour face from the bald professor, his wife was kind enough to cast a smile.

It made Kai wonder how the bald professor could even have a kind wife like that.

Kai quickly averted his gaze and shook his head; this is his resentment speaking.

Still annoyed after what happened during the sparring earlier this morning.

Soon enough, Kai arrived in front of a humble two-story house at the far end. Not as big nor as fancy as the other houses. He rang the doorbell and waited. Professor Evie opened the door, and almost instantly, when her eyes saw Iris, she screamed.

Kai watched her hug Iris like it was the dearest thing in her entire life.

She bounced up and down out of sheer relief and joy.

The dark bags beneath her eyes and the disheveled state of her hair told him everything: that she’d been stressing terribly over losing Iris. And even from the front door, Kai could see that the house behind her was empty. She lived alone.

So that’s why she treasured Iris a lot to even entertain me. She’s completely alone. Must be lonely.

"I overheard from the students that you were hurt." Professor Evie shifted her gaze back to Kai, still pressing Iris tenderly against her cheek. "Was it because of me? Did it happen while you were trying to rescue Iris from something dangerous?"

"Something like that," Kai flashed a sheepish smile, though she couldn’t see it.

Of course, that wasn’t the case.

He was hurt because of that senior who wanted to kill him.

But he wouldn’t miss the chance to score points on a professor.

Considering how disadvantageous being a Lesser Angel was, lying a little is the least he could do right now. Pity crossed Professor Evie’s face as she told Kai to wait as she went inside. And when she returned, she handed him a small berry.

Even before she handed it over, Kai could sense the dense mana in it.

"Eat this, and you’ll recover instantly," She said, and then handed him another thing. It was a steel insignia bearing the letter E at the center, surrounded by twirling roots. "And here—it is my badge."

"You knew...?"

"Professors talked too, you know."