75. Seal Release 3

"Mother..." Shirena murmured, staring at Sophia.

"Sophia-sensei... what on earth is this?" Altia looked around, puzzled.

"Ah, five years have passed since then," Sophia said.

"Five years?!" Shirena looked at Sophia, stunned, then glanced at Shestia and Albert.

"Do you remember defeating the monster?"

"Yes, just a moment ago," Shirena replied. "Well... for us, it was just now," she muttered.

Then Altia continued.

"Right. So I activated the seal to save Shirena—pure gamble, one in eight chance. Guess it worked out okay? So the result was... time stopped? And now it's been five years—finally, someone came to release the seal? That's it?"

Altia deduced.

"Exactly," Sophia said. Then she continued.

"As Shirena predicted, you were infected with a virus. Left as-is, it would've been fatal. So the seal did its job. Unfortunately, no one could break Altia's seal—neither I nor anyone else. I tried, but couldn't," Sophia said, her expression tinged with regret. Then she added:

"This time, Shiro and Mitoka here managed to release your seal and restore you. Even treated you," Sophia said.

Shirena and Altia turned to look at Shiro.

Shiro smiled back. Altia stepped forward, extending his hand.

Shiro reached out and firmly shook it.

"Master Shiro, and Master Mitoka. Thank you. Thanks to you, we've come back. I'm truly grateful," Altia said, offering his thanks to Shiro.

Solid hands, steady speech, dignified bearing—Shiro could feel that Altia was a proper person.

“I should thank you too,” Shirena said, offering her gratitude. “Thank you, Shiro, Mitoka.” Shirena shook hands with Mitoka.

Then Shestia dashed toward Shiro, throwing her arms around him and crying out her thanks.

“Shiro, thank you.”

Watching this, Shirena raised an eyebrow and gave a subtle glance to Sophia and Aria.

Aria and Sophia smiled and nodded.

Shirena let a pleased smile bloom on her face.

“Shirena, Altia—here are potions for magic and HP recovery. You should take these,” Shiro said, handing them the pills.

“Huh, so they’ve made something like this in five years?” Shirena asked.

“No, that’s Shiro-exclusive. He’s a bit odd,” Aria said with a smirk.

“Shiro’s amazing,” Shestia said proudly.

“Well, I can guarantee they’re safe to consume,” Sophia added.

And so, all of them smiling, they walked back to Sophia’s mansion.

The next day, after breakfast, Shirena and Altia recounted their experience. “Back then,” they said—though to them, it felt like just yesterday.

“We were fighting that monster, the Killer Forest Snake. There were four of them. One of them grazed my arm.”

Shirena spoke, remembering.

“Anyway, we managed to defeat them, but not long after, my body suddenly went haywire. Hard to explain—it was like sudden, overwhelming magic depletion. And then I started feeling mental instability. You know, like something violent was rising up inside me.”

Shirena explained.

"Basically, my gut said this was bad news. I've been an adventurer for years—this feeling’s not good. And it’s the kind that drags others in. I’ve seen it before... the end of high-level adventurers hit by mental assault beasts."

"So I asked Althia to kill me," Shirena said, looking at Althia with a sad expression.

"Ah, I understand, Shirena. But you know I can’t kill you," Althia replied, meeting her gaze.

"So I went all-in on the sealing barrier. I’d noticed the possibility before—when you boost martial and magical auras, something strange stirs. A different kind of holy magic emerges. There was a sensation among them—something that sealed things. I’d tried it once. Didn’t work then..."

"...You were trying to seal me?" Shirena said, her face showing disbelief.

"...Well, what else could I do? Better than dying. It worked out, I guess?" Althia said.

"Haha. Yes, Althia’s seal worked perfectly. It even triggered crystal formation from earth magic—both of you got locked in there just right," Shiro said with a smirk.

"In a way, it worked *too* well. No one’s been able to break it," Sophia said.

"Five years, huh... If Shiro hadn’t shown up, it might’ve taken centuries to undo," Aria teased.

"Exactly. Not a joke this time," Althia said.

"Well, whatever. As long as it’s sorted out, that’s fine. I’m sure you all have family matters to discuss. Let’s call it a day," Shiro said. That evening, Shestia and the others spent time together, uninterrupted by family.

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