....

.....

Nagi was staring at me scarily.

Or I assumed she was. I really couldn’t see well. But one things for sure, she is putting me in a hot seat right now.

Desperately trying to change the topic and lighten the mood, I looked towards the window."

"Wow, what nice weather we’re having!" I said while scratching my chin.

"It’s raining....." she said dismisively.

Fuck...., is it? I couldn’t tell.

"You’re always doing this when I ask anything of you!" she snapped, her voice sharp with frustration.

I flinched.

"Are you my Mom or something? Give me a break." I said, trying to lighten the mood.

Pft!

cough! cough!

"I heard rumors from Tasora, but I did not expect it to be actually true."

Fanna had been peeling fruit for me, and this protagonist ate it and ended up choking on a piece while laughing at me. Does this guy not have any conscience?

Heh, serves you right! I thought.

If this guy had used his brain and bitten a chunk out of that Aberrant on his own, I wouldn’t have had to sacrifice this much.

A hand suddenly reached out and squeezed my mouth along with my cheeks.

"Why ....are.... you...just..... smiling?....." Nagi’s glare suddenly turned murderous.

Uwaaaaa, this woman is scary.

She’s never shown this side of herself before, not even in the novels. Why is she suddenly acting like this? Is she on her period?

"Mmfh... I wasn’t... I’m sowwy..." I replied, sounding ridiculous despite having no choice in the matter.

"I ignored your dangerous actions before because we were at school, but Tasora told me this time you were on the verge of death!" she said, her grip tightening over my mouth.

ouch!

OUCH!!

"Was I?!" I asked Verde internally.

Verde sighed in my mind.

"At worst, you would have just been a blind, deaf cripple with a destroyed core and no future in magic, but you were definitely not in ’danger’ of dying."

I almost bulged my eyes out of my sockets.

"Hey! You need to redefine your meaning of ’danger,’ Verde!"

"Tasora, Cwal, and Maku are refusing to cooperate with the authorities," Nagi said slowly, her voice filled with worry.

"They refused to say a single word until you woke up."

"Even the High Court of the Inquisition came to question them. They were nearly branded as Aberrent worshipers and tortured for information before getting hanged, but Solaris and Maku’s family influence managed to hold them back," she said while slowly letting go of her tight grip.

The royal selection in Salem is starting to heat up. Solaris’s siblings would gladly use something like this to drag her down. The Inquisition was most likely tipped with information to start an unjust investigation and gather dirt on her. I thought.

This is why I settled with the Blume house. They stay neutral and don’t bother with such trivial politics. Verde commented.

Fanna sliced another piece of fruit and held it out. Finster tried to get it, but Fanna just flicked her hand out with a harsh glare.

I reached for it, my hand grasping empty air.

...

I tried again, only to miss once more.

Fanna’s noticed my predicament and put the fruit back on the plate.

"Don’t mind if I do...." Finster said while reaching out to the plate while she was preoccupied.

Fanna ignored him, pulled out her phone, and clicked on the flashlight.

She held it right to my face. I flinched, but the light was just a dull, glowing orb in my vision.

She turned it off and tucked it away.

"Tch. So that’s why those bastards...." Fanna mumbled

She clicked her tongue and tapped Nagi’s shoulder.

"I think we should let Matthew rest for a bit more."

"But he looks fine! And he’s gonna dodge any questions I ask in the future if I let this chance slip." Nagi argued, pointing a blurry finger at me.

"Hehehe. You should learn from Fanna, Nagi," I said with a smug smile. "It’s called reading the room."

"I can read the word room just fine!" She confidently said.

I really wondered who raised this girl to be so untarnished. They did a damn terrifyingly good job, I thought.

Azalea, in the back, noticing Fanna’s stare at her, implying something, immediately nodded.

"I agree with Fanna. Let’s give him space," Azalea said firmly.

" Let’s go, guys she said, already opening the door while dragging the others.

Fanna was the last to leave.

She took a short, formal bow. "Thank you. I won’t forget this."

Before the door clicked shut, I caught her final whisper.

"I’m sorry."

I stared at the closed door for a moment longer than I meant to.

Then I turned away and stared out the window, letting a bit of fresh air tickle my neck with its breeze.

"It is the reason why I came to this world after all."

I kicked off the blankets and stumbled toward the bathroom. I pulled off my hospital gown, and the changes were immediate.

I had gotten noticeably slimmer.

That wasn’t surprising. Between my cousins Kim and Kaye putting me through what they called "training" and Tasora treating me like a personal punching bag had given me decent muscle, but nine days of being bedridden had stripped the edge off my physique.

"Verde, how long was I out?" I asked aloud.

My right pupil turned green and she emerged as a floating wisp of light.

"You slept for nine days."

"So it was that long..." I muttered.

With the constant macro deficiencies on the island, and a diet mainly composed of fish, coconut, and scavenged food, I’m more surprised I still have any residual fat left in my body.

Then I noticed the next change.

My hair highlights had become more pronounced. They were still nowhere near my cousin Kim and Kaye’s level, but clearer than before.

I found myself lightly twirling a strand between my fingers without thinking.

"Why are you giggling suddenly?" Verde asked.

"No, nothing," I said quickly.

I was just happy. In the web-novel forums, people theorized that the more prominent the highlights on their scalp, the closer a weaver was to their full potential.

Looks like I couldn’t hide how overjoyed I was at my improvement.

Finally, I leaned into the mirror, pulling my eyelids open to examine the damage. The final change was the one I couldn’t ignore.

My eyes, once bright teal, were now dim and cloudy.

It had been one of the few features I actually liked, so seeing it fade hit harder than I expected.

"Multiple respectable level weavers tried to heal your sight multiple times, but the moment you pinned that Aberrant with your conceptual ability for an extended period of time without recalling it to save the blue-haired girl, the damage became absolute," she said, hovering over my eyes.

"It’s already commendable that they managed to restore your sight from total blindness. Truly a pathetic display of control and everything else, really... but I do respect the brave choice you made back there."

"However! If you expect to survive making more rash decisions like that, then you have a lot to relearn, Schwartz," she said, finally landing on the tip of my nose.

"Yeah," I exhaled. "I’ll take blurry vision over a bad ending any day."

Verde started to speak again, probably about to lecture me, then suddenly went silent. The green light around her dimmed and slipped back into my eye.

Knock.

Knock.

Knock.

A pause.

"Good afternoon. I’m Doctor Oiy Li. I was informed by your classmate that you’ve woken up and require assistance. I need to check your vitals. May I come in?"

I pulled my gown back on and reached for the door.

Missed the handle.

"...Yeah," I muttered under my breath.

"I’m going to need time to get used to this eyesight. Or a pair of glasses."

After settling back onto my bed, I told him it was fine to come in.

He pulled up a stool, sitting directly in front of me, and introduced himself as Doctor Oiy Li.

Without a word, his eyes began to glow with a sharp, metallic light, and a wave of silver thrum washed over me like a cold mist. I felt the energy probe my optic nerves and my core, lingering for several minutes before the silver haze finally dispersed.

The doctor sighed, rubbing his temples.

"I’ll be blunt, patient Matthew. Your eyesight is the result of damage that was caught far too late to be fully healed. Between the sheer amount of time that passed before you reached us and the overwhelming scale of the strain you put on your body... the damage is permanent."

He noticed my silence and softened his expression, the light reflecting off his bald head.

"Look on the bright side. Everything else, your core, your motor functions, is perfectly fine. You’re a lucky young man to be walking at all after facing an Aberrant."He patted my shoulder.

"Take it easy for now. Stick to soft foods for the next few days before moving back to solids. Beyond that, you are free to leave whenever you see fit."

"I’ll go back to the dorm right now," I said, already eager to get out of the sterile room.

"Good," he replied, reaching into his coat pocket. He handed me a crisp, sealed envelope.

"Before you go, this is from Headmaster Eclair. She requested that you see her as soon as you are on your feet."

I looked down at the blurry white rectangle in my hand.

Oh hell no, not that horny witch again.