Time Healer Ceres

“Huh?”

“No, it’s just... I got a little nosy.”

Thanks to him, she learned a few unnecessary things and got dragged into an annoying situation.

It’s not like any of this is his fault, though.

If anything, the most irritating part was having no one to blame.

“Do you want something to drink? I can make some tea.”

“No, forget the tea. There’s something I wanted to ask.”

“Sure. What is it?”

There was only one reason Ceres had come to see Cheion today. Something she was curious about.

She could’ve come much earlier, but that scoundrel Kainel kept insisting she leave work on time and practically dragged her out with him. By the time she could leave, it was already close to dinner.

Even after work ended, Kainel kept wearing that icy expression the entire way, like something displeased him immensely. The sheer absurdity nearly made her laugh.

“It’s about the alarm you made.”

“The Black Forest alarm?”

“How far does its detection range go?”

“The range? Why?”

Cheion looked puzzled.

Whenever a Black Forest appeared, it usually swallowed an entire city at worst, or at least an entire village. There was no reason to care about the exact detection range.

If an alarm rang inside someone’s home, it meant the whole area was already consumed by the Black Forest.

“Would it reach ten meters?”

“Hmm... probably not.”

Forget ten meters. It probably didn’t even reach one.

“Hm, I thought so...”

At a glance, the distance between the alley where the corpse had been found and the nearest shop was well over ten meters. Since the Black Forest was extremely small, it made sense that the alarm hadn’t gone off.

“And it’s not like every shop in the capital has one either.”

“What do you mean? Is there something wrong with the alarm?”

“A corpse killed by a monster was found in the middle of the capital. Since nobody noticed a monster appearing there, I wondered if it might have something to do with the alarm.”

“Oh! I heard about that too. I’ve actually been keeping an eye on it myself.”

“...What?”

The secretary Luca, who was quietly listening nearby, stared at Cheion in disbelief.

He had spent the entire day reporting on that very incident, yet Cheion barely listened and never gave a proper response. As always, his expression had practically said: So? What do you expect me to do about it?

But now, he was saying he had been concerned about it?

Ignoring Luca’s piercing stare, Cheion kept his eyes fixed on Ceres.

“Can the alarm’s detection range be expanded?”

“It can.”

Though still visibly confused, Cheion answered easily. The only reason the range was kept so small was because they’d prioritized mass production and rapid distribution. Expanding the usable range wasn’t impossible.

Still, why would she ask something like that?

“Just in case... what if a Black Forest could manifest on a much smaller scale?”

“Smaller? How small?”

“Small enough to trap only one person.”

“One person? Can a Black Forest that small even exist?”

“Seeing the corpse this time made me start wondering.”

“Ah...”

Only then did Cheion understand what Ceres was getting at.

“If there really was a Black Forest small enough to trap a single person... then I suppose a corpse like that could appear.”

Cheion nodded immediately. Seeing that, Ceres looked at him in slight surprise.

He’s actually accepting this? Something this ridiculous?

Cheion’s reaction was unexpected. Ceres almost felt embarrassed for spending the entire trip worrying about how she was supposed to convince him.

“What nonsense... There’s never been a report of a Black Forest like that before.”

Secretary Luca cut back into the conversation, shaking his head firmly.

Right. That’s the normal reaction.

A Black Forest small enough to trap only one person. If Ceres hadn’t seen it with her own eyes, even she would’ve laughed it off as ridiculous.

“Just because it’s never happened doesn’t mean it never will.”

“That may be true, but something so absurd—”

“Ceres, don’t worry! I’ll remake the alarm right away.”

“...Sigh.”

When Cheion flashed a bright smile and declared he would start modifying the alarm immediately, Luca’s face sighed in disbelief.

He had spent a considerable amount of time working beside Cheion, yet this was the first time he ever saw him move with such urgency. He felt slightly betrayed.

Wasn’t this the same man who refused eleven times after being asked ten?

“I’d like to offer you the secretary position once again.”

Luca spoke more seriously than ever as he renewed his offer for Ceres. For the first time, he truly felt that if she worked alongside them, his life would become significantly easier in the future.

“......”

Meanwhile, Alex silently observed the three of them from the side.

Small Black Forest...

As his gaze lingered on Ceres, the corners of his gentle, smiling eyes lowered further.

.

.

.

Chapter 19: The Day of the Company Dinner

“Urk!”

“Wouldn’t it be better to drink some water?”

“Y-Yes... I think I should.”

Del, Kainel’s aide, hurriedly covered his mouth. No matter how many times he experienced spatial movement magic, he just couldn’t get used to it. If anything, it felt worse with every passing day.

Why did he suddenly start using teleportation scrolls?

That question had been lingering in Del’s mind for a while.

At some point, Kainel had stopped taking a carriage to the Imperial Palace and began traveling exclusively by teleportation scroll instead.

But why?

The distance was short enough to travel comfortably by carriage.

“Miss Ceres seems perfectly fine.”

“I’m used to it.”

Unlike Del, who felt nauseous every single time he used teleportation magic, Ceres showed no side effects at all, which made him envious.

“Go rest.”

“Yes...”

Still covering his mouth, Del bowed slightly at Kainel’s order before dragging himself toward the waiting room beside the meeting hall.

“What are you doing? Aren’t you coming?”

“......”

Ceres, who was trying to follow Del instead, sighed at Kainel’s call. She was already starting to feel restless. To be honest, she almost wanted to call Cheion over and have him set off the alarm again.

“When are you planning to send support to our side?”

“We’re short on healers we can dispatch right now...”

“And you call that an excuse?”

“Do you know how many requests I’ve already sent? If you refuse to provide support, what are our patients supposed to do?”

“Ah... yes, you’re right. I apologize.”

“We’re in urgent need too! We need twenty healers by the end of this week!”

“T-Twenty? That’s a bit...”

“Hey! I already told you our side comes first!”

“Stop hesitating and answer already!”

“Tsk. Is it because she’s young... Good grief...”

As always, the meeting hall was noisy today. The only difference was that instead of dividing into factions and fighting among themselves, everyone united to pressure a single person.

Tch.

When Ceres identified the target, she clicked her tongue inwardly.

They’re really going after her.

The one openly being cornered was Herion, the new head of House Ellesia.

Some things never change.

Ceres shook her head. It was painfully obvious why the nobles were acting like starving animals around Herion.

A young woman who had only recently inherited the title of family head and held an incredibly desirable prize in her hands.

There’s no way they’d leave prey like that alone.

They wanted to crush her spirit from the start and make her obedient. It was almost impressive how well people like this worked together when it came to bullying someone.

“Lady Herion.”

“...Lady Ceres!”

Herion, who had been breaking into a nervous sweat under the relentless pressure, visibly brightened the moment she saw Ceres.

As Ceres approached, her gaze drifted toward Herion’s hand. Just as expected, the ring of the family head rested neatly on her finger.

“There’s someone I’d like to ask a few questions.”

“Someone? Who...?”

Has he realized she was talking about him?

The red gem set into the ring flickered more violently than usual. Then again, this rascal must’ve disliked Herion’s current situation just as much as she did.

His personality is awful, but...

There was no one more devoted to protecting the head of the family than him.

“Jubelios...”

Fwoosh!

When she called his name, something appeared as though it had been waiting all along.

The King of Fire Spirits, Jubelios.

You stupid bird, why are you showing up when I called you?!

She only intended to tell Herion to summon Jubelios herself, but the Fire Spirit King actually responded to Ceres’s voice instead.

Ceres forced an awkward smile while cursing inside.

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