Time Healer Ceres

“Unfortunately, someone was tailing her. He only managed to see her for a brief moment.”

“Didn’t you say they were from an intelligence guild?”

“Yes. They belong to the Sky Guild.”

“Why would someone like that be following Baron Drow’s daughter?”

“I’m still investigating that.”

Even Alex was familiar with the Sky Intelligence Guild. It was too well-known not to be.

So, why were they keeping tabs on Ceres?

“A black sword...”

The last thing Jutel saw was the strange sword Ceres used to kill the monster.

“The more I learn about her, the more interesting she becomes.”

Who exactly was she? And where did a woman like that suddenly appear from?

A girl who had never stood out before kept doing things that lingered in his mind.

“We’ll need to keep a close eye on her.”

“Is that why you sent me to the Academy?”

At Alex’s sullen question, the man simply nodded with a smile.

“You’ll get closer much faster if you’re in the same place.”

Alex let out a long sigh. The Ceres he knew wasn’t someone who let people get close easily. If anything, the way she treated him was completely different from the way she treated his older brother, Cheion.

“Please take care of me, junior.”

“Me?”

“...Yes?”

“I only recently re-enrolled, so I’m already busy enough dealing with my own problems.”

“No, I just meant it as a greeting...”

“Then good luck.”

Whenever he tried to get closer, it felt like she deliberately pushed him away.

She really doesn’t care that I’m a prince.

After seeing how she treated both Cheion and Grand Duke Persia, he knew she wasn’t the type to care about rank or status. Even so, he never imagined she would brush him off so openly.

“You already know this, right? Unless dead souls emerge from the Black Forest, the flowers here will never bloom.”

“I know.”

“And you’re also aware that without these flowers, your life can no longer be prolonged, Lord Alex.”

“......”

Alex turned his head away without answering. The man smiled faintly before plucking a pure white flower and walking over to him.

“Take it.”

The flower instantly turned black before being drawn into a transparent glass bottle, transforming into a dark liquid that gently sloshed inside.

A short sigh slipped from Alex’s lips as he accepted the bottle.

“Take this as well.”

The man then handed him a black gemstone about the size of a child’s fist.

“It’s unusually large this time.”

“It’s S-Rank.”

“...S-Rank?”

“S-Rank is rare, so I hope you won’t fail this time.”

“......”

Unlike the man, who still wore a bright smile, Alex’s expression darkened heavily as he stared down at the black gemstone in his hand.

***

Munch munch.

“Is it good?”

[Buo! Buoo!]

Sooty was buried in cream, happily stuffing its face. Ceres watched it closely, her eyes narrowing with fresh suspicion.

“What exactly are you?”

The way the creature slipped through shadows, manipulated the shadows of monsters, and even used them as weapons... none of those were abilities an ordinary monster should have.

Arti...

What on earth did you bring back?

[Buo?]

With cream smeared all over its face, Sooty blinked its small eyes at her innocently, like it had no idea what she meant. Ceres reached out and lightly tapped its cream-covered nose with her finger.

[Buo!]

Sooty gave an annoyed little huff. Ignoring it, she handed over another slice of cake and fell back into thought.

[Buo~ buo~]

As soon as it got another piece of cake, its mood brightened again. It began humming happily to itself.

An S-Rank Black Forest.

The place where they found Sooty, or rather the black egg, was an S-Rank Black Forest even Grace had never entered before.

When they first stepped inside, not only Grace but Kainel and Artia had been visibly shaken. It was far too different from an ordinary Black Forest.

It felt like we’d stepped into another world.

Everything about that place felt alien. Even the air was different, and every sensation crawling across their skin left them uneasy. Trying to adapt to such an unfamiliar environment in the middle of endless darkness wasn’t easy.

When we found the black egg...

It was after they defeated the boss monster.

After nearly five hours of brutal fighting, the three of them had barely managed to kill it.

Was it when they finally collapsed from exhaustion afterward?

Something suddenly caught Artia’s eye.

A small black hole.

It appeared directly behind the place where the boss fell. Once the boss died, the Black Forest would disappear entirely in ten minutes.

That reckless curiosity of him really is a problem.

Artia had never been able to ignore something that piqued his curiosity. The moment he saw the strange hole, he shoved his hand inside without a second thought.

What he pulled out was the black egg.

[Buo?]

Sooty tilted its head again when it noticed Ceres staring.

“Do you want more cake?”

[Buo!]

Ceres picked up one of the cakes set aside on the table and handed it to the creature.

Munch!

[Buuh!]

Smack!

“I still have no idea what you are, but...”

There was one thing she knew for certain.

Your personality is terrible.

She had given Sooty a homemade cake instead of one of the expensive ones. After a single bite, Sooty kicked it away with its short legs.

Watching its absurdly picky reaction, Ceres shook her head and pulled out one of the expensive cakes instead.

You should be thankful I’m letting this slide because you saved Julia.

.

.

.

Chapter 24: Trauma

“Is it going to snow?”

Behind the academy buildings was a small forest rarely visited by people.

Lately, it has become one of Ceres’s favorite places to spend time. Since nobody came looking for her here, it was perfect for getting some quiet rest.

After finishing lunch with a simple piece of bread, she decided to spend the rest of the break taking a nap. Reclining beneath a tree, Ceres gazed up at the heavy clouds hanging low in the sky.

I don’t mind the cold.

But if it started snowing, she wouldn’t be able to stay here any longer. Sleeping on top of snow was a little excessive, so she would need to find another quiet place instead.

“Hey. Keep your head up.”

Hm?

“I’m talking to you. Where the hell did you crawl out from?”

“Um, where do you think I crawled out from?”

At the familiar voice drifting over to her, Ceres raised her head. When she saw Prince Alex surrounded by a group of male students, she rubbed her eyes.

What nonsense is this?

Anyone could tell at a glance that he was being bullied.

Did those idiots completely lose their minds? What kind of noble sons would pick a fight with a prince?

Even she, reckless as she was, never dared do something like that.

I’ve mocked the Emperor plenty of times, but never to his face.

Ceres looked at the boys in amazement.

“I asked what family you belong to. You can’t even give your surname, so what are you? Some backwater nobody?”

...Wait. Did they seriously not know he was a prince? None of them seemed aware of Alex’s identity.

Well, they did say he rarely appeared in public.

Cheion had already told her that Alex had been frail since childhood and spent most of his time away recuperating. That was why he rarely stayed in the capital.

Still, whenever someone from the Imperial Family entered the academy, rumors usually spread sooner or later behind the scenes. Which made this situation even stranger.

Did he enter the academy while hiding who he was?

But why?

“My family? Does that matter?”

“Ha. Look at this b*stard.”

Incredulous laughter broke out among the boys surrounding Alex.

“Do you really not understand the situation you’re in right now?”

What the hell was wrong with this guy?

Even now, Alex only smiled lazily. That carefree attitude left them speechless.

He annoyed me from the start.

Zyael, the one leading the bullying, had disliked Alex from the very first day he appeared in class.

Everything about him irritated him. The fact that he was so ridiculously pretty it was hard to tell his gender at first glance, the easy smile constantly tugging at his lips, even the way the girls fell for him the second he smiled at them.

“You think this is funny?”

“My apologies. You’re acting so childishly that I couldn’t help it.”

“...What?”

Zyael blanked out for a moment. The words coming out of Alex’s mouth sounded so completely at odds with the bright smile on his face. He almost thought he had misheard.

“Y-You son of a b*tch!”

Face red with anger, Zyael grabbed Alex by the collar.

Tch.

Watching quietly from where she was, Ceres sighed inwardly. For a second, she considered pretending she had seen nothing and leaving things alone.

But he’s Cheion’s younger brother.

Walking away felt a little wrong.

Ceres slowly began to rise from her spot. Or rather, she was about to.

Thud!

“Ghk!”

“W-What the hell?!”

What was that?

Ceres froze mid-motion as she watched Zyael, who had swung his fist at Alex, get sent sprawling across the ground instead.

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