The room turned completely still following Evelyn's words.

All eyes turned to her as she stared down at her trembling hand, her brows drawn tightly together.

A trembling voice soon broke the silence.

"A-re you...?"

Evelyn looked towards the old man before nodding faintly.

"I think it's possible," she said softly, "but please don't get your hopes up. I believe there's a chance I can remove the frost inside your body, but like I said, I'm not skilled enough yet. I'll need to refine my control first. For now, the best I can do is ease some of the symptoms, like Velar has been doing."

"That's good enough!"

The burly man shouted, his expression transforming into one of joy.

"So long as you can... So long as you can even do that, I'm fine! We can't have all the burden fall on Velar!"

"Yes!"

Everyone looked incredibly happy within the room.

Seeing how everyone was, Evelyn got a little embarrassed as she lowered her head. That sensation only grew when the two children rushed up to her and hugged her.

"Yay!"

"Ah, please..."

Evelyn's face soon turned troubled.

"Like I said, don't get your hopes up. I'm just saying that I will try my best, but there's no guarantee. I'm still not good enough to do that. My control is not very good. I don't know how long it will take for me to improve my control, so—"

"There's no need to worry about that."

A voice filled the space.

And not a moment later—

Clank—!

The door to the room fully opened, revealing a woman with short brown hair. She wore thick clothes and had a distinctive mole by the corner of her mouth. The moment she appeared, the faces of the children lit up.

"Sister!"

".....!"

The two rushed in the direction of the voice.

One was mute, and the other was blind. Despite this, the two used each other to help one another. One guided while the other spoke.

Still...

'Who is she?'

Staring at the woman, I grew a little cautious.

She didn't seem particularly strong, but she at least appeared to have some air of authority.

Looking around, she settled her gaze over to me and Evelyn.

"I guess the two of you must be confused about me. Let's just say that I've been here the longest besides Velar. I've also heard about you from him. I've been busy looking for provisions the past few days, so I wasn't able to make it back."

"...Oh."

I turned to look at Velar.

He was looking at the woman with a smile.

"Alright."

The woman clapped, focusing her attention on Evelyn as she walked closer.

"I'll be honest... I've been here for a while, looking in. I couldn't help but overhear your conversation, and I'm curious... do you really think there's a chance you could heal everyone?"

Evelyn opened her mouth, wanting to say something like, 'No, I... don't know yet,' but somehow, she lowered her head and nodded.

"I can."

"What?"

"I can."

Evelyn whispered again, prompting the woman to frown as she placed her finger under Evelyn's chin and raised it.

"Say that again. I didn't get it."

Evelyn clenched her teeth, but eventually repeated, "I can do it."

The woman smiled.

"That's a good answer."

She then turned her attention towards Velar.

"You heard her, didn't you? I think you should help her with her control. There's no one I know with better precision than you. You're the only one truly qualified to teach her."

"I don't get a say in this?"

Velar had an exasperated expression.

In the end, however, he nodded as he looked at Evelyn.

"I guess you're right. I can help her in this regard. I may not be the strongest, but when it comes to control, I don't think there are many people who are better than me."

His voice was laced with confidence.

I stared at him, recalling the things I'd seen him do, and realized he wasn't just boasting. He had the skill to back it up. For a moment, I wanted to ask if he could teach me too, but given the situation, it was better that they focused all their attention on Evelyn.

"Then it's decided."

The woman clapped her hands again.

"Let's not waste any more time. The sooner we get this done, the sooner we can turn this damn place back to what it once was."

"Come with me."

Velar didn't waste any time.

He nudged Evelyn with his chin and headed for the door.

Evelyn hesitated, looking at me for a moment. I could only encourage her to go. This was a good opportunity for her. Although I was also interested, I knew that what he'd teach her wouldn't be too useful for me. Perhaps it would help me improve my curse magic, but there were other things that I wanted to focus on.

Plus...

'It's best if I stay here to check on the situation. Things might be calm right now, but one might never know. I can't trust them too much.'

Nodding slightly, Evelyn eventually followed Velar out.

Clank—!

The doors closed a moment later, and silence swept the surroundings.

That was until—

"Hey, hey."

Chloe, the strange woman who had just entered, sat down beside me.

Unbuttoning her coat, she set it aside, then reached into her pocket and pulled out a small deck of cards.

Swooosh!

Skilfully handling them, she smiled.

"Who wants to play?"

*

Time passed in this manner.

Every morning, I'd go out to get some fresh air alongside Velar while checking out the statues. I'd also go back to check on Leon and the others, trying to make sure that nothing happened to them.

They seemed fine at first glance, but when I looked closer with [Mana Sense], I noticed the glow around their bodies was much thinner than before.

I could tell that it wouldn't take long before their entire mana ran out.

This brought a sudden sense of urgency to the situation.

However, despite the urgency, I didn't say anything.

Drip! Drip...!

Sweat dripped on the floor as Evelyn stood in silence, her pale face focused entirely on the old man in front of her.

She had been at it for quite some time, and after about thirty minutes, she finally pulled her hands away from the old man, sweat streaming down the side of her face.

"D-done."

Her entire body trembled.

Not from exhaustion, but from the electricity that ran down her body as light crackled along her body, and faint bolts of lightning flickered within her eyes.

The old man opposite her opened his eyes, and his eyes lit up.

"Hey!"

He thumped his chest once.

"I'm actually feeling good! Holy crap, this might actually work!"

"Really?"

"...Is this true?"

"Wait, let me check."

The people in the room rushed to the old man, grabbing his arm to assess his condition. A moment later, their eyes lit up.

"It's true! The frost has subsided a little bit! This might actually work!"

Immediately, the mood turned festive.

All eyes fell on Evelyn as she scratched the back of her head.

"...Ha, well. I tried. I guess it did work. I'm glad that all of you feel better."

The praises seem to make her shy. However, at the same time, I could also see that she was pleased with the praise. It was almost as if she were saying, 'I'm actually being useful. People are appreciating my efforts.'

She looked silly, but it was such sillyness that made Evelyn who she was.

"Hahaha, we did it!"

"Hup!"

Two large hands grabbed onto my body, lifting me.

I nearly cursed as Reginald, the burly boy from before, lifted me off the ground and spun me around. I wanted to free myself, but decided against it as I didn't want to spoil the mood. Furthermore, in the past several days, I had managed to get a little bit closer to everyone.

There was Ilyen, the mute boy.

He was a little reserved, but with the coming days, he became less so as he spoke to me more and more. Sometimes, he'd sit next to me and ask about the world outside the city. Apparently, he had never wandered away from the city.

The little girl, Penelope, was actually his sister.

She was extremely bubbly and loved to talk a lot. The moment I grew accustomed to her, she started talking to me nonstop.

Reginald was the same, although he was more simple-minded.

OI'Sal was an old man who acted like a child.

Lastly, there was Chloe.

She was...

"Kek. Let me join in on the fun."

"Heup!"

"....!"

Coming behind Reginald, Chloe grabbed him and lifted him up.

"Wait! Wait! No...!"

She began spinning the two of us around.

"Ahhhh—!"

Reginald began screaming while he hugged me even tighter. My clothes and hair fluttered as my lips twitched, watching as the two of us started to spin faster and faster in the air.

"Faster, you said?!"

Swooosh! Swooosh!

She really did pick up her pace.

"Haaaaaaaaaa—!"

I couldn't even see at this point.

The world just spun.

I sighed.

And then—

BANG!

Someway, and somehow, she lost grip of the two of us as we crashed on the nearest wall, my back planting against it hard as I slid down a moment later.

"....."

"...Help! Help! I'm going to die!"

"....."

"Oh, oops~"

Chloe knocked on her head, sticking her tongue out.

"Looks like I lost my grip there."

"Heelpppp! My back! I think it's broken!"

"...."

"Ay, ay. Don't exaggerate so much."

Chloe walked up to the Reginald and grabbed him by the back of his shirt before bringing him back up. She closed her eyes and examined his body before the smile on her face froze.

"Oh, shit."

The smile faded not long after as she looked at Velar.

"His back is really broken."

"Aoooooooo!"

Reginald screamed more, his legs flaying.

In the end, Velar handled the situation. Thankfully, he was able to help Reginald recover from his injury. Of course, a lot of screams followed the treatment.

It was both a sad and comical sight.

The days passed like this. Despite the cold that gripped the world outside, a faint warmth lingered within the small room at the heart of the city.

But it didn't take long for things to change.

"You need to stop."

I stared at Evelyn as we both stood outside, a strong wind brushing against the two of us.

Staring at her, I pursed my lips.

"...If you continue healing them, it won't be long until you turn into a statue."

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