Cain walked over to Porlyusica and stood still.
A complex, emerald-green magic circle instantly lit up beneath his feet.
Seeing himself enveloped by the magical array, Cain didn’t panic.
He just stood there quietly and waited.
A few minutes later, the magic circle faded.
Cain looked at Porlyusica, who was now frowning deeply.
His heart did a little flip.
Oh, no.
Is something seriously wrong with me?
But I don’t feel sick at all!
I eat fine, I sleep fine, I can run and jump perfectly.
Could this be the final burst of energy before I just drop dead?!
Just as Cain’s imagination started running wild, Porlyusica’s voice snapped him back to reality.
“Brat, do you feel uncomfortable or sick anywhere?” “Ah?” Seeing Porlyusica looking at him so seriously, Cain genuinely thought about it for a moment.
“Granny Porlyusica, I really don’t feel sick anywhere.” “Alright.
You two can get the hell out now.” Seeing Porlyusica immediately start kicking them out, not only was Cain utterly confused, but even Makarov looked completely baffled.
“Porlyusica, is Cain’s condition so severe that even you can’t do anything about it?” “No, you old fool.
His body is perfectly fine.
There’s absolutely nothing wrong with him.
In fact, most ten-year-old boys probably don’t have a physique as sturdy as his.” Seeing that the two idiots had completely misunderstood her, Porlyusica, though deeply annoyed, begrudgingly explained the situation.
This left Makarov entirely flabbergasted.
He knew Cain had escaped from the Bureau of Magical Development.
To suggest that a child held there as an ‘experimental subject’ hadn’t undergone any human experimentation?
Makarov would never believe it.
That was the exact reason he had brought Cain to Porlyusica for a full medical checkup in the first place.
But now, Porlyusica was saying Cain wasn’t just perfectly healthy; his body was actually exceptionally strong.
Was the Bureau of Magical Development actually not conducting evil research?
Makarov thought, confused.
Seeing Makarov’s lingering disbelief, Porlyusica reached the very limit of her patience.
She grabbed both of them by the collars, fully intending to physically throw them out of her treehouse.
Seeing this, Makarov hurriedly blurted out his suspicions regarding the Bureau.
Hearing his reasoning, Porlyusica finally stopped shoving them toward the door.
She walked over to a cabinet, pulled out a syringe, and looked at Cain.
“Brat, I’m going to need some of your blood to do a deeper analysis.” “Okay, Granny Porlyusica.
Go ahead.” Cain had heard Makarov’s explanation just now.
Realizing that the Master had brought him here purely out of concern that the Bureau had planted something dangerous inside him, a warm feeling welled up in his chest.
It was a comforting, safe feeling.
After drawing Cain’s blood, Porlyusica walked over to a bizarre-looking machine and began performing some complex, unreadable operations.
Makarov and Cain stood quietly to the side, waiting for the results.
About half an hour later, Porlyusica stepped away from the machine and walked back over to them.
“I just did a thorough, microscopic scan.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with this brat.
In fact, his body is outrageously healthy.” “Furthermore, the magic power inside him is incredibly dense.
It’s only slightly below the level Laxus had at this age.” Porlyusica’s words sent a shockwave through Makarov.
He knew his grandson’s condition better than anyone.
When Laxus was young, he had inherited Makarov’s overwhelmingly massive magic power.
However, his young body couldn’t handle the sheer volume of that magic, leaving him constantly sick, bedridden, and incredibly frail.
Makarov had brought Laxus to Porlyusica countless times back then.
But even Porlyusica couldn’t offer a permanent cure.
Eventually, Makarov’s son, Ivan, secretly implanted a Lightning Dragon Lacrima into Laxus’s body.
Only then was Laxus’s body finally reinforced enough to handle his own massive magic power, completely curing his illness.
But now, Porlyusica was saying Cain possessed magic power nearly equal to young Laxus, yet his body showed absolutely zero signs of breaking down or being unable to handle the strain.
Seeing the two older wizards frowning in deep thought, Cain couldn’t help but chime in.
“Could it have something to do with the magic I awakened?” “Magic?
You’ve already awakened your magic?” Makarov looked surprised.
Up until now, Cain had never actually mentioned that he could use magic.
“Ah, did I not tell you, Master?
I awakened Light Element Magic.” Cain scratched his head.
Did I really not tell him?
Yeah, I guess it just never came up.
A small magic circle instantly materialized in his palm, and a bright, warm orb of light floated gently above it.
“Actually, after I awakened my magic, I noticed my physical recovery speed shot up incredibly fast.” Cain then briefly recounted how he had escaped the Bureau of Magical Development and literally ran all the way to the first town without feeling exhausted.
Ever since Cain summoned his magic, Porlyusica suddenly felt that she didn’t quite hate this little brat as much anymore.
Does this magic have the ability to soothe the mind?
Porlyusica stared at the orb.
“This might not be standard Light Element Magic.” Makarov looked intrigued.
“Hm?
Why do you say that, Porlyusica?
Did you notice something?” Porlyusica shot a look at Makarov.
“Didn’t you feel it the moment his magic appeared?” “Now that you mention it…
since that little ball of light showed up, I do feel a lot less tense.” “Exactly.
His magic possesses a natural, passive calming effect on the soul.
My guess is that this is a Light Magic imbued with Holy attributes.
Alright, since we’ve confirmed the brat is perfectly healthy, get the hell out of my sight!” Knowing Cain was safe, and not wanting to give Porlyusica a reason to start throwing potions at them, Makarov quickly ushered Cain toward the door.
“Thank you so much for your help, Granny Porlyusica!” Right before stepping out, Cain turned and politely bowed to the pink-haired woman in the treehouse.
“Hmph.
Humans are so annoying.” Despite her harsh words, the slight upward curve at the corner of her mouth revealed that her mood had vastly improved.
Two or three days passed since their visit to Porlyusica.
Cain had finally finished reading that thick beginner’s book.
Just as he was planning to hit the library to look for books specifically regarding Holy Light Magic, Makarov walked over.
Seeing the grim, heavy expression on the Master’s face, Cain immediately asked, “Master, what happened?” Makarov nodded slowly.
“Cain, the Magic Council has concluded their investigation into the Bureau of Magical Development.” Hearing this, Cain was just about to excitedly ask for Ultear’s whereabouts.
But remembering Makarov’s grim expression, he hesitated.
“Is the news…
not good?” Makarov didn’t sugarcoat it.
“The Council’s investigation confirmed that the Bureau was indeed conducting horrific, illegal experiments.” “However, while the Council’s enforcement unit was moving in to seize the facility, the Director, Brain, detonated the entire Bureau of Magical Development.
None of the children or researchers inside survived.” As he finished speaking, Makarov cast a deeply sympathetic look at Cain.
Hearing the words “None survived,” Cain froze entirely in place.
Does that mean…
Ultear is dead too?
H-how could that be?
Why would Ultear die here?!
Is it because of me?
Did my escaping alone cause a butterfly effect?!
No…
that can’t be right…
Seeing Cain completely paralyzed with shock, Makarov’s heart ached.
But he knew that right now, the boy just needed some time alone to process the grief.
When Cain finally snapped out of his daze, he realized he was already back in his dorm room.
Lying on his bed, his mind was flooded with memories of the time he spent with Ultear.
Though they hadn’t known each other for long, her image had already been deeply, permanently etched into his heart.