There was no light. The thick cloth covering the window made it impossible to tell whether it was day or night. Damp air clung to his skin. Keefree sat on the floor of the cheap inn, arms wrapped around his knees, his back pressed against the wall. The cold stone mercilessly leeched the heat from his body through his thin shirt. (*How many days has it been?*) The thought drifted through a corner of his mind. Probably the fourth day. He wasn't sure. On the desk sat a plate with a single untouched piece of bread. Its surface had dried and cracked. The water in the pitcher hadn't gone down either. His body, deprived of food and water, grew dizzy just from moving. But that was fine. If his body was heavy enough, he wouldn't have to think about anything unnecessary. He looked at his right hand. Clutched in it was the note Mirael had slipped to him. The note saying that Councilor Drasven was proceeding with a deal to sell the seal technology to the military. But it wasn't enough to serve as proof. He couldn't think of what to do. He couldn't think of anything at all. (*I can't... do anything...*) That was when it happened. *Knock, knock, knock.* The sound of someone rapping on the door echoed through the quiet room. Three times. Firm and distinct. Keefree raised his head. His body wouldn't move. No—he didn't feel like moving. He didn't want to see anyone. *Knock, knock, knock.* Again. The intervals were precise. A way of knocking that held no hesitation. Keefree reluctantly stood. Dragging his unsteady legs, he reached for the door. He opened it. Standing there was a girl he had never seen before. Short purple hair. Eyes of different colors—red on the left, silver on the right. Those rare eyes, the kind called heterochromia, gazed steadily up at Keefree. A small frame. Perhaps around 150 centimeters. From her collar, the faint tattoo of a magical crest was visible. The kind given to preparatory students of the Great Lecture Hall upon enrollment. "[cold]You are Keefree, correct?" Her voice was calm. So devoid of emotional fluctuation it was hard to believe she was fourteen. "[serious]...Who are you?" Keefree was on guard. The very fact that someone wanted anything to do with him right now was strange. What business could a fourteen-year-old girl have with a man stripped of his teaching credentials? "[cold]I am Verteria. A preparatory student of the Great Lecture Hall. I am researching the work of Orugio's ancestor." Orugio—at that name, Keefree's chest tightened sharply. Verteria continued, unfazed. "[cold]Please look at this." From her breast pocket, she produced a single worn notebook. The cover was damaged, the edges of the pages yellowed. But it was clearly a copy. Something someone had transcribed by hand. Keefree caught his breath. (*That handwriting...*) He recognized it. The same handwriting as the ancestor's diary Orugio had told him about finding in his family's storehouse. Meticulous, precise letters, yet somehow charged with heat. "[whispers]...Where did you get this?" "[cold]The Great Lecture Hall's old archives. I happened to find it mixed in among a sealed-off section. I deciphered its contents on my own." *Impossible*, he thought. But her eyes were not lying. Keefree let her into the room. --- Verteria spread the copied notebook and several documents across the desk. Her movements were neat and organized. No wasted motion. Keefree sat in a chair and listened to her explanation. "[cold]The Eternal Seal is a ritual formula that grants permanent magical power to those without innate magical aptitude." Verteria spoke matter-of-factly. "[serious]...I know that." "[cold]However, there is something you do not know." She pointed to a passage in the diary. "[cold]The strength of the formula is directly proportional to the depth of the spiritual bond between the one who inscribes and the one who receives it. In other words, the deeper the feelings between two people, the stronger the seal becomes." Keefree's eyes widened. "[cold]This is the secret the Seven-Pointed Council truly feared and concealed. It is ill-suited for military use. Even if inscribed upon soldiers, without accompanying emotion, the effect is negligible. That is why they designated it a forbidden art and sought to monopolize it for those in power. This is also the reason the Crimson Seal Order was deemed a threat two hundred years ago. They were bound together by the powerful conviction of their cause." In Keefree's mind, Orugio's words came back to life. —*A deep spiritual bond between the one who inscribes and the one who receives it is necessary.* At the time, he had thought it was merely a condition. But it wasn't. The very core of the formula was "feeling" itself. Something that had undeniably existed between them— His back grew steadily warm. The seal was burning. The mark Orugio had inscribed pulsed beneath his skin. "[whispers]...Ngh." His chest tightened, and words failed him. --- "[cold]Please look at this." She spread the next document on the desk. Keefree looked at it and stopped breathing. Copies of bribery ledgers. Records of monetary transactions with multiple faculty members and fellow councilors within the Great Lecture Hall. Furthermore, testimonial notes on human trafficking—the brokering of apprentice magician girls to the military. And—most shocking of all—secret correspondence detailing a deal to sell knowledge of the seal magic to a military officer. Two thousand gold coins. The date and time of the deal. The location. Everything was written there. "[serious]When is the deal?" His voice trembled. "[cold]The day after tomorrow, at dawn." The day after tomorrow—. Something inside Keefree took on a sharp, clear outline. Orugio was being tortured to force him to divulge his knowledge by that deadline. The time limit had just become explicit. From the depths of his body, the layers of helplessness began to peel away. In their place, a quiet anger began to burn. "[serious]...How did you get all this?" "[cold]I am merely adept at curiosity and investigation." Verteria answered flatly. Yet in her mismatched eyes dwelled a fierce intellectual excitement. For the first time, Keefree looked directly into her eyes. (*This girl—she's serious.*) --- "[cold]I will bring this evidence to the public hearing. I will assume the role of presenting it." Verteria stated. "[cold]However, in order to seize control of the hearing and create a situation where Drasven has no avenue of escape—you, having awakened the power of the seal, must appear in the council chamber." Keefree fell silent. Could he do it? He didn't know. "[whispers]...I've never once intentionally controlled magic. I don't even know if I can produce power." "[cold]The Eternal Seal uses your emotions as fuel. It is not a matter of technique." Verteria's words sank into Keefree's chest. Twenty-eight years ago, he had been judged to have no magical aptitude. Ever since, he had thought of himself as an inferior person. Somewhere inside, he had never forgiven himself for being unable to use magic. But— The seal on his back grew warm again. It was something Orugio had believed in and inscribed. Believing that he could change something. For four days, he had held that warmth in his chest, yet he had sat there hugging his knees, convinced he could do nothing. Keefree stood up. "[serious]...Let's begin preparations." His voice was surprisingly steady. Verteria watched him in silence. For the first time in four days, light returned to Keefree's eyes. --- Night fell. In the inn room, the two of them spread a simplified blueprint of the Star-Point Tower across the desk. It was something Verteria had procured from somewhere. Plans of the underground passages. Guard shift changes. Lookout blind spots. She explained the situation dispassionately, and Keefree burned it all into his mind. "[cold]I will submit the request for a hearing first thing tomorrow morning. You will infiltrate the tower before dawn and rescue Orugio. Then, appear in the council chamber in time for the start of the hearing." "[serious]...Understood." Their roles were decided. The strategy review concluded, and Verteria was about to leave the room—at that moment. "[serious]Wait." Keefree stood. He focused his awareness on the seal on his back. If, as Verteria said, emotions were the fuel rather than technique— He closed his eyes. He pictured Orugio's face. Those azure eyes. That gentle smile. The image of his lover, covered in wounds, enduring on the stone floor of that tower. (*I want to protect him.*) From the very bottom of his heart, emotion overflowed. (*I want to save him.*) He poured that feeling into the heat on his back. The seal shone with a golden light. The entire room was enveloped in radiance. Heat spread from his back through his whole body, concentrating at his fingertips— A faint pulse was released from his fingertips. Several documents on the desk fluttered gently into the air. Keefree stared at his trembling hands. It was a sensation he had never felt before in his life. The feeling of intentional magical power flowing through him. His fingertips tingled with a dull ache. (*This is—*) Outside the door, Verteria turned back. "[gentle]...You did it." Her voice seemed just a little softer than before. "[serious]...Yeah." Keefree desperately held back the tears that threatened to spill. Instead, he clenched his fist. "[serious]Tomorrow, I'm definitely going." Verteria nodded quietly and vanished into the darkness of the hallway. --- Alone in the room, Keefree looked outside through the small window. It was in the direction of the Star-Point Tower. The tower's lights were going out, one by one. Somewhere in that tower, Orugio was enduring again tonight. The thought made his chest ache. Keefree remembered the morning four days ago. The smile Orugio had given him just before being arrested. —As if to say it would be alright. As if to say not to worry. (*I want to return that smile.*) That was all, he realized. The heat of the seal spread steadily from his back through his entire body. It was as if it were overlapping with the warmth of Orugio's hand. Keefree ruminated on the words Orugio had spoken on the night of their third meeting—after they had shared their first kiss. "I won't rush. I'll wait until you decide." The Eternal Seal would never fade for a lifetime. Orugio had bestowed that upon him. Now, belatedly, he understood the meaning of that with his entire being. (*You were, all along—*) Outside the window, the light of dawn was beginning to break. Keefree threw on his coat and stood. The seal on his back was still hot. Orugio's feelings were undeniably here. "[serious]Wait for me." He murmured the words quietly. His resolve was set. To the Star-Point Tower. To save that man— He left the room. The sound of the door closing was swallowed into the quiet morning air.