"Mom will always be my mom… If you hadn't picked me up, I probably would've died in some nameless corner."
As Aina mentioned her daughters' past, Eina's eyes immediately brimmed over. She pulled her into a tight embrace, shoulders shaking as she cried.
Listening to it all, Takumi finally understood the whole story.
"So, Eina… you have a little sister too?"
"Yeah." Eina sniffled and nodded. "Her name's Nina. She's thirteen—she goes to school in the Hringhorni school district. She's still in class right now, so she isn't home."
Takumi's expression turned solemn with genuine respect. He gently took Aina's slim hand, careful as if she might break.
"Aina… you're not just a beautiful, adorable elf. You're a truly great mother."
"Ah… d-don't say it like that…" Aina's voice came out soft and flustered.
Takumi was close—close enough that her heart started sprinting on instinct. Even her pale elven ears warmed until they turned a rosy red.
She'd become a mother, yes… but in truth she was still a shy girl who had never been intimate with a man. Having someone as handsome as Takumi this near, touching her hand with such ease, made her thoughts go hazy in seconds.
Takumi rested his palm over her hand and let his magic flow—quiet, precise, like a doctor checking a pulse in his own way.
That sensation of his power moving through her body made Aina stiffen all over. It wasn't painful. It was just… mortifying, in that "I'm being seen too clearly" kind of way.
Eina, watching her mother's face turn brighter and brighter, panicked a little. She could feel the odd tension in the air, but to her it still looked like a proper examination.
"So… how is she?" Eina asked anxiously. "Is my mom okay?"
Takumi didn't answer right away. He released Aina's hand, sat back, and fell into thought.
The "check" he'd done just now had been mostly for show. What he actually relied on was the Jade Eyes.
[Name: Aina Wisteria]
[Rank: Intermediate Elf Mage]
[Traits: Elven Royal Blood (Purple), Pure Body (Blue) …]
[Elven Royal Blood (Purple): Bloodline of the elven royals, granting long life and extraordinary potential.]
[Pure Body (Blue): A special constitution that automatically purifies the magic within. However, it is highly sensitive to external impurities, which can cause chronic weakness.]
After reading her panel, Takumi had a clear picture.
"Aina, your hereditary illness is actually part of your gift," he explained. "Outside air and ambient magic always carry impurities, no matter how clean they seem. But your body is too pure—inside and out. Living in an environment with even minor contamination wears you down, so your system keeps weakening."
Aina's embarrassment finally cooled, replaced by focus. She nodded along.
"I've had doctors tell me something similar," she said quietly. "They said I can't adapt to the air outside the elven settlement."
Eina stepped closer, eyes shining with desperate hope.
"Takumi-kun… can my mom be treated?"
Takumi met her gaze calmly and nodded.
"Yes. But Aina has to cooperate with me."
"I'll cooperate!" Aina blurted out, nodding so fast her long hair swayed. "Anything—if it can cure this."
Takumi hesitated, then lowered his voice, choosing his words carefully.
"My method causes a bit of… awkward collateral."
To demonstrate, he pointed at a small wooden stool beside the bed.
"Restore."
A soft flash passed over it—and the stool instantly reverted into several rough pieces of wood, as if it had been undone back to its earlier state.
"I'll need to use restoration to reset your condition to a healthier baseline," Takumi said. "During the process, it's better not to be wearing clothes. If you are, they'll get cleansed along with everything else."
The meaning landed immediately.
Aina's face went scarlet so fast it was almost comical, her pointed ears glowing red at the tips. Right now, from any angle, she looked exactly like a bashful girl in love—not a mother with a grown daughter.
Eina pinched the bridge of her nose, then shot Takumi a look that screamed why are you like this?
"Eina—" Aina started.
"Mom—" Eina began at the same time.
Eina cut it off decisively, standing up and heading for the door.
"I'll step outside."
Her choice was painfully clear: her mother's health mattered more than her own embarrassment.
Aina understood too. She swallowed, cheeks still burning, and lowered her gaze.
"Takumi-kun… please," she murmured. "I'm counting on you."
Elves naturally tended to reject close contact with men, especially in vulnerable situations. But from the moment she met Takumi, Aina had realized her body didn't resist him at all. And between the fact he was her daughter's chosen man—and the only one who could treat her—she forced herself to trust him.
She'd suffered with this condition for years. If she could finally be cured… then this price was something she could accept.
Once Eina was fully out of the room, Aina's shoulders tensed as she loosened her outer dress, exposing smooth, pale skin. A small, helpless sound slipped out of her throat as she surrendered the initiative, cheeks burning.
Takumi didn't hesitate.
If she was trusting him this far, then he'd treat her properly—no stalling, no fumbling.
His hand settled against her back, warm and steady. Aina's skin flushed in a wave wherever he touched, as if her body reacted before her mind could catch up.
Then Takumi finally pushed his magic through in earnest.
"Origin Reset."
A faint, intricate glow wrapped around Aina, sinking into her like light into water. Her body—down to the deepest "source" of her condition—was rewound and restored to a pristine state from more than a decade ago.
The heavy, strained feeling in Aina's breathing vanished almost instantly. Her lungs felt open. Her limbs felt light. For a second, she looked like she might cry from relief.
Then she noticed Takumi beside her—serious, composed, almost too calm—and her heart immediately tripped over itself again.
The shame came rushing back.
And right alongside it, something softer took root—something that didn't belong to a mother so much as it belonged to a girl.
Takumi, meanwhile, didn't waste time. He produced a Divine Envoy Piece and pressed it into her.
This piece was no longer a simple tool. At this point, it was effectively a fusion of a master-servant contract, a chess-piece system, and divine blessing—three-in-one.
As it merged with her, Aina let out a breathy, involuntary sound. Power flooded her from the inside out, and the sensation of her very existence stepping up to a higher tier was so overwhelming she could barely hold herself together.
Aina… was reborn.
[Name: Aina Wisteria]
[Class: Divine Envoy Elf Mage]
[Level: 1 (Upper)]
[Traits: Divine Envoy (Purple), Elven Royal Blood (Purple), Phoenix Body (Purple), Killing Heart (Purple), Moon's Blessing (Blue), Pure Body (Blue) …]
Purple after purple, blue after blue—her panel was nearly overflowing.
As Takumi grew stronger, the Divine Envoy Piece evolved with him, and the power it could grant had become downright outrageous.
Before, Aina's strength barely brushed the level of an intermediate mage.
Now a single piece shoved her straight into Upper tier—and she wasn't far from the topmost ranks anymore.