The letter was apparently a check for two thousand gold. And precisely the amount needed for repayment.

Had Orlando given him information about this too?

Or had the Pereira family’s difficult circumstances become so widely known that even McClain, who cared about nothing but leveling up, had heard about it?

While Natalie was lost in thought with furrowed brows, the Count’s wildly shifting gaze eventually settled on her and stabilized.

He had apparently concluded that she had quickly moved to meet McClain and secured the check before them.

Natalie could neither nod in agreement nor deny this assumption, so she just gave a bitter smile.

“Then, having completed my mission, I’ll take my leave. I believe we’ve purchased everything you might need, Miss Pereira, but if anything is missing, please contact us separately.”

“No, what you’ve sent is more than enough. Please tell the Commander how truly grateful I am.”

“I will. Then, I’ll be off.”

As Orlando returned to his carriage after saying goodbye, he suddenly stopped, turned around, and raised one hand in a tight fist while mouthing something.

The lip movement clearly looked like “I’m rooting for you.”

Natalie forced a smile and bowed her head to him.

※※※

After the carriage departed, entering the mansion brought her face to face with all manner of excitement from the household.

The first-floor entrance was filled with boxes of all kinds. In the middle of the pile, Countess Pereira, Natalie’s mother, was opening boxes one by one with the brightest face of all, letting out exclamations.

“My goodness! How many dresses did he send?”

“Madam, look at these accessories! Necklaces, hair ornaments, gloves, and shoes. There are even different types of stockings and hats!”

At Maria’s excitement, Lady Rose, who had appeared at some point, joined in supporting the Countess’s unboxing session.

“And that’s not all. The materials are all of the highest quality. I have a friend who’s a seamstress, so I know a bit about these things—just one pair of silk gloves or stockings like these would cost well over a hundred gold! And he sent so many!”

The Countess, belatedly noticing Natalie’s entrance, gave an apologetic smile.

“I’m sorry, Natalie. I know these gifts are for you, but I simply couldn’t contain my curiosity. Besides, with so many, how could you possibly open them all by yourself? I thought I should help by opening a few in advance.”

Though “a few” seemed an understatement given the number of opened boxes, they were still a small fraction compared to those still waiting to be unboxed.

Natalie waved her hand dismissively and said, “It’s fine, Mother. There are so many that if I tried to open them all myself, I probably wouldn’t finish until tomorrow night.”

But the Countess was no longer listening to Natalie’s words.

She was staring with a dazed expression at a snow-white dress that had been in a fairly large box.

The Countess, who had been frozen like a statue, finally let out an exclamation and held up the dress. Then she looked at Natalie with perplexed eyes and asked:

“My goodness! This looks less like a banquet dress and more like a wedding gown. Natalie, could it be that while we weren’t aware, Sir Lindhart proposed to you?”

※※※

No matter how much Natalie denied it, the household’s misunderstanding—clearly thinking “that dress is definitely for a wedding”—showed no signs of being resolved.

Because of this, the next day she practically fled to the magic tower as soon as the sun rose, barely touching her breakfast.

She had originally planned to visit the magic tower upon returning to the imperial capital to check her condition accurately, and she also wanted to escape the interrogation-like questioning from her mother and father.

However, after arriving at the magic tower and having her magic power state examined, Natalie found herself subjected to an even more intense barrage of questions than at home.

It began right after she received her magic power diagnosis from the tower master.

The Tower Master stared at Natalie with wide eyes, repeatedly asking to see “just once more, one more time,” before finally saying in disbelief:

“Pereira. What on earth happened to you? Explain yourself quickly.”

Natalie, who had expected the Tower Master to provide an explanation, was taken aback by the question directed at her instead.

“Um… Tower Master? I think I need to know what state my body is in first before I can tell you anything…”

“Ah, right. The magical power inside your body isn’t at the level a normal mage can possess. With this much, it wouldn’t be strange if your body had burst from being unable to withstand the process of increasing magical power. Is your physical condition alright? Do you feel pain anywhere?”

The Tower Master examined Natalie with bulging eyes. His gaze resembled that of a detective searching for clues from a suspect rather than checking for injuries, causing Natalie to unconsciously shrink her shoulders.

“A few days ago, I suffered from high fever and pain, but I felt fine the next day. I’m perfectly fine now. In fact, I feel much more energetic and refreshed than before…”

However, the Tower Master cut her off before she could finish.

“Hmm, perhaps you have a unique constitution. Moreover, this magic power is extraordinary. I’d call it pure power itself, without a single impurity. The kind of power that existed only in ancient times. My goodness! To witness such power in my lifetime! This won’t do. I should call the other professors to see this together. That would be alright with you, wouldn’t it?”

“Well, I suppose it’s not impossible, but it feels a bit burdensome…”

In truth, it wasn’t alright. The Tower Master alone was already overwhelming, and if all the professors from the magic tower came running, wouldn’t she feel like a monkey in a zoo?

But once again, the Tower Master pressed the call button before she could finish speaking, then launched into a barrage of questions with gleaming eyes.

“Where did you obtain such power? Did you absorb some rare magic stone? I heard you joined the expedition to resolve the corrupted area—did something happen there? I’m dying of curiosity, please explain.”

“I did absorb a rare magic stone in the corrupted area, but this current state isn’t from that…”

“So that’s it. You absorbed a magic stone containing ancient power. How large must that stone have been to increase your magic power to this extent? Plus, there’s not even a speck of lower-purity magic power left in your body now. This means the power you absorbed completely purified all your original magic power.”

Just as the Tower Master finished speaking, the door clicked open, and four distinguished professors from the magic tower, including Professor Shatre, rushed in.

“Aha! Everyone’s arrived at the perfect time. Professor Shatre, come take a look at this. I can hardly believe it even as I’m seeing it with my own eyes. You’re all witnessing the origin of magic power right before you!”

“What do you mean? The origin of magic power?”

Shatre quickly placed his hands on Pereira’s body to examine her magic power, then exclaimed with a startled face:

“Good heavens, I thought the Tower Master was exaggerating, but it’s true! How is this even possible? Miss Pereira, please explain.”

At Shatre’s words, the other three professors rushed toward Natalie with gleaming eyes. Before she could push them away, they were kneading her arms and shoulders, then letting out exclamations of disbelief.

“Are you all feeling what I’m feeling? This magic power without a single flaw, absolutely perfect!”

“In all my life, I’ve never seen such magic power! My goodness!”

“This can’t be! Is this truly possible! Miss Pereira, how did you do it? What did you do to obtain such power? And instead of a circle, there’s a pure mass of power. How did you manage it? Please tell us!”

Their voices were so loud that her ears were ringing.

Natalie suppressed her urge to cover her ears and leave, and carefully began to speak.

“Well, my magic power first increased after absorbing a rare magic stone in the corrupted area…”

However, the Tower Master and professors lacked the patience to wait for Natalie to finish her explanation.

“What did this rare magic stone look like? How big was it? What color was it, and did you feel anything unusual when absorbing it? Are such magic stones scattered all over the corrupted area? How many are there? Can anyone find them if they go there? No, if that were the case, they wouldn’t be called rare magic stones.”

The Tower Master’s words, which were difficult to distinguish between self-mutterings and questions, were interrupted by Professor Shatre waving his hands.

“That’s not what’s important, Tower Master. What matters is how she obtained it. Where and how did you get it? Did you defeat some demon beast? Your skills were good, but not that good. How on earth did you do it?”

Finally, even Natalie’s professional mask, earned through nearly ten years of working life, could no longer hold. She answered in a dry voice without bothering to compose her stiffened face.

“It wasn’t a demonic beast but the Demon King that appeared.”

“Whaaaat? The demon king? The demon king! Don’t tell me you defeated the Demon King?”

The Tower Master and professors’ mouths couldn’t gape any wider.

Natalie maintained a deliberately serious expression as she dropped an even bigger bombshell.

“There’s no way I could defeat the Demon King. The real issue isn’t my physical condition. The problem is that the Empire is facing the imminent advent of a demon king.”