“… You’re a Mage.”

Being a Mage was a very respectable (and profitable) profession in this world. After all, they were the only people capable of transforming a mana stone into a Protection Stone, amongst other things.

“Yeah, I can teach you if you want.”

When Jun checked Ophelia’s body earlier, he ascertained she could learn magic. Having changed her impression of Jun, Ophelia grinned. Maybe he wasn’t a pervert but a lonely Mage searching for an apprentice. 

“Yes, please!”

Once they left town, Jun decided their destination would be a nearby forest. With his skills, he could live off the land, so earning money was just a means of trading information. After selecting an area with a nearby water source, Jun transformed the surrounding trees into a small wooden house. 

Ophelia stood by and watched with wide eyes, then rubbed them and ran into the house to peek around. Many Mages passed through the town they left, but she had never seen anyone accomplish what Jun did. Was he one of those old hermits or sages? But he didn’t appear that old, maybe in his late 20s at most.

Inside, Jun sat down at the table and called Ophelia over. 

“What is it?” She stood in front of him with her head tilted.

“I want to try something.” Ophelia backed up with caution. Was he a pervert after all? Jun ignored her reaction and continued. “Where’s your burn scar?”

Ophelia clutched the side of her face, wary. Why was he asking about that? Was he concerned with what the townspeople spoke of after all?

Trembling, she asserted, “It’s—I’m… Not a Dark Omen…”

Jun laughed and removed his blindfold. His eyes were closed, but that part of his face was nearly no different from when he wore the blindfold. 

“You, you…”

“I’m a Dark Omen,” Jun admitted. “But I’m also a Mage and a Healer, so there’s something I want to try.”

“A-A Healer? Impossible. How can a Mage also be a Healer?”

“It’s all magic.”

To Jun, it was all magic, but this world divided several types of magic into different professions. As far as he could tell, Healers could only use light magic, while Mages could use all other kinds of magic, but they were limited to one type. As for Shields, he had a vague suspicion that it was also magic, but had yet to determine which kind.

While still skeptical, Ophelia was awed into curiosity. “… Then what do you want to try?”

“I want to see if I can heal your burn scar.” Jun had tried healing himself but failed. He assumed the world wanted him to suffer, but that didn’t exclude the possibility of being able to help other “Dark Omens.” 

Most Healers in this world used light magic, which could deal with basic internal or external injuries, but when light magic was combined with another type, different types of healing could be achieved. For example, the black scar was a burn scar, so if he were to combine light and water, or perhaps light, water, and earth, it might just work.

“Will you let me try?”

“Yes!” Ophelia nodded with enthusiasm. Of course, she wanted to be rid of the one thing that made others not see her as a person. The worst that could happen was Jun failing.

Jun reached out with a hand. “Where’s your scar?” He asked again. Ophelia grabbed his hand in hers and led it to the side of her face. Jun “saw” the scar and began working right away, removing the impurities. The correct combination of magic turned out to be light, water, and earth.

After Jun removed his hand, Ophelia felt a small weight had been lifted from her cheek. In eagerness, she scampered to the small lake nearby to check her reflection. The scar was gone! With happy tears, she excitedly rushed back to let Jun know, tripping and falling on her face partway. Relieved to know he succeeded, Jun smiled fondly at Ophelia.

“Now let’s heal you!” Ophelia exclaimed.

“I’ve tried.” Jun chuckled as his cheek rested on his palm. “It didn’t work. I might truly be a Dark Omen.”

“No, that’s not true… You, you’re a good person.”

Jun didn’t often go out of his way to help others. After all, he was more concerned with his survival, so this was perhaps the first time someone directly named him a good person. It was such a strange and pleasant feeling. A little familiar.

“Thanks.”

From there on, the two lived and traveled together for an entire year. Along the way, Jun taught Ophelia magic. Her aptitude for magic was exceptionally high—she could also wield all types of magic—almost as good as himself. Occasionally they helped “cure” a Dark Omen, and Jun taught Ophelia how even though she couldn't do it yet.

During this time, Jun hadn’t heard of nor encountered—with Ophelia’s help—anyone that resembled Azazel or Elior. They had to be out there in this world somewhere. He was certain of it. Having been with Jun for a whole year, Ophelia couldn’t resist scratching her curiosity anymore.

“Just who are you looking for?” She asked while they strolled through another forest, looking for a place to “camp.”

“My lovers from a past life,” Jun answered bluntly.

For some reason, the idea of ‘lovers’ didn't bother Ophelia. “… And you’ll recognize them how?”

The man shrugged. “Their eyes and just the feeling.”

“But you’re blind!”

“That’s what you’re here for.”

“And what do you mean feeling?”

“Hmm.” Jun was thoughtful and gestured with his hands. “Like the feel of their souls.”

Ophelia stopped walking, causing Jun to bump into her. “What’s wrong?''

From what he could “see” there was a large clearing in front of them. Jun wiggled his toes and felt the earth with a serious expression. Although the ground was charred, there was no burnt smell, which meant one thing.

“Dark Flames?”

“No,” Ophelia replied. Over the past year they often ran into Dark Flames because of Jun, and even though Ophelia was “cured,” the Dark Flames still left them alone. “There are two dead bodies in the center…”

“Huh?” Jun used his magic to inspect further into the clearing. There really were two bodies, but they were not dead. 

“They’re still alive,” Jun said. “Come, let’s go check on them.”

When they reached the two bodies, Ophelia blurted, “I know this person! He’s the Sword that helped me two years ago!”

“The protagonist!?” During his travels and search for Azazel and Elior, Jun had forgotten all about the plot. Thinking back, wasn't this around the time the plot would have reached that point of incompleteness?

Ophelia frowned. “Huh? No, it’s Aurelius Gravadain.”

‘So the protagonist survived. Well of course he did.’

“Do you recognize the other person?” Jun asked.

“No…”

“Hmm.” 

Ophelia was bound to have run across the protagonist’s party members, so her not recognizing the other person suggested it wasn’t one of them. 

|Host! You’ve unlocked the Hidden Mission: Help the protagonist and villain recuperate.|

|Ok, I have some free time.| That and he suspected these two were Azazel and Elior. The protagonist and the villain, eh?

This meant the other person was the villain, Raven Gravadain. The fight must have ended with them failing to kill each other. How would this world move forward? 

“Well, let’s take them with us and heal them.”

Ophelia frowned. “How? They’re two very big men.”

“Using wind magic,” Jun replied with a soft smile.

Ophelia was young and her magic was still developing. Thus, she wasn't yet able to perform such a task as lifting and carrying bodies in the air through wind magic. Jun did let her try and practice with something lighter instead, a leaf. 

Not long after wandering through the forest, they found a good “campsite.” Jun always chose a location close to or right beside a water source. This time it was a small river. Through the power of earth magic, Jun manipulated a few trees to form a house, one larger than the usual since there were two extra people. Inside the house were three small bedrooms and one central room consisting of a dining area and kitchen. 

As for the bathroom, there was the river and bushes, which were a few steps away. Jun settled the two men down in one of the bedrooms and assigned Ophelia to watch over them while he left to hunt some meat and collect some other ingredients for cooking. An hour later, Jun returned with a dead boar and a variety of fruits and vegetables. With the ease of practice, he began to skin, clean, and prepare the meat. Such an amount should last them a few days, so Jun froze whatever he didn’t use for later.

For their meal tonight, he made a vegetable and meat stew, a simple, hearty, and filling dinner. For people rehabilitating, it was also nourishing. After he started the stew and added the seasonings, Jun had Ophelia guard the stove as he went to heal the two men. 

Jun examined the body of the protagonist first. His wounds weren’t so terrible, but his mind—was that the “corruption” the plot talked about? Jun healed all of the protagonist’s external and internal wounds, then worked on his mind. This was possibly the reason why he remained unconscious.

The corruption had the appearance of small reddish-black flames dancing around like a halo on top of the protagonist’s head. Though invisible to the naked eye, Jun could “see” it with his perception magic. For something like Dark Flames, he suspected the use of water and light magic ought to suffice. The people in this world didn’t yet know that light magic could be used this way. Jun “watched” as the Dark Flames were extinguished by his water and light magic.

Was this what Shields did? He wasn’t sure. 

Now for the villain, whose injuries were about the same as the protagonist’s, so that was promptly resolved. His mind though was a different story. The area the Dark Flames surrounded was the same size as the protagonist’s, but the Dark Flames were smaller, denser, creating the shape of a crown. From what he learned in this world, the smaller and denser the Dark Flames, the more vicious they burned.

For the villain, he needed to take extra care in removing his corruption, but all that was required was an intense focus and additional time. Within a half-hour, Jun finished and Ophelia entered the room to consult him about whether the stew was ready.

“Stir for about five more minutes.” He said. “I’ll come out to taste it then.”

Later, he would teach Ophelia how to destroy the Dark Flames. Jun wondered if Swords used something like light magic when fighting Dark Flames. That had to be the case, right? 

After examining the protagonist and villain's bodies once more, Jun left to check on the stew, which was almost ready. The rooms were arranged so that the main room was in front and the three bedrooms were behind. Ophelia was given the room on the left and the two men the room on the right. As for Jun, his was the middle room.

Though the two men were sleeping, the smell of food and their stomachs’ churning woke them up. They sat up in the unfamiliar room and stared at each other, remembering what had transpired between them. How much time had passed? Strange, they felt particularly clear-headed, as if all the corruption inside them had vanished?

But that was impossible. Corruption never disappeared completely. How...?

—

A/N: Magic! That’s how! Lol