The Door (1)

I felt numb.

If I recall my vague memories correctly, I probably collapsed while training.

It seemed like I was too overconfident in my body, so I had trained to my very limit. My stamina must have worn out.

'Where am I right now?'

Deja vu hit me. I felt a soft sensation on the back of my head. It seemed like I was laid in a place that gave me nothing but comfort.

I remembered the time when I had Eden attack me to test the Elemental Bracelet.

When the damage accumulated and I fainted, I woke up in Luce's room.

This time as well, it seemed as if someone dragged my unconscious body elsewhere. Was it Isaac's elder sister who had been stalking me these days?

'…Nah, there's no way.'

Before I fainted, I remember scanning the area with [Clairvoyance]. Isaac's sister was nowhere to be seen.

In other words, it was someone else.

By the way, the pillow on my head was so smooth and soft. Wait, I thought it was a pillow but…

…What… is this?

My brain was still unable to function at maximum capacity because I had just regained consciousness.

I slowly opened my eyes. I thought I would see an unfamiliar ceiling.

Instead, I almost went blind from the brilliant radiance that greeted me.

"Are you awake, President?"

Beyond the vast valleys of her chest, a smile as bright as starlight shone in my eyes.

Lavender hair flowed while an entire universe shone in her eyes which were adorned with her signature star-shaped pupils.

It was Dorothy's face full of smiles.

In a corner of the butterfly garden, under a zelkova tree with the light of the sunset falling from the heavens above.

The location where Dorothy would come to sit and talk while I was training.

In this place, I appeared to be lying on Dorothy's lap.

'Oh what, it was Dorothy.'

Yep, I'm never getting up.

I closed my eyes again and turned to the side. The skin of my favorite waifu caressed my cheek.

"Nihihi, Presideeeent~. Aren't you being a little too obvious?"

Dorothy grinned widely at the sight of my actions.

"This big sis will get slightly embarrassed, you know?"

"This is not an opportunity that comes often so I must enjoy it as much as possible. It's fan service, right?"

"Sure. How is it? Are you happy?"

Of fucking course I am.

"What happened to bring about this sudden event? It's unexpected for you to give me a lap pillow after all."

"…These days, I feel like the President is pushing himself too hard. Both your mind and your body."

It seemed like it was impossible to hide my emotions from Dorothy.

She must have noticed my sense of urgency.

"How did you know?"

"Hmph, this big sis knows everything you know?"

Dorothy answered triumphantly as she placed a hand over her heart.

"That's why this big sis wanted to come bother you a bit as a way to lift your spirits! I found the President unconscious right on time. You did well fainting!"

So I lost consciousness at a good time. Noice.

Of course, I couldn't enjoy this happy moment forever.

I was blessed to have even had this brief moment of bliss.

Since my stamina should have been supplemented by me fainting, I should start training once again.

"Thank you so much, Senior. Now I should…"

"President."

When I tried to raise my upper body, Dorothy grabbed my shoulders and pressed me back onto her lap.

As if to tell me not to get up.

"Rest, at least for now. Stay with me."

I hesitated since I didn't know what to say.

"Good boy."

Dorothy whispered in a soothing voice as she stroked my hair like I was a beloved doll.

As if she was roleplaying a mother, a faint smile adorned her face.

Her voice and smile made me feel at ease.

"…"

Take a rest, you say…

In the hell difficulty of ❰Magic Knight of Märchen❱, I had been racing ahead without rest to defeat the Evil God.

The only time that I had some form of leisure was on the night of the social gathering, after eliminating Marlog the Envious.

To be honest, this was a bit of an obvious thing to say but…

It's tough.

If I was going to transmigrate into this game…

I wanted to be in the normal difficulty. I wanted to enjoy dating without any fear of the future and steadily defeat enemies without needing to rush. It would have been so nice to just take it easy and enjoy my time…

…I must be really tired huh?

My body went slack with exhaustion.

Even if the fainting helped me regain a bit of stamina, I could still clearly feel that my body was heavily fatigued. I also felt the mana in my body flowing roughly instead of the smooth current it would normally have been.

It seemed as if every cell in my body was on strike.

Maybe I couldn't be an ironman just yet.

"…Okay then."

Dorothy's touch was so gently and pleasant that my body languidly slouched into her.

I quietly closed my eyes.

"I'm going to rest just for a bit."

For the efficiency of my training, I decided to take a break for now.

"Yay! Okay!"

Dorothy grinned broadly.

I fell into a deep sleep.

* * *

Isaac had fallen asleep.

Dorothy could not contain her smile as she looked at him sleeping peacefully with his head on her lap.

Feeling that the slight wind in the air turned cooler, Dorothy took off her cape shawl and covered Isaac with it to keep him warm.

With that, she started to repeatedly stroke his head gently, using this chance to administer healing magic to him.

"I really can't figure you out after all."

Dorothy was well aware that she was revered as a rare genius who received the Lord Manhalla's blessing.

But this man lying on her lap was overwhelmingly stronger than Dorothy herself.

It was an undeniable fact that only someone like Dorothy, who had the power of [All In the World], could know.

In the first place, Dorothy became interested in Isaac because of his hidden strength.

However, it seemed as if his power was only available when certain conditions were met.

Dorothy deduced that training also affected his original strength, which was why he was so desperate to work diligently.

Even so… Isaac was overdoing it.

"Even if you're working hard, there should still be a certain limit to it."

Dorothy could feel how hard he worked from sensing Isaac's twisted mana circuits.

There must have been a lot of fatigue and pain, to the point where his body would've screamed at him to stop.

And yet, he had been recklessly pouring out mana for the sake of training…

Dorothy fondly rubbed Isaac's cheek with her index finger.

He tilted his head towards Dorothy's finger. He was so cute since he acted like a puppy.

"Nihihi."

Although Dorothy maintained a seemingly friendly attitude on the outside, in reality, she always drew a line between herself and others.

Since she was destined to die soon, she hadn't let anyone enter her heart.

It was so that she didn't have any lingering feelings about this life.

However, whenever she examined Isaac's mind with [Emotional Insight], he always showed infinite affection towards her.

At first, she came looking for Isaac out of curiosity. However, when she continued to feel such warm endearment from him, as a human being, her heart couldn't help but be put at ease when she was with him.

The sky was slowly losing its light as it dimmed.

Dorothy stared at Isaac while putting her hand on the middle of his firm chest.

The twisted mana circuit needed to be untangled. When Isaac woke up earlier, her work was stopped. So now, she had to continue once again.

Dorothy closed her eyes firmly and allowed her mana to flow.

She began to heal Isaac's mana circuit, which had been twisted from excessive training.

Since it was Dorothy's starlight mana, it was fully possible to reach deeply into Isaac's mana circuit and restore it completely, starting from the source itself.

As Dorothy's mana delved deeper into Isaac's mana circuit…

"…!"

A scenery of somewhere empty and black filled Dorothy's sight.

A huge black door letting out a blue chill was lying in the middle of a black field.

A chill ran down Dorothy's spine at the sight of its overwhelming majesty.

Her eyes flew open as she breathed roughly.

"What was that…?"

A drop of cold sweat ran down her face.

Compared to the mysterious Isaac that she knew of thanks to [All In the World], a completely different existence was firmly established in the source of Isaac's mana circuit.

In addition, dense amounts of mana flowed around the huge door.

The mana was so powerful, that it was practically on a whole other plane of existence. This could only be the case after reaching the very highest level of the ice element. This was the type of mana that was emanating from the door.

During the first semester, he used otherworldly magic that was on the level of an apocalypse…

…Is that not even his full strength?

"President… how much power are you really hiding…?"

It was obvious to Dorothy that Isaac was overwhelmingly stronger than her.

Even so… wasn't this too much? It was too overpowering of a level to even begin to comprehend.

Isaac was already an existence that could not be contained within this small and weak world.

Now, she felt a feeling far beyond curiosity… It was simply sheer wonder at this point.

For a while, Dorothy stared at Isaac with a complex expression. He was sleeping peacefully without a care in the world.

***

I deeply apologize for last time!

-Kaya Astrea

"What is this…?"

Dorm for mid-high level students, Elma Hall.

Out in the hallways, Eve Ropenheim stood dumbfounded.

Next to the entrance of her room, there was a bouquet of flowers the size of a door, various magic tools, an expensive set of snacks, and even accessories.

So many things were given that… Eve could not even begin to comprehend the amount that laid strewn alongside her door.

These days, a female student with pale green pigtails, Kaya Astrea, often approached Eve.

From insisting on rubbing her shoulders with the excuse that her shoulders were too stiff to calling her beautiful every chance she got, Kaya continued to ask Eve if there was anything she needed.

She had often heard of Kaya Astrea, the freshman second seat of the Magic Department, because of her immense reputation. She had the blood of a swordmaster, Duke Gerald Astrea, and a genius wizard, Historia. What's more, even her skill was well-acknowledged….

'Why is such a noble existence doing this…?"

How did her younger brother manage to woo such an important figure?

Although she felt a bit proud, she fully realized that Kaya was trying to get in her good graces because of her identity as Isaac's elder sister.

As such, she could not treat Kaya carelessly. After all, if she made a mistake, she'd be done for.

Eve felt increasingly burdensome as she walked into her dorm.