Morning had arrived. The sun had chased away the moon and claimed the sky for itself. Birds sang throughout the garden, their cheerful cries filling the air. Every creature seemed busy welcoming the new day.
Yet Sam's mansion was different.
There was no usual bustle. No servants rushing through the halls. No lively conversations. The entire mansion felt strangely silent, as if it had been abandoned.
Kondo lay asleep on his bed.
Night had already turned into morning, yet his eyes had remained shut the entire time.
Lawine was sleeping beside the bed, still holding his hand. Sam had fallen asleep in a chair nearby. It was obvious they had stayed awake for hours, hoping to see Kondo open his eyes.
The maids had prepared breakfast as they always did, but instead of continuing their duties, they sat quietly together, constantly glancing toward the upstairs room.
Outside near the staircase, Vold and the butler sat with gloomy expressions. They too were waiting for Kondo to wake up.
Then, at last—
The boy's eyelids twitched.
Kondo slowly tried to open his eyes. They felt incredibly heavy, as though enormous weights were pressing down on them. After struggling for several moments, he finally managed to open them and stared blankly at the ceiling.
A sharp pain throbbed through his head.
It felt as if someone had beaten him mercilessly.
"Ahh... my head hurts..." he muttered, placing a hand against his forehead. "What happened to me?"
He forced himself to think.
Then a vague memory surfaced.
"Right... I was changing my clothes..."
His brows furrowed.
"But after that... what happened?"
No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't remember. His memories were blurry and incomplete, as if a thick fog covered them.
Kondo tried to move his other hand, but it wouldn't budge.
Something was holding it.
Turning his head, he found Lawine asleep beside the bed, tightly holding onto his hand. Nearby, Sam was still sleeping in his chair.
Not understanding the situation, Kondo called out softly.
"Mom... Mom... why are you sleeping there?"
The moment his voice reached her ears, Lawine's eyes snapped open.
She rubbed her sleepy eyes and looked toward the bed.
For a second, she froze.
Then a huge smile appeared on her face.
Tears immediately filled her eyes.
"Kondo!"
She threw herself forward and wrapped him in a tight embrace.
Her voice was loud enough to wake Sam.
The noise echoed through the mansion.
The servants, maids, Vold, and everyone else rushed upstairs.
"Young Master!"
They burst into the room and stopped in place.
There, they saw Lawine hugging Kondo while tears streamed down her face.
Everyone's eyes became moist.
But these were tears of relief.
Tears of happiness.
Meanwhile, Kondo simply looked around in confusion.
"Mom... what happened? Why are you crying?"
Sam stood up and gently placed a hand on Kondo's head.
"Nothing happened," he said softly. "Everything is fine now."
Once everyone had calmed down, Sam explained everything that had happened.
The attack.
The unconsciousness.
The fear everyone had felt.
Kondo listened quietly.
He found it hard to believe.
Did all of that really happen to him?
His memories were still hazy.
After finishing his explanation, Sam looked at him carefully.
"How are you feeling now?"
Kondo moved his arms a little.
"I think I'm okay... though I still feel some pain."
Lawine immediately grabbed his hand.
"Where does it hurt? Tell me. I'll take care of it."
A small smile appeared on Kondo's face.
"Mom, it's not that bad. I'm really okay now."
Lawine looked at him with motherly concern.
"Really? You're sure?"
"Yeah, Mom. I'm really fine."
Even so, Sam didn't seem completely convinced.
"Regardless, we should still take Kondo to see a doctor," he said. "Only then can we be certain that he's truly recovered."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Sam then glanced around the room and silently signaled the others with his eyes.
"Alright," he said. "I'll get ready first. After that, we'll take Kondo to the doctor."
With that, he left the room.
The others quickly followed, each making excuses about having work to do.
Only Lawine remained beside Kondo.
Seeing this, Sam called out from outside.
"Lawine, come here for a moment. I need to ask you something."
Lawine stood up.
Before leaving, she gently brushed her hand across Kondo's cheek.
"I'll be right back."
Then she stepped outside.
After walking a short distance, she joined the others gathered around Sam.
"What is it?" she asked.
Sam motioned for everyone to come closer.
Lowering his voice, he said,
"I'm taking Kondo to the doctor now. After we return, I'll decide whether we continue with the plan or not."
Everyone listened carefully.
"If the doctor confirms that his condition is good," Sam continued, "then when I return home, I'll raise my thumb like this."
He showed them the gesture.
"If you see that, you'll know everything is fine."
Everyone nodded.
A short while later, Lawine helped Kondo get dressed.
Soon, Kondo was downstairs eating breakfast.
Standing beside him was Shila.
Her head was lowered, and she remained unusually quiet.
Yet despite standing so close to him, she didn't say a single word.
Kondo looked toward Shila. She stood there with her head lowered, her face still carrying traces of frustration.
"Shila, don't worry about me. I'm fine," Kondo said.
Shila turned around as if she was about to leave, but Kondo quickly called out to her.
She stopped and looked back.
"Thank you," Kondo said with a smile. "Thank you all for worrying about me so much."
A gentle smile appeared on Shila's face before she quietly headed toward the kitchen.
A few moments later, Sam came downstairs, fully dressed and ready to leave. Kondo had already finished his breakfast.
"If you're done eating, shall we go?" Sam asked.
"Yes, Dad."
Kondo got up and walked over to him.
Taking Sam's hand, he followed him outside, where the butler was already waiting with the carriage.
Sam and Kondo climbed inside, and the carriage soon began moving.
After some time, they arrived in Orient City.
The butler stopped the carriage in front of a small clinic called Healing Hospital.
Sam and Kondo stepped out and entered the building while the butler remained outside with the carriage.
Inside one of the examination rooms, Kondo lay on a bed while a doctor and his assistant, Meena, stood nearby.
The doctor was surprisingly young despite his white hair. Wearing a pair of glasses, he carefully observed Kondo.
First, he placed his thumb over Kondo's chest and checked his heartbeat.
Then he wrapped a band around Kondo's arm and measured his blood pressure.
Finally, he placed his hand on Kondo's chest and quietly chanted,
"O Supreme Healer, liberator from all suffering—reveal to me the pain hidden within."
The doctor closed his eyes.
A faint green mist began flowing out from his palm and entered Kondo's body.
Kondo watched with wide eyes.
It was the first time he had ever seen something like this.
The green mist disappeared into his body, but strangely, he couldn't feel anything at all.
A few moments later, the doctor opened his eyes and smiled at him.
"Alright. You can rest for now."
Then he left the room and returned to his office, where Sam was already waiting.
Sam sat silently in his chair, lost in thought.
The doctor placed a hand on his shoulder, pulling him back to reality.
Taking a seat across from him, the doctor smiled.
"What are you thinking about so seriously, my friend?"
Sam looked up.
"Well? What did you find out, Albert?" he asked quietly. "My son is alright, isn't he?"
Before answering, Albert leaned back in his chair.
"First, tell me everything," he said. "What exactly happened to Kondo?"
Sam explained everything from the beginning.
How Kondo suddenly collapsed.
What Doctor Rien had told him.
How there was even a possibility that Kondo could fall into a coma.
And how strangely his magical energy had been behaving.
By the time he finished, Sam looked visibly troubled.
Albert listened carefully to every word and fell into deep thought.
Seeing him remain silent, Sam grew anxious.
"I just told you everything," he said impatiently. "At least say something."
Albert let out a long sigh.
"Well, the good news is that Kondo is completely healthy."
"What?!"
Sam nearly jumped out of his seat.
"Couldn't you have said that first?!"
Albert chuckled.
"However..."
The moment Sam heard that word, his expression stiffened again.
Albert's face became serious.
"There's a problem with his magical energy."
Sam frowned.
"What do you mean?"
Albert raised his hand.
A small green sphere of magical energy appeared above his palm.
"Look carefully," he said.
Sam focused on the floating sphere.
"Imagine this sphere is Kondo's magical energy. This is what it currently looks like."
"Okay... and?"
Albert pointed at the sphere.
"Something is suppressing it from within."
Sam's eyes widened slightly.
"Suppressing it?"
Albert nodded.
"To put it simply, Kondo's magical energy is somehow being compressed inside his own body. If this continues, there may come a day when it becomes so suppressed that it completely disappears."
Sam froze.
"And when that happens," Albert continued, "Kondo may lose the ability to use magic forever."
"K-Kondo will lose his magic?"
Sam's voice trembled.
"How is that even possible? There has to be a cure, right?"
Albert rested his hand on his chin.
"As far as my knowledge goes, this condition is one of the rarest cases I've ever seen."
He paused.
"To be honest, Kondo might be the first person in history to experience something like this."
Sam's heart sank.
"There's no known treatment," Albert said quietly.
"One day, his magical energy may disappear completely, and if that happens, we won't be able to bring it back."
Sam lowered his head.
His voice became much quieter.
"Then... what happens after that?"
Albert shrugged.
"Nothing life-threatening."
Sam looked up.
"Kondo will simply become an ordinary human."
"A person who can't use magic."
For a moment, silence filled the room.
Then Sam unexpectedly relaxed.
"Oh... so that's all?"
Albert blinked.
Sam laughed weakly.
"The way you were talking, I thought something far worse was going to happen."
He rubbed the back of his neck.
"To be honest, after hearing all this, I don't even want to send him away anymore."
"Away?" Albert asked.
"Where?"
"To Levianth Academy."
Sam sighed.
"He recently took the entrance exam. I'm sure he'll pass, but after hearing everything you said... I don't know if I want him so far from home."
Albert thought for a moment.
Then he shook his head.
"No, Sam. Send him."
Sam looked surprised.
Albert continued,
"Even if he eventually loses his magical energy, he can always come back home later."
His voice softened.
"But until then, let him live his childhood."
"Let him make friends."
"Let him experience the world."
"For years, you've kept him protected inside your home."
Albert smiled.
"Don't take away his childhood because you're afraid of losing him."
Sam stared at him for a few seconds before laughing.
"You know," he said, "you're making me sound like the villain here."
Albert laughed as well.
Sam stood up from his chair.
"Fine. You win."
Then he pointed at him.
"But you'd better come to dinner tonight. If you don't show up, I'll drag you there myself."
Albert grinned.
"I'll be there. Don't worry."
A few moments later, Sam called for Kondo.
Kondo walked out of the examination room together with Meena.
"Ready to go?" Sam asked.
"Yes, Dad!"
Kondo ran over and grabbed his hand.
Sam waved at Albert.
"See you later."
"Take care," Albert replied.
As they left, Meena watched Kondo disappear through the doorway.
"He's quite different from other children," she said.
"Very mature for his age."
Albert nodded.
"Yeah," he said softly.
"He really is."
Soon afterward, Sam and Kondo boarded the carriage and began their journey home.
When they finally arrived, Kondo stepped through the mansion entrance.
"I'm home!"
Sam entered right behind him.
The entire household had been waiting anxiously for their return.
Everyone immediately looked toward Sam.
Without saying a word, Sam raised his thumb.
A huge smile spread across everyone's faces.
"YEAHHHH!"
The servants erupted into cheers.
Kondo stared at them in complete confusion.
"Huhhhh?"