Flinching slightly from the pain, Estrella held her breath and waited for the ritual to end.

Once her illusionary figure faded away, she sighed in relief.

"You can stay inside your realm for now and wait for further instructions. Is there a way for me to call for you if you're not around me? I would like to have some privacy." Shiro asked.

Nodding her head, Estrella waved her hands and crafted an orb of sorts.

"Speak my name into this and I will arrive by your side. In the meantime, I'll make sure I'm far enough so that I don't hear your conversations." Estrella handed orb to Shiro and bowed one last time before disappearing from her spot.

Seeing that Estrella had left the room, Shiro sighed in relief.

"Well that's one problem resolved for now I guess." She muttered before turning to Nimue and Iziuel.

"So… do you know what's happening in my mana realm? When I was checking on you, I tried to ignore what the f*ck was happening but it's clearly something bad." Shiro asked as her smile twitched slightly.

Previously, when she was glancing inside her mana realm, she could briefly see some of the islands flicker in and out of existence at certain points which worried her quite a bit.

"Yeah… about that. You see, remember how you modified your body for a moment and fused all of your elements into one?" Nimue asked while massaging her head.

"Yeah."

"Well when you did that, all of the islands within your realm started to break apart. If not for your quick recovery, I'm afraid your entire mana realm would have been demolished and you would have lost all access to mana. Thankfully, your body was kept in a decent shape so your mana realm is safe. Though it's going to be like this until you recover I guess." Nimue replied as Shiro nodded her head slowly.

"I see… well I suppose I don't have to gather pills to rebuild my links so that's a silver lining I guess." Shiro chuckled before turning to Nan Tian.

"I'm guessing you have a few questions as well don't you?" She asked.

"I do. However, I won't pressure you for the answers. I trust you and I know that if you wanted to hide it, it was most likely something people weren't meant to know about." Nan Tian smiled as Shiro paused.

"In that case then I'll tell you the entire story at a later date. I'm guessing you've already made the connection between me and the 'rogue assassin' though haha." Shiro laughed as Nan Tian only rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"You do that quite a lot huh?" Shiro said after noticing this little habit of his.

"Mn? Maybe it's because I get nervous around you." Nan Tian admitted.

"Oh? Why would the great Nan Tian be nervous around someone like me?" Shiro asked with a chuckle.

If she could still move her body at this moment, she would have sat up and crossed her legs with interest.

"Who wouldn't be nervous around a girl he likes? Anyways, do you want any breakfast?" He asked as Shiro chuckled.

"Sure, are you going to bring it here or shall I grab a wheelchair?" Shiro asked with a smile.

"I'll bring it here." Nan Tian replied while standing up. Watching him walk out of the room, Shiro turned towards Nimue and Iziuel.

"Was Attie startled?" She asked.

"Most definitely. You don't know how worried he was when he watched you struggle on the verge of death." Nimue sighed.

"I see… I'll try not to be so reckless next time." Shiro apologised.

"Well hopefully there isn't a next time. With Estrella around, she should be able to help you isolate any dangerous beings that you come across should they be too high levelled." Nimue shrugged.

"Mn… By the way, are you able to help me grab my phone? I want to give the party a call since I can't exactly message them." Shiro asked while summoning her phone out of her inventory.

"Sure."

Nodding her head, Nimue navigated through the phone and found a list of contacts within the [party] section.

"So who do you want me to call?" She asked.

"Hm… why don't we go with a conference call? So that everyone can be in it." Shiro suggested before instructing Nimue on how to set the call up.

After a short moment, the rhythmic sounds of a call being made could be heard as Shiro swallowed her saliva nervously.

"Shiro?" Lyrica's voice could be heard from the phone.

"H-hey… It's been a while huh?" Shiro replied awkwardly as Nimue instantly facepalmed.

'What do you mean 'hey, it's been a while huh?' You're the one who called them!?' She thought while rolling her eyes.

Giving Nimue a quick death glare, Shiro focused her attention back on the call.

"Shiro! Are you alright? We know that you almost died so what happened?" Silvia's worried voice followed up as Shiro chuckled.

"Well I had a small accident."

"You call that a small accident? Considering how much pain Yin and Lisandra were in, I'd say it was a rather catastrophic accident. Did you fight a level 500 or something?" Madison asked as Shiro fell silent.

". . . Oh my f*cking god you did fight against a level 500 didn't you?" Madison paused.

"Well… it used to be a level 500. Then it was weakened to 350?" Shiro replied while understanding the ridiculousness of the situation.

". . ."

"But I'm alive aren't I? Also, thank you for helping me. If it wasn't for all of your efforts in editing the contract with Yin and Lisandra, I would have died for sure." Shiro smiled softly.

"Hais… we can't take this much pressure, ok? Finding out that one of our precious friends almost died across the world with her two daughters being the only way we could tell was not fun." Madison sighed as Shiro nodded her head.

"Though, I suppose you weren't wrong either. We're still too weak now and if we were with you, perhaps one of us would have died against whatever you were fighting. You don't need to hurry back, but just so you know, we'll keep trying to catch up even if it seems futile. At least with us continuously levelling up, we can lessen your worries." Madison followed up.

Hearing what she had said, Shiro couldn't help but smile softly.

"Mn, I look forward to that. Also, I don't hear Yin or Lisandra. How are they?" She asked.

"Those two? They're just resting for now. Don't worry though, they'll be back in fighting form soon. The woman who edited the contract reverted it back to what it was so that you don't have to keep linking vitality. After all, it would be awkward if you suddenly felt a punch land on your body while you're walking." Lyrica replied as Shiro sighed in relief.

"That's good."

"Oh right, Shiro." Silvia called out.

"Mn?"

"Are you able to turn on your camera? I want to see the degree of damage with my own two eyes."

"…Sure. There aren't any injuries visible but my body is pretty weak right now. I can barely move my body." Shiro replied while Nimue tapped the camera icon.

Seeing Shiro stuck in a bed while someone else held the camera for her, the party couldn't help but feel a sting in their hearts.

"Hais… look after yourself, ok?" Lyrica sighed.

"Don't worry, I will. Plus, Nan Tian's helping me so I should be fine until I recover." Shiro chuckled.

"Speaking of that man, are you able to put him on the phone? I want to talk to him but I don't have his number." Lyrica asked as Shiro nodded.

"Sure. Nimue, can you pass my phone to Nan Tian?" Shiro asked as Nimue nodded her head.

"Of course." Walking out of the room, Nimue saw Nan Tian approaching with a tray of food.

"Nan Tian, Lyrica wants to talk to you."

"Mn? Shiro's friend? Sure, let me just put this down." Nan Tian nodded and put the tray down on the table before taking the phone.

"Hello?"

"Are you alone right now?" Lyrica asked as Nan Tian excused himself for a moment

"I am now. What is it that you want to talk to me about?"

"You're high level right? Tell me why the f*ck Shiro almost died in your presence." Lyrica questioned with a serious face.

". . .I have no excuses. I should have tried to get to her with everything I had before she was reduced to that state." Nan Tian nodded while clenching his fist in anger. While he was angry with Estrella, he was more angry with himself as he should have done something to help her regardless of the outcome. At least she wouldn't be this weak had he helped.

"Shiro still needs you so you better look after her or god help me I will peel your skin like a f*cking banana." Lyrica warned.

Looking back towards Shiro's room, Nan Tian smiled for a moment before looking back at her.

"Don't worry, I know. Even if I have to risk my life, I'll make sure she is safe. She's a woman we both fell in love with after all." 

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