After everything had finally settled down, all of their companions could finally breathe a true sigh of relief and return to their own lives.
At the very least, Akatsuki Kojou, Tokoyogi Yuuma, Akatsuki Nagisa, Kanase Kanon, and their group would no longer be caught up in any trouble. They could return to their daily routines without needing to worry about other matters.
Aiba Asagi and Yaze Motoki, however, still had things to do. Together with Natsuki and the Management Cooperative, they were responsible for handling the aftermath of the incident.
For example, the negotiations and reconciliations with the member nations of the Sanctuary Treaty—those matters required their presence.
Rozen, on the other hand, ended up with free time.
Although he was at the very center of this incident—having nearly single-handedly annihilated the Sanctuary Treaty's armed forces—under such circumstances, those on the other side would certainly demand an explanation from Rozen. Even if only as a formality, they needed to question him in order to offer a proper account to their citizens.
But Natsuki had simply thrown out one line:
"If anything comes up, I'll handle it. You just behave and stay put."
As always, this elder sister figure was overbearing and strong-willed, protecting Rozen to the fullest. Moreover, it was rumored that the Three Saints of the Lion King Agency would personally come to Itogami Island to stand behind Rozen. The Kingdom of Aldegyr would also be in attendance, citing how Kanon had faced a deadly threat from the Sanctuary Treaty's military forces.
Alongside the Management Cooperative, they would face off against the member nations of the Sanctuary Treaty in upcoming conferences. Natsuki was confident that she would make those countries swallow the bitter pill this time.
And of course, they would have to, no matter what.
What? Would they dare to try targeting Rozen again?
Unless they had a death wish.
So, Rozen didn't need to show his face at all. Instead, Aiba and Yaze had to appear.
After all, one was the actual wielder of Cleansing, and the other was the heir to one of the Management Cooperative's upper-tier governing families. Both of them had taken part in the incident, so their attendance had become a necessity.
Thus, Rozen was naturally left with leisure time.
As for Himeragi Yukina and Avrora Florestina, the two of them had been staying close to Rozen lately.
"Be...Because I'm Senpai's moniter..." Yukina used that as her excuse, but unlike before, her tone was no longer assertive. Instead, she was stammering and embarrassed for some reason—surprisingly adorable.
"I... I want to..." Avrora, too, was stammering like usual, showing hesitation and conflict. Clearly, she had something on her mind.
Normally, Rozen would definitely ask about it carefully.
But right now, Rozen had too much on his plate.
Because Miracle's reaction was growing more intense, as though it was eager to do something.
So, one day, Rozen took the opportunity to send everyone away and headed alone to the top floor of the Keystone Gate.
There, no one would come.
Rozen sat cross-legged in the center of the rooftop, constantly battered by fierce winds, and placed his hand over the Miracle ring on his right hand.
"What exactly do you want to do?" he asked.
Rozen tried to communicate with Miracle.
Unfortunately, the ring merely pulsed with a steady response, its glowing light spinning without pause.
Looking at the ring, Rozen had a feeling.
"Do you want to use your power?"
In the past, Miracle had, more than once, opened portals to other worlds on its own, guiding Rozen to grow stronger through those journeys and helping him walk the path to mastering its true power.
This time, the ring seemed to want to do that again.
But this time, it couldn't act on its own anymore.
Because...
"You don't just want to open a portal to another world, do you?"
That kind of ability was just the surface layer of Miracle's power.
Its true strength had never been fully awakened. To use it, Foreign Mana was required.
That was why it had led Rozen to spend over ten years journeying through the world of The Chivalry of a Failed Knight, allowing his Mind's Eye to ascend to its perfected state. This was because, in order to refine Foreign Mana, one needed the supreme ability to control mana.
Thus, having Mind's Eye reach its perfect state was the "key" to unlocking the true power of Miracle, and possessing Foreign Mana was the "qualification" to actually wield it.
Now, Rozen already possessed both the "key" and the "qualification." All that remained was for his Foreign Mana cultivation to complete—then he could refine it and fully awaken Miracle's power.
But Miracle seemed unable to wait.
For some reason, ever since Rozen obtained the Cleansing technique, the ring had been impatient, eager to do something.
And to do that, it needed to unleash its true power.
In other words, it needed Rozen to use Foreign Mana.
But how could Rozen possibly have any Foreign Mana right now?
"In just a few more months, the sublimation should be complete."
Only then would Rozen be able to refine Foreign Mana and use the power of Miracle.
At present, it was virtually impossible for Rozen to wield Miracle's true power.
Of course, virtually didn't mean absolutely.
After all, Rozen's sublimation process was nearing completion. So, if it were only for a short duration, he could temporarily refine an incomplete form of Foreign Mana and activate Miracle's true power.
Naturally, since it would be an incomplete form of Foreign Mana, the cost of using Miracle's true power would undoubtedly be high.
"What should I do...?"
Rozen hesitated for a long time, but eventually made up his mind.
"If Miracle is reacting this strongly, then it must mean something immensely beneficial for me."
To put it simply, Rozen and Miracle shared a symbiotic, coexisting, and even fused relationship at the soul level. In short, they were one and the same—inseparable.
Now that Miracle was showing such intense reactions, it could only mean that something major—something advantageous to Rozen—was about to happen.
And in that case, Rozen had no reason not to go through with it.
With that thought, he stopped hesitating.
"Boom!"
In that instant, the vast sea of mana within Rozen surged violently, gathering, condensing, compressing, and fusing together.
Before long, the mana had been transformed into High-Grade Mana, which was immediately compressed to its limit.
But Rozen didn't stop there. He went on to invoke the full force of his perfected Mind's Eye, unleashing supreme magical control. With that, he caused the already maximally compressed High-Grade Mana to once again converge, condense, compress, and fuse—pushing toward an even higher level.
"Buzz... Buzz... Buzz...!"
At that moment, Rozen's magic circuits, symbolic of infinite possibility, began to tremble. The mana itself vibrated with resonant energy.
In the past, this was as far as Rozen could go.
Without undergoing the sublimation that enabled Foreign Mana—or possessing qualities that transcended the limits of worldly understanding—one could not evolve High-Grade Mana into Foreign Mana.
However, now that his sublimation process was nearly complete, although it couldn't yet support a full refinement of Foreign Mana, it allowed Rozen to take that one small step forward.
"BOOM!!!"
In that very second, the mana within Rozen erupted, transforming into a noble and sacred transcendental power.
That power—was Foreign Mana.
But—
"Ugh..."
Rozen let out a muffled groan, desperately trying to keep the power under control.
Because if he didn't, it would definitely disperse.
At present, Rozen's magic circuits were still far from capable of fully containing such power.
He could only struggle to maintain it—though it remained extremely thin, still unformed, and highly incomplete.
And Miracle—like a swirling vortex—drew in that power with full force.
"CLANG————!"
Finally, the radiant ring began to shine with dazzling brilliance.
Let me know if you'd like the next part translated or if you need this adapte