âOh?â Dahlia Payne lifted her round glasses and squinted before asking with interest, âAnd what do I need to do for your diagnosis? Youâre not trying to take advantage of me, are you?â
âHow would I dare, my Lady?â Vaan shrugged with a rueful smile before saying, âYouâre a noble Senior Witch, while I am just a man without any aura training. If anything, shouldnât a helpless man like me be worried about you taking advantage of me instead?â
âOh, I suppose that is true. Ehe,â Dahlia Payne chuckled with a cute yet silly look. âThen, what will you do, Vahn? It wouldnât include a facial massage, would it?â
Evidently, Dahlia Payne had overheard Vaanâs conversation with the group of young witches from earlier in the library.
âI donât have magic, so I can rely on questioning and simply massages to understand what is going on inside your body, my Lady,â Vaan calmly answered.
âHowever, if you are interested, I can also provide some facial or eye massage to help you slightly improve your eyesight.â
âYou can do something like that with a massage?â Dahlia Payne asked with astonishment.
âOf course, my Lady. Anything is possible with adequate knowledge,â Vaan claimed.
âOneâs eyesight canât be recovered with normal healing magic because thereâs simply no wound to heal. Bad eyesight is a result of the eyeball growing too long or the cornea curving too steeply, causing light to focus on the front of the eye.â
âBody Modification Magic can be used to alter the steepness of the cornea and restore vision. But few are willing to undergo such procedures due to the risk of losing vision entirely from a single mistake.â
âHowever, Iâve read that the Healing Masters in the White Serpentine Kingdom were very good in eye modification treatments, whether it is to restore vision or even enhance them,â Vaan explained.
âMm, Iâve heard about the Healing Masters of the White Serpentine Kingdom being proficient in eye modification treatments,â Dahlia Payne acknowledged Vaanâs words.
But shortly after, Dahlia Payne shook her head with a despondent sigh.
âHowever, the White Serpentine Kingdom is the furthest from the Black Rose Kingdom. It takes time and money just to travel there. Furthermore, the cost of the treatment is much higher than what a librarian with low magic talent like me can afford.â
âAny witch with a little bit of talent would become a Senior Witch by thirty, while Iâve only just become one three weeks ago at the age of thirty-five,â Dahlia Payne stated.
Vaanâs eyes flickered at the newfound information.
It would indeed be difficult for an ordinary Senior Witch to afford eye modification treatment in the White Serpertine Kingdom with the meager salary of an academy librarian.
Even so, the salary was still better than most jobs in the city with her ability.
Nevertheless, what attracted Vaanâs attention was the timing of Dahlia Payneâs ascension to Senior Witch and her strange allergy problem to enchanted books.
âDid you become a Senior Witch before or after the strange allergy surfaced, my Lady?â
âI became a Senior Witch a day before I started sneezing from touching enchanted books. Senior Rosina and the others also thought it might have been a defect in my ascension to Senior Witch that resulted in the strange allergy, but they werenât too sure.â
âI seeâŠâ Vaan rubbed his chin thoughtfully before saying, âI think I might have an idea in regards to the issue you are experiencing, my Lady.â
âWe can skip the questioning, but Iâll still need to inspect your body with a simple massage, my Lady.â
After clearing the books from the double-size mattress, Vaan politely instructed, âIf itâs alright with you, can I get you to lay down for the massage, my Lady?â
âAlright,â Dahlia Payne nodded.
She took the clear path to the mattress and laid down before she softly cried with joy at the comfort brought by the soft mattress.
âAhh, this feels great~!â Dahlia Payne stretched her limbs in relaxation, almost losing herself in it and forgetting she was in Vaanâs presence.
âAhem!â Dahlia Payne collected her composure with a cough before coolly saying, âBy the way, Vahn. You still havenât explained how eye massage can improve eyesight.â
âEye massage stimulates the pores around the eyes, allowing mana to gather in the eyes, my Lady,â Vaan explained.
âAlthough the effect wonât be great, pure mana does strengthen the eye to perceive more light. And when that happens, eyesight will naturally improve. Itâs like turning up the tap to pour more water, and the eye massage is like muscle training.â
Of course, only witches got to enjoy such benefits.
Aura Users could only produce aura to strengthen their bodies through physical training. On the other hand, witches undergoing the same physical training would improve their bodies directly through the nourishment of pure mana.
Thatâs why physical combat training was part of the courses in an academy of magic.
Vaan was immediately amused by Dahlia Payneâs request. She actually prioritized her eyesight improvement over her strange allergy treatment.
Nevertheless, Vaan saw no reason to decline.
âAs you wish, my Lady,â Vaan obliged.
Shortly after unequipping his utility belt and fang daggers and putting them aside with the wooden box, Vaan hopped on the mattress and positioned himself where Dahlia Payneâs head rested on his lap.
âThen, I will begin now, my Lady.â
âMm.â
After Vaan removed her round glasses and informed her, Dahlia Payne consented with a soft mumble while feeling strangely excited.
It was an interesting and rare situation for her to be in, considering she never really took care of her appearance. Thus, men donât really look at her.
But when Dahlia Payne glanced up, she could see Vaanâs attentive gaze on her, and her heart skipped a beat.
Shortly after Vaan started working his magic fingers around her eyes, including her temples, forehead, and nose, Dahlia Payne felt a wave of comfort gathering on her face before spreading to the rest of her body.
âAhhhâŠâ