Sovereign of the Ashes

After receiving a new temporary badge from the divine tower, Sein wasted no time contacting Natalya and Yuri.

Natalya was also at the main fortress base, though her circumstances were far less fortunate—she was currently resting in a ward in the recuperation center.

Three months ago, when the space fortress unleashed its indiscriminate assault in Akre Plains, Natalya had been dangerously close to the center of the bombardment.

As a result, she sustained severe injuries from the energy beams that rained down from the sky.

On the other hand, Yuri had been inside her mecha during the attack. While the mecha was heavily damaged, the engineer escaped with only minor injuries.

Like Natalya, many knights and mages were recovering in the fortress’ recuperation center.

Fortunately, Gumo Plane’s native army had neither the strength to assemble another formidable fighting force nor the will to resist.

Given the Divine Tower of Dark Flame’s current state, sustaining another battle on the scale of the Akre Plains conflict would have been unthinkable.

The moment Natalya saw Sein again, tears welled up in her eyes.

She had feared the worst, believing Sein had perished and preparing herself for widowhood.

Before she could voice her emotions, however, Reina entered the hospital room right behind Sein, causing Natalya—who had just embraced him—to freeze in place.

“Who... are you?” Natalya asked, instinctively holding Sein tighter as if he were a precious toy she refused to let go of.

It was no surprise that Natalya failed to recognize her best friend. Reina’s appearance had undergone a truly shocking transformation after enduring a double crisis in the underground world.

Aside from her signature braid, the woman standing before Natalya bore almost no resemblance to the Reina she once knew.

If Reina’s parents were present, they might not have recognized her as their daughter.

Both Sein and Natalya had always known that Reina had flawless skin. However, in the past, it had been overshadowed by her immense physique.

Now, with her tall, elegant frame—standing at an impressive 1.8 meters—her flawless complexion became a striking feature, particularly captivating to male onlookers.

As Sein and Reina walked through the recuperation center, many injured knights, who had been chatting or joking moments earlier, fell into stunned silence.

The male knights, in particular, looked as though their eyes might pop out of their sockets.

Even Sein—who had spent the past three months with Reina in the underground magma baths—had not anticipated the female knight’s breathtaking transformation after the Fat-Burning Secret Technique had eliminated every trace of excess fat from her body!

No, Sein had actually already glimpsed Reina’s potential for a perfect evolution back when he was still a Rank One mage.

The perfection of her figure now seemed to confirm the evaluation he had made of her back then!

Only an absolutely flawless passive evolution could have resulted in such a remarkable transformation.

Her proportions were so striking that even Natalya—who had always prided herself on her broad and ample chest—could not help but feel a twinge of inadequacy when she glanced down at herself.

As for Reina’s facial features, those had little to do with passive evolution.

As for how her nearly flawless face became even more striking after shedding all her excess weight, the only plausible explanation lay in her hidden potential.

Although Reina still had a slightly round face, her finely chiseled features were so exquisite that even Sein had to admit that she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen in the Magus World.

“Uh... my body might have gone through some changes after I was promoted to Rank Three. It could also be the effect of the Fat-Burning Secret Technique. Not only has my appearance changed, but my height has shrunk a little too. I didn’t scare you, did I?” Reina said, scratching her head.

Though her appearance and height had changed, Reina’s temperament and habits remained unchanged.

As soon as Reina spoke, Natalya immediately recognized her best friend.

Overcome with relief, she momentarily forgot her excitement at reuniting with her husband and pulled Reina aside, bombarding her with questions.

Naturally, Natalya was eager to hear about what Sein and Reina had experienced during their months of being “missing.”

However, her main fascination was with Reina’s transformation—how she had become so slender and why her skin was so radiant now.

Reina’s stunning new appearance made such an impact that Natalya was barely surprised to learn she had also been promoted to Rank Three.

Like Sein, Reina had also earned an extraordinary number of mission points after the decisive battle, worth nearly twenty thousand magicoins.

Surprisingly, Natalya revealed that she had also accumulated a similar amount of wealth.

In total, their party had amassed sixty thousand magicoins from the campaign, thanks to their exceptional contributions to the interplanar war.

To put this into perspective, Sein’s total fortune—including the wealth he had spent traveling through allied planes and attending the auction at starport—barely exceeded fifty thousand magicoins.

After the initial joy of their reunion gradually wore off, Natalya and Reina began to discuss how best to spend their newfound fortune.

Perhaps spurred on by Reina’s flawless appearance, Natalya declared that she would buy an extensive collection of skincare magic potions and cosmetics.

Even if she could not match Reina’s radiant complexion, she was determined to improve her own skin.

Among all the women Sein had ever slept with, Natalya, a knight by birth, undeniably had the roughest skin.

As a battle-hardened knight who spent most of her time training and fighting, she rarely gave a thought to skincare. Her focus was on honing her strength, not preserving her complexion.

Standing next to Reina’s radiant beauty, Natalya’s slightly weathered appearance was more apparent.

Yet, for Sein, it did not matter. After so many years together, he found himself liking and caring for Natalya even more than before.

To Sein, outward beauty was superficial; what mattered most was the beauty within.

Unbeknownst to Natalya, she had already captured Sein’s heart long ago.

Perhaps even the loud knight herself did not realize the important place she held in his life.

This time, Reina’s severe injuries had been a direct result of her determination to protect Sein and Reina.

Natalya, ever straightforward, did not hesitate to discuss with Reina about how to spend their newfound wealth, even in the presence of a man.

Sometimes, women were far more open and bold about certain topics than men.

As a wife, Natalya was experienced in certain matters and was not afraid to be adventurous with Sein.

Yet, for Reina, this was unfamiliar territory.

In the past, Natalya had been mindful to steer clear of sensitive topics around Reina, ensuring she would not upset her obese best friend.

But now, with their reunion and Reina’s breathtaking transformation, certain conversational floodgates had inevitably opened.

Blushing furiously, Reina found herself at a loss for how to respond to Natalya’s questions.

When asked how she planned to spend her money, Reina simply nodded and honestly said, “I plan to buy more food!”

Despite her newfound beauty, Reina’s love for food had not changed one bit. She remained the same foodie she had always been, unaffected by her physical transformation.

Sein, stroking his chin in thought, said, “If you continue eating excessively, there’s a high probability you’ll revert to your previous size and appearance.”

His scrutinizing gaze made Reina tremble slightly. She recognized that look—it was the same one Sein used in the laboratory when analyzing experimental subjects.

“U-Uh... s-should I eat less?” Reina stammered.

“No need. You can eat more if you want. That way, I can monitor your physical condition for research purposes,” Sein replied with a mischievous glint in his eye.