For the vast majority of people, watching a beautiful girl walk in front of them is undoubtedly a rather pleasing thing to the eye.

But if the girl still had a bloody arm in her hand, dripping blood as she went...... A pleasant sight can be transformed into a frightening one at a moment.

And if you look closely, you find that the arm is actually the girl's own-

"Please excuse me."

Frightened by a group of students, Sarah calmly passed the staircase they had quickly let out, and walked up the staircase to the eighth floor of the castle.

"Sarah, you-" Behind her, Maca walked up with her, "even though you say you're okay, I'm ...... Well, how to say it? I can believe you're okay, and the bleeding on your shoulder has stopped temporarily...... But are you thinking about what to wrap first? ”

Just now, just as Madam Pomfrey said that emergency treatment was ineffective, Sarah suddenly interrupted the other party's words, and took the opportunity to put the responsibility of treatment on Maca's head.

Immediately afterward, she told Maca that she needed a place where no one would bother.

Now that Sarah has said this, how could Maca, who had long been aware of her abnormality, not understand - with this help as an opportunity, this girl is finally going to say something?

So, Maca prepared and invited her to sit in the Room of Requirement.

"I don't need to wrap it, I'm going to take it back soon. Over time, the muscles will atrophy, which is not easy to pick up, so you can't delay it for too long...... And, I'd like to ask you some questions......"

The flat tone, the penetrating answers, and even the change in the way they call themselves...... All kinds of subtle changes are everywhere reminding Maca that there will inevitably be some non-everyday conversations later.

"Okay......" Maca shook her head helplessly, and controlled the bald old man floating behind her a little higher, and then said, "Anyway, I have to thank you for what happened just now—you saved the lives of those six children." ”

Sarah, who was walking in front, was silent for a moment when she heard this, and then nodded her chin without looking back.

"You're welcome...... The eighth floor is here, where do you go next? ”

……

After a short while, Maca led her to the Room of Requirement. Since the one he had used before was too messy, this time he simply changed to a spacious room.

"How do you pick it up, do you need my help?"

Maca asked casually as she placed the old man, who was still unconscious, on the floor as smooth as new.

"Okay......"

In fact, Maca's words were somewhat out of habitual politeness, after all, Sarah had put on a face full of spare money from the beginning, and it didn't look like she needed help. As for what was said to Madam Pomfrey at the time, it was more like a clumsy excuse.

But he just didn't expect that Sarah would give a positive answer to this courtesy inquiry without even thinking about it.

"Professor McLean, please help me get it first."

In her life, Maca has received many things from girls, from an unknown flower seed to a bundle of magic books...... But today, for the first time, he received a whole fresh arm from the little girl's hand!

Even Maca felt something unnatural.

However, the owner of the slender arm did not show any signs of abnormality, and when she handed her arm to Maca rather casually, he took a pen from the pocket on the inside of his robe and began to write and draw on the floor.

In Maca's hand, blood was still dripping from the section of that arm. In the quiet room, both sides were silent for the time being, except for the ticking sound.

He noticed that Sarah had drawn a formation on the floor.

In the past two days, he has been watching the game in the arena for most of the time, although he has not studied it in depth, but he has also seen a lot of the formation of the players in the event. There are several contestants whose alchemy level is really good, including the refinement of the refining array, which is obviously higher than that of other players, which is a level that laymen can see at a glance.

But now, when Maca saw the refining array on the floor rapidly taking shape under Sarah's hands, he found that it was the first time he had seen such a complex refining array.

Unlike his rune array, which was similar to the irregular formation of a tree-like diagram, the vast majority of the refining arrays were circular formations, and Sarah's was naturally the same. However, the difference in scale can easily distinguish it from other people's refining arrays.

"Alright—"

After about twenty minutes, Sarah stood up with the pen in her hand, and then nodded slightly at Maka.

"Professor McLean, can you bring my arm over for a moment? Just get the position in place and hold it up for a while......"

"Oh, I've got to lift the spell to stop the bleeding first."

"No, don't get that close, leave some distance......"

Due to the flow of mana caused by magic, it interferes with the operation of the alchemy array, so even the levitation charm cannot be used. Therefore, Maca had to take on the responsibility of the "humanoid bracket", half-holding a girl's arm to stand beside her master, aiming the bloody section at the girl's equally bloody shoulder.

Sarah stood on a half-moon-shaped pattern in the refining array, and as she gently recited a few words similar to those she had said when dealing with the bald old man before, translucent silk threads suddenly emerged from the various nodes of the refining array.

The threads seemed to have a life of their own, and they quickly wound around the severed arm and Sarah's shoulder, and after passing through the flesh, they poked out from the section one by one, and connected to each other in accordance with the threads that extended towards the opposite fracture.

And when each of the threads joined into one, Maca immediately felt a pull on the arm in her hand, as if the threads were trying to reconnect the two sections.

"Just get closer."

Sure enough, Sarah gave timely instructions. Of course, even if she didn't say it, Maca knew what to do. When the two sides overlap with each other little by little, the flesh that was originally cut off immediately sprouts - healing, and it is going smoothly.

Compared to the time it took to draw the formation array, the process of reconnecting the broken arm was much faster. It only took a few minutes for Sarah to say that Maca's side could let go.

It didn't take long for Sarah to clench her right hand twice, and there was no doubt that the refining array had done its job very well.

"Sarah—"

"I'm sorry, Professor McLean...... It can only be used to repair my physical damage, no one else can use it. ”

Maca was about to speak, but Sarah interrupted her. When he heard this, he immediately waved his hand, indicating that he didn't mean to say this.

"Even if this could be used by other people, I don't think it would normally be used—" he said, "and it can be done with the relevant healing spells and potions, and it shouldn't be much worse than the effect of this refining array...... I was trying to ask, why didn't Madam Pomfrey's healing spell work on your injuries? ”

When Sarah heard this, she couldn't help but purse her lips slightly, and then suddenly looked up at Maca's face.

This kind of direct contact on the line of sight is something Sarah has always tried to avoid in the past - Maca has felt it more than once. And at this moment, Sarah finally presented her gaze into Maca's eyes with her own will.

"You-"

This kind of look maca is not unseen, and the vicissitudes of life that have been tempered by time can easily be seen in the eyes of some elderly people. But for a young wizard who had only just entered Hogwarts for half a year, this kind of look seemed too disagreeable.

However, in addition to the awkward sophistication, Maca also vaguely sensed that something seemed to be missing.

"Professor McLean, I ...... I actually have a question for you, and if it's possible, I'd like to ask you one more thing. Sarah looked at Maca and said slowly in a cold tone, "I helped you once just now, so I hope you can help me once too-"

At this point, she paused for a moment, then continued, "As for the healing spell that doesn't work for me...... If you're willing to do me a favor, you'll know why. ”

"Help?" Maca thought for a moment and said, "What's the busy?" ”

In the face of Maca's questioning, Sarah just shook her head.

"It's important to me," she said, "so I can't say it until you say yes." ”

It is a bit hesitant to want help from others but not to explain the reason beforehand.

Maca couldn't help but spread her hands and shoulders and said, "Actually, I know that you have been observing me and testing me since before I entered the school, and you have deliberately used several methods. And I know you haven't figured me out yet...... So why are you willing to take the initiative to speak up this time? Just because you just helped me once? ”

"Yes," Sarah's answer was surprisingly simple, "because I think you're the kind of person who doesn't want to owe something to others—like this alchemy contest, the reason why you spend so much energy is just to give back to some people, isn't it?" ”

As for Sarah's answer, Maca showed an expression of not being sure.

"I have to admit that you are very observant," he said, waving his hand, "but unfortunately you have not seen enough of the most important places...... Because I will do my best to repay only my true friends, and I don't want to owe anything to everyone. ”

"So......" asked Marka, staring at Sarah, "are you my 'friend'?" ”