Both the school day and Dragan’s training went by without any issues and I didn’t know how to feel about that. On one hand, it was a relief that nothing bad happened, but on the other hand, I felt frustrated because I hadn’t gathered any new information about the attackers. 

Throughout the day, I kept a close watch on our surroundings as Dragan went to his master's place and returned home, but I couldn’t spot anyone suspicious. The strange feeling of being watched didn’t wash over me either. It was possible that the attackers hadn’t started stalking him yet, but I couldn’t rule it out completely. 

In any case, the reasons why eluded me and I was left to my own theories. Was it because they hadn’t even concocted their plan yet or did they already set a date and waited for their moment to strike? The more I lost myself questioning these things, the worse my headache became and I knew I had to stop overthinking, but this was easier said than done. 

To clear my head, I decided to visit Ivan at the pharmacy again. This time, I didn’t plan on embarrassing myself by running away awkwardly like I did yesterday. Hopefully, Ivan would feel more open about his secrets than he did in the morning. 

Standing in front of his pharmacy, I grew increasingly embarrassed because the incident from yesterday wouldn’t leave my mind. I blamed this on my emotional instability and tried to calm myself before I entered the building.

Once inside, I spotted a rather tired Ivan behind the counter, engrossed in writing something down. Thanks to my ghostly body, I made no noises, and he didn't look up until I stood right in front of him. As our eyes met, his priorly tired eyes shone with new determination. I hated to admit it, but I had a feeling my presence had some odd positive effect on him and it made me a bit happy. 

“You look very tired, Rêve.” Ivan’s unexpected words caught me off guard and I found myself answering quite honestly.

“You’re not looking better either. Are you overworking yourself?” I scolded him with my hands on my hips. This situation reminded me of one of many days where I had to stop my sister from writing into the dead of night. 

Ivan watched me silently for a few seconds with a small smile on his lips, before he raised his voice. “Did you find anything new?” 

“I wish I did, but no. I checked the surroundings constantly but found nothing.” I leaned forward, as if I was trying to rest on the table, but stopped before I'd fall face-first in my current condition. "It was exhausting and frustrating. Now I just want to lay down somewhere soft."

Ivan's grip on the pen tightened upon hearing my words. I immediately knew why and tried to correct myself, but Ivan beat me to it.

"I found a way, Rêve," he said, his pause carrying weight. It took me a moment to catch his hint, and as the realization sank in, my eyes widened, and some of my exhaustion seemed to dissipate.

“I made a breakthrough during lunch time and now know what kind of spell I need to save you.” Ivan lightly tapped on his notepad, his pen making a squeaky noise at the motion. 

I misheard this, right? My ears were surely playing a trick on me, so I opened my mouth. "You did? Does that mean…?”  I hesitated to finish my sentence, but Ivan understood nonetheless. 

“Yes, you’ll be back to your normal body soon!” The mage traced his writings with his pen. “It’ll take me two more days. Tomorrow, I'll work on developing and writing the spell, and after that, I'll collect the necessary components. Can you hold out a little longer?”

Ivan wore a warm smile as he explained the steps needed to complete the preparations for the spell.The sudden good news overwhelmed me so much that I could only nod in my utterly dumbfounded state. 

What also caught me off guard was Ivan’s enthusiasm about the procedure and everything. His very talkative and excited behavior made me think that I was probably the same when I talked about novels with my sister or my only friend. Seeing Ivan like this was oddly cute and endearing to me.

…

My face flushed at my thoughts, and I turned around a bit to hide my growing embarrassment from him, until I remembered I hadn’t thanked him yet.

“Thank you so much, Ivan,” I finally said, my voice thick with all kinds of emotions. “I don’t even know how I’ll be able to repay you…!” 

Ivan put the pen down and stood up from the counter, facing me directly. “You can shower me with praise and love when you’re back to normal❤︎~” His lips curled into a mischievous smile, and I felt myself becoming more rational in response. Despite my initial problems with Ivan’s teasing, I had become quite accustomed to it now.

Silence swept over us both, and no one dared to speak up.

I used this time to ponder over some unanswered questions from yesterday. 

“Ivan,” I called out his name, drawing his undivided attention before continuing. “I’ve been wondering. Does Dragan have some kind of way to contact you in case something happens?” There were no cell phones in this world as far as I knew, so how could Dragan and I inform him when the attackers made their move?

“There is none,” Ivan explained in an honest, yet neutral tone. “At least for Dragan directly.” His words hinted that there was more to it, so I eagerly awaited his explanation. “But for me, there are many. If these imbeciles were to attack Dragan and the barrier got damaged, I’d immediately sense where he was.”

Wait, did that mean the barrier served as some kind of tracking device or what was the theory behind it…? I shuddered at the thought of being on the receiving end of Ivan’s revenge, if simple spells as this had such side effects. 

Unaware of my inner turmoil, Ivan tapped the counter twice as he continued. “After that, depending on how far away he is from me, it would take me 3 to 5 minutes to get to his current location.”

“Do you plan on teleporting, or how do you plan to get to Dragan’s location?” I asked with genuine interest. As far as I knew, the Ivan I had read about only gained a teleportation spell sometime after Dragan had died. 

“Of course, I’d use a teleportation spell. It is the fastest method after all.” Ivan boasted, surprising me with his answer. I was both thrilled and intrigued to hear this. It meant that ‘this’ Ivan has gotten far stronger than his novel counterpart was at this point. Where did all these inconsistencies come from? Was it all related to me being here or…?

When I didn't immediately respond, Ivan calmly studied my expression for a while. The fact that he could teleport was useful for our endeavor, but we (Dragan and especially me) needed a way to contact him in case of emergency. If we found that missing piece, I knew it would calm my severe anxiety about this whole situation. 

Ivan sighed deeply, which drew my attention back to him. “You know, I realized something. I was too stingy with my spells.” He sat down on the counter in one quick motion, crossing his legs and tapping his chin as he smiled back at me. He reminded me of one of those confident CEOs from raunchy romance novels, perched atop the counter with an air of authority. 

“Starting from tomorrow, I’ll put up extra spells on both you and Dragan. A mind protection spell and a magic reflecting barrier should be enough to shield Dragan from attacks.” His blue eyes locked onto mine, as if waiting for my undivided attention before continuing. 

“As for you, I can’t put a magic reflecting barrier on you in your current state. However, I can offer you the mind protection spell right now. You look really worn out, and it might help you calm down.” His gaze softened when the topic switched to my health and it made my pulse rise. Ivan’s kindness towards me made me feel so vulnerable. I nervously clawed my fingers into the fabric of my pajama pants, uncertain of what to say or do. In the end, I simply nodded, hoping that the spell would help me focus.

Satisfied with my approval, Ivan stood up again to stand in front of me again in close proximity. He snapped his fingers, and a warm breeze blew past my head, enveloping me in warmth. Gradually, my anxiety began to dissipate, and my head felt a bit clearer than before. Not completely clear like I was used to, but it was still significantly better than before. 

“Thank you, Ivan. My head feels a little lighter now, ” I said, offering a genuine smile. There wasn’t much to smile about these days, but at this moment I felt quite relieved. I only needed to account for one thing, before all my anxiety was soothed. 

“There is still something that's troubling me,” I admitted, trying to get my point across. “I feel uneasy about not being able to contact you. If only there was a way to link us or use some kind of mind projection.” 

My words seemed to stir something in Ivan, if his intrigued and pensive expression was anything to go by. Hope blossomed in my heart that he might be able to figure out a solution to our communication problem.

“In my world, we had mobile phones which allowed us to communicate across great distances. It was similar to the communication devices of the guilds, with the neat detail that they are portable.” In my hope, I tried to explain more to give Ivan some ideas. If someone could make this work, it was him!

The mage pondered my input for a few minutes, still standing close to me. From the way his gaze would go through me, I could tell he was in deep thoughts. I didn’t want to disturb him, so I stood still even if I felt like taking a step back because of the close proximity to him. 

“Thanks to you, I’ve got an idea.” I jolted a bit, when he spoke up so suddenly, but his eyes calmed me down.

Ivan's eyes sparkled with newfound inspiration. “I’ll work it out before I get home, but now it looks like I need to get back to work.” He winked at me first, then shifted his gaze to the entrance door right behind me. The jingle of the bell informed me that it was time to leave now. I quietly waved Ivan goodbye and left his pharmacy.