“Umm… not to be rude, but aren’t you a bit too young to perform a surgery on a live person?” I asked.

“I am the Saintess,” came the unhesitating reply.

“Well, by your own admission, my mother is considered a great talent among your organization. And even she hadn’t dealt with anything more complicated than a broken bone when she was your age. Definitely not eye surgery.”

“I am the Saintess,” she repeated. “My talent is better than hers, and I had the best teachers in the world.”

Frustrated, I raked a hand through my hair. It seemed I wouldn't get my point across by being obtuse about it.

“Look, I’m aware that you are the Saintess, that you are extremely talented and that you had the best teachers… But how much practical experience do you really have? Ceres is my wife, and as of now, she can see perfectly well with the help of her glasses. I’m not really convinced that we should risk her going blind if something goes wrong with the surgery, just for some cosmetic benefits.”

She stared at me in silence for a while. Then she reached into one of the pockets of her bandolier and pulled a spherical object out.

Really, those pockets of hers reminded me of a children’s tale I had read about a young boy and a blue cat that had a pouch of wonders. Whenever the boy got in some trouble, he would turn to the cat and it would pull out some wondrous item, which, while seemingly solving the problem, would actually create several more, to hilarious consequences.

She held the item out for my inspection. I recoiled in abject horror when I realized what it was.

‘What the fuck! What the hell is she doing carrying a godforsaken eyeball around in her pocket!’

“This is an eye,” she said unnecessarily. “It is an eye that has been processed into a magical item. It is a training tool that we use to simulate the actual organ for risk-free practice.”

At her words, I looked closer at the macabre object. An unfocused brown pupil stared back. I shuddered. Shaking off the creepy feelings, I concentrated, bringing both my vision and my soul sense to bear.

Immediately, the runes popped out at me in a shining riot of colours swirling across the surface of the item. They were tiny, each smaller than a sesame seed and they belonged to all six elements. Using my soul sense, I could distinguish a few of the simpler functions: preservation, moistness, lightning, manipulation, warmth, reinforcement… I couldn't even begin to guess how they would all tie in.

It was the most complex bit of runework I had ever seen.

“How… how does it work?” I asked in awe.

“Should I demonstrate?”

I nodded eagerly.

For the first time since I had met her, an emotion disturbed the calm pools of her eyes. It was extremely flitting, the ripples smoothing away near-instantaneously, but—

‘Did she just smile?’

Reaching into her pocket yet again, she pulled out a ring with a tiny mind crystal fragment embedded in it and slipped it on the index finger of her right hand. I felt her pushing her mana into it. The mana jumped from the crystal on the ring straight to the eyeball, which meant that a connected shard was attached to it.

The runes on the eye came to life as her mana flowed through it and it floated up from her palm. Then suddenly, it spun around and focused on me, its gaze no longer dull.

I noticed that the Saintess had closed her right eye.

“Of course, making this item merely a training tool would be too much of a waste so they added a few extra functions,” she said.

Another pulse of her mana and it turned invisible. If not for my soul sense, I wouldn't even know it was there. The perfect spying device.

Making it visible again, she let it float back down onto her palm.

“The lightning runes let me mimic the signals from the nerves, the shadow runes let me manipulate it, the water runes keep it moist, the time runes preserve it and stop it from decomposing and the fire runes provide the energy it needs to keep running.

“The runes let me alter, set and manipulate every parameter of this eye. If I do it right, I can perfectly mimic the eye of my patient. Then I can practice all I want without the risks associated with it.”

It was the first time she had spoken so many words at a stretch. It seemed like she really liked the item. I was glad to see some enthusiasm in her. It made her seem like a normal girl, rather than an emotionless doll.

“And what exactly would the surgery entail? I was under the impression that normal healing magic would not work in this case... You don’t have to tell me if it is a secret of your organization," I quickly added.

She shook her head.

“The basic concept isn’t much of a secret… only the exact procedure.”

Her mana pulsed and the eyeball glowed. Then she handed the control ring over to me.

“Here, wear this on your right-hand index finger and close your right eye.”

I complied.

“Then push some light mana into it.”

I did. And my vision shifted. Suddenly, I could see myself through the perspective of the eyeball. The view though was quite blurred.

“That’s what your wife’s unaided vision is like.”

I cut the mana and my vision returned to normal.

She pointed at the eyeball and a thin beam of light emanated from her fingertip and formed a spot of light on it. “I use a very controlled Beamforming spell to reshape the cornea. It requires a very steady hand and immaculate mana control, but this way I can provide a lasting cure to any vision troubles one might have – be it near-sightedness, farsightedness or, in your wife’s case, astigmatism.”

Then she stopped talking and concentrated. The pupils of her soft brown eyes grew slitted like a cat’s and her gaze became intense. Even her fluffy white ears turned towards her work. She sank into a totally focused state, and stayed like that for the better part of the next hour as I watched.

Halfway through, her forehead scrunched up and her tongue poked out of the corner of her mouth. Finally, with a sigh, she released her magic and sank back into her chair.

“Try again,” she urged.

I nodded and pushed my mana into the control ring again. My vision shifted again, but this time, it was crystal clear.

This was amazing… she had practically sculpted the eye into the proper shape. With light!

She waited for me to take in the change, then dropped her sales pitch.

“As the sign of our goodwill, I am willing to impart the details of this surgery to you, and by extension, your mother. Even… this item… we are willing to offer it to you as a gift.”

Did her voice just waver? Even though there was no outward change in her expression, why did it suddenly look like she was on the verge of crying?

“Ah… no, no. Please. I couldn't accept such a precious gift. Although I am no expert in such things, this is clearly the work of a Grandmaster artisan. It would be way too much.” Before she could try to convince me again, I forged ahead. “Your demonstration has convinced me… I accept your offer of friendship and I would be very grateful if you would heal my wife. Just… could you share the knowledge of the surgery with me beforehand. I want to be there during the procedure.”

She nodded and held out her hand. I took it. We shook.

“Friends.”