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Kaen asked with a tilt of her head. Having lived in the mountains since she was young, she was almost ignorant of anything outside the mountains.

Rodiven was a little taken aback and thought to himself, Has she only lived in these mountains?

Elphon’s academy was the largest on the continent and even among the residents of small rural villages, it would be difficult to find someone who had never heard of it.

Rodiven realized that she was completely ignorant of the ways of the world.

“Well, the Academy is…”

“I don’t know what it is, but you’re a mage, so what kind of magic do you know how to use?”

Rodiven felt a bit distracted. Did she know about magic, too?

Oh! This is not the time to be talking about this.

Rodiven belatedly recalled the existence of the monster that had driven him into a life-threatening situation.

Although he managed to escape with teleportation, he might still be traced. Skilled mages could even detect the faint traces of magic power.

And there was no telling how far away this place was from the point of teleportation.

Even if he wasn’t being tracked by magic, he could easily run into him again if the distance wasn’t too great.

Rodiven grew impatient and said, “Where did your father go? There’s something I need to tell him…”

“I know a bit of magic, too. I haven’t seen anyone else’s magic besides my father’s, so I was curious.”

“No, this is not the time to talk about that…”

Rodiven tried to interrupt Kaen but ended up being momentarily speechless.

Kaen, who had lit flames in her hand, moved them around in the air and said, “I know how to do fire magic. Actually, I’ve only learned basic elemental magic so far.”

“…”

Rodiven looked at the flames dancing in the air with astonishment.

Fire magic belonged to the elemental magic category, and it’s one of the beginner-level magic spells that even novice mages could do.

However, Rodiven was surprised by Kaen’s magic deployment.

She did it so naturally, with no signs of concentration.

Magic was the process of converting the nature of magic power. In the process, intense mathematical calculations took place in the mage’s mind, requiring extreme concentration.

Therefore, even a simple magic spell like the one just performed by Kaen was only possible for mages at a high level of expertise.

To Rodiven, Kaen’s simple act just now looked no different from a three-year-old juggling.

But did she say she only knows elemental magic?

Feeling a sudden surge of curiosity toward the girl in front of him, Rodiven asked, “Did your father teach you magic?”

“Yes.”

“How long have you been learning?”

“It’s been less than half a year. Why do you ask?”

…A beginner level mage who had been learning magic for less than half a year?

Rodiven wondered if Kaen was lying.

However, her nonchalant blinking eyes made it seem unlikely that she was lying or boasting.

Even if it was a lie from the beginning, the magic that she just displayed was definitely not the level of skill that only a few young magicians could show.

Genius.

That’s what they call people who beat such common sense into the ground.

Rodiven looked at Kaen with weak chills running down his spine.

That was when a heavy presence approached, and a roar was heard.

Breaking through the bushes, a huge animal appeared in the yard of the cabin. It was a deer with four horns.

At the sudden appearance of the monster, Rodiven immediately raised his power and spoke to Kaen.

“Step back…”

No, he was about to say that.

With a sudden leap, Kaen shot forward like a missile and punched the giant deer in the jaw with her bare fist. There was an explosive sound as something burst.

The deer, with its head suddenly twisted, collapsed to the ground. It was killed instantly in one blow.

“Monsters sometimes come to the house. Most of these creatures have tough meat and taste bad.”

Landing on the ground, Kaen brushed off her fist and said nonchalantly.

Rodiven, who was about to cast a spell, withdrew his outstretched hand and looked at her.

This child, what level of martial arts does she have…?

Didn’t she just know magic?

No, after seeing what just happened, her martial arts skills seemed much higher than her magic skills. She easily defeated a monster of that size.

“Well, there you are.”

The man who had disappeared appeared in the courtyard. A basket in his hand was filled with what looked like grass roots.

Rodiven turned his head, amazed again that he hadn’t noticed his presence until he was so close.

He was beginning to seriously wonder who these two were.

“Father, did you go to gather herbs?”

The man glanced briefly at the fallen deer.

“Did another monster come?”

“Yeah.”

“Get rid of it quickly, before any other monsters show up. And don’t just leave it near the cabin, bury it properly.”

Kaen grabbed the deer’s antlers, shaking her head as if she was annoyed. As she dragged the massive deer away, the man turned his gaze to Rodiven.

“Are you planning to leave right away?”

“Oh, no. No, sir.”

Rodiven, momentarily distracted by Ka’an’s talent, turned his attention back to the important matter at hand.

“There’s something urgent I need to tell you about. It’s related to when I passed out and fell.”

“….”

Although the man didn’t seem particularly interested in Rodiven’s situation, he nodded his head for him to continue.

The two men went back into the cabin and sat facing each other at the table.

“So why did you pass out alone in this dangerous place?”

Rodiven pondered how to start the conversation before speaking up.

“Do you happen to know about demons?”

“I don’t really know much about them.”

“…It’s a bit sudden, but from now on, everything I say will be the truth.”

The man crossed his arms as if to listen.

“First of all, though it is late, let me introduce myself. I am Rodiven Pershma, a professor at the Elphon Academy.”

“Hmm… Elphon.”

The man’s reaction upon hearing his identity was ambiguous. At least he didn’t seem ignorant of what the Academy was, unlike Kaen.

Rodiven carefully observed his reaction and continued speaking.

“The reason I came to this mountain range was to conduct magical research, and I needed samples of various monsters.”

“I see.”

“But while I was here, I saw an unidentified monster. Judging by the aura of magic I felt, it was undoubtedly a demon or its contractor.”

Once again, the man’s reaction was extremely ambiguous.

Demons were beings that had once plunged the world into a pit of despair. Some people were so afraid of them that just hearing their name would make them shudder.

However, the man’s response was tepid at best. All he did was raise an eyebrow in surprise, as if it was unexpected.

“I see. A demon, huh.”

Rodiven didn’t understand his reaction, so he spoke a little more.

“He was no ordinary demon. I’m a pretty good mage, if I do say so myself, and I’d say I’m not too far behind the high-ranking mages of the Imperial Court or the Magic Tower.”

“…”

“He was playing with me like that. If it wasn’t for a stroke of luck, I would never have survived.”

“So what do you want to say?”

“No, it’s pretty obvious, isn’t it? It’s not safe here anymore. You and your daughter should leave this place as soon as possible.”

Rodiven had no intention of leaving without explaining the situation.

Maybe the demon was still after him, and if they were in danger because of his encounter with it, it would be his own fault.

“I am truly sorry for bringing this danger to your home. However, the demons may be searching this forest for me, so please…”

“No need.”

The man shook his head, cutting Rodiven off.

“Our business is our own. If you have no other business, you may leave.”

Rodiven stared at him in disbelief.

Hadn’t he given him a proper explanation?

They had to leave now, to avoid a catastrophe.

But the man’s demeanor didn’t suggest that he would.

Rodiven had a plausible guess at the man’s identity.

A man raising a daughter alone in the remote mountains, and a daughter whose abilities, both physical and magical, seemed far beyond those of a normal child of her age.

It was not unheard of for a retired knight or mage to retire to the mountains to live out the rest of his days; there had been others before him.

Of course, the man’s appearance was youthful for such a thing, but it was not uncommon for a man of his caliber to slow the aging of his body.

He hadn’t gotten the hint earlier, and now that they were face to face, he couldn’t get the slightest idea of the other’s level.

Therefore, Rodiven assumed that the man was at least as powerful as he was.

“Do you think that even if you were to face this demon, you would be able to subdue it?

If so, this man really needed to be stopped.

The difference in power between Rodiven and this demon was enormous.

No matter how skilled this man was, he didn’t think he could stand a chance against him.

“Don’t be silly, please. The magic I felt from him is really… Listen, do you hear me?”

Rodiven felt a pang of frustration as he watched the man turn his gaze to the entrance of the hut, paying no attention to the conversation.

Then the man spoke.

“I think it’s already here.”

“What?”

A moment later, Rodiven felt a shiver run down his spine.

That ominous aura of magic. It was the demon.

“Oh, oh no…!”

Rising from his seat, Rodiven followed the man as the other walked briskly outside.

Outside, the scene before them was a horde of things surrounding the hut on all sides, slowly closing in on them.

Black and massive, wafting with smoke, they had a strangeness and otherworldliness about them that made them far from ordinary monsters.

“…”

The man’s gaze shifted to the side.

There, in the middle of the unidentifiable horde, far in the distance, was the demon. It was the monster Rodiven had spoken of.

***

The journey was neither long nor short.

I looked at the great mountain peaks that began to appear in the distance.

We had arrived.

This was the Ramon Mountain Range.

The home of the current heir to the Holy Sword.

“Is this the place?”

“Yes.”

I answered the question of the hero flying beside me.

What they had to do now was to search the entire mountain range to find the heir.

“Asher.”

“Yes, Sir Ron.”

Riding behind me, Asher answered my call a beat too late.

What’s wrong with her?

She seemed uncharacteristically distracted.

On the surface, it seemed like it was because of the hero, especially since Asher started acting like this after talking to the hero.

What else could it be?

Taking care of Asher was important.

But now that we’ve reached our destination, we need to focus on the Heir.

“We’re going down. Let’s take a break and then start tracking.”

“Yes.”

I lowered my altitude and headed down the mountain range.