Chapter 39
“Are you alright?”
Ethan Behemoth asked, tilting his sword slightly to shake off the blood.
“You were the one who fainted at the hunting ground, not me.”
What are you going to do about it? I managed to endure even that hunting ground.
I replied with a faint smile, and he nodded expressionlessly.
“Then we’ll clean up here and regroup later.”
…Is that it?
I was kind of teasing, but his reaction was so dull.
At least he didn’t say anything about me deliberately throwing myself into danger again, so I could consider it some progress.
I lightly nodded, checked that Ethan was heading left, and looked to the right.
Monstrous creatures the size of houses bared their fangs and let out chilling cries.
If these aren’t dealt with now, a month from now, the Crowell territory will face a massive wolf-monster invasion. And my little sister would die in the process. She wasn’t the type to lose her life to mere wolf-monsters.
Ever since I experienced that future once, I’ve never skipped cleaning up these monsters.
Alright, let’s deal with them.
Ethan calmed his terrified horse with one hand while thrusting his sword sharply at the wolf-monsters charging at him.
Even while mounted, his swordsmanship didn’t falter, showing no sign of being weaker in battle than on the hunting ground. The harsh, grueling experiences there had brought him a leap in insight.
Now, moving with a proficiency that no longer made him a student, Ethan efficiently took down the monsters and frowned.
After dispatching roughly dozens of them, no more charged.
Soon, the ground around him was littered with wolf-monster corpses.
‘But…’
Animal-type monsters mimic the instincts of the animals they resemble.
So wolf-monsters act like wolves. They live in packs, and there should be a leader somewhere among them.
But among the monsters he had killed, there was no alpha.
“No leader, huh.”
Ethan muttered, lifting his head.
Had they gone toward Edith?
The fact that Edith Crowell survived the hunting grounds alone was enough proof of her skill, no explanation needed.
But why did it feel so uneasy?
Ethan couldn’t understand why he, of all things, was overly worried about Edith.
Was it simply because she had once tried to take her own life in front of him?
Or because she constantly acted recklessly in dangerous situations?
Or perhaps…
Not long after he guided his horse toward the direction Edith had gone, he came across her.
The sunset turned the forest red, scattering dazzling light through her pink hair.
Amidst the blood-scented crimson forest, the young lady stood in a pristine dress, completely unblemished.
It was Edith Crowell.
Even to the naked eye, the wild magic swirling around her raised hand was visible.
Edith killed the wolf-monsters from a distance with just a gesture, not giving them a chance to attack.
Thud!
Wolf-monsters three times her size fell lifelessly without making a sound. Some tried to flee, only to be caught and destroyed.
Ethan couldn’t tear his eyes away from the scene.
…Was Edith Crowell really that skilled?
Or had she been holding back even during the hunting ground?
Or perhaps… she had reached a level of insight in just a few days at the academy, like him.
No, none of it.
That precision could only come from real combat experience.
Though he swung his sword without leaving any aftereffects, Edith’s clean-up was more absolute—leaving nothing behind.
Even if someone discovered the wolf-monster corpses, they could hardly tell their original form.
Finally, Edith snapped her fingers at what appeared to be the alpha of the wolf pack, dispatching it cleanly.
Crack, a sound of flesh tearing and bones breaking.
A cool breeze through the forest carried away the heavy scent of blood.
It was the beginning of winter in Crowell territory, wasn’t it?
Even in this gruesome scene, not a single branch of the forest was broken. Her skill was frighteningly precise.
Ethan watched Edith’s back silently, only making a sound when she had finished cleaning up all the monsters.
She turned to notice him, offering a thin smile in the sunset.
“Have you finished dealing with them as well?”
“Yes.”
After the duel, Ethan Behemoth confirmed once again: Edith Crowell was a monster equal to or even beyond him.
‘This is bad.’
I smiled as if unfazed, quickly hid my hands from Ethan, and released the gathered magic.
‘Rimos Therion… I won’t forgive you.’
I guessed that the gesture Therion made when stepping off the carriage, kissing the back of his hand, was tracking magic—but it was apparently something else entirely.
My magical power increased dramatically.
What trick had he used? It felt like endlessly drawing water from an inexhaustible spring.
Thanks to that, I could wield magic far more freely than before, even if not to the level of my previous life.
It was a rare feeling of liberation.
The problem was that the unpleasant aura from Rimos Therion’s magic began to seep into my own magic.
A sensitive person would notice immediately.
Perhaps only the academy principal would detect it.
‘…Still.’
I glanced at Ethan again.
‘He seems to have improved considerably.’
I tried to quickly finish before he noticed, but he caught me immediately.
Ethan’s skill had clearly developed far more than I thought.
Even someone like Ethan Behemoth should have taken longer to face such a number of monsters.
‘To finish this fast…’
Compared to his previous life, he had grown leaps and bounds in just a few years. Same for me.
Normally, I would have had to track fleeing wolf-monsters and search the territory for hidden ones until the moon rose.
Using Ethan made things much easier.
But this shortcut came with its price, thanks to Ethan Behemoth.
“Edith.”
He approached.
Surely, she would ask how I knew something like this was near the territory.
I closed my eyes and opened them, answering confidently.
“Yes.”
It was fine to say it was a mission from my parents.
…Not even a professional hunting squad, just a baron’s daughter tasked with monster hunting? Ridiculous! Even in my imagination, that excuse falls apart in three seconds.
But contrary to my worry, Ethan, who had lifted me to the saddle, asked something unexpected.
“You really planned to handle these on your own?”
“…Ah, yes. Well…”
Ethan held my hands on the reins and said quietly:
“You’re still just a freshman at the academy. Isn’t this too much?”
I couldn’t see his expression, but he didn’t accuse me.
“…Yes. I’m fine.”
‘…He doesn’t doubt me at all, does he?’
I had hidden many unusual things from him, yet even now?
I couldn’t understand why he showed such unwavering trust.
Even in past lives, Ethan Behemoth had never doubted me for any reason.
He’s not usually a trusting person. So why only me…?
‘Don’t think too much.’
I shook off the thoughts, grabbed the reins, and urged the horse forward.
As we entered a rougher mountain path, a strangely passable trail appeared.
Sensing the oddity of the place, Ethan lowered his voice.
“What is this place?”
“It must be used by those conducting illegal trades. It’s remote and seldom traveled.”
But now wasn’t ‘that time,’ so there was no need for caution.
‘That time’ would be a few weeks later, when many Crowell villagers would be abducted.
The first time I experienced it, I struggled to find the villagers who had disappeared without a trace. Later, I discovered they were held right near Crowell territory.
Since then, in each cycle, I arrived in Crowell territory timed to prevent the abductions, handling both the wolf packs and kidnappings.
This time, arriving early, the area was empty.
Even the stone houses meant to hold abductees were likely empty. I would stop it before then.
Passing by the poorly stacked stone houses, I signaled Ethan.
“See this? Take note for future investigations if something suspicious happens…”
I stopped mid-sentence.
…Why do I already sense someone nearby?
