Chapter 83
“Two of the horses specially gifted by the Grand Duke have died.”
“Gasp.”
At Albert’s words, Cheryl behind him gasped and covered her mouth.
“Was anyone hurt?”
“No. I’ll make sure those in charge of their care are punished.”
At Albert’s firm response, Evelyn shook her head.
“Leave it be.”
“Pardon? You don’t want to punish those who failed to properly take care of the horses the Grand Duke gave you?”
She nodded.
If this wasn’t a coincidence and had something to do with the evil god, then similar incidents would likely continue to happen.
There was no need to react to each and every one.
“They must’ve been startled by the sudden situation too. Give them some leave to help them calm down.”
At the unexpected order, Albert took out a handkerchief. As he dabbed his eyes gently, Evelyn let out a soft laugh.
He’s more sentimental than I thought.
After seeing Albert deal with a monster one day, she finally understood why he remained as the Grand Duke’s butler.
Just a single strike.
The clean, precise way he wielded his sword was more impressive than any knight in the order.
Perhaps Albert was on the verge of transcending to the next level.
The servants who knew her secret were already training at the ruins.
They would likely all reach the level of high-ranking knights soon.
“More importantly, I’ll be leaving with the Grand Duke tomorrow. The Tower Master and Raven as well.”
They were finally going to visit the seal of the evil god, something they had been putting off.
After the party, the imperial princess had been constantly hovering around her as if to monitor her, leaving no time for anything else.
Lately, she’d been alternating between the Grand Duke’s castle and the territory.
“I’ll prepare everything necessary.”
“Pay extra attention to the Princess.”
Albert bowed deeply and left the office.
“What should I tell Tinya?”
“Tell her I went to the snowy mountains to find my brother.”
Since they’d have to climb halfway up the snowy mountains, the return time would probably match. Evelyn also decided to take care of the monster that the Barrett Knights were supposed to handle.
The holy sword had been pestering her for a while about when they’d go monster hunting.
[Finally! My time to shine has come!]
At the excited voice of the holy sword, Evelyn stifled a laugh.
Honestly, it might not have much to do. Raven had recently advanced his magic circle level and wanted to test his strength.
They’ll probably end up competing over who gets to kill the monsters.
“That one’s mine!”
Boom!
A massive fireball shot from Raven’s hand, burning the monster to a crisp.
[Aaaack! That human stole my monster again!!]
She had thought maybe, but the moment they entered the snowy mountains, chaos broke loose.
“Hohoho. Your mana control has become even more refined.”
Galph smiled proudly at his disciple. It wasn’t just that his magic circle had advanced — he was carefully building his formulas to achieve optimal flow.
It was awe-inspiring.
“Hrm, hrm. I did raise an excellent disciple.”
As he watched Raven move ahead, the Tower Master couldn’t hide his joy.
“Let’s move quickly.”
Elliot followed behind at a leisurely pace. Evelyn and Raven were in charge of monster extermination.
[Evelyn! You’re late again!]
“Hey! Let me at least get one!”
“Then move faster.”
As the holy sword’s nagging echoed in her head, Evelyn snapped back, and Raven casually picked his ear.
“Magic is faster.”
“Can’t I move faster than magic?”
Seeing the condescending look in his eyes made Evelyn bristle.
If it weren’t for the holy sword, I could’ve stayed as relaxed as Elliot.
[When are you going to help me growww!!]
Driven half mad by frustration, the holy sword screamed. Evelyn clenched her fist.
“So you’re telling me to move faster than magic?”
As if she’d found a hint in his words, Evelyn smiled. Raven flinched and stepped back.
He suddenly remembered that his friend wasn’t entirely sane.
“How can a human move faster than magic?”
“You don’t know until you try.”
Grrrraargh.
Just then, a monster appeared.
“Lightning—”
Crack!
“….”
Before the incantation was even complete, the monster was dead. Even Galph and Elliot behind her were at a loss for words.
Just moments ago, the two older men had been murmuring like grandpas about how different the youth were these days, but now they just blinked in silence.
Evelyn had cleanly sliced off the monster’s head and was shaking the blood from her sword.
[Kyaa! You finally learned acceleration! Faster! Even faster! Faster than light!]
The holy sword, drunk on the monster’s blood, rejoiced at Evelyn’s accomplishment.
“What… was that?”
“You told me to move fast. So I did.”
Satisfaction welled up inside her. She couldn’t even clearly remember how she moved, but it felt like she folded space while running.
Warping worked on a similar principle, she recalled.
Evelyn looked down at her legs in disbelief.
Apparently, she had learned whatever it was the holy sword kept talking about.
Am I slowly stepping beyond the realm of humans?
“Hah. Nothing’s faster than magic.”
“Why? You said it was possible.”
Irritated at having his moment stolen, Raven ruffled his hair roughly.
Clearly, his pride was wounded.
Seeing right through Raven’s feelings, Evelyn smirked. It had been a while since she got one over on him.
“I’ll be faster next time.”
“Try me.”
Grinning, Evelyn strode ahead. Before Raven could open his mouth again, she began slaughtering monsters.
Once she got going, Evelyn’s movements grew faster and faster.
“Aaaagh! Evelyn!!”
And each time, Raven screamed in frustration.
“Ha ha ha.”
Evelyn’s satisfied laughter echoed in Elliot’s ears.
‘My hero seems to have completely forgotten about me.’
Wasn’t this too close to be just childhood friends? Watching her ignore him completely, Elliot narrowed his eyes at the pair.
Not that anyone here really needed a bodyguard.
All they had to do was travel straight up to the mid-mountain region — but watching Evelyn and the mage together put him in a sour mood.
They were once engaged.
Seeing them now, Elliot suddenly recalled something that mage had once said.
“Oh?!”
This time, Raven’s magic killed a monster almost as fast as Evelyn.
Evelyn’s eyes widened with pure joy. Her face lit up with sincere delight at her friend’s progress.
Elliot didn’t like that expression — it was one she’d never shown when she was with him.
“Raven, move your will.”
Galph, watching them fondly, offered advice to his disciple.
“Sometimes, your will can move faster than your words.”
Raven’s eyes grew deeper at those words — he had gained some insight.
“Want to go again?”
Evelyn nodded with a smile. Elliot found himself wanting to drag her gaze away from the mage.
Watching Evelyn run with a bright smile, Elliot kept putting his hand on his sword, only to let it fall again and again.
✦ ✦ ✦
“Phew. Amazing.”
It was Galph’s first time up the snowy mountains, and he was in awe at the view below. The endless stretch of white snow was breathtaking.
Even the Grand Duke’s fortress could be seen far off in the distance.
“So the knights use this place as their base during subjugation missions?”
Galph chuckled in disbelief.
The North really is full of madmen.
A dense, ominous aura was rising from the lake — unpleasant, but not enough to affect their bodies.
Galph levitated over the lake and struck the surface with his staff.
The seal of the evil god, hidden beneath the water, revealed itself.
“It really is connected to the magic circle in the ruins. That’s why the snowy mountain has remained stable.”
Galph inspected the seal from different angles and nodded.
“If the seal had been left alone, this entire area would’ve been corrupted.”
“That serious?”
Raven followed his master onto the water and asked. The seal gave off no feeling to him at all.
For a moment, it looked like a green current surged from the seal below, but it quickly sucked itself back in.
“They added multiple layers of magic circles and connected them to the ruins…”
The ancients’ wisdom was truly impressive.
“Is there any chance the seal could break?”
“None. It’s perfect. I have no idea how anyone would even unseal this or bring about a resurrection…”
Galph frowned and inspected the seal thoroughly.
“Do you see anything different?”
At his master’s question, Raven shook his head. There were some ambiguous flows, but nothing that would impact the seal.
They were too subtle to matter.
