"So, you're saying these guys attacked Roman and now they're trying to deny it?" "That's exactly right."

The captain of the guard, who had been listening to the conversation between Fiona and me, glared at the group of four rookie-robbers with such intensity, it looked like he might kill them on the spot.

What if he had believed their lies? What if, because of their connection with the Grand Duchess, he had turned on me and framed me as a criminal?

By now, that captain would probably be stripping off his uniform.

In the captain’s eyes, those four must look like assassins who tried to drag him into the abyss.

"Grand Duchess, please believe me. I will take full responsibility for this, conduct a thorough investigation, and reveal all their other crimes. I’ll ensure they receive the punishment they deserve." "Can I trust you?" "Yes! Captain of Guard Squad 17, Burden! I swear on my career!"

As expected from Fiona. She knows how to command respect.

While Fiona was disciplining the captain, I turned to the four who looked even paler than before and sneered at them.

It seems they thought their connection with the captain would save them.

But strong connections always fall in the face of even stronger ones. That’s how the world works.

'Consider this a valuable life lesson.'

The demons grumbled in disappointment that I didn’t deal with them personally, but I much preferred this outcome. After all, I’m not some psychopath who enjoys killing.

Plus, it’s cleaner this way.

Fiona, who had swiftly settled the situation, left the captain with a warning to stay vigilant and then approached me.

"Roman, I’m sorry you had to see this mess." "Not at all. They were just making baseless accusations."

Although they nearly succeeded.

But in the end, they didn’t.

Fiona’s expression lightened a bit, and she smiled warmly.

"Shall we move to a more comfortable place rather than stand around here?" "Well... wait a moment. Mea, is that alright with you?"

I turned to Mea, who had been quietly observing the situation from behind. After all, I was still under her guidance.

Realizing Mea’s presence, Fiona quickly introduced herself.

"Oh, I’m so sorry! I should have introduced myself earlier. I’m Fiona McManus, an apprentice explorer from the Sigun forces. Roman and I trained together at the academy. And you are?" "Mea. No surname. I’m from the Telema school." "Telema school...?"

Fiona squinted as if trying to recall something. It seemed she couldn’t place it.

Her eyes narrowed further until, at last, recognition dawned on her, and her eyes widened in realization.

"I remember now! Telema school... right. Sorry, it’s just been so long since I’ve heard that name..."

Fiona waved her hands frantically in apology, but Mea didn’t seem to care much.

"It’s fine. It’s a minor school." "Ah... sorry about that." "Let’s just move to another place."

Even with the Grand Duchess, Mea spoke casually, but Fiona didn’t seem to mind.

Her indifference to such authority—was this just an elf thing?

In any case, the three of us followed Fiona’s lead to a reception room.

Once we were seated, Fiona asked, "So, Roman, have you joined the Telema school?"

"No, not really. I’ve only applied for training."

"Hmm..."

An odd response.

I wonder if she’s still bothered by the fact that I turned down her suggestion to join Sigun that night. She must think that because I’m training with a minor school like Telema, I’ve become a target for rookie-robbers.

With Mea present, I quickly changed the subject.

"So, Grand Duchess, weren’t you supposed to be heading out on an expedition?"

"Originally, yes, but I decided to tour the three divisions of Sigun instead. If you had joined the expedition, I would have been there with you."

Right. Fiona is the Grand Duchess, possibly the future ruler of the city.

Though she’s third in line, no one knows what the future holds. It makes sense for her to solidify her support by touring the divisions.

But the way she mentioned me in her reasoning makes me think my guess was spot on.

"Haha..."

"Don’t worry. I was only joking. At first, I was disappointed, but now I think you made the right decision."

"Thank you for saying that."

Her gaze was warm, almost like that of a mother watching her son grow up, or perhaps a master watching a disciple leave to find his own path.

Fiona... is younger than me, though.

"By the way, Grand Duchess, have you heard anything about an undiscovered ruin?"

"An undiscovered ruin?"

Fiona’s question wasn’t one of confusion. It was one of curiosity, as if she were wondering how I knew.

"Actually, Theresea went to investigate it."

"Theresea?"

Number 11 from our academy days. Fiona’s close friend. A promising member of the Blostma school.

As I quickly ran through the details of Theresea in my mind, I remembered she had decided to do her training at Blostma, her original school.

"Mea, it looks like we might be too late."

"Seems that way."

If a large school like Blostma was involved, it was practically over. Even if we followed, they would’ve already taken the best parts, leaving us with scraps.

"But there’s something suspicious about it."

"Suspicious?"

I repeated, curious.

"I heard the information came from a man named Vallen, also known as the Shadow Hand."

"You know that too?"

"I heard it from those rookie-robbers."

"For a bunch of rookie-robbers, they sure knew a lot. Or maybe it’s only natural... Anyway, Roman, you’re right. But the problem is..."

Fiona frowned, her face reflecting a mix of displeasure and unease.

"The problem is that Vallen denies having provided that information."

"...False information?"

"I don’t think so. It seems too credible to be a simple lie."

She explained that there had been disturbances in the mana field and reports of monsters leaving their territories, suggesting that something unusual was indeed happening.

"Roman, could you investigate it for me? Honestly, I only learned of this after sending Theresea, and something about it feels... off. I wouldn’t want to suggest that something happened to her, but... Well, never mind. It’s between us."

Between us?

That’s a bit too suggestive of a phrase, don’t you think?

Especially with Mea’s gaze growing even sharper as this conversation continues.

"If you need anything, just tell Sigun. I’ll make sure they listen to you."

"Thank you very much."

"Oh, it’s nothing. It’s just between us."

Yes... between us. It’s not just me reading too much into this, is it?

"Alright, then. We’ll head off too. We’ll check in on Theresea if possible."

The conversation with Roman didn’t last long.

Fiona had other duties to attend to, and she couldn’t keep Roman for too long.

But surely, a brief moment to savor the afterglow of the encounter was permissible.

Fiona held the teacup Roman had been drinking from, feeling the faint warmth still lingering on the handle.

As she traced the rim of the cup with her finger, she reflected on the Roman she had just seen after almost a week.

'He’s found a place that suits him better than Sigun.'

Had Roman joined Sigun, she would have given him access to a vast amount of research on demon warlocks. That included highly confidential information about the names and sigils of demons.

Telema likely didn’t have access to that kind of information, and even if they did, they wouldn’t share it with an outsider like a mere trainee. Roman would have had to establish himself, prove his worth over time, and eventually earn that knowledge through tradition.

But Roman had chosen Telema over Sigun.

'A school of demon warlocks... It has a long history, but it’s on the verge of collapse.'

Instead of choosing the easier path, Roman had chosen the harder, deeper path.

'That’s just like him.'

Roman was a hard worker.

Fiona admired people who worked hard.

She yearned for that title herself—because it was one she could never claim.

She worked hard, harder than anyone in her family.

Every morning, she rose before dawn to meditate, expanding her mana vessel. She practiced magic until she collapsed from exhaustion.

But her achievements were never labeled as "hard work."

'As expected of the Grand Duchess of McManus!' 'What remarkable talent!' 'The great bloodline continues...'

They looked not at her, but at her heritage, her talent, her family.

Fiona’s hard work was overshadowed by the great McManus name.

So she made a vow.

She would be different. She would look not at someone’s name, or birth, or talent, but at their effort. She would remember the sweat and tears they shed in secret.

And she knew.

She knew the effort Roman had put in back at the academy.

It was the same now.

Even if she couldn’t see him, Roman was still working hard somewhere, just as he always had.

Not just today, but tomorrow. And beyond.

"...I need to train more."

She wasn’t ready to be surpassed just yet.

As soon as we left the guardhouse, we departed the Main Base.

If the ruins were real, we needed to reach them as soon as possible. And if they were a trap, we would need to help Theresea if she’d fallen into it.

So, we hurriedly left the Main Base, barely giving it a glance, and walked for a long while.

Mea’s gaze never left my face the entire time.

Once we reached a less populated area, Mea finally broke the long silence.

"Roman, what exactly are you?"

"What do you mean?"

"Between us."

"Ahem."

"The Grand Duchess practically oozed honey when she spoke to you."

"It wasn’t that much."

"Could it be... is it that?"

Mea asked in a shaky voice, which was unusual for her.

I answered immediately.

"No. Absolutely not. Don’t even joke about that."

"Right. It wouldn’t be, would it? After all, she did say 'between us.'"

Mea quickly accepted my answer without any hesitation.

Well, that stung a little.

"Hey."

"Yes?"

I wondered what she was going to say this time. Then, completely out of the blue, Mea dropped a bombshell.

"Do you want me to teach you how to summon my contract demon?"

"Theresea! From now on, just trust this senior!" "Yes, yes." "That’s not enough spirit! Show more energy!"

Sigh.

Theresea let out a small, almost inaudible sigh that no one else could hear.

This senior is... really something.

Her energy level is too much... this pink-haired...

Before Theresea could complain, their companions intervened.

"It’s still daylight, Senior Priscilla. Please go easy on her." "Yes, you know how things are for Theresea." "Oh... that’s true. Ahem, alright. But! Once we get inside, you’d better give it your all! Understood?"

Why did it have to be this person leading the group?

Theresea answered with a mix of regret for not choosing Sigun and resignation.

"Yes."

She was already feeling drained, and they hadn’t even entered the ruins yet.

'Let’s just finish this quickly and go back.'

With Priscilla's energetic pep talk, the eight-member exploration team from the Blostma school entered the ruins.

A day passed.

Out of the Blostma exploration team, only two survived.