Our next destination was a mining town located in the northwest region of the Empire. The distance from the city we had brought Nia from was quite far, so we spent most of our time on the road.

Aria, Serlyn, and Lapiria were either occupied with their own tasks or occasionally tried to appeal to the Hero. Every time, the Hero would handle their attempts with some fluster, maintaining good relationships with all of them. Despite all this, he never neglected his training or the subjugation of monsters, leaving me with the impression that he was incredibly diligent.

So what were Nia and I up to during this time?

"Master, I'm counting on you again today!" Nia called out with her usual enthusiasm.

We were focused on mana control and magic training. Nia needed to learn to control her magic on her own if she was to be a useful member of the party. So, that had become my priority in teaching her.

As a result, my time for research and development had been significantly reduced.

"So, what's the first step to controlling your mana?" I asked.

"Close my eyes and regulate my breathing," Nia responded confidently.

"Exactly. And as I’ve told you repeatedly, you already have plenty of lunar mana within you. You need to stop worrying about not being able to draw it out."

"Understood!"

With that, Nia sat down on the ground and closed her eyes, concentrating hard.

"Don't worry about the sparks flying. Just focus on drawing out as much power as you can," I instructed.

"Urgh…!"

After a while, small sparks started to flicker around her. The lunar mana surrounding her began to shift into the form she desired.

Since it would take some time for proper flames to form, I took the opportunity to look around.

Prrp… Prrrp!

In the distance, I saw Nightlux speaking to Nia’s horse. The poor horse looked tense, likely due to some kind of hierarchy being established between them.

‘Nightlux, you’re just like me,’ I thought with amusement.

While I was teaching Nia, it wasn’t all that different from establishing order. In both cases, we were imparting some kind of knowledge.

"Master, I did it!"

Despite having done this several times over the past few days, Nia was as thrilled as ever. It seemed just having me teach her was enough to make her so excited.

‘…She’s sweet,’ I thought.

If Nia had been more aggressive or silent, teaching her would have been a lot more frustrating. But because she was such a friendly and open person, she got along well with the other heroines too. This positive attitude reflected in her magic lessons, making her a joy to teach.

‘…I wonder how I was back then.’

I thought back to my days of learning magic from my own master.

I didn’t recall being as lively as Nia, but in the end, I was still happy to see my student succeeding.

‘A master’s greatest joy is seeing their disciple achieve great things.’

‘…It’d be nice if the last heroine was like this too.’

But that wasn’t possible.

The last heroine of the Hero’s party didn’t join with such ease. She would make her debut as an assassin sent to kill the Hero.

Aswell, the Hero, was beloved by women all over the world. From maidens in remote villages to princesses and noble ladies.

But not all of them ended up with the Hero.

In the original story, only the women who were part of the Hero’s party had romantic connections with him. The last member of that party was the assassin.

‘Her exact title, assassin or thief, was a bit unclear until the end.’

If we were to categorize her as part of a typical adventurer party, she’d probably be called a ranger or a rogue. But since her original role was an assassin, fans of the novel referred to her as the “Assassin Heroine.”

Honestly, I wasn’t eager to have her in the party. Her personality and racial traits made it difficult for her to get along with anyone but the Hero.

Still, I couldn’t ignore her importance.

‘How else would we find the path to the Demon Realm without her?’

To defeat the Demon King, the Hero’s party needed to travel to the Demon Realm. While there were other ways to summon the Demon King and his army to our world, the storyline that went that route was unpopular and poorly received. So, the Hero’s party had to venture into the Demon Realm, and only the assassin heroine could lead the way.

“Hm…”

“What’s wrong, Master?” Nia asked, breaking my train of thought.

“Nothing. Have you finished the next step?”

"Yes. I'm making sure the flames move steadily between my hands.”

“You have to master that before you can control larger flames. Be careful, though—one wrong move, and it could spread to our party members.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Nia focused intensely again, her face filled with determination.

She was supposed to meet us during our journey back to the capital after finishing the northern expedition. The exact timing and location weren’t clear, but we had to be ready for her appearance.

‘It’s best to be prepared early.’

It was similar to encountering a random event, like in a game.

[Every night, there is a 20% chance that the Assassin Heroine will appear.]

‘I’ll need to make sure she joins the party smoothly, just like with Nia…’

In the original story, just as Nia had suffered burns from the fire giant, the assassin heroine faced a similar situation. At that time, I had given the Hero a robe to protect him, but when it came to the assassin heroine, the event happened in the Hero’s bedroom, where there would be no chance to help.

‘…Will I have to sleep next to him, too?’

Thump.

‘…No, I mean, I’m still technically a woman.’

Doing so would risk causing misunderstandings with the other heroines. I needed to come up with something the Hero could wear while sleeping that would provide protection.

‘I’ll think about that later.’

“Master…!”

“Oh, careful! You need to focus your energy on your fingertips, not there…”

I helped Nia with her mana control, and we finished that day’s training.

Several more days passed.

In about a week, we would finally reach the mining town.

‘I need to gather some high-quality minerals there.’

My plan was to enhance the party’s overall defense.

Nia was currently the most vulnerable, so I’d prioritize crafting equipment for her.

‘After that, I’ll focus on the Hero…’

The other three heroines had already received some enhancements from me, so I could work on them at a slower pace.

‘I’ll need to engrave each piece with fitting symbols again. Maybe I’ll try something different from the gloves this time.’

Designing those intricate engravings was surprisingly fun.

‘…Maybe I’ll even engrave my symbol on the Hero’s gear.’

There was no deeper meaning to it—just something akin to how blacksmiths or artists sign their work.

Since the Hero was the best model for showcasing my magical tools, it made sense to mark his equipment. Of course, I’d already engraved my own tools and gear with my symbol.

‘It’d be great to design something that reflects both my identity as White Smith and the Hero’s unique characteristics.’

“Master, I have a question,” Nia interrupted my thoughts.

“What is it?”

“I’ve been curious about something I overheard…”

“Go ahead.”

“Is the Meteor spell considered earth magic or fire magic?”

Her question was so unexpected that I paused for a moment. I was familiar with this debate.

Back when I was active as White Smith, it was one of the common topics of discussion among mages. While I hadn’t participated directly in the debate, I had my own conclusion.

‘Still, I didn’t expect Nia to be curious about something like this.’

I wondered why she was interested, but then I realized there was a connection.

“Why? Are you hoping to use fire magic?”

“Uh, well, hehe…”

“Alright, Nia, let me explain.”

I led Nia over to a rock where the Hero was polishing his sword.

“Louis? Nia?”

“Watch carefully, Nia.”

I turned away from her and reached out to pat the Hero on the head.

“W-what? Why are you suddenly…?”

“Hold still for a moment, Hero. Now, Nia, what am I doing by patting the Hero’s head?”

“Uh… You’re using your hand?”

“Exactly. Now, watch this.”

I put on a white glove and patted the Hero’s head again.

“Now, what’s patting the Hero? Is it the glove or my hand?”

“Um… It’s your hand inside the glove, right?”

“Exactly. That’s why Meteor is earth magic.”

“Huh…?”

“Louis… What are you even talking about?”

“Here, let me give you another example.”

This time, I walked over to Nightlux, who was calmly munching on flowers. I gently swatted him.

Prrrp?

“Now, Nia, what hit Nightlux?”

“Your hand…”

“And now?”

Slap.

Prrprrp!!

“Your gloved hand…”

“Correct. Now think about it: when a Meteor spell hits an enemy, what actually impacts them? Is it the fire surrounding the meteor, or the meteor itself?”

“Um… the meteor?”

“Right. The meteor is my hand, and the flames around it are the glove.”

“…Ah.”

“Whether the glove is there or not, it’s still my hand doing the patting, just like how the meteor would still strike even without the fire.”

The meteor is the core of the spell. Without the meteor, the flames wouldn’t exist.

It’s like saying that a boxer’s glove doesn’t throw a punch—the boxer does. Or that a wheelchair doesn’t move by itself, but the person using it does.

That’s why Meteor is classified as earth magic.

“So… I can’t use it?”

“No, you can. You just have to do it in your own way.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Just hurl something big and on fire from the sky.”

“Wha—”

If you throw a massive boulder covered in flames from high above, that’s essentially the Meteor spell.

Nia looked slightly deflated, but I didn’t worry too much. It was important for her to understand her limits when it came to magic.

Besides, knowing her, she’d be happily humming and practicing magic again by tomorrow.

We continued Nia’s magic training for several more days until she was finally able to hold her own. Around that time, we arrived at the mining town.