A cloudy day with an overcast sky.

The city of Sandora, situated in the north, tends to be rather cool, and on cloudy days like this, it felt a bit chilly.

Yet, there’s something about this crisp air that oddly stirs excitement in people.

“Theo, hurry up! Come on!”

Narmi, walking far ahead like an excited dog out on a rare walk, called out. Even after over an hour of hiking, she showed no signs of exhaustion.

“According to the map, there’s an old cave and a ruin nearby! Hurry!”

“Hold on. Let’s take a short break. Even if I’m fine, it looks like Marmar and the others are getting pretty tired.”

Suk-.

I looked back.

Marmar, carrying a heavy pack, was struggling to climb over the rocks. The fast pace up front must have forced her to push herself.

Then, suddenly—

Crack.

The stone beneath her feet crumbled.

“Eek…!”

Marmar’s scream echoed.

For a moment, my vision spun, but Stella quickly reached out and grabbed Marmar’s hand.

“Be careful.”

I thought the bag and Marmar would be quite heavy. But Stella easily pulled Marmar up onto a large rock with one hand.

“I-I’m alive…!”

“Can’t afford to lose an excellent assistant.”

That’s right.

Stella and Marmar had a fairly close relationship. Marmar had worked as an assistant under Stella. But I didn’t have time to dwell on those feelings.

“Climb faster, Tartar…!”

“This pack is too heavy…!”

Looking down at the imps struggling below, I couldn’t shake a sense of worry. If things went on like this, someone might get hurt. So I decided to cast a spell.

—Fairy Steps.

“Aah-! My steps suddenly feel lighter-! My, Tartar’s feet, feel like feathers-!”

Magic that increases agility— Fairy Steps. It was my first time casting it on someone else, but judging from the reaction, it seemed to work well.

After walking a bit more, we decided to take a short break on the mountainside. Everyone looked exhausted, except for Narmi, who was the only one excited.

“Alright everyone, let’s do a headcount! Marmar, Tartar, Purpur! All here and accounted for. Professor Stella! Theo! Yep, all good.”

—Kyuiing.

“Yingying is here too! Okay, make sure you haven’t lost anything!”

After a few moments of Narmi’s bustling activity, I could finally let my guard down.

As everyone pulled out mats and small snacks from their bags and started munching one by one, the breathtaking scenery around us came into full view.

High.

That was my first impression. We were on Mount Bilfos, which stood as tall as Sandora’s walls, making everything below look small and cute.

Our reason for climbing this mountain was simple.

With only two days left before the opening of the martial festival…

We were here to retrieve the Queen’s Flame, one of the necessary items for the tournament’s opening ceremony. Normally, it would be customary to send a strong team of adventurers to gather it, but…

Due to the recent wyvern incident and other issues in Sandora, the city’s adventurers were all busy. They also lost contact with the previous team that had been sent out.

So, Narmi, Professor Stella, the imps, and I volunteered for this task.

“Let me remind you both again, Narmi-yang, Theo-kun. I’m only here as an observer and supervisor, so don’t expect too much help. Understood?”

It was as she said, Stella was here as a supervisor. The main players in this task were Narmi and me.

In Stella’s words, stepping back and observing was part of teaching the next generation…

“Alright, if everyone’s rested, let’s continue!”

Perhaps because of that, Narmi was overflowing with enthusiasm. The problem was that the imps struggled to keep up with her energy.

“I want to rest a bit more…”

“We just sat down…”

“Don’t you all want to go on an adventure? An ancient cave, an untouched temple awaits us!”

She’d been like this since earlier.

Of course, I understood why Narmi was so excited. She was stuck doing boring, mundane tasks, so having a chance to escape her daily routine made her feel ecstatic.

Her sister, Mirna, had graciously stepped aside to let her join this adventure.

But that wasn’t the only reason Narmi had come along. Mirna’s condition also played a big part.

━Sir Theo, before I teach you immortal arts, I have a condition. And that condition is… to tell Narmi instead of me….

It was not an easy condition.

But first, we should start moving again.

I clapped my hands and spoke.

Clap, clap.

“Alright, let’s all get going again. If we rest for too long, our bodies will become relaxed.”

* * *

In the middle of the mountain, there was a really big cave.

The cave was so large that it looked like the mountain was opening its mouth. The sharp, jagged stalactites and rocks resembled teeth, creating an eerie atmosphere.

“We finally made it! We followed the map exactly, and here we are!”

Narmi raised her hands in excitement, and the imps, equally relieved that they no longer had to keep climbing, lifted their hands in celebration as well.

“I’m so glad this exhausting hike is over…!”

I wonder what would happen when we go down later, but I’ll worry about that later. For now, I slowly stepped inside the cave.

Ziiing—

At that moment, something strange happened to Marmar who was walking ahead. Her tail began to glow very brightly.

It was Stella who reacted first.

“It’s a glowing tail. I’ve heard of imps with glowing tails before. But this is the first time I’ve seen one this bright.”

Marmar’s tail glowed so radiantly that even Stella was amazed.

It illuminated the dark cave like a fluorescent light, making any other light source unnecessary.

Then, Marmar shouted.

“…You can’t have my tail!”

She then hugged her tail close, as if trying to hide it. At her sudden outburst, Stella raised an eyebrow in confusion.