In a humble ally in Saddin, Purple petals suddenly flew around in the air, and Grace walked out from it.

“Oh, that’s Grace!” “It’s Grace!”

As Grace turned her head to the childish cries, she found some cute kids running toward her excitedly. One of them even jump-tackled her – she had become so tall that the jump was necessary.

This unexpected “assault” made Grace chuckle blushingly.

“Grace, what are you doing here? Nobody else’s around!” asked the leading, biggest kid, a.k.a. the girl who was hanging around Grace’s waist like a koala, staring at Grace.

“…I … am hiding a treasure,” Grace replied while trying hard to move forward with the kid hugging her. “…Who’s in for a treasure hunt?”

And suddenly all the kids rushed into the alley to look for a hidden treasure.

Relieved of over-energetic kids, Grace was about to walk away. However, on a second thought, she took out her staff and gently pointed to the ground, making a hole appear. Grace laid a tusk she found earlier in the forest, and put the dirt back upon it.

Before she left, she also drew a glowing cross on the pile of dirt as a hint, in case the children couldn’t find it.

As Grace walked down the streets, working villagers kindly greeted her, and some young men eyed her up. The former were replied with nods, while the latter was ignored.

Since Grace turned 13, she had been working in the village for two years, and had hence become the most famous girl, and more or less “Miss Saddin”: independent, brilliant, kind-hearted, “magically” talented. Her black hair was no longer an anomaly – instead, a symbol of privilege and unreachability.

People kept turning attention to Grace until she reached her destination, the magic stone store. At the front door stood a well-dressed butler with white hair and goatee. “Ms. Grace, m’lord is waiting for you,” said the butler, opening the wooden door.

…

…

In the store, the walls of the hall were occupied by classic six-layer shelves, filled up with a variety of precious stones. An exotic comforting smell was released from a turquoise incense stick burning at the glass counter.

Behind the counter stood a smiling young man, whose face was white and clean with pronounced features: his black eyes were mysterious and attractive; the thick eyebrows and the aquiline nose showed toughness but not sternness, and his blond hair covered half of his forehead.

His formal black silk outfit indicated his status; the ring worn on his middle finger bore a delicate emblem of a hawk; his body always presented an aligned posture.

His name was Neolla Aifnis. He was the eldest son of the Duke whose land included the insignificant Village of Saddin.

Therefore he was the future ruler of this place and was also…

… the person who took care of this store, where Grace worked, for the past few months.

“…Neolla,” said Grace to the young nobleman …

“So here you come, Grace. This is the ‘Lifesaver’ you asked for.” Neolla put an elliptical jewel in front of Grace as he spoke.

Grace was surprised by the good news. She carefully picked up the “Lifesaver” and examined it, feeling lucky that she received it just in time.

This precious magic stone had been the main purpose for her to work here.

In a “Lunar Crystal” mine, a kind of rare item which is called “Lunar Core” could be found from time to time.

A “Lunar Core” is also known as “Lifesaver” because after being placed under a continuous, homogeneous source of magic power for one month, a special reaction gives it the ability to cancel any deadly damage for one time.

However, besides the difficulty to find it, to produce homogeneous magic power, it requires exactly ONE mage to work non-stop for thirty days, which is impossible for someone with an ordinary MP. In conclusion, “Lifesavers” are as rare as hen’s teeth.

The stone in Grace’s hand has a gray color, which implies that it has not been activated, but it did not matter for Grace, as she found that she was just fine with that.

“…Thank you, …about the price …,” said Grace as she put the Lifesaver into her [belt satchel].

“Don’t worry about that,” Neolla stopped Grace with a warm smile. “You can have it as a gift. By the way, I’m going back home in three days,” he continued, “Please come with me, and we can go to the capital later when the Academy starts. My family will be most happy to meet you. Also, I can look for an advanced mage to help you activate the Lifesaver …”

“… Thank you for your kind suggestion,” Grace interrupted, “…but I can take care of my trip myself. In addition…” Grace took out the pelt from her back and spread it on the counter. “…I am ready to pay.”

Neolla was shocked and did not know how to react. In contrast, the butler rushed to the counter and stared at the fur.

“The chest pelt of a Tyrant Ape!?” cried the butler.

“…Yes, exactly. It’s the one which survived the last hunting,” said Grace, her mood turning blue because of the aforementioned hunts. Since “that incident” happened, it had been impossible for Grace to face Walson. Walson had not talked to her either.

“Th-this would be worth d-d-double the… No, maybe triple…” said the butler in a shivering tone. He failed to evaluate it precisely, but Grace didn’t care about it.

She just wanted to make sure that the pelt was enough for paying.

“…I also want to return these books… you can have them back now.”

Grace took out several magic books, which included “Falling Swords of Light”, and stacked them on the counter.

“…The extra from the pelt should also cover the book…”

Hearing this, Neolla ceased his silence.

“Grace, somehow … it seems that you don’t want to accept my help,” said Neolla coldly, “Of course, you can keep the books, they were meant as gifts. Take your time to study them.”

“…I don’t like owing anybody.” Grace did not mention how she finished learning from them in a few days. “…And my contract here ended yesterday… Please keep my unpaid salary as a part of the rent for the books.”

Neolla, whose face contorted, unable to find a proper facial expression, went into silence again.

“…Well, I have to go,” said Grace, “…Good bye, My Lord.” Grace took a bow and swiftly turned around.

Everything here is over, so…it’s time to talk to Walson…

Going to the capital means drifting apart from Walson… No way! I don’t want to! Especially without saying good-bye.

At least…I must fix the relationship. I must apologize to Walson for “that incident”…

With this thought, Grace trotted toward the exit, but she was stopped at the door by Neolla’s words.

“Gr… Ms. Grace.”

“…?”

“I’ve just heard that recently bandits showed up around this village. Please be careful.”

“… Thank you. I will.”