The huge sphere of mana burst out with a roar.

The head of the King Serpent disappeared without a trace, and its body lost all movement.

Ethan Richard Blackwood witnessed it all with his own eyes.

 

“…” 

“…”

 

I could feel some of Ethan’s emotions in his bewildered eyes that looked at me.

I had no idea how to come up with an excuse.

 

『Lilith has reached level 7!』

『Lilith has reached level 8!』 

『Lilith has reached level 9!』

 

…In the midst of this, the level was still rising for defeating the boss monster.

It was a rather modest level up, considering I used Mana Blast to defeat the King Serpent.

I thought I could reach Level 12 if I did well since it was a monster that gave 6,000 XP when killed. [GalaxyTL/Axiomatic]

Seeing that I only gained about 2,000 XP, it seemed that the distribution was applied only to the members who participated in the King Serpent hunt.

The remaining 4,000 probably flowed into Seraphine and Ethan at 2,000 XP each.

 

‘…Will this affect the original story?’

 

Originally, this much XP was supposed to be split between Seraphine and Agnes, not the three of us.

2,000 or 3,000 XP was an amount that absolutely couldn’t be ignored. Perhaps there would be some changes in Agnes’s story.

…Well, what’s the point of worrying about others now?

I’m in a situation where I’ve been caught red-handed by Ethan for being a commoner who can use magic.

He’s not just anyone. He’s Ethan Richard Blackwood.

 

“Li-Lilith…”

“…”

“Was that just now… your doing, Lilith…?”

 

…It’s no longer possible to shamelessly cover it up by pretending not to know.

Seraphine had recruited me on the condition of keeping my secret, so given her personality, she probably wouldn’t go around telling others.

In Ethan’s case, the fact that he found out was the problem itself. [GalaxyTL/Axiomatic]

Even in the original game, Lilith began to be exploited by the scumbags in earnest after it was revealed that she was a commoner who could use magic.

 

‘So she was essentially like a dedicated buffer for the scumbags in the early part of the story.’

 

Of course, I’m not worried that the current Ethan would do something scummy like that.

The current Ethan didn’t seem like the type to threaten Lilith using the fact that she could use magic.

In fact, if you think about it, I even saved his life by using magic in this situation, so he should be grateful instead.

 

“Miss Lilith! Come here, quickly!”

 

Just as I was pondering what words to use to make an excuse to Ethan, I heard Seraphine’s voice urgently calling me.

Having a good excuse, I gave a short answer to Ethan and shifted my gaze to Seraphine.

 

“Since the princess is calling, I will explain the details when we return to Blackwood Manor.”

“Ah, okay…”

“Until then, please keep the fact that I used magic a secret from others…”

“Ah, I won’t. Don’t worry.”

“Thank you.”

 

After bowing my head one last time, I ran to Seraphine as she was trying to pull something out from inside the severed neck of the King Serpent.

It didn’t take long for me to realize that it was the leg of a palace guard who had been swallowed.

 

“Miss Lilith, help me! We can still save him! If we cut the serpent’s body and open the hole a bit more…”

“Ah, yes!”

 

Watching Seraphine do her utmost to save even one more life until the very end, I slowly cut the King Serpent’s body with the silver dagger I received from Lizzy.

Thanks to her effort of not giving up until the end, we were somehow able to save two of the guards who had been swallowed alive.

…Of course, it was an undeniable reality that we had achieved this victory at the cost of even more sacrifices.

Argentian Empire, Southern Gate Shelter.

 

BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!

“Kyaaaaah!”

“Wha-What?!”

 

The southern gate shelter, still engaged in a melee with the endlessly slithering lake serpents, also reacted with considerable confusion to the sound of an explosion reaching their ears.

Although it was only the southern gate entrance, monsters had already invaded inside the palace.

In the midst of that, a huge explosion sound suddenly rang out.

Everyone’s attention was momentarily focused on that huge explosion sound as if it was a terrorist act targeting the entire palace.

Some began to react noisily, thinking that there might be another attack after the monster wave.

 

“Wha-What?! Could it be another attack?!”

“We need to run away now…”

 

Even those who had started fighting with proper formation were looking around in bewilderment.

The first to notice the anomaly was a certain soldier of the palace guard.

 

“Huh, huh?!”

 

The monsters, which had been clearly targeting and attacking people until just now, suddenly began to show strange behavior.

The lake serpents, looking confused as if they had lost their purpose, began to twist their bodies in place; except for the individuals that had already died or started fighting, the monsters began to act in one of two main ways. [GalaxyTL/Axiomatic]

Either they hurriedly returned outside through the southern gate entrance they had invaded, or they began to fight with other nearby monsters according to their natural instincts.

The skilled palace guard soldiers could instantly grasp what it meant, quietly sighing with relief in their hearts and hastily cleaning up the remaining monster remnants.

 

“The monster wave has ended! Finish it up quickly!”

“…It’s over?”

“I-Is it over now?! Then quickly, our carriage…”

“These damn monster bastards! Die! Die, you bastards!”

 

A young noble, who had been focusing on fighting in a defensive stance, showed a hollow expression at the words that it was over.

A young lady from somewhere began preparations to return home as soon as she realized the situation had ended. [GalaxyTL/Axiomatic]

Even a foolish young noble, who had been hiding the whole time, rushed at the fleeing monsters in anger. 

Their reactions varied, but in the end, the emotions everyone had in their hearts converged into one.

It’s safe now.

The monster wave that had driven the entire palace into chaos had ended.

They didn’t know who had defeated the boss monster of this monster wave, but anyway, that fact wasn’t important to each of them right now.

Just the momentary feeling of securing safety from a life-threatening situation was enough to make such trivial issues not worth paying attention to at all.

 

“…”

 

There was one more person.

Among the noble children showing various reactions as soon as they realized the situation had ended, there was one young lady who had distinctly different thoughts.

Unlike others who thought they wanted to rest a bit now or wanted to return home quickly, the young lady of August was quietly setting a different goal in her mind.

…The young lady named ‘Lilith’ had been facing monsters with a single silver dagger in front of her until just now.

 

<Miss Lizzy, stay there and don’t move.>

<If you happen to run off somewhere else, I really might not be able to protect you then.>

 

Lub dub. Lub dub. Lub dub.

 

As soon as she recalled what had happened, her heart began to beat as if it were shaking for a moment.

She had felt the emotion of ‘wanting to become close with this person’ several times while engaging in social activities.

But the emotion she was feeling now was definitely something clearly different from simple affection.

That figure of hers. Lilith had evacuated her to a safe place and shielded her from monsters with her entire body.

That back of hers. Lilith had gallantly dealt with the rushing lake serpents one by one with just a single silver dagger.

Even after the monster wave had ended, Lizzy’s mind was still quietly recalling only that situation.

As she stood there in a daze, lost in thought, her younger brother from August ran up to her with a worried voice.

 

“Sister…!!!”

 

Her younger brother, who had gotten off the carriage that was about to return home as soon as the monster wave situation occurred, participated in the palace defense.

As soon as she saw his stupid-looking appearance, Lizzy felt the thumping emotion from before go sour.

A beat late, she lightly kicked Caraham’s shin with the front of her shoe as he came to protect her.

 

Bam.

 

“Argh!”

“Hey, Caraham! Where did you wander off to during the monster wave instead of protecting me?!”

“W-Well, I had no choice! Monsters had already started rushing to the carriage parking lot, and if we hadn’t defended the southern gate, the carriages would have been wrecked, and all of the horses would have died…”

 

Bam. Bam.

 

“I almost died, too, while you were gone! Are the lives of horses more important than mine?!”

“N-No, sister! Of course, your life comes first!”

 

…How many times had she suffered in a single day because of this stupid younger brother?

Lizzy thought that and vented her meaningless anger on poor Caraham.

And yet, she felt a contradictory emotion of slight gratitude towards Caraham, who had briefly left her side.

If Caraham had been next to her when the monsters entered the inside of the southern gate, she would have been safe from beginning to end anyway.

And the situation where Lilith protected her probably wouldn’t have happened.

 

“Hmm…”

“Sister? Why did you suddenly become quiet…”

“Shut up, Caraham. I have something to think about for a moment.”

“Yes…”

 

The young lady named ‘Lilith,’ whom she met today, was someone she had never seen or heard of before…

…to the point where she even absentmindedly guessed that she might be a young lady from a viscount or baron family.

Perhaps that could actually be a possibility. She had attended this masquerade ball as the partner of the young noble of the Blackwood family.

There was also a possibility that Ethan had created a ‘fake fiancée’ to shake off the bothersome young ladies who were rushing to him as the young noble of the Blackwood family.

In fact, Lizzy’s guess was half correct.

 

‘If I investigate all the branch families of the Blackwood family…’

 

If she investigated the households that belonged to the viscount or baron families among the various branches of the Blackwood family, it would be possible to find out which family ‘Lilith’ was from.

The problem was that a family as prestigious as the Blackwood Ducal family had countless branch families of viscount rank or lower due to its long history.

If she poked around carelessly, the Blackwood family might become suspicious and think that she was spying on them.

In reality, using this method to find ‘Lilith’ was virtually impossible.

 

‘If not that, then…’

 

Ethan Richard Blackwood’s official age was 22 this year.

Next year, he would turn exactly 23, which would essentially be his last chance to enroll in the academy.

As the young noble of the Blackwood family, he would probably not miss the opportunity next year and enroll in Luminor Academy.

Although his physical age might be a bit younger as he’d been placed under a curse for a considerable time, the academy’s enrollment criteria had to be based on everyone’s actual age equally.

And if the young lady named ‘Lilith’ continued to act as Ethan’s ‘fake fiancée’ until then…

She would probably also enroll in Luminor Academy next year to match him.

 

“…”

 

Lizzy Lynn August had already taken the entrance exam once last year but failed due to a lack of magical talent.

Having clearly realized her lack of magical talent, she had planned to focus on social gatherings instead of putting effort into other areas.

But meeting the unidentified young lady she met today was enough to change her mind.

 

“The academy entrance exam… should I try it one more time?”

“Huh? Didn’t you give up on entering the academy, sister?”

“I only gave up because I thought it was more advantageous. …Now, I’ve changed my mind a bit.”

“Is that so! Then, starting today, I will teach swordsmanship to you, sister…”

“You idiot, who said I’m going in with swordsmanship? There are other ways to enter the academy, so you just focus on preparing for your own entrance exam.”

“Y-Yes…”

 

Originally, she would have given up on entering the academy after failing once.

But for Lizzy, it was the moment she gained the will to challenge the academy once again.v