Chapter 306

Inside a small hut in the forest, a blonde girl had a frown on her face. Like a nagging woman, she asked the man, “Ah. Hey, you did not eat your food again.”

“...” The man did not bother giving the girl an answer. In fact, he did not even look at her.

“Hey, look here. Are you a being that can live without eating?”

The man continued to ignore the girl, who was Illyna de Pallan.

It was but a coincidence when Illyna had found the fatally wounded man inside the dense and thick forest. She had been very surprised to see another being inside this forest toward the end of her closed-door training. After all, this forest was only open to the members of the Imperial Family.

For someone like her, who had not met anyone in a long time and had only been wielding her sword all alone, she found the man to be a slightly welcome guest.

Closed-door training was usually done in caves, and Illyna did begin her own training in that way. However, after undergoing a series of several processes, she began to use the entire forest as her training grounds. That was how she had found the man who had been on the verge of dying.

After that, she had taken the man to the small hut that she was living in, treated his injuries, and had even provided him with food.

The man hadn’t been able to properly get up at first, but after a few days he had recovered to the point of being able to open his eyes and speak.

“I can’t believe that you’re skipping your meals when you were just in a very dangerous situation and needed urgent treatment. Are you trying to die again? After I’ve saved you and everything?” Illyna said, approaching the man slowly with a frown on her face.

She was annoyed by the man’s silent treatment.

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The moment Illyna came closer, the man raised some kind of black energy and aimed it at her neck. He was warning her to stay away from him.

“...”

“You’re not surprised?” The man asked calmly, “I thought you would have become wary of me the moment you saw me using dark mana.”

“I know a guy who uses dark mana very casually. Besides, I don’t have any reason to be hostile to you just because you have dark mana, right? Can you clean up a bit for me? No matter what I think, this attitude is a bit too much for your benefactor.”

Not doing anything, the man simply asked, “Why did you save me?”

“Why did I save you? That’s not a funny question. Isn’t it natural to save a dying person? Well, as long as you’re not a vampire.”

“You know about vampires?”

“Much more than you think.”

Illyna had a very strong resentment against vampires. However, that was not the case for any other species and races.

“So, you’re just a very unusual human being.”

“I didn’t save you so I can hear that. Listen... Ah, what should I call you?”

“...”

“Ah! You’re really frustrating!” Illyna shouted angrily, reaching out to snatch the man’s black energy that was pointing at her neck.

Shocked by her sudden actions, the man quickly wiped out the sharp black energy in his hands. Just one wrong move and the situation could have become dangerous. She could have been seriously injured.

“See. You don’t even want to hurt me,” Illyna said calmly.

Sitting on the bed that the man was lying on, she held out a spoon to him from the soup bowl that she had prepared. She said, “You know, I don’t know what’s going on with you, but your death will only make me very restless. I think I might even dream about it for the rest of my life. Listen, I helped you out of my own selfish reasons. Don’t be mistaken.”

“...”

“What are you going to do? Are you not going to eat and live? Are you just going to die stupidly like that without even struggling?”

“...You should have just left me alone.”

“What a funny thing to say,” Illyna said with a frown. Then, with a gentle smile, she said, “If I’ve left you alone, then you’re probably already dead by now, you know?”

“...”

“So, stop annoying me. Just shut up and eat some of this.”

The man stared at Illyna for a long time. In the end, he opened his mouth and let her force a spoonful of soup into his mouth.

“There we go,” Illyna said.

Her face brightened as if she was no longer irritated. She gave the man spoonfuls of soup one after another.Alll latest novels at novelhall.com

“You know, my friend. He’s a doctor, but he can also use swords, magic, and he even practices medicinal arts.”

The man just hummed quietly.

“According to that guy, even if the person is an enemy that should be beaten to death, you have to treat them first as long as they are sick. Then, you can beat them to death right after,” Illyna continued calmly as if she was recalling her friend fondly.

“Well, I don’t practice medicinal arts, so all I can do for you is some simple emergency treatment and inject some holy mana in you.”

“...”

Rumbleee...

“I’m saying this, just in case, but I have seen several cases here and there.”

“Similar cases?”

“Things might just be a mere coincidence. However, from what I gathered with my meager knowledge and insight, all these cases seem to be related,” said Hellison.

Davey was surprised by how relevant this information was. The old man went on to say that there had been several cases of people suddenly disappearing through a similar route that Collin had taken all throughout the continent.

One could say that it was common for people to go missing in such a wide world. However, strange events like Collin’s disappearance were bound to be noticed.

Davey left the Great Sage’s office after having a brief conversation about the situation. Then, he headed to the room that had been prepared for him and Winley. And just like he had expected...

“Davey, Rinne has evaluated that Rinne is highly dissatisfied.”

...an upset Rinne was waiting for him. She rushed over and grabbed the hem of Davey’s shirt, openly complaining with the same expressionless face she always had.

Noticing that Rinne was very angry, Davey asked, “How have things been?”

“There’s nothing to see. Ah, there’s one thing. There is a report about Miss Winley.”

Then, Davey raised his head just in time to see Winley come out of their accommodations.

Winley’s eyes grew wide when she saw Davey. She shouted, “Brother!”

She was currently wearing the same robe that was worn by the Red Tower’s mages. She hadn’t exactly been a member of the tower, but now that she was having the robe on...

“I see, you’ve joined the Red Tower.”

“Ah... You found out immediately. I wanted to surprise you. Hehe,” Winley said as she stuck out her tongue and arranged her messy clothes. “Sir Yulis invited me to join the small research team that he has formed. He said that he needed the help of a talented young mage that has already reached the 4th Circle.”

Davey nodded quietly at his sister’s words.

Josiah might be in a similar situation, but Winley was at a higher level in terms of magic. Although Winley did not study in the magic academy and had taken a different direction, her talents were still obvious. After all, she had reached this level by actual combat and practice.

“That’s why I’m going to stay here for a while longer.”

“It’s a bit concerning to leave you here now, especially when the tower is now a chaotic mess.”

“Hnngghhh... Can’t I?”

With just one look at Winley’s expression, Davey could tell that she really wanted to stay here. He said, “If you really want to, then you can.”

Then, he looked at Rinne with a bright smile on his face. “Rinne, how’s Annabelle?”

“Rinne reports that she’s been staying in the Heins Territory as a salary thief. Rinne reports that she is very laid back and relaxed.”

“Then, we should bring the rascal here. She can protect and ensure Winley’s safety in the meantime.”

Annabelle was the only member of the new golem fleet, the Avengers Squadron. Although her combat capability was slightly lacking when compared to the Decepticon Fleet, her magical ability and efficiency were leagues beyond theirs.

Taking that into consideration, Davey had deemed Annabelle to be the best prospect to protect Winley. After all, she would be able to stay by Winley’s side without drawing unnecessary attention.

Well, in the first place, Davey had made the Avengers Squadron not for direct and frontal combat but for assistance from the rear position.

Of course, the Heins Territory was quite far from the Red Tower. However, that was something that could be easily solved by using a couple of Warp Magic.

“Thank you, thank you very much! Brother!”

“However, there are conditions. Never overdo it. And if you’re treated unfairly...”

Winley had to, without hesitation, tell Davey. She had to tell Davey everything, especially if someone treated her unfairly. And if that happened, Davey would take down the tower with no hesitation.

Winley smiled as if she was taking Davey’s words as a joke.

“It seems like I need to have a conversation with our dear Yulis.”

Why? Because even though there was a big age difference between them, the bastard kept on reaching out to Winley.

‘It’s useless to raise a daughter!’

—That child, Winley, is not your daughter.

‘I don’t care!’

“Davey, Rinne has something else to report.”

“Hmm?”

Rinne tugged the leg of Davey’s pants and handed him a small piece of paper, which had a code that was used for secret communication.

Usually, a magic crystal ball would be used for communication. However, a magic crystal ball was considered as a magical tool and one had to meet several requirements to use it freely. Fortunately, secret communications and codes still existed in this world.

The code was a small letter carrying the royal seal of the Rowane Kingdom. With a single glance, Davey could tell that it was a letter that Baris had sent to him. His eyes grew wide when he saw the contents of the code, then he frowned.

The content of the code went like this...