After our little “date”, we made our way back to the inn. Her inn, to be exact—the one she and her party were staying in. It was smaller than the one I was in, so the rooms might be cheaper. Well, I liked my luxury. A lot of cheap inns didn't have fireplaces inside their rooms, which would be problematic in a cold winter like this.

"Thanks, Hugo!" She smiled and grabbed my hands. "That was fun!"

"Glad you liked it!" I replied with my own smile. "Well, I'm going to go back to my inn now!"

"Y-you know." She started stuttering her words. "W-why don't you come to my room for a bit?"

...Oh wow, seriously? She's even bolder than I thought.

"Well, I'm actually about to—"

SPLASH

Cold!

Cold and wet was what I felt on my face, skin, and clothes. It was as if someone just poured a bucket of water onto me.

Wait, that's exactly what just happened, wasn’t it?

I didn’t know it at the time, but if I had looked up earlier, I would’ve seen a bird made out of water flying above me. It had exploded into a burst of water, raining down from above while dropping the letter it had been carrying inside it.

"K-kyaaah! W-what was that?!"

Amelie's scream broke me out of my stupor. I quickly looked above me to search for the culprit, only to find nothing. There wasn't any balcony above us and it certainly wasn't the rain either.

I moved my gaze back down.

Ooh, nice!

The water had soaked Amelie's white shirt, turning it translucent. I could see that she wore a pink bra today.

"Charles, look!"

She pointed towards the ground. Reluctantly, I followed.

Hmm? That's…

There was a roll of parchment that wasn't there before.

I bent over to pick it up. It was tied by a blue ribbon, and the parchment seemed to be completely water-resistant, as it wasn't wet in the slightest.

I undid the ribbon, and then I rolled it open. Amelie scooted over beside me, wanting to read it as well.

Dear Charles Pendleton of the Divine Tempest. Or, should I say, Hugo Greenwood.

You probably have already noticed the familiarity of this handwriting you’re currently reading. Rest assured that you are correct. I am indeed the same person that sent you that letter to your family a year ago.

Here I write to you an invitation. If you truly care about your two adventuring friends, then you will come to the heart of the Merkel Forest. Alone.

I would say that I simply wish to talk, but we both know that’s not going to happen. You shall never surrender to us, not after what we did to your dear sister.

So come. In exchange for your life, you’ll be able to save theirs. Isn’t that quite the noble end, o Heroic Dragonslayer?

P.S. Feel free to come with others if you want. However, I can’t guarantee their safety. I do not like taking lives without reason, so please, don’t give me one.

P.P.S You really shouldn’t have played the hero. You’re just like your big sister, too prideful to hide your own strength.

My body shook.

My legs wobbled, seemingly turning into jelly.

"Charles, w-what—what does it mean?! Are Anne and Anton—"

I barely heard Amelie's panicked voice.

...This is it.

This is the day.

They have come. 

And I am not ready for them whatsoever.

Thanks to my search for the Orb, the thought of them had slipped my mind completely.

And now they have taken them hostage, just so they can get to me.

Of course they would do such a thing. I should’ve expected it.

I am such an idiot.

"Amelie," I croaked. My throat had suddenly become hoarse all of a sudden. "Stay here. I'll save them."

"What?! No! I'm coming with you! They've been kidnapped right? Then let me rescue them as well!"

"No, you're not—you're not strong enough.” I shook my head. “You can't face them. Not with your current strength."

“I know I’m not as strong as you! But I can’t just abandon them!”

“No. You’ll just—you’ll just become a liability.”

I didn’t want to say it, but it’s the truth.

Naturally, she didn’t take it well. Her expression rapidly switched from surprise, to that of sadness, before switching again into anger.

“How dare you! I am Amelie of the Faragour noble house! I’ll have you know that I was trained in the art of magic with the best tutors! And they all said I was a genius at it! I might not be as talented as you, but I will never become a burden to you!”

Her eyes were now shimmering with tears. I now knew without a doubt that she really wanted to go with me.

“I'm sorry."

Before she could defend herself, I cast a strong gust upwards below her.

WOOSH

The wind lifted her skirt, revealing the fact that her panties were pink as well. It didn't stop there however, as it began shredding her clothes.

"W-what are you—Kyaahh!"

Yes, it was an undressing spell. It was the best way I could think of to stop her from following me.

…What, you want to know why I have such a perverted spell in my repertoire? Well, I might be able to use it against Sherry, with her permission of course. There's nothing wrong with doing that kind of stuff with your girlfriend, right?

“Stay here, alright? Don’t worry. I promise I’ll bring them back safe and sound.” I gave her the best comforting smile I could muster.

After my mind imprinted the half-naked body of Amelie, I promptly fled, using my Wind Step to move as fast as I could.

All I could do now was pray that they hadn't killed those two. If they died because of me…

A flash of memories resurfaced, of those three adventurers that died under my watch.

I smiled grimly.

I really should stop making friends with strangers.

----------

When I arrived at the forest, I slowed down my movement. It would be foolish to rush when they could very well be laying a trap for me to fall in.

The letter says the heart of the forest. And where is that exactly? Don't tell me they're waiting right at the region where that treant is. No, they should already know about it. If they have researched me that much, then they would know where the treant is as well.

I could use my summons to scout my surroundings, but they can only be out for a few minutes. 

In the end, I entered alone, without any backup. I couldn't bring other adventurers into this. They might just kill Anton and Anne before running. Hell, they could've killed them already. I wouldn't know if they were still alive or not! All I could do was trust on the off-chance they decided to be merciful.

I did have one way to guess where they could be though, which was through the monsters living in this forest. They must have exterminated all the monsters in their area, just so they couldn't interrupt their operation. So the less monsters I saw, the closer I should be to them.

Hmm? That's—

My eyes were abruptly drawn to a peculiar object that shouldn't be there. It was your ordinary, run-of-the-mill rabbit, only it was entirely made out of water. The creature gave me a short look, before hopping away deeper through the forest.

That's it! It's their guide for me!

I immediately bolted to chase after it.

They probably used something similar to deliver that letter. Maybe like a bird or something.

All this water manipulation means I'm most likely going to be up against a water mage. That's a good information to have.

As I chased the rabbit, I kept my eyes on my surroundings. It very well could be leading me into a trap.

I continued like this for a bit until I reached a small clearing.

And there, I finally met them face-to-face.

There were two of them. One wore what looked like your traditional witch's outfit. The other wore leather clothes similar to what an adventurer would wear. A sword was attached to his waist.

The swordsman and the mage. And the former is a non-human, most likely a sea folk.

Behind them were Anton and Anne, frozen inside two blocks of ice. Only their heads were outside, just so they could breathe. They seemed to be unconscious. The ice was melting, forming a puddle around them.

"Welcome." The blue-haired witch spoke. "My name is Elunmidis Brine, the daughter of Selendia Brine, one of the Magocracy's Council members."

Her expression was dripping with smugness. It reminded me awfully of the expression Vera once wore.

Wait, Selendia? That's—

A jolt of memory suddenly resurfaced. I met that woman. In the front of that tower when I went to Mira. That scary woman is her mother, huh?

And Elunmidis. I think I've heard that name before as well. Didn't Marina say something about her?

Oh right! She's the unpleasant girl she met! The bubble mage!

Bubbles. Got it. Gotta watch out for them.

"As you should hopefully already know, I came here to dispose of you. However, I do have an offer."

"If you're going to tell me to come with you back to the Magocracy, then that's not going to happen."

"Oh? Straight to the chase, are you? But you see, it's the best option that you have. You can't win against me. Not when I already know all of your new, fancy spells.”

If I have to guess, she must learn it from the adventurers who saw me battling that dragon.

This is exactly why I never use my custom spells unless I absolutely need to. And unfortunately, they’re the only way I could beat a monster of that caliber.

 And besides…"

The man beside her immediately moved his blade towards Anne's neck.

"...Fine. I'll hear you out."

"Great!" Her grin grew even bigger. "So, my offer is simple. Be my husband and work under my mother. Work for the sake of the good of the Magocracy. We'll pardon your murder of Vera as an exchange."

"And my sister?"

"Oh, she too can come. Mother doesn't have a male child so you don't have to worry about her being forced into another arranged marriage. In fact, since she's such good friends with that Alincia girl, she can join the old man's household instead."

"But she has to be serving under the Council as well."

"Of course! You and your sister—you both have great talents in the art of magic. It would be a shame if that talent becomes wasted, wouldn't it? Especially if it falls to the hands of enemies, like the Holy Empire for example."

She doesn't know about me and Fiora, does she?

"Let's say I accept. How would you ensure I can't run away?"

"Easy." She giggled. "Anti-magic poison. You'll drink them every day until we get back. You'll just be a normal human that won't be a threat to us whatsoever."

She doesn't know about my sword training either.

"...Fine. I accept. Now let those two go."

"Ha! Do you take me for an idiot? Drink the poison first, then we'll talk."

She signalled to the man behind her. With a frown, he walked forward to my direction, one hand ready on the hilt on his blade.

Of course, I had no intention whatsoever to obey her demand.

"Now!"

Right on cue, the ground where Anne and Anton stood turned into a puddle of mud. 

I already foresaw something like this happening, which was why before I entered the clearing, I already summoned both of my fairies. I told them to travel underground and rescue the two of them the moment I gave my signal.

The two ice blocks promptly sank, as the mud had been made as liquid as she could make it. And then, she would harden back the ground, before she carried them away underground as far as she could.

The swordsman, knowing that I had done something they didn't expect, rushed forward with his blade drawn. However, I was more than ready. I blocked his sword with my own.

"Heh, that's a funny sword you got there." I smirked.

I then drew my wand, intending to pierce his abdomen with a quick wind spell, but he already backed off, covering his retreat by an upper kick that I managed to dodge.

Clap Clap Clap

"Clever." The mage girl clapped. "But not clever enough."

The muddy ground exploded, and what looked like an amorphous human-like blob came out of it.

And on its grasps, no, her grasp, was my two fairies.

"You're right as always, Elun!" She declared with a giggle. "These two really tried to do something dirty!"

It was a slime girl.

And she had just spoiled my plan.

I didn't hesitate. I aimed my wand towards the demon and fired a Boom Cannon right at her. I aimed at where her core was—that red gem near her chest. If you destroyed that core, then a slime would dissolve and melt into an ordinary pile of goo. The same concept should apply to a slimekin like her.

Only for her to dodge out of the way entirely by forming a hole in her body, allowing my spell to go past unimpeded. The core moved out of the way as well, temporarily moving to the top of her head.

It pierced through a row of trees behind her. But it didn't matter. That destructive power had failed to affect her in the slightest.

"M-Master, I-I'm sorry…"

“M-Master! Urgh, let me go you big slimy jerk!”

My two summons were completely covered by her tendrils. There didn’t seem to be any way for them to free themselves, other than me just telling them to retreat.

Damn it! Where did that slimegirl come from? I didn’t see her—oh wait, it was the puddle from the ice! They weren’t melting! It’s her pretending to be one!

And how did she know about my plan anyways? Did she just expect something like this to happen?

“Well, now that your trump card is gone, would you be willing to accept my offer?”

The witch now had a victorious grin on her face. I wouldn’t blame her. I would have the same grin if I were in her position.

“Yulon, lift them up,” she ordered.

The slime girl did as she was told, lifting the two blocks back up from the mud.

“Let’s make this easier for you, shall we? You don’t drink the poison, Yulon there would snap their necks in an instant. Oh, and don’t try anything again with your wand. I’ll tell her to kill them as well if you so much raise it in our general direction.”

Tch, of course she’ll do something like this!

What can I do?! I can’t just let them die! Especially not after everything they’ve done for me!

And Amelie—I’ve promised to bring them back safe and sound to her! I’m not going to break that promise again!

I’ll show these bastards that I’m not the same man I was back then!

“Fine. I’ll drink your poison. Just leave them alone, alright?”

“Wonderful!” She clapped her hands together. “Faust, give the vial to him.”

“Oh, but this time, please drop your wand and sword first. Really, you’re a decently good swordsman if you can block his attack like that. That sword wasn’t just for show after all.”

I didn’t use my sword when I fought the dragon, so she doesn’t know.

...Wait, I do have a spell she has yet to know—a spell I developed after I fought off the dragon.

That’s it! That’s the key!

It’s risky, but it’s the only choice I got.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Come now, I don't have all day."

In 3… 2… 1…

My hand flew, aiming back towards the slime girl once more.

"Ahahaha! I see! You don't care about them! Yulon, kill them!"

"Boom Grenade!"

In a flash, my spell flew. It hit the ground underneath the slime girl, before sending a shockwave to its surroundings.

The slime girl couldn't react fast enough. Her body was scattered all over from the explosion, releasing her grip from her hostages. The mage, who was standing there, also was thrown aside from the force, sending her flying a good few meters.

"You!"

"Now! Run!" I yelled just before the unharmed swordsman crashed his blade against mine.

"You imbecile! How dare you spit on Lady Elun's hospitality like that!"

He launched another kick, but this time, instead of dodging, I blocked it with my own leg. Fiora would sometimes do moves like this in our many spars, so I was already used to such an uncommon maneuver.

Trusting my summons to do their work, I focused all my attention to this fish guy. I had to kill him fast before the other two could recover.

I moved my wand to aim for him, but once again, he backed off. He then strafed to the side, aiming to attack from behind instead. His speed was certainly superhuman, comparable to someone who could employ Graceful Step.

I parried his thrust, but he followed by a flurry of kicks. This time, it was me who was forced to back off.

A hybrid fighter huh? He fights like a martial artist and a swordsman.

He's doing a good job preventing me from casting any spell. He knows how strong I am in that department.

Well, let's see how he handles this then!

Using Wind Step, I flew upwards. He followed with a high jump, only to find that I could fly even higher than he could jump. Ha! He doesn't have Feather Step, does he?

Without hesitation, I hit him with a Boom Cannon. He couldn’t dodge in mid-air so he could only try to block it with his sword.

Of course, that didn’t do him any good. He was flown away at Mach speed, going through a series of trees behind him.

When he stopped, he sat slumped with blood all over him.

One down, two to go.