episode_0034

As soon as the day broke, Arina moved to leave the merchant guild.

“Since you’re parting ways with your friends, Master, how about letting me go now too…?”

There was a minor act of defiance along the way, but it was swiftly suppressed. She bid farewell to each of them one by one, and finally, it was Ian’s turn.

Arina, who had been exchanging pleasantries with a soft expression until then, stubbornly avoided his gaze when she faced him, refusing to meet his eyes.

“Still not over it?”

“Do I seem that petty? It’s just… a little awkward.”

What expression had she even made when she looked at him before? No matter how hard she tried to act normal, once she became conscious of it, it inevitably felt unnatural.

It wasn’t her first kiss, but with Yuria, they had been lovers.

‘But it’s the first time I’ve been kissed by a man…’

The porters had lusted after her body, but they had never tried to slip their tongues in like a lover would.

If it had been purely forced, she could’ve just gotten angry, but her relationship with Ian was close, and the fact that she had kissed his cheek first made it impossible to blame him entirely.

At her uncharacteristically self-conscious reaction, Ian let out a quiet chuckle.

“Since when do we need words between us?”

As if suggesting a handshake, Ian extended his hand. Since that much wasn’t difficult, Arina took it and shook it lightly.

But when she tried to let go after the brief handshake, the other side didn’t release her grip. Since yesterday, she had sensed a subtle shift in Ian’s demeanor.

When she shot him a displeased look, Ian finally let go and asked,

“So, what’s your plan now?”

“I’ve got my weapon, so I’ll keep my promise. I’m going after them—starting with Marika.”

Though two of her enemies were right beside her, they were still just two, and there was no telling when the hero or reinforcements might arrive.

After saying her goodbyes, Arina turned her back and truly left. The group who had come to see her off watched her retreating figure until it completely disappeared from sight.

Milen, sensing the mood, cautiously broke the silence.

“Ian. You’re not thinking of going back, are you?”

“Yeah.”

Unconsciously, Ian touched his own cheek. It had been so vivid that he could still feel the lingering warmth of Arina’s lips.

What he could never forget was the kiss she had planted on his cheek herself—and the fleeting glimpse of her melting expression when their lips parted.

Arina probably thought she had quickly schooled her features and hidden it, but he knew he’d remember that face for the rest of his life.

It was like a curse. The possibility that Arina—someone he had thought would forever be out of reach—might one day step into his embrace refused to leave his mind, no matter how much he tried to dismiss it.

It was already too late to turn back now.

“I’ve taken my payment. Now it’s time to pay the price.”

The reward he had received for standing against the hero’s party to help Arina reach the Empire was a single kiss on the cheek.

Then, for the deep kiss he had given her, the price he ought to pay was everything he had.

The look in the guard’s eyes as he watched Arina pass through the city gate was anything but ordinary. And it wasn’t just this man.

As she walked, countless people had already cast glances filled with all sorts of emotions her way.

‘Word spread this far overnight? Rumors really do travel fast.’

She couldn’t understand why people were so invested in others’ affairs, but she knew there was nothing she could do about it.

A member of the hero’s party was staying in their city—a woman, no less—and worse, she had deserted the party and was now a wanted fugitive.

For anyone who cared about the Demon King and the peace of the world, this was an issue they couldn’t ignore.

“Lady Liel. Won’t you fight for the world once more? Why did you run away? Even going so far as to change your appearance…”

One such person, the guard, tried to persuade Arina as she passed through the gate.

Watching from the side, Lilit glanced at Arina with a look that seemed to anticipate just how spectacularly she would lose her temper this time.

Arina had so much she wanted to say.

That she hadn’t chosen this. That they had no idea of the true nature of the hero’s party they so admired. That they had no clue what she had been through. That if they knew, they wouldn’t dare wag their tongues so carelessly.

But in the end, she swallowed it all.

“Call me Arina now.”

She condensed all her emotions into that single line, delivering a concise refusal.

Even if she revealed the truth, without evidence, it would only end with the conclusion that Liel Frost had gone mad.

No—even if she perfectly proved the hero party’s corruption, it wouldn’t matter. The world could never punish the hero who held its fate in his hands.

Her pleas would only sow chaos, solving nothing.

The conclusion she had reached when she left the party remained unchanged. Silently enduring the stares, Arina passed through the gate.

What awaited her outside the city was a knightly order surrounding her on all sides, swords and shields at the ready. At the forefront stood a man she had seen just days before.

Klaus Pyroate, captain of the Flame Knight Order, stood tall, took a deep breath, and bellowed in a thunderous voice,

“Surrender! Former mage of the hero’s party—Liel Frost!”

Behind Klaus, the Flame Knight Order stood in perfect formation, showcasing the Empire’s might. Their numbers—roughly a hundred—left no gaps as they encircled the area.

“So you were waiting for me after all. Old man.”

“Don’t address me so familiarly, fugitive. I am here to capture and punish you.”

“That’s cold. We once fought side by side, you know.”

It felt like another wound had opened in Arina’s heart. Not that it mattered—her heart was already so scarred that one more wouldn’t even be noticeable.

And it wouldn’t just be the Flame Knight Order. Countless others she had once relied on and fought alongside would soon point their weapons at her.

“I, too, never wished for a reunion like this. If you repent now and swear to serve the world once more, perhaps everything can still be undone. If you agree, I will help you.”

“Right. That’s all you people ever want, isn’t it? A tool to throw your lives away in your stead.”

In the past, she hadn’t resented such treatment. It was a role not just anyone could fill, and she had the ability for it. Of course, she had also been well compensated.

But after becoming like this, after enduring all that…

‘And you still expect me to sacrifice myself?’

Others might not know, but Klaus, as Leonah’s father, must have had some idea of the relationship between the porters and the hero’s party.

And seeing Arina’s current state—having fled in this form—he should have been able to guess at least part of what had happened. Yet Klaus hadn’t asked a single question about it.

“I see you have no intention of surrendering. …All units, prepare for battle!”

At Klaus’s signal, the entire Flame Knight Order wreathed themselves in flames. Klaus’s flames stood out among them, towering and immense.

Arina pulled a glove from her pocket and put it on. The soft fabric felt nothing like the stone it had once been.

Before wearing it, she hadn’t been able to sense even a trace of mana, but now it was vivid. The old blacksmith had done his job well, just as she’d asked.

‘Is this the Philosopher’s Stone? The sheer volume of mana is on another level.’

“Eeek!”

While Arina marveled at the stone, Lilit trembled at the dozens of flaming blades surrounding them.

“M-M-M-Master! You can block these, right? If even one slips through, I’m dead!”

“Stop fussing and stay put.”

Arina pushed Lilit aside and stepped forward. The flaming blades rising from all directions merged into a single massive fireball.

Originally, this large-scale magic couldn’t be used in real combat without external support. But the activation of the Philosopher’s Stone’s formula and its mana assistance unlocked the use of a grand spell that had been sealed away until now.

Around Arina’s hand, the formula unfolded at blinding speed. As the magic circle filled the ground around them, Klaus broke out in a cold sweat and shouted,

“Strike!”

A chaotic tide of flames surged forth like a storm.

Lilit covered her face in vain, squeezing her eyes shut.

In the blistering heat that threatened to sear her skin just by proximity, Arina unleashed her mana.

“[Permafrost].”

When Lilit opened her eyes again, the world had turned white, obscuring even an inch ahead. It was as if two separate dimensions had unfolded around Arina.

Behind her lay the peaceful world of an endless grassy plain.

But before her stretched a frozen wasteland of pristine frost and ice. The knights with their raised swords and the fireball they had created now stood as glittering ice sculptures, like beautiful works of art.

Arina let out an involuntary whistle. The Philosopher’s Stone’s performance exceeded her expectations.

But her amazement wasn’t just because of that.

Amid the blizzard, far more powerful than before, there was one person who hadn’t been swallowed by the magic.

“As expected of the Flame Knight Order’s captain. You’re not so easily dealt with.”

Though he had avoided being frozen solid like the others, his body wasn’t unscathed. Klaus, exhaling visible puffs of cold air, had no breath left to answer.

Arina’s frost seemed to have frozen even the mana within his body—no flames emerged. He tried to force his trembling body to move, but it refused to budge.

Slowly, Arina approached Klaus. Placing a mana-charged hand on his shoulder, she watched as ice spread from the point of contact.

“Y-You monster… How dare you commit such treason… and think you’ll get away with it?”

“Who’s the one who drove me to this?”

Arina looked down at Klaus with resentful eyes.

“Watch closely from within that ice as your daughter is judged. I’ll free you once everything is over.”

No answer came from Klaus. He had already become another statue, decorating the frozen landscape.

The Empire’s greatest force had been annihilated in an instant. The sheer violence of the scene made Lilit’s eyes widen in shock.

‘Has Arina gotten even stronger than the Demon King?’

“What are you doing? Hurry up.”

“Y-Yes, ma’am!”