episode_0077

“Yes, what can I do for you? Lady Railani.”

A woman with beautiful golden eyes and hair—Yuria Railani. Her noble appearance matched the dignity she carried within. By now, Riel had come to know a fair bit about her, the one and only hero of the world.

But why was she looking at him like that? Yuria was staring at Riel with an expression as if she had found something long lost.

Yet soon, she averted her gaze, avoiding his eyes, and mumbled her words.

“It’s nothing. I was just a little surprised to see a celebrity, that’s all.”

You’re the real celebrity here, being the hero and all. Riel felt a strange dissonance but didn’t press further, sensing her clear reluctance to continue the conversation.

“Hey! Don’t ignore me! I am the master of this castle!”

Kyle’s sudden interruption forced Riel to set aside his questions about Yuria. The prince, accustomed to the reverence of all his subjects, seemed deeply displeased that attention was being diverted to Riel instead.

Annoying, but understandable. Even among commoner children, there were those who couldn’t stand not being the center of attention—let alone a royal.

“Marika! How could you prefer some lowborn over me?!”

“Your Highness! Shh! Shh!”

What had happened while he wasn’t paying attention? Kyle seemed utterly smitten with Marika. Given her beauty and the way she stood out even among the many lovely women present, it wasn’t surprising.

Riel coolly analyzed the situation, but Kyle, indifferent to his presence, only grew more heated upon seeing Marika’s flustered, blushing reaction.

“Damn it! What does that bastard have that I don’t?! Magic? Is it his magic skills? Then I’ll just defeat him! Coincidentally, I’m quite skilled in magic myself. Mage, I challenge you to a duel.”

“Oh?”

The moment he heard those words, Riel checked the boy’s mana with a quick detection spell.

“Huh?”

The next instant, Leona stepped between them, glaring daggers at Riel. She held a self-defense dagger at the ready and spoke firmly.

“Stop. Mr. Riel.”

“Wait, what did I even do—”

“Assessing an opponent’s strength is tantamount to declaring intent to fight. No matter how carelessly His Highness spoke, I cannot overlook any further provocation.”

Riel was taken aback. In the Magic Tower, this was as casual as a morning greeting. Isn’t it normal to check someone’s mana if you’re curious?

But this was a matter of environment, not common sense. In the outside world, where having your weaknesses exposed could mean death, such behavior was unacceptable.

“My apologies. I was unaware of the etiquette.”

As Riel stepped back, the tension dissipated. However, the hot-blooded, oblivious prince had no sense of reading the room.

“I don’t care! Let’s fight!”

The boy’s face was filled with sheer determination.

“Enough. I’d rather not deal with the fallout of injuring a young prince.”

“Hah, scared, are you?”

Unfazed by Kyle’s taunt, Riel replied in a cold voice.

“Truly, like a child who knows no fear, you don’t even consider the possibility of losing. But it’s pointless. Based on my mana detection… well, you’re decent for your age, but still just an average talent. Even if I were your age, this wouldn’t be a contest.”

“What makes you so great?! You’re just full of hot air—”

Suddenly, the prince’s confident voice grew small and shaky. In defiance, he had used mana detection on Riel and seen the staggering gap for himself.

“Now do you understand?”

“You can’t decide victory just by mana alone… At the very least, my love for Marika won’t lose!”

“You don’t need to test it to know a tree can’t topple a mountain. And—”

Kyle hung his head, fists trembling, while Riel looked down at him with icy eyes.

“Marika isn’t an object. You can’t win her in a fight. Don’t throw around the word ‘love’ so carelessly without even that much consideration.”

She was a friend as precious as family. Feeling that Marika had been insulted, Riel wanted nothing more than to beat the prince senseless. The only reason he held back was out of deference to the boy’s royal status.

As Riel walked away, the remaining onlookers watched Kyle with concern. The prince’s face turned beet red as tears streamed down like chicken droppings. A maid quickly dabbed his eyes with a handkerchief.

“Your Highness, are you alright?”

He had lost—utterly. Not just in magic, strength, or weakness, but as a person. No one expected a ten-year-old to be mature, but Kyle was different.

Born into nobility, raised to look down on others, he couldn’t hide behind the excuse of being a child. He wouldn’t allow himself to.

“What is that man?! Arrest him at once for insulting the royal family—”

“Enough.”

Wiping his tears, Kyle stopped the maid before she could act. Using his royal status to win would only diminish his own dignity.

If he couldn’t win with strength or words, resorting to his father, the king, would only earn him a hollow, pathetic victory. Worse, it wouldn’t satisfy him in the least.

The prince, who had never looked down on anyone before, gritted his teeth and burned the mage’s face and name into his memory.

“Just you wait… Riel!”

—

The sound of brass instruments filled the castle, accompanied by roaring applause. Heroes were always the hope of their era, and countless admiring gazes were fixed on Yuria and her party.

At the center of it all, Riel felt genuine pride seeing his friend, dressed in a beautiful gown, smiling brightly.

“Glad you came?”

“Yeah.”

Elin, sipping wine from who-knows-where, held out another glass.

“It’s a fine day. Care for a drink?”

“You know I don’t like alcohol.”

“Did I say you had to get drunk? It’s a shame you don’t appreciate the good stuff.”

Gulp. Sigh.

“Feels great.”

Ignoring his tipsy master’s rambling, Riel clapped quietly, committing every detail of his friend’s moment to memory.

One by one, the candidates knelt before the king to receive their honors. The monarch praised the young warriors for their achievements and bestowed necklaces upon them.

“Tomorrow’s mock battle requires them to fight while wearing those. One warrior and one archer who keep their necklaces till the end will be chosen as the final party members.”

“Is that so? The outcome’s obvious, though.”

Despite being scolded earlier, Riel had already scanned the candidates with mana detection. While he’d been careless before, hiding his probing was simple—only mages could even sense it.

The self-proclaimed fan and the quiet elf stood out starkly from the rest. Even they fell short of his standards for protecting Marika, but it couldn’t be helped. The hero’s party was meant to grow alongside her, not carry her.

A newly chosen, inexperienced hero needed trials to grow. If the party was too strong, it would rob her of those challenges. Hence, the party was composed of promising youths who could grow with her without holding her back. Their seeming instability was by design.

‘At least she picked those two correctly. Her judgment as a hero seems sound. But this means the party is all women…’

As someone who had to send his childhood friend into battle, Riel wasn’t at ease. Even one male mage in a five-member party would’ve been better. But tradition barred mages—a relatively new profession—from selection.

Of course, behind that tradition lurked uglier reasons of power struggles and politics.

‘Ugh!’

Had his mana detection been noticed? Yuria was staring straight at him through the crowd. Then, she began pushing her way toward him.

“Mr. Riel, leave. Now.”

“Lady Railani, I apologize. I was just too worried about Marika… Could you let it slide this once?”

“That’s not why I’m saying this. Just go back to the Magic Tower.”

Surprisingly, Yuria had noticed his mana detection but didn’t seem to care.

“Then why?”

“Just go. Outside. Now.”

She urgently pushed Riel toward the exit.

“W-Wait a second.”

He’d already seen Marika, and watching the mock battle was pointless. There was nothing left for him here.

“At least let me say goodbye to my friend. Who knows when I’ll see her again?”

“No. I won’t allow it.”

“Even as the hero, you don’t have the right to do this.”

“Enough, just—!”

“Riel?”

Before Yuria, her voice thick with emotion, could gather mana in her hands, Marika reached them first.

“What’s going on? You’re with the hero? Are you two close?”

“It’s nothing. Lady Railani—no, Your Hero-ness, could you let go?”

For some reason, Yuria’s expression darkened upon seeing Marika. As the two left the castle, Riel asked:

“You and the hero don’t get along?”

“Huh? She’s been really kind to me. I think we’ve gotten closer?”

Then what was that expression earlier? It wasn’t dislike—more like… dread? But why?

Unable to shake his confusion, Riel sat with Marika on a bench by the garden fountain.

“What did you and the hero talk about earlier?”

Marika fidgeted, worried there might be tension between them.

“Nothing important. I think Lady Railani just doesn’t like me.”

She kept telling me to leave. At that, Marika relaxed and smiled.

“Oho~, so you’ve managed to earn her dislike. What’d you do?”

“Nothing.”

From a noble’s perspective, his rudeness to the prince might’ve earned him scorn, but Yuria hadn’t mentioned it.

“Maybe she just took a dislike to you. Life in the kingdom might get tough.”

Marika giggled, teasing him, but Riel shifted the topic.

“What about you? You’re really joining the hero’s party now.”

Which meant she’d soon be fighting the Demon King’s army. The same Marika who used to hide behind him, crying, when the neighborhood boys bullied her.

“That was ages ago. I’m all grown up now. I’ll be fine.”

“Your forced smile says otherwise.”

“…You noticed?”

“Don’t act tough. I know you too well.”

If the hero was the pillar of the party, the saintess was its shelter. The moment her mask of responsibility slipped, Marika’s eyes welled up. For a brief moment, she wasn’t Saintess Fernandez—just Marika, leaning against Riel’s shoulder.

“I’m scared. I don’t want to fight. If it means being apart from you, I never wanted to be a saintess. I just… want to stay with you forever.”

Riel had no words for his friend’s heartfelt confession. No matter how skilled a mage he was, he couldn’t solve her struggles.

This was for the world. To survive, she—the only one of her kind—had to face the Demon King. All he could do was hold her and listen.

“…Riel.”

“Yeah?”

“This request… I know I shouldn’t ask… I didn’t even write a letter, just came quietly, but…”

“It’s fine. Say it.”

“…Will you come with me?”

Into the hero’s party.

“If you’re with me, I think I can stay strong.”

So, will you fight by my side?

Marika lowered her gaze, as if ashamed.

Without hesitation, Riel answered.

“Of course.”