Lucius got back on his feet and looked at the person who was still holding out his clothes.
Maria glanced at Lucius, who was standing beside her.
Why is he half-naked?
And now that I look closer, she’s a girl, isn’t she?
Lucius recognized her… Wait, could these two… Maria wondered timidly.
The young girl lowered her hood and introduced herself.
— My name is Lana, and I wanted to return your clothes.
— You’re the girl we fought at the tournament, right?
Our last opponent.
So your name is Lana, Lucius said.
— Yes!
Oh, so that’s what it was… I completely imagined a whole situation, Maria thought awkwardly.
— You’re the one who’s been following us this whole time, aren’t you?
What?
She was following us?
Maria wondered.
— Um, yes.
Sorry.
I didn’t know how to approach you without looking suspicious, but now I realize that by doing it this way, I probably looked even more suspicious, she said awkwardly.
— First of all, thank you for saving Maria, Lucius said.
— Oh, yes.
Thank you for saving me, too, she added hurriedly.
— So, what can we do to thank you?
— Um… I’d like to ask Miss Emilya something.
Maria and Lucius looked at each other, then turned toward her.
— That might be a little difficult.
She’s in a very deep sleep and won’t be waking up anytime soon.
Despite all the commotion, Emilya hadn’t even changed position, showing just how deeply she was sleeping.
Lucius suggested that Lana stay with them until Emilya woke up and could either accept or refuse her request.
He got dressed and went over to Melvis, whom he had somewhat abandoned while rushing to save Maria.
— Still alive?
Lucius asked.
Despite the urgency of the situation, Melvis couldn’t help but fall asleep.
He picked her up and carried her over to Emilya, who was sleeping as well.
Once the tension had died down, Maria soon fell asleep too.
Lucius and Lana stayed awake for a while to talk.
— What do you want to ask Emilya?
She didn’t answer.
— Maybe I could help you or put in a good word for you… — I… I want to become her disciple.
— Oh, right, that’s… Wait, what?
Aren’t you the one who was terrified when you realized who she was?
— That was in the past… Lana said awkwardly.
That was barely a few days ago, Lucius thought.
— She’s the only one who can help me, she said seriously.
— Help you with what?
She didn’t answer his question and chose to go to sleep instead.
The next day, everyone woke up except Emilya.
Melvis had terrible muscle soreness from the side effects of using magic.
She could barely walk and kept stumbling, but luckily, they were traveling by carriage.Lana kept to herself, staying off to the side.
Maria meditated and worked on sharpening her senses, while Lucius drove.
Everyone went about their own business.
Whenever they stopped to stretch their legs, eat, or rest, Lana would constantly distance herself from the others.
Maria and Lucius did their best to include her, but she politely declined.
On the third day, Emilya woke up, completely confused this time.
She suddenly remembered what Lucius had done to her and was about to hit him before stopping abruptly when she noticed Lana’s presence.
She had a lot of questions, but the one that bothered her most was what this girl was doing there.
So she asked them.
— Aren’t you the girl we fought at the tournament a few days ago?
What are you doing here?
And how many days have I been asleep?
I’m a little hungry.
I have so many questions.
— First of all, just like last time, you slept for three days, Melvis began.
— The day Lucius decided to put you to sleep with Moon Flower powder, we were attacked by dark cats, Maria continued.
— And Lana saved Maria.
Oh, and she’s the one who’s been following us since we left the village, in case you hadn’t noticed.
She had something to ask you, Lucius finished.
— Thanks.
I’d already noticed that someone was following us, Emilya said as she searched through their food supplies.
She found some ham and bread and began eating.
— So, what do you want?
she asked coldly.
— Um, I… I’d like you to help me, please.
— And what do you want me to do?
— Would you take me as your disciple?
Emilya nearly choked when she heard her request.
— Me?
You want me to become your master?
Sorry, but that won’t be possible.
I’m still an apprentice, she said.
— What?
But aren’t you a Rank 5 mage?
— How do you know that?
Last I checked, I told everyone I was still Rank 4, she asked, intrigued.
— I saw your fight against the champion, and that’s when I realized you were Rank 5.
— Are your ranks the same as those of warriors?
Lucius asked.
— No!
the two mages answered at the same time.
They looked at each other.
— Among warriors, ranks go from 1 to 10, corresponding to the strength of their Flux.
But for mages, it’s a little more complicated.
It’s like a series of thresholds you have to surpass before reaching the required rank, and there are five of them.
— But not all Rank 5 mages are equal.
Depending on their specialty, some are stronger than others, and Miss Emilya is known to be one of the most powerful users of not one, but two types of magic.
That’s why she is both admired and feared.
But she has never revealed what her second magic is.
Everyone assumes it’s an elemental magic because her first is fire.
— Well, look at you, spilling everyone’s secrets!
Didn’t anyone ever teach you that it’s not right to reveal someone else’s abilities?
What if I had an enemy among them?
You’re basically revealing all my strengths to them.
You know so much about me, yet I know nothing about you… Emilya said.
The young girl realized what she had just done and apologized.
In the magical world, openly discussing another mage’s abilities was frowned upon, no matter how exceptional they might be.
Doing so could give an enemy an advantage when it came to countering their magic.
— So, my name is Lana.
I’m 20 years old, and I’m an independent Rank 3 mage.
— Independent?
Why?
Normally, almost all mages go to the academy as soon as their magic awakens, Emilya said.
— Am I the only one who doesn’t understand a word of this conversation?
Lucius whispered to Maria.
— Don’t worry.
Neither do I, she whispered back.
The two nodded as if they understood, but in reality, they were completely lost.
Melvis noticed them and sighed.
To help them follow the conversation a little better, she explained the unspoken rule among mages.
— I wasn’t accepted into the magic academy because… I have Magic Vein Disease.
Everyone stared at her, but Emilya was the most frightened of them all.
She was the only one who knew just how deadly the disease was not for the person who had it, but for those around them.
The particularity of this disease was that the person affected had an abundant amount of mana, but the downside was that their magic was uncontrollable and could activate at any moment without them realizing it, in an explosive manner.
Emilya immediately warned everyone and told them not to stay near Lana.
She displayed strong hostility toward her.
— What’s wrong?
Why— Lucius was cut off mid-sentence when an arrow landed right in the middle of the carriage.
Everyone looked toward the direction the arrow had come from.
— Well, well, well.
What do we have here?
one of the attackers said.
— Can’t we have some peace for two minutes?
Melvis sighed, already thinking about the fight they were going to have to deal with.
— Who are these guys now?
Emilya and Lucius asked at the same time.
— I think they’re bandits… Lana said.
Maria froze the moment she saw them.
She wasn’t necessarily frightened by their numbers, but rather by the banner flying in the air.
Her heart began pounding, and she started hyperventilating.
Emilya was the first to notice.
— Hey, are you okay?
she asked.
Maria didn’t answer, so Emilya approached her and pulled her into a hug, trying to calm and reassure her.
— It’s them.
It’s them.
It’s them… she repeated over and over, terrified.
— Who?
Emilya asked.
— They’re the ones responsible for my mother’s death.