Three years ago, after that event, all I had were constant nightmares.
I had blinding headaches and couldn’t stop screaming in pain.
So Melvis took me to a village in the mountains, and that’s where I met him.
He didn’t look like this back then: he was shorter, his hair was blonde, and he was shy…
Nothing like the person standing in front of me, Emilya thought as she looked him up and down.
While she analyzed him, Lucius observed her as well, though she couldn’t tell what was going through his mind.
“I remember now…
You’re that boy we met in Asagi village, aren’t you?
You changed your appearance.
You’re using an artifact to disguise yourself, right?
That’s why neither Melvis nor I recognized you,” she stated.
“Bravo!” he exclaimed, clapping his hands.
“If I remember correctly, your family gave us the potions containing the Moonflower.
Did you really leave them behind just to become a warrior?” Emilya asked, intrigued.
He took a moment before answering, wearing a broad smile as if pleased with the response he was about to give.
“The life of an herbalist wasn’t for me.
So I left them, plain and simple,” he replied.
Emilya noticed that his smile felt different from the one he usually wore.
He’s lying.
But I won’t press any further.
It’s none of my business anyway.
Our relationship is strictly transactional: I don’t need to know his life story, just as he doesn’t need to know mine, she thought.
“What about you?
What happened to you after you left my home?” Lucius asked.
“I completed my mage training and traveled,” she answered vaguely, offering no further details.
“Fair enough,” he conceded simply, understanding that she didn’t want to elaborate.
“Big day tomorrow.
I saw how well you two synchronize in combat—you make a solid team.
I think you’ll be able to hold your own against the Thorn Witch.” That brief demonstration was enough for him to gauge our abilities.
He’s sharper than he lets on, Emilya told herself.
With that thought, she retired to her room, unaware that Lucius was watching her as she went back to rest.
Before leaving, the young man lingered on the balcony for a moment, gazing thoughtfully at the moon before vanishing into the night like a shadow.
The following morning, the trio began preparing for their departure and bought the necessary supplies for their journey.
Each headed to a different part of Tezora’s central market.
With the gold he had earned from his previous job, Lucius purchased a new weapon, as his old one was wearing out.
Melvis stocked up on food alongside Emilya.
While browsing the stalls for anything that might come in handy, Emilya spotted an item that caught her eye.
They met back up at the city exit.
Emilya approached Lucius and handed him the gift she had bought earlier.
She offered it to him as a token of appreciation and to apologize for acting so harshly toward him before.
He accepted it with slight suspicion, after which the group headed toward the nearest woods to use the map.
Emilya knew how to manipulate it.
She asked Melvis and Lucius to keep watch on the surroundings so no one would witness the activation method.
Once they gave the all-clear, Emilya stepped aside and began chanting the formula she had learned from a book, channeling her magic into the map.
The parchment glowed a pure white, prompting Melvis and Lucius to rush over and watch.
The light slowly faded.
She opened the map and issued a command: “Show me the location of the Thorn Witch: Melly.” The map floated into the air and unrolled like a large rug, displaying a three-dimensional projection of the witch’s location and appearance.
She had dark hair, very pale skin, red eyes, and was seated on a throne in the middle of the forest.
“Unbelievable!
You knew it could do this?” Lucius gasped, impressed.
He examined the map’s mechanics with a serious expression, as though trying to decipher how it worked.
“I knew how to activate it and what to do to make it work, but I had no idea it would provide this much detail,” she confessed, equally astonished.
“You’re amazing!
I didn’t know you knew the Witch’s name.
Did you learn it during your training as a mage?” Melvis asked.
“Yes.
In the academy library, there’s a book named after her that recounts how she became one of the most powerful witches in this world,” Emilya answered, gazing at the projection.
“I didn’t realize she looked like this…
She seems normal, even beautiful.
It’s completely different from the monster described in the books.” “Yeah,” Lucius hummed vaguely, seemingly unimpressed by her looks.
With a spoken command, Emilya ordered the map to show them the path to follow.
A red line appeared from their current position.
The mage pressed on it, and the map zoomed in on the route, revealing every detail.
Without delay, they set off.
They spent their first night under the stars.
Suddenly, Emilya woke with a start and alerted the others that something was approaching.
Everyone immediately stood up and assumed a combat stance.
A low growl echoed from the bushes.
A dozen massive silhouettes leaped into the clearing where they had been resting.
Melvis wondered how she hadn’t seen them coming, then turned toward Lucius as if to place the blame on him.
“Why are you looking at me like that?
I didn’t see them coming either!” he protested, claiming his innocence.
Without thinking twice, he charged at the beasts, slashing at them left and right.
Trying to target one of the monsters, Emilya nearly hit Lucius, who instantly complained about her aim.
Meanwhile, Melvis took longer to kill the wolves because of their thick hides, having to strike multiple vital points before finishing them off.
Once she was done with her own attackers, she went to assist Emilya.
Emilya quietly observed Lucius’s movements while defending herself.
At one point, she tripped and fell.
A wolf noticed and seized the opportunity to pounce on her.
She prepared a spell, but the beast was faster.
Just as it was about to strike her, Lucius appeared behind the creature and sliced it in two with a swift blow.
Emilya froze for a second, staring at him.
Are those really the movements of a mere apprentice warrior?
she wondered.
“Keep your guard up, or you’re going to die a foolish death,” he teased her.
He extended his hand to help her up, and Emilya thanked him in a embarrassed murmur.
Surprised by her reaction, Lucius continued to tease her, pretending he hadn’t heard and asking her to repeat herself.
But she refused to play along and returned to the fight.
No longer distracted, she began taking down the wolves with single spells.
She mostly cast fireballs—her specialty—taking care not to unleash flames that were too large so as not to deplete her mana reserves too quickly.
She chained several small attacks together, which Melvis then finished off: that was their well-practiced fighting style.
After eliminating all the wolves, the group decided to move their campsite.
A short distance away lay another clearing—larger, grassy, and offering better visibility.
They settled there for the remainder of the night, promising themselves that next time they would make the effort to head into a nearby town if there was one.
A small lake stretched out not far from their new camp.
Unable to sleep, Emilya decided to take a walk and bathe in it.
Melvis, exhausted from the fight, had collapsed and fallen asleep within moments.
Lucius, however, couldn’t drift off right away: after all the excitement, he needed his adrenaline to settle.
Thinking everyone was asleep, he went for a walk to admire the clear night sky and the visible stars.
He walked for a little while before spotting the body of water in the middle of the forest.
He was about to approach when he froze at the sound of splashing water.
Someone surfaced from the lake: it was Emilya.
Seeing her from behind, he caught sight of deep burn scars covering her back.
He gazed at her for a brief second before Emilya abruptly called out, asking who was there.
He hurried away in silence.
Overcome with doubt, the young woman instantly hurled a fireball that struck a target: a wolf that had strayed or been left behind from the earlier fight.
Emilya remained convinced that only she and that beast had been near the lake.
She stepped out of the water, dressed quickly, and returned to camp.
Everyone was accounted for: Lucius was asleep on his side, as was Melvis.
Asking no further questions, she did the same.
At daybreak, they packed up camp and resumed their journey.
On the road to the town of Alden, Emilya made an observation: “Yesterday, while I was bathing, a beast came to watch me, but I killed it without warning.
If it had been one of you, I could have severely injured you.
Good thing it wasn’t anyone else, right?” she said, locking eyes with Lucius.
The young man acted as though he hadn’t heard a word.
Seeing no reaction from him, Emilya didn’t push the matter and kept walking.
Once in town, Melvis and Emilya took an inn room, despite the mage’s dwindling savings—she would need to replenish her coin purse by taking on odd jobs.
Lucius advised her to wait until after their mission was completed so she could conserve her energy for the fight against the witch.
Melvis reluctantly agreed with him.
So that was the only night of their trek they spent in an inn.
Emilya rested in the same room as Melvis, while Lucius stayed in a separate one.
The next day, they didn’t linger and resumed their journey.
Along the way, they encountered numerous monsters.
During combat, Lucius did whatever he pleased, while Emilya and Melvis fought in flawless synchronization.
It took a few days for everyone to understand their roles without stepping on each other’s toes: Lucius took charge of attacking and drawing the creatures’ attention, Melvis weakened them, and Emilya finished them off.
They eventually adapted to one another’s movements and coordinated much better.
Within a week, they finally reached the outskirts of their destination.
From afar, they could already see the ominous Black Forest.
“We’ve arrived,” Emilya announced.
“By wagon, it would’ve taken us three days,” Lucius complained.
“Do you have the coin to pay a driver?” Emilya shot back.
Lucius offered no reply and headed toward the trees.
Standing before the forest, Emilya checked the map once more to confirm the witch’s location: she was in the very heart of the woods.
Taking the lead, she stepped inside.
In an instant, the group was plunged into pitch darkness.
The mage used her art to summon a small flame at the tip of her staff.
Behind her, Lucius and Melvis followed closely, knowing that a single misstep could see them swallowed by the shadows.
They walked for a long time without feeling as though they were making any progress.
Exhausted, Emilya suggested taking a brief rest before continuing, which the other two agreed to.
They set up rotating watches to monitor any movement.
Lucius then made a comment to Melvis, who seemed particularly tense: “Don’t worry, the beasts around here don’t eat humans.” Assuming he was just teasing her, the servant ignored him.
Emilya, meanwhile, slept peacefully.
Lucius watched her intently.
“Why are you staring at me like that?” Emilya asked, her eyes still closed.
“Weren’t you asleep?” he asked, surprised.
“With you watching me like a lunatic, plus a forest that feels neither hostile nor welcoming…
How do you expect me to sleep?” There seemed to be no living soul in the woods.
Yet, countless small creatures lurked in the gloom.
But they couldn’t see them: if they strayed even a little from the flame Emilya had created, they would be swallowed whole by the forest’s darkness.
So during their watches, they made sure never to wander too far from camp.
“This forest certainly lives up to its name—you can’t even tell if it’s day or night,” Lucius remarked.
“Did you know it has another name?
The Devourer of Adventurers…
Because those who enter never come back out.
No one knows what becomes of them, and they’re never heard from again,” Emilya slipped in, trying to unnerve him.
“Shh!
Something’s approaching!” interrupted Melvis, who was on guard duty.
She quickly retreated to the center, and all three assumed a fighting stance.
From the shadows of the forest emerged a small creature they never would have expected to find in a place like this.
“A child?!” they all gasped in unison.