Ariel looked up at the sky hidden by dense leaves and branches, completely out of sight, letting the evening breeze tousle her hair, her heart filled with melancholy.

A month ago, following Lea's traces, she stepped into that unknown relic.

She had wanted to be the hero who saved the girl, but she hadn't expected to fail at being a hero and instead fall deep into all kinds of dangers and shackles herself.

That relic was even more dangerous than she had imagined; for an ordinary Third-Rank, entering it alone was practically suicide.

Fortunately, she was no ordinary Third-Rank practitioner—not to the point of throwing her life away outright—but she was still dancing on the blade's edge at every moment, going through trial after trial, and several times standing at death's door.

It took her a full month to finally clear that relic.

But though she had cleared the relic, from beginning to end she had not found a trace of Lea.

"Lea, you weren't in the relic at all. Where are you?"

Ariel once more called out with true feeling to the night sky, even though she knew that such a call was nothing but futile.

"Sigh... look on the bright side, Ariel."

In her mind, her teacher's sigh sounded:

"Although you didn't find that little girl Lea, your strength has indeed made great strides."

"But Lea..."

"That little girl isn't so easy to get into trouble."

Ariel pressed her lips together, and the grief and anger in her eyes faded a little.

Indeed, frightening as the relic was,

the gains brought by its dangers were equally rich.

In just a single month, her realm had jumped up by a whole major step; in her teacher's words, this could already be called an unprecedented speed.

One must know that a month ago she had only just advanced to the Third Tier.

And compared to the powerful something she obtained at the very end of the relic, even her meteoric rise in realm seemed somewhat insignificant.

As she was now, if she were to face that Radiant Tier mage from a month ago again, even without her teacher taking action, the outcome would be far from certain.

This trip into the relic had been an almost all-around metamorphosis, her power surging explosively.

"But..."

Lea still couldn't help recalling the girl's delicate, fragile face. The moment she thought that the girl might at this very moment be suffering somewhere in this terrifying world, she grew restless and uneasy:

"Even if I've gained such tremendous power, what's the use if I can't save Lea? No, I have to keep searching for her!"

Determination showed on Ariel's face as she prepared to delve once more into this dangerous forest.

Lea might still be in the forest; she couldn't give up.

Although they had already missed each other in that relic, he still believed that between her and Lea there existed a bond of fate!

Lea, I will definitely find you!

"M-my... my lord?"

Just as Ariel was about to move, she heard a call from not far away.

Hm?

Hearing the call, Ariel lowered her head, and only then did she finally notice the two people before her, a soldier and a captain.

The two were prostrate on the ground, still trembling, thinking they had encountered that legendary "fearsome existence"...

Fortunately, the captain had a bit more courage. Seeing there had been no movement for a long time, he raised his head to steal a look for a while, felt that this "fearsome existence" had no intention of eating people, and so tried calling out tentatively.

Ordinary people?

Her gaze swept over the two suspiciously, and Ariel's willow brows knit slightly, a trace of puzzlement showing.

Strange. This was Deathbane Forest, a forbidden zone of the Empire. Other than bugs and crows, there were usually hardly any living things at all—how could there be people here, and ordinary people at that, with no hint of battle aura or magical presence?

"Who are you?"

Ariel asked.

"We..."

Seeing that this "fearsome existence" Ariel actually took the initiative to question them, with no intention of eating them, the captain couldn't help rejoicing. He kicked the still-shaking soldier beside him and quickly said:

"We are soldiers of the Empire."

"Soldiers?"

Ariel glanced at the leather armor on them.

"Yes. We are border troops under Count Eller. The army's code name is Iron Hammer. We..."

"Hold it, hold it. I'm not interested in the detailed information about your army."

Ariel cut off the captain's torrential words and asked, "What I want to know is... why are you here? This isn't where border troops are supposed to be, is it."

"In... indeed."

The captain and the soldier exchanged a look, then confessed:

"We entered this forest to look for someone."

"Look for whom?"

"A young lady named Ariel."

The captain gestured as he spoke:

"Height around one meter fifty to one meter sixty, age eighteen, slim build, distinguishing feature: flat chest."

As he said it, the captain even let out a little hmm:

"Come to think of it, that young lady looks a lot like you, my lord."

Ariel: "..."

What do you mean looks like—he's talking about her, okay!

And what's with "distinguishing feature: flat chest"? Since when did being flat-chested count as a distinguishing feature—apologize to every girl in the world under ten, why don't you!

Besides, she wasn't flat-chested—it's just not very prominent, that's all!

"Wait."

Ariel suddenly came to her senses.

The point of that sentence wasn't the bogus flat chest at all—it was... someone was looking for her!

Who?

The Academy?

Right. After all, she had "gone missing" on the way to Holy City while accompanying the Academy; it was only proper for the Academy to send people to search.

Thinking of this, Ariel's eyes lit up.

If they were looking for her, then they'd certainly look for Lea as well. Which meant...

"Then have you found that young lady named Lea? You should also have the task of looking for her!"

Ariel asked urgently.

She wasn't pinning all her hopes on these people being able to find Lea, but even if they hadn't, at least they could narrow the scope a bit within this vast forest...

But what Ariel hadn't expected was that, faced with her question, the two before her showed utterly blank expressions.

"Lea?"

The captain frowned. "I'm sorry... my lord. We've never heard that name."

"Eh?"

Ariel was taken aback.

"Ne... never heard of her? What do you mean? Lea—LeaAngel—a beautiful girl about my age, bust slightly bigger than mine. She should also be lost in this forest."

Even if Lea had perhaps been found midway, or had gotten out, as people doing the searching they ought to know of her. How could they never even have heard the name?

"I'm very sorry, my lord."

The captain shook his head and said with solemn seriousness:

"As for that Miss LeaAngel you mentioned, we received no such orders. From beginning to end, the one we've been searching for... has been Miss Ariel alone."

"..."

Looking at the captain and soldier, who showed not the slightest hint of falsehood, Ariel's small mouth fell open involuntarily.

She didn't believe the Academy had forgotten to search for Lea, and therefore...

Ariel suddenly had a guess that made her want to burst into tears...

...

...

"Yes. Young Master Moen and that Miss Lea successfully walked out of the forest a month ago."

Following the captain, Lea soon met Count Eller, who was stationed outside the forest.

From the mouth of that armor-clad Count Eller, she received, unsurprised, the news that instantly petrified her:

"This past month, the one we have been waiting for... or searching for... has always been only you, Miss Ariell, and you alone."

"Eh? The one you were looking for... was only me... alone?"

Ariel staggered back a few steps. In that moment, countless scenes flashed through her mind.

Scenes of herself, without the slightest hesitation, stepping into the unknown relic in order to search for Lea.

Scenes of herself fighting among terrifying mechanical dolls, blood splattering, with not a trace of fear.

Scenes of herself on the edge of life and death, and the moment she thought of the lonely Lea, bursting forth with endless power.

But...

Now, those scenes shattered.

Because the Lea she wanted to save hadn't existed from the very beginning.

A month ago, Lea had already successfully escaped the peril-ridden forest and gone to the safe and warm Holy City.

Supposedly even together with that despicable Moen Campbell!

"Th-then... what about me..."

Ariel shook her head, casting aside the image of Lea leaving her, and murmured blankly:

"Then what was all my effort this past month for?"