["Do you think he'll teach us?"]

After a slight pause, Guya continued.

["After this."]

"Hmm."

Hearing Guya's voice in her mind, Xueluo murmured softly.

"Probably... will he?"

As she spoke, she looked at the ground where Zerich lay curled up in a ball, clutching his crotch tightly. For some reason, a strange trace of sympathy for this lecherous old man sprouted in Xueluo's mind.

"Hey, old man?"

Murmuring softly, Xueluo crouched down slightly.

"Are you not—"

But just as she reached out her hand—

"Hah!"

Whoosh~

In that instant, Zerich let out a loud shout and pinched Xueluo's cheek.

...

"Guhuhuhuhu~ You're still too naive, my apprentice. With this—"

BANG!

Right after Xueluo drew her pistol and fired forward,

she found Zerich had vanished from his spot.

With a flash, he suddenly appeared opposite her. The somewhat muscular old man struck a JoJo pose and declared loudly,

"With this, you can't even reach half of what I am~"

"Shut up, you lecherous old man!"

BANG!

Though Xueluo fired another shot, the old man disappeared again right after.

[Contractor, this is the magic system Zerich created himself—Spatial Magic.]

Guya's voice rose slowly, sounding very serious.

[Be careful. I can't keep up with his speed. The fluctuations after he uses magic... are extremely eerie.]

"Is that so?"

Saying this, Xueluo drew another gun from her waist.

"Do your best!"

With that, she began sweeping fire forward with both pistols.

But as soon as Xueluo moved, Zerich vanished again. Though Guya could barely track his landing spots, by the time Xueluo turned her guns, he had disappeared once more.

"Muda muda muda muda muda muda~"

"And that's enough with the JoJo references already!"

BANG!

After firing the last bullet from her left pistol, Xueluo let out a heavy sigh and lowered her hands.

"Hmm~ Not bad at all."

With a soft sound, Zerich appeared before her, speaking quietly.

"Good reflexes. Good magic sense too."

BANG!

Though Xueluo fired again while he was talking, Zerich dodged it perfectly.

"And you've got a competitive spirit. Getting an apprentice like you makes me so 'High!'"

"And I said, enough with the JoJo references..."

"Is that so?"

Murmuring, Zerich raised his hand. A teapot appeared in it.

"I was just trying to keep up with the young folks these days."

He waved his hand. A table and two chairs quickly materialized before them.

"But JoJo and all that... don't you think it's a bit outdated?"

"Well, we can talk about that later."

Saying this, Zerich gestured for her to sit.

"Now, let's get down to business. Please, have a seat."

After eyeing Zerich warily, Xueluo reloaded both pistols and walked toward the table.

"Hey hey hey, is that much caution really necessary?"

"What do you think?"

They sat on opposite sides. Zerich quickly produced two teacups and placed one before Xueluo.

[Don't worry, Contractor.]

At that moment, Guya whispered softly.

[There's nothing bad in it.]

...Even the vampire doesn't trust you.

Thinking this, Xueluo downed the tea in one gulp. After resting a moment, she looked at the scattered bullet casings and fading magic fragments before her. After a pause, she asked softly,

"But why go through all this trouble just to take on an apprentice?"

Things like this... ordinary people couldn't possibly pass.

"Hmm? Ah, well, simply put, my magic system requires high sensitivity to magic from its users."

After sipping his tea, Zerich continued.

"Originally, the entrance exam only needed the sword array you faced earlier... The crow part was something I added later."

He rested a moment, then spoke thoughtfully,

"By observing how one perceives surrounding magic, I understand their character. If someone came purely for power with an upright heart, they wouldn't have noticed me."

...

Seeing Zerich suddenly turn serious, Xueluo frowned slightly before asking softly,

"Why do you say that? Did something happen?"

"...Well, since you're my student now, I'll tell you. Back then, I didn't have many, but I did have about ten students."

Looking troubled, Zerich took a sip of tea.

"Among them, there was one outstanding person. Almost as good as you—'excellent' is the only word to describe him."

Just like me...

Hearing this, Xueluo blinked. All her achievements relied on Guya's help.

But someone who reached this level on their own...

Before she could dwell on it—

"He was the only one of my students to graduate. But on his graduation day..."

Zerich took another sip of tea.

"He killed all his classmates and tried to kill me. All to monopolize Spatial Magic. Because of his background, I've been forced to hide in this deep forest."

After speaking softly, he impatiently tapped the chair arm.

"And I heard he's recently come to this backwater under the guise of recruiting new members. Who knows if it's because of me."

...

"So... who is this person?"

After giving Zerich a moment to rest, Xueluo asked softly.

"Ah, his background is strong. He's the eldest son of the Frosteren family—one of the three great families of the Hymn Guild."

Huh?

[Contractor...]

Hearing this all-too-familiar name, Xueluo hesitated slightly. Then Zerich finished his sentence.

"His name is Edward Frosteren. He's hailed as the most likely candidate to become the next leader of the Hymn Guild."