Right now, the trouble Hilna had caused remained unsolved.

Shel had to explain himself to everyone in Ipoli—from the king to commoners. He had to eliminate this so-called “Fiend,” this “monster.”

The Eternal Church would soon send a Holy Knight to investigate nearby. That knight needed to be convincingly deceived.

And then there was Lofna.

That blabbermouth little girl needed reining in. If she spilled the truth about Hilna, everything would collapse.

To clear his name, Shel devised a rather underhanded plan.

He and Prince Noren selected a death-row prisoner from the jail, then secretly took him to the Great Swamp.

Deep in the marsh, after executing the convict, Shel burned the corpse. He gathered a few charred bones, claiming he’d incinerated the demon with magic flames and retrieved its remains.

Prince Noren stood witness: “I saw Master Shel summon a blazing fireball with his magic—it swallowed that vile monster whole.”

The ruse worked.

Convinced Shel had slain the demon, the townsfolk dumped the poor wretch’s ashes into a cesspit, jeering and cheering all at once.

By the time the Church’s Holy Knight arrived in Ipoli, all traces of the “Fiend” had vanished.

The matter was quietly dropped.

Though the lie held for now, Shel still felt overwhelmed.

After all, that perpetually offline System had abruptly surfaced, announcing the completion of Phase One… This daunting task of “saving the future demon lord” seemed to be on track.

Hilna was that future demon lord…

The thought still unsettled him.

Was Hilna destined to awaken her magic, then use that terrifying power to lead tiny Ipoli to conquer half a continent?

And would she, as the System foretold, inevitably descend into tyranny, watching her empire crumble before her eyes?

Yet looking at this girl—who still flinched at her mother’s scolding and trembled with guilt over harming innocent townsfolk—Shel couldn’t reconcile her with that grim future.

Hilna had left the Great Swamp, but she remained terrified of her mother, refusing to return to the palace.

When her mother visited, memories of the rattan cane would flood back. Hilna would shriek in terror—and when her emotions spiraled, eerie black mist would rise from her feet, cocooning her body like a shell.

Her father, Prince Noren, was perpetually busy.

Clueless about parenting, he had no idea how to connect with his daughter.

Then there was the other problem: Lofna.

She was Hilna’s only peer companion, the sole person besides Shel who knew of Hilna’s magic—and a scatterbrained fool to boot.

Who knew if she’d blurt out the truth about Hilna being the monster?

Both girls needed careful watching.

And the only person patient and capable enough to care for them was Shel.

Prince Noren had a neat red-brick cottage built beside Lofna’s home—a small wooden hut by the riverside mill.

Hilna moved in there under Teacher Shel’s care, with Lofna as her daily companion.

Shel resigned from his teaching post at the Church school, becoming Hilna’s full-time guardian and tutor.

Watching these two starkly different girls, he keenly felt the weight of his task.

How should he teach Hilna?

This girl carried city-destroying power within her. Should he guide her to control it—or force her to live as an ordinary child, denying her magic?

Strict discipline or carefree childhood?

If she truly was a future demon lord, did any of this matter?

And Lofna…

Should he even bother with this utterly clueless girl? She trailed after him daily, begging Teacher Shel to teach her magic, to make her a magical girl like Hilna—blissfully unaware of the stakes.

Watching the two girls chase each other playfully outside the cottage, Shel agonized for a long time.

Finally, he made his decision—he would teach them his way.

His choice… proved remarkably effective.

He truly raised two unparalleled students.

Students who, even centuries later, would never let him go.

--------------***--------------

Centuries later, on that island at the world’s edge.

Shel—living incognito as a baron—would recall that distant afternoon from hundreds of years past the moment he’d resolved to properly teach those two girls.

“Master Shel, are you spacing out again?”

Lofna’s voice snapped him back to the present.

Before him stood Lofna, smiling gently yet holding a blade. Her voice dripped like thick honey, sweet enough to melt bones.

But her eyes remained icy, devoid of warmth—at least, she refused to show any.

“Long time no see, Lofna.” He struggled for words. “…Long time no see.”

This Lofna was no longer the airheaded little girl.

Tall and radiant, she wore a fitted long-sleeved shirt and brown leather pants tucked into practical boots, accentuating her curves.

Gold cufflinks on her sleeves, a gem-encrusted belt buckle—all whispered of her exalted status.

Her once-neglected auburn hair now flowed like liquid fire, sleek and glossy, swaying softly with her breath, catching the light.

Paired with her near-perfect face, dewy skin, and vivid eyes—

Truly, she had changed beyond recognition.

The girl who’d begged him daily for rewards, dreaming of becoming a mage… seemed gone forever.

“Master Shel…” She tilted her head, waving the blade. The cursed knife, etched with terrifying runes, brushed his cheek.

She let out a soft sigh. “Where did I go wrong? I ruled the Empire of Ypoli so well. Everyone was happy. They adored me… Why did you betray me, Master Shel? Why did you leave?”

“Blind men can’t see their own path. I only did what I must.” Shel avoided her gaze. “I won’t justify my actions. And I never betrayed you—don’t misunderstand.”

“Vanishing without a word? Causing me such chaos before leaving… isn’t that betrayal?” Lofna snorted coldly. “You’re ruthless, Teacher. But no matter. Soon, Hilna will arrive. Then we’ll have a proper talk with you.”

“You’ve reconciled?” Relief flickered in Shel. “When you reunite, don’t quarrel over nonsense again.”

“No!” Lofna’s eyes flashed wide with fury. “…We’re merely allies for now! And Shel—don’t think calling you ‘teacher’ means I’ll let you dictate my life! We’re equals! I can do whatever I want to you! I could bind you, sever your limbs, lock you in a dungeon forever—and no one would stop me!”

She froze mid-rant, as if hitting pause.

Realizing her outburst, she closed her eyes, taking a deep breath.

Like donning a mask, her warm smile returned.

“My apologies, Master Shel. I lost my composure. You don’t mind, do you?”

“Your anger is a good sign,” Shel said earnestly. “It means that gluttonous, mischievous little girl still lives.”

“Gluttonous… mischievous…” Her smile deepened. “Yes. Gluttonous. I adored the treats you bought me—buttery sponge cakes, crisp toast slathered in jam, golden-brown roasted meat chops… I’d sit in the courtyard, savoring your delicacies while you watched me, talking softly…”

She licked her lips, sliding close to wrap her arms around him—blade still in hand.

She nipped his earlobe gently. “But no delicacy compares to you, Master. You’re the sustenance the Eternal Sovereign of the Highest Heaven granted me. Only you can fill this hunger…”

“Lofna.” Shel’s voice cut through the haze. “If I go with you… will you spare the girl beside me?”

“The girl beside you?”

Lofna glanced at Nameless, lying motionless on the floor.

She scoffed. “This overconfident bodyguard?”

Cursed into paralysis and silence by Lofna’s magic, the sturdy girl possessed no magical talent—only brute courage and foolish loyalty, tending to Shel’s daily life.

Lofna’s icy gaze flicked from her to Shel.

“You truly care for her.” Her tone was sharp. “Why not abandon her like you abandoned me?”

“I owe her. Nameless has cared for me all these years. With your permission, Your Majesty, I’d heal her.”

“…………Hurry. She dies in two minutes.”

Shel exhaled in relief. He knelt, gripping Nameless’s hands, then bit his finger. A drop of crimson blood fell onto her forehead.

He chanted an incantation.

The blood seeped into her skin like elixir.

Slowly, the black runes crawling over Nameless’s body faded.

She coughed up dark clots, limp and dazed, her strong hands too weak to clutch Shel’s sleeve.

“Enough, Master Shel. Her life is secure.” Lofna’s impatience cut through. “Stand up. Leave this wretched place with me—”

Before she finished, Shel swept his arm. Black mist flooded the study.

He scooped up Nameless, kicked through the floorboards, and triggered a pre-prepared escape teleportation array.

Blinding light erupted, hurling Shel and Nameless into a chaotic void.

“Shel, you bastard! You tricked me again!”

The last thing he heard was Lofna’s tear-choked scream.

After a flash and dizzying lurch, Shel escaped—cradling the frail, unconscious Nameless.