Yulia truly was Yulia. In no time, she’d gotten chummy with the kid named Alice. They walked ahead together, examining the fire magic Alice used for vigilance. Dante figured he’d finally escaped Yulia’s clutches—for now. He slipped to the back of the group and rummaged through the hunters’ supplies for snacks.
The hunting party ventured deeper into Sylia Forest. Dante trailed behind, thoroughly enjoying this rare moment free from Yulia’s antics. He cracked open a beer bought from camp.
“This stuff’s actually good. Should’ve grabbed two more barrels earlier.”
“Like it? Brewed with Corpse Eater blood—our settlement’s specialty.”
“Think I can run back for more?”
“Our cart’s already packed, Lord Dante.”
“You’re taking it easy,” Kadin remarked, watching Dante down another cup. “Getting drunk in a forest like this gets people killed.”
“You call *this* easy?” Dante burst out, voice cracking like a flash flood. “You’ve got obedient Alice. I’ve got Yulia—the she-devil who leaves me no time to even sip beer! Now the fortress soldiers openly call me ‘Nanny-sama’! No mercy at all. How about swapping Alice and Yulia? Try it yourselves!”
“I heard that, Uncle Dante!” Yulia called from the front. One of the rotating fireballs guarding the group suddenly veered wildly toward him.
“Damn it! Lawrence’s files said you couldn’t attack others with magic—”
“Can’t target *others*, true,” Yulia chirped. Two more fireballs shot his way. “But you’re special, Uncle Dante?”
“I was wrong, Lady Yulia!”
“Yulia, I can’t control the flames when you do that!” Alice complained, frowning.
“Ah, sorry! Where were we?”
“How to use fire magic in the forest.” Alice silently corrected the fireballs’ paths and resumed their chat.
Alice’s mana only sustained twelve hours of fire magic daily. Though she currently warded off forest monsters with flames, they rotated shifts every six hours. Lem took over with spatial detection magic to avoid predators.
As the group pressed deeper into the forest, Lem replaced Alice on watch. Dusk fell, and demon beasts grew more frequent.
“Marn, two o’clock—Corpse Eater approaching,” Lem reported, scanning the shadows with his magic.
“No avoiding this one. Lem, keep watch for hidden threats. Kes, guard supplies and provide archery support. Kadin, with me—we drive it off!”
Marn lunged, spear flashing toward the Corpse Eater. The monster blocked with a massive arm—but Kes’s arrow pierced its eye. The beast roared in agony. Kadin struck its leg from behind, crippling it.
“That’ll stop it from chasing us. Move out!”
Dante’s assessment plan proceeded smoothly. Three days of forced marches through the forest revealed each member’s capabilities.
The hunters matched elite fortress soldiers. When Alice’s flames faded, they meticulously cleared lurking monsters without fail.
But Alice? Her combat power likely exceeded all four hunters combined. A child sustaining large-scale fire magic for fourteen hours straight within a Corpse Chill Barrier—her mana pool and skill were staggering.
Her white hair, crimson eyes, and the ominous chill in her magic hinted at Ghostkind heritage. *Probably a lost child from the Alps Snowfield natives near the forest*, Dante mused. *Hope her parents reclaim her quietly later.*
Watching Alice silently guard the group with flames, Dante recalled his own bleak childhood—feared by humans until Lawrence took him to the Magic Metropolis. Only in that den of sin and shadows did he find his first peer friend: Black.
*Well*, he thought, sipping beer during his watch, gazing fondly at the two girls sleeping curled together, *I’ll just legally bring Alice to the fortress on the way back. Saves me from village massacres when her parents show up. And solves Yulia’s playmate problem too. I’m a genius.*
Dawn broke. The group set out again. Dante remained cheerful, but the hunters’ faces were grim.
“Lord Dante’s reliable,” one muttered. “Deeper we go, fewer Corpse Eaters we meet. Hope the breeding season hasn’t started early…”
“Relax. Ten thousand Corpse Eaters? I’d handle them easily.”
“Reassuring,” the hunters deadpanned, ignoring his bravado as they scanned the trees.
Silence thickened the air. Even Dante stowed his beer. Only Yulia, fearless as a newborn calf, skipped ahead, grinning.
By noon, Dante’s buzz faded. He halted the group, expression serious.
“Alice-chan, how long can your flames guard this spot?”
“Until my mana runs out… eight or nine hours?” She tilted her head cutely, calculating.
“Keep them active—but conserve mana. Lady Yulia, can you set defensive barriers around us?”
“Nope. Barriers are complicated.” Yulia’s reply was predictably petulant.
“I’ll do anything you ask when we return.”
“Hehe! What kind?”
“Use every spell you know. But wait five minutes after I leave to activate them.”
“Deal!”
“I’ll return shortly,” Dante announced, a killing intent none had ever seen on him sharpening his voice. “An old friend awaits nearby. Just paying respects.”
The forest fell deathly silent—a stillness thick with danger. Hunters tensed, weapons ready. After briefing the girls and hunters, Dante vanished alone into the deepening shadows.
