“Mmph, mmph! Where… where are you taking me?”

“I can’t breathe! Let… let go of me!”

Evelyn forcibly pressed Maur against her heaving chest. When he tried to lift his head, she pushed it back down. One hand pinned the top of his skull; the other arm wrapped firmly around his waist. Her fingers were slender and elegant—seemingly delicate, utterly devoid of strength—yet no matter how hard Maur struggled, he couldn’t break free.

After all, the Forest Fey had always been masters of deception.

These seemingly fragile beings could send a fully armored human knight flying with a single punch—no magic required.

Maur, a human mage who rarely trained his body, stood zero chance against a Forest Fey in raw strength.

Darkness swallowed his vision. The thick, sweet scent of the Fey filled his nose. He was suffocating.

Worse, the Forest Fey showed not a trace of concern, dragging him blindly forward.

Stuffy… so stuffy.

He was really going to suffocate!

“Let… let go! So… so stuffy! Damn you, Fey! Your chest is… too big! I’m… suffocating!!” Maur yelled desperately.

On the verge of being smothered alive, Maur no longer cared if Mavis discovered them.

He’d already been found anyway!

Mavis’s tentacles had brushed against him, even crawled over his body—if she was going to notice, it had happened long ago.

Ever since entering the haunted house and being caught with his Fey teacher… something inside Maur had shattered.

He didn’t care anymore.

…Whatever.

→_→ He was wearing an invisibility cloak. Mavis couldn’t see him.

“Let’s go somewhere else,” the Fey teacher murmured, pressing Maur’s head down firmly to block his view of the Swamp Behemoth. “Maur’s had enough of the haunted house, hasn’t he?”

Hah. He never wanted to go in there in the first place!

“Next, we’ll find a quiet place to continue.” Sensing his resistance, Teacher Evelyn coaxed him gently.

“Teacher Evelyn, please wait.”

Mavis’s voice cut through the air.

Evelyn halted, still holding Maur.

The Swamp Behemoth—now in human female form—unfurled her tentacles, blocking the Forest Fey’s path.

In a voice raspy from flame-born pain, she said, “On the way here, I received a message from Headmaster Pelopqi. There’s an issue at the practical test site. Teacher Evelyn is requested to investigate immediately.”

The message was real—but not sent by the headmaster.

Mavis had sent it herself.

*“No matter what, give me a reason to get Teacher Evelyn away.”*

Using her identity as the young master of Duke Fred’s household, she’d commanded the headmaster—once a retainer of the Fred family.

Though Pelopqi had risen from knight to earl and gained lands of his own, his deep fear of the Swamp Ogre Clan left him powerless to refuse his former lord’s heir.

His reply came swiftly: *“The test venue has an issue. As an academy teacher, Evelyn should investigate.”*

But that alone wouldn’t divert a stubborn Forest Fey.

She was a Level 7 Legendary Spellcaster—no one could move her unless she chose to.

To Teacher Evelyn, checking a faulty test site was utterly trivial.

Sure enough, she replied flatly, “That has nothing to do with me.”

She wasn’t like other extraordinary teachers who relied on Divine Grace Academy. Teaching Spirit Language was merely a hobby.

In truth, the Academy had always needed *her*.

After all, Level 7 Legendary Spellcasters were vanishingly rare across the entire Kachibia Continent.

Only one was human.

And *she* taught at Divine Grace Academy.

Even royalty from foreign empires sought to enroll their heirs there.

The headmaster had never held authority over Evelyn.

“If the test site’s safety means nothing to you…” Mavis pressed on, palms slick with sweat, fists clenched tight beneath a calm smile, “...then what about the whereabouts of Queen Dominica of the Dark Elves?”

Blocking a Level 7 Legendary Spellcaster’s path—facing that chilling hostility head-on—Mavis forced lightness into her tone:

“Queen Dominica vanished mysteriously after waging war twenty years ago. Nearly every extraordinary being worldwide hunts this demigod’s trail. Surely *you*, Teacher, care deeply?”

Mavis recalled Pelopqi’s message:

*“Evelyn came to Divine Grace Academy searching for clues about Queen Dominica’s human lover.”*

*“That demigod’s mortal beloved was once a student here.”*

*“She hoped to trace the missing Queen through him.”*

But the foreign student had long graduated. Records were scarce.

After exhausting all leads, Evelyn stayed—becoming the Spirit Language instructor.

Mavis didn’t know her full goal, but one thing was clear: this Forest Fey was here for Queen Dominica.

Maur felt it instantly—the hand crushing his head tightened the moment “Queen of Dark Elves” left Mavis’s lips.

“Mmph!” Damn… damn it! His face was fully buried in her chest!

No air. Absolutely no air!!

Evelyn’s scent flooded his senses. Combined with the ripe nutmeg fruit he’d just eaten, heat surged through Maur’s body again…

Evelyn noticed the shift. She lifted her hand from his head, tilting his face up.

Her Level 6 detection magic—True Sight—let her see clearly through Lake Light’s concealment: Maur’s cheeks burned crimson, his gaze hazy.

…Too many blooming nutmeg flowers nearby. And she’d just fed him the ripe fruit.

She knew she should leave now—find quiet, finish what they’d started.

But the Swamp Behemoth pressed on: “Preliminary assessment links the test site issue to the missing Queen Dominica of the Dark Elves.”

“Every extraordinary being seeks this demigod’s legacy. Arrive late, Teacher, and you’ll find nothing.”

Simple logic.

Clues must be claimed alone for maximum gain.

No one shares a demigod’s inheritance.

Though all claimed Queen Dominica was merely “missing,” the continent knew another truth—a love prophecy whispered for decades:

*“The black goddess cast her gaze upon a mortal.*

*The world then knew: her heart was not as cold as her magic.”*

*“The underworld divine kingdom shall fall—*

*this is a god’s martyrdom for love.”*