A figure moved through the undergrowth, then vanished.

After lending her a little help, Jiuye was sure she could handle the one level-40 magical beast that remained.

When he returned and found Yinxin waiting with a worried look on her face, warmth spread through Jiuye’s heart.

“Yinxin.”

He called out to Yinxin and waved.

At the sound of his voice, Yinxin looked up. In the distance, she spotted a simply dressed young man walking toward her with a grin.

Seeing that Jiuye was unharmed, Yinxin finally relaxed.

“Lord Jiuye, I was so worried about you.”

Jiuye came up to Yinxin, still smiling, and gently patted her little head.

“Let’s go.”

“Mm.”

…

After defeating the level-40 wild wolf, the pink-haired woman returned to the carriage and found the group hiding in the grass.

Like the wolf leader, she had questions about the Invisible Wall that had suddenly appeared.

She went to ask the coachman, “Did you happen to see any strangers appear just now?”

She certainly hadn’t put up that Invisible Wall. That left only one possibility: there had to be someone else nearby.

The coachman nodded. “There was a young man just now, about your age. After asking what had happened here, he went over to where you were. What? Didn’t you see him?”

The woman shook her head, then asked, “What did he look like?”

Though she asked again, she already had an answer in mind. She just needed to confirm it.

“The young fellow was quite handsome, but his clothes were a little ragged. They had several big tears in them.”

The coachman’s answer confirmed what the woman had suspected.

She looked toward the road to Dragon City, turning a question over in her mind.

How could an E-Rank Spirit Master—the lowest rank—possibly use an invisible wall? Was an invisible wall really a spell for low-level Spirit Masters? How could that be? If it were true, how had she never heard of it?

“Just who is that guy?”

…

Three hours later, the unidentified object flying across the sky quietly landed in a secluded spot. A few kilometers farther ahead stood a vast city, one that little Gran City couldn’t begin to compare with. This was Dragon City.

Jiuye landed with Yinxin in a wooded area. Before touching down, he’d made a point of asking her to keep it a secret.

“Why?” Yinxin asked timidly.

Yinxin was already sixteen, but her emotional maturity hadn’t caught up with her age. Much of the time, she was still like a little girl who hadn’t grown up.

“You don’t need to ask. This is a secret between us. No one else knows. Can you promise me?” the young man said with a smile.

Yinxin nodded. “Yes, Lord Jiuye.”

Jiuye was at a loss for words. “By the way, Yinxin, don’t call me Lord Jiuye. We’re good friends now, so just call me Jiuye.”

“But…” Yinxin hesitated.

“No buts. How about I call you Xiao Yin to make it even? You call me Jiuye, and I’ll call you Xiao Yin.”

Only then did Yinxin nod.

“Mm-hmm, Lord Jiuye. Oh, I mean, Jiuye.”

Jiuye nodded. “That’s more like it, Xiao Yin. Let’s head into the city.”

“Yes.”

…