“We’re here. This is the place.”

Itefeil and the others had returned to the scene of the crime. But unlike last time, their numbers had nearly doubled. And with the Woodpecker Cavalry Regiment fully armed, merchants passing along the Divine Road quickly moved to the roadside to let them through.

“That’s where the bandits burned the bodies and cargo. We checked it at the time. Most of the goods were things like silk, and the bandits hadn’t taken them. But every bit of food traveling with the caravan was gone.”

The Woodpecker cavalry captain nodded. In the bandit cases they’d handled across the country, the bandits usually didn’t loot the cargo. They mostly took the food and killed every person traveling with the group.

These criminal groups had motives no one could understand and acted against all reason. They were such a headache for the Empire that it had no choice but to form an elite cavalry unit—the Woodpecker—and send them across the country to wipe the groups out.

“Then, in that patch of woods, our people found a lot of hoofprints and footprints.”

Itefeil pointed to the small grove in the distance.

“There’s a trail behind those trees that heads in a particular direction, but it doesn’t go far before splitting off in several directions. After that, it’s hard to tell where it leads.”

The Woodpecker captain said nothing. Everything that had happened here was exactly as he’d imagined: kill the victims, cut off their heads, destroy the bodies, then leave a false trail before making their escape.

They’d clashed with bandit groups like this countless times. They already knew how to deal with them.

“Asuka! Send your eyes out!”

“Yes, sir!”

Once he’d confirmed their target, the captain immediately began directing his team. At his command, a member named Asuka quickly opened the pack on his back. A small bird poked its head out from inside.

“Go!”

Asuka released the little bird. It beat its wings a few times, and its tiny body suddenly grew several times larger. Once its wings were fully spread, it was as long as a grown man.

The captain saw the shock on Itefeil’s face and introduced his team member.

“His name is Asuka. He can share an animal’s vision, and he’s powerful in his own right—he has the strength of a Sky Warrior.”

The captain seemed to remember something else, then continued speaking to Itefeil.

“Oh, right. We’ve known each other for so long, and I still haven’t told you my name, miss. I’m Gadil, commander of the Woodpecker Cavalry Regiment. My power lets me protect everything behind me.”

“Oh, oh…”

Itefeil nodded blankly, then introduced herself too.

“Itefeil. Mage, and also a Forest Level warrior.”

The other team members all looked at her in surprise.

“I had no idea you were a Mage, Miss Itefeil. Please forgive my rudeness.”

When the captain heard Itefeil say she was a Mage, he bowed to her with great respect.

“Huh??”

The whole group had suddenly looked at her in surprise and bowed. For a moment, Itefeil had no idea what was going on.

Seeing Itefeil’s confusion, the captain suddenly seemed to realize something and explained:

“You’ve lived in the western part of the continent for a long time, Miss Itefeil, so you may not know much about certain things in the Empire. Every Mage holds an honored position here, and their magic is usually passed down from one generation to the next. So if you’re a Mage, that means you must have had an even more powerful teacher.”

“A teacher, huh…”

Itefeil scratched her head. She knew Mages existed in the Empire, but the people around her didn’t seem to care much about her being one. She’d learned magic from an old man who’d wandered into the city. He was attacked by monsters in the forest outside town, and back then she’d only just taken up her post as a police inspector. She’d saved him by chance while taking part in a monster-subjugation mission.

To thank her for saving him, the old man offered to teach Itefeil his magic. Later, she used what she’d learned alongside her own strength and gradually found considerable success at work. But the old man passed away in the winter of the second year after she became chief inspector.

That old geezer never even told Itefeil his name before he died. After she moved into the chief inspector’s quarters, he’d gone and remodeled one of the rooms without asking. Then he told her all his secrets were inside and that she should open the door if she wanted to learn them. After that, he died.

Itefeil had stared at the door in utter confusion, with layer upon layer of sealing magic covering it. The basic spells that old geezer had taught her were nowhere near enough to open it. As time passed, she eventually forgot all about it.

“I see…”

Gadil nodded thoughtfully.

“So you only learned beginner-level magic from that old gentleman?”

“Um… yeah, more or less.”

“Don’t lose heart, Miss Itefeil. Maybe this is just a test your teacher set for you.”

“I hope that’s all it is…”

Itefeil thought again of the layers of magic woven around the chains on that door.

What a headache…

Meanwhile, inside the room that was giving Itefeil a headache, a cat stared blankly at a floating book.

“Meow, meow, meow…”

(This makes no sense at all…)