Karmen’s face, fully revealed, was filled with astonishment.

“Karmen!”

Siervian quickly ran toward Karmen and hugged him tightly as soon as she saw his face illuminated by the faint glow of the light sphere she had thrown earlier.

“Ugh! Get, get off. What are you doing?”

[Karmen Kasselov]
Affection: +100
Thoughts: Why, why, why, why all of a sudden? Wow, how does she fit so perfectly in my arms? This is driving me crazy.

“You little brat! You almost caused the princess harm!”

Startled that it might be a trap the Princess was rushing to, the Tower Lord scolded Karmen harshly.

[Turana Ellison]
Mood: Relief
Thoughts: You rascal of a disciple! You’re safe. Thank goodness. I’m really relieved!

However, deep down, he was extremely relieved. The act of scolding him was intentional, he didn’t want anyone to think Karmen was attacking the imperial family.

‘Come to think of it, Karmen’s personality is quite similar to the teacher.’

Particularly the part where he couldn’t express his feelings honestly. Anyway, seeing Karmen alive like this brought her peace of mind. So, Siervian hugged Karmen even tighter.

“Get, get off.”

Karmen couldn’t speak loudly and whispered to Siervian.

Despite telling her to get off, Karmen stood stiffly and stared down at Siervian’s earlobe without moving.

Something was strange. Karmen suddenly regained his composure and asked, “Wait. Why… is the princess here?”

Quickly, he changed his tone as he looked at the knights behind her.

Fortunately, the knights, preoccupied with holding off the monsters outside, didn’t notice the awkward situation.

“Now monsters are swarming in.”

“The magic circle is weakening!”

Karmen quickly assessed the situation and spoke to everyone, “For now, everyone should go inside.”

“Everyone, retreat!”

The knights who had been holding off the monsters outside rushed into the mine. The monsters, sensing the weakening magical energy, let out eerie cries and charged toward the mine.

“Oh? Could that be…”

At that moment, Siervian’s eyes caught a peculiar status window passing between the monsters.

“Rise.”

She heard Karmen’s subdued chant from beside her. The mana, swirling in front of their eyes, suddenly caused the ground to shoot up. The raised ground grew tall enough to reach the ceiling of the mine.

Quickly regaining her senses, Siervian ran toward the back of the mine. Karmen intended to reinforce the defensive magic at the entrance that was temporarily deactivated.

“Tsk. Will that be enough?”

The Tower Lord, who had been watching over Karmen, clicked his tongue and waved his hand.

This time, a faintly shining circular sphere spread out around them.

Using the mana barrier that the Tower Lord cast, the earth wall Karmen created became even stronger. Then, it quickly changed its nature and expanded outward. The mana barrier had obscured the monsters’ sense of smell and hearing when Siervian and the team arrived at the entrance.

“I was about to do that, too.”

“If you did it that slowly, the monsters would have already reached us.”

“Damn.”

The two mages bickered while tirelessly manipulating mana. They did everything they could to protect the mine more securely.

“Phew. This bought us some time.”

Finally, the mine was completely sealed, and not a single ray of light entered. Feeling the darkness engulfing them, Siervian lifted the light sphere above her hand.

“Mage Karmen, you need to explain the situation.”

Sir Carmel, who had been observing the mages’ actions, suggested, “For now, let’s go inside. The workers are inside.”

The mine length was not very long since it had only recently been developed. Arriving inside the mine shaft, a small clearing opened up unexpectedly.

“Dephi?”

“Princess?”

Siervian’s eyes widened when she saw Guildmaster Delphi Borgir.

Near Delphi, there were other guild members lying around, appearing to be injured.

And next to them, there was a mage lying down.

“Why is he being held?”

He looked slightly different from the members of the Justice Guild. The person’s mage robe was torn and in disarray, and even on the ground, his hands and feet were bound.

“Hmm? Isn’t he a mage from the Magic Tower?”

“Yes, teacher.”

While answering, Karmen couldn’t hide his anger as he glared at the mage sprawled on the floor.

The knights were tense and exchanged glances in this strange situation.

On the other hand, the Tower Lord closely examined the lying mage, seeming to suspect something.

[Turana Ellison]
Thoughts: Huh. I can’t sense any mana from that mage at all. Could it be a mana surge…?

‘What’s a mana surge?’

Curious but puzzled, Siervian approached the person lying down.

Roid tried to stop her, but Siervian’s hand reached the mage’s face faster.

“This person is…!”

“Do you know him?”

When Karmen asked, Siervian turned her head sideways first.

“The mage I met earlier at the gate, it’s him, teacher.”

In response to Karmen’s gaze demanding an explanation, the Tower Lord provided a brief answer.

“He muttered about summoning monsters in the mine, and the princess was alarmed and came to me.”

“Ah…!”

However, Karmen did not let go of his angry expression even with the explanation.

“Then you should’ve come alone, teacher, leaving the Princess behind!”

“Hmm? You don’t care if your old teacher is in danger?”

“Of course.”

“You little—!”

While the mages argued, Roid slipped in between them. He was accustomed to their squabbles because he had been following Siervian.

“It’s not the time to do that now. What did the mage do to make the monsters come here?”

True to his nature, Karmen explained what had happened.

“He shook and the mana in his body exploded.”

“That’s absurd…!”

“Is such a thing possible?”

The knights immediately objected. The palace knights, though not as skilled as the mage, accumulated mana in their bodies for usage. So they knew well how absurd it was to detonate mana.

“Even if that’s true, what does it have to do with the monsters?” At that moment, Siervian, who was carefully observing whether the mage’s status window would appear, asked.

The one who answered was the Tower Lord, who couldn’t hide his grave voice.

“The mage’s mana surge summons monsters, Your Highness.”

He explained, unable to provide a precise reason.

The knights buzzed again at the Tower Lord’s words. It was impossible not to believe the words of the Tower Lord himself.
‘
“But it’s strange. Even if his mana surged, he shouldn’t be able to summon monsters of that magnitude…”

There were still puzzling aspects. The effect of the mana surge was far greater than the Tower Lord knew.

“Could it be that the Werewolf King was nearby…?”

Carmel muttered quietly, lost in thought. The mention of the Werewolf King made the faces of some knights darken noticeably.

“Sir Carmel. What’s the Werewolf King?”

When the princess asked, Carmel’s face showed signs of hesitation.

However, the princess in front of him was a mage who had spent a remarkable amount of time in awakening.

So he decided to reveal the information without hiding anything.

“The Werewolf King is an exceptionally intelligent individual among the Werewolf species.”

“Intelligent?”

“Yes. Werewolves are originally creatures with blind aggression. But if this Werewolf King exists, the pack will use their heads and start attacking humans.”

As he continued his explanation, Siervian’s face grew darker.

“…It will become very difficult to deal with.”

“That’s right. However, if you manage to defeat it, the Werewolves under its control will temporarily lose control and attempt to escape.”

At that time, it was said that the characteristic aggressiveness of the Werewolf had diminished significantly. In the midst of listening, Siervian asked urgently, “Then can’t we just attack that Werewolf King from a distance?”

However, the hope flickered only for a moment. The expression on Carmel’s face grew even darker as he shook his head.

“Unfortunately, Your Highness, there is no way to visually distinguish them. As they are highly intelligent, they hide their presence among other Werewolves.”

The other knights also froze with expressions of despair in this situation.

While it was better than being surrounded by monsters outside, this place was not completely safe.

Siervian listened to Carmel’s explanation and was the only one trying to suppress her confusion inwardly.

‘What I saw earlier, could it be?’

She hurriedly grabbed the hands of her teacher and Karmen and headed toward the entrance of the mine.

“Your Highness?”

“What are you doing? It’s dangerous.”

“I have something to confirm!” Siervian shouted firmly as she moved forward, and the knights and even Justice Guildmaster, who had been lying down, followed her as if possessed.

Siervian stood in front of the wall that had been blocked earlier and made a request to her teacher.

“Teacher, please create a hole here so that we can look outside.”

Her voice was filled with conviction and had the power to move people. Even Karmen, who had been about to oppose her recklessness, closed his mouth and stared at her.

Although he couldn’t hide his annoyed expression, he couldn’t hide his worried expression either.

[Karmen Kasselov]
Thoughts: It’s dangerous, what is she doing…! She must have some kind of plan, but these little things are really making me anxious.

Just like when he had seen the Princess earlier, he gave her a serious look.

Then he subtly manipulated his mana. With a mix of illusion magic, he could create a hole that would deceive the monsters’ senses.

“I won’t maintain it for long. You understand, right?”

“Yes.”

Nervously, Siervian approached the hole. The hole in the wall was slightly above her height, as if it was meant for a better view.

Using magic to raise the ground, she stepped up as if climbing stairs and brought her eyes level with the hole.

Then, she once again discovered what she had seen just before closing the entrance to the mine.

[Werewolf King]

‘As I thought, the words I saw before were correct…!’

—