“I’m sorry.”

Before the Tower Lord could even point out Karmen’s attitude, the Guild Master slowly approached the princess.

“Your Highness. Your Highness! Thank you. My subordinates, sob….”

The knights were surprised with the sudden situation.

“Wow…! Such powerful healing magic!”

“Normally, injuries of that extent can’t be healed so quickly. It’s amazing.”

As expected of knights who relied the most on healing magic, it seemed that they had realized how great Siervian’s magic was.

“This is my first time using healing magic, so it’s not certain, but it’s a temporary measure. They need to get more proper treatment.”

“Yes, yes! Sob, sob.”

Delphi burst into tears, despite his large body size. He must have felt guilty that all of the guild members who had come with him had nearly died due to his own judgment.

“These are the herbs I brought with me, just in case.”

Siervian didn’t stop there, and fumbled to take out a bundle of herbs from her bag. Fortunately, she had prepared everything she could before leaving, just in case.

“Thank you, Your Highness. I will definitely repay this favor…!”

Looking at the small hand holding out the herbs, Delphi couldn’t help but feel his emotions well up.

The Tower Lord finally took charge of the situation.

“Alright, alright. We don’t have time for this right now.”

[Turana Ellison]
Thoughts: How amazing! I never thought I’d see such great healing magic in my time.

Of course, the Tower Lord was also surprised on the inside.

‘Hehe. I guess I didn’t do too badly with healing magic. That’s a relief.’

However, since it was an urgent situation, it seemed like there was nothing else she could do. The Tower Lord first shifted his mana to help Siervian, who felt dizzy from the sudden mana depletion.

“Go and carry out that operation for now, boy.”

“Teacher, you should go.”

“You punk. Do you want me to be buried at this age!?”

However, Karmen couldn’t bring himself to leave Siervian’s side and tried to resist.

He couldn’t help but move his body at his teacher’s chilling shout.

[Turana Ellison]
Thoughts: That punk is acting like a puppy, squirming around because the princess is feeling a little dizzy. Ahem, I should tease him about it later. It’s a shame, given the situation.

Siervian blankly watched the teacher and disciple bicker and was approached by Sir Roid as she sat.

“Your Highness. Should we go together to kill it? Would you be okay? If there’s any way you can teach me how to recognize it, I’ll gladly do it.”

His eyes had become even more devoted because of the miraculous sight he had just seen and were filled with loyalty. Healing mages were that precious. Unfortunately, the ability to see Siervian’s status window wasn’t something that could be taught.

“I think I should go myself, Sir Roid.”

“I see.”

“Can you help me?”

“Of course, Your Highness.”

Siervian was gently lifted up as Sir Roid turned his back to her.

It wasn’t because her legs were shaking due to her mana depletion that she had chosen this method. It was because they had concluded, after discussion, that this was the most suitable way to move.

‘I can’t move quickly yet….’

Once Siervian, who would play the most important role, was ready to move, Karmen finally returned. She approached, nervously brushing her hair back, having gotten covered in dirt in the meantime.

“How are you feeling?”

[Karmen Kasselov]
Mood: Very worried
Thoughts: Is this really the right thing to do? Even if only Siervian can differentiate the Werewolf King.

…It would be better if I sacrificed myself and used large-scale magic.

“I’m okay.” Karmen was about to have another scary thought, so Siervian quickly replied.

She reflexively reached out and grabbed his dirt-encrusted robe.

“Hmpf.”

As expected, Karmen didn’t push her arm away. However, he didn’t hide the fact that he was still a little angry.

Sir Roid responded generously to Karmen’s rude remarks, which was rare for him. Instead of reprimanding him, he gently asked about the situation in the tunnel.

He understood that his attitude came from his concern for Siervian.

“Sir Karmen. Are you ready?”

“Yes. As soon as we leave, teacher will deploy a mana barrier. We need to move quickly and make sure those guys don’t notice us.”

“Ugh, trying to take advantage of your old teacher, huh?”

While speaking, the Tower Lord had already prepared to activate the mana movement spell.

“Then I’ll quickly take the princess and Sir Roid to a high spot.”

“What if there are monsters over there?”

“Half of the knights should take a detour and climb the mountain.”

Having discussed their detailed route, their faces showed resolute expressions.

Delphi, the guild leader, offered to join them, but Siervian objected. The guild members were still recovering from the shock, and someone was needed to take care of the suspicious mage.

‘I’m getting nervous. I hope my mana recovers quickly.’

They cautiously moved forward toward the passage. The path was so narrow that only two or three people could stand side by side.

“We need to move quickly.”

“Be careful, Teacher.”

“Hmph. You better protect the princess well.”

While continuing their conversation, their status windows were filled with concern for each other.

“If you find anything when you reach the top, send me a message using the butterfly spell. Do you still have enough mana for that?”

“Yes, don’t worry.”

As their heads grew cool again before the impending fight, Karmen spoke.

Siervian nodded vigorously as if to say, ‘Don’t worry.’ Siervian seemed to be gradually recovering as she was carried on Roid’s back and felt her stamina slowly replenishing.

“Then, here we go…!”

As Karmen reversed his earth magic, the soil in front of them slowly receded into the ground. Then, a faint light began to seep into the tunnel.

“Now!”

Almost simultaneously, the Tower Lord activated the mana barrier he had gathered.

Roid’s body moved swiftly. In an instant, Siervian found herself outside.

“There are no monsters here yet!”

“Quickly move toward the mountain!”

The knights quickly surveyed the surroundings and split into two groups.

Karmen carefully examined the terrain and also activated levitation magic.

“Sir Roid, please take care of the princess.”

“Please take care of yourself.”

Although the casting took a long time, they felt that a magic to reflect light and make them less visible was also in effect. As their bodies rose higher into the sky, Siervian’s expression hardened. The height itself was not frightening. It was because they could clearly see how many monsters there were below.

‘The number of monsters keeps increasing.’

At this rate, even without the Werewolf King’s command, it seemed likely that the monsters would overflow into the capital.

‘As expected, I first need to deal with the Werewolf King, who is summoning the monsters to the mountains.’

Soon, the two of them settled near the top of the mountain. It was a place where they could look over the valley with the tunnel.

“Princess, can you locate it?”

“Yes, I’m looking for it.”

As a precautionary measure, Siervian got off Roid’s back. The guards naturally moved behind her, guarding the mountain side in case any monsters crawled up.

‘Where is it?’

When Siervian anxiously searched even further with her eyes, she saw what she had been looking for.

[Werewolf King]

‘I must send it quickly.’

Siervian squeezed out the remaining mana and cast the message spell. A small white butterfly fluttered from her palm.

‘Go and deliver it.’

The butterfly flew quickly, carrying Siervian’s wishes. It felt faster than usual, but she immediately turned her gaze toward the Werewolf King, afraid of missing it.

It seemed her mana was recovering faster than expected. So, to make sure, Siervian decided to directly control the butterfly.

Karmen sent a worried admonition instead of a reply. Siervian smiled and controlled the butterfly again. It was her first time using message magic in this way, but the butterfly flew well in accordance with her intentions.

As if its intelligence was even higher than hers, the Werewolf King turned its head when a white butterfly approached it.

It cunningly stood among the other werewolves, hiding its presence.

“Grrr.”

Feeling uneasy about the approaching butterfly, the Werewolf King gave a simple command to the werewolves beside him. Some werewolves rushed forward and shielded the Werewolf King.

“Attack!”

As soon as the knights confirmed the movement of the butterfly, they simultaneously began to break through the front. They had been hiding and waiting for the right moment to charge from the passage.

“Grr!”

By then, the Tower Lord’s barrier couldn’t hold any longer. He quickly reduced his useless mana consumption and took on the role of assisting to prevent the knights from being surrounded.

‘Quickly, quickly.’

From the mountaintop, the sight of the fight was clearly visible. Their precarious movement across the monster horde looked extremely dangerous. The Tower Lord planned to conserve mana as much as possible and help them escape with levitation magic as soon as the Werewolf King was defeated, but they were anxious.

‘It keeps running away!’

Suspecting that something was amiss with the sudden appearance of the butterfly, the Werewolf King kept stepping back as if it wanted to hide its presence, constantly filling the space before it with other werewolves.

“Reach it ! Quickly!”

As the distance increased, Siervian’s mana burden grew heavier. However, even with sweaty palms, she continued to rely on the butterfly.

“Your Highness, are you alright?”

With no strength to answer, she urgently nodded her head. As the persistent butterfly became odd, the Werewolf King, feeling suspicious, let out a rough roar at another werewolf.

“Growl!”

Then, the werewolf opened its mouth wide and swallowed the butterfly in one gulp.

‘Huh…?’

—