Nothing particularly noteworthy happened during dinner, yet it was still a pleasant affair. Shido and Marquis Raeven conversed naturally, almost like old friends, which made the marquis's wife smile softly. From time to time, she cast Shido a subtle, almost secretive glance, though he chose to ignore it since he didn't want to commit a mistake.
The one most delighted, however, was Marquis Raeven's young son. He looked up to Shido as a role model, eagerly listening to tales of his adventures. With childlike sincerity, he promised that he too would become an extraordinary figure one day. Though Rii-tan tried his best to act mature, his awkward gestures and clumsy mannerisms only drew laughter from the others. Pouting with puffed cheeks, the boy nearly burst into tears, thinking they were making fun of him.
In the end, Marquis Raeven and his wife gently coaxed their son until he stopped pouting. After dinner, Shido bid farewell to the Raeven family. Just before leaving, he met Marquis Raeven's gaze, and with a single nod, the marquis conveyed his understanding of Shido's unspoken message.
With that settled, Shido made his way home, deciding to rest early. The day had been long, and he was more than a little weary (mentally).
...
Azerlisia Mountain Range
"Rooooaaarrrr!"
BOOOM!
The sound of battle echoed through the base of the Azerlisia Mountains as a horde of monsters besieged a lone, frail-looking girl.
Despite her delicate appearance, she stood her ground. A cluster of hexagon shape barrier around the girl, shielding her from the monsters' strikes. With swift movements, she repositioned herself again and again, her staff glowing as it unleashed volley after volley of searing magic beams. Each blast tore through the air, sending creatures flying with explosive force.
The fierce exchange continued for some time, until the monster horde had been reduced to a fraction of its original number. Yet, though her enemies dwindled, the girl's own mana reserves had been heavily taxed. A faint weariness began to creep over her, her breaths coming a little shorter as fatigue settled in.
A hundred meters away, two figures observed the girl's struggle against the monsters.
One was a tall man with a dignified bearing, standing casually upon the thick branch of a tree. His mere presence was majestic, and his strikingly handsome face was the kind that could make most women falter at a single glance.
But the young woman seated beside him seemed entirely unmoved. Her expression was flat, her gaze fixed solely on the battlefield below where her disciple fought tooth and nail.
"You're not going to help her?"
The girl beside him, with long ears, snow-white hair, and an aura that seemed to blend seamlessly with nature, asked the man next to her. Her appearance made it clear that she was an elf.
"No."
"...You're cold."
"It's not that I'm cold," the young man replied helplessly, "but we accepted this quest to test her new strength, didn't we? And also, she was the one who decided this."
He then peal a look at the woman beside him who maintained her flat expression that was as flat as her...
His gaze shifted downward and saw almost nothing in there, but he quickly turned his head away as he was afraid that the girl would notice his stare. But of course, with her sharp elven senses, she had already caught his fleeting glance. Slowly, she turned her expressionless face toward him.
"Did you just think of something rude?" Although her voice was the same as usual, but the weight of her gaze made a shiver run down the man's spine.
"Of course not."
"...I doubt that."
The young man forced an awkward laugh under her piercing stare, but after a long pause, the elf sighed and turned her attention back to the battle below. Only then did he finally let out a quiet breath of relief.
The pair were naturally Shido and Frieren, and the one struggling against the monsters was Rumia, testing out the new abilities she had recently learned from her teacher.
"But still, if this keeps up, she'll be overwhelmed by sheer numbers," Frieren said in her usual plain tone. Yet, if one listened closely, there was the faintest trace of worry hidden beneath her words.Yet, Shido only smiled confidently.
"You don't have to worry, she still have that thing after all."
"Oh? You mean that strange weapon?"
"...Yes."
Shido fell silent for a moment, a little exasperated by her choice of words. Strange or not, in the eyes of others it might seem odd, but to him, it was an undeniably effective weapon.
And just as expected, despite Rumia's admirable performance, the limits of her mana and the sheer number of enemies eventually forced her into a corner. She had wanted to prove her growth, to show Shido and her master that she could stand on her own, that they could rely on her too, but deep inside, Rumia was also nervous.
This was the first time she had fought alone against monsters. Until now, Rumia had only supported Shido and Frieren with auxiliary magic, never truly standing at the front line by herself. Facing these hideous creatures made her heart pound with fear, yet she knew that sooner or later, she would have to fight like this if she truly wanted to help Shido.
Frieren had already taught her about the cruelty of the world, and Rumia herself had witnessed it firsthand when they rescued the girls from the Eight Fingers. That experience had left a deep scar in her heart.
That was why she devoted herself so earnestly to learning magic. Rumia understood the harsh reality, those with power often saw those beneath them as nothing more than tools or playthings. She had lived through it once before. And she swore she would never let herself, or the people she wanted to protect, be treated that way again.
She had been abandoned, hunted, and pursued by countless dark mages who sought her life. If she remained naive, Rumia knew she would eventually be devoured by the cruel world. That was why she resolved to train, to fight, and to grow stronger. Under Frieren's guidance, and with her own natural talent, she had managed to master most of what her master had taught her.
Though Frieren had only taught her in the fundamentals of magic, Rumia understood it was enough for now. She couldn't afford to be greedy. Mastery required time, and trying to grasp every spell at once would only slow her progress.
At that moment, the monsters' assault grew even more frenzied, their roars and claws pressing harder against her barriers. Rumia grit her teeth as she struggled to hold them back, finding it harder and harder to maintain her ground.
However, when Rumia remembered the weapon Shido had entrusted to her, her confidence returned. Yet, the thought of the being sealed within it made her feel awkward and a little embarrassed, especially since that presence seemed to have taken a particular liking to her. Still, she could do nothing about it. Shido had given it to her, and so she would accept and wield it.
Steeling herself, Rumia pushed those thoughts aside and grew serious. Her hand moved to her waist, where she drew out a flabellum with a golden metal handle and feather-like appendages. With a single graceful flap of the fan, a violent gale surged forth, hurling the advancing monsters back.
She raised the flabellum before her chest and began to chant.
"Spirit of maniacal love and chaos, I command thee!"
In an instant, a fierce wind coiled around her feet. The eight-pointed star engraved upon the flabellum blazed with golden light, pulsing in rhythm with her words.
Her once-soft voice grew sharp and dignified, resonating with authority. The wind whipped into a frenzy, swirling violently as her hair danced in the storm.
"Cover my form, live in my frame, and transform me into a great magician!"
"Paimon!"
With those final words, the raging wind consumed Rumia entirely, obscuring her figure from sight. For a moment, only the violent roar of the gale filled the battlefield. Then, as the storm began to disperse, a new figure emerged from within.
Rumia had transformed.
Her appearance now carried an otherworldly radiance. She wore a glimmering white dress that shimmered with every movement, while golden bracers adorned her neck, arms, wrists, and legs, each inlaid with a scarlet gem. Around her shoulders floated a flowing hagoromo, drifting like a veil of divine light. Her hair had changed as well, into a long white hair, while the rest gleamed in a paler hue, tied neatly into a low tail beneath as a golden ornament was placed on her head with a eye in the center.
What had once been her flabellum had also transformed, now extending into a long, elegant weapon, its feathered fan resting atop a gleaming rod reminiscent of a Chinese spear.
Djinn Equip.
Rumia's transformation was the result of a Full Djinn Equip, the very "strange weapon" Frieren had mentioned before. Shido had bought this weapon specifically for Rumia so that it would provide an additional layer of protection.
Still, even he had to admit that while the weapon's power was undeniable, the Djinn within it was… peculiar. In stark contrast to Rumia's purity and innocence, Paimon, the Djinn inside her metal vessel was a breathtakingly beautiful woman who appeared in little more than revealing attire, her every movement laced with flirtation and seduction. She delighted in teasing men, a personality completely opposite to Rumia's.
So it was quite unexpected for her to accept Rumia as her King Vessel and take a liking into her.
That was why it had surprised Shido when Paimon not only accepted Rumia as her King Vessel but also seemed to take a genuine liking to her. In the beginning, Rumia had only been able to perform a Half-Djinn Equip. But as time passed, her natural talent, combined with Paimon's unusual fondness for her, allowed Rumia to master the Full Djinn Equip
Among the Metal Vessels, this one was uniquely suited for Rumia. The others were far too destructive, while Paimon's power was relatively milder.
The battle was far from over, yet the moment Rumia completed her transformation, the monsters instinctively sensed the change. The overwhelming surge of mana she released carried a dreadful, suffocating aura that made their primal fear take hold. One by one, they began to retreat, scrambling to escape the terror before them.
But Rumia did not allow them to flee.
It might be cruel for her to attack them since they had already retreated. Yet if one thought carefully, their retreat was not out of mercy but out of fear. Had she not invoked her Djinn Equip, she would have been overwhelmed, defeated, and possibly killed by those very same monsters. Letting them go now meant they could regroup, or worse, prey upon defenseless villages nearby.
Thus, Rumia's eyes sharpened with resolve.
"Magul Al-Hazard!"
As Rumia chanted, a violent tornado erupted around her, pulling her into its center as though she were the eye of the storm. The tornado started to spiral and destroy everything in it's path. The pitiful monster could only wait to be slaughtered by Rumia as her tornado pass them.
From a distance, Shido and Frieren silently watched the cyclone wrecking havoc. The raw power on display was beyond anything they had expected even for Shido who had personally bought it. After a brief pause, their gazes met, and both exchanged a wry smile, the same thought crossing their minds.
'Isn't this a little too much.'