"(⊙o⊙) Wow, so this is the Heart Kingdom!"
"Amazing! This place is gorgeous!"
The wooden boat glided forward, cutting through the crystal waters. Even Mimosa, who had been here once before, couldn't hide the wonder in her eyes.
Surrounded by water and greenery, the Heart Kingdom truly deserved its title as a nation of nature.
It was nothing like the bustling cities of other kingdoms.
How to describe it? It carried an almost otherworldly tranquility—something beyond mortal hustle and clamor.
"It's beautiful, indeed. If one could study magic here, the results would surely be twice the effort for half the work."
Ethan also admired the scenery, though what he saw went far beyond the surface beauty.
Where does magic come from?
From heaven and earth itself.
In other words—nature.
Every magical attribute could be traced to elemental factors within nature.
The closer you are to nature, the easier it becomes to deepen one's magic.
"You're right, Ethan. The Heart Kingdom's magical techniques are completely different from ours—powerful and infused with the essence of nature. I learned so much here last time; it's been invaluable to me!" Mimosa said with a smile.
"Still, where exactly are we supposed to dock?"
Asta looked around. Yes, it was beautiful—but aside from water and trees, there was no land in sight. They couldn't just keep floating forever, right?
"Just keep going forward."
A calm, unfamiliar voice rose behind them.
They turned to see a man descend from the sky, landing neatly on the deck.
"You're…"
"It's been a while, Miss Mimosa. We met on your last visit." His tone was flat and serious.
Mimosa blinked, then recognized him. "Ah—hello, Mr. Gaja. I'm glad you remember me."
"Of course. Welcome to the Heart Kingdom, everyone. I am Gaja, a Spirit Guardian assigned to guide you."
As he spoke, his sharp eyes swept over the group in silence. Letters of introduction were one thing—but seeing with his own eyes was another.
Mimosa, he knew.
Noelle—royalty, but irrelevant to him.
Asta…
The bearer of the devil's grimoire? Gaja's gaze lingered for a moment.
But the one who truly caught his attention…
"Mr. Gaja, is there something on my face?" Ethan smiled faintly, meeting his eyes.
Ethan knew little of the Heart Kingdom—only surface-level information. He had no idea why Gaja was scrutinizing him like this.
"My apologies. That was rude of me," Gaja said, inclining his head slightly, though his thoughts remained his own.
"Even so," Noelle cut in, "are you sure we can just go straight ahead?"
Because straight ahead was a wide, thundering waterfall. Even a three-year-old could see that path was blocked.
"No problem. The Queen will take us up."
The moment Gaja finished speaking, the roaring waterfall tilted like a giant rope being pulled aside.
Its angle shifted to perfectly cradle the boat, and an unseen force began pushing them upward.
"(⊙o⊙) Whoa…"
As they rose with the waterfall, Asta and the others stared in awe.
Then the water ahead surged and shaped itself into a long, elevated waterway stretching far into the distance.
"Is this the Queen's magic? Incredible—the waterway's huge!"
"Yeah… does that mean the Queen's nearby?"
"Look, are those Heart Kingdom residents?"
Below the waterway, people waved at them cheerfully, as if the sudden appearance of a massive water-road was nothing unusual.
"Whether it's the Mist Barrier or the Water Stairs, they are all part of the Queen's magic domain covering the entire kingdom," Gaja explained.
Asta and the others could hardly believe it.
One person—covering an entire kingdom with magic?
That kind of power…
"Yeah, that's impressive," Ethan admitted.
He could cover a kingdom with magic too—but only for an instant, much like Julius's time magic when he once saved the entire Clover Kingdom.
Maintaining such magic twenty-four hours a day? Even ten of him wouldn't have the stamina or mana for that.
Of course, that didn't mean the Queen's power was limitless.
"I'm guessing much of this is thanks to the Water Spirit?" Ethan asked.
Gaja did not deny it. "Indeed. For the past 1,200 years, every Queen has entered into a covenant with the Water Spirit, using its magic to guard the kingdom. With the combined power of water and the forest, we can block unwanted intruders and develop our magical civilization."
One of the Four Great Elemental Spirits… the Water Spirit. Ethan thought.
Of the four, he already had two—the Fire Spirit and the Wind Spirit.
But in terms of raw growth and power, this Water Spirit was undoubtedly superior.
Zephyra, his ancient wind spirit, had been killed once—her millennium of cultivation scattered in an instant. She had to rebuild from scratch.
But this Water Spirit had been nurtured for over twelve centuries.
It was, in every sense, fully refined.
"For now, yes," Gaja continued. "But in the future… who can say?"
Suddenly, a sphere of water surged upward, enveloping Asta in an instant.
Zzzip!
Before anyone could react, the water orb shot off at blinding speed, carrying Asta away.
"Asta!"
"Mr. Gaja, what's going on?!"
"What does it look like? He's been kidnapped."
Ethan made no move to stop it—though truthfully, if he'd wanted to, he could have acted the moment it began.
But he knew Asta wasn't in danger, so there was no need to make a fuss.
"You're not going to save your companion?" Gaja asked, watching Noelle and Mimosa summon their magic brooms and take off in pursuit.
"Do you want me to?" Ethan replied, his voice calm.
The counterquestion caught Gaja off guard.
Wasn't rescuing a companion the obvious choice? Or… was there more to this man?
"If you plan to stop them, I suggest you hurry," Ethan said lazily. "Look—they're about to catch up."
Gaja frowned at Ethan's unhurried demeanor.
But the man wasn't wrong—if Gaja kept standing here, the girls really would get Asta back.
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