I looked at my teacher curiously.
"It's just a seal that will indicate you haven't awakened your Mana Foundation yet."
"Unless a saint forcibly examines you, no one will know."
Nodding to her, I kissed her cheek, then headed home—unaware that my departure only further awakened Aprilia's budding inclinations toward me.
So I won't be able to see him for weeks?
Why do I feel angry and lonely about that…
Oh—this must be my love for my student. Yup, that's it.
With that, Aprilia returned to her shop, counting the days until she could see her disciple again.
In an abandoned village not far from Duchess Fernandez's territory, a luxurious carriage came to a halt. There were many bloodstains around it.
Signs of an earlier battle were everywhere. Several men moved cautiously around the village, standing guard.
They wore simple iron armor with swords at their waists. They were not villagers—they were bandits.
The bandits had killed the carriage's guards and taken a ten-year-old girl hostage, a noble daughter of a duke.
The girl had been on her way to Duchess Fernandez's domain to meet her fiancé, but on the road they encountered bandits, and her escorts were slaughtered.
The girl's name was Sarah Mesopotamia. She had silver hair and purple eyes. She was currently crying in fear inside a dark room.
Before her, she saw her maid being tortured by a man with a scar on his cheek. He yanked Minerva's hair; the maid's dress was in tatters.
Several strands of Minerva's blonde hair fell out from the force. Her green eyes stared at the man coldly, which only made her beauty and allure more striking.
"For a maid, you've got a pretty face," the man said, gripping Minerva's chin as a lewd smile crept across his lips.
"How about becoming my woman?"
Minerva spat in his face. A punch to her cheek was his reply.
"SLUT." After the punch, the man kicked Minerva in the stomach.
Minerva groaned in pain, her face turning pale.
On a quiet night, Zeref took the girls to hunt down the bandit group. This was also to train their combat skills—fighting golems was one thing, fighting real humans another.
Zeref and the girls observed the abandoned village alertly.
They were hiding behind a large tree not far from the village gate.
"Zeref, let us handle these bandits," Livy said with firm resolve.
The other girls looked at Zeref with hopeful eyes.
Zeref agreed to their decision, but he would intervene if the situation turned against them.
"Lora, disable the patrolling bandits."
"Understood," Lora replied, drawing her bowstring as she pulled arrows from the quiver at her waist.
The arrows were black, emanating a disquieting aura.
With natural, fluid movements, Lora released them—striking the necks of the three patrolling men.
Lora could loose three arrows at once, each hitting its mark.
After eliminating the patrol, the girls carefully advanced toward the modest house the bandits had entered earlier.
They discovered a tunnel and, without hesitation, went inside.
A simple room filled with strange items greeted them: iron collars, animal-shaped masks, a painting of a woman being tortured by five men, and a statue of a headless man.
"What is this place?" Mia asked, discomfort in her voice. The other girls didn't answer; they only frowned.
Soon they found a space like a prison cell, iron bars enclosing it. Not far from there, four bandits were engrossed in a card game.
Inside the barred cell was a middle-aged man, his hands and feet shackled with iron chains.
"Kekekeke." The middle-aged man let out a strange laugh when he saw Livy and the others.
His laugh made the bandits turn toward him with annoyed looks.
Before the bandits could detect the girls' presence—
Livy, Tina, Mira, and Mia burst forward, striking the card-playing bandits with swift movements.
With her silver sword, Livy slashed at a bandit's neck, the cut extending down to his abdomen—brutal strikes aimed at vital points.
Tina thrust her spear into another bandit's throat—fast and forceful.
Mira swung her axe at a bandit's shoulder, the blade biting through and cleaving into his abdomen.
Mia's attack was no less brutal—the bandit she targeted lost his head, severed by a single punch from her small fist.
Zeref was taken aback by the girls' combat prowess. He was using dark magic, blending into the shadows.
After defeating the four bandits, the girls continued deeper, entering a large iron door.
They left the middle-aged man in his cell for now, wary of any unforeseen dangers.
Along the way, they encountered more bandits and dispatched them with ease thanks to excellent teamwork.
At the end of the corridor, they found a beautiful ten-year-old girl inside a cell, her dress stained with dust.
Not far from the girl stood the scar-cheeked man, torturing a woman in a maid's dress.
The man noticed the girls' arrival, annoyance wrinkling his face.
"Tch. Can't those trash stop a bunch of little girls?" he said, walking slowly toward Livy and the others.
The pressure radiating from him was extraordinary—far beyond the other bandits.
"You're not an ordinary bandit," Livy said tensely.
A predator's smile spread across the man's face.
Livy's guess was correct. He was a former captain of the royal army—a man who had seen countless battles, even war.
If Zeref faced him, Zeref could defeat him.
But for the girls, who had only held weapons for two months, this would be a heavy task.
Livy stepped forward and slashed, but the man dodged easily.
Taking advantage of his movement, Tina lunged with her spear—but he evaded that too.
Whoosh—whoosh—whoosh!
Three arrows flew simultaneously at three different points on his body—
—and stopped midair before hitting, as if striking an invisible wall.
Moments later, Nora chanted a fire spell, sending five fireballs streaking toward him.
He leapt into the air and punched in the girls' direction.
BOOM—!
The girls were blown backward, crashing into the wall and coughing up blood.
Even without a direct hit, the pressure from his attack alone had a devastating effect on them.