A full-speed dash, as if flying on the wind.
And while dashing at full speed like that, Asili soon noticed a girl heading toward the Delusion Forest.
“I found her!”
On the road connecting the kingdom to the Delusion Forest, amidst several mercenaries coming and going, a girl was visible.
Among the mercenaries clad in armor, she was the only one wearing casual clothes, with white long hair and bright red eyes.
Like a girl who had just run away from home, the bag on her back and the sword hanging from her waist made her identity unmistakable.
“That delicate-looking girl was the one who interrupted my vacation?”
Asili, if it were up to her, would have wanted to throw a stone at the insolent girl, but the mission given to her was to follow the girl discreetly and help her if she were in danger.
She couldn’t ruin Kael’s orders with unnecessary anger, so Asili took out the communication device instead of throwing a stone.
“Kael.”
She infused mana into the communication device and whispered Kael’s name.
The connection was established.
Beep
Perhaps waiting for the call, Asili heard the communication tone just before it was fully connected, and she reported, marveling at the situation.
“Ah, can you hear me, Master?”
[Yes, I hear you clearly. So, have you found my daughter?]
“Who am I, Master? This kind of thing is simple. I’ve confirmed that your daughter is on the road to the Delusion Forest. I’m tailing her.”
[Good, well done. Keep following her as planned, and unless she’s in danger, try not to raise any mana. She has a keen sense.]
“Heh, I won’t make such a basic mistake.”
Where would you find a fool who raises mana when tailing someone?
Unless it’s a small amount like the communication device, Asili, when following someone, was a professional who could adjust her steps, movements, and even breathing.
If she were following from a distance where the communication sound couldn’t be heard, even someone like Kael, a monster, wouldn’t be able to detect her presence with normal behavior.
It should have been that way.
“…?!”
For a moment, Elia turned her head toward Asili.
Asili, startled, unconsciously held her breath and pressed herself tightly against the tree she was perched on.
‘Did she sense my presence?’
It wasn’t just a glance back; her gaze had swept around the empty tree.
And it was focused precisely around the tree where Asili was hiding.
“Did I feel something? Or was it just my imagination?”
Of course, Elia didn’t seem to have properly sensed the presence, as she dismissed it as a mere illusion and continued walking.
But Asili, clutching her suddenly racing heart, exhaled a deep breath.
“Phew… Wow, you really have a keen sense, don’t you? How did you sense my presence here?”
[Have you heard any news? Our daughter is a genius, you know. She learned all my swordsmanship, and last year, she even defeated knights from the Shardena Order in sparring.]
“Eh? Isn’t that little one only 15?”
Asili’s head tilted in confusion at the absurd statement that came out of Kael’s mouth.
Elia’s age was 15 this year.
Last year, she would have been only 14 years old.
But that little kid had learned all of Kael’s swordsmanship and even defeated the knights of the Shardena Order?
If it were someone else, Asili would have dismissed it as nonsense, but since it was Kael, it was a different story.
No matter how much Kael was a doting father, he wasn’t the type to tell pointless lies.
Which meant Elia was truly a rare genius.
It made sense now, why she had turned her head earlier and sensed Asili’s presence—it was because she was that much of a genius.
And realizing that, another question arose in Asili’s mind.
“With her abilities, do I really need to be tailing her? If I wasn’t here, it seems like she could easily handle any low-level threats.”
If the girl was that strong, there wouldn’t be any problems even if she went alone to the Delusion Forest. Why did Asili have to give up her vacation and follow her?
[The world is rough these days. Even though our daughter is a genius, there might be things she can’t handle alone.]
But the answer she received was typical of a doting father.
“No, if a 14-year-old can defeat a knight order, then others would’ve been dead long ago…”
And at those words, Asili, with a sharp look, snapped back, but unfortunately, before she could finish, Kael cut off the communication.
Click
The dry sound of disconnection filled the air.
Soon after, the sounds of mercenaries talking and laughing filled the air under the tree, and Asili let out a deep sigh.
Sigh… Well, I guess I have to follow orders.
She couldn’t do much if she was told to follow the girl.
With a sigh filled with resignation, Asili resumed tailing Elia, who had already walked quite far ahead.
Like a professional assassin, she did so without making a single sound.
Asili’s body melted into the wind.
Delusion Forest.
This place, adjacent to the kingdom, always remained unchanged.
If the conditions were right, it was filled with weak monsters that even a farmer could defeat, with the occasional appearance of slightly stronger monsters.
Thanks to the relatively safe forest environment, requests for various gathered materials and monster corpses from this place are frequently posted at the mercenary guild.
As a result, Delusion Forest was always crowded with mercenaries.
This was the daily scene of Delusion Forest, continuing without much change until now.
However, occasionally—very occasionally—someone would appear to stir the waters of this peaceful pond.
Step—
Step—
“Is this the place? Where the monster is said to be?”
For example, these people—officers and remnants of Worst, exuding a sinister aura.
A woman with dark red hair tied back—Kali, the fifth officer of Worst.
Having arrived at Delusion Forest with ten subordinates, she began walking according to the map in her hand.
“Now then, let’s go complete the leader’s orders.”
To carry out the orders of Worst’s leader, Chain.
Kali walked deeper into Delusion Forest.
Elia had finally arrived at Delusion Forest, following the path from the kingdom’s north gate.
She had felt a bit embarrassed by the stares of mercenaries eyeing her strangely for wearing casual clothes on her way here.
“Ugh… Next time I come, I should buy some armor.”
Elia, unwilling to be treated like a strange little girl again, vowed to get proper armor for her next visit.
Soon shaking off her embarrassment, she confidently stepped into Delusion Forest.
“I’m not interested in small-fry monsters, so I’ll skip them all.”
Before her duel with the Shardena Knights last year, when she was around twelve, Elia had already fought monsters captured from Delusion Forest through Martin’s arrangements.
Of course, the result was Elia’s overwhelming victory.
The monsters had charged at her with the ferocity of wild beasts, but unfortunately, not a single one could even touch her.
In fact, they were so much weaker than she had expected that she ended up feeling disappointed.
After that fight, Elia realized that low-tier monsters were no match for her.
Thus, she quickly passed through the forest’s entrance and headed straight for its depths.
Today, the reason Elia had come to Delusion Forest was to experience real, grueling combat.
“If it’s a monster strong enough to be called the ruler of its territory, it should be a worthy opponent, right?”
Elia was targeting the so-called “rulers” among the monsters of Delusion Forest.
Having lived for decades and established their own domains, they would be more than suitable for her intense training.
Of course, if Kael were here, he would have been horrified and tried to stop her, saying it was too dangerous.
But unfortunately, Kael was not present at this moment.
“Hehe… I’m excited.”
Humming a cheerful tune, Elia quickly crossed the forest’s entrance and stepped into its depths.
As she ventured further, the forest grew increasingly silent.
The mercenaries who had previously warned her of danger were nowhere to be seen.
The monsters that used to cautiously observe her, only to flee in fear of her killing intent, had also vanished.
The forest had grown eerily quiet.
After walking through this silent forest for several minutes, Elia’s eyes gleamed as she spotted traces of a territory.
“Found it!”
Unlike before, deep claw marks were carved roughly into the trees.
In the thorn-covered underbrush, tufts of orange fur were intentionally placed, leading further inside.
These were unmistakable signs that this was a monster’s domain—proof guiding her to its ruler.
Following the traces, Elia boldly released her aura to announce her presence.
Step—
Step—
A powerful aura, impossible for the ruler of this domain to ignore, radiated from her as she walked forward.
Then, hearing the growl of a monster in the distance, Elia smiled and lifted her head.
“Grroooowl…”
“As expected, it looks really strong.”
Perched on a thick tree branch was a monkey-like monster, emitting a bone-chilling growl.
However, calling it a mere monkey wouldn’t be accurate—it had a mouth filled with razor-sharp fangs.
As the monster bared its teeth and growled, Elia drew her sword from her waist.
The most intense energy she had ever encountered.
A presence filled with genuine intent to kill her.
With hands trembling from excitement, Elia firmly gripped her sword.
“Alright, come at me!”
“Krraaahhh!!!”
With that brief exchange, the battle between the ruler of the domain and the young prodigy girl began.