“Master, she fainted! Please, come help her!”
Lifa supported Isis’s weight, speaking to Ron in an anxious tone.
Regardless of how suspicious or dangerous she had found Isis just a moment ago, Lifa believed the top priority now was saving a life.
Standing right beside her, Ron’s immediate response was only silence. In his eyes, the woman Lifa was currently holding was an incredibly dangerous time bomb.
“Master!”
“Oh, I’ll take a look.”
It wasn’t until Lifa called out again that Ron finally stepped forward and knelt. Just as he was about to touch Isis to perform an examination, the blood-red eyes beneath her white hair suddenly snapped open.
Ron instinctively pulled his hand back and retreated. However, remembering that the current Isis did not recognize him, he asked in a calm voice, “Are you alright?”
“That’s right, why did you suddenly appear in the Earl’s Mansion and then just faint…”
Seeing Isis lean against her and immediately turn her head to look at her, Lifa felt relieved and began guessing Isis’s identity.
“Could it be! Are you some kind of assassin? Are you here to assassinate that Rosalyn woman!”
Lifa was shocked by her own theory, while Ron watched her with a look of helplessness, hearing the slight excitement in her tone.
“I am not…”
Isis found Lifa’s bold assumption amusing while she simultaneously observed this ‘Child of Destiny’ who had just helped her.
‘She seems like a kind and cheerful child, though perhaps a bit too hyper… But having someone like this as a successor to bring me relief wouldn’t be bad.’
This was the first impression Lifa left on Isis. At that thought, the white-haired Hero, who was usually aloof and cold toward her enemies, actually showed a smile.
“I feel much better. Thank you.”
“Ah, you’re welcome! Master, what should we do next?”
Lifa helped Isis to her feet. Following her question, the two beautiful swordswomen of entirely different styles both turned their gazes toward Ron.
“Ugh… I— we should go see Rosalyn in a bit. Miss, you might need to come with us as well.”
Once again caught off guard, Ron appeared very calm on the surface, even though a massive sense of crisis loomed in his heart.
“No problem. By the way, could you tell me your name?”
Isis’s attitude toward Ron and Lifa was a clear study in contrasts; she treated the former like a stranger on official business, while she used a gentle and close tone with the latter.
“Ah, my name is Lifa, Lifa Serena. And that is my master, Ron!”
A moment ago, Ron had been quite relieved by Isis’s coldness, but in the next, Lifa didn’t forget to include his name in her introduction.
“Hello.”
As Isis’s gaze turned toward him again, Ron could only nod in greeting.
“Master?” Isis’s tone carried a hint of questioning and sternness.
“Yeah, is something wrong?” Lifa was completely oblivious to the tension.
“No, it’s nothing. As for me, you can call me… Ash.”
Isis used the same pseudonym as she had in the previous timeline. Her surprise and skepticism stemmed from the fact that, after a brief probe, she found Ron to be just an ordinary person.
‘Is he a facade created by a high-level magic tool, or is he a powerhouse at a higher level than me?’
Considering that possibility, Isis began to observe Ron even more closely. Her frequent probing made Ron, who already had a ‘guilty conscience,’ feel intensely nervous.
‘There’s no reason for this. Neither Lifa nor I have exposed anything this time, so why does Isis keep looking at me?’
“Ash… Sister Ash, speaking of which, your hair is so special. It’s white!”
The simple-minded Lifa didn’t notice the subtle atmosphere. Instead, her curious nature led her to ask bluntly about Isis’s hair color.
“Yes, it is quite special.”
There was a faint trace of sadness in Isis’s answer. She stopped paying extra attention to Ron and took Lifa’s hand.
“Eh!”
“Are you only a few opportunities away from breaking through to the fifth tier?”
Isis muttered to herself, having made a rough judgment of Lifa’s strength. After sensing Lifa’s bone age, the corner of her mouth lifted imperceptibly.
“Master…” Lifa turned her head and called out to Ron softly, feeling a bit troubled.
“Lifa, Miss Ash, let’s go see Miss Enid first.”
By now, Ron could more or less conclude that Isis was likely the teammate sent by the Adventurer’s guild.
“Alright. Lifa, you must be the person the Earl chose to accompany me into the magic beast forest to find the origin crystal.”
Isis’s question to Lifa confirmed Ron’s suspicions.
“Yes, and my master is coming along, too!”
As the three of them walked, Ron was in the lead alone while Lifa and Isis walked side by side.
“Is that so?”
Isis questioned again. She still didn’t understand why this ‘ordinary person’ Ron had become Lifa’s master, or why he was entering the dangerous magic beast forest with them.
“Master is very strong!”
“Cough, cough.”
No matter how insensitive Lifa was to such things, she could hear the distrust Isis had for Ron. Eager to defend her master, she was immediately met with Ron’s coughing.
“Actually, my profession is that of a historian. I just know and possess a bit more knowledge than the average person.”
After thinking it over, Ron introduced himself to Isis this way. Lifa didn’t object; after all, back in the village, Ron did spend a lot of time researching the history of the Uthis Continent.
“Is that how it is?”
Isis nodded thoughtfully, and immediately afterward, she extended an invitation that surprised everyone present.
“In that case, Lifa, would you be interested in becoming my student?”
‘What’s going on? Why did the story develop this way in this timeline?’
Ron’s footsteps came to a halt.
Having a world-renowned Hero serve as a teacher was something anyone would dream of. If it weren’t for the past relationship between him and Isis, Ron would have been very happy to see it happen.
But now, it was absolutely out of the question!
“Ah? Sister Ash, did you say you want me to be your student?”
A confused Lifa sought confirmation of Isis’s invitation.
“Yes. Although I might not be able to teach you for very long, believe me, I will definitely not let you lose out.”
Isis was very confident. Ron, on the other hand, began to doubt himself.
‘I didn’t expose my identity this time, and Isis didn’t go crazy or latch onto me early on, but why is she latching onto Lifa instead?’
While Ron was considering this as the only possibility, Lifa’s answer interrupted his thoughts.
“I could do that—”
Lifa crossed her arms over her chest and hummed.
‘What are you saying?’
Just as Ron was beginning to panic internally, Lifa pointed to the silhouette of the weapon beneath Isis’s cloak and continued, “But if you want to be Lifa’s master, let me see your strength first!”
A maid searching for the three of them happened to be walking toward them. Sensing Lifa’s desire to challenge her, Isis readily accepted.
“No problem.”
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