She was a beautiful woman with deep red hair.
Wrapped in a robe the same color as her hair, the enchantress approached Lee Hyun with alluring steps.
“Long time no see~?”
Her voice was relaxed, yet full of charm.
From her graceful hands to her subtle smile and enchanting voice, everything about the woman had an alluring quality, causing Lena to unknowingly hold her breath.
‘Wh, who is she?’
Instinctively, she felt something.
That this woman was dangerous.
Yet, Lena couldn’t tear her gaze away, despite her fear.
“What’s up? Are you Rice?”
“Oh my~? What’s with the coldness? We fought side by side for our lives, remember~.”
“Ma, Master?”
“Introduce yourself. I’m Rice Pajran, an official high-level magician from the Ivory Tower and the deputy counsel to Prince Thermaio Yggdrasil of the Empire.”
“Ugh~. You’re so complicated~. Just call me a passing magician.”
“Haha~! You’re still the same with that banter~!”
Giggling, Rice placed her hand on Lee Hyun’s shoulder.
Her long fingers began to trace his shoulder.
If he were a different guy, just that touch would’ve already hooked him in.
But Lee Hyun was just indifferent.
“What are you doing here?”
“Hmm~. To meet you?”
Winking playfully, Rice spoke, causing Lee Hyun to frown and reach for his sword hilt.
Amused, she stepped back and leisurely continued.
“I came to enter my apprentice in the magic tournament~. His Highness requested to gather good magicians~.”
“Good magicians, huh? Is he still like that?”
“Yep. Still the same. By the way… who’s that behind you?”
“My apprentice.”
Lee Hyun proudly brought Lena forward.
Normally, she would have been shy and hesitant, but this time was different. Lena instinctively stared at her.
“Oh my? Incredible talent?!”
Ignoring Lena’s gaze, Rice just seemed fascinated.
As they exchanged glances, Rice’s eyes sparkled.
“Hey. Can we send her to our side?”
“Would that work?”
“Our side” meant asking to send her to the Empire.
Lee Hyun had no desire to send her to be tormented in useless tasks under the Empire, so he flatly refused.
“Ugh~. That’s harsh~. If you cut me off like that, I get hurt~.”
“Not my problem. Anyway, it’s good to see you healthy after such a long time. Bye.”
“Come on~. You don’t want to part so quickly, do you? By the way, have you thought about it? Being a servant to His Highness.”
“Never thought about it.”
“Geez, it’s really expensive~. Don’t be like that. Think about it. Money, fame, women. You can get everything you want~.”
Money, fame, women. None of it mattered. All he wanted was the true ending.
Lee Hyun smiled as he turned her down.
Still, Rice didn’t get angry. She simply smiled as before and glanced away.
“Well then, I’d like to recruit your apprentice to our side~. Oh, how about this? My apprentice is also participating in this magic tournament. If my apprentice wins, then both you and your apprentice will become servants of His Highness. Wanna?”
“I don’t see what’s great about that. There’s no advantage for us.”
“If your apprentice wins, I’ll give you this.”
She pulled out a potion from inside her robe with a bright smile.
“What, what is that?”
“A youth potion! Anyone who drinks it returns to their twenties with a firm body! It’s a rare item even in the Blue Tower~.”
Lena gasped in shock as Rice flashed a confident smile and made a peace sign.
“With just this one, you can win over most people~.”
It was a potion as hard to get as an elixir in a game.
Lee Hyun had one bottle, but more is better, right?
If she was giving that, then there was no reason not to accept her challenge.
‘I’m not thinking of losing anyway.’
Thinking of a Plan B if things went south, Lee Hyun looked at Lena.
“Lena, can you win?”
“Ma, Master doesn’t… want to go to the Empire, right?”
“Right?”
Once training Lena was done, he needed to go to the Tower of Sages to obtain his sage qualification.
But being told to work under the prince in the Empire? Absolutely not.
“…I’ll win! I’ll do it for you, Master!!”
Breathing out fiercely, Lena clenched her fist.
Lee Hyun was amazed by her confidence, which was so different from usual.
‘She has grown up.’
He hoped she would keep it up from here on.
He patted her head and pointed a finger at Rice.
“My proud apprentice will take down your apprentice.”
“Ah, no. No killing in the magic tournament, so don’t do that. I’m serious about this, okay?”
With a sly smile, she took a step back and moved away with her seductive stride.
As she appeared like a wind and vanished like a wind, Lena flinched in surprise.
“B, but Master.”
“Hmm?”
“Do you know… how strong that, that person’s apprentice is?”
“Hmm…”
After thinking for a moment, Lee Hyun patted her head.
“Don’t worry, you’re stronger.”
“He, hehehe…”
“And you should be thinking about other things instead?”
“Yes?”
“This tournament. You’re going in as team of three.”
At that, Lena felt her mind go blank.
‘I, I forgot about thatAAAAA!!’
She had wanted to step up because of the weird connection between Lee Hyun and Rice, but had forgotten the most important thing.
Could she really team up with someone else?
With teary eyes, Lena looked up at Lee Hyun.
“Can you help me?”
“Y, yes!”
“Nope.”
Lee Hyun smiled and flicked Lena’s forehead.
“B, but if I can’t go, you’ll go to the Empire…”
“Ah. Don’t worry about that. I have a Plan B.”
.
.
.
Finding teammates became quite a burden for Lena.
But she struggled just to say hello, let alone talk to strangers. How would she easily find teammates?
Of course, Lee Hyun had said not to worry since he had a Plan B, but Lena wasn’t going to just sit around.
So every day she hovered around the venue, hoping to join a party, but could only find rookie magician hunters.
“Ugh…”
Finally, the day of the tournament arrived, but she still hadn’t found a party.
Thinking she had to rely on Lee Hyun again, she squatted in an empty area near the venue.
“Hey~! Over here~!”
“Y, yes?!”
“You look like a magician! Are you trying to enter the magic tournament?”
It was a bright girl with dark black hair and eyes. She seemed to be around Lena’s age.
Dressed like a typical magician, she proved her status too.
“Y, yeah, sort of…”
“Great! Um. Sorry for asking this on our first meeting! But if you’re okay, would you join our party?!”
“Wh, what?!”
Lena panicked.
Not knowing what to say, she was flustered when the girl grabbed her hands tightly.
“B, but! I…!”
“If it’s really tough, you can just stay until the last minute and forfeit when it’s your turn! Okay?! We’ll do all the fighting! With us, we can aim for victory!”
“Ugh, ugh… Well, I aim for victory too…”
“Ah?! Really?! Then let’s go! The moment you arrive, we can register!”
She was such a lively and free-spirited girl.
Asking to join her party without knowing her skills–
But staying like this would mean no victory or even participation.
Since she hadn’t found a party so far, she had no choice but to join these people.
‘I have to do my best…!’
Feeling drawn in, Lena reluctantly arrived at the tournament venue.
There were so many people.
When the lively girl brought the trembling Lena to the registration office, she waved at another girl who was waiting there.
“Hey~! I brought her~!”
“Thanks for your hard work! But I could have registered alone for this tournament.”
“No, no! The participation condition is to form a team of three, right? Don’t be so picky~.”
What a lively girl.
As she smacked the shoulder of the purple-haired girl who spoke bluntly, she held the registration document.
Lena tilted her head, staring at it curiously.
“Yuria Seitz. Canon Viral…?”
“Yep! I’m Yuria Seitz! This is Canon Viral!”
“Hello. I’m Canon Viral.”
“Oh, oh… h, hello. I, I’m Lena!”
“Yep! Write your name here! Hmm… done! I’ll go register!!”
Yuria, holding Lena’s name, dashed off to the registration desk.
Left alone with someone she had just met, Lena shrank back again.
“U, um. D, do you two know each other?”
“Yuria? Yes. We have the same master.”
“O, ohhh…”
Lena felt oddly isolated.
As she realized that, Yuria returned after finishing the registration.
“Whew~. That was close~. I almost couldn’t register—would have been in trouble with Master!! Thanks to you, I could register! And you don’t have to worry about our magic skills! Both Canon and I are confident in magic!”
“Ah. I see…”
“Anyway, it’s our first day as a team! How about we grab a beverage first?! Oh! Let’s go~~!”
What a truly lively girl.
As she took the lead, Canon silently followed behind, and Lena hurried after her.
They arrived at a cafe near the inn where Lee Hyun and Lena were staying.
Thinking she might as well get something for her master, Lena looked around and spotted Lee Hyun in a corner, drinking coffee while reading a newspaper.
“Huh? Lena. Did you find your party members?”
“Ma, Master!”
Lena smiled brightly.
She was happy to see someone she recognized.
Just as she was about to run over—
“Wait?! Mister?!”
“What? Aren’t those Bella’s kids? Did you have fun?”
Lee Hyun said cheerfully, and Yuria brightened up at his response.
‘Wait a minute. Bella’s kids? Then…?’
“Were you a disciple of Bella?!”
“Ah?! Did I forget to introduce myself?!”
Yuria beamed as she struck a pose.
“I’m Yuria Seitz, the apprentice of the great magician Bella!”
“The true apprentice is me, Canon Viral.”
With their confident reactions, Lee Hyun patted Lena’s head.
“You found good party members, didn’t you? Not bad, huh? If something similar happens next time, do well!”
“Uh, uh…”
Should she say she found them or was chosen?
With nothing to say, Lena could only smile awkwardly.
My site has received a lot of DMCA notices, lol. From now on, I will update the MTL on https://darkmtl.com/.
The site is fast and lightweight because there are no ads yet. However, the theme is different from Cybor-TL, so take some time to familiarize yourself.
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.