Chapter 15 - False Alarm
Zwei's mage tower was built halfway up the mountain, and in front of the tower was a small clearing. A long and steep path that started from the foot of the mountain led to this clearing.
As Zwei stood at the clearing's edge and was about to descend the path, he noticed a familiar figure climbing up the mountain.
With his vantage point, he could easily recognize Alyssa currently dashing up the path.
Although he couldn't say for certain, it didn't look like the girl was being chased.
While this situation felt reassuring, Zwei could not help feeling a little angry.
He was her teacher! Even if this was a foreign world, respecting one's teacher was still very important. Now, however, Alyssa had actually disregarded the rules he set and arrived so late.
He definitely had to punish such serious disobedience.
I'll chew her out this time! After deciding on a trivial punishment for Alyssa, Zwei did not return to his mage tower. Instead, he waited in the clearing.
"Ah, Teacher." When Alyssa reached the clearing, before she could catch her breath, she noticed Zwei standing before her with a forced smile on his face. Immediately, she bowed and apologized, "I-I'm sorry."
Zwei did not intend to reprimand his student out of hand. Instead, he first asked, "Why are you so late today? I'll have to punish you if you don't have a special reason."
Alyssa was a very well-behaved child. Without special circumstances, she shouldn't have arrived late.
It was also because of her obedient and sensible behavior that both Zwei's predecessor and Zwei himself very much liked the girl.
"Uncle John got attacked by a wild beast when he was out hunting today. Mommy worried that I would get attacked too, so she didn't let me come out to study." Cutely sticking out her tongue, Alyssa continued, "I still snuck out, though."
The "John" seemed to be a village hunter. Rockdoor Mountain didn't have any particularly ferocious beasts. The cherry baboons also had their own fixed territory. So long as the villager hunters did not intrude on the cherry baboons' territory, hunting in the mountain was relatively safe.
However, it would seem that the person named John was out of luck today and came across the mysterious predator that arrived from somewhere.
Thinking up to this point, Zwei asked, "Did you hear what beast attacked that fellow?"
"It looked like a huge wolf with fangs like daggers. Its fur was a mix of blue and white."
Children's thirst for knowledge was generally very strong, and Alyssa was no exception. Despite the incident having just happened, she had already gathered so much information.
"Uncle John's arm has a big hole. He says it was caused by that wolf's teeth!"
"Is that so…" Zwei thoughtfully rubbed his thumb over the budding beard on his chin. "So, it's a large wolf with huge fangs…"
The level range for saberwolves was much wider than that of goblins. A small and weak saberwolf could be Level 2, while the stronger individuals of the species could exceed Level 10, entering the realm of dangerous monsters.
During the time Zwei's predecessor still had disposable income, he had once subscribed to the Seven Luminaries Mage Association's Goddess Newsletter. One of the issues reported that certain saberwolves had even crossed the Level 20 threshold and entered the ranks of highly dangerous monsters, as verified by several Master Magicians.
However, since an ordinary village hunter had successfully escaped with his life, the situation shouldn't be that bad.
Given that the saberwolf in question could easily slaughter Level 7 Cherry Baboons yet allowed an ordinary hunter to escape after attacking, Zwei deduced that its hunting level shouldn't exceed 10; Level 8 or Level 9 was more likely.
Although such a saberwolf was still dangerous, with his new spells, Zwei stood a fighting chance.
As mentioned before, not knowing was the most frightening part. Now that he had information about the other party, although he was sure his opponent was stronger than himself, the unease plaguing him disappeared.
Isn't it just trash that's not even Level 10? Let's see how I'll crush you after I raid a few more dungeons and learn all the first-circle spells! Zwei's current thoughts basically went along those lines.
By the time Zwei snapped out of his daze, Alyssa had already set up a steaming lunch on the table.
Since Zwei had moved his furniture back to their original locations using Mage Hand, the house looked a bit messy, so Alyssa was currently helping him tidy up the tower.
Seeing that Zwei was lost in thought, the girl smiled sweetly and asked, "Teacher, you still haven't started eating? Today's lunch is a little simpler, but rest assured. So long as the problem of the beast passes, lunch will return to its usual standard."
The lunch on the table was a plate of unknown roast meat and freshly baked black bread, and a cup filled with something resembling barley tea.
Alyssa had previously stated that her mother disapproved of her coming to his place to learn magic. In other words, the little girl had most likely expended a lot of effort to put together today's lunch.
Although Zwei felt touched by Alyssa's actions, he did not show it on his face. Instead, he changed the topic, asking, "If you sneak out like this, aren't you afraid that your mother will worry?"
"I left a note for Mommy, so she should know I'm here," the little girl replied as she triumphantly thumped her flat chest.
"I won't care if she comes to denounce me," Zwei said as he took a sip of the tea.
The amber beverage that he initially thought was barley tea actually had a refreshing sweetness to it. The sweetness wasn't overbearing, and the beverage spread across his tongue like high-quality cream. Finally, the liquid slid down his throat and filled his limbs with a comfortable feeling.
This beverage was unexpectedly delicious!
"Did you use some secret recipe to make this?" Zwei asked with interest as he set the cup down.
"It's honey," Alyssa answered softly from across the table. "Honey from thorny bees. Teacher, you looked upset recently, so I went to get some…"
Zwei was momentarily taken aback by Alyssa's answer. Afterward, he abruptly stood up and walked to her side. He stood there, looking down at the little girl.
"W-What's the matter?" Thinking that she had done something wrong, the girl looked back at her teacher timidly like a frightened little animal.
Zwei did not answer. Instead, he scanned the girl's body.
A moment later, he found the traces he had expected—there were several red bumps on Alyssa's arms and nape.
The thorny bee was a type of wild bee. Although its appearance mostly resembled the honey bees ordinary beekeepers reared, it shared one characteristic with the wasp, in that it did not harm itself when stinging others. The thorny bee's venom was also slightly stronger than the average bee's. These aspects, coupled with the thorny bee's aggressive behavior and strong reproductive abilities, resulted in a thorny bee nest being rated a Level 3 existence.
In other words, subjugating a thorny bee nest required the strength of a fully armed soldier.
However, along with its above-average strength, the thorny bees also produced honey of a much higher quality than the average bee.
Obviously, in order to let Zwei enjoy excellent honey, Alyssa had risked herself to steal those grumpy insects' high-quality honey.
Alyssa had most likely used something to cover up the swells on her face, so Zwei had not noticed at first. However, after taking a closer look, he still managed to find sting marks on her arms and neck.
When Zwei's gaze fell on her arms' sting marks, Alyssa promptly hid her hands behind her back with a guilty conscience.
"You fool!" Zwei felt as if something warm had flowed into his heart. However, he maintained a stern expression as he picked up his startled student with his Mage Hand and set her down on the wooden bed used for meditation. He then pulled out a purple crystal and threw it to the girl. "Although the toxin of thorny bees is just slightly stronger than honey bees', if too much gets injected into your body, it will still affect you. I don't wish for my first student to meet with an accident for a trivial reason like getting stung by bees."