A few days ago,
At the evening, as the baptism event concluded, Yuuna Kanon, the Katzlein tribe Beastnoid, observed the church from afar, perched atop the library.
She leisurely enjoyed some fried fish on a stick, as her gaze lingering on the bustling scene below.
"Heroes, huh?" Yuuna mused, taking another bite of her fried fish. "I can't believe they tried to summon another Hero after that last catastrophe." She paused, lost in thought.
– The Demon King is a threat to this world, of course... But a Hero who goes rogue is much more dangerous than any other evil beings.
After gulping, she muttered, "Fortunately, the Hero summoning was a failure..."
Suddenly, the small circular tattoo at the back of her neck glowed, and with a sharp sting, a telepathic message came into her mind, speaking, a deep voice of a man,
"(It's been days since I gave you the mission to bring the summoned Hero to our side, but I haven't heard from you since!)" Then, the tone turned serious. "(Are you trying to disobey, my dear Mao?)"
Startled, Yuuna stammered, "N—no, sire. I saw the Hero summoning ritual, which was a failure, and I've been observing their moves ever since."
Enraged, the deep voice shouted, "(PREPOSTEROUS! The Hero summoning failing? Are you trying to feed me lies?)" With each word, her head throbbed in pain, intensifying the agony.
Clutching her head in pain, she stammered, "B—believe me, sire—"
But before she could finish, the deep voice interjected sternly, "(I'll give you six months to finish the mission you were given. Any more delays, and you can prepare your mother's funeral!)"
With that, the telepathic message ceased, and the pain subsided.
However, tears welled up as the weight of the false mission and the potential consequences for her mother sank in.
°°°
The next day,
Deep in thought, she entered the Adventurers Guild, contemplating her 'false' mission to bring the summoned Hero to her side and ultimately save her mother.
Yuuna sat down on a nearby bench, while at the same time, a white-haired boy also chose the same spot, unaware of each other's presence.
As they both settled onto the bench simultaneously, Yuuna's tail inadvertently ended up beneath the white-haired boy, who turned out to be Ewaan.
Yuuna couldn't suppress a "Mrrrrrrrrrawr...!" as pain shot through her tail, shattering her concentration on formulating a plan.
°°°
After this encounter with Ewaan, she observed the spectacle of him getting tested by the guild master, when she couldn't help but wonder,
– He fought head-to-head with the guild master himself and managed to impress him greatly even! At his level, how did he do that? Who are you… really...?
With a serious expression, she left the training ground, her mind consumed by these lingering questions, reflecting on the mysteries surrounding this white-haired boy.
– You may not be the Hero, but you might be the key to aid me in my plight…...
With that, her determination to win over Ewaan began to take root.
Yuuna meticulously observed him from afar, taking note of his daily activities.
She watched as he ran through the streets at dawn, engaging in workouts, and even followed him to the domain of the Dryads as he and Maya underwent the trial for the Adventurers Guild.
Returning to the guild ahead of him, she pretended to peruse the quest board, to closely observe his movement.
However, she hadn't anticipated that immediately after completing the trial, Ewaan would approach the board to select a C-rank quest parchment.
Following his lead, she selected a low ranking quest located near his chosen quest's location, effectively positioning herself to monitor his movements while at the same time, earning some money.
Yuuna placed the parchment on Alina's desk and as she glanced through it, her expression shifted to one of surprise.
"Uh... Miss Mao," Alina remarked, "This is just an E-rank quest to clear out a Thunder Wolf pack at the mountains near Meadowbrook River."
"I know..." Yuuna replied bluntly.
Alina, familiar with Yuuna's tendency to defy expectations, didn't question further and registered the quest under her name.
Still, an A-rank adventurer taking on an E-rank quest was indeed a bit shocking for Alina.
As night moon shined, she retired to a nearby regular inn for some rest, her mind still consumed by thoughts.
Lying on her bed, she contemplated the events of the past two days,
– This guy hasn't done anything particularly extraordinary, except maybe catching those Horned Rabbits with sheer agility...
She shifted in bed, continuing her train of thought,
– I need to observe him... more closely... to come to a conclu...
And with that, she drifted off to sleep.
Next day, Yuuna's eyes snapped open, instantly attuned to the sounds of the bustling street outside her window.
She stood up from her bed, with a quick movement, as a sense of urgency driving her thoughts,
– How did I sleep this late today of all days? Hope I haven't missed anything!
Swiftly, she buckled her belt containing a square pouch for her essentials and a coin pouch, retrieved her daggers from the bedside table, and slid them into their sheaths.
She always sleep with them in her hands every night, a testament to her readiness for any potential danger.
Wearing her cloak around her shoulders, Yuuna swiftly exited the Inn and dashed towards the city entrance.
As she approached the gate from a distance, her keen eyes caught sight of the group already making their way out of the city.
°°°
Perched atop a rooftop of a house in Riviera Town, Yuuna watched silently as Ewaan and his group parted ways.
As Ewaan moved further away into the open plains, Yuuna had to rely on Concealment, a Darkness skill that rendered her nearly invisible to the naked eye.
However, the sunlight still cast a shadow, making her presence somewhat detectable.
Even so, Yuuna remained cautious and kept her distance to avoid detection.
Unbeknownst to her, Ewaan's Sixth Sense ability allowed him to detect Mana presences with precision. With his enhanced vision, the Concealment spell had little effect, and he quickly noticed her presence.
Recognizing her immediately, Ewaan chose to prioritize his monster clearance quest and ignored Yuuna for the time being.
Afterwards, as he vanished before her eyes, she was visibly shocked. "What? Where did he...? How did he...? Huh?" she exclaimed in confusion.
Quickly calming down, Yuuna came to the conclusion that he must have some sort of teleportation skill or ability.
And without wasting any time, she dashed towards the location of the Reptide Lizards.
Arriving at the scene, Yuuna observed Ewaan already engaged with the Reptide Lizards.
She swiftly utilized Shadow Movement to ascend to the mountaintop near the waterfall, where she stood beside a tree, watching his abilities from afar.
°°°
As Yuuna witnessed Ewaan in battle, she couldn't help but ponder,
– This guy, as I thought... He definitely did suppressed his strength that day!
In a few moments, the mountain suddenly shook like having earthquake, as the Reptide Dragonis emerged, breaking the cave's entrance behind the waterfall, emitting a murderous aura that overwhelmed Yuuna and left her in shock.
Despite feeling frightened, Yuuna was determined to help Ewaan against the Reptide Dragonis, even if it meant risking her cover being blown.
But surprisingly, Ewaan faced the creature with unwavering confidence and fearlessness, ultimately defeating the Reptide Dragonis with the powerful Advanced Darkness Spell, Chaos Vortex.
She couldn't help but ponder,
– How is he this powerful? Why haven't I heard of him before? He must be affiliated with a powerful nation or the Academia, perhaps a skilled sorcerer, student—no, definitely caliber to a teacher. You don't become this powerful without a significant backgrou—
As she was lost in thought, Ewaan noticed the same Mana signature up on the mountaintop after the Reptide Dragonis perished.
It made him furious, and he swiftly utilized Shadow Movement to appear behind her.
Sensing the sudden shift in Mana, she snapped out of her thoughts and attempted to flee utilizing Shadow Movement, but to no avail.
Ewaan swiftly caught her by the throat, pressing her against the tree. "It's you again,"
°°°
Closing the distance between them, after Ewaan looked directly into Yuuna's eyes and asking the intention behind her spying on him, Yuuna clenched her hands tightly in fraustation, her expression betraying her hesitation.
Yuuna uttered hesitantly, "I... I wasn't spying, just following you on my own accord...!"
Ewaan continued to meet her gaze for a moment before turning away. Then, he uttered, "If you don't have anything more to say,"
He snapped his fingers, and immediately the Shadow Bind spell ceased. Yuuna, who was in an awkward position, fell to her knees.
Ewaan tilted his head slightly, uttering, "If I ever catch you following me or my companions again, I won't be this merciful!"
As he was about to leave, Yuuna shouted, "I NEED YOUR HELP!"
Hearing her call, he stopped in his tracks.
••• ••• •••