Four days had passed, and it was time for Linton and his group to leave the forest.
After Barry mentioned that the spell Linton used was forbidden magic, Princess Yalan quickly promised to keep it a secret. After all, Linton had saved her life twice and helped her acquire the dual horns of the Flame Devourer Beast, which she wanted. So, she agreed to remain silent about it.
Even though everyone agreed to keep it secret, Linton casually mentioned that it wasn't really necessary because he had no plans to seal this skill. After all, it was such a hard-earned and impressive ability—why give it up for such a reason? Of course, he didn't mention this to Princess Yalan and the others; he figured he'd use it whenever he felt like it.
To maintain secrecy, they dealt with the five-star swordsman they had captured. After all, he had fallen under Linton's mental magic, and keeping him around posed a risk. Besides, these assassins were all death warriors. Barry thought it wouldn't be possible to get much information from him anyway. One of the assassins they had previously caught had committed suicide, so taking this prisoner back with them was pointless. They weren't even safe themselves. Any further investigation would have to wait until they returned safely.
After handling the swordsman, the group rested for a day, during which Rena finally woke up. Once she had recovered a bit, they started their journey back. According to Barry, their enemies likely wouldn't send more people after them. The five-star swordsman was probably the strongest member of the assassination group, and it was unlikely they'd send a stronger swordsman for such a dirty job—unless, of course, the emperor himself ordered their deaths. But that was improbable.
Since the strongest assassin had failed, there wasn't much their enemies could do. They probably wouldn't bother sending any weaklings to their doom. Sure enough, for the next few days, they weren't attacked and managed to safely exit the forest.
By this point, everyone's injuries had mostly healed. Barry, who had been the most severely wounded, claimed he had recovered about 80%. Even if they encountered a level-six magical beast, they wouldn't be in danger. As they traveled closer to the forest's edge, the beasts they encountered became weaker, and they finally felt a bit safer. The tension that had gripped the group over the past few days began to ease, except for Linton, who remained carefree as ever.
During these few days, Linton spent most of his time training the Flame Devourer Beast. But Barry thought Linton's training methods were strange. Things like teaching it to shake hands or play dead—was he training a deer or a dog?
Barry could even sense the despair in the Flame Devourer Beast's eyes, as if it was frustrated to have ended up with such an odd master. The proud magical beast strongly resisted Linton's bizarre training methods, but in the end, the lure of delicious flames made the creature reluctantly submit to him.
Even so, on the day they were about to leave the forest, Linton suddenly declared, "I'm bored."
"Huh?" Gasain was taken aback.
"Bored. This deer thing is a hassle to take care of, and it's not fun anymore. I'm getting rid of it," Linton said, shrugging.
"Wait, wait! I've been meaning to say this for a while. You're really not treating this magical beast seriously, are you?" Gasain yelled. "Ordinary people would consider themselves incredibly lucky to tame a magical beast like this, and here you are treating it like a dog. And now you're just going to throw it away? Isn't that too much?"
The Flame Devourer Beast, standing nearby, also seemed to understand what Linton meant. It pointed at Gasain, as if to say, "He's got a point. Look how sensible your nephew is."
The fire of Amaterasu had acted as a potent tonic for the Flame Devourer Beast. Over the past few days, its horns had fully regrown, and they were almost the same length as before they had been broken. It seemed the creature had fully healed, and despite some coloration, it appeared to be even stronger. The Flame Devourer Beast knew this and was naturally unwilling to be discarded now that it had recovered.
"Can't find anything fun about it," Linton continued. "If you like it so much, I'll give it to you. You can take care of it."
Gasain wanted to, but when he glanced at the Flame Devourer Beast, the creature gave him a look of disdain, as if saying, "You think you're worthy of me?" It didn't speak, but Gasain understood the message.
"I can't handle it! You're doing this on purpose to mess with me, aren't you?" Gasain shouted.
"Well, it's not much use to me," Linton replied, shrugging.
"I think… it's kind of pitiful," Princess Yalan said, feeling guilty after taking the beast's horns. Seeing the sad-looking creature, she tried to persuade Linton to keep it.
"Have you heard the motto of the Meloway family?" Linton asked.
"There's a motto for this?" Gasain asked.
"A pitiful deer must have a reason to be hated," Linton said.
"Your family's motto is so random… but whatever. What's its reason for being hated?" Gasain asked.
"Being boring is already a sin," Linton replied.
"Good heavens…" Gasain was speechless.
"Alright, I'll give you one last chance," Linton said to the Flame Devourer Beast. "Show me one of your special tricks. If it's fun, I'll keep you."
"What kind of twisted standards are these? What's the point of raising this creature for you?" Gasain yelled.
"What do you think it's for?" Linton asked.
"A battle pet! It's supposed to help you fight!" Gasain shouted.
"I'm already invincible, so why do I need help in battle?" Linton asked.
"I told you to stop using those weird spells!" Gasain said, feeling exhausted. "It would save you so much trouble if it fought for you."
"My magic isn't weird at all. Magic brings happiness, you know. My magic brings smiles," Linton said with a grin.
"A magic that kills with a glance brings smiles? Are you trying to cause trouble?" Gasain retorted.
"How far are you two planning to take this?" Rena interrupted, unable to tolerate their banter anymore. Were all the people in the Meloway family this insane?
"Right! What were we even talking about?" Gasain asked.
"So, deer, perform your trick now or I'll throw you away," Linton said.
"We're back to that again, huh?"
The Flame Devourer Beast was in a panic. It didn't know what kind of trick Linton was expecting. While Linton and Gasain were arguing, the creature quickly thought it over and then suddenly vomited a purple ball.
Linton recognized this ball; he had seen it during their earlier exchange. But this time, it wasn't carried in its mouth—it was regurgitated. Could this purple sphere be something the beast produced internally?
"Is that a Fire-Repelling Stone?" Barry and Princess Yalan both looked surprised.
"Huh? Is this a Fire-Repelling Stone?" Gasain had heard of it but had never seen one before. He was visibly shocked.
"I didn't expect Fire-Repelling Stones to come from inside the Flame Devourer Beast. This is the first time I've learned of this," Barry said.
"Wow, that's actually pretty interesting," Linton said.
"Are you satisfied now?" Gasain asked.
"This deer can puke? That's amazing," Linton said.
"Is that the important part?" Gasain was on the verge of losing it.
"Then what's the important part?" Linton asked.
"The stone! This thing is probably worth a lot of money," Gasain said.
"Yes," Barry nodded. "Fire-Repelling Stones are very valuable because they're rare. Occasionally, teams find them, but no one ever knew their source or could locate a corresponding mineral vein. It was always thought to be a special gemstone, but now we know it comes from the Flame Devourer Beast."
"It's a precious material," Princess Yalan added. "It's useful for both alchemy and the creation of magical items."
Linton understood now. This was like the equivalent of a hairball in a cat, except it was more valuable. Because the Flame Devourer Beast was rare, few people knew about the origin of the stones.
"So, this thing is worth money… which means this beast is basically a walking goldmine…" Linton said, looking at the Flame Devourer Beast with a new, intense gaze that made the creature shiver with a bad feeling.
"See? I knew you had potential. I was just testing you earlier. How could I possibly throw you away?" Linton said, patting the creature's head. "I was just pushing you to discover your potential."
Everyone was speechless, feeling that Linton was constantly lowering the bar of shamelessness. Princess Yalan wondered if it would be kinder to let the Flame Devourer Beast go now because its future under Linton seemed bleak.
Just as they resolved the issue with the Flame Devourer Beast, a large group of people suddenly approached them. Barry quickly went on alert, but as they got closer, he realized they were imperial soldiers, likely sent to find them.
"Captain Barry? Pr… Princess!" The leader of the group was a familiar face—Baron Sirdes, Linton's
father-in-law in name. Upon hearing that the princess had gone missing, he had mobilized his troops to help in the search. Suspecting that she might have ventured into the magical forest, he was preparing to look for her when they unexpectedly found her.
"You are…"
"Baron Sirdes?" Princess Yalan didn't recognize him, but Barry did.
"Princess, it's such a relief that you're safe," Baron Sirdes said, breathing a sigh of relief. While the princess had gone missing in Meloway's territory, his nearby domain would also be implicated if anything happened to her. Now that she was safe, his worries lessened.
"I apologize for causing everyone trouble due to my recklessness," Princess Yalan said. "Please notify Baron Meloway that I've returned safely and that he should stop searching for me."
"Well… Princess, Baron Meloway has… met with an accident," Baron Sirdes hesitated before saying.
(End of Chapter)