As Mr. Denise and I trudged along the mountain trail, I decided to multitask. Walking and thinking? Easy. Walking, thinking, and attempting to gather mana from the surroundings? Not so easy.I reached out to the mana around me, trying to guide it into my core. It felt like trying to scoop up water with a sieve. No matter how much I grasped, only 50 to 80 percent actually made it into my mana core, while the rest just slipped away like an annoying ghost phasing through a wall.I frowned, my steps slowing slightly as I focused. Was this normal? Was I just bad at this? I mean, back in the seal, mana was practically suffocating me—it was that concentrated, thanks to the small space and the Dragon's mana leaking everywhere like a broken faucet. But now? Out here? The mana felt spread thin, like butter scraped over too much bread.Was this just how things were outside? How did people manage? Was there some secret mana-gathering technique I missed out on? Did the mages here get training manuals titled "How to Stop Your Mana from Escaping Like a Scared Cat?" Or was this just one of those "talent separates the geniuses from the plebs" situations? Great. Maybe I was a pleb.I was so deep in my mana-concentration crisis that I didn't notice Denise giving me side-eyes like I'd just started sprouting horns. His lips were pressed together, his brow furrowed, and he looked like he was debating whether to say something or pretend I didn't exist.Finally, he let out a cough. "Uh... Miss Anya? Are you okay? You've been... squinting at the air for the past ten minutes."I blinked, realizing I must've looked like I was trying to intimidate a particularly offensive cloud. "Oh, I'm fine!" I said, waving it off. "Just... mana stuff."He nodded slowly, clearly not understanding but deciding it was better not to ask. Poor guy probably thought all mages were this weird."I'm very sorry, Miss Anya," he mumbled, trailing behind me. "I didn't measure the distance correctly, and it didn't seem that far thanks to the acceleration item."We've been walking for what felt like an eternity, and we were still nowhere near the mountain he supposedly trained on. Honestly, at this point, I was just waiting for him to offer me a ride on his back like some weird knightly Uber."It's fine, really," I said with a smile. "I should be the one apologizing. If I hadn't run out of mana, you wouldn't have to deal with my snail-paced walk."Denise quickly looked away, scratching the back of his head like it was the most urgent thing in the world."It's only proper for a knight to save a damsel in distress," he muttered, clearly trying to look like a knightly hero—too bad I wasn't actually distressed."Well, what's new in the empire, Sir Denise?" I asked, shifting gears and trying to sound casual. "I need to catch up on the latest gossip. You know, who's marrying who, which lord fell off their horse, that sort of thing. I've been traveling for ages and even lost my stuff at one point."I grinned, hoping to steer his thoughts away from the whole "knight rescues mysterious lady" trope he seemed dangerously close to indulging.Denise perked up. "Oh, is that so? How long have you been traveling, Lady Anya?""About ten years, at least," I said, giving a shrug like it was no big deal.His eyebrows shot up. "Ten years? You must've been very young when you started. Did you travel alone?"I waved a hand dismissively. "I may not look it, but I'm quite old. I traveled with a friend for a while, but then he had to return to his hometown. After that, I figured it was time to head back to the empire." Technically not a lie, just... strategically incomplete.Denise nodded, his brow furrowed in thought. "Hmm, well, not much has changed. The empire has been at war with the Voltx Kingdom for the past decade, as usual. I don't know much about the capital's latest developments since I've only been there once—for my knighthood ceremony.""Oh! There is something new I know!" Denise suddenly exclaimed, lighting up like he'd won a prize.Is this some kind of game to him?"The eastern village, Frasha, under Count Vernon's fief, became a garrison village recently. Civilians were relocated to other territories due to monster attacks, and I was assigned there as one of the knights." He puffed his chest out a little, clearly proud."Monster attacks?" I asked, tilting my head."Yes, various monsters popped up out of nowhere two days ago and tried to invade the village. Some speculate it's the work of the Voltx Kingdom.""Two days ago? When did the village become a garrison?" I asked, doing the math in my head. No matter how fast you are, mobilizing a fleet of knights doesn't happen overnight."Yesterday," he said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Thanks to the gates stationed in each territory, we managed to prevent the invasion."Gates? Like, actual teleportation portals? Since when did the empire have those?"Are the gates accessible to anyone?" I asked, my curiosity piqued."No, they're restricted. We only used them because of the emergency," Denise replied, his tone all official-knight-serious.I squinted at him. "If there was a monster attack, how come you were training on a mountain?"Denise rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "I was... uh... exterminating monsters as part of my training."I stared at him, unimpressed. "So, what you're saying is you were playing solo hero while everyone else was handling the village situation?"Denise coughed awkwardly. "It's good for honing skills!"Uh-huh, I thought, shaking my head. This guy is either very brave, very stupid, or both. Probably both.Hey, Anya, Introduce me to that man!I heard the Staff's voice in my head after a while, it had been floating behind us this whole time."You must be quite skilled, exterminating monsters alone on a distant mountain," I said, glancing up at the massive peak looming ahead of us. Seriously, does he moonlight as a hermit or something?"You praise me too much. I'm just a lowly battalion leader," he replied, looking down and scratching his cheek like some bashful schoolboy.Battalion leader? That's pretty high up, but why's the guy in charge out here playing Monster Hunter solo instead of strategizing in an office?"That's quite a high position," I said, smirking a little. "Given your age, you must be some kind of prodigy.""Oh, please. I'm nothing compared to a mage who can use fly magic," he stammered, his face turning pink.Oh, he's blushing? Teasing him is going to be way too fun."What do you mean? Isn't fly magic common for magicians?" I asked, playing innocent."I don't know about that," Denise said, scratching his head. "You're the first mage I've seen use it. You must be at least a master magician.""Is that so?" I said with mock surprise. "A friend of mine can also fly, so I just assumed most mages nowadays could do it." Gotta downplay this before he starts thinking I'm some mythical being."Did you not attend the magic academy?" he asked curiously.Magic academy? There's a magic academy now?"...I didn't. I trained under someone personally," I replied, trying to keep my cool."Oh? You must be rich," he said with wide eyes. "Having a personal magic teacher is rare these days. The cost is almost ten times the tuition of the empire's magic academy. My sister is attending the academy in the capital, but thankfully, she got a scholarship under our territory's lord. Otherwise, it would've been tough for my parents.""How about you, Sir Denise? Did you attend the academy?" I asked, steering the conversation away."Yes, I attended the basic academy and advanced to knighthood right after. It's been five years since then," he said, puffing up a bit."Five years? How old are you, Sir Denise?""Me? I'm 21 years old," he said casually.Wait, what? He's 21? He looks like someone's rugged middle-aged uncle!"Haha, do I look old?" he asked, noticing my stunned expression.I just nodded."Guess I should shave this beard, huh?" He stroked his coppery-red beard thoughtfully.Shaving might help, but honestly, I think life's been punching this guy in the face since birth."How about you, Lady Anya? How old are you?" he asked.I froze. How old am I now? Let's see... I was 28 back on Earth. Add the 16 years before I was sealed—that's 44. Oh, wait... My eyes widened as I did the math again. And then there's the 1,400 years I spent sealed. That makes me... 1,444 years old?!!"Sir Denise," I said with an icy smile, narrowing my eyes. "Surely you know it's inappropriate to ask a lady her age?"Denise flinched like I'd smacked him. "Ah... my apologies, Lady Anya. I didn't mean any offense," he said, looking away sheepishly.Whew. Crisis averted. There's no way I'm explaining how I'm older than his great-great-great-grandparents combined."HEY! YOU STILL HAVEN'T INTRODUCED ME TO HIM!"The staff's indignant yell made my eye twitch. I'm starting to think being sealed wasn't the worst thing to happen to me.