At the training grounds of the Dawnbreak Headquarters.
Liz was still training, her forehead drenched with sweat, and her armor soaked through.
On the sidelines, Bethany watched the figure that seemed intent on burning itself out, worry etched deep into her face.
Unable to hold it in, she quietly asked Jessica beside her.
“How long has the Captain been at it?”
Jessica crossed her arms and leaned against the cold stone pillar, staring impassively at the field.
Her voice was as calm as still water.
“She’s been at it since I woke up. Probably six or seven hours, give or take.”
Bethany’s worry deepened.
“She hasn’t even eaten… Is she really okay?”
“She’s a Hero,” Jessica answered shortly and with conviction, as if stating an irrefutable fact.
“Her body can handle it.”
“Sigh…”
Bethany let out a sigh.
“What on earth happened to the Captain?”
“Probably doesn’t want to be outdone by Red.”
After all, the mechanical creations Red had been making these days were always selling out.
Every Hero and Adventurer team in Nightfall Town was fighting to get their hands on them—the supply simply couldn’t keep up with demand.
Hearing this, Bethany’s face instantly filled with unwillingness and frustration.
Liz refused to accept it—how could she be any different?
Such a useful, almost all-purpose support… just up and left.
What was even more frustrating was that not only had he failed to end up miserable as expected, he was actually doing quite well outside.
Logically speaking, with Dawnbreak’s fame, after Red left the team, shouldn’t people look at him differently?
“Huff…”
Liz wiped the sweat from her forehead.
Just as Jessica had said, she was in a foul mood.
Especially when she saw other Hero teams flaunting Red’s inventions everywhere—her frustration reached its peak.
Those things should have belonged exclusively to Dawnbreak…
Clutching her knight’s sword, Liz gripped her fist tighter and resumed her training.
She didn’t want to be surpassed, especially not by Red.
She was the Hero admired by all, the youngest and most talented knight in the Imperial Capital.
Even if it was just once, she wanted to prove herself—to prove that even without Red, she could still conquer the dungeons.
So, after less than half a minute’s rest, she launched into another round of training.
“How about… we go train too?”
Bethany couldn’t bear to watch any longer.
Jessica, expressionless, raised her magic staff.
“Sure, but without Red, cleaning up the aftermath won’t be easy.”
“…”
Just thinking about the ruckus this Mage caused during training, Bethany could only take back her suggestion.
“Better not, then.”
Back when Red was around, he could repair the training grounds—just a matter of using his creation spells to relay the floor.
But for the rest of them, they’d have to hire someone to fix it, and that wasn’t cheap.
After a moment of silence, Bethany decided to change the subject.
“Speaking of which…” she deliberately lowered her voice, as if afraid of disturbing the sweat-drenched figure in the distance, “Where’s Letia, anyway? Haven’t seen her for two or three days, have we?”
“No idea,” Jessica’s voice was as flat as a line.
“Maybe she went to find Red.”
“No way…”
Bethany reflexively denied it.
“Didn’t she say she wasn’t interested in men? She’s always hanging out with succubi…”
Jessica didn’t respond.
She raised her hands, thumbs and forefingers forming a perfect rectangle—a viewfinder—neatly framing Liz in the distance.
“World-Famous Painting: ‘Liz Training.’”
“What are you talking about?”
Bethany clearly hadn’t kept up with Jessica’s train of thought.
“I said, maybe Letia’s stacked up together with Red now.”
“…Huh?”
Bethany was even more confused.
“Don’t mind it. Kids should go play somewhere else.”
Hearing these words from Jessica, who was only 1.4 meters tall, Bethany couldn’t shake a sense of complete reversal.
“What do you mean, ‘stacked up together’? Explain yourself already!”
“Ugh… Elves like you—even if you were caught by a Goblin, all you’d do is yell, ‘Gu, finish me off!’”
“????”
Bethany almost wanted to throw up her hands and shower her with question marks.
“Beep beep beep!”
Just as Bethany was about to press further, Liz’s communication crystal began to ring.
She stabbed her knight’s sword into the ground—a move that made Bethany wince from afar.
With no Red to fix the floor, that was just wasted money…
Liz took the communication crystal from her pocket.
Compared to Letia’s old, battered model, hers looked much more sophisticated.
She glanced at the name displayed on the crystal.
It was a call from home.
Liz toned down her sharp expression a little, but even so, her face was still icy cold.
“Mom, what’s up.”
“Can’t I just call to hear my daughter’s voice?”
The voice on the other end belonged to a mature woman.
“Or does there have to be a reason for your mother to call you?”
“…No.”
Although Liz was always efficient, she couldn’t exactly say that to her own mother, so she denied it.
If anyone else said that, she’d have made them fly.
“Seems like our little Princess Liz isn’t too happy. Who upset you?”
“I’m not upset.”
“Usually, people who say that are sulking.”
“…”
Compared to the overbearing Liz, the woman on the other end was far too gentle.
Even Bethany couldn’t help but whisper a complaint.
“Is that really Liz’s mom? They don’t seem alike at all… Maybe Liz was adopted?”
Her voice was low, but Liz still heard her, shooting her a look that shut Bethany up instantly.
“I didn’t say anything.”
At that moment, the woman on the other end continued.
“How’s Dawnbreaker doing lately? Progress going well?”
“It’s going fine.”
“Figures. I bet you’ve made a lot of money, too?”
Liz frowned slightly; these days, the very word ‘money’ gave her a bit of PTSD.
“Why do you ask?”
“It’s nothing major. I just heard that Red—that kid—apparently sold one of his mechanical gadgets, something called the ‘Bloodhound Hunter Spider,’ to the Gilded Chamber of Commerce,”
Her mother’s tone was as composed as a merchant discussing afternoon tea.
“That design’s pretty creative. Our family’s interested, so I wanted to ask if you could get him to provide the prototype blueprint for the core magic array? Price is negotiable; we won’t shortchange him…”
At this, Liz’s face grew dark, and she directly interrupted her mother.
“He’s gone.”
“…Huh?”
The woman on the other end was momentarily stunned.
“You mean… you kicked him out?”
“What else?”
Liz all but snapped, sulking.
“Besides, he left of his own accord. Not my fault.”
The woman on the other end was silent for a long time, then she quietly held the communication crystal farther away and spoke to the man reading the newspaper beside her.
“Dear, did we… ever bring home the wrong child?”