“Breeze, carry me along～ as light as a swallow!”
“O spirits drifting through the air, please support my body, lighten my weight!”
With the dual support spells cast by Miss Arthur and the Imp Girl, the group reached the bottom of the mine with ease.
Imp Girl Leya lifted her chin slightly at Su Yao, clearly seeking praise and showing off.
Heh, even without her support magic, Su Yao could have found a way to reach the deepest part of the mine, so what’s there to be smug about?
“Renee, you and Miss Su Yao fall back, that thing’s waking up!”
“Arthur Sis, I can help you with other spells too!”
“Your support magic is enough. Save the rest of your mana to get us back up.”
Love of showing off—truly one of the Imp Girl’s traits.
Still, though she clashed with Su Yao, her nature wasn’t all that bad.
Thinking this, Su Yao found Leya much more agreeable, and swallowed back the words she’d been about to say, mocking her ‘amateur’ attack spells as useless…
Suddenly, the ground trembled. The giant Crystal Tree slowly withdrew underground, gravel tumbling into the pit. The scene before their eyes felt just like the ominous prelude to a monster’s appearance in a special effects show.
“Let’s go, Imp Girl. Leave this to the adults!”
The Guildmaster shouted behind him. Wait—was he including Su Yao in that?
Forget it. Once they got back to the surface, she’d just raise his rent a little…
A bit further away, a cloud of dust rose as a mountain-like Monster clawed its way out from the earth.
(Dragon’s roar～hic)
To Su Yao, a wingless dragon looked little different from a lizard, but its appearance didn’t matter; what counted was whether that “Crystal Tree Tail” looked beautiful.
Compared to the tails of certain Tuo Dragon Kings, a tree disguised as a “tail” like the Crystal Tree’s was far more impressive.
“Come on, Leya, don’t just stand there. Clear the battlefield. If you want to help, hide at the back and find a chance to cast your magic.”
“Leya?”
Su Yao reached out and tugged at the girl…
But Leya’s body trembled, jerking away from her touch like she’d been shocked.
“Don’t touch me!”
What’s with her! Why such a big reaction all of a sudden…
Su Yao didn’t voice the question, but something was clearly wrong with the Imp Girl’s mood. Yet that gloomy look on her face didn’t seem like fear…
———
Leya was born on a Sea Island. Because it neighbored the elven territory, the place enjoyed the blessings of Yggdrasil.
The island had a spring-like climate year-round, with abundant resources.
Unlike on the Mainland, where only nobles could study and use magic, every child on this island could go to the Half-Elf Island Lord at the age of five for a Magic Talent Appraisal.
Anyone with the potential to enter the path of magic would be trained with all the Island Lord’s resources.
Even those with only modest talent could learn simple spells for daily life.
Surrounded on all sides by the sea, the island saw little conflict, save for the occasional noisy sailors from passing merchant ships.
Of course, the island’s peace was also thanks to the Island Lord being an eighth-tier water-type archmage.
Leya spent her early years here without worry. When she was five, her parents took her to see the Island Lord.
The elderly Half-Elf looked like a witch out of a fairy tale, but Leya wasn’t scared at all. In fact, she curiously touched the wrinkles on the old woman’s face.
The Island Lord laughed heartily. Living nearly four times as long as a human, she’d seen too many farewells, which made her cherish children—the symbols of “new life”—all the more.
Guided by the old woman, Leya placed her small hand on a crystal ball.
She felt a pulling sensation in her palm, mana flowed in, and it was as if a rainbow shone upon the room’s ceiling.
“Amazing. Her magical affinity for all attributes is high. Except for mana reserves, her magical talent is on par with high-ranking elves.”
The old woman’s voice brimmed with barely contained excitement—she couldn’t even recall the last time she’d been this thrilled.
Leya was told she might become the first human archmage to master three or more elements at the eighth tier.
She just nodded in her ignorance, but seeing her parents’ joyful faces made her happy too.
From then on, she became the Island Lord’s most cherished pupil.
The old woman could only teach her water magic, Healing Magic, and some non-elemental spells.
Not wanting Leya’s talent to go to waste, the Island Lord found Magic Books of various attributes and gifted them to the young girl.
“Magic is all interconnected. Read them when you’re interested.”
Her master understood children’s nature at that age and never pushed her too hard.
Even so, at age seven, Leya successfully cast a fourth-tier Healing Magic.
Her fondness for that magic was simple: it let her heal the small hurts of those around her…
The titles of “Genius” and “Holy Maiden” gradually spread among the islanders.
Gaining everyone’s recognition made her even more devoted to studying Healing Magic.
A year later, she broke through again, managing to cast a fifth-tier Healing Magic.
Day by day, her Healing Magic grew more refined. When she was nine, a massive White Ship docked at the island’s shore.
Men from the ship—accompanied by Knights in armor and Nuns with white veils—found her at the Island Lord’s house while she was learning magic.
They said they wanted to take her and her family to the Saint Nation.
There, she would truly become the “Holy Maiden”.
Leya refused. She didn’t want to leave her beloved island—her friends and cherished teacher were all here.
Later, the group was driven off by the Island Lord.
The man and his followers reluctantly boarded the ship and departed, and the island’s peace and tranquility returned. If only the story ended there…
But what’s done cannot be undone.
About half a year after the White Ship left, something strange happened. First, fishing boats vanished mysteriously at sea.
Next, the Half-Elf Island Lord who went to search for missing islanders never returned.
She waited anxiously for a week, and finally, standing on a cliff by the shore, saw storm clouds in the distance and wild waves on the sea.
Far out at sea, a colossal whirlpool appeared. At first, people thought it was just another natural disaster that would pass in time.
But the whirlpool crept closer and closer to the island, until a mountain-sized dragon’s head rising from its center shattered the island’s peace.
The giant sea Monster stirred up a tsunami that blotted out the sky and swept onto the island—towns, villages, granaries, the Island Lord’s Mage Tower…
Everything familiar from her childhood was drowned.
Spells hurled by the people struck the dragon-headed Monster’s unthinkably massive body and were simply swallowed up.
Some islanders were swept away by the waves, some crushed by the Monster. Dead or alive, all were drawn into the vortex.
Her poorly practiced water magic couldn’t save anyone but herself—her parents, her mentor, her friends…
She didn’t know if the salty taste on her face was sea water or tears as she struggled in despair.
A silver-white dragon descended from the sky. After a dazzling flash of white light, the dragon-headed Monster’s body turned to ash.
A female swordsman dismounted from the dragon’s back. She apologized as she gently wiped the salty water from Leya’s face…
Later, the little island was submerged. The surviving islanders scattered to the winds.
Leya lost everything, but at least she found a new place to belong.
Now, another “dragon” appeared before her. Though only a thousandth the size of Charybdis, that similar “dragon’s head” still dragged her memories back to that calamity.
“Imp Girl! What are you spacing out for? Get out of there!”
So annoying! It’s just a Monster—why did it have to appear before her, why did it have to look so much like a human?
“I don’t need your…”
Following the other’s gaze, she looked up and saw a forked tongue.
This is…
“Don’t move! Do you want to die?”
A cold, slippery feeling brushed against her calf. Looking down, she saw a python as thick as an adult’s thigh…
“Ah”
What should have been a scream was cut short. Her whole body felt as though weighed down by a massive stone; she could barely breathe, let alone chant a spell to protect herself.
Am I… going to die?
“That’s why you’re still just a kid. No sense at all. If you hadn’t screamed…”
Her vision cleared again. The snake’s head fell to the ground nearby.
Beads of blood dripped from the weapon of the petite, golden-haired swordswoman who scolded her incessantly—the very “Monster” she resented most…
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