Not long ago, I had come to the Magung, the Grey Forest.

I never expected to return here, and I let out a breath.

In front of me was an Apostle.

Behind me, Nia was slumped down.

The timing was unbelievably perfect.

If I had been just a bit late, Nia would have lost her life.

“Why are you here?”

Nia’s bewildered voice reached my ears from behind.

The magic that made her younger had indeed worked; she had somehow entered the Magung.

But it seemed incomplete.

‘The Irregular Removal Team has appeared.’

In front of me, an Apostle with four eyes rolled its gaze.

This Apostle belonged to the Irregular Removal Team of the Magung.

The Irregular Apostle.

The reason for its appearance is when the rules of the Magung are violated.

It shows up anywhere in the Magung to eliminate the irregulars as swiftly as possible.

Nia’s magic to make her younger was unfinished.

Because of that, it summoned the Irregular Apostle.

Kaang!

At that moment, the Irregular Apostle struck my hand.

It hadn’t been focusing on me the whole time.

The reason it was created was to eliminate irregulars.

In other words, it had only one intention: to kill Nia.

The Irregular Apostle tried to swing the sword connected to my hand toward Nia.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

I stood in front of it.

The upward swing of my hand collided with the Apostle’s sword in an instant.

I had already experienced enough through the lazy genius, Ban, to become sick of it.

I deflected its sword path completely.

Seizing the moment, my leg extended and kicked the Apostle in the stomach.

It was quite a heavy blow, causing the Apostle to falter and take a step back.

But the Apostle wasn’t just going to take that lying down.

Its mouth opened, and beams of light gathered.

Was it planning to shoot a beam?

But sorry, I didn’t come here alone.

Kaboom!

Before the cluster of light gathered by the Irregular Apostle, a flash flew in.

The flash flew in so quickly that my eyes couldn’t keep up and sent the Irregular Apostle flying to the other side.

Far away, Sharine was standing with her staff aimed.

When she locked eyes with me, she smiled lazily.

Head of the Magic Arts.

Sharine Sazarith.

Though she was a bit unpredictable, when positioned in the rear of our allies, she was nearly the strongest asset.

In the meantime, I quickly grabbed Nia’s arm and lifted her up.

“Let’s discuss later. That staff is definitely tied to something mysterious, right?”

“How do you know that?”

“I deduced it. Just looking at it.”

My brow furrowed.

“The horn of a Qilin, how sinister.”

Knowing Nia was researching the magic that made her younger, it was clear she had intentionally made it like that.

Activating the magic while under the effect of making herself younger likely meant she was in a high-risk situation.

‘Those from Robliju, they really don’t care about means and methods.’

If they were from Robliju, they must have known about the existence of the Irregular Apostle.

They had probably calculated everything to lead to this situation.

Their ability to orchestrate is anything but ordinary.

Essentially, it was almost like assassinating Nia without getting their own hands dirty.

But there was one thing they didn’t consider.

‘They probably didn’t expect that a real irregular would be here.’

With how many times I played the game of the Flame Butterfly, they couldn’t account for my variable.

“What are you?”

Nia, still running, looked at me with eyes that couldn’t comprehend.

No matter how much she thought, it seemed she couldn’t understand my appearance at this timing.

Thud!

At that moment, the Irregular Apostle, who had endured Sharine’s magic, slowly rose.

It looked incredibly grotesque, twisting its body like a dislocated joint.

“I put quite a bit of power into that. Looks like it’s still fine?”

Sharine frowned as she gripped her staff tighter.

“Sharine, that thing is immortal. It doesn’t matter what you throw at it.”

The Irregular Apostle doesn’t die.

It simply regenerates through the infinite energy supplied by the Magung.

Moreover, as time passes, it evolves further.

And sure enough, the Irregular Apostle transformed into its second form.

Wings sprouted from its back, and an extra arm appeared.

The Irregular Apostle opened its mouth wide and let out a roar.

Hostility poured out as it aimed to eliminate the irregular.

Kaboom!

At that moment, dozens of fiery projectiles flew and smashed into the Irregular Apostle.

The owner of the flames was Sharine.

“Immortal, huh?”

Sharine dusted off her shattered staff and pulled out a new one.

Various elemental magics danced around her.

Typically, a magician is born with a single affinity.

But Sharine had no such limitations.

“I’m curious. Just how much can it revive?”

Sharine’s eyes looked dangerous.

The pure excitement she felt as a magician seemed to ignite her.

That, I thought, would be fine to just let run its course.

I turned back to Nia.

“Nia Cynthia, Professor, I’m sure you have many questions, but you know that someone is targeting your life.”

Nia’s face hardened.

As I said, this situation clearly held intentions to kill her.

Nia was undeniably aware of it.

“And surely, they will target you again, in ways you wouldn’t even anticipate, just like today.”

“……”

The person who gifted Nia her staff must have been someone she trusted.

So without any suspicion, she accepted the staff.

If such incidents continue to occur, it would also affect Nia’s life.

‘Now I understand why Robliju was so intent on killing Nia.’

The magic to make herself younger, though incomplete, produced results.

She was a person who could potentially bring about a new revolution in magic.

The Duke of Robliju had become a subordinate of the Evil Lord.

As the Evil Lord, Nia must have been a thoroughly unwelcome presence.

“How about this: we pretend as if you died in the Magung and focus on finding the culprit.”

Nia caught on to my suggestion.

Adults cannot enter the Magung.

So if Sharine and I align our stories today, we could easily cover Nia’s death.

Ultimately, if Nia does not return alive, the adults wouldn’t know.

A feigned death would also provide significant advantages for Nia.

Not only could she save her life immediately, but she could also track down those who targeted her.

Moreover, should similar incidents occur later, Nia could herself step in as a witness to take control of the situation.

“Under the 1st Prince, hiding your identity would be quite possible.”

Nia’s eyes widened.

It seemed that her affiliation with the 1st Prince was still a secret.

But that only added weight to my words.

My knowledge of a secret that others didn’t know couldn’t be ignored.

“If you’re curious, find out for yourself. But it will take two years.”

That’s the time until I graduate from Jerion Academy.

If I have that time, I can surely draw the Duke of Robliju out onto the water.

“Two years is not a bad window to act behind the scenes.”

I casually dropped a time frame.

How Nia interprets it is up to her.

But I had thrown every option I could.

“Oh, and since I saved your life once, please grant me a favor later.”

“Huh, you sure say things freely.”

Nia breathed out as though astonished.

It seemed I was speaking so nonchalantly that it was surprising.

Seeing this, I couldn’t help but smile.

“Though the request is related to your younger sister.”

I decided to look for a happy ending first.

To save Nikita.

Just once, I needed Nia’s help.

At that, Nia’s focus shifted.

It seemed I had touched a sensitive chord, and the thick aura of hostility spilled from her.

“My sister is not something I can give up.”

What’s with this person? What misunderstanding could arise in this situation?

“Brother, let’s not do this.”

“You too, you approached me with the intent to target my sister! My sister has always looked up to me and likes tall men. A short guy like you won’t even be seen as a man!”

Wow, a sis-con.

He looks like a handsome young noble, but it feels a bit repulsive.

“That’s not it; please don’t misunderstand. Nikita-senpai will likely prevent any trouble due to Nia Cynthia’s feigned death.”

Upon saying that something might happen to Nikita, Nia slowly calmed the fury that had been boiling over.

“…Nikita likes me a lot, so that could be a possibility.”

As long as she understood it in some way, that was enough.

I approached Nia and extended my hand in front of her.

“Hand over the staff you’re holding.”

“This is a Qilin’s horn. If you do that, you’ll lose your own magic.”

“It’s fine. I have my own mystery surrounding me.”

Nia opened her eyes lazily.

“What on earth are you doing?”

From the information I had shared to now, including the mystery, I was someone Nia couldn’t pin down at all.

I slowly opened Nia’s hand.

My hand, reinforced with steel skin, couldn’t be affected by just a Qilin’s horn.

“You can find out for yourself later.”

The more she learns, the more incomprehensible it becomes.

But that was enough to let it slide for now.

After pulling out the Qilin’s horn from Nia, I lightly grasped it in my hand.

“This should suffice as a feigned death.”

For a magician to lose their staff in the Magung is tantamount to death.

Moreover, the Qilin’s horn contained clues that would bring attention to it.

Of course, the tail-cutting regarding the Qilin’s horn would have already finished.

Everyone would deny knowing, and only the artisan who made the staff would be left dying.

‘In fact, the 1st Prince will not greatly oppose Nia’s death.’

Nia was a significant pawn.

But there were too many uncertainties surrounding her death.

All the evidence pointed toward the 3rd Princess faction.

But due to the use of mystery, there couldn’t be any solid proof, so they couldn’t be targeted.

The forces of the 1st Prince and the 3rd Princess were on par.

If handled incorrectly, opposition could arise.

Thus, in the end, Nia’s death would be swept under the rug.

Only one person, however.

Only Nikita would tenaciously pursue Nia’s death and be convinced it was the work of the 3rd Princess faction.

‘But this time is different.’

Nia is alive.

This is the biggest piece of evidence.

The forces of the 1st Prince would have to put all their effort into digging to draw out the 3rd Princess faction.

‘The Duke of Robliju seems as if the world is his own.’

I prepared a huge scheme.

Eat it up deliciously.

“Take this too.”

At that moment, Nia took off a necklace and handed it over.

It was a necklace engraved with the insignia of the Cynthia family.

“This is the necklace given to the heir of the Cynthia family. With it, my death would be further confirmed.”

As Nia said this, she exhaled.

It seemed she didn’t like being manipulated according to my will.

But at least she seemed to recognize that I had no hostility toward her.

“If you do any nonsense to Nikita while I’m gone, I will kill you.”

And she left a fierce warning.

In Nia’s eyes, I seemed like a man trying to target Nikita.

“How can a dead person kill me?”

And I was someone who would always respond to provocations.

“There.”

In the middle of my stare-down with Nia, Sharine’s voice cut through.

She was pointing at a spot with a troubled expression.

There was the Irregular Apostle, which had morphed into a grotesque form, something that could barely be described anymore.

Just how much magic had been jammed into it? It had already undergone ten evolutions.

In the meantime, Sharine had dealt enough damage to the Irregular Apostle to kill it ten times over.

It kept exploding endlessly on the side.

Doing everything she wanted to do.

Sharine showed us her empty waist area.

It seemed she spent all the staffs she was carrying.

“I can’t kill it with magic anymore.”

When the Irregular Apostle dies from an attack for the tenth time, it enters a state of magical or physical immunity, with immunity to either magic or physical damage.

I was flabbergasted.

Just how much had she wrecked?

“Grraaaaargh!”

Due to the unreasonable magical bombardment, the now enraged Irregular Apostle let out a displeased sound.

Seeing that, I jumped to a conclusion.

“Let’s run.”

I’m making a break for it!