On a dark night when everyone should have been asleep, a hot heat was seeping out from the tent where Nameless and I were.

“Ugh… how does it feel?”
“Yes, it definitely feels… ugh, like it’s getting wider…”
I wiped the sweat streaming down my forehead with my hand and placed it back on Nameless’s body.
“Ugh, Master, it’s too hot…”
“Just hold on a little longer… if you keep bothering me, I’ll have a tough time too.”
Nameless took a deep breath to regain composure because of the hot energy wrapping around him.
“Hu…”
“Finally… ugh, we’ve reached the end…”
Nameless, unable to bear it any longer, grabbed my hand on him and frowned.
“…Master, I can’t take it anymore.”
“Ugh, just a little longer, we’re almost done.”
Nameless seemed to be enduring it somehow, biting his lips tightly and trembling as if in spasms.

After a moment, I removed my hand from Nameless’s body and collapsed, wiping the sweat off my forehead.
Nameless also seemed to have relaxed and lay on the ground, turning his head to look at me.
“Pant, is it over?”
“…Yeah, it’s over. Good job.”
I removed my hand from Nameless and patted his head, which had gone through a lot.
“Want to try cycling your energy once?”
Nameless exhaled a rough breath and wrapped his body in energy, his eyes wide as he was surprised by the amount of it flowing through him.
“…It definitely feels like the amount of mana I can cycle has increased.”
“Phew, that’s a relief.”
I lay back on the ground in a sprawled position.

It was a success.
I finally injected my energy into Nameless’s body and completed the work of forcibly widening his blood pathways.
Even though I was a bit anxious since I had no prior experience in widening someone else’s blood pathways, seeing the results on Nameless made me smile.
I looked up and glanced at Nameless.
Perhaps because I widened it a bit too forcefully due to my lack of skill, he was taking rough breaths.
But it was something that had to be done eventually, and I had exhausted my focus, so all I could do was pat Nameless’s back to comfort him.
“I’m glad it ended well; now you just need to get used to it.”
Since this was my first experience, the future processes of expanding Nameless’s blood veins would be much easier.

After a brief moment of resting on the ground, Nameless took off his sweat-soaked clothes and lightly wiped his body with a towel.
‘Hmm, it would be uncomfortable to sleep like that.’
There was probably a lake near the clearing where we set up the tent.
“Are you going to wash up?”
“Yes, it seems like it would be tough to sleep in this state.”
I definitely felt a bit uncomfortable, so I too needed to wash up.

I glanced at Nameless.
Feeling playful, I gave a mischievous smile.
“Hmm, I’ve also sweated a lot. How about we wash together?”
Of course, it was a joke. If Nameless accepted, it wouldn’t be impossible, but even though we were master and disciple, the difference in our physical genders made it a bit awkward.
Besides, no matter how nameless he was, it would still be embarrassing to see each other naked.
Anyway, Nameless, who didn’t want to look too young, would probably reject the offer.

As expected, Nameless quickly shook his head and avoided my gaze.
His voice was like a mosquito.
“…I’ll go after you wash, Master.”
Hmm, was I being too mischievous?
Nameless’s ears peeked red, looking quite angry.
Not wanting to hear any nagging, I hurriedly grabbed a change of clothes and a towel and made my way to the lake.
“I’ll be back soon, so wait here.”
“Yeah, take your time.”
“Alright.”

I placed my clothes and bandages on a nearby rock, tying up my hair that flowed down to my calves and dipped my feet in the lake.
“Hmm, it’s cold.”
I wished I could soak my whole body in the lake, but with my hair being so long, it would take a while to dry.
Restraining my desires, I scooped water with the cup I brought and poured it over my body.
“Ugh.”
Suddenly the cold water made my body shiver.

But then…
Why do I feel Nameless’s presence nearby despite him saying he wouldn’t come?
Could it be he changed his mind?
‘That would be troublesome.’
As I tilted my head, pondering how to send Nameless back, his anxious voice reached my ears.
“Master, I apologize for interrupting your wash, but the Mage has disappeared.”
“What?”
The Mage disappeared? When did that happen?

Was I too focused on widening the blood pathways, neglecting my surroundings?
I lowered my voice and asked again, “The Mage disappeared?”
“Yes, at first, I thought they just went to the bathroom, but when the time passed, they still hadn’t returned.”
So, did they intentionally run away?
“What about the carriage?”
“The carriage is still right where it was.”
Hmm, could it be that they abandoned us?
Letting out a sigh of relief, I slowly pulled myself out of the lake and walked towards the rock where I had left my clothes.
“Have you checked the surroundings?”
“Yes, I’ve explored all the safe zones nearby.”
While wrapping my chest in bandages, I thought of the reasons why the Mage might have disappeared, but nothing came to mind.
‘Hmm, should I go look myself?’
I got dressed and, while wrapping my belt, approached Nameless who was standing behind a tree.
Nameless’s cheeks were slightly flushed, but I chose to ignore it.
“For now, let’s go check on the Mage and the area where we were staying.”
“Yes.”

Near the tent set up by the Mage, there were no noticeable traces.
Instead, there were only footprints leading toward the tent, but if the Mage had walked out, there should have been prints, yet there weren’t any.
Suddenly vanishing, was he a magician?
I slowly shook my head.
‘It’s too early to make assumptions.’
I opened the Mage’s tent.
Inside the tent, there was what seemed to be a sleeping bag laid out, but it was only halfway spread out.
There were no signs of a struggle, and nothing appeared to be missing.
I asked Nameless, who was looking seriously around the tent, “It doesn’t seem like they left of their own will; what do you think?”
“I think so too.”
“Ugh…”
They really vanished without a trace.
I sighed at the absurdity of the situation.
How long has it been since I entered this world, and such a thing has already happened?

With no obvious thoughts coming to mind to resolve this with my brain, I quietly closed my eyes and spread my energy wider than usual.
“Hmm, for now, I feel two presences…”
I strangely felt the energy of the other person was familiar.
“Two? Are they nearby?”
“Not too far; if we run east for about three minutes, we should reach them.”
I opened my eyes from where I had been closing them and left the tent.
“Is the Mage safe?”
“Hmm, it seems so.”
For now, the Mage didn’t appear to be in danger, but the energy I was feeling from the other was very unsettling, and I couldn’t just ignore it.
I pulled out a wooden sword from the tent where we had been staying and glanced to the side.
Nameless, with a displeased expression, seemed to be unhappy with the situation.
“Nameless.”
“Yes, Master.”
I hesitated for a moment.
“Hmm, would you refuse if I asked you to wait here?”
“How could I send you alone to a potentially dangerous place?”
As expected, I got the answer I was anticipating.
I shook my head and lightly patted Nameless’s back.
“…Alright, let’s go.”

Upon arrival, the sight was definitely different from the familiar energy I expected; it was clearly someone I had never seen before.
She had small horns sprouting from her head like those of a demon and wore a jaw-dropping outfit that barely covered her important areas, with tiny wings on her back.
With such attire, her voluptuous body and alluring smile made me think, if there were such a thing as a succubus, it would look like this.
I wondered if Nameless, who had probably never seen such a pretty girl, might be entranced, so I glanced back at him.
Hmm, should I be grateful?
There was no change in Nameless’s expression.
I felt a bit awkward.

“I’ve been waiting!”
The vibrant-smiling girl welcomed us in a well-mannered way, unlike the ones who had kidnapped the Mage.
Nameless postured protectively in front of me.
“Who are you?”
Upon hearing Nameless’s question, the girl made an expression that didn’t fit her alluring smile, hit herself on the head with one hand, and stuck her tongue out.
Indeed, it was impressive how even with such silly behavior, she still looked cute.

“Oh right! I forgot to introduce myself!”
She gestured to her cleavage with one hand and bowed her waist.
“I’m Lily, working hard for the revival of the Demon King!”
The girl introduced herself as Lily and straightened up, giving me another enchanting smile.
“Nice to meet you!”