A blinding light exploded from the center of their vision, followed by a deafening roar.

The shockwave flattened all the surrounding grass, creating a circular clearing several dozen meters wide.

When the dust finally cleared, the Horned Stonehide Bull had been blasted hundreds of meters away.

All that remained on the ground was a massive crater and a few scattered pieces of rock-like carapace.

“Thank goodness, thank goodness…”

Adelina exhaled in relief as she watched the scene through the Scouting Seal.

But her thoughts were very different from Viloti’s.

Adelina was thinking that maybe Zervanie wasn’t so bad—at least she could be useful to Felyn.

Viloti, however, saw something worth learning.

Rather than hunting the monster herself, Zervanie had used support-type Buff Seals to empower Felyn and let him land the final blow. That kind of accomplishment must feel more satisfying.

If Felyn was pleased, he’d be more likely to team up with her again.

No, this wouldn’t do. I need to find more Buff Seals myself.

Viloti realized that her previous approach was all wrong. Relying on flashy Tier-7 Seals wouldn’t make Felyn want to team up with her.

“Milady, Felyn—”

The guard behind her quickly corrected himself.

“Lord Felyn and Miss Zervanie are moving again.”

This morning, Adelina and Viloti had also come to the dungeon.

Learning from the mistake they made last time—where bringing too many people awakened the slumbering demon underground—this time they’d brought only a dozen elite guards.

And they hadn’t been watching Felyn and Zervanie the whole time.

Only when the guards alerted them to signs of a powerful magical beast did they use the Scouting Seal, just in case Felyn ended up in danger.

“So their battle’s over,” Adelina said, watching as Felyn and Zervanie searched the ground for magic crystals.

They were standing very close—very close.

Zervanie subtly shifted her body again, inching even nearer to him.

They seemed to be chatting. Zervanie kept sneaking glances at Felyn’s expression, her gaze full of care.

She crouched in front of him with her arms around her knees, earnestly listening to his words and nodding from time to time.

She looked adorable.

Adelina could barely sit still.

“Zervanie, I knew it! You’re starting to use those underhanded tricks after all!”

“Adelina, no peeking,” Viloti said, deactivating the Scouting Seal. The image of Felyn and Zervanie slowly faded from the screen.

“I—I wasn’t peeking. I was just… worried about Felyn’s safety!”

Even as the image vanished, Adelina kept staring at the last frame.

At Zervanie’s smile.

“She looks way too smug…”

She still remembered how, long ago, Zervanie had boasted to her that she would marry Felyn.

That proud, entitled expression had been burned into Adelina’s memory.

She hated that look. As if Felyn was some sort of possession that belonged to Zervanie alone.

Adelina didn’t know what had happened to Zervanie since then—what she’d been through, how her attitude might have changed.

"Is there any way to… make the two of them stand a little farther apart?"

She mumbled as she thought out loud.

Viloti sat down on a cushion beside her, also pondering.

She knew she shouldn’t interfere with Felyn.

But seeing another girl so close to him… she couldn’t help feeling just a little jealous.

"I’ve got it!" Adelina clapped her hands.

"Why don’t we send someone to pretend to be a fortune-teller?"

"A… fortune-teller?"

"Yeah. Just have them tell Zervanie and Felyn that today isn’t a good day for men and women to be near each other. Or maybe say silver-haired people shouldn’t go dungeon diving today. Or that it’s bad luck for songstresses. Or blue-eyed girls shouldn’t enter the dungeon at all."

Viloti could already imagine Zervanie’s face if she actually ran into that fake fortune-teller.

She’d be fuming.

Silver hair, songstress, blue eyes, opposite sex—every single line would be targeting her alone.

“Sigh…”

Adelina rested her cheek in her hands and glanced at Viloti, catching her expression.

“I know, I know. I’m a bad girl. You don’t even have to say it.”

She answered Viloti’s gaze before it became a word.

“I won’t really do it. I’m just venting, okay?”

Ever since falling for Felyn, Adelina felt like she’d turned into a complete villainess.

She peeked at his movements, plotted ways to keep other girls away from him…

“But this really isn’t normal,” she said, standing up and brushing off her skirt.

“There are way too few magical beasts near Felyn today. It’s weird.”

They only had a dozen or so guards, and they were keeping their distance.

There was no way their presence should have frightened away the monsters.

At this rate, Felyn and Zervanie might only run into two or three magical beasts all day.

That would completely delay his Divine Affinity growth.

More importantly…

It meant Zervanie could spend even more time with him!

"Let’s go help Felyn draw in a few monsters. That’ll at least speed up his progress."

"But what if Felyn notices us?"

"He probably won’t, right? …Right?"

…

Felyn was reviewing their performance that morning.

Not great—but acceptable.

They’d only run into two magical beasts.

One was a weak Treant so feeble that even Zervanie had trouble picking up its loot.

The other was the Tier-3 monster from earlier.

Thanks to Zervanie’s Buff Seals, his Tier-1 Seals had hit with the power of Tier-4.

The glowing crystal light made the open terrain exceptionally bright.

A gentle breeze carried the scent of grass through the air.

Beneath them stretched a sloping green hill, like a plush carpet of moss.

Just as Adelina had imagined, a nearby lake shimmered with silver ripples from the wind.

Felyn and Zervanie sat side by side on the vibrant grass.

It was lunchtime.

“F-Felyn… I can’t open this bottle.”

Zervanie held out a water bottle and blinked quickly, trying to mask her nervousness.

"Got it."

“Felyn, did you make all this yourself?” she asked as he pulled out the lunchbox he had prepared that morning.

“Yeah. Made it this morning.”

“I’m so jealous. You’re such a good cook. I’ve got no talent at all in the kitchen.”

Zervanie cradled her face in her hands and gave him a smile as sweet and gentle as a true maiden.

“Everyone has different strengths. I’m bad at plenty of things, too.”

Maybe it was because of the earlier fight, but Felyn was actually engaging her more earnestly now.

“Ah—”

Zervanie let out a soft gasp and grabbed her ankle, wincing slightly.

“What’s wrong?”

“My foot hurts. I think I twisted it earlier when I got lifted.”

She slowly took off her boots, revealing her black thigh-high socks.

Lifting her leg, she gently peeled the sock down with her hand. It was like watching a slow, delicate performance of light and color.

Her long, well-shaped legs were bathed in the gentle light of the crystal overhead, giving them a soft, luminous glow.

At her slender ankle was a faint red mark.

That tiny blemish somehow made the otherwise flawless sight feel even more fragile—and beautiful.

When the sock finally slipped off completely, her pale foot brushed softly against the grass.

The scene unfolded exactly as Adelina had feared.

“Eh, it’s not that bad. Just a scratch.”

Only… Felyn’s reaction wasn’t quite what Adelina had expected.

(End of Chapter)