Chapter 43

“Riana. What did you just say?”

“This is my accommodation.”

“Miss Riana. Is that really true?”

Abelin, shocked, asked Riana for confirmation.

But Riana, perhaps unaware of what the issue was, still smiled bashfully and confirmed it to us.

“Yes. I’ve already told you twice, haven’t I? This is where I stay. Look, it’s clearly not an ordinary accommodation, right?”

As she said, the accommodation where Riana stayed was far from ordinary.

Located deep in the female prodigy accommodation area, it was much larger and more spacious than an average house, and even lavishly decorated.

It was indeed the kind of accommodation befitting Riana, who had risen to the ranks of a High Magician candidate among the prodigies.

The problem was…

The source of the intense Power of Demon felt in the female prodigy area was none other than Riana’s accommodation.

While Riana blinked her eyes as if wondering what the problem was, countless thoughts raced through my mind.

What was felt in the female prodigy area wasn’t exactly a vivid Power of Demon, to be precise.

It was more like a lingering scent.

The scent of a trace left behind by a Demon who had stayed for a long time and done something.

‘No way…’

Ronos.

Could that guy have done something to the accommodation of Riana, whom he took as his disciple?

Otherwise, there’s no way such an intense Power of Demon would be felt from Riana’s accommodation.

But even so, there was one more strange thing.

Because the Power of Demon felt from inside here wasn’t the same as Ronos’s that I had felt earlier.

It was definitely a Power of Demon, but I was certain it was the trace of a different being.

“Kairon, are you okay?”

Abelin asked me with a worried voice.

“I’m fine. Why are you suddenly asking if I’m okay?”

“Because you don’t look fine at all. Do you know what your expression looks like right now?”

“What’s wrong with my expression… Oh.”

Glancing at my reflection in the accommodation’s window, my expression was indeed quite bad.

Honestly, I felt uneasy to the core.

The Power of Demon lingering here wasn’t something that had built up in just a day or two, but over a very long time.

“Anyway, you want to go inside my accommodation, right?”

“Yeah. There’s something I need to check.”

“What’s that ‘something’?”

“Well, you see…”

Riana stared at me with the eager eyes of a prodigy.

But how could I say it?

That a nauseatingly strong scent of Demon is wafting from the accommodation where you’re staying.

And that you seem to genuinely know nothing about it.

“Alright. I’ll let you in.”

“Huh? Even though you didn’t tell me the reason?”

“Why not? I don’t really have a reason to keep you out. There’s nothing to hide, and I actually want to show you how I’ve been living. And most importantly…”

Riana smiled brightly and added.

“Because it’s you, Kairon.”

“Because it’s me? That’s the reason?”

“Of course. Because… Huh?”

Riana, smiling slyly, suddenly turned her gaze to the side.

To Abelin, who was standing next to me.

I couldn’t tell why Riana stopped mid-sentence and turned her gaze, or why Abelin’s expression looked as uncomfortable as mine, reeling from the scent of Demon.

Riana exchanged an unreadable glance with Abelin, then smiled again.

“Hmm, let’s talk about that later. Let’s go in first.”

Riana brushed past me, her soft shoulder lightly touching my firm one.

In Riana’s voice and actions, I could feel a strange sense of ease and familiarity toward me.

“Tsk…”

Abelin clicked her tongue briefly upon seeing that.

As Riana stepped forward and placed her hand on the door of her accommodation, the magically locked door slid open by itself.

“Come on in. This is my room, where I don’t let just anyone in.”

“Then, excuse me.”

Before stepping inside, I swallowed a drop of saliva.

I was nervous for two reasons.

One, I didn’t know what the Demon might have done inside the accommodation.

And two, this was Riana’s accommodation, where she lived alone, and also the place of someone I had been close to since childhood.

I had to remember.

I was not only stepping into a restricted male area but also about to enter a place where a woman lived alone.

Even if it was the accommodation of Riana, who was like a younger sister to me.

As I slowly stepped inside, I could hear Riana and Abelin whispering softly behind me.

***

“Miss Abelin?”

“Yes.”

Riana briefly stopped Abelin, who was about to follow Kairon into her accommodation.

“What is it, Miss Riana?”

“Hehe, I knew you two were rivals.”

“Seems like some baseless rumor has spread. Instead of the Vanguard’s hard work, the trivial rivalry between me and Kairon seems to be more famous.”

“Of course, the whole world knows about the Vanguard’s efforts. Especially here in Rostia, where our Magic Tower is located, we know even better. But it’s strange. It’s a bit different from what I’ve heard.”

Riana, younger than Abelin, smiled with the curiosity of an innocent child.

“I heard that you and Kairon have completely different personalities, fighting styles, and values. So I heard that clashing with each other is a daily routine. But now, it doesn’t seem to be the case?”

“No, that’s not a baseless rumor. It’s true. Kairon and I are different in every way. Really.”

“Hmm, if the parties involved say so, then it must be true…”

Riana tilted her head slightly, as if Abelin’s words didn’t quite resonate.

“Is it just my feeling? I sense a rival atmosphere between you two, but you seem much closer and friendlier than I thought.”

“Friendlier…?”

Abelin’s eyes widened at Riana’s question.

“That’s nonsense, Miss Riana. The reason I’m here with Kairon is solely because of the order from Commander Balthazar, your father. I originally wanted to spend my vacation alone, but I was forced to spend it with him.”

“Dad gave that order?”

This time, Riana’s eyes sparkled.

“That’s strange. Dad is one of the most thoughtful people I know. There’s no way he would force two people who don’t get along to spend time together. If he did, there must have been a good reason.”

Riana’s eyes shone with curiosity and intelligence.

Seeing that look, Abelin naturally accepted that Riana was indeed Commander Balthazar’s daughter.

Eyes that were impossible to read, deep and sharp enough to discern others’ intentions.

Riana also had eyes that, though not as profound as her father’s, were still deeply intelligent.

But she couldn’t figure out why Riana was showing interest in her instead of Kairon right now.

“You know what, Miss Abelin? I find it fascinating.”

“Fascinating? What do you mean?”

“You’re not intimidated.”

“By whom?”

“Who else? You, Miss Abelin.”

Riana’s voice, praising Abelin for not being intimidated, was filled with genuine admiration.

“Usually, people tend to feel intimidated and shrink in front of someone they consider higher or more special. For example.”

Riana turned her gaze, and the other female prodigies who had been glancing this way from afar quickly scattered.

“Like when the talent gap is incomparable. Or…”

Next, Riana pointed alternately at herself and Abelin.

“Being the daughter of a sky-high superior.”

“Commander Balthazar is indeed such a figure for our Vanguard. But I don’t think that’s a reason to feel intimidated.”

“No, usually, people do feel intimidated. But from what I see, Miss Abelin…”

Riana slightly bent down to look up at Abelin.

“Hmm, I was right.”

And she seemed to have confirmed something.

“What are you right about, Miss Riana?”

“Miss Abelin, you’re more used to looking down than looking up.”

“…!”

Abelin’s pupils shook at Riana’s conclusion.

“Your posture, tone, walk. Even your aura. Miss Abelin, you’re special. Completely different from Kairon.”

“…What are you trying to say, Miss Riana?”

“I’m curious, Miss Abelin. What are you doing here?”

Riana took one step, then another, slowly approaching Abelin.

And right in front of her, she looked up at Abelin, tilting her head and asking.

“Why are you here like this? Someone like you…?”