On their return, Sophie and the other two mages walked under the faint light that was still refracting from the atmosphere long after the sun had set.

However, it soon became night and with it cold and darkness prevailed.

Lily grabbed her backpack and pulled out a golden lamp whose contour outlined a bird. After releasing it into the air, the lamp began to float on its own. Its warm orange light kept the biting wind at bay.

Derick, who was still following closely, seemed lost in his thoughts, not paying attention to his travel companions.

On the other hand, Sophie's face was adorned with a smile similar to Lily's, full of innocence, as she cheerfully recounted her experiences, ignoring how peculiar the situation was.

Lily listened attentively and asked questions occasionally, without interrupting her too much.

Thus, they reached the village and entered the barrier again.

Sophie's house was silent, but the lights were still on.

Through the cracks of one of the windows, two pairs of eyes could be glimpsed, watching cautiously as Sophie returned home with the two strangers.

Seeing this, Sophie decided to go ahead, so she turned to her two travel companions.

"Mind if I go in first?"

Lily looked at her and smiled cheerfully.

"Go ahead."

"Perfect, I'll be right back then."

Sophie smiled back at her and approached her house to knock on the door.

Knock, knock, knock.

After a while, the door suddenly opened. Fabio, the one that had previously hidden in the dining room, dragged Sophie inside and then closed the door again.

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"Sophie, why have you... um... come back with those two?"

Meanwhile, Hugo had laid on the wooden floor with his arms outstretched, muttering unintelligible things, as if he had accepted his fate. He then raised part of his torso to meet Sophie's bewildered gaze.

"You can start explaining, I'll listen from here."

"Explain? I found the blonde mage in the desert, her name is Lily by the way. She's a lovely lady! I brought her here because she wanted to talk to me."

Fabio processed what she just said, and Hugo frowned at her.

"Right... Now you just need to explain why you brought a wanted criminal back to the village. Sophie, you're usually more perceptive than this, in what world did this seem like a good idea?!"

"Lily told me it would be fine, and besides, Derick hasn't done anything so far..."

"Yeah, it's not like he blew up a castle with his fire magic before, right?! And how long have you known Lily to trust her so much...?"

Hugo raised his torso completely to confront Sophie, but he lost his vigor when he observed a star-like glow deep in her eyes.

It was someone else's mana.

Now all Hugo felt was terror.

"...Fabio, get behind me."

Hugo stood up abruptly and assumed a defensive stance. Fabio listened to him and hid in the back room.

From the moonlight filtering through the windows, a silvery shield formed, barely covering Hugo's right hand.

"Guys, what's happening?"

Sophie looked at them confused, but then someone knocked on the door.

Knock, knock, knock.

"Sorry... I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but it seems I have to intervene. Can I come in?"

"Sure! Come in."

Before her friends could object, Sophie opened the door, revealing a young woman with blonde hair and a green dress.

"Let me explain."

Lily handed her parasol to Derick and entered the house with her hands raised.

Upon seeing her, Hugo felt an unprecedented calm and involuntarily dispelled his shield, but he still managed to maintain some caution.

"Sophie and I haven't had dinner yet. How about we discuss this over dinner?"

Fabio, who had peeked his head from his room, started blushing slightly, and Hugo, seeing both sides, sighed deeply and decided to relent, knowing that further resistance at this point was futile.

Under Lily's command, Derick approached the door and closed it gently, gradually blocking the strands of light emanating from the house until he was left alone in the open... completely surrounded by darkness.

If one looked at him, deep in his eyes, one could see mana similar to stars.