“Think….. Think… it wasn’t Ozun.” That was her first hypothesis. It would make sense entirely. However, now that that ship had sailed, there were only a few other options left. Her brain scattered as she walked herself through the timeline of events.

Gagan had arrived in this village once departing from Godon. The following day, the two brothers disappear. Then there was the appearance of the bandits and lord Ozun’s change of character. Yet, it is now known that he was perhaps already under the influence of the orchestrator by this time.

Thus, all events occurring after can be disregarded. The only ones that mattered were the bandits which are no longer prevalent, and the missing children. “So… something must have happened during Gagan’s arrival, and the disappearance of both of Ozun’s children.”

Suddenly she remembered something. “That’s right… they haven’t disappeared though. She wasn’t aware of the location of the second child, but she recalled when she had detected the presence of the lingering child within the halls. The green eyed brat. “I’ll check the manor. If he’s not missing, then perhaps the other one isn’t either.”

Lusha took flight, leaving behind the mass of destruction she had just caused. It was not like anyone was going to leave their houses any time soon. She entered through the hole in the wall far above the village. From there she could see all the details of the fight. This was clearly the dining hall. Yet the table was embedded into the wall and the two marble stems connecting to the floor were now simple stumps.

Rock and gravel littered the hall. With the smell of ash still thick in the air, it was easy to see it was definitely no easy battle. Yet another disappointment. She had hoped that the diamond rank adventurers were of higher capability than that. Of course, she did utilize a pinnacle skill. Though if her patience had allowed for it, she could have finished the earlier fight in a variety of ways.

She stretched herself out and began to wander down the halls of the estate. Incidentally, she had already caught wind of where Lord Ozun’s room would be. They were at the most prevalent wing of the estate. An aerial view of the building reveals several huge rooms, but others build with various intricate arches and designs. Should he be the self-grandiose man that she thinks he is, he would claim the largest, most high-end room for himself.

As the doors swung open, it was just as she had suspected. A room made for a miniature king. Gold embroidered the walls and dotted each line of walls with rivillin stones. The yellow shine off of the gold reflected tiny specks of light from the stones, giving the appearance of stars on a clear night.

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A giant king sized bed with pillars on all four corners sat at the bed of the room. The velvet carpet could be felt shrinking under her feet with each step. Pristine paintings dotted the room in strategically symmetrical locations.

Lusha’s eyes scanned the room before finally settling on a work desk. It was clearly a study that was made for practice. Thousands of papers scattered the desk as if the person that was here left in a mess. She quietly observed the contents, reading all the details listed, there was nothing of importance or nothing of note.

Ledgers, ledgers, ledgers, tax documents, population size, housing construct plans, market-place orders, payment files. So far there was nothing that could help her conclude what was going on.

Suddenly, a figure appeared at the doorway behind her. Tall and slender, standing up as tight as humanly possible. “Are you finding the young master’s studies to your liking, lady?”

Lusha’s eyes turned over to meet his. She was rather impressed that the man managed to surprise her. While she was distracted by the writings and ledgers, the man was also too silent to detect. He had feet that were as lightweight as a cat’s- no, lighter.

“Rinn….”

There was no need to elaborate. Rinn was already on the response. “He’s… alive..”

Lusha observed the man’s face. His usual neutral expression was no longer. Instead, he harbored a pained expression. The lines around his mouth crinkled as he attempted to hide his pain.

“Y-you… you managed to kill… Ozun?”

Lusha prepared a small fireball spell. It was elementary, but it was all she’d need to finish him off should he become hostile. Instead the man took no notice of the conjured flame. He stood there in disbelief that the lord Ozun had finally perished.

Then tears began to flow. He clutched at his chest, as he lost composure. The muscles from his legs finally began to weaken and he fell over to his knees crying loudly. This was an old man, yet here he was, crying shamelessly. Lusha’s flame disappeared, determining that the man wasn’t her enemy.

“S-seven…. Times… seven times.” He wiped away his tears. “Seven times!! And each one could never get this far!!”

He placed both hands to the ground as tears continued streaming without signs of stopping. “I-- was beginning to lose hope!!”

“All this time…. All this time…. Not a single one could beat him.”

“Please…. Tell me! Promise me!!”

“No matter what… save our young master from this peril.”

“You’re the only one who even stands a chance- you must put a stop to all of this!”

His frantic, contorted crying turned to demands and pleas. “Save… the young master…?” An image of the little cheeky brat flashed in her head. “So there is an answer to this after-all. Explain.”

“Please… if you do. I will forever be indebted to you. Please!!”

“Explain…”

She asked yet again, this time a little more annoyed. The man finally calmed his breathing and between sniffs managed to get some of his words out.

“The young master… Zari Ozun… and his brother… they’re plagued by a demon.”

“A...demon?”

There was a small pause as she asked the question before it all came to her like an epiphany. Gagan, the brothers disappearances, the lord's strange act… and the 7 different adventurers. The pieces were now starting to fit together in their respective time-frames.

The one who started all of this was Gagan…- this was a problem that started all the way back in the capital city of Godon. The only conclusion was that Gagan ended up bringing whatever problems from the capital city …. To this small village.

His failure to complete his mission and properly finish off the opponent only spelled doom for this place.

“What happened… I want you to explain everything you can from the start.”

“It started… only 3 months ago… when Gagan had arrived in the village.”

Next Chapter…. The Golden Prodigy