- Before -

In a bright ballroom where a massive chandelier hangs, elegant ladies and gentlemen clad in ballgowns and sleek tuxedos waltz to the royal orchestra. Three members of Magician Extraordinaire stood a corner, looking at the peaceful scene in front of them. The chattering and light laughter was worlds away from the battle that they had suffered through less than a day before.

“How’s Tsukasa?” Heiki asked, taking a sip of his cocktail but frowned and glared at the offending drink.

“He’s still in a coma. Probably from the shock. Not much damage was done but the psychological impact might be hard to get over.” Yuki had received the information when she wanted to visit Tsukasa but was coldly turned away by the palace guards.

“Well yeah! No one would ever think that their teammate would be a secret assassin out to get them.” Takeshi pulled on the tie that was suffocating him. He took the entire tray of refreshments from a passing waiter and threw the small bites into his mouth. They were tasty but were too small to actually fill him up.

The banquet seemed so ironic to Heiki, where the nobles were laughing like nothing had happened when almost half of the Protectors were dead while a number of the students were gone too, although the numbers were not as significant. They managed to escape with the help of the Protectors and the teleportation crystals but a large majority were heavily injured.

Aki’s action of going around to eliminate the nearby assassins helped to keep the numbers as it was. Who knows how heavy the damage would have been if Aki was not around.

“Put away that scowl, Heiki. If your dad sees it, you will get scolded again.” Yuki whispered as she gave a demure smile to a passing lady. Her aura was totally different than when she was holding a magic staff in the battlefield. Despite how down to earth the Magician Extraordinaire seemed, it was undeniable that they were part of the noble faction.

Prince Klye was seated at the front of the ballroom to host this party. Kyle kept a warm smile on his face as he greeted the nobles, as if portraying an image of a generous ruler. Beside him was a familiar man with a scar across his left eye. Instead of the usual unruly mob, his black hair was slicked back neatly and with the nicely pressed tux, Roku looked like an entirely different person.

“Well, now you look like a Duke. It’s been a while since I have seen you in that get-up.” Kyle smiled teasingly as Roku gave him a bored look.

“Speaking of which, where is Aki?”

Roku tensed at that question. Although it wasn’t obvious, Kyle who was closely observing Roku saw his reaction. He felt amused at his response, as if Roku was a mother hen ready to protect his own.

“I don’t know. Probably back out in the field.”

“Ahhh… You Hunters are all the same, never the ones for all these pompous and glittering occasions.” Kyle waved dismissively at the scene in front of him. A look of disgust flashed across his eyes, but he immediately placed it away, giving Roku an apologetic look.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

“You do know this is still necessary to appease the rest of the nobles.”

Roku scoffed. It was so heartbreaking to lose their children, children who they have already abandoned and sent them to the magic academy. Although it's a top magic academy, many nobles had actually gone through the back door. Those who were dumped here were failures that were not good enough to enter the Royal Academy or into knighthood. This was why they had the test in the first place. A test which was specially made for these noble children to ensure that after graduating, they would still be able to survive on their own. Although many were not privy to that fact.

“I was hoping to honor Aki with a medal and some rewards. After all, her accomplishments were tremendous. “

Amongst the nobles, they were whispering about the achievements of Aki, of how she had protected the children and did such a great honorable thing. But the unmentioned was the faint horror they felt in their hearts. Monster. Someone who could annihilate an ancient nightmare with just a single spell, if not a monster, what else could she have been?

Some have proposed to assassinate her, while others suggested to bind or restrict her. The Prince took a stand to reject these suggestions. Although part of him was because he hoped to get Aki on his side, a majority was the Hunting guild putting pressure on the royal family. Seemingly low key, the Hunter guild actually had an extensive information network and strength, making the guild a key part of the Kingdom’s power.

“Leave her out of it,” Roku said warningly.

Such a strong person who still carries a particular innocence and pureness in her should not be stained nor tangled with schemes, or even used as a chess piece in whatever the Prince was playing.

And such a person was actually taking a leisure stroll up the high mountains for the herb Zingiber. The mountain, nicknamed the farewell mountain by Adventurers due to its difficult terrain and climate, had a high death rate. Humming a little tune that was popular back in her original world, Aki made her way upwards easily while KitKat hitched a ride on her head.

“Hmmm… hm… hmm… I want you~~~ I need you~~~”

~~~~~~~~

- After -

The little clump of shadow laid on the ground. Aki squatted down next to it and poked it with a finger.

Repeatedly.

“Come on, don’t act dead. Show yourself. Come on…”

KitKat and Cadburry huddled at Aki’s feet, wishing Aki would just leave it behind and quickly move along. The temple was so creepy. The air was stagnant, the surroundings were dark, and it felt as if something might come at them. Although one already did and was vanquished by Aki, as usual.

“Come on… I will bring you out with me if you want.”

Hearing that, the shadow twitched and slowly, a figure started to appear from the blob of shadow. A long snout, two fluffy ears… it was a black wolf. He was a hellhound, supposingly to take on the role of Cerberus. But he was born with a defect - having only one head instead of three. Abandoned, the little wolf nested at this ancient death temple, silently protecting it - a duty no one asked him to.

“Alright. Ain’t you a pretty little thing.” Aki stroked his head and lightly scratched the back of his ears, smiling at him.

The wolf never felt this warmth. All its life it was disdained of being different, a defect and one that was unable to live up to expectations. It was the first time someone actually touched him kindly and even smiled at him. His heart stirred. It might not be so bad to leave here to see the world with this girl.

“Hmm… Let’s call you… '' Looking at Kit Kat and Cadbury who was slowly creeping up to him, Aki suddenly had an inspiration. “Let’s call you Ferrero! It’s one of my favorite chocolates.”

Ferrero rolled his eyes but still reluctantly accepted this name. Named as a sweet chocolate. He was supposed to be almighty and terrifying. Not a sweet morsel. Despite this, he still led Aki to the Chrysanths that Aki was hunting.

Nestled at the top of the ceiling beam, was a little flower which was Aki’s objective. When Aki lit up the entire area to see better, what stood before her was a familiar Golem, one of which Aki had defeated almost a year ago. But Aki scaled the wall to her objective, as if blind to the terror that had eliminated so many others.

A gleam flashed in the Golem’s eyes, as if it was activated by Aki’s intrusion. As a guardian of the Death Temple, it was its duty to eliminate any intruders. Aki swiftly plucked the flower and bagged it, turning away and was ready to leave. As the Golem started to move, Kit kat and Cadbury started panicking while Ferrero was prepared to fight it to his death.

“Let’s go guys. We still have a lot of other Herbs to hunt today,” With a wave of her hands, the golem slowly disintegrated, turning into little balls of light and creating a mesmerizing scenery.

The falling lights illuminated the slim figure walking ahead, with the trio running up to catch up with her, going on her next hunt.