Point of view: Marga Komil

Today I arrived at the Timal Marquisate and immediately headed to Baron Solar's territory for his youngest daughter's birthday. We were both born in the same year, I'm only twelve days older than her. She came to my birthday, so I've come to hers in return.

This barony has some of the best flowers in the entire empire—they distribute and sell them all across it. My mother, sister, and I are in love with the variety and magnificent scents. Thanks to that, my father befriended Baron Solar a long time ago to ease trade between both regions.

Upon arriving, I convinced my guards to visit a massive flower reservoir. It's a bit far from the main city, and on our way back, we got into this mess. A bunch of tree-type monsters called Spriggans appeared. All my guards went out to kill them while I stayed inside the carriage. I want to help, but they won't let me, being the Duke's daughter. All I can do is wait—it seems this will take longer than expected.

"Who is that person?" In the distance, I saw a small carriage rushing toward us. It came to a sudden stop upon witnessing the scene, and a boy—or maybe a teen—stepped out, heading straight for us.

He immediately declared his intention to help. I only saw him holding swords—no spells or anything of the sort. "Can he really help? I hope he doesn't become a burden we'll have to rescue later." Worried about this newcomer, I kept watching to see his first move.

His swords were reinforced with Imra, which he had perfect control over, looking sharp and powerful. A dark mana flowed from his blades, making me think of shadow affinity. Looking closer, I noticed it was connected to his hand and his Imra—something quite difficult for someone so young.

"What?" My mouth dropped in surprise. That young man began slicing through the Spriggans like butter. I don't know much about swordsmanship—just what I've seen in duels—but even with my limited knowledge, I can tell his skill is impressive. He cuts through the monsters' defenses so easily. Whenever he lands a blow, they start acting strangely and making weird sounds. "Who is this person?"

Point of view: Maki

I won't use my spheres unless necessary. I'll just support them enough to lighten their burden and finish this quickly.

My death mana is causing serious harm. These monsters don't scream—they just tremble at the site of a wound and keep trying to stab with those sharp, branch-like fingers. They're long and stretchable, and surprisingly fast for tree beings that should be rooted in place.

My swords dance among them as I approach the group of emerald-ranked fighters. I'll stay close to support them. They're having a hard time, and I don't want to see them die.

I cut down some of the healthier monsters, leaving the final blow to the others. I focus solely on damaging the healthiest ones. These guys are doing quite well—they seem around seventeen and are likely close to ranking up. The sapphire-ranked one looks around twenty-five and is very skilled with both his sword and water magic.

Now that I'm closer, I've noticed some things. He's not just fighting the grade 3 monsters—he's also controlling the battlefield with his magic to ease the pressure on the emeralds, always keeping an eye on the whole group while managing his own fight.

The battle has dragged on for several minutes, and I'm starting to notice their exhaustion. Their movements are slowing down. They'll eventually kill all the monsters, but it'll take longer than planned—damn it! While thinking about using magic, I almost failed to help a girl who was nearly impaled by a sharp branch. I should've used my movement skill.

All of them have been fighting with fists and weapons, using some mid-range mana abilities. While their magic isn't at my level, it's strong enough to save them at key moments or hurt the monsters. I'll start using magic—just v2 or v3 swords so I don't draw too much attention.

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Ice swords begin to form around me, piercing multiple monsters at once. I control eight at a time. When one disappears, another appears seconds later. I could manage many more of these spells. It feels odd not giving it my all.

The moment I started using spells like this, the swordsman who seems to be the leader stopped helping with his magic and focused on killing the monsters as fast as possible. Samu is still standing off to the side, watching. He hasn't intervened because I'm not in danger, but I know he will if I get hurt. After all, his only job is to protect me—these people aren't in his contract.

The number of monsters is slowly decreasing. One of the grade 3s is already dead, and the others are not far behind. They should all fall within the next few minutes. When the last grade 3 finally fell, the leader joined us to help finish off the grade 2s quickly. At that point, I stopped using my ice constructs and focused solely on swordsmanship, moving side to side like a bee searching for flowers—or in my case, danger.

Once only fifteen monsters remained, the group leader halted. "You must use these last 15 monsters to practice your coordination and adapt to danger in any scenario." Hearing that, I stopped instantly. I used all my charges of Lightning Steps and appeared next to Samu in an instant.

"You did pretty well back there." The tall man with black hair and eyes smiled at me. Despite his broad build and serious face, he was quite kind. "Without you, they wouldn't have finished so quickly. If the leader had made even one mistake, something terrible could've happened." I looked at him, smiled, and winked in thanks.

"I didn't do much, just helped a little. They had everything under control." He stared at me a bit oddly but didn't comment. I know he doesn't believe me. "Let's head back to the carriage. I need to rest." He nodded with that same serious face, and we turned around, walking back in silence.

I don't need thanks or rewards—I just helped to avoid any future issues for my family. I don't want to be accused of ignoring House Komil in a time of need. Just as I touched the carriage door, someone entered my domain. "Bad timing." I muttered in my own language. From their physical features, I could tell right away—it was the tallest member of Duke Komil's group.

"Excuse me, please wait." I turned around, and he was already right in front of me. His sapphire-rank movement speed was impressive. "I want to thank you for helping us—you lifted a huge burden from me." He extended his hand, which I accepted with a firm handshake.

"It was nothing. You had the situation under control, and the others finished off the monsters." I wanted to downplay my role—didn't want him thinking I helped just to gain something. His expression suggested he was analyzing me.

"Thank you for your kind words." He had red hair, a strong build, was a little over 180 cm tall, with a slightly rounded, well-kept face—handsome enough to charm any woman.

"I'm Knight Mains of House Komil. May I ask who you are?" His politeness made me think he noticed my noble status.

"My name is Maki Vichag, third son of Baronet Jarrid Vichag. A pleasure to meet you." I gave him the typical noble greeting. His face showed a bit of surprise… not sure if that's good or bad. He quickly returned to smiling like nothing happened.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Maki. Are you here for Lady Sol's birthday?" That question caught me off guard—I never expected a connection between Baron Camux and Duke Komil.

"Yes, our territories are quite close, and our families are very close." I emphasized the strong ties between the families to avoid suspicion about why I helped.

"We're on our way back to Marril City. Would you like to ride with us?" His question made me raise an eyebrow. Why would he invite me?

"Young Lady Marga wants to meet and thank you for your help." I didn't know if I should accept or decline. I could excuse myself by citing the difference in our noble ranks, and I saw no benefit in going with them—but I didn't want to offend them either. Mains seemed to notice my hesitation and continued.

"The young Lady is a good person. She just wants to thank you and chat." With that level of insistence, it was hard to say no. The way he spoke of her with such respect made her importance clear—she had to be someone notable.

"Very well, I'll go with you." When I turned to inform Samu, he was already watching. He must have heard the whole conversation. Mains didn't seem to mind—he smiled at Samu just like he did at me.

"I'll follow close, Young Maki." Samu bowed and climbed into the driver's seat.

"Let's go—I need to inform Baron Camux as soon as possible." I began walking alongside Mains toward House Komil's carriage.

When we arrived, all the young people greeted and thanked me warmly. They seemed like good people—I'd talk to them more later. Inside the carriage, I saw luxury in every detail—a sign of great wealth. Young Lady Marga sat by the opposite door, waiting for me...

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