Vivianne tried her best to calm down her excitement while holding her own mouth and collar.

"So you personally went in and saved her?"

"Yes. It's a long story, but that's the conclusion."

After that, the stories Adrias told Ivy were exactly the same as what Vivian herself remembered.

'Adrias was truly the fairy.'

Vivianne struggled to calm herself down, her hands and heart trembling.

What should I do now? What should I say to Adrias...?

"Now that the explanation is over?"

"..."

"If you have nothing else to say, I'll be going."

"...Yeah, I'm sorry."

"It's alright."

With those final words, Adrias left the training ground.

Once he was gone, Ivy remained lost in thought for a moment before suddenly speaking up.

"Hey, I knew you've been hiding there all along. Who is it?"

As Ivy spoke, Vivianne cautiously stepped out from behind the pillar.

Unaware that Vivianne was present, Ivy's eyes widened in surprise before calmly saying,

"Well, since you're involved, it doesn't really matter. Did you hear everything?"

Vivianne nodded.

"Okay. Got it. I've been getting too sensitive lately and probably accused the wrong person. Just try to forget about what happened here."

Spitting on the ground and kicking it, Ivy left without another word.

As she walked away, Vivianne was left alone in the empty training ground, staring blankly at the floor.

"Adrias...is...a fairy."

As a result, life was saved.

Although the past didn't actually change, many of the nauseating emotions that would have tormented her originally have disappeared.

I am special.

Just with that one fact, it felt like a thin veil surrounding her had been lifted.

"So... "

She felt obligated to repay the favor.

.

.

.

.

Despite having suffered from a severe case of measles, evaluations for other subjects continued.

Still, thanks to my efforts, I was able to receive average scores in all subjects.

"I'm relieved."

I exhaled a sigh of relief as I checked my grades.

Of course, thanks to the Everlast Potion, a significant amount of money would be coming in.

However, perhaps due to living in poverty for so long, I felt happy at the thought of receiving a scholarship.

'Amy said she moved to the Apple Tree Mansion.'

In fact, I received a letter from Amy a few days ago.

There wasn't much content, just stories about successfully completing the move, reuniting with Lupin after a long time, and their family moving in together.

The only unusual thing was her request for me to come home as soon as possible, but I didn't know the reason behind it.

'The evaluations are over, and tomorrow is the weekend. Should I go and visit once?'

Since I had decided to take occasional breaks, it wouldn't be bad to stop by home during this time.

Moreover, there were still about two weeks left until the year-end event would take place.

That way, I prepared myself to head towards the Apple Tree Mansion that only existed in my memories.

.

.

.

.

The Welton Territory, where the Apple Tree Mansion I used to live in is located, is a small land in the southwest, governed by Lord Rama Welton.

Especially since there wasn't any memorable nobility, now my memories are hazy, and the only thing that comes to mind is that the land ruled by him was more livable than expected.

'He used to run around the territory every day.'

It's puzzling how Adrius, who used to be so lively, turned into this gloomy person.

Perhaps he changed after realizing that his head had thickened and his influence had grown.

Since Rodren Academy is located to the east of the capital, it took a little while to reach the Welton Territory in the southwest. During the approximately four-hour journey, as usual, I read a book to pass the time.

Thump!

'What was that?'

Suddenly, I looked up at the train ceiling as a sound came from above my head.

Did something heavy fall?

As that thought crossed my mind, the noise came again.

Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.

It sounded as if someone was walking on top of the train.

The sound continued towards the direction of the train's doors, and soon after, with a creaking sound, the doors opened.

'What is that?'

A seemingly ordinary man entered through the doors.

He appeared to have come down from the running train roof, which seemed unbelievable.

Brushing off his clothes, he confidently handed a gold coin to the bewildered attendant.

"Here's the fare."

Then, casually looking around, he spotted me and cheerfully raised his hand.

"Hey! Long time no see."

Me?

Was he talking to me?

The gaze of the surrounding passengers all turned towards me.

Feeling both bewildered and surprised, I watched him approach me with a smile.

I naturally felt a cold shiver and got lost in my thoughts.

'Who is he? A dark magician? An assassin? A mercenary?'

When various thoughts shook my mind and I felt the need to take action...

"What's wrong? Did you forget about me? I'm slightly disappointed."

His attitude and tone made someone come to mind.

Could it be...?

"Sal..."

...lem?

I couldn't bring myself to utter the name that had an enormous bounty on it.

But perhaps just from that, my intention was conveyed, as Salem smiled brightly and sat down next to me.

"You might have noticed a bit late, but I can let that slide."

"How on earth did you know I was here?"

"You insolent brat. In times like this, you should ask about each other's well-being."

He then threw a gold coin to each approaching train security guard and put his arm around my shoulder.

"How have you been lately? Are you doing well?"

"Yes."

"Hmm? I don't think so. I distinctly heard news about you while coming here."

Is he referring to the Kidwell attack incident?

Honestly, since the mercenaries duo directly targeted me, this attack didn't have much impact on me.

If anything, I considered it a decent happening since it confirmed Timur's strength.

"It wasn't particularly dangerous."

"Is that so? Well then, it's probably not necessary."

"Pardon? What do you mean?"

"Thanks to you, I managed to blackmail the guy who sponsored that job and extend the rental of the toy for another week. I came here as a token of gratitude, but..."

"I never said it wasn't necessary."

There was no reason to refuse whatever Salem offered.

I urgently interrupted his words and firmly expressed my opinion.

Perhaps finding my behavior amusing, Salem chuckled to himself and lowered his head.

"Alright, I get it. You. But more importantly, where were you heading?"

"...I just had some business to attend to, so I came out for a while."

"I mean, I'm asking what that business is."

Did I just give Salem the location of our house?

Am I out of my mind?

Of course, considering Salem's abilities, he would quickly find out not only where my family lives but also the exact location. However, I hesitated to say it directly.

"I was taking a trip to clear my head a bit."

"Oh, really? Well, that's good. While clearing your head, let me take a look at your magic a bit."

I was slightly taken aback by Salem's unexpected remark, but I nodded my head. "Thank you."

"So, where is your destination?"

I tried to casually deflect the question, consciously avoiding drawing attention to the train ticket with the destination written on it that I had put in my coat pocket.

"It's probably the next station."

"Oh, really? It's coming up soon. Wake me up when we arrive. I'm going to take a nap."

With those words, Salem closed his eyes and fell asleep in less than three seconds.

The next but one station would take at most 30 to 40 minutes, even if it was a long ride.

I quietly sighed and continued reading the book I had been reading, trying not to dwell on it.

.

.

.

.

Unexpectedly getting off at the Condit Territory, Salem and I stopped by a decent restaurant to have a meal.

"What? You're telling me that's all you've learned?"

Salem, who was downing beer in broad daylight, looked stunned as he listened to my story.

I can understand his reaction perfectly.

I remember cursing silently when I first saw my stat window.

Moreover, since I'm now rebuilding from scratch, I haven't had the opportunity to learn other magic spells.

"Hmm, I didn't expect it to be this limited. How on earth did you survive?"

"I was lucky."

He didn't seem particularly doubtful about my answer.

He seemed to be lost in thought, as if my response was something he just blurted out.

"Alright then. I was originally going to teach you something else, but it seems you can't handle it."

After taking a sip of beer and letting out a satisfied sigh, he said, "Alright, I'll teach you something very, very basic."

"If you're willing to teach, I'm willing to learn anything."

I was already thirsty for knowledge.

Even though I attended lectures at the academy, the content was much more advanced than what I needed to learn, so it was more like scratching the surface of theory rather than being practical.

If I hadn't even managed that, I probably would have failed all the evaluations.

"Let's finish eating first, and since I'm feeling lazy now, I'll teach you around dinnertime."

I never expected that the devil who pursued the truth would actually be this lazy.

I thought he had a strong thirst for knowledge, but it turned out to be different from what I had imagined.

After finishing our meal, we wandered around various parts of the city, enjoying a non-touristy tour, until we finally climbed a modest hill near the city in the evening.

"Let me teach you here."

"Do you really have to?"

"If I feel like it, you just have to accept it."

"Yes."

He then held the Sinister Snake on his back with a cloth and started drawing on the ground.

"Originally, this is what I was going to teach you."

I tilted my head as I looked at the drawing he made.

"What is this?"

"Tsk. Looks like you really lack talent. Do you remember when I used this to kill those black magic sorcerers who were trying to attack you guys?"

"Yes, it's just a simple mana wave..."

"That's right. What I was originally going to teach you was that."

He started rearranging the ground on the hill again.

However, no matter how I looked at it, it was just scribbles and a few unreadable characters in my eyes.

"You gather it and then release it. Like this. With this, even a simple mana wave can blow away your opponent. What if you use it in magic? Or apply it to your physical activity with knight mana?"

Even though I didn't know what it was, if I used the principle of the mana wave he had used in magic or applied it to the activation of my body with knight mana, it seemed to have tremendous destructive power.

The problem was that even if he taught me the method, I couldn't learn it.

When I replied, thinking I would be impressive, Salem sighed.

"I'm not a great teacher either, but you're not a great student either. Well, alright. Just know that something like this exists for now."

I stared at the scribbles on the ground with the determination to memorize them.

Even if I couldn't utilize it right away, someday I might be able to make use of it.

'Because I have Evolution.'

Since I had the characteristic of patience, it was good to know anything for now.

Even if that weren't the case, it was still good to memorize it somehow, as it was graffiti containing Salem's deep thoughts.

"I was originally going to teach you just the basics, but since you're not going to learn it anyway, just take a good look. Honestly, it's a much bigger deal than a toy rental for a week, but I'll cut you some slack because you're someone I like."

"Thank you."

This time, I sincerely thanked him.

Even Charon, who proclaimed himself as my master, hadn't spoken to me lately, so I was in a position to be grateful for his willingness to teach me.

"Now, I'll erase this, and I'll teach you something you can use. This might be helpful to you."

Salem smiled widely, expressing his confidence this time.