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After catching her breath, Arrieta gave her greetings.

“Sensei!”

“Oh, Arrieta. I’m glad you are fine...”

The delighted Kairen turned angry when he saw the state Arrieta was in. She didn’t have any deep wounds, but Arrieta had been totally wrecked by Niberis.

“These bastards dare to wound the precious body of Arrieta, whom I reared with the utmost care and affection!”

“...No. Please tell the truth. You didn’t raise me with utmost care and affection.”

Arrieta let out a sigh as she retorted. Kairen acted like the dull father of a daughter, but he was like a demon when he instructed Arrieta.

Kairen grumbled.

“It was all done for your sake. No matter how precious the child is, one has to to sever one’s affection when teaching martial arts. Anyways, I.......”

Kairen looked at his surroundings. He mumbled as he looked towards the spot where his strike had landed.

“If I had one more breath to spare, then I would have hit them for sure. How regretful.”

Kairen wasn’t an idiot. He hadn’t executed such an attack so the enemy could deal with it. He hadn’t told the party, but he had ran across a distance of 50 kilometers when Niberis’ Curtain of Darkness had enclosed Arrieta’s party. He had crossed mountains and lakes to run in a straight line towards this location. He had used all of his strength.

His breath had ran out and he had been filled with worry about Arrieta. He wasn’t in a situation where he could carefully calculate his actions.

Azell was oblivious to these facts, but he was still impressed with Kairen.

‘It’s pretty amazing how he was able to pull off an attack of such caliber when he was out of breath.’

Kairen had exposed his existence when he let out a thundering yell. It was done so in order for him to find Arrieta. It also drew the attention of the enemies towards him.

When the distance narrowed, he intentionally let out a strong attack that could be noticed by the enemy. He was trying to push the enemies into backing off immediately.

The skill he had shown to achieve his goal was awe-inspiring.

He had let out his attack from 300 meters away, but it wasn’t as if he used his power without any control. When the attack was first shot out, it was like a thin line of thread. Magic had been compressed to its highest density, and as it flew closer to the enemy, it exploded into hail of light.

To hit his enemy across a vast distance, he had let out a precisely controlled attack that almost lost no magic until it exploded. Moreover, the timing had been so exquisite that the explosion was limited to targeting only Niberis and Duran.

‘If he was born during the Dragon Demon Wars, he could have made a name for himself.’

Kairen’s strike left a deep impression on Azell.

‘Moreover, those swords.......’

Azell looked at the swords on Kairen’s waist. He had a pair of black sword, and it was shaped like Arrieta’s sword. There was a gradual curve to the blades.

‘It’s emitting Dragon Demon magic..’

This was the reason why Azell had become interested. To the extent of Azell’s knowledge, there were a lot of weapons with magic imbued within it. However, the only weapon that could emit Dragon Demon magic was a weapon called Dragon Maqi. Kairen’s sword wasn’t a Dragon Maqi yet it was emitting Dragon Demon magic. (TLN: A soul-infused weapon like Azell’s Dragon Maken.)

Kairen clicked his tongue.

“Chet. It would have been great if you carried around at least one healer in your party. Since time is of the essence, you should apply this to your wounds. No scars will form.”

He took out a wooden bottle from inside his shirt and passed it to her. It was a healing medicine made by the alchemists.

Arrieta queried as she received it.

“So, sensei...”

“Mmmm?”

“I’m very thankful for your timely help, but... How did you know I was here?”

It seemed that everyone was curious, so their gazes were all focused on him. Kairen replied.

“The Dragon Demon Queen asked me to find you.”

“My mother did?”

“Didn’t you send word that you were being attacked by a seditious group of people when you were going to meet the Western Border guards?”

“Yes.”

“The Dragon Demon Queen asked me to go check up on you, since you took a minimal number of escorts.”

“Is that really all there is to it?”

As if Arrieta couldn’t accept his answer, she asked again.

He said he had come at the request of the Dragon Demon Queen since she was worried. It seemed like a likely story on the surface, but Arrieta knew the reason he gave was ridiculous.

Of course, the Dragon Demon Queen could ask Kairen. However, Kairen would never have left his territory simply because of a request made by the Dragon Demon Queen. If Kairen was someone who would cross a vast distance because he was worried about his pupil, then the throne would make numerous requests for his aid. The throne would use him with glee.

Kairen smiled.

“I knew that my pupil wasn’t stupid.”

“Even if I had been stupid, I could guess what sensei would do, since I know you so well.”

“Yes. As you probably guessed, I don’t move unless there is a special reason. The Dragon Demon King’s followers got involved this time. Moreover, they were powerful ones.”

Kairen hadn’t known the name of the organization called Dragon’s Shadow. Still, he had recognized that they were Dragon Demon King’s followers, and the fact that they were powerful fighters capable of posing a danger to Arrieta. This made them worthy of his attention.

“What does this all mean?”

“Unfortunately, I’m not in a position where I’m able to tell you. I will tell you one thing. I was motivated to move because of the Dragon Demon King’s followers.”

“But.......”

Arrieta wanted ask more questions but she swallowed them when she saw Kairen’s eyes. Her stern sensei’s expression said he wouldn’t allow any further questions on the subject.

Instead, she asked a question regarding a different topic.

“How did you know I was in danger?”

“The signal from you was severed.”

The throne treated the Dragon Demon Princess as a precious commodity. This was why a special magic was designed to always locate where the Dragon Demon Princess was at all times, and it also showed if she was still alive. Kairen had borrowed a tool connected to this magic.

Then, the signal showing where Arrieta was located was suddenly cut off. Kairen determined that Arrieta was in a life threatening situation, so he came running here with all his might.

Arrieta spoke.

“Ah. That time.......”

Still, it seemed that the Curtain of Darkness casted by Niberis was the main reason why Kairen had come here. Niberis had been thorough in hiding her actions with the Curtain of Darkness. She probably would have never imagined that her action had basically invited Kairen to her.

Kairen spoke.

“If all your questions have been answered, then let’s leave this place. This place is unsuitable for a camp.”

The party followed his words.

The party decided to camp a fair distance away from their original location. It was dark, so they weren’t able to travel very far.

“We have a lot of things to buy at the next town.”

Azell mumbled as he looked over the campfire. In the panic of battle, the party’s horses had all been killed. Magic had exploded everywhere, and in the chaos, they had lost most of their belongings. Still, they had enough of their own possessions to camp one night in the outdoors.

Originally, Azell had asked for the most difficult time to be on watch, but everyone insisted he that he take the first watch. Then, everyone quickly went to sleep. Maybe it was the relief that they had felt after escaping from a near death experience, but no one in the party could resist the fatigue that washed over them after the tension had melted away.

‘Well, I’m not in a state where I can refrain from giving in to my tiredness.’

Azell was so tired that he wanted to immediately close his eyes and sleep. He used Spirit Order to force himself not to sleep.

‘I have to train this damn body faster.......’

Azell looked at his arms as he let out a sigh.

In terms of being physically exhausted, he was much more tired than Giles or Boar. His body was too weak. His unconventional use of magical energy was allowing him to stay afloat. However, he felt the weakness of his body more acutely than his lack of magic.

“Why are you sighing?”

He heard a laid-back voice from between the party members. Azell replied without showing any signs of being surprised.

“You are using a very cumbersome method.”

Kairen was the one who had initiated the conversation. Kairen looked like he was sleeping, but he was faking it. Azell had been the only one who hadn’t been deceived.

“Your senses are quite good.”

“It is.”

Azell shrugged his shoulders.

It was a curious sight. Both of them hadn’t decreased the volume of their voices, but no one had woken up from their sleep. The situation didn’t make any sense, since everyone except Enora possessed very developed senses.

The reason being was that Azell and Kairen used a special technique. The technique allowed only one’s target to hear one’s voice.

Kairen got up and walked towards Azell. Although he wore armour, it was as if a cat was walking. He didn’t make any noise.

When Kairen sat down in front of the campfire, he asked Azell a question.

“Why are you using such a cumbersome method?”

Azell knew Kairen had wanted to talk with him. However, he didn’t know why Kairen had pretended to go to sleep. He had waited for everyone to fall asleep before he made his move.

Kairen spoke.

“You aren’t surprised at all.”

“If something happens, I just accept what’s happening, then I roll with it.”

“That’s a good attitude to have. I taught that child to think like that too.”

“You mean the princess?”

“Yes. To answer your previous question... I wanted to speak to you while that child wasn’t listening in.”

“Hmm.”

He wanted to avoid Arrieta’s attention more than the others. He basically didn’t want her to know he had shared a conversation with Azell...

‘What’s the reason?’

Is there a reason why Arrieta shouldn’t know about this conversation? He didn’t know about the inner intrigues of the royal family, so Azell had a hard time understanding Kairen’s behavior.

Kairen asked a question.

“From your perspective, what do you think about Arrieta?”

“What’s the meaning behind your question?”

“Do you perhaps think I’m asking you to judge her appearance? I don’t even need to listen you to answer such a question. She is a woman of matchless beauty. She is the best in this kingdom. No, she is the best in this continent.”

“.......”

“Are you perhaps trying to deny this fact?”

“No. It isn’t like... The princess is very beautiful.”

“Isn’t she? It isn’t worth it to question such a fact. I’m asking about the child as a warrior. It seems you have participated in numerous battles, so please give me your honest assessment.”

“You want me to speak the truth?”

“Yes. Don’t sugarcoat it. Well, if you want to suck up to me, it is your own choice. However, you won’t get far with me by doing that.”

“Her potential is outstanding, and she displays great skill. She is much better than most her age.”

It was an honest assessment. If he considered her young age, Arrieta showed an amazing level of achievement physically and mentally.

“It is as if.......”

Kairen grinned.

“You are making an assessment as if you are looking down from a high place. Does this mean you are so skilled that you are able to assess Arrieta in such way?”

Azell acknowledged that he’d been had this time. Kairen had used Arrieta as a topic of conversation to gain an insight into Azell.

No matter how well Azell had his skill hidden, his natural assessment of someone else revealed the standard he was assessing others by.

Of course, there are those who pretended to be strong to cut down others, but Azell didn’t show such an attitude when he was talking about Arrieta. His assessment had been unaffected.