A Strange Gaze

But if it wasn't Serie, then who could it be, someone with such a strong connection to Serie?

Rivale felt a surge of curiosity and once again expanded his [Mana Detection]. This time, he no longer needed to infiltrate the city to confront the old man.

Because the person he wanted to investigate had already left the city on their own.

The powerful senses enveloped the person almost instantly, as if trying to explore every part of him.

Sure enough, this man had a very close connection with Serie. Who was he? Was he Serie's new apprentice? This was truly something new; decades had passed, and she had actually taken on another apprentice.

"But how can someone with such weak Mana be Mage? His Mana isn't even as strong as that human woman next to him... And that one... is she Elf? She has such powerful Mana. These three are really interesting..."

"But that man was indeed somewhat special; I was actually unable to see through his true nature... It was as if he didn't exist in this world at all... Interesting!"

Rivale already had a basic understanding of the situation of the other two women.

After all, with his strength, figuring out the other party's background wouldn't be a difficult task.

But that man was the only one he couldn't see through. It was as if the other man had no core, and no matter how much he tried to enhance his perception, he couldn't discern the other man's true nature.

"This is the most we can do. If we increase our detection efforts any further, we'll be discovered..."

Rivale ultimately abandoned the idea of further enhancing his perception and withdrew his [Mana Detection].

Throughout the entire ordeal, apart from the man who seemed to sense something was amiss, none of the three realized they had been detected.

His interest was now fully piqued, and he wanted to see exactly what this human was like.

Having determined their route, Rivale calmly rose and disappeared back into the forest.

"Oh? Miss Lia, are you coming along too?"

Looking at Lia, who still looked like she hadn't slept at all since leaving the Inn, Amber looked at Galan with some confusion.

They're going to hunt monsters, won't it be dangerous to take Lia with them?

"Hmm 3"

Galan was momentarily at a loss for words; he couldn't very well say that he just wanted to take her out for a stroll.

After all, there shouldn't be any major trouble this time. It's just a threat from the [Lion Dog], and there's no sign of any other monsters around. With me there, nothing is likely to happen.

Furthermore, given that Lia possesses an astonishing amount of Mana as a means of self-defense, he's not worried about encountering any danger. Surely he's not so unlucky as to run into some powerful Demons?

However, with Serie in charge of [Äußerst], even the Great Demons wouldn't even consider setting their sights on this place.

Thinking this way, Galan was no longer worried, and his steps became much lighter.

He turned to look at Lia beside him; her eyes were still blurry, whether from sleepiness or from deep thought, he couldn't tell.

But Galan felt that she hadn't slept well last night because Lia had very noticeable dark circles under her eyes.

Is it because they've been away from their familiar surroundings for too long and lack a sense of security?

No matter how prosperous a human city may be, it is still a strange place for Lia, and she has no sense of belonging there.

This is also why Galan brought her along on this trip; letting Lia return to her familiar environment should alleviate some of her mental distress.

Galan gently stroked Lia's head with a hint of affection, while Leah was already used to Galan's frequent head-patting gestures.

There was no particular reaction.

However, Amber, who had been watching the two, was quite surprised by their intimate behavior. If it weren't for Galan, Amber would still have some fear of the unknown regarding Lia's existence as Elf.

After all, Elves are often perceived as emotionally detached, mysterious, and rarely interact with humans.

Despite limited interaction, there are few conflicts between humans and this long-lived species.

On the one hand, the number of the other side is small, and the two rarely cross paths. On the other hand, the existence of Serie adds a layer of filter to people's perception of the Elf race.

In short, Amber felt more awe towards Lia, but after seeing that her interactions with Galan were no different from those of an ordinary human girl, her sense of unfamiliarity and awe lessened considerably.

"How did you and Miss Lia meet? Are you a couple?"

After thinking about it, Amber still asked with some curiosity.

"Well... this is a long story, and more importantly, don't you think someone was watching us when we left the city?"

Galan wasn't really keen on discussing this topic right now; he didn't want to bring up Lia's unpleasant memories.

And although it was only for a moment, Galan was certain that he had been being watched, but the feeling was extremely faint, as if the other person was groping at his body from a great distance, which gave him goosebumps. However, before he could concentrate on exploring the source of this strange feeling, the feeling disappeared.

Could it be that burly man from the association was planning to ambush me on this road?

Galan for a moment, Garland realized that it wasn't impossible.

After all, if he were to eliminate himself outside the city, it would be very easy to deal with, almost impossible to prove anything, and it's likely that this wasn't the first time that guy had done something like this.

When Galan confronted him, he could clearly feel the palpable killing intent emanating from the other man.

If he hadn't taken lives, that guy would never have possessed such murderous intent.

I really need to be careful about that guy's presence.

Compared to the simple-minded monsters, Galan felt that the wickedness of people's hearts was what he needed to worry about more.

If that guy goes crazy and tries to attack Amber or Lia first, I'll have to take him down before he does.

If you only target yourself from the beginning, that's actually the easiest way to solve the problem.

I had been holding back during the confrontation, in order to give the other party the illusion that the difference between us was not significant.

That person probably thinks that as long as he's willing to fight desperately, he can definitely get rid of him, right?