You Don't Want Me to Stay?

I slipped up.

He had wanted to leave Lia in the safety of the house, but now he had put her in danger instead. Even if the Lizard Demon Wolf was somewhat restricted by the cramped space inside, it was still more than that innocent girl could handle.

Even an ordinary warrior would have found a monster of that level troublesome.

Within a second of realizing what had happened, Galan raced back into the house and headed for the kitchen, his heart in a slight panic.

He was used to going everywhere alone. Having someone to look after all of a sudden really took some getting used to.

Just before he stepped into the kitchen, the Lizard Demon Wolf's roar came from within, making his heart tighten.

Am I too late?

"Holy Wind Wall!"

Suddenly, the girl's clear voice rang out amid the monster's roar.

With her back against the corner, Lia waved a wooden stick with a fire-scorched tip and held it upright before her, like a devout believer praying in a church filled with colorful floral stained glass.

As the incantation ended, invisible wind rapidly gathered before her into a visible barrier. The defensive spell was complete in moments, blocking the sharp tail spike lunging at her with a bang!

Even Galan was astonished by how quickly she had begun casting. Her casting speed was faster than that of the first-class mages he remembered. Like Fern, she possessed a jaw-dropping talent; if properly trained, she would surely become an exceptionally skilled mage.

Swish—

Galan didn't hesitate. Seizing the moment before the monster could react, he flashed behind it, twisted his wrist, and swung his arm hard, driving the shortsword in his hand deep into its skull and swiftly finishing off the last Lizard Demon Wolf.

The monster's tail spike fell limply to the floor. Seeing that the danger had passed, Lia dispelled her magic, and the tense expression on her little face relaxed.

"I was careless. I missed this one."

Looking down at the charred wooden stick, Galan couldn't help twitching at the corner of his mouth.

It actually was a magic staff, but shortly after reincarnating, he had used it as a poker without paying attention. By the time he realized it, it was already burned out of shape, so he had left it in the kitchen ever since. He hadn't expected it to come in handy.

You really can't fault the quality...

"Mm-mm." Lia shook her head. "If you hadn't come right back, I couldn't have dealt with it at all. I only know some simple magic, and I'm not very good at controlling my mana either."

Without precise control over mana and a terrifyingly large supply of it to draw on, a spell cast without a staff would generally be far less effective. In that case, Lia certainly wouldn't have been able to block that attack just now.

As far as Galan remembered, aside from those great demons, only Serie and a handful of great mages seemed capable of casting magic as they pleased without using a staff as a medium.

No wonder she had been captured by those mercenaries, though mages were at a disadvantage against warriors in a head-on confrontation to begin with.

Speaking of Serie, this year seemed to be another year for the First-Class Mage Exam.

First-class mages were the most accomplished mages recognized by the Continental Magic Association. The exam was held once every three years, alternating between the northern branch in the magic city of Äußerst and the headquarters in the sacred city of Strahl. Each exam attracted countless gifted mages. Besides the title of first-class mage, even more of them coveted the "privilege" that came with it.

The right to obtain any one spell from the great mage Serie.

For elves with their long lifespans, spending centuries learning a single spell was no great difficulty, but for humans, it was impossible. Thus, the prospect of using Transfer Magic to obtain a spell someone else had spent over a century perfecting drew countless human mages.

Of course, there were also plenty who simply revered Serie and wanted to serve her personally.

Galan put away his shortsword, rolled up his sleeves, and bent down to carry the Lizard Demon Wolf's corpse outside.

If he left that thing in the house, it would probably start to stink, and the smell would be awful. He was actually quite a neat freak, always cleaning the house until it shone.

"Have you ever thought about taking the mage exam?" Galan suddenly asked.

The question seemed to come out of nowhere, but he had his own thoughts on the matter.

Rather than leaving her to a life without direction, perhaps having her study magic would be a good choice. As a long-lived elf, she could strengthen herself so she would be able to stand on her own in the future.

Hey, hey, she's just a stranger I happened to bring back. Why do I feel like a nanny making plans for her now? This feels weird.

"Well, just think of it as a suggestion. You're going to leave sooner or later anyway, and it'd give you something to do," he added. He felt he was being a little presumptuous, as though his mother-hen tendencies had gone into overdrive after meeting Lia.

Lia was pinching her nose as she knelt on the floor, helping him clean up the blood with a rag.

Hearing Galan's words, she paused, then slowly raised her head and asked hesitantly,

"You don't want me to stay here?"

Huh?

Huh?!

Wait, girl, what kind of development is this?

"That's not what I meant..."

Seeing Lia's somewhat dejected expression, Galan was a little dumbfounded.

So when heaven is about to entrust a great task to a man, it doesn't test his heart and tire his body—it sends a beautiful woman to tempt him?

No, wait. Why is she acting so reluctant to part with me in the first place? Girl, you, you, you...

Something's really not right!

"We haven't even spent that much time together, so why do you... trust me so much?" He didn't dare say those other words, afraid he'd choke on them.

Male leads reincarnated into another world often got the perk of winning a beauty, but this inexplicable blessing right before him truly left him baffled.

"Because of my eyes." She looked at Galan and pointed at her own eyes.

"Mom said it's an ability I was born with. As long as I look someone in the eyes, I can feel their emotions."

My emotions?

Galan suddenly felt an itch on the left side of his chest and couldn't help scratching it a couple of times.

Is it because I like her? That can't be right. Lia certainly had the makings of a beauty, but he wasn't so much of a beast that he would lust after her at the sight of her.

"The people who captured me before were full of greed. Uncle Rock meant me no harm and only felt sympathy, but you..."

She pointed her little finger at Galan.

"You're very kind. I can feel it. Even if you look hard to approach, you're a very good person."

The sudden barrage of praise left Galan a little embarrassed. He scratched his hair, awkwardly unsure how to respond.

All right, all right, you win. Come to think of it, he really couldn't handle compliments from the opposite sex. Thankfully, he had inherited the Warrior of Shadow's formidable mental fortitude. In his previous life, his face would probably have turned as red as a monkey's butt.

"I don't mind if you want to stay here, but you'll have to help me out."

"Okay!"

Lia seemed delighted that Galan had agreed to let her stay. Her lively manner now was worlds apart from how she had been when they first met.

"You really don't look like someone who just escaped from human traffickers..."