" Roxy!"
"By the way, your hometown must be the Demon Continent, right? How come you've been Demon Continent for so long and haven't you gone home to visit your family?"
In an inn somewhere on the Demon Continent, a search and rescue team consisting of Elinalise, Talhand, and Roxy was sitting together having a meal.
Several plates of crude demonic food were laid out on the table, steaming and emitting white smoke.
Elinalise had only asked casually, while stuffing stewed Great King Land Turtle meat into her mouth, but she didn't expect Roxy's expression to change so suddenly.
"..."
Roxy remained silent for two seconds, her expression so gloomy it looked like it was about to drip water.
Without saying a word, Roxy turned and walked towards her room, slamming the door shut.
With a loud crash.
The entire second-floor corridor of the hotel shook.
Upon seeing this, Elinalise and Talhand exchanged bewildered glances. Elinalise, standing frozen in place, clearly knew that she had said the wrong thing and upset Roxy.
Roxy returned to her room alone, lay on her side on the bed, and looked out the window.
The sky over the Demon Continent was gloomy, but the moon was round and large, its bright light... upon closer inspection, it looked like a large bowl of wide noodles.
Looking at the moon over her hometown, Roxy felt a strange tightness in her chest.
The word "home" was too heavy for Roxy; it was like a stone pressing on her chest, making it hard to breathe.
Although she really wanted to fall asleep, Elinalise's earlier words kept Roxy from sleeping, and she tossed and turned.
Her thoughts gradually drifted back to her childhood.
That was a part of my childhood that I didn't want to talk about.
She grew up in a Migludian village.
Because she couldn't establish a telepathic connection with others, she was an oddity in the village from a young age.
While other children played, chatted, and exchanged secrets using telekinesis, she could only squat alone in a corner, hugging her knees, watching them laugh and play silently.
She had no friends, and no one wanted to spend much time with her.
That feeling of isolation is like having an invisible label permanently stuck to your body, with the word "outcast" written on it.
Then one day, a human magician who traveled far and wide passed through the village. He was a middle-aged man who looked very refined, carrying a magic wand on his back, and his face was covered in dust.
He stayed in the village for a few days, and Roxy secretly followed him, watching him use magic to start a fire, create water, and conjure up small balls of light to amuse the children.
That was the first time in her life she had ever seen magic.
Through this human magician, Roxy learned what the outside world was like and discovered for the first time that there was another way of life.
From then on, Roxy had an idea.
That means running away from home.
She wanted to leave the village, leave her hometown; she didn't want to spend her whole life in a corner, as an ignored outcast.
Later, Roxy also did it.
Under that teacher's tutelage, she learned basic magic in just half a month. Later, the teacher left without saying goodbye, leaving behind a letter.
After growing up, Roxy left the village and formed an adventurer's party with others on the Demon Continent.
The people in that team took good care of her; although they had different personalities, they became each other's support.
Later, the team disbanded, Roxy traveled alone by boat to the Millis Continent.
However, the humans there were not as kind and friendly as Roxy had imagined. Because she was a demon, she suffered a lot of discrimination.
They can't even find a decent job.
People point and whisper when you walk down the street, and shop owners coldly kick you out when you try to buy something.
That period was the darkest time in Roxy's life.
However, a few years later, after many twists and turns and many hardships, she arrived at the Three Great Magic Nations in the northernmost part of the Central Continent and found the teacher who had taught her magic.
I obtained a letter of recommendation from the other party for Ranoa University of Magic.
She worked part-time at university for four years, where she learned the water magic " Cumulonimbus," a Saint Rank Saint Rank magic trick. After graduating, she became a renowned water magician.
However, due to his youthful arrogance, he pointed out many errors in his supervisor's research in his graduation thesis, which led to a falling out with his mentor.
She left school without saying goodbye to her teachers upon graduation. Afterwards, Roxy applied for many jobs, but failed to get any.
In every interview, she was not given priority because of her demonic identity, even though she was one of the most capable people in the world.
A life of setbacks... Roxy has seen it far too many times.
Until that one time.
She arrived in the city of Roa, in the Fittoa Territory in the Asura Kingdom, after failing to get a job as a tutor to the mayor's daughter.
With a casual attitude, she accepted a job as a tutor for a country knight and came to the Buena Village.
Here, Roxy finally felt the warmth of home.
That was what she had longed for her whole life.
Both Paul and Zenith treated her like family.
In particular, it was here that she met her most cherished disciple— Luo Ge Greyrat.
That child was mischievous from a young age and always liked to tease her.
For example, you might secretly put burrs in her blankets, but actually put a frog in her pillow instead, giving her a big fright.
While he was teaching Rudeus magic, he secretly caused trouble by hiding her wand and watching her frantically run around in circles, then he hid behind the door and chuckled to himself.
What angered Roxy even more was that one time while she was sleeping, this disciple actually... cut off the single ahoge (cowlick) on the top of her head with scissors.
We're family now...
Aside from Lilia, whom he wasn't very familiar with and couldn't easily harm, almost everyone in the family suffered at his hands.
Paul's wine was replaced with vinegar, Zenith's apron was tied in a knot, and Rudeus was tricked by him many times.
However, this very same mischievous little devil that everyone hated so much was something that Roxy missed dearly.
When she thinks of those days, the corners of her mouth always unconsciously turn up.
It's a pity that the genius boy who always played pranks on her back then is no longer here.
He passed away seven years ago, leaving her forever, never to return.
Roxy covered her cheeks and looked up at the moon outside.
I don't know what happened.
During this time, I can't help but think of my disciple who has already passed away.
the next day.
Roxy got up very early.
She explained the reason to Elinalise and Talhand, and then they parted ways.
She went alone to the countryside of the Bijekoa region, to a village of the Migludian people.
This is Roxy's hometown.
To be honest, it took Roxy a lot of courage to be able to return to her village.
Even though she had thought about it a lot last night and made up her mind to come back and see her hometown, Roxy could still feel the repressed pain she had felt as a child after arriving here in person.
The feeling of being isolated since childhood almost made Roxy feel suffocated.
However, she finally took a deep breath, tied her mount to a large tree outside, picked up her suitcase, and slowly walked into the village.
Along the way, a group of Migludian children with the same hair color as her were playing happily in the village.
Everyone stared at her, without saying a word.
After using healing magic to help a little boy heal his bruised leg.
They were communicating with each other using telepathy, and more than a dozen pairs of eyes were staring at Roxy, making her feel extremely uncomfortable.
Roxy lowered her head subconsciously, quickened her pace, and then ran home as if fleeing.
She didn't turn around.
If she turned around, she would definitely see the puzzled expressions on the children's faces.
A few minutes later, in a panic, she returned to her front door. With a heavy heart, Roxy finally pushed open the door in front of her.
Meanwhile, Rowin and Rokari, Roxy's parents, were cooking over a fire.
Upon seeing the person who had returned, he instantly showed an expression of extreme surprise.
"... Roxy?"
However, this family reunion lasted only a few minutes, with the question-and-answer session consisting of just a few words.
Rowin and Rokari were stunned by Roxy's words.
"Um, I have to go."
"Huh? Are you leaving soon?"
"Yes."
"Stay at least one night, Roxy..."
"No!"
Roxy lowered her head, her voice slightly hoarse, "I just happened to be passing by... I have other things to do, sorry to bother you."
Just as Roxy was about to leave with her luggage, Rokari suddenly called out to her from behind.
"Wait a minute, Roxy."
"Take this money!"
When Roxy saw the money her parents handed her, which actually contained several hundred green ore coins, she was dumbfounded.
"So much money? Where did you get it from?"
No one knew her family's financial situation better than Roxy.
Their home was bare... they didn't even have a decent bed. This amount of money was something they probably couldn't save up in a lifetime.
When Roxy pressed her parents for the reason...
Rowin looked a little embarrassed and didn't dare to speak. Instead, Rokari, standing beside her, covered her mouth and chuckled as she explained, "This is the betrothal gift, Roxy..."
"Bride price?"
Roxy was stunned, then her expression changed. "You... you wouldn't have arranged my marriage without my consent while I was away, and then secretly betrothed me to someone else, would you?"
"No, that's not how it is."
Rokari shook her head and smiled gently, " Roxy, you misunderstood. These betrothal gifts were left by your disciple. It's a token of his affection for you. I can tell that the boy really likes our Roxy."
"Huh?"
"Disciple?"
Roxy was stunned again.
When the topic of disciples came up, she instinctively thought of Luo Ge, but then shook her head.
How could that be? That child has been dead for seven years.
So... this disciple is most likely Rudeus?
"Um, excuse me... excuse me, is my disciple named Rudeus?" Roxy asked tentatively.
"Yes, it's Rudeus."
Hearing her parents admit it, Roxy felt both relieved and somewhat regretful.
I even felt that my idea was a bit far-fetched.
Luo Ge is already dead; the dead cannot be brought back to life. Even if it were a disciple, it couldn't possibly be Luo Ge, could it?
"However... Roxy, it seems you've misunderstood something?" Rokari suddenly spoke up.
"Misunderstand?"
"Hmm... Actually, there's more than one person who came to our village claiming to be your disciple. The first one was named Rudeus, that's right... but then recently, another human came."
"Ha?"
Roxy was shocked.
Her disciple?
Another person?
It's worth noting that she has only had three disciples in her entire life.
Luo Ge, Rudeus, and another one is Pax.
If it wasn't Rudeus, who would it be?
Is it Pax?
This guy chased me all the way to the Demon Continent?
It's unlikely... and if it's Luo Ge, then it's even less likely.
You should know that this disciple is already dead.
Just as Roxy's heart was racing, Rowin, who clearly had a bad memory, kept muttering, "What was his name again? Luo... Luo..."
In the end, it was Rokari who smiled gently and added the name for her husband.
" Roxy..."
"It's Luo Ge."