Hulim picked up her flower tea and took a slow sip. Suddenly, she thought of something and quickly put the cup down.

  "Ilus——"

  "Yes?"

  "Do you know where my ancestor might have hidden the last two swordsmanship moves?"

  "Hmm? Right......"

  Ilus understood why Hulim was asking.

  Something so important—Olubet had probably left a record of it somewhere.

  "Let me think......"

  Ilus tried hard to recall for a moment.

  "Ah, right! The most likely place is definitely there!"

  "Where?"

  "——The Hekadiza Mountains!"

  "Hekadiza?"

  Hulim felt like she had seen this name in a geography book before. It seemed to be a mountain range in the south.

  "Yes, that’s the most probable place. Olubet spent most of his life there, and if I’m not mistaken, he probably completed his swordsmanship there too......"

  "Most of his life? Is there something there?"

  Hulim was confused. Could it be that he had gone into seclusion? But that didn’t feel right. If he wanted to retire, there were plenty of suitable places in the Pasara Empire—no need to go all the way south.

  "That’s right...... There really is something there......"

  For once, Ilus’ expression lost its usual laziness. Her eyes carried a rare hint of solemnity, as if the "something" she was talking about was extraordinary.

  "......Well, if you want to find the lost swordsmanship, you can go to the southern foot of the mountains......"

  Ilus casually picked up a pen and drew a rough sketch on a piece of paper.

  "......It’s roughly around here. You can look for it there."

  "However, Hekadiza is now the territory of the White Cat Beastmen. I’ve also heard that it’s been sealed off by the White Cat Royal Family, so it might not be easy to get in."

  Hulim studied the sketch carefully, committing it to memory. She then looked up at Ilus again.

  "......"

  "What’s wrong? Need a refill?"

  Ilus held up the teapot, gesturing to pour more.

  "......"

  It seemed she had no intention of telling her more......

  Although curious, Hulim knew this wasn’t something she could inquire about right now.

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  "......A refill, please. But Ilus, can you add some sugar cubes to the tea next time?"

  "You’re really quite bold. No sugar cubes, but I have a very sweet magic potion—want to add that~?"

  "I’ll pass on that......"

  ......

  By the time Hulim left Ilus’ shop, the sky was already getting dark.

  "For dinner...... I’ll go back to the academy."

  Back at the academy, after dinner in the cafeteria, Hulim planned to head to the Grand Library to continue studying the Rank 4 spell.

  However, she was stopped halfway.

  "......Delgete, may I ask what you want?"

  The person stopping her was Delgete Barolian, the leader of the group she had clashed with before.

  But unlike every other time they had met, Delgete was alone today—none of her usual followers were with her. Even her always arrogant and confident face carried an inexplicable hint of anxiety.

  "Hulim, I’m here to ask you one thing."

  "Ask me? What is it?"

  "......Have you seen Lucy or Halle these past two days?"

  "Those two?"

  Hulim felt a trace of confusion.

  "What’s wrong with them?"

  "The two of them have been completely out of contact since two days ago......"

  "Out of contact?! "

  Hulim frowned slightly.

  "Haven’t you contacted the City Guard?"

  After all, they were imperial nobles. If they suddenly went missing in Langard, it was definitely no small matter.

  "We already have. But after searching for a whole day, the City Guard hasn’t found any useful clues. I know the two of them had quite a conflict with you, so I wanted to ask if you’ve seen them these past few days."

  Those two...... After being taught a lesson by her, they didn’t dare to appear in front of her directly, but they never stopped scheming behind her back. They even often secretly followed her, trying to find leverage against her—completely unaware that she had long since noticed......

  Hmm? Wait a minute...... Could it be that those two really followed her, accidentally wandered into some bad place, and got kidnapped by some ignorant gang......

  "You suspect me?"

  "No."

  Delgete shook her head.

  "I know you wouldn’t do something like this. Some people in the tea party are scared, and even suspect you. So I temporarily suspended the tea party activities and told them not to leave the academy recently."

  I see. That’s why she came alone......

  Telling the tea party members not to take risks, while taking action herself......

  My impression of her has changed a bit......

  Hulim shook her head: "Although I understand your anxiety, I’m sorry—I haven’t seen either of them these past few days."

  "I see......"

  Delgete looked disappointed, but still said,

  "Thank you for your understanding. Please let me know if you hear anything."

  With that, she turned around and slowly left.

  "......"

  Watching Delgete’s departing figure, Hulim stood there deep in thought.

  Imperial nobles, students of Manacos Magic Academy, suddenly missing—especially during such a special time for the academy......

  It was hard not to suspect that there was some kind of target behind this.

  "Hopefully, I’m overthinking it......"

  ......

  ......

  The next day.

  Luminous Dungeon.

  "Hey, Hulim, who’s the other person?"

  As usual, after finishing her morning classes, Hulim headed straight for the dungeon.

  Manacos’ class schedule was very flexible. Often, there were only one or two classes a day, either concentrated in the morning or the afternoon—leaving students with a lot of free time.

  "You’ll see when we get there."

  Hulim replied perfunctorily. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to tell Miko, but that even if she did, it would only lead to more questions.

  To be honest, sometimes Hulim wondered why her roommate still hadn’t remembered everyone in the class even after half a year of enrollment. After all, there were only about twenty students in the Special Class.

  She really had no idea what was going on in this catgirl’s little head......

  Handing her pass and adventurer’s license to the Adventurers' Guild clerk at the dungeon entrance for inspection, Hulim glanced at a group of knights waiting in the distance.

  Has Alicia arrived already......

  "All set. Please keep your documents."

  The guild clerk handed the documents back to the two of them.

  "Let’s go. She’s already here—let’s head in."

  Putting away her documents, Hulim walked straight down toward the dungeon entrance.

  "Huh? Okay, wait for me!"

  Somewhere on the first floor of the dungeon.

  This was the usual meeting place for Hulim and Alicia.

  "Alicia, sorry to keep you waiting."

  "Not at all. I just arrived a few minutes ago."

  Alicia said with a smile, but then noticed the person following behind Hulim.

  Ps：Add a chapter for AmonxKlein and Sheltir.