"......"

  Aren't you a cat beastfolk? Why is your nose as sensitive as a dog beastfolk's......

  "It's an illusion."

  "Huh? But——"

  "Look, this underground is where those guys were active, right? To lure them away, I ran all over the place. It’s possible I picked up someone’s scent somewhere."

  "Huh? Huh? Is that really it?! "

  "Yeah, that’s it!"

  "......"

  "......Hey, Hulim, you’re not lying to me, are you?"

  "......Why hasn’t Arthur come out yet? Could something have happened? Let’s go check."

  "Huh??? Wait, did you hesitate just now, Hulim?! "

  "Come on, Miko. This isn’t the place to chat. We’ll talk about everything after we get out."

  "Uh, but...... Hmm, okay......"

  Inside the prison cells.

  Hulim and Miko walked in.

  "Arthur, aren’t you done yet——"

  "Alice! Alice, wake up! Don’t scare me!"

  As soon as they entered, they heard Arthur’s anxious voice.

  Without hesitation, Hulim and Miko rushed to the cell where the three were.

  "What’s wrong?"

  When they arrived, they saw Arthur holding Alice in his arms, looking frantic. She was unconscious in his arms.

  "Clea, what happened to Alice?"

  Miko immediately asked Clea, who was also standing nearby, looking equally anxious.

  "I-I don’t know what’s wrong...... When you went out to fight, Alice was fine at first...... Then the earthquake happened. In the pause between the tremors, Alice suddenly collapsed from an illness—worse than ever before. She won’t wake up no matter how I call her!"

  After listening to Clea’s explanation, Hulim carefully examined Alice.

  Her eyes were tightly closed, and her face was twisted in pain. Most importantly......

  Starting from her right eye, countless strange purple veins spread across her entire right cheek.

  "Let me try."

  Hulim stepped forward.

  "C-Can you do it?"

  Arthur asked eagerly.

  "I can only try."

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  "Heal."

  The light of Healing Magic shone down on Alice.

  However, instead of getting better, Alice’s condition worsened. Her expression of pain became even more intense.

  Hulim had to stop casting the spell.

  She had never heard of such a condition. Healing Magic was ineffective, and she didn’t know how to respond.

  "Healing Magic isn’t working. We have to get her out immediately and find someone to treat her."

  "Right, get out...... We have to hurry! Alice, wait for me—I’ll definitely save you!"

  ......

  Near the exit to the ground.

  Hulim stopped.

  "Arthur, you take Alice to find a healer first. I have something to take care of."

  "Got it!"

  Arthur didn’t ask any questions. He carried Alice on his back and continued running forward.

  Miko stopped, looking at Hulim.

  "Miko, you go too."

  "Huh? Why? I want to go with you!"

  "Before coming here to save you, I met Alicia. She’s already gone to notify the Garrison Knights. They might have arrived above by now, or they might not. You need to go up and guide them to the entrance here."

  "Hmm...... Alright."

  Although hesitant, Miko agreed.

  After Miko left, Hulim immediately returned to the depths of the underground.

  Earlier, she had rushed to find Miko and Arthur because she was worried about them, leaving the aftermath unfinished......

  Staring at the heavily damaged scene in front of her, Hulim raised her wand.

  "......Lucky he’s a Fire Attribute mage. It’s easier to erase the traces."

  After the lesson of being caught off guard by someone using leftover magic traces against her once before, Hulim would never make the same mistake again.

  Now, after doing something like this, she had to erase all traces completely—leaving no magical clues for others to investigate.

  Surging flames gradually covered the entire underground area. While melting all the structures, they also obscured all magical traces except for Fire Attribute magic. As for the Fire Attribute magic, after such a chaotic burn, no useful information could be discerned......

  "Next, that place......"

  The deepest underground space had also been severely damaged by the battle with Morgar. But erasing the magical traces here was secondary.

  Staring at the magic circle that had remained intact despite the battle’s aftershocks, Hulim raised her wand.

  "Earth Surge!"

  ......

  Above ground, at the abandoned church.

  Arthur and the other three walked out of the abandoned church.

  "The nearest healer’s clinic is at——"

  "Stop right there! What are you guys doing!"

  Just as Arthur was trying to recall the location of the healer, a rude voice interrupted his thoughts.

  Immediately afterward, more than twenty City Guard soldiers surrounded them.

  "I asked what you’re doing! Are you mute?!"

  A soldier dressed as a captain shouted angrily.

  Arthur narrowed his eyes. He felt a familiar malicious intent from these men.

  "Wait, you’re City Guards, right? We’re students from Manacos. We were kidnapped by a group of men—their hideout is down there. There are many more students trapped below; you need to rescue them quickly!"

  However, Miko clearly had a naive view of human nature. Seeing that they were law-enforcement soldiers, she immediately pleaded for help.

  "Oh, you say you’re Manacos students?"

  The guard captain looked Miko up and down.

  "Should I just take your word for it? You look more like thieves to me!"

  "What?! You——"

  "Miko, stop talking."

  Arthur interrupted Miko’s argument and looked at the guard captain calmly.

  "Whether we’re Manacos students or not, you can verify with the academy. And we’re not thieves—have you ever seen a thief carrying a sick person? As you can see, my sister suddenly fell seriously ill. I have to take her to a healer right away."

  "Hmph~! Want to leave? If I let you go just like that, what kind of guard would I be!"

  "You——"

  Seeing that the man was deliberately making things difficult, a faint killing intent flickered in Arthur’s eyes.

  At that moment.

  "I can prove it! I can prove they’re thieves!"

  An organization member who had escaped from the underground suddenly appeared out of nowhere and shouted loudly.

  Miko was stunned, then glared fiercely.

  "How dare you scumbags show your faces again!?"

  "Eek?! Protect me, sir~! I’m one of your own! These thugs are trying to kill us witnesses!"

  "Yeah, yeah! Sir Guard, arrest them quickly!"

  "I can testify too—they’re thugs......"

  In an instant, all the organization members who had escaped earlier swarmed out.

  Miko was dumbfounded.

  Why weren’t these guys running away? Instead, they were showing up directly in front of the guards.

  But what happened next shattered her understanding......

  One of the organization members walked up to the guard captain boldly and patted him on the shoulder.

  "Remember me? We’re ‘acquaintances’ with your City Guard Commander. These guys attacked our hideout—you know what to do, right~?"