Hibr looked at Ibnel with eyes clearly showing his bewilderment. He had never heard such words before, and couldn’t utter anything as she suddenly raised her voice after maintaining composure until now.

Ibnel tried to calm her heart first. She fully understood his uneasiness, but she had no other choice now.

“Without you, I can’t safely escape from here either. I need your strength.”

“But I really.”

“Did you train so hard at night just to give up here?”

Hibr’s eyes wavered as if struck by Ibnel’s words. She read a strong will in him as he stood before the target.

“That’s not it. You actually want to show it, don’t you? That you can do it too, that you’re not weak.”

“But you saw earlier. I wasn’t of any help alone. I couldn’t move a step because I was afraid of the magical beasts.”

He really lacked confidence. Whether he could safely return through that treacherous place. But Ibnel’s response was unexpected.

“So what if you’re scared?”

“I’m the heir to the Perti family…”

“What does that matter? It’s natural to be scared and afraid when you see magical beasts. It’s an emotion anyone can have as a human.”

“It’s natural…”

Hibr had never heard such words before. He only heard that as the heir to the family, he must accomplish things effortlessly, that he must unconditionally face and fight.

In fact, sometimes it was too burdensome whenever he saw his father revered by many in Karies. Because he wasn’t that strong, on the contrary, he was only weak.

“But father is different from me.”

To Ibnel, that appearance seemed to overlap with herself. The appearance of trying desperately to prove oneself.

So she had something she wanted to tell him.

“Do you have to follow a set path? You have your own way. That bow, that’s why you didn’t let go of it. Even while falling from that cliff. Just like I was desperately holding onto my gun.”

Ibnel said so, pointing to the bow still in his hand.

“This time, prove it to yourself, not to others. That your efforts weren’t in vain. So let’s go. I want to keep my promise that everyone will return safely.”

The words that everyone would return alive applied to herself as well. She had no intention of dying in a place like this.

Ibnel reached out her hand towards him who was sitting down.

“You’re the only one I can trust right now.”

Hibr looked back and forth between that hand and her face, then with eyes full of determination, he grasped her hand and stood up.

“Do you know the way?”

“Yes.”

Having studied this place since birth, he knew paths others didn’t. Where to go to avoid magical beasts as well.

“To avoid the paths where magical beasts come and go, we need to take an even rougher route than before.”

“It can’t be helped. For now, it’s best to avoid battles with magical beasts as much as possible.”

Ibnel tried not to show it, but she was considerably tired. Perhaps it was natural since she had fallen from a cliff and gotten soaked all over.

Thus, the two began climbing the rocky mountain path. As she followed behind him, her eyes caught the pattern in the center of the bow.

“Is that engraved on the bow the crest of Count Perti’s family?”

“That’s right. Actually, father gave it to me as a birthday gift a few years ago.”

“So that’s why you cherished it so much. I think the Count would be pleased if he knew that.”

“No, father doesn’t really like me doing archery. Even when he sees me training, his expression darkens.”

Moreover, as the pressure of being the heir intensified, Hibr naturally began hiding his training. Ibnel, listening to his words, asked the most important thing.

“Have you ever said it directly? That you really like archery. That you want to continue doing it.”

“No. He’ll oppose it anyway.”

“How do you know that? You haven’t heard the Count’s answer directly, have you?”

When asked that, Hibr was at a loss for words. Come to think of it, he had never directly heard his father’s thoughts. He had only assumed.

“If we return safely from here, confront it properly. Maybe the Count has been looking at you more closely than you think.”

She suddenly thought that Renel, being family, wouldn’t be unaware of what she felt. The gift of that bow proved it. Of course, no one would know his true intentions.

“Still, I wanted to see you shoot the bow properly one more time. It’s a shame.”

He had lost all his arrows while falling from the cliff earlier.

As the two walked while conversing, they finally arrived at a flat path. Fortunately, thanks to Hibr, they avoided the misfortune of encountering magical beasts.

Soon, Hibr’s gaze turned to Ibnel who was walking silently. It was hard to believe this was her first magical beast subjugation, given her tremendous skills.

Excellent marksmanship, quick judgment.

Even after being humiliated in front of everyone yesterday, far from being discouraged, she boldly faced Renel. So he couldn’t help but ask.

“How can you be so strong? This is Karies.”

News about her had quickly reached even this place far from the capital. A being who awakened abilities but wasn’t welcomed by all, a thorn in their side, the enemy of Karies.

It was a situation where one would normally give up, but no such appearance was seen in her.

However, making that question seem foolish, Ibnel gently shook her head.

“You’ve seen it wrong.”

“Huh?”

“I’m not strong.”

What came from her lips was a negative answer. It was contrary to how she had spoken boldly earlier.

“I couldn’t protect the person who was precious to me.”

Reading the sadness filling Ibnel’s eyes, Hibr was too flustered to say anything.

“Actually, on the way here, I couldn’t grasp anything at all. What I should do, whether I had the right to do it.”

“Not now?”

“Yes, I’ve decided for sure now. That I’ll do what I want to do. Once I clearly decided that, I wasn’t shaken anymore.”

It seemed that only after stripping away the fact of being an Aodin could Hibr see her true self. That unlike those abundant rumors, she wasn’t a bad person.

So he too could speak more comfortably.

“I’m really sorry about yesterday. I think I got impatient myself. I know what they say about me. So when the lady…”

“What lady, just call me by name comfortably. We’ve already dropped formalities.”

At Ibnel’s frank words, Hibr smiled easily, forgetting the situation they were in for a moment.

“You’re finally smiling.”

“You’re the first person to speak to me like this. Even telling me not to whine.”

“That’s a compliment, right?”

As the two emerged from the forest, a large lake was situated in the wide-open space. And beyond that, a road could be seen.

“If we walk straight down that road, we’ll reach the entrance. His Majesty will come from that direction too.”

“That’s a relief.”

Just as they passed the lake, a chilling sound came from the sky.

‘This sound.’

As Ibnel hurriedly looked up at the sky, two large birds were circling in the air, making ear-piercing sharp sounds.

They seemed to have already identified the two as prey.

“It’s Rapirin.”

It looked similar to the Rapiru she had seen at the palace before, but its beak was shorter, and instead, its wings were much larger.

‘This place is open on all sides.’

Ibnel, judging it better to quickly leave this space, looked at Hibr.

“Let’s hurry over there. This place is disadvantageous for us.”

“Alright.”

The two ran with all their might towards the forest path visible in front. But as if unwilling to let them go, the magical beasts followed with fierce momentum.

In the end, they had to stop just a few steps away from their destination.

‘Is this as far as we can run?’

Ibnel pulled the trigger towards the Rapirin flying threateningly around, but accurately hitting a flying object was not an easy task.

“Hibr, I’ll create an opening…”

But before that, two of them simultaneously rushed towards him who was showing an opening.

“Hurry and dodge, Hibr!”

“Ah…”

‘He’s not moving.’

Hibr froze in place, watching the magical beasts rapidly descending towards him. At this moment, he couldn’t move a finger.

‘It’s over now.’

Thinking everything was over, he closed his eyes. At that moment, he felt a hand strongly pushing him, and when he opened his eyes in surprise, Ibnel was in the place where he had been just moments ago.

“Ibnel!”

She fired her gun towards the magical beasts rushing indiscriminately at her lying on the ground and said,

“Hibr, run! I’ll buy time.”

“Bu-but.”

“Quickly!”

Ibnel had no leisure to mind him. In this situation, at least Hibr had to escape from here. By now, Shuher’s group should have almost reached this place.

No, they had to.

At her urging, Hibr got up from his place and began running, leaving Ibnel behind.

“Your opponent is me!”

Ibnel didn’t stop pulling the trigger to keep the magical beasts from paying attention to him. Her arm was shaking, perhaps reaching its limit, but she couldn’t give up here.

She aimed for the core when a Rapirin came close, but no bullet came out.

‘Of all times.’

Ibnel tried to quickly reload, but the situation was too urgent for that. They attacked from both sides, not even giving her a chance.

At that moment, a sharp beak grazed her right shoulder, and as she tried to avoid the attack, she ended up dropping the gun in her hand.

‘No.’

She tried to pick it up again, but the magical beast was faster. As if realizing it was a weapon, it bit the gun with its beak and completely shattered it before her eyes.

Having lost her only weapon, the gun, Ibnel had nothing she could do.

Soon, when she was cornered with nowhere left to dodge, an arrow suddenly flew from somewhere, piercing the right wing.

One Rapirin writhed in pain, moving away from her.

‘What on earth happened?’

“Are you alright?”

In a situation where she couldn’t understand what had happened, more than the joy of being alive, a person appeared before her.

“Hibr?”

“Sorry I’m late.”

In Hibr’s hand was a silver bow. Then the arrow from just now must have been shot by him.

‘But there were definitely no arrows.’

Hibr, watching the Rapirin whose wing he had hit, asked,

“Where is the core?”

“Ah, in the center where the right wing connects to the body.”

As soon as her answer ended, he drew the bowstring without nocking an arrow. His eyes sharpened in an instant.

It was that appearance she had seen when he trained at night.

At that moment, an amazing sight unfolded before Ibnel. Just as black aura had risen from Shuher’s sword, a green light resembling Hibr’s eye color began to envelop the bow.

Soon, that light became the arrow she had seen.