‘…What in the world is going on?’

Did they go berserk? But there were no signs of anything wrong until they were brought to the breeding grounds.

If it’s really true that they went berserk, what will happen to the Sammemeo that showed signs of danger?

If they end up getting ‘disposed of’…

“Gasp.”

My breathing became unstable. My hands and feet were trembling. My mind went blank and I couldn’t think of anything.

Because of me, because of my fault, something went wrong with the Sammemeo, and if those kids get hurt because of that, I…

At that moment, a large, reassuring hand touched the back of my head.

“Calm down, Shuria. It’s alright.”

Aspeiran whispered softly and buried my head in his arms. His gentle hand patted my back rhythmically.

“Don’t worry. I’m right beside you, aren’t I?”

My heartbeat gradually returned to normal in sync with the rhythm. As my breathing calmed, my head also started working properly again.

That’s right, let’s calm down. What I need to do right now is not cower in fear, but clearly assess the current situation.

I steeled myself, raised my head and looked Aspeiran in the eyes.

“Lord Aspeiran, I…want to go and check on Cutie’s condition directly.”

“No. It’s dangerous.”

Aspeiran cut off my request firmly.

I already expected he would object. But I can’t back down either.

I got up from leaning on Aspeiran.

“I am in charge of the Moonlight Wolves. It is my duty to closely monitor the condition of those children at all times.”

“The position of Monster Breeder isn’t given so you can recklessly throw yourself into danger.”

“I’m not trying to recklessly throw myself into danger. Right now, Cutie has been subdued and can’t move.”

There’s absolutely no chance ‘that’ Aspeiran would make a mistake.

“In Veloye, the person the Moonlight Wolves trust and follow the most is me. If the kids are just in an excited state, I will be able to help calm them down.”

“…”

Aspeiran turned to look where Cutie had collapsed. Cutie, who until just now had been struggling with all its might to break free from the restraints, now seemed to have lost strength and was lying limply.

After being lost in thought for a moment, Aspeiran finally set me down on the ground. Then he rubbed his thumb on my forehead.

“I cast a protection spell. Still, don’t leave my side.”

“Yes!”

Aspeiran took the lead. I also followed behind him, slowly walking towards Cutie.

The closer we got, the more clearly visible Cutie’s condition became, bound by thick ropes emitting a blue light.

Surprisingly, Cutie had grown to be about four or five times larger than when I had seen it before going to make the bangshaw. I stopped walking, at a loss for words, and Aspeiran spoke to me.

“It seems to have grown into a juvenile.”

“Kiara did mention before that it would grow into a juvenile soon…”

She definitely said it would grow to be about three times larger. But this…

‘This is way too big!’

You could even convince me it’s an adult at this point! Did it really just skip ahead and grow straight into an adult?

Trying hard to collect myself from the shock, I slowly lowered my body so as not to startle Cutie as I approached. Cutie’s black eyes that had been rolling around finally saw me.

I gulped. Cutie’s bound mouth twitched.

And then,

“Kyiing.”

Cutie let out a small cry. Its fluffy tail tapped the ground.

Cutie’s eyes welcoming me were no different from usual. It just looked a little disgruntled, probably because of its tightly bound body.

Only then did I let out a deep sigh of relief.

“Fortunately, it doesn’t seem to have gone berserk. It does look very startled though.”

“Yes. It appears it got alarmed by the sudden growth and couldn’t control its strength… Tsk, the mana control device is broken too.”

While Aspeiran examined the mana control device, I gently stroked Cutie’s forehead. Cutie whined and rubbed its head against my hand.

Seeing that made my heart ache, and I wanted to say let’s untie it now, but freeing Cutie who couldn’t control its increased strength was not an option.

…Wait a minute.

‘Where are Tiny and Awesome?’

Don’t tell me only Cutie grew out of the three?

I soothed Cutie and looked beyond the broken fence. Soon, I spotted two huge furry lumps fidgeting behind the fence. It was Tiny and Awesome.

Those kids had also grown as big as Cutie.

“It seems they collectively grew while I was away…”

“Looks like they got excited seeing you coming and went wild, even breaking the fence.”

The situation was fully grasped. Aspeiran shrugged.

“It’s a relief they still follow you well even after growing.”

“That’s true, but… What do we do now? The mana control device is broken and the breeding ground fence is shattered. There’s nowhere to keep the kids.”

There is an underground breeding facility, but I wasn’t confident that the facility there could handle the Sammemeo who broke the mana control device and even shattered the reinforced magic fence.

If the Sammemeo went on a rampage underground where the research facilities are concentrated… The faint-hearted researchers might faint en masse.

Unlike me who was fidgeting anxiously, Aspeiran looked calm. He answered as if it was no big deal.

“Don’t worry. I’m planning to take them to the Magic Tower.”

Aspeiran waved his fingers in the air. Then the blue ropes binding Cutie loosened and the Sammemeo floated in the air.

I gaped at the Sammemeo who were flailing their legs in the air with puzzled eyes as if swimming. Aspeiran said,

“I’ll have to go and analyze exactly what state the Moonlight Wolves are in right now, and whether their growth was normal. Not only their size but also their mana quantity is vastly different from ordinary juvenile Moonlight Wolves, so it’s a bit concerning.”

“That’s true…”

I looked at the Sammemeo with worry. I hope there are no problems.

Aspeiran continued,

“To produce new mana control devices, we’ll have to stay at the Magic Tower for the time being.”

“Are you going right now?”

“Mm, I should. Unfortunately, we’ll have to postpone the drinking party.”

“That’s okay! Um, would it be alright if I came along too? I’m worried about the kids.”

“If that’s what you want, sure.”

Aspeiran, who had gathered the Sammemeo floating in the air like balloons — they seemed to be quite enjoying it — held out his hand to me.

‘He’s going to use teleportation magic!’

I grabbed his hand without hesitation. Soon, a mystical energy enveloped my body warmly. It was Aspeiran’s mana that I had become familiar with.

Behind Kronen Palace, in the deepest part of the fir tree forest, if you go all the way in, there is a huge spire built with black bricks.

That place was none other than Roakin’s First Magic Tower. A sanctuary for mages, shrouded in secrecy, that outsiders cannot even approach freely.

That place, to which all sorts of fantastical adjectives are thickly attached, once you actually go inside, to an astonishing degree, it was…

“Wow.”

…gloomy and messy.

I tiptoed and skipped to avoid the books and trinkets carelessly scattered on the floor.

Next to me, a few mages with dark circles down to their chins passed by, bowing their heads drowsily.

I thought the magic tower, which could be called the pinnacle of fantasy novels, would undoubtedly be a delightful and exciting place, so why does everyone have the expression of a grad student exhausted from fatigue?

I could feel the fantasy about magic towers that I had steadily accumulated in my mind shattering.

As I was standing silently behind Aspeiran with hazy eyes, a person suddenly popped out from the biggest book pile in the center of the room. It was a woman with impressively long grayish-purple hair cascading down to the floor like a carpet.

“Oh my, I thought I sensed the Lord’s mana and indeed the Lord has come? What brings you here at such a late hour? Well, for mages, this is actually the beginning of the day in earnest.”

“Stop the useless chatter and come out here.”

“Of course~”

The woman roughly twisted her hair up and walked over while inserting a long hairpin. Then, her eyes and mine met head-on.

The woman’s eyes flashed with clear interest. She approached at a tremendous speed and stuck her face so close that our noses almost rubbed together.

“Could it be Lady Shuria?”

“Y-yes?”

“It is Lady Shuria, right? The famous Monster Breeder. We finally meet. Nice to meet you. I am Romie Gordo, the First Magic Tower Master.”

“Ah, hello. Tower Master.”

“Just call me Romie. Don’t attach stuff like ‘Lady’ or ‘Ms.’ so impersonally.”

Readily allowing me to use her name, she grabbed my hand and shook it up and down vigorously.

This person, contrary to the prejudice that mages would have weak strength, unexpectedly had quite a strong grip.

But her surname is Gordo? Then…?

“Um, Romie. Could it be that you and the Lord’s Chief of Staff Kiara…”

“You noticed! That’s right. Kiara is my cousin.”

I knew they looked a bit alike! They were cousins after all!

As I examined the grayish-purple hair that looked just like Kiara’s with curiosity, Tower Master Romie amicably linked arms with me.

“Cute Lady Shuria. You seem quite close with Kiara, aren’t you curious about stories from her childhood?”

“I am curious!”

“I’ll tell you as much as you want. But instead of some research institute, how about coming to our Magic Tower? I’m very interested in Lady Shuria’s abilities…”

“Stop the sweet-talking and step away.”

Aspeiran coldly rebuked, interrupting the conversation. Romie, who had been rubbing my shoulders, was repelled by an invisible barrier with a boing.

“Owie! That’s so mean of you!”

Romie, who fell to the floor, shrugged her shoulders sniffling. Oh dear!

I tried to quickly support her, when suddenly a shout rang out from behind.

“You again!”

It was a familiar voice. As expected, when I turned around, our Head Researcher Prom was standing there fuming.

His hair and clothes were a mess, probably from rushing over. Prom strode over in that state and grabbed Romie by the collar.

“How dare you covet her? Shuria is one of our research institute people. Monster research is also our institute’s job!”

“Why are you acting so sensitive? Aha, you’re anxious, aren’t you? Obviously, if we roll up our sleeves, Lady Shuria will naturally come to the Magic Tower!”

“What did you say?!”

Prom and Romie started rolling on the floor grabbing each other’s hair. I blankly watched the spectacle, then looked at Aspeiran. He rubbed his brow as if tired.

Then he flung a thin, sharp shard of ice between Prom and Romie. The two screamed and barrel-rolled to the side to avoid the ice.

“Th-that’s too much, Lord!”

“Eek! Are you trying to kill this top talent?!”

“Both of you shut up and look at that.”

Aspeiran pointed to the Sammemeo swimming around high up near the ceiling. Prom and Romie’s eyes went wide at the same time.

“…? That, could it be the Moonlight Wolves?”

“Oh my, you brought monsters. Goodness, when I get fixated on one thing, I don’t notice my surroundings.”

Following Aspeiran’s gesture, the Sammemeo slowly descended to the floor. Seeing the Sammemeo’s monstrously increased size, Prom exclaimed,

“Incredible, they finally grew! The fur is also starting to take on a silver sheen and… Hm? Wait a minute.”

Prom, who had been examining the Sammemeo in a flurry, suddenly furrowed his brow. Why is he doing that?