Unable to bear the sight of someone dying in front of him, Morgan turned his eyes away.

Screams from the people around him.

And the subsequent cheers.

“…?”

Morgan looked at the ground.

The chimney sweeper was lying on the ground in good condition, surrounded by a magical shield.

In that brief moment, someone had completed a magic spell and cast a shield.

‘Who the heck was it?’

Behind Morgan, who had jumped off the window sill, a familiar voice echoed in his ear.

“Morgan, you’re fast.”

It was Liche.

“My squirrel?”

Liche walked alongside Morgan as they conversed.

It happened to be on their way to the competition venue for the weekly progress report on the preliminary rounds.

Morgan, heading to rent a carriage, coincidentally shared the same destination.

“Yeah. The squirrel’s name is Pecan, right? It was being chased by Professor Declan.”

“Professor Declan?”

“The professor from Uldic Academy we saw earlier. He’s a bit eccentric.”

Morgan explained the situation intentionally.

Since Pythonus was being chased, Liche seemed to need to know at least some details.

A while ago, Professor Declan approached them, seeming out of breath from running, and explained that the squirrel…

“Th-the squirrel is…”

“Ah, Professor. I let it go.”

“Morgan Dial…!”

“But isn’t a human life more important than catching a squirrel?”

Then, faced with Morgan’s smiling words, Professor Declan’s face turned red and green, then disappeared, saying he would look for the squirrel again.

“Was the squirrel Professor was looking for Pecan?”

“Yeah.”

“Why was he chasing Pecan?”

“Well…”

Morgan shrugged when it came to why Pythonus was being chased. Talking about the ring wouldn’t be helpful since Liche would only worry about it.

Instead, he brought up another topic.

“Did you reconcile with Instructor Lodevic?”

“Well, for now.”

Liche answered with a somewhat uncomfortable expression.

“We still can’t have a conversation, so I don’t know for sure.”

Although he left a letter saying he would sneak into Deon’s room to find out.

It seemed like they could judge whether they had reconciled or not after the competition ended.

Then, they should tell Deon not to become an instructor when the competition was over.

‘Or maybe I shouldn’t show up on my CrystalPhone.’

Doing it twice was a bad idea.

Liche shook his head.

“Anyway, our task with my brother is over, right? That’s good.”

“Isn’t it? I didn’t think Instructor Lodevic had a chance. Thankfully, he dropped me when other instructors’ certificates were still available.”

“Sorry, Morgan. For getting you involved. I want to apologize… Is there anything I can help with?”

“No, it’s not because of you, Liche. It would have happened sooner or later, even if it weren’t for Instructor Lodevic not liking me much.”

Liche chuckled at Morgan’s words.

It was because of Deon’s unsatisfied red eyes that came to mind.

“But still, if there’s anything I can help you with later, let me know. And don’t worry too much about my brother. He doesn’t seem to like other people either. He’s not a bad person. If only it weren’t for the handcuff incident. Oh, right, Morgan.”

Speaking of handcuffs, Morgan remembered the ornament on his sword he had seen a few days ago.

It looked pretty. Should he ask if he bought it?
Most of my close friends use swords, so if I were to sell one, I thought it would be nice to take it as a souvenir.

Liche was about to point out the decoration on Morgan’s sword scabbard but stopped mid-motion.

“…Huh? You’re not wearing it today?”

“Wearing what?”

“The decoration you used to have on your scabbard. The one made of glass.”

Upon Liche’s words, Morgan looked down at his scabbard and was momentarily speechless.

Then, his face, which had lost its smile, turned into a more serious expression.

“Sorry, Liche. I’ll go check first.”

“Did you lose it? Should I help you find it?”

“Thanks, but it’s okay. I’ll find it myself.”

Morgan hastily retraced his steps.

Seeing Morgan in such a hurry was quite unusual.

Was it something he cherished a lot?

Liche silently watched Morgan’s retreating figure.

“Miss!”

At the entrance of the competition venue, Philip, who had been waiting for Liche, rushed over.

In this rare conversation, Liche smiled brightly.

“How have you been?”

“Well, I’m only worried about you, Miss.”

Deon had given Philip permission to look after Liche.

Since Liche had to find the competition venue, they had arranged to meet at the entrance.

“Why did you come?”

“I’m here to report on the progress of the preliminary rounds.”

The guard who had blocked Liche’s entry last time obediently opened the door.

As Liche and Philip entered, they continued their conversation.

“Would the young master envy it? There are times when my situation is better than the young master’s.”

“Envy…”

“Really. Right now, I think the young master would rather talk to you more than anyone else.”

Now was the time to assert the young master’s innocence to Miss.

Philip whispered to Liche.

“I think Chairman Cresselphon has given the young master a condition. If he is caught having a private meeting with you, he must resign from the position of the test instructor immediately.”

“…To that extent?”

Liche narrowed her eyes.

She was being subtly threatened. Hostility was starting to rise against the chairman she didn’t even know.

“But does my brother want to be a test instructor so badly? Why?”

She understood why he didn’t talk to her.

But Deon was willing to be a test instructor even if he had to fulfill the conditions offered by others?

What could be the reason behind it?

“Well, you see…”

Philip, who was about to say that it was because of Miss, hesitated and closed his mouth.

A tremendous force could be felt from behind him, at the end of the outdoor corridor.

It was her young master who should be in his quarters.

“Can I really meet Miss Liche? Young master, you talk a lot.”

“Go ahead.”

Even though he had said that.

He must have been impatient.

While Philip muttered to himself, Liche also watched Deon, who had suddenly come out, with narrowed eyes.

‘Ah, it’s Deon. …He’ll ignore me again, right?’

Now that she knew the reason, she didn’t feel hurt anymore.

The chairman was subtly threatening her brother. The fact that he was starting to feel hostility towards someone he didn’t even know was clear.

“Miss Liche.”

Unexpectedly, Deon approached Liche and stopped by her side.

“Competitor Tarije.”

“Huh?”

Liche, who didn’t expect Deon to talk to her, opened her eyes wide.

Deon threw a concise question.

“Did you have your meal?”

“…Oh, yes!”

As Liche nodded, Deon chuckled and continued walking.

Thinking he would just pass by her side, Deon suddenly stopped beside Liche.

“Philip, follow me.”

“…Yes.”

Did you see that? He really envies you.

While Philip grumbled internally, Liche watched the two men leaving with a complicated expression.