“I must be crazy!”

Startled, astonishment naturally escaped.

But there was no time to just stand there in shock.

Esmeralda, diligently casting the light spell, became a walking target.

Sarak.

The owl, silently changing direction, began to charge at Esmeralda.

Staying here between the rocks would keep us safe for a while.

But if Esmeralda died, the way to escape from here would also disappear.

And above all, no matter if it’s another world.

I still didn’t have the confidence to watch the person in front of me get torn apart by an owl.

Cursing vehemently, I tore a piece of paper with a spell from my magic book. And with a sigh, I dashed away.

Sarak.

Just before the owl could dive on Esmeralda, I swung the sword.

“Kki-ik [Dash].”

The owl, grazed by my foot, deflected the sword far away with its giant wings.

Managing to push Esmeralda aside, we rolled wildly through the grassy field.

The grass behind me made a sound of being torn by the owl’s talons. If I had been a little later, what would have been torn wouldn’t be the grass, but Esmeralda.

“This!”

I shoved the spell paper into Esmeralda’s hand.

“Mana, quickly.”

“Got it!”

Esmeralda, pushing my hand away, started running again. Like a person with a grudge against the owl.

“Don’t get in the way!”

But one reckless move was enough for Esmeralda. Before she could go any further, I firmly grabbed her tempting, dark, silky hair.

“Don’t interfere.”

I fiercely shook the magic paper I was holding. With my other hand, I firmly grasped Esmeralda’s hair and began dragging her into the woods.

In the forest, there must be a place to hide.

“Let go, let go! I don’t mind getting hurt!”

Esmeralda, who only spouted crazy words, was now in the air again, hovering above us.

I hurriedly pulled Esmeralda into the thicket.

“Turn off the light.”

I chewed Esmeralda’s hair while pulling, but she weakly shook her head.

“Kki-ik.”

The owl inevitably swooped down again.

To be honest, if I had to capture one of them, I hoped it would be Esmeralda.

I, being a bit more sturdy, somehow showed failure, and when I came to my senses, I was being dragged back to the yard again, and the owl’s beak was aiming for my neck.

There was no room to struggle.

The sharp beak pierced accurately.

“Kki-aaak!”

A dreadful sound pierced my eardrums.

I blinked my eyes. I thought the horrible pain would come, but no matter how long I waited, I felt nothing.

Instead, the owl was writhing. As if in pain.

Upon closer inspection, there was a faint golden glow on the owl’s beak.

“Oh. This…”

Before I could finish my thoughts, feathers scattered in all directions. As the body slowly fell, on a night sky with a full moon, white feathers were spread out like a fan.
Following the bird’s last traces with my eyes, I realized one thing. One hand still clutched the protective shield spell torn from the magic book.

“Apparently.”

I wasn’t surprised when someone’s arm touched the ground instead of a hard landing after the fall.

As I stood up, a very familiar enemy caught my eye, and I swallowed my words.

‘Even I have magic.’

“Why is Nuna [Dash] here?”

In Kyrian’s rough words, a faint trace of blood appeared in his eyes. His wandering gaze slowly focused on my arm. Looking down at my sleeve following Kyrian’s gaze, I saw that the red stain was spreading.

It seemed like a wound from the owl deflecting the sword. The pain I didn’t feel while being chased began to creep through my arm after everything was over.

Before I could say anything, Kyrian tore my wet sleeve apart.

The revealed wound didn’t seem deep at first glance, but Kyrian’s bloody gaze, breathing heavily, was undulating as if he had been wounded significantly.

“Ah…”

I tried to pull my arm out of Kyrian’s hand and subtly turned my body.

“It’s not that deep.”

“How [Dash] is this.”

“Kyrian Gongja-nim!”

At that moment, Esmeralda jumped out of the thicket. In the hand I extended, there were freshly cut herbs I hadn’t seen before.

“Thank you for saving me.”

Esmeralda blinked her big eyes and thanked me with a tearful voice.

“If it weren’t for Gongja-nim, it could have been a big trouble.”

Esmeralda, who had grabbed Kyrian’s arm, quickly withdrew her hand, as if it were painful.

“Ah [Dash].”

Then she extended her hand, filled with suspicious herbs.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I stained Gongja-nim’s sleeve. I’m sorry. I think I got hurt by something I didn’t know while running away…….”

“No, it’s not blood.”

Esmeralda, wiping away tears with Kyrian’s short sleeves, seemed to realize the true cause of the stain on Kyrian’s sleeve.

“Ah, Reyna Gongnyeo-nim…….”

Her lake-like pupils swayed dramatically, revealing emotions such as guilt and regret.

“You tried to save me…….”

My blood-colored gaze, which had been embedded in Kyrian’s arm before, slowly rose and was fiercely focused on Esmeralda. But Esmeralda, who was still looking at my wounds, seemed unaware.

With a tearful expression, Esmeralda reached out before her hand could touch my arm.

“Wait.”

Kyrian forcefully pushed Esmeralda’s arm aside, and she staggered back.