Hello, Readers! I am celebrating my birthday with extra chapter updates, so please enjoy this special chapter release of 4 bonus chapters! 🥳

(Lurelia’s Birthday Bonus – Update 2/4 🎉)

♡ To all readers who purchased these chapters before my Birthday: I can’t express this enough – Thank you for your support. (*ˊᗜˋ*)/ᵗᑋᵃᐢᵏ ᵞᵒᵘ*

The magic bullet ricocheted off the five or six mirrors Cheshire had summoned, bouncing here and there.

Three pairs of eyes full of killing intent followed the trajectory of the bullet.

Bang! Bang!

However, once the meteor-like bullets increased in number, even the hellhound couldn’t handle it.

The moment the magic bullet, which had been bouncing around like a pinball, precisely struck Cerberus’s nape.

Chang!

The mass of magic that struck like lightning constricted Cerberus like a net.

“…!”

And at that moment, Belinda felt her magic being rapidly depleted as if there was a hole in her magic vessel.

It was on a completely different level from when she had subjugated the shadow crow.

This was a head-on clash of magic against magic.

The moment she lost even a bit of concentration, the monster would tear apart her magic chains.

Therefore, Belinda gritted her teeth and focused on only one thing.

Putting a magic leash on the neck of that three-headed monster.

It wasn’t one beast to be tamed, but three.

So she needed not one leash, but three.

Bubbling fireballs rose from the muzzles of the thrashing monster.

The searing heat that splattered everywhere scratched at her cheeks.

Nevertheless, Belinda didn’t take a single step back and poured even stronger magic into the magic chains constricting Cerberus.

For a moment, all surrounding noise disappeared, and only Cerberus in front of her was visible.

Swallowing the metallic taste of blood rising in her throat, Belinda commanded in a low voice.

“Obey me, Cerberus.”

At that moment, as if making a final struggle, the monster repeatedly slammed its three heads against the ground.

Black ashes swirled, and Jusepe’s pure white light spear and Sir Penadel’s deep blue sword aura pierced through Cerberus’s body.

And just as the magic chains choking the monster’s neck reached their limit.

Whoosh!

Cerberus’s entire body turned into flames and then split into three fireballs.

Part of it rose sharply above Belinda’s head, forming a crown of fire, before being absorbed.

Soon, the monster’s shadow that had loomed over the group disappeared, and faint moonlight illuminated the mountain peak, cutting through the heavy thunderclouds.

And then.

Thud!

Where Cerberus had been, three young Dobermans, looking exactly like triplets, fell to the ground with a plop.

***

“It seems they’ve taken this form due to a lack of magic to maintain their adult form. They’ll return to their original form once they recover their magic.”

At Sir Penadel’s explanation, I looked down at the monsters, no, what now looked like mere puppies, lined up in front of me.

All three were wagging their tails so fast that, with a bit of exaggeration, they might be able to fly using their tails as propeller blades.

The situation was urgent when I tamed them, so I named them Cerberus.

But now, it seemed better to give each of the three a new name.

After pondering for a moment, I pointed at each one and said,

“Let’s call them Cer, Ber, and Rus respectively.”

Woof!

Arf!

Whine.

They barked in turn as if answering.

Judging by their cries, Cer, who kept perking up both ears, seemed to have an active personality; Ber, with round ears standing straight up, appeared to be very cautious; and Rus, with unusually large drooping ears, seemed quite timid.

It was hard to believe that they were the same beings that had been growling and glaring at each other to death just moments ago. Somehow, I felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity.

Perhaps it was because they were the same breed as the dogs Belinda had raised.

I tickled each of the Cerberus’s chins and grabbed a magic potion that I had dangling from the holster in my back pocket.

“Master, I…”

As Cheshire tried to speak to me, I quickly turned to him, raising my index finger to my lips.

I gestured with my eyes towards Jusepe, who was resting against a charred rock with his eyes closed.

Then I unfastened the Returner’s Key from around my neck and handed it to him.

‘Go back first.’

I mouthed silently. Cheshire pouted with a sulky expression.

I pulled his deeply set hood further down to console him.

“I’ll pay you for the request when we get back.”

It did seem a bit much, even to me, to suddenly call him for a monster hunt and then send him back without any reward as soon as it was over.

But I couldn’t expose Cheshire’s appearance or voice to Jusepe.

Unlike me, Cheshire was a real dark mage.

‘I put him in a priest’s robe from the temple as a temporary measure, but Jusepe has probably already noticed that Cheshire isn’t a priest.’

If Jusepe knew some method of identifying dark mages that neither Cheshire nor I were aware of, the situation could become irreversible.

The perceptive Cheshire, who must have noticed the situation, hesitated to leave and leaned in to whisper in my ear.

“Master, you know this is totally wicked, right? Be sure to praise me when You return.”

Only after briefly squeezing my hand to share some magic did he finally turn away.

Seeing his back, overflowing with reluctance, it seemed he was planning to extort an enormous fee for this request.

I waited until Cheshire had completely disappeared from my sight before surveying the surroundings.

The aftermath of the battle was devastating.

Not only had the mountain’s vegetation withered and died, but the heat that still hadn’t cooled was rising from the ground like a mirage.

‘At least we prevented a landslide.’

Looking down at the village visible below the mountain, I finally let out a sigh of relief.

Then I approached Jusepe, who still had his eyes closed and remained motionless.

He might be detestable, but I couldn’t leave a blind person behind.

“Your Eminence, if you wait here, I’ll go down and inform Sir Lionel of your whereabouts.”

At my words, Jusepe slowly opened his eyes.

His delicate eyelashes fluttered like butterfly wings several times before his pupils came into clear view.

However, his golden eyes merely reflected my image like glass marbles, showing no particular movement.

Startled by the emptiness in those eyes, I stepped back. At that moment, Jusepe spoke in his usual calm voice.

“You said there would be a landslide. I think so too.”

“Shouldn’t you say you ‘thought’ so?”

The cause of the landslide had already been eliminated.

However, Jusepe clearly denied her words.

“The weight of a prophecy is not so light.”

“Prophecy?”

Prophecy. The weight of that word pressed heavily on my shoulders.

Priests don’t use the word prophecy lightly. If that prophecy were to fail, it would tarnish the glory of God.

That’s why they only attached the word prophecy to futures they were certain would come to pass.

Just as I was about to object to this ominous-sounding statement, a raindrop fell on the bridge of my nose with a plop.

I tilted my head to look up at the sky, and suddenly a downpour began with a whoosh.

It seemed the heat from Cerberus had called forth this sudden shower.

Suddenly, an inexplicable unease made the hair on the back of my neck stand on end.

Jusepe continued speaking dryly, still staring at some indeterminate empty space.

“There’s a pattern to this kind of prophecy. Since it’s not targeting a specific individual, even if a landslide were to occur and bury everyone here under a mound of earth, one lucky person might escape. So, Lady Blanche.”

As he called my name, Jusepe looked up at the mountain peak.

“It would be best to send your knight far away from here right now.”

Rumble.

As if responding to his words, a sound like thunder echoed from afar.

No, that sound was coming from beneath our feet, not the sky.

A sound as if the roots of the earth were shaking.

As I felt the intensifying rain all over my body, I finally understood the hidden meaning in Jusepe’s words.

This rain was like an alarm bell indicating that Jusepe’s prophecy had come very close to fulfillment.

“Cer! Come here!”

I called out to Sir Penadel while holding the small creature that had leaped into my arms.

“Sir Penadel, take Ber and Rus and leave this place immediately.”

Sir Penadel, who had heard Jusepe’s words along with me, seemed to have grasped the prophetic meaning behind them.

If even one person here survives the landslide, rescue operations can begin immediately.

We can roughly estimate where the other two people are buried.

And the only person suitable for that role among us was Sir Penadel.

“I can’t do that. I’ll support the Cardinal, so Lady Blanche, you should…”

I forcibly placed Ber and Rus in his arms.

Then, gripping his arm tightly, I said,

“Think rationally. This is a prophecy from a Cardinal, not just any priest. You think you can escape the prophecy while carrying me, drained of magic, and the blind Cardinal?”

“We can do it.”

“Don’t be mistaken, Sir. I’m not saying I’ll sacrifice my life to save you. This is the only way to save us all.”

I looked up at Sir Penadel fiercely and asked Jusepe,

“Your Eminence, you have a way to hold out for a while even if caught in the landslide, right?”

Seeing how calm he was, he must be certain that he wouldn’t die.

Fortunately, Jusepe answered with a voice tinged with a faint smile.

“Of course.”

“You heard him? After securing your safety, come back to rescue me without fail. That’s the method with the highest survival rate. Or are you confident you can escape even after being caught in the landslide? While protecting me, who won’t even touch the dirt, and that blind Cardinal?”

“But…”

I patted his arm soothingly, then gently stroked the heads of Ber and Rus in his arms.

“These little ones were originally one body, so they’ll surely find me with Cer, even if I’m buried in the earth.”

His usually composed lips twisted.

Then Sir Penadel spoke in a choked voice.

“Please, stay safe.”

“Of course. What do you take me for, spouting such nonsense?”

I deliberately didn’t look back at Sir Penadel.

I heard the sound of Sir Penadel’s footsteps running through the rain behind me.

Only then did I exhale a shaky breath and hug Cer in my arms.

It’s okay. It’ll be okay. This is the only way for everyone to survive.

After barely catching my breath, I spoke in a much calmer voice.

“So, Your Eminence, let’s hear about that method.”

Jusepe’s serene gaze turned towards the mountain peak.

The smile on his lips was as fleeting as the emptiness in his eyes.

“Let’s leave it to fate.”

What? Hey, you! Now you’re saying such things…!

Rumble.

At that moment, a mass of earth began to surge down like a tsunami from the mountain peak just above us.

Before the muddy mass, smelling of ash and rain could engulf us, a holy light emanating from Jusepe completely filled our vision.