Evan and Liese spent a leisurely morning and a lazy afternoon. It was only in the late afternoon that they emerged from the bedroom.

The two of them sat facing each other at the table, eating bread.

“I want to explore the city center of Macglier now. I saw it while passing by in the carriage, and it seems like there are many charming buildings.”

Liese said, mumbling with bread in her mouth.

The pantry only had bread stocked.

Even if they wanted to cook dinner right away, they couldn’t, since there were no ingredients.

Her large, earnest eyes looked at Evan, who was sitting across from her.

“If it’s alright with you, we can go out. I don’t mind.”

There was no reason not to. It wasn’t something difficult.

Evan leaned forward with a gentle smile and reached out to ruffle her soft hair.

Liese, who was eating bread, closed her eyes with a pleasant smile.

“I’ll buy some meat, some shrimp, and make something delicious for you.”

She had spent quite a long time living as a priest at the Holy See, where she stayed in a dormitory permitted for priests. She enjoyed making various things in the communal kitchen and sharing them with her colleagues.

So, she was confident in her cooking.

Of course, while staying at the Clark household, she didn’t have the opportunity to cook.

Mike, who was in charge of the kitchen, was someone who had professionally studied cooking at a culinary school. He not only prepared their daily meals but also made snacks for tea time.

The servants assigned to the kitchen were all veteran cooks.

So, Liese had no chance to be in the kitchen. Even if she wanted to cook for Evan, she felt burdened by just entering the kitchen and hesitated.

But here, there were no servants, no chef Mike, no Marquis Louis, and no Madam Rose.

‘I can cook all the dishes I wanted to make for Evan.’

Liese’s eyes sparkled.

Because of her honest personality, which revealed everything on her face, Evan could read her thoughts as if he were looking into her mind.

“Thank you.”

“For what?”

She hadn’t done anything yet, so she wondered why he was already thanking her. She looked at him with wide eyes.

“For wanting to cook for me.”

Even though she hadn’t done it yet, hearing his gratitude made her scratch the back of her head in embarrassment.

“We should go out before the sun sets. If we want to look around the village and do some shopping.”

Then she smiled brightly and nodded at his words.

***

The red sunlight of the late afternoon lay long over the city center of Macglier.

“Wow… It’s really different from Atlan.”

Liese exclaimed as she looked around while walking down the street.

Unlike the buildings in Atlan, which were coated with plaster on the outer walls, the buildings here boasted various colors.

Some buildings had convex blue-tinted windows and were decorated with fancy bricks, while others were beautifully adorned with golden decorations and red roofs.

Moreover, at this hour, the shadows grew long, and the buildings were bathed in warm hues from the sunlight.

People were busily walking down the streets between the buildings, but it was hard to find a cynical atmosphere among them.

Most of them walked with smiles on their faces or engaged in friendly conversations with the person next to them.

‘The people here seem to live happy and leisurely lives.’

Her mood improved accordingly.

Evan watched Liese quietly as she took in the sights with affectionate eyes.

“That must be the market.”

She raised her hand and pointed ahead. Then she looked up at him.

Evan, who didn’t find it particularly surprising, suppressed a laugh as he saw her large eyes grow even larger.

“Let’s go quickly!”

Liese pulled Evan’s hand, increasing her walking speed.

‘Cute…’

Evan’s earlobes turned red as he followed her lead.

‘It seems like it will be hard to just let tonight pass.’

His rough hand holding her small, white one tightened.

***

The market was bustling with people at every shop. It was filled with the sounds of people choosing goods and haggling over prices.

At the entrance of the market, there was a fruit store. Liese went straight to the store and stood in front of the stall.

“What should we buy…”

Seasonal fruits like grapes and peaches were laid out.

‘Buying something right as we enter the market? It would be better to look around first…’

Evan, who was debating whether to say something, finally placed his hand on Liese’s shoulder.

“Liese. You know…”

But suddenly, Liese’s gaze, which had been looking at him, shifted over his shoulder. The laughter in her eyes abruptly changed.

What is this?

This unmistakable dark aura.

It’s the sinister energy she felt in the Helmir Forest.

A chill ran down her spine.

‘It’s definitely in this area.’

Liese stood on tiptoe and turned her head this way and that.

It must be mixed in with the crowd wandering the market.

“What’s wrong?”

Evan brought his face close to hers. As his face blocked her view, she tilted her head to look into the market.

“I sensed the presence of a dark mage. It seems to be in the market.”

“What did you say?”

Evan quickly turned around.

A dark mage?

Diaton and Bill died that day.

They thought they had caught all the remnants of the dark mages after a thorough search.

‘But it seems that wasn’t the case.’

Evan’s eyelids trembled.

“I feel a strong presence from that direction.”

She pointed with her chin to a path cutting across the market.

It looked like Liese was ready to chase the dark mage immediately.

‘I’m not confident…’

Even if they chased the dark mage, he didn’t think he had the ability to kill him.

“Let’s go, Evan.”

Liese grasped his wrist with her delicate hand.

“Shouldn’t we ask for help from Their Majesties?”

“Then we’ll lose it. Even now, the dark aura is becoming fainter. Quickly, quickly, let’s go!”

“Sigh…”

Evan sighed deeply and buried his face in his other hand.

Of course, Liese had recently developed her ability to handle holy power.

But as a man, his pride wouldn’t allow him to rely on her abilities.

“Alright. But if it looks dangerous, we’ll come back immediately.”

Liese nodded vigorously and walked toward where she sensed the sinister aura.

Evan followed her with anxious eyes.

***

Solviche, as instructed by her lord, infused more mana into her bow. When drawing the bowstring, she poured a large amount of mana from her mana core.

Phew-! Crash-!

The arrow flew in a parabola and sharply lodged itself in the demonic beast’s chest.

“I finally did it!”

Solviche laughed heartily.

But the power was insufficient to kill the demonic beast. Ariel lightly kicked off the ground and leaped up, slicing the neck of the demonic beast writhing in pain.

“Well done, Solviche. Now remember that feeling and draw the bowstring even stronger. Most demonic beasts have their hearts as their weak point. Dark magic accumulates in their hearts.”

She had mastered this while hunting demonic beasts. The transparent star embedded in the hilt of her sword was filled with a red liquid, guiding her blade toward the demonic beast’s heart.

‘How does she know even such things?’

Every time she experienced such events, she discovered a new side of Her Majesty the Empress.

To think she was born as the esteemed daughter of the Marquis of Clark family…

She knows too much about demonic beasts.

And what about her swordsmanship? The sight of golden mana tracing a large arc and piercing the demonic beast was so impressive that one could say it surpassed even that of His Majesty the Emperor.

“El. No matter how much I look around, I can’t find any place around here that looks like a hideout for dark mages.”

Leopold said, wiping the demonic beast’s blood off his face.

The terrible smell made him frown automatically.

“Once we kill all of these, they’ll come out. They’ll have to run.”

“They might just hide even deeper.”

Ariel also became anxious at Leopold’s words. He had a point.

If they kept stirring things up like this, the dark mages would flee somewhere else to preserve their lives.

Since they are the kind of people who would move to another location and do the same things, they must be caught before they escape.

Ariel channeled her mana. Mana spread out around her. It was a technique possible because of her infinite mana regeneration capability.

For an ordinary person, it would be impossible to cover even a 10-meter radius.

Her emerald eyes closed. The malicious energy emitted by the demonic beasts touched her mana.

‘It feels very unpleasant and disgusting.’

The sensation brought by mana felt more real than her five senses.

With her eyes closed, Ariel sent a sword strike toward the demonic beast charging fiercely at her.

Boom-!

The demonic beast exploded in golden mana.

However, Ariel frowned and tilted her head.

“What is this?”

She sensed holy power.

A very pure and clear holy power slowly approached her, piercing through the sinister energy.