Adrian POV
The man I wasn't really interested in asked,
"Who are you?"
I ignored him.
I had been absorbing mana the moment I caught signs of a fight. And the more this idiot stretched the talk, the more inevitable his end became.
The man conjured a powerful spell which, judging by its trajectory, would first hit me and then her.
Maybe he just thought I was someone weak.
Meanwhile, she was super nervous — maybe this was the strongest spell cast by a man she'd ever seen.
She should be a pseudo-Powerhouse, and the man perhaps a little stronger than her.
Within a minute, the man was completely ready to launch the spell and said,
"Witch, try your best to defend, or you'll die. And believe me, I don't want you to die."
Then he fired the spell.
The spell came flying at incredible speed, but I — who had gathered Nature Mana for fifteen minutes — said,
"Apocalypse."
The spell completely disintegrated.
I was shocked.
Now I was interested in his identity, and also impressed that she had managed to hold out — since the destruction all around us meant they had fought for quite a while before I arrived.
I started absorbing Nature Mana again.
Meanwhile, the man was completely shocked — and so was the Witch of Nightmares.
He stepped back and asked,
"W-who are you?"
I showed him my ring.
His eyes shook, and he said — more like asked,
"You're the new Twelfth Lord who defeated the Thirteenth Demon General and his army in one strike?"
I nodded and asked,
"And who might you be?"
The man didn't answer. Instead, he asked me,
"Is this witch related to you?"
I shook my head and said,
"No."
The woman, knowing her only hope might slip from her hands, made an expression difficult to describe.
The man, thinking there was still a way out, asked,
"Then I need her. Can I please take her with me?"
Wow.
He sure had a lot of courage.
I laughed and said,
"Don't you think you should've asked that before attacking me?
By the way, people call me... the Monster Lord."
The man now knew there wasn't any chance he could take the woman, so he tried to teleport.
But I had already sensed it.
"Apocalypse."
I only needed a few seconds' worth of Nature Mana to stop his teleportation.
He started running away, using spells to cover his retreat.
I fired another Apocalypse and killed him.
Since he didn't try to fight, it was easy.
Then I looked at her and asked,
"What's your name, miss?"
She just kept looking at me.
Was I too quick?
Should I have taken things slower?
I walked toward her — she just sat there, staring at me.
I crouched beside her, checked her wounds, and took out a healing potion.
I opened it and left it on the ground.
Then I turned to leave.
She spoke as I turned my back.
"Mirella Noctyra."
I said,
"Huh?"
And looked back over my shoulder.
She repeated,
"My name — it's Mirella Noctyra."
I smiled.
"Your name is soft and melodic."
I turned completely toward her and sat down on the ground this time. Then I asked,
"So, Mirella, what are you doing here?"
She didn't say anything — I knew she wouldn't.
I said,
"They were after you. Next time, someone even stronger might come, thinking you defeated him. What will you do?"
She looked down.
I said with concern,
"You might not trust me, but I can leave you if you have somewhere to go.
I won't follow you to your new location— just come with me so they can't trace your movements."
She said quietly, very quietly,
"Why should I go?"
And I noticed a single tear fall — just one drop.
Her voice was so soft that I only heard it because of Omniscient, so I pretended not to have heard and asked,
"Hmm?"
She looked straight into my eyes.
Her crying had left the sclera of her eyes tinged with a faint, painful red.
And then she screamed,
"Why should I go? Where should I go? How long should I run? Can't I have a place I can call home?"
I had planned to drive the conversation like this, but the sheer intensity of her outburst left me stunned.
I had looked at her past as just a few lines in a novel. But she had lived through it.
"Hah…"
I removed my cape and placed it over her, then took out a pouch with enough money.
Then I said,
"You want a home? Go to my place. I'm going out for work, but with this cape, you can enter my castle — no one will stop you. Go to Valenstead."
She stared at me and said,
"No one gives free things in this world."
I smiled, turned to leave, and said slowly while walking toward my wyvern,
"I'll tell you what you can give me in return after I come back.
By the way, Lyra has a habit of doing unnecessary things — tell her you're not her mistress."
I didn't see it, but Mirella's face turned red.
---
Mirella POV
"What's your name, miss?"
I just kept looking at him.
Miss?
It's been so long since no one said me a witch and saw me as a person .
He walked toward me while I sat there, staring.
He crouched beside me, checked my wounds, and took out a healing potion, leaving it on the ground.
Then he started to leave.
I don't know what happened.
Was it the sense of security?
Or something else?
I blurted out without thinking,
"Mirella Noctyra."
He looked confused, maybe startled by the sudden sound, and said,
"Huh?"
Then looked back with his back still turned to me.
Why doesn't he turn completely toward me?
Will he leave once I repeat my name?
Still, I repeated,
"My name — it's Mirella Noctyra."
He smiled.
"Your name is soft and melodic."
Yeah… my mother used to say that.
Mother…
Then he turned completely toward me and sat on the ground.
He asked,
"So, Mirella, what are you doing here?"
I couldn't tell him.
What would I even say?
Could I even trust him?
He continued,
"They were after you. Next time, someone even stronger might come, thinking you defeated him. What will you do?"
I looked down.
He was right — they would misunderstand me as being stronger than I really am.
He said with concern,
"You might not trust me, but I can leave you if you have somewhere to go.
I won't follow you to your new location — just come with me so they can't trace your movements."
The place I called home had already burned down.
Mother, father, everyone… we didn't do anything wrong.
So why should I run again?
Without thinking, I whispered — not to him, but to myself,
"Why should I go?"
My tears… I can't control them. They just come out. Why?
He asked, maybe because he heard something,
"Hmm?"
I looked straight into his eyes.
And I screamed, though I didn't mean to,
"Why should I go? Where should I go? How long should I run? Can't I have a place I can call home?"
No! No! No! What have I done?
What if he leaves?
Then I felt a warm sensation — and saw a pouch.
He said,
"You want a home? Go to my place. I'm going out for work, but with this cape, you can enter my castle — no one will stop you. Go to Valenstead."
Home? Can I really have something like that?
A place where I can live however I like?
I stared at him and said,
"No one gives free things in this world."
I knew my previous home burned because of greed — and this time too, it must be greed.
He smiled, turned to leave, and said while walking toward his wyvern,
"I'll tell you what you can give me in return after I come back.
By the way, Lyra has a habit of doing unnecessary things — tell her you're not her mistress."
My face turned red.
But I was… excited.
If I truly had a safe place to call home, maybe… I could finally be happy.
He left on his wyvern.
Hmm…
What was his name?
Oh — I didn't ask.
I left the forest quickly.
It felt like my own garden, so leaving it wasn't hard.
What came after, though, was the hard part.
I asked a carriage driver if he was going to Valenstead.
He refused.
Everyone is greedy, right?
I asked,
"Suppose you do go — how much will it cost?"
The driver said,
"Ten silver coins. I'll need food, rest, and other expenses."
I nodded and said,
"I'll give you one gold coin."
He agreed, and we left.
I remembered — the man who attacked me said something about the Twelfth Lord.
So I asked the driver,
"Who is the Twelfth Lord?"
He looked at me strangely.
"You don't know the Lord? How's that possible? His name is Adrian Lewin — the new Twelfth Lord."
I muttered,
"Adrian Lewin…?"
It's a nice name… maybe.