Viktor lightly stomped his foot, and the teleportation circle beneath him lit up once more.
It was already late at night. The household servants had long gone to sleep, and Viktor didn't plan to make a big commotion waking them all up.
So it was simpler just to use teleportation magic to check the rooms one by one.
At that same moment, hearing some faint movement, a burly white-haired old man followed the sound up the stairs to the second floor, heading toward the room where the noise had come from.
As the soft blue glow inside the room gradually faded, Viktor appeared in a dimly lit space.
He looked around, it wasn't his room.
It seemed to be a guest room.
Viktor was just about to teleport again and move on to the next room, when...
Creak~
The door opened.
The old man had pushed it open and now stood behind him.
His burly frame was like that of a giant bear, and his presence seemed to cast a shadow over the entire room.
Even the moonlight couldn't pass through his massive body.
When the old man saw who was inside, he adjusted his monocle slightly, placed a hand over his chest, and bowed.
"Master, you've returned."
Viktor's magic was quite noticeable, being able to bypass the guards' inspections and enter the mansion without a sound was something only a mage of at least the third rank could accomplish.
Viktor turned around and looked at the old man.
This towering figure, nearly three meters tall, seemed familiar.
Halnarsen, a bear-man of great age.
He was the steward of the Clavenna family, and had lived for over a century.
Loyal and diligent, he had served the family his entire life and had seen three generations of Clavennas come and go.
Viktor was the third generation.
As the family's long-time guardian, even when facing a fourth-rank mage, Halnarsen could still hold his ground.
"I didn't expect to wake you. Sorry about that, Halnarsen."
"Not at all. Seeing you return brings me great joy. How long will you be staying this time, Master? I'll send someone to prepare your room."
"No need, Halnarsen. Go rest. I'll be leaving again before morning."
Hearing that, the steward nodded respectfully and bowed.
"Master, if you need anything, please call for me."
After saying this, the old man turned and left. Not a single sound of footsteps followed him.
Once he was gone, Viktor once again activated his teleportation magic.
When he opened his eyes this time, he was standing in another room.
The room was large, filled with a faint floral scent. The lavish decorations around gave off an air of refinement that matched its owner's taste.
It looked like a woman's room.
And in the old Clavenna mansion, the only woman living here was, 'This is Liya's room.'
Viktor confirmed it.
He had actually teleported straight into Liya's bedroom, something even he hadn't expected.
Still, he didn't particularly care.
After all, Liya had barged into his room plenty of times before, and she never even bothered to knock.
The place was spotless, perfectly tidy, and the bed didn't look like anyone had slept in it.
She'd been staying at their home in the capital these past days, after all.
Suddenly, Viktor felt a strange impulse rising in his chest, an uncontrollable urge familiar to any player.
In games, whenever a player entered a room they could explore, they would search every possible corner, just in case there were any hidden items.
And Viktor had quite the collector's obsession. He was the type who had to scour every area clean before leaving.
He closed his eyes and forced the urge down.
That wouldn't be right, it was a woman's room, after all.
He glanced casually around, preparing to leave, until Vega's single eye fixed on a cabinet.
The cabinet had a faint yellow magic circle glowing on its surface. If one didn't look carefully, they'd never notice it.
"Viktor, over there."
Viktor turned his head, following Vega's gaze, and spotted the cabinet beneath the desk.
He immediately realized what it was.
"A magic lock?"
A locking spell powered by mana, unless you broke the complex runes within, you couldn't open whatever it sealed.
'A cabinet locked by magic? Could Liya be hiding something in there?'
"Should we open it?"
Vega craned its neck curiously, staring at it.
Viktor hesitated. He couldn't help but think that there might be something important inside, but on the other hand, it could easily be something personal…
"Alright, opened it."
Viktor, "…"
The magic circle vanished instantly, the lock undone by Vega with ease.
Unable to help himself, Viktor asked, "Do you not have a concept of respecting others' privacy?"
"Huh? Are you kidding me?"
Vega gave him a disdainful glance.
"Anyone could tell how badly you wanted to open that cabinet."
'…Fair enough.' Viktor had to admit it.
Searching every last corner of a room, it was an incurable habit for players.
And he was no exception.
Silently muttering an apology in his heart, he reached out and opened the drawer.
Inside, there weren't any special items, just a few old, hand-stitched cloth dolls.
At the back of the drawer, there was an old notebook, its pages yellowed with age.
Viktor curiously picked it up and flipped it open.
It was like an old memory had been laid bare before his eyes.
[November 6th: Father said my brother has awakened a powerful magical talent! Our family's going to have a great mage! That's wonderful. My brother will protect me forever, right?]
[November 7th: Brother seems to be studying very hard. That looks so tiring! I want to help him become the best mage ever! But he just scolds me for getting in his way. How can I help him then?]
[November 8th: I told Father about my worries. Father said being a mage costs a lot of money. So is Brother short on money? If I can make a lot of money, maybe I can help him!]
Reading those lines, Viktor felt… complicated.
He turned a few more pages.
[December 21st: It snowed a lot today! I love snow. Mr. Halnarsen helped me build a big, big snowman! I showed it to Brother, but he used magic to destroy it… Maybe he doesn't like snowmen?]
[December 22nd: I made a mistake today. I accidentally dirtied Brother's magic book. It was expensive, and he got really mad. He made me stand outside in the snow. It was so cold. I'm sorry, Brother. It was my fault.]
[December 23rd: I saw Brother again today. I wanted to apologize, but he scolded me harshly again… He said he hates tears. Should I not cry? Why can't I ever make him happy?]
[I'm so useless.]
After that, the pages only contained a few trivial things, until January 1st. The entries stopped there.
Viktor put the diary down, feeling a heavy weight in his chest.
The game had never explained why his relationship with Liya was strained.
In fact, Liya's room had been locked in the game, no player had ever been able to enter it.
So no one had ever seen this diary.
"Seems like you were quite the jerk before," Vega commented from beside him, having read it too.
Viktor nodded slightly and didn't argue.
He didn't close the diary right away. Instead, a faint light glowed in his palm, and a black pen appeared.
On one of the blank pages, he drew a simple smiling face.
Then he folded the corner of the page, closed the diary, and carefully placed it back into the cabinet.
Vega quietly watched him finish all this before hearing him say, "Lock the cabinet again, Vega."
Vega obeyed, resealing the magic lock perfectly. From the outside, it looked untouched.
Viktor turned and headed for the door. Vega flapped its wings and followed.
"Where are we going now?"
"I told you before, I'm interested in that grain merchant."
As he said this, a teleportation circle appeared beneath his feet, glowing faintly.
Vega quickly flew onto his shoulder, and the moment it landed, both man and bird vanished.
———
"Finally caught you!"
A group of hooded figures surrounded Chur outside the wilderness.
Chur was a burly man, the kind who'd make people instinctively avoid him on the street.
But now, he was completely surrounded.
Sweat rolled down his forehead as he shouted,
"Where's Miss Liya?! I want to see Miss Liya! Why are you arresting me?"
The hooded people exchanged uneasy looks.
'Why is he yelling so loudly?'
But they didn't think much of it. A sharp female voice rang out coldly, "You'll see Miss Liya once we bring you back!"
Chur looked unconvinced and shouted again, "I must see Miss Liya! I have something to explain!"
"Oh? And what exactly do you want to explain?"
Liya's cold voice suddenly cut through the air. No one had noticed when she arrived.
Beside her stood Leon, her green eyes glinting from under her hood.
Liya crossed her arms and looked at Chur icily.
"You've embezzled quite a bit of money from our family, haven't you? What's wrong, Chur, were you planning to run back to the capital?"
Chur stared at her, about to say something, when Liya flicked her wrist.
Countless hooded figures appeared around them, bows drawn, ready to fire at her command.
"I suggest you don't move," she said coldly.
"Otherwise, I can't promise your breakfast tomorrow won't come with an extra arrow."
Chur's face darkened. It looked like he had no way out.
But suddenly, the corners of his lips curled into a sinister grin.
Leon immediately noticed the change and shouted, "Fire!"
In an instant, a volley of arrows flew toward Chur...
But they froze in midair.
A barrier had risen from the ground, blocking them all.
Then a wave of intense weakness spread through everyone, except Liya.
"Magic suppression!?" Leon exclaimed, realizing something was wrong.
She looked down at her hands, inside this barrier, she couldn't use any magic at all.
Then they heard Chur laugh.
"How does it feel, being cut off from magic? These anti-magic stones were meant for Viktor, but testing them on his sister works just as well."
Liya just looked unimpressed.
Even in a situation that seemed unfavorable, she didn't show a trace of panic.
"So what? I'm not a mage anyway."
"Bullshit!" Chur snapped angrily. "You think I don't know you're a second-rank mage!?"
Hearing that, Liya's eyes narrowed.
She quietly tried to activate the Mage's Hand, but nothing happened.
"I'll admit, you're quite capable," Chur said, smirking.
"You'd make a better lord of Clavenna than Viktor himself. But tonight, you're staying here."
Ripples spread across the barrier as several armed warriors appeared out of thin air.
"Within a magic-suppression field, warriors who rely on blood and body are your worst enemies."
Chur laughed wildly, drawing his weapon, ready to slaughter everyone inside the barrier.
Liya yawned lazily.
"That's it?"
There were hundreds, maybe thousands, of knights hidden nearby. With just a signal from her, their cavalry could tear this entire group apart in seconds.
But… only she knew that.
Leon looked anxious and whispered, "Miss Liya… please prepare to escape. We'll risk our lives to open a path for you."
Saying that, she drew two daggers from her waist and took a fighting stance.
Liya frowned slightly, about to speak, but just then, her Mage's Hand began to heat up.
When a Mage's Hand reacted to a nearby mana source, it meant one thing.
"Leon, stay still," Liya said, smiling confidently.
Everyone stared in disbelief as she calmly declared, "Someone's coming to pick us up."
Buzz!
A bright blue magic circle flared to life outside the barrier, so massive it covered the entire field.
An overwhelming surge of magic burst forth. In an instant, it ignored the anti-magic stones' interference and teleported everyone inside the barrier, except Chur and his men, away.
A flash of white light.
When Liya opened her eyes again, they were standing on a hillside outside the barrier.
Everyone else looked dazed, not yet realizing what had happened.
Liya took a few steps forward and looked down toward the barrier below.
Inside stood a familiar figure.
He wore a black coat, his back to her, the glow fading from his hand, the sign of just-cast teleportation magic.
Viktor's voice came from within the barrier, "The kingdom's anti-magic stones are quite effective against mages, but they have one obvious flaw."
"If a mage is outside their range, he can still cast magic to affect what's inside."
"In other words, if I wanted to, I could have shattered your little barrier just now."
Chur gripped his weapon tightly, glaring at the intruder.
"Who the hell are you!?"
Viktor gave him a graceful bow.
"I'm Viktor."
"I heard… you were looking for me?"