By Zephyria 
His thinly folded eyes held a calmness that made it impossible to know what he was thinking.
In this kind of situation, only he.
Was it because he was so strong that he couldn’t feel emotions like fear or surprise in the face of this kind of sudden situation?
Or….
Was it that there was no reason to feel a crisis from the beginning?
I wet my lower lip.
His appearance was so alien that a strange suspicion sprang up for a moment.
But suspecting that there might be some kind of relationship between a mere human and the Demons was too far-fetched. Besides, it was also true that he had practically saved me. So, I hesitated whether to regard him suspiciously and avoid him… or to accept him as a savior and thank him.
At that moment, Cloud, who had been checking on the children, asked.
“Who put up the Barrier on this side?”
As he looked around, his eyes met mine, so I glanced at Ardian. Cloud’s gaze, drawn by that, turned towards Ardian.
“It was me.”
Ardian replied.
Suddenly, Cloud narrowed his eyes thinly. The gaze he directed at Ardian was somehow subtly sharp… but only for a moment.
“I see.”
Cloud soon put his hand on his chest with a gesture of respect and bowed his head, showing a serious demeanor different from his usual self.
“Prince Ardian, if it weren’t for you, there would have been a tremendous loss of life. Please allow me to be grateful for His Highness’s noble virtue at this moment.”
It was an unimaginable sight coming from Cloud, who was usually so flippant. So, while everyone was watching with curious eyes, Ardian’s acceptance of it was very natural.
“I allow it.”
He seemed to be used to others showing him respect and bowing their heads in front of him, without even a hint of awkwardness.
I glanced at Ardian with a rather unfamiliar feeling. Cloud’s appearance was certainly unfamiliar as well, but why was it that seeing him, who had always lowered himself and been met with rejection and insults, now naturally suppressing others, bothered me in a strange way?
That must be normal outside of school.
Cloud smiled faintly, ruffled my hair as if absentmindedly, and moved to the other side.
After checking the condition of the children and Assistant Hunters in that place, he extinguished the remaining embers with Polargehen while talking.
“Is that Demon… dead?”
“Hmm. I didn’t sense any signs of him using Space Transition. It’s probably right to assume that he killed himself by self-destructing. It seems he had a secret that he had to protect even at the cost of his life.”
“Umm.”
I eavesdropped on their conversation while looking around.
The villa, which had been burned like charcoal and had no intact form remaining. With the Barrier broken, there was nowhere for the students to stay safely.
Naturally, Polargehen announced the end of the joint training without much hesitation.
He must have thought that it wasn’t right to keep the anxious children here in this situation. With the Barrier broken, there was no telling when another Fiend lurking in this area might sneak in.
However, it was decided that they would return home tomorrow morning.
Dimension Traverse was a Magic that required knowing the exact coordinates of the destination and consumed more Mana the longer the distance traveled. Currently, Polargehen and Cloud were the only ones who could use it properly… but the two of them had used too much power fighting against the Demons, so there was a reason that it could be unstable in many ways.
“Where are you going to sleep?”
“Here!”
The children were spreading out bedding to use as sleeping places in the front yard of the burned-down villa, chattering.
Zeon, who looked like he needed rest, had gone to bed early, and Herman, who had woken up late, only remembered up to the point where Balkan had attacked, and was talking with Polargehen and Cloud in front of him.
Watching that scene, I left for a while to get some air and went up the mountain path.
Of course, I didn’t go up too far. Only up to a distance where I could notice the approach of a Fiend and move. I wasn’t a fool who would thoughtlessly do something that would harm my safety when I didn’t know what might happen.
“Hoo.”
I stopped at a spot where the moon was clearly visible and leaned against a tree trunk. It was quiet as soon as I got a little away from the villa. Instead of the stuffy air with a faint smoky smell, the clear and cool mountain air filled my lungs.
I don’t think I stayed there for long.
I felt a presence approaching from behind, so I turned my head slightly and saw Cloud walking out of the shadows.
“What are you doing here? It’s dangerous.”
He came to my side, leaned against the opposite tree, and smiled brightly. I stared at him silently for a moment, then turned my head back to look at the moon hanging in the sky.
“Can’t you tell? I’m getting some air.”
“Don’t wander around alone.”
“That’s an excessive worry.”
“Sigh, you need to be worried about more. I heard there was a similar incident during the practical training. If you know that they’re targeting you for some reason, shouldn’t you be more careful? You’re too carefree.”
Even so, I wondered if it was enough to be lectured for just stepping away for a bit.
It was unnecessary meddling.
Looking at it, it seemed to be a racial trait of humans. Demons generally had a strong individualistic tendency, so they wouldn’t care or try to help even if someone was exposed to danger.
Unless they were bound by a master-servant relationship.
I let out a faint breath and ignored Cloud. Since the conversation didn’t continue, silence fell. Cloud, who had been quietly looking up at the sky with me, opened his mouth again when he felt the presence beside him fading.
“Do you have any idea why you’re being targeted?”
The reason I’m being targeted….
If I knew that, I wouldn’t be so frustrated.
“Not really. I also asked that Demon what his purpose was, but he only said that he had to take me somewhere.”
“Take you somewhere…? You?”
I nodded at Cloud’s question.
“The Lesser Balkan who attacked the training ground during the practical training also showed similar behavior. He could have killed me, but he didn’t… he tried to capture me.”
He swallowed a small sigh.
“It certainly doesn’t seem like their goal is to kill you. Even in this attack, if they had wanted to kill you, they would have had plenty of time to do so.”
“That’s right.”
“Could it be that they’re coveting the power you have?”
There was a possibility.
That’s what I’m most suspicious of right now.
But even if that possibility was true, there were still questions left. I had no idea why the Fiends were targeting the owner of the Black Mana Heart. Even when I was Mephisto, I had the Black Mana Heart, but I had never attracted the attention of Fiends even once.
Take me, where to, and what to do.
It seemed that Cloud had the same thought.
“For what… where does ‘take you’ mean?”
He rested his chin in his hand and pondered deeply. The last question was almost a soliloquy, so I didn’t bother to respond. After all, the only answer I could give was ‘I don’t know.’ He didn’t seem to want an answer either, as he was lost in thought with a face that seemed deep in thought.
How much silence had passed?
Cloud took his back off the tree he was leaning against, so I turned to look at him. He chuckled and twisted one corner of his mouth.
“It doesn’t seem like we’ll get an answer right away, so there’s nothing we can do. Anyway, I’m going back first… don’t stay away alone for too long and come back early to sleep.”
“I’ll take care of myself.”
I gestured for him to go quickly, and he snorted and turned around. But Cloud, who hadn’t gone down far, stopped and looked back at me as if he had remembered something.
STM
“Ah, right. And.”
At that, I wondered what it was and glanced at him, rolling my eyes.
He had a calmer look in his eyes than before.
“Ardian Albinus. That little royal brat.”
“……”
“At first glance, he seemed very interested in you.”
“…What are you trying to say?”
At my question, Cloud lowered his eyes and smiled. It seemed like he was smiling if you only looked at his mouth, but his face didn’t seem to be smiling at all.
“He’s a brat with a lot to hide, so be careful.”
With those words, Cloud abruptly left.
A guy with a lot to hide, so be careful…
“Haa.”
A long sigh escaped through my teeth. I knew better than anyone about Ardian’s suspicious points.
-Of course, if I can have you, I’ll do anything.
Suddenly, the contents of the note he had added meaningfully at that time came to mind.
Even though I knew it was unfounded and absurd speculation, I couldn’t help but think about it.
That Ardian was targeting me to achieve some goal, manipulating the Fiends from behind as a means to achieve it, and constantly looking for an opportunity.
I thought that far and then let out a hollow laugh.
‘Even I think it’s a ridiculous conspiracy theory.’
No matter how suspicious he was, this was too close to forcing things.
Yeah. It’s nonsense.
I shook my head and lightly dismissed the thought, finishing my short break and returning to the villa.