"What are you hiding...?"


    "N-nothing…" I stammered, avoiding eye contact with Aria.


    As Aria''s hands gently pried mine open, a look of surprise crossed her face. Her eyes widened as they fell upon the bruise on my neck.


    "Wha—why are you hurt?" Aria''s concern was palpable as she delicately touched the bruise. I could sense the worry and anxiety in her touch, as she used her mana to relieve the pain.


    Meanwhile, Louise let out a sigh of relief in the background. Apparently, she had interpreted the situation differently.


    The bruise on my neck, meant to be a hickey left behind by Elena, was sessfully concealed.


    I breathed a sigh of relief, grateful that I had managed to cast a premature mana bullet to my neck without their notice.


    While I continued to cover my neck, contemting the potential reactions if they had seen the hickey,


    Carefully, Aria touched the bruise on my neck and asked, "Does it hurt?"


    "Maybe a little? Haha"


    I chuckled nervously. In the panic of intentionally bruising my neck, I hadn''t gauged how much strength I used.


    However, Aria''s extremely worried expression and Analise''s prompt retrieval of first aid suggested I might have gone a bit too far.


    "L-let''s get inside first," Louise suggested, carefully guiding me indoors.


    Phew, for now, mission sess. Just as I thought I had escaped the situation, something suddenly choked me from behind, causing me to stumble.


    "Adrian?"


    "Adrian…!"


    Louise and Aria were both surprised and quickly rushed to my side.


    I touched my neck and could see ck chains wrapping around it, being pulled from behind.


    Looking back, I saw Meralda gently tugging on the chains, her still-hazy dark green eyes fixed on me.


    "I won''t let you abandon me, master...!" she dered in a crazed voice, smiling coldly at me.


    It seemed like this night was about to get longer and moreplicated than I had expected.


    ….


    In a certain popr restaurant at Estelle Academy, a particr customer was causing quite a ruckus, and it all boiled down to one reason.


    ''Food''


    "P-please, miss, stop!" pleaded Greg, the owner and head chef of the restaurant, watching a very beautiful woman gulp and swallow her 200th te throughout the night.


    "Hahaha, what are you talking about, master! One must fill their stomachs to the brim after a very sessful raid! Don''t you agree, boys~~~?!" she said,ughing heartily.


    "Ohh!"


    "Yes!"


    "The pretty woman is right; chill down, master, and enjoy the moment!!"


    "Huwahahahaha!!!!"


    They all screamed and partied up, chugging down their beers.


    "Ah, I ran out?" said the woman, her hazy ashen-gray eyes and pinkish-reddish cheeks indicating that she waspletely drunk.


    "Bring me more beer!!!" she suddenly screamed upon realizing that the mug in her hands had run out.


    Although one might perceive this as normal customers enjoying their meal after a wondrous and sessful adventure together.


    One could possibly say that, if it weren''t for the fact that this wasn''t a pub or one of those taverns with makeshift bars.


    This was a high-end fine-dining restaurant, for Goddess''s sake! and this whole group of adventurers, led by the womanughing at the center, was the one who wrecked the entire 5-star experience for the ce.


    Greg had wholeheartedly developed this beautiful and graceful restaurant, even when it was rated as one of the lowest of the low in the past.


    This restaurant grew into the 5-star establishment it is, and he loved this ce very much.


    Right now, he watched with his very eyes as the very ce he prided in was being destroyed by some drunk old adventurers and one crazy witch!


    The people who reserved and even was all time loyal customers of his all left moments ago when things got loud from his new found customers.


    Although Greg wanted the adventurers to leave, he couldn''t do so as they were actually paying twice the normal fee and were diligently cleaning up each te they ate.


    Additionally, they were really strong; even from a nce, Greg could tell they weren''t your typical adventurers.


    If only they didn''t bother the other customers, Greg would''ve let them be.


    Greg could only sigh and cry in the corner as he watched his whole ce go down.


    The conflicting emotions of financial gain and the destruction of his beloved restaurant left him torn.


    Every cheer from the adventurers celebrating their conquest felt like a stab in his heart.


    He wished there was a way to enjoy the mary benefit without sacrificing the ambiance and reputation of his fine establishment.


    "Don''t worry, Mr. Owner… hahaha, we''re about to leave soon. I''ll pay you three times the amount aspensation, okay?" said M, a cute and beautiful young girl, to him with a gentle smile as she patted the shoulder of the downtrodden owner.


    She quickly approached her boss, her blonde twin tails swinging and bouncing with her every tiny step, joining theughter-filled group of sweaty-looking men.


    Still unable to believe she had dragged these muscle-headed adventurers here, M called out to her boss, "Boss!"


    "M! You''re here! Come, let''s celebrate!"


    "Celebrate my ass! Let''s get out of here. Look what you did to the ce, and are you drunk? You''re a sword master for the goddess''s sake. Why the hell are you drunk?"


    This was a legitimate question, considering that a sword master''s body is almostpletely immune to almost all sorts of status ailments such as poison and a whole lot of other things. This was especially true for a sword master at Siena''s level, whose auras were practically embedded in their flesh and bones.


    "Let''s hurry up and get out of here, stop ying around"


    "Look at the poor owner over there—"


    As Siena nonchntly brushed off M''s persistent nagging, the atmosphere around them suddenly shifted.


    A palpable tension filled the air, causing Siena to abruptly halt in her tracks. The carefree expression vanished from her face, reced by a focused intensity that sent shivers down M''s spine.


    "Hmm?"


    "What''s wrong, boss?" M questioned, trying to make sense of the abrupt change in Siena''s demeanor.


    "Did you not feel that?" Siena replied, her voice low and grave.


    "Feel what?"


    M furrowed her brow and surveyed the restaurant, initially detecting nothing unusual.


    She entertained the thought that someone might be covertly observing them, but a thorough scan within a two-hundred-meter radius revealed no signs of suspicious activity.


    "I don''t sense anything, though?" M said, but the gravity of Siena''s expression hinted at something more significant. It wasn''t long before Siena provided an unexpected answer.


    "Demons…." Siena dered, her tone solemn, and she set aside the beer she was having and released a pulse of her aura in the air.


    "Well, isn''t this interesting?"


    M''s body involuntarily shuddered at the mention of demons, her recent encounters with them still fresh in her memory.


    "Demons? Here? At Estelle Academy of all ces… How?" M questioned, a mix of disbelief and concern etched on her face.


    "I don''t know, but I can definitely feel it" Siena stated decisively, swiftly rising from her chair.


    Without hesitation, she tossed a bag of gold coins to the fallen chef as a form ofpensation and made her way out of the establishment.


    "Hey, wait for me!" M eximed, abandoning her confusion as she hurriedly followed Siena, the sense of urgency in her boss''s actions overriding any lingering doubts.


    Greg was shocked by the amount of gold inside the bag, but… "Couldn''t she have taken them away with them?"


    Greg sighed as he watched a bunch of adventurersughing out loud while chugging down every food or beverage in sight.


    …..


    "Boss, are you sure about this?" M questioned with a hint of skepticism in her voice.


    "I mean, this is Estelle Academy, you know? I doubt even you, or any master assassins out there, could sneak in without being noticed, let alone a demon. I''m sure the saintess would notice immediately."


    Estelle Academy wasn''t merely an academic institution; it was a fortress designed to harbor the continent''s most talented and powerful individuals.


    Renowned mages and warriors, now serving as professors or guards, popted the academy. It stood not just as a center of learning but as one of the safest cities on the continent.


    The high-ranking and important individuals residing and studying within its walls, including foreign princes and princesses and figures of great significance like the saintess of the Church of Light, made it a hub of political and magical power.


    The academy had be a bastion of security, not only due to its prominent residents but also because the slightest mishap could potentially trigger international conflicts.


    It was fortified with an array of defenses, ranging from magical barriers to skilled guards, ready to counter any unexpected attack or incident.


    The safety measures were extensive, with specific protocols in ce to handle supernatural threats, including demons.


    Even the head of the guards us made a visit to them just the other day, even though they thought nobody noticed them when they entered the academy, further solidifying the academies detective measures.


    Fortunately, us didn''t rat them out to the church though, as it was public knowledge just how bad Siena''s and the church rtionship were.


    "Are they here for the saintess? If not the principal?" M questioned, her voice tinged with concern and uncertainty.


    "Well, I''m not too sure myself," replied Siena, her expression pensive as she stretched back her hands. "But one thing I do know, this disgusting mana that I can feel in the air only belongs to one race."


    "Demons…"


    "Yes"


    M''s eyes widened slightly at the confirmation. The mention of demons brought back memories of recent encounters, and she couldn''t help but feel a shiver crawl down her spine.


    "How many?"


    "Hmm… I can only feel one for now"


    "Quite a powerful one at that"


    Hearing that there was only one somehow relieved M''s trauma for a little bit, she truly didn''t want to remember even a single moment of that demonicdy they faced back at the forest.


    ''Was she even a demon to begin with?''


    Even the infamous blood monarch was there.


    Fortunately, the hero came to the rescue just in time, avoiding unnecessary conflict between three godly beings.


    "What are you going to do, boss?" M inquired; her gaze fixed on Siena.


    "Are you going to kill it?"


    "Hmm? What are you talking about, M? Of course not!" Siena responded with a nonchnt tone, surprising M with the unexpected answer.


    "Huh?"


    "How could I possibly miss a chance that has been thrown right at my face?" Siena grinned mischievously.


    "What chance?" M asked, perplexed by her boss''s cryptic words.


    Siena''s smile widened.


    "This demon—I''ll capture it and use it to train my idiotic disciple. Fufu. It''s about time I teach that kid how to deal with these things without relying on that stupid blessing of his" Siena dered proudly, her confidence unwavering.


    M could only stare nkly at her boss, a mixture of surprise and eptance ying on her features.


    Siena''s unorthodox methods were well-known to her, but this decision to capture a demon for training purposes still caught her off guard.


    She sighed in acknowledgment, resigning herself to the fact that her boss, with all her barbaric ways, had a unique and effective approach to handling supernatural threats.