Originally, those within the family couldn’t know much about the family’s rumors or image.
For a family like the Wodanaz, their estate was larger than most castles, and their lands were as vast as a decent-sized city.
The people living or working there wouldn’t dare speak carelessly about the Wodanaz family...
“Is there something wrong with the Wodanaz family?”
“Ah... no, nothing at all. Absolutely no problems.”
Nilia took a step back.
“I don’t know what rumors you’ve heard, but they’re all nonsense.”
Despite Ihan’s words, Nilia didn’t let her guard down.
Yonell tried to comfort her.
“It’s common for ridiculous rumors to spread about noble families in the empire. Don’t worry too much about it.”
“Is that so?”
“Well, the Wodanaz family is a bit extreme, though...”
“......”
It wasn’t very comforting.
While the two were talking, Nilia seemed to have made up her mind and spoke in a firm voice.
“Right. There’s no reason for me to be scared just because it’s the Wodanaz family.”
“What rumors have you heard?”
“......”
Nilia hesitated for a moment, wondering if she should tell him.
It was a bit... sensitive to bring up to the person involved.
- The head of the Wodanaz family is actually a dragon.
During the undead rampage in the western continent, he flew in and burned all the undead to ashes with his breath.
- The Wodanaz bloodline made a pact with powerful ancient spirits, gaining immense magical abilities but losing their emotions.
- Mages from the Wodanaz family are ruthless.
During the separatist uprising in the empire, a city was wiped out because of the Wodanaz mages.
And so on.
The image of the Wodanaz family was far more terrifying than Ihan had imagined.
To the common people of the empire, they were like “ruthless magical monsters who appear out of nowhere when something big happens, sweep everything away, and then disappear.”
“If a major incident happens in the empire, it’s only natural that the grand mages would come, right?”
“Exactly. Don’t worry too much about it.”
Ihan felt wronged, and Yonell tried to soothe him.
Nilia, seeing their reactions, thought to herself.
‘The rumor about losing emotions definitely seems like nonsense...’
“Wait.”
“?”
“Something’s off. Look here.”
Nilia pointed to the ground with her finger.
The hill was covered in grass, making it hard to see, but Nilia, with her dark elf senses and experience from the Shadow Patrol, had picked up on the traces.
“See? A pretty large creature stepped here and passed by.”
“Isn’t it a bit shallow for something that big?”
“Good catch. It must be quite clever. It moved carefully, leaving no traces, but made a mistake here while eating these berries.”
Yonell didn’t seem very interested.
After all, Yonell’s interest lay in alchemy.
It was natural that she wouldn’t care much about a hunter’s tracking skills.
Yonell was busy looking around for any herbs.
‘Tch.’
Nilia felt slightly annoyed.
When she was in the Shadow Patrol, everyone was on the same page.
They were all hunters or rangers, and most villagers had family members who were hunters or rangers, so any topic they brought up would resonate.
- I almost got in big trouble.
I really wanted to catch it because of its beautiful fur...
- Hahaha! That’s understandable.
When I was young...
They could talk for hours just about the prey they’d hunted.
But here, everyone was so different.
- Um, there was this thing that happened in the mountains...
- Mountains?
- Yeah, I was hunting...
- Hunting?? Why?
- Well, I’m part of the patrol...
- Can’t you just buy it?
- ...
You’re really asking for it, huh?
- Eek!
Having gone through conversations like this, Nilia couldn’t help but feel a bit irritated by Yonell’s reaction.
But what could she do?
‘Right.
Not everyone’s a hunter.
I’ll have to adjust.’
“Oh, this is interesting. Anything else?”
“...!”
Meanwhile, Ihan’s reaction was unexpected.
He was listening intently with a very interested expression.
Nilia, flustered, asked, “You find it interesting?”
“Is there a part where I shouldn’t find it interesting?”
“... No, it’s not that you shouldn’t find it interesting, but I didn’t say it to entertain you, though, of course...”
“???”
As Nilia rambled, Ihan became confused.
‘Is she drunk?’
Nilia herself realized she was saying something strange and quickly got back on track.
“Alright! Anyway, when you find traces of such a large prey, it’s best to be careful. See how the grass is cut here? It has pretty big claws.”
“I see.”
Ihan was naturally curious and enjoyed learning.
If he weren’t, he wouldn’t have gone to graduate school, even if he had been scammed by his professor.
Not just magic, but even the wisdom of hunters like this was quite fascinating to him.
“Can you tell what it is?”
“Not with just this.”
Nilia crossed her arms, sounding a bit disappointed.
There was a saying that experienced hunters could identify a creature just by its footprints, but that was a myth.
Hunters could do that because they had lived in the area for a long time and knew all the monsters there.
Without knowing what was around here, it was impossible to guess right away.
“Besides, I’ve heard that there are all sorts of strange monsters around the magic school.”
“Ah, I’ve heard that too.”
Yonell nodded.
Einrogard itself was located in a land rich in magical energy, so it was natural that many monsters would appear due to the influence of that energy.
And separately...
“There are monsters created from experiments wandering around near the school. Abandoned magic potions often create rare slimes too.”
“......”
Ihan was speechless.
‘Don’t these mages have any safety protocols for experiments??’
From magic potions to artificially created magical creatures, these things needed to be strictly managed.
But since they were carelessly discarded, it was no wonder such problems arose.
“We’ll have to be more careful.”
“Well said! I’ll follow these traces as a basic precaution. That way, we’ll reduce the chance of being ambushed.”
“Can I learn how to read tracks too?”
At Ihan’s words, Nilia blinked.
Wondering if he had said something rude, Ihan added, “If it’s too hard to teach, you can just ignore...”
“... It’s definitely not easy. You might give up halfway. Do you know how difficult this skill is?”
“If you teach me, I’ll do my best not to give up.”
“... Hmph. Fine, I’ll teach you. Let’s see how you do!”
Yonell whispered to Ihan, making sure Nilia couldn’t hear, “Do you really need to learn that?”
“Why not? It looks fun.”
“???”
“Found it. Poisonweed.”
While Nilia and Ihan were on guard, Yonell found some herbs.
Hidden deep within the thick bushes, the herbs made Ihan marvel.
‘How did she even find that?’
“There are only two.”
“......”
“......”
“If we find one more, it’ll be... Why is everyone so quiet?”
Yonell turned her head.
And then she realized why the two had gone silent.
- ■■...
An enormous boar was glaring intensely in their direction.
“Judging by the magical energy, it must have eaten something wrong.”
Feeling the magical energy emanating from the boar, Ihan spoke calmly.
Whether it had consumed spilled potions, experimental substances, or undergone some special experiment...
“This isn’t the time for that! Be careful!”
Nilia whispered urgently.
Boars were far from weak animals.
With their heavy build, surprisingly agile movements, and tusks, they were dangerous.
And this one wasn’t a tame farm animal but a fully wild beast.
If it had eaten something strange and gained magical energy, it was practically a monster.
“Think of it as a wild boar! Don’t provoke it! Everyone, slowly back away!”
Nilia instructed the two.
Yonell steadied her trembling legs.
Ihan supported Yonell and subtly stepped back.
- ■■■!
But the boar let out a sound and began stomping toward them.
It seemed quite angry, snorting and puffing.
“If we keep backing away, it’ll get dangerous.”
Ihan stopped, holding his staff.
He gripped it firmly with both hands, standing forward like a spear.
It looked quite impressive.
‘Right...! He’s from the Wodanaz family.’
Only then did Nilia remember which family Ihan was from.
The Wodanaz family, a family of grand mages in the empire.
It was possible he had learned some magic before coming here.
‘He did say he’d handle chasing away beasts or monsters if they appeared, didn’t he?’
Nilia whispered to Ihan, “Are you confident?”
“Not entirely, but maybe?”
“If it fails, just carry the redhead and run! I’ll distract it!”
Among them, Nilia was the fastest in navigating mountains and hills.
It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Ihan’s magic, but a seasoned hunter always had to prepare for the worst.
If things went south, Nilia planned to lure the boar away.
Ihan looked touched by Nilia’s words.
Yonell did too.
“You’d go that far for us...”
“It’s not like that!? It’s just that I’m the only one who can do it!?”
“Alright. Thanks anyway. I’ll count on you if things go wrong.”
Ihan stopped talking and focused.
The boar was getting closer.
‘Three.
Two.
One.’
Ihan calmly counted down, measuring the distance.
Nilia, watching from behind, swallowed nervously.
What kind of magic was he planning to use against that boar?
Thwack!!!
“......”
A clear sound echoed from the boar’s head.
Ihan had chosen to swing his staff.
- The King of Black Weapons, but you shouldn’t just focus on the sword.
Swordsmanship should prepare you for situations without a sword.
Sword, spear, club, dagger, bare hands—all of it.
- I see.
- ...
It’s not my place to say, but aren’t you complaining?
- Why?
- Ah, never mind.
Alarron wasn’t the type to teach easily, even to a direct descendant of the family.
He taught Ihan as harshly and strictly as he had been taught.
And Ihan learned well.
Other nobles might have complained, “Why do I have to do such hard work!?” but Ihan was the opposite.
‘People pay to exercise, so this isn’t so bad, right?’
When he was in graduate school, he couldn’t even find time to exercise, so he had no complaints about Alarron teaching him everything in detail.
Plus, whenever his body felt tired, servants would rush in with food, drinks, and magic potions...
- Ihan, you must be wondering why I’m not teaching you how to imbue weapons with aura like other knights.
- I wasn’t even thinking about that.
Can someone like me even reach such a level?
- ...
If it’s not for the aura, then why are you learning swordsmanship??
Alarron paused mid-teaching and looked at Ihan as if he were crazy.