There was a mountainside village situated on the eastern side of the Griffin Kingdom.

To reach the Marias Great Forest, people had to pass through this village. Therefore, the village engaged in businesses that primarily catered to tourists, travelers, and hunters.

Most of the restaurants were taverns, and the taller ones could be used as inns for accommodation.

Due to the favorable perception of the Griffin Kingdom among citizens of other countries, Marias Great Forest was frequently visited by many travelers. While it attracted outsiders regularly, it was especially teeming with many animals and demonic monsters, practically making it a paradise for hunters.

Another day began in the mountainside village.

People greeted each other with smiles, welcomed guests, and prepared breakfast.

With its generous hospitality and fair prices, the village quickly became the welcoming face of the Griffin Kingdom for travelers who were crossing into the Marias Great Forest. This led to the villagers taking pride in it.

A good influence and mindset had spread among them.

It was a truly special place.

Thud, thud, thud, thud!

Along with the sound of morning roosters crowing in the village, vibrations that awakened the ground also arrived.

"Hm?"

"Are there many travelers arriving?"

Beyond the Marias Great Forest lay the once-called cursed land, the Sahar Desert, and beyond that was the Jerman Kingdom.

People turned their attention toward the forest entrance, wondering if it was a group of travelers from the Jerman Kingdom or perhaps an envoy.

To welcome the arriving group of guests, the villagers began waiting for them at the entrance.

Shortly after, a massive crowd emerged from the shadows of the forest.

They were all topless with their bodies covered in strange tattoos. Instead of horses, they rode atop a demonic monster that had horns, grotesque teeth, and wings, resembling dragons called Lizard.

Whoosh!

The sound of splitting wind echoed.

Stab!

"Huh?"

The villager couldnt help but gasp after witnessing a friend next to him being struck in the head by an arrow, falling suddenly.

Soon, another arrow flew and pierced the villager's throat, making him collapse to the ground.

"It's the tribal people!"

"What the hell! Why are they suddenly attacking us?!"

"T-they're insane! The Marias tribe has gone mad!"

The indigenous people living in the Marias Great Forest, the Marias tribe, had swiftly invaded the mountainside village, destroying everything.

Only livestock, which were valuable for their food rations, remained. Everyone else lay on the ground, regardless of age or gender, spilling blood.

Leading them at the front was a great warrior mounted on a black Lizard.

With copper skin and a massive physique, the great warrior, having shaved off all his hair to avoid showing any weakness in battle, raised a spear high towards the sky.

"Today, Marias' wrath shall be unleashed!"

Their rugged muscles wriggled as if it were alive, and the tip of their spear was filled with fierce enmity towards Griffin Kingdom.

"Today, we will start to resolve the grudge the Chieftain and our comrades, Setima held!"

Although it was hard to find out if his booming voice contained mana, it held a strange power and echoed throughout the entire village.

"I, Valkzar, the Great Warrior of Marias, am accompanied by the spirits of our ancestors and the guardian deity, Horua!"

As he spoke, crimson wings extended from his back.

It was the fiery wings of Horua; the guardian deity who lived in the Marias Great Forestsimilar to the guardian deity in the Norseweden mountain range, Mountain Lord.

"We shall unleash our wrath upon Griffin, who dare to call themselves noble!"

Just two hours.

In just two hours, they had completely razed one village to the ground before immediately taking the reins to head for the next village.

* * *

The first-year students were out for practical training, and I had returned to my usual routine.

Of course, it only seemed ordinary on the surface, but it was a bit different in reality.

I was doing quite a lot of preparation.

"It's not like someone's on your ass. Why are you so busy?"

Findenai, who was watching me from the side, couldn't help but ask. She wondered why I was so preoccupied.

The Dark Spiritualist beside me also nodded in agreement; however, I had no choice but to be busy.

I granted Aria Rias her freedom.

She was no longer the hero who had to save this continent.

Therefore, I now had to make plans on how to save the continent without Aria.

Dealing with Dante was especially quite trickythat was the part that caused me to fail in the first round.

I could never reach the ending if I killed Dante's leader.

If he died, the boundary between life and death would be blurred, leading to the downfall of the continent.

However, it also went against my principles to follow Dante's means.

I needed to find a solution for this problem. And after solving it, I had to consider what would come next.

Luckily, we have plenty of battle power and time on our side.

Besides Findenai and the Dark Spiritualist as my top two, I could also employ Erica and the Saintess.

Additionally, thanks to my position as the Soul Whisperer, I could receive assistance from the Palace.

In fact, we had an abundance of battle power, and it was just the beginning of the second semester of the first year.

There wasnt any need to rush, but...

I never know what will happen.

Through my activities, I had gained quite a bit of influence in many directions.

From interfering with Dante to suppressing the nobles.

Now, my experience from playing [Retry] was merely knowledge to give me some advice; it could no longer predict the future.

"Hnnng!"

Professor Fel Petra entered the lab, groaning as she struggled to carry a large box with both hands. Owen rushed to help her.

"W-what's in it?"

Professor Fel knew that I had recently started receiving research materials that I requested from the academy, so she probably thought it might be those.

Unfortunately, this time, the item that arrived wasn't something I would be using to help with my research.

"Findenai, open it."

"Huh? Me?"

Although the box was huge, what was inside wasn't that heavy.

The items inside were valuable; therefore, the box had undergone thorough secure packaging.

Findenai made a loud noise as she tore open the box. She ignored the safety instructions as she simply smashed through it with her hands.

Inside was a round bracelet that emitted a sinister energy with a bloody hue.

"Whoa."

"What is that? Its so scary."

Professor Fel and Owen immediately stepped back, but Findenai looked at me dumbfoundedly before trying to pass it to me.

"What's this bracelet?"

"Put it on, it is yours."

"...Huh?"

With a surprised gaze, Findenai looked alternately between me and the bracelet. After wearing an uncharacteristically foolish expression for a while, she cautiously retracted her extended hand and eventually put it on her right wrist.

Click!

Immediately after the sound, she felt a strange sensation, causing her eyes to tremble slightly.

Sensing something, she infused mana into her hand. The bracelet soon released a red light, enveloping Findenai's hand like a glove.

"What is this?"

"It is an item called the Hand of Hemomancy. If you inject blood into it while in use, you will gradually feel your health increase."

"You're really giving this to me?"

"Yes, it is a fitting item for you."

It was important for Findenai to stall for time, as she was the type who grew stronger the longer the battle dragged on.

In gaming terms, she needed a lifesteal item.

In that sense, the Hand of Hemomancy, which absorbed the opponents blood and replenished the user's HP1, was a perfect fit for Findenai.

Moreover, it was also an item that Findenai originally owned in the game.

A Findenai drop item.

It was an item with a certain probability that would drop when players defeated her.

Besides that, Findenai also had other items like her primary weapons, the Axe of Pangu and the Landing Machine, which turned her into a true chapter boss in the game.

In the case of Axe of Pangu, Illuania found information that allowed me to discover that the item would soon be exchanged in one of the auction houses. However, since the Landing Machine was a product of the Clark Republic, I couldnt obtain it for her right away.

"I thought you were giving me something good, but you just gave this to me so I could work harder, huh?"

I simply nodded to affirm Findenai's accusation, noting her pouting expression as she spoke.

"If there is a chance, you should try it out."

"It's too boring here. I have no one to beat up."

When Findenai clenched her fist, the red gloves surrounding her hand transformed back into a bracelet.

Well, despite her words, seeing her repeatedly glancing at her wrist, Findenai seemed to quite like the bracelet.

Come to think of it, wasnt this the second gift I had given to Findenai?

The first were the cigarettes I gave her when she returned from the Clark Republic.

Now that I thought about it, it seemed like she only smoked other cigarettes, not the ones I had given her.

"Have you finished smoking all of the cigarettes I gave you?"

I casually asked Findenai as I was suddenly curious. She then stuck her hand deep into her maid uniform front pocket, taking out a familiar box.

Neatly laid inside were the ten cigarettes I had given her.

"You said they're precious."

Last time, I saw her sniffing it, but she hadnt smoked any of them? Even so, it was somewhat surprising that she hadnt even lit a single one.

Was it because of that?

I silently stared at Findenai, and she, too, sat there and blankly stared back at me.

We had nothing to say between us. It was just a moment of both of us looking at each other without any thoughts.

Creak.

The door opened and Erica Bright entered the lab.

I casually shifted my gaze from Findenai to Erica. She spoke with quite an urgent expression.

"T-there is a call coming from the Royal Palace."

"From His Majesty?"

"Since they contacted you through the Communication Crystal in the Deans office, you should hurry there.

It was the first call I had received since I returned to the academy. I wondered if there was something he wanted me to do, and I also felt that the timing was good.

Maybe I could use this as an excuse to procure some useful items from the Royal Treasury.

However, the situation was bigger than I thought.

"The tribal people from the eastern Marias Great Forest have crossed the country border, and they are massacring citizens."

"The tribal people?"

After leaving the others behind, Erica and I exited the laboratory to go to the Dean's office.

In the meantime, Erica quickly filled me in on the information she knew.

"They're using the pretext of revenge for Chieftain Katoler and the residents of Setima.

Freeze.

I halted my steps momentarily.

Erica also stopped a few steps ahead, turning to look at me.

"Are they related to Setimas residents?"

It was new information to me.

The residents from Setima had already settled their grievances, finally receiving their eternal rest.

"I'm not sure about that. But I heard that's why the Zeronia Household, which is associated with the Setima villagers, set out to subjugate them"

"But?"

"They were nearly wiped out."

Sigh.

Gideon, who wasnt at the academy currently, was probably involved in that mission. I wasn't interested in their retribution, but it was quite disturbing to know that those tribal people started to massacre others under the guise of seeking justice for the residents of Setima.

"We should go for now."

I resumed my steps towards the Dean's office.