Seeing Li’s appearance, like that of a valkyrie herself, the headmaster let out a breath of admiration.

Beautiful.

And not the kind of beauty that seemed fragile or fleeting.

It was a beauty that carried unwavering strength within it, calm and unshakable.

Li was nothing more than a fourteen-year-old girl.

Yet her presence unconsciously made one feel compelled to kneel and bow their head.

Was it the divine authority of the light god Lufarsla?

No, the headmaster judged.

It was something else entirely.

It was not merely that her appearance was beautiful.

He did not know what it was, but this girl possessed something.

Even though he felt certain of that, he had no intention of probing that secret.

The headmaster did not meet Li often.

Yet through the long years of his life he had developed confidence in his judgment of character.

And that judgment told him something.

Li was a good person.

Yes.

Li was ‘sacred and inviolable.’

“Well then, I cannot fall behind!”

With that, the headmaster took out the Robe of the Underworld he had purchased from Li from his Jewel Dimensional Vault.

He also equipped his favored item, a luxurious staff.

It was a metal staff about two meters long.

At its tip was a decoration modeled after a dragon’s claw and a crimson magic stone.

Magic stones were different from magic jewels.

Originally they were transparent gems like crystals.

However while crystals gained color due to impurities, magic stones were different.

They had the property of absorbing mana from the natural world.

The gem altered by the mana it absorbed became what was called a magic stone.

The headmaster’s was crimson, meaning it carried fire mana.

It had excellent compatibility with fire mana and boosted fire magic.

To be honest,

The place Li and the headmaster were currently walking through was only the outer edge of monster territory.

The monsters there were not very strong.

In other words, they were overequipped.

In fact, once Li equipped Andromeda and Aquarius, the monsters had already hidden themselves.

That was how powerful her equipment was.

The headmaster’s equipment was inferior to Li’s.

But to weak monsters it felt like the pressure had been doubled.

And Li realized that fact.

“Headmaster, at this rate we won’t be able to hunt any monsters.”

“That is true. Even if they are low-level monsters, killing something hiding…”

The headmaster’s words were interrupted by a monster’s roar.

Whether it was a threat or a warning.

In either case, it was a cry powerful enough to shake the ground and the air.

The headmaster lifted the corner of his lips into a grin.

“It seems we have caught something bigger than expected.”

The headmaster was already fully intent on defeating it himself.

Even though he had retired from active duty, the excitement of battle was unavoidable.

The headmaster was also one of those who loved combat.

“Hey! Headmaster, I won’t allow you to hog it all!”

Li chased after the headmaster who had already started running the moment the roar echoed.

The headmaster launched the first attack against the source of the roar.

Fireballs the size of an adult man’s head shot wildly toward the monster.

But the monster was an earth dragon.

A massive monster with six legs and black armor-like scales.

Its rugged appearance reminded Li of a dinosaur mixed with a crocodile.

Then again, it had six legs.

While thinking such carefree thoughts, Li watched the headmaster’s magic.

Against the earth dragon’s powerful outer scales, the exploding fireballs were ineffective.

No, to Li it even looked as though the fireballs were being pushed back.

“Tch.”

The headmaster clicked his tongue and glanced at Li.

“Li, that one is troublesome. You saw it, didn’t you? Magic is being pushed back.”

“Should we just hit it physically?”

At Li’s simple answer the headmaster laughed cheerfully.

“Those are not the words one would expect from a delicate young lady like you. But I like it.”

The headmaster channeled mana into his staff.

The end without the magic stone sharpened and transformed into a spear-like shape.

“Why such a large creature is here can wait. If it reaches the Royal Capital it will be a problem. We defeat it here, Li.”

“Understood.”

Li wondered something.

Why was she so calm?

Looking carefully, the headmaster’s body was trembling slightly despite his excited expression.

Fear, perhaps.

No, more like battle excitement.

“Well then, Li. I will go strike that big fellow physically. You support me.”

Once again the earth dragon roared.

It had likely recognized them as enemies.

The earth dragon’s mouth opened wide.

It was large enough to swallow an adult whole and still have room to spare.

Including its tail, the monster was over fifteen meters long.

Mana gathered deep within its mouth between rows of sharp fangs.

“This is bad. A mana breath is coming.”

The headmaster’s tense voice rang out.