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“Damage report!”
“Yes! Eleven with minor injuries, zero with severe injuries, and zero fatalities!”
“Very well. Now, Princess, sit down on your knees right there!”
“Why…”

A few minutes after driving away the wyverns, the instructor stood on the deck, listening to reports from subordinates while making the Saint sit on her knees. The back of the Saint, who had once seemed so enigmatic, now resembled that of a child sulking after being caught in a prank.

“Master, shouldn’t we stop this?”
“Leave it. There’s no place for us to intervene.”
“But Miss Roche is silently pleading…”
“Staaare…”
“Stop looking. Divert your gaze.”

As we continued to observe while avoiding eye contact with the Saint, the instructor next took out a round-shaped incense burner. The faint, sweet scent mixed with earth suggested it had been recently lit.

“Is this… wyvern saliva?”
“Ugh, wyvern saliva, that stuff…”

The leader, who had been hiding behind Momo, grimaced. Despite being a bandit, he seemed to have some knowledge.

“Don’t leave me out! What is this wyvern saliva?”
“It’s the solidified saliva of an old wyvern. To be more precise, it’s mixed with vomit.”
“Ugh…”
“You didn’t have to be that honest, kid. Now the girl is disgusted.”

Old wyverns would nibble on soft young shoots and fruits, regurgitating them as they peacefully passed away deep within the caves they had chosen as their final resting place.

Unable to move much anymore, the regurgitated food mixed with saliva accumulated and naturally aged into a waxy substance known as wyvern saliva. For sorcerers, it had many uses; it was a top-grade material, whether used as medicine or incense. Its value surpassed that of pure gold of the same weight.

“But, you know, isn’t it true that…”
“Yes, depending on the mixture, it can become a repellent that even dragons avoid… or it can act as an attractant.”
“That’s correct. You both are absolutely right. Compared to you, however, Princess!!!!!!”
“Yes…”

At last, the reason for the instructor’s fury became clear. The wyverns were likely drawn to that wyvern saliva. However, that alone didn’t seem to explain everything. The sheer number and intense ferocity of the wyverns were too abnormal to be merely attracted by the scent.

“Um, why did Miss Roche burn such incense in the first place?”
“While the princess is a genius in magic, she is a natural disaster when it comes to concocting medicines and such. Her cooking, in particular, defies human comprehension.”
“Hehe… I just wanted to make some medicinal bath and used some ingredients I bought with my own money.”
“Yes, this is the kind of person she is.”
“That’s pretty severe.”

How could anyone confuse a medicinal bath with incense, especially wasting such valuable ingredients like that? Given the instructor’s level of anger, it didn’t seem like a joke, but it was still hard to understand. A headache started to set in.

“Um, Master? The scent we smelled when we met Miss Roche in the village, could it have been…”
“……Momo, can we think about that later? I’m exhausted.”
“Oh, yes. Thank you for your hard work…”

From lack of sleep since yesterday, continuous battles with the wyverns, and now this overload of information, my body was at its limit. I wanted to shut everything out and take a nap. I’ve pushed my young body too hard.

“Well, we should probably…”
“Get back to your cell, or should I cut your heads off right here?”
“We get it, of course! Just put us under guard and take us away already!”
“Thank you, boss! Thanks to you, we were saved!”

Momo waved innocently, and the bandits returned the gesture awkwardly. Just how much had they bonded out of my sight? I needed to interrogate her later about their unauthorized release from the cell.

“Master, can you walk to your room?”
“Don’t underestimate me. I’m not that injured. If you follow me, I’ll get angry.”
“O-Okay…”

Shaking off the worried Momo, I descended the deck. The voices from the long corridor had already calmed down, and everyone was returning to their usual duties, a testament to their discipline.

“…Now, where was the break room again?”

I couldn’t map it out in my mind. My fatigue was worse than I thought. At this point, anywhere would do, even if it meant sleeping on the floor. I wanted to hide before Momo noticed the blood dripping from the corner of my mouth.

“Really, what a troublesome body… Even with a new vessel, this is what happens.”

I fired off a tenth-level wind spell and a few other somewhat powerful spells. The Saint might have noticed, so I would need to ensure her silence later.

“…Am I still managing well, Master?”

――――――――…………
――――……
――…

“Boss, you don’t have to just calmly go back to the cage.”
“This is fine. It’s full of monsters, including that halfling. Don’t get any funny ideas, you lot.”

After driving away the wyverns, the missy saw us off as we were once again confined to the cage.

Despite having escaped on our own, their reaction was rather indifferent. They seemed to be thinking, “Oh, the Saint must have done something again.”

“Well, that’s true, but… that kid is something else.”
“Even before we got out, she was taking down wyverns like crazy.”
“Yeah, and she still seemed to have plenty of magic power left.”

Yes, the scariest one was that wizard kid who took us down. How many flying dragons did she take down? It was as if her magic had no end, and her delicate control ensured the ship wasn’t damaged at all.

That’s a level even old wizards who dedicate their entire lives to magecraft might not reach. That is that kind of extremity.

“…But it’s not like she has no weaknesses.”
“Really, Boss?”

A wizard is only considered first-class when they have all three: a large amount of magic power, output, and control. But that kid probably…

“…Heh, gods sure are cruel. Eventually, even she will reach her limit.”