***

Three days later.

While Edmund was working on economic documents from the city’s Department of Trade, a knock on the door of his study broke the silence in the room.

"Come in."

It was not Sebastian, nor was it Nisya. A soldier came in wearing armor and carrying a sword, then stepped inside and knelt.

"Sorry to disturb you, Viscount Edmund."

"A guest has come to see you," said the soldier.

Guest?

Edmund did not ask. He stood and walked to the back. The glass wall in that room faced directly toward the mansion’s front yard.

Right outside the gate, Edmund saw Irana arriving with the four girls. The four girls came carrying sling bags filled with clothes, food, and other needs.

So they have come.

"Tell them to come in. Order the woman named Irana to come to my room, then take the four girls to the back garden."

"Yes, Viscount Edmund."

Edmune turned right back, calling the soldier to return to him. "And bring Lady Leonor too."

"I will do it."

The soldier in white armor left Edmund’s study. Edmund was still looking forward as Irana and the four girls were allowed to enter.

Two people escorted them. One soldier escorted the four girls to the back yard, while the other escorted Irana to Edmund’s study.

The door opened again. Irana came in alone, while the soldier from earlier waited outside.

"Did you bring the documents?"

Irana nodded, opened her backpack, and took out four files with four different names.

The files Irana gave him were different from the documents Sebastian had once given him.

The files from Irana were important so Sebastian and Nisya could handle the registration for the five girls.

Without legal documents from the orphanage, they could fail the administration process.

"I will keep these for their administration when they register later," Edmund said.

"May I ask something?"

"Go ahead."

"What is your plan in inviting them to Livden Academy?"

Edmund smiled, left his chair, and stood leaning against the edge of his desk. His eyes were still looking at Irana.

"Simply put, I don’t want Leonor to be lonely," Edmund answered, "At first, I was going to enroll Leonor alone. However, because she asked for her friends to join and I thought it was a good idea, I agreed."

"Besides, I see potential in Denise. I’m sure Aya and the others also have hidden potential."

Irana nodded. She already knew about Denise’s dream of becoming a knight, but she did not know about Aya and the others.

They had never said it directly. However, their attitude showed it.

Irana was happy and felt lucky when she saw that the four of them had a chance to live better lives.

"I thank you for allowing them to join."

"It’s too early to thank me. They need to train," Edmund replied.

The sound of someone knocking softly on the door of his study was heard.

Sebastian introduced himself from outside. Edmund allowed Sebastian to enter.

The door opened. He came with four people, wearing different clothes according to their classes. They were all women.

"Hello, Edmund!" Lyla greeted him in a friendly, loud voice.

Edmund sighed and turned to Sebastian, "Why does it have to be her?"

"She is the best summoner in the Archie Region," Sebastian replied, "She can definitely teach Aya well."

"It’s been a long time since I saw you. Our last sparring match was one year ago," said a woman with long hair and armor, Natalie.

"I didn’t ask you to come here to challenge me, Nath," Edmund said.

Edmund turned and nodded to the other two, a priest and an assassin.

Four teachers representing four classes had arrived, but only the mage teacher had not come.

"Only four? Where is the mage teacher?" Edmund asked.

Sebastian turned toward Lyla and Natalie, then walked closer to Edmund and began whispering softly.

"Sera wants you to invite her yourself," Sebastian whispered.

"That damn low-class mage!" Edmund complained.

"Should we look for another option?" Edmund asked.

"It would be better not to. Sera once dealt with demonic magic. She is the most suitable person to train Leonor."

Edmund sighed. His head lowered, and his hand kept massaging his temple slowly.

He had not expected Sebastian to call three people from his former party.

Lyla and Natalie had already come and were ready to teach the children, but not Sera.

Edmund’s relationship with Sera was... quite complicated.

"What do you think, Lord Edmund?" Sebastian asked, making sure.

After taking a deep breath, Edmund agreed. He turned and asked Sebastian to take them to the back yard. Denise and the others were already waiting there.

"As for Sera, I will drag her here myself," Edmund said without much energy.

Sebastian knew what had happened between Edmund and Sera.

He raised his hand and gently patted Edmund’s shoulder, giving him encouragement.

"Good luck with her, Lord Edmund."

"Please leave, Sebastian," Edmund complained.

The man laughed and invited the four other teachers to the back yard.

Irana had also finished her task and would go to the back yard, waiting for Denise and the others to finish training.

Now, only Edmund was left in that room. His head turned back, and his eyes looked far through the glass wall of his study.

Sera... you had better not make this difficult for me.

Edmund walked with a lazy breath, took his sword, and put on his coat.

He rode his horse quickly, leaving Aschwin Mansion to go to Ulrich City, the place where Sera lived.

The distance was not too far, only one hour by horse. He rode out of Archester City, continuing to push his horse along the paved stone road toward Ulrich City.

The trip was short. The soldiers guarding the gate looked from afar and saw a nobleman in a luxurious coat riding quickly into the city.

Edmund reached into his pocket and showed his noble plate. The soldiers saw it and immediately opened the way for Viscount Edmund.

"Please, Viscount Edmund."

The man rode his horse quickly through Ulrich City’s gate, looking in a hurry. They became curious about the reason Edmund had come to the city.

His horse stopped in front of a mansion filled with shady trees. The front yard was full of rose gardens.

"V-Viscount Edmund?" asked the guard of Sera’s residence.

"My dear Edmund."

A voice echoed from the mansion, ringing in his ears along with a light gust of wind. Edmund sighed. His bad feeling was truly terrible.

He got down from his horse and stepped into Sera’s residence.

After only a few steps on the paving blocks in the front yard, he was shocked by a rune that activated beneath his feet.

His eyes widened as he saw the trees move actively and attack Edmund.

Crazy ass woman!

A dome-shaped barrier appeared from the gate, trapping Edmund in that place without any choice to escape.

He drew his sword and moved quickly. Blue light shone from his sword, launching repeated slashing attacks toward one of the tree monsters.

The tree branches were cut apart, spilling green sap. Edmund narrowed his eyes as a magic rune appeared on the tree.

With a swing of his sword skill, Edmund destroyed the rune and made the tree stop moving.

It was not a magic rune to move the tree, but the core rune of the illusion magic in that place.

Edmund saw the illusion end. The two trees had not been moving at all, and the dome had never existed from the start.

Illusion effect! What level is she now?

"Impressive. It has been a long time since we met, and your ability has grown stronger," a woman said.

The woman stepped out with blond hair, a beautiful white dress, and medium-size breasts.

She walked gracefully, her long blond hair flowing down. In her hand, she made a magic staff appear, its height equal to hers.

"I have to admit, your illusion is terrible, Sera," Edmund said.

"I don’t want to trap my beloved man in an illusion of death. It hurts me to see it," Sera replied.

"So, you came to persuade me, right?" Sera asked with a teasing smile.

"Yes."

Sera spread her arms toward the door of her mansion, "Come on, let’s talk inside."