Chapter 33: This Was Only the Beginning

In this forest, for weather magic to suddenly appear—Leon knew it had to be Fiora’s doing.
If he let that utterly clueless girl run wild, she might blow the entire forest sky-high.

Before Fiora could cause some catastrophic mess, Leon decided he had to find her.

“Fiora! Fiora?”

His voice echoed through the silent, snowbound forest, but there was no answer.

No choice—time to use a little trick.

Leon closed his eyes.
Heart of Tranquil Waters.

He shut out all visual distractions, sinking into a half-meditative state. One by one, stray thoughts drifted away until his mind became as calm as a mirror-still lake.

Mind’s Eye.

Through hearing and smell, information began to flow richly into him. In the darkness of his inner vision, Leon extended that mirrored lake outward without limit. Whenever it brushed against something, ripples spread gently across the surface.

Once, in battle, Leon had lost his sight. In that utter darkness, the Sword Saint had awakened the Mind’s Eye, learning to read his opponent’s movements through every sense but sight.

Now, Leon was essentially a walking, breathing radar.

There…?

In one spot, two points overlapped—close by. A place he had passed just moments ago. His instincts whispered that something was there.

Leon opened his eyes and ran in that direction.
A bad feeling gnawed at him, and he sprinted all the faster.

Within moments, he was back where he had paused before—a tangle of shrubs.
And there was the girl he had been searching for.

Fiora lay on the ground, clothes tattered, still as a corpse.
A Slime was shifting shape, engulfing her small upper body.
Its oozing body pressed against her skin, sizzling as it corroded her.

Scarlet eyes flared with killing intent.

The sight hit Leon for just one second—his body moved before his mind could catch up.

Steel flashed from its sheath.
With fluid, unbroken motion, his sword cleaved the air.

The strike slammed into the Slime.
When Leon realized what he’d done, the creature was already flying through the air, blue blood splattering the snow.

It shrieked in pain, dragging its injured body away in terror, leaving a streak of blue across the ground as it fled.

Leon was about to give chase—

But a faint sound from Fiora made the enraged Sword Saint halt.

He knelt quickly, scooping the unconscious silver-haired girl into his arms.
He called her name several times, but there was no answer.

Her small stomach was swollen, and slime fluid oozed from her nose and mouth.
It seemed the creature had tried to suffocate her.

In this situation, there was only one thing to do—get the foreign matter out of her.

Leon steadied his breathing, laid her flat on her back, and lowered his head to press his lips to her cherry-red ones, trying to draw the slime from within.

…

“Mm…”

The choking sensation vanished.
Fiora’s eyes fluttered open, awareness slowly returning.

And the first thing she saw was Leon’s head lowered over hers.

What… what is this guy doing!?

He was kissing her—mouth to mouth.

Fiora froze.

Her treasured first kiss—gone, stolen by this harem-collecting playboy.

A wave of goosebumps swept over her. She nearly passed out again.

For someone with zero romantic experience, this was far too much to handle.

Leon realized something and opened his eyes—only to find Fiora awake.
Their gazes locked.

You bastard! How long are you going to keep kissing me?!

A mist of tears clouded her eyes. She grabbed his face, shoved the hateful man away, and sat up.

Her stomach churned violently. With her airway clear, her body instinctively expelled the remaining slime fluid.
She gagged and vomited onto the ground.

“Urgh! Ugh! Waa—”

Her face was ashen, brows knitted in disgust.

“My… first kiss…”

It took a while before she calmed down. Her expression was lifeless—there’d been nothing sweet about it. Her first kiss had been taken by this man under the worst possible circumstances.

Leon removed his coat and draped it over the little silver-haired loli. She couldn’t really blame him—it was to save her, after all.

Fiora glanced up at him. Leon averted his eyes, as if he wanted to say something but swallowed it back, remaining silently aloof.

Right… this guy’s a harem playboy. There’s no way he still has his first kiss. It’s just my one-sided first time. What a loss.

Her emotions tangled in knots, as if she had fallen into a vast quagmire named “Leon.” No matter how she struggled, she couldn’t escape.

Today it was her first kiss—someday…

She didn’t dare think further.

Quickly shifting her thoughts, she patted her waist—
The collected slime fluid was gone.

Not only had the monster girl escaped, but the money for her little notebook had vanished too.

Life… really was full of dizzying ups and downs.

“Ha… ha… hahahaha…”
Fiora laughed bitterly.

“Let’s head back. We’ll call today’s quest done. I’ll handle things with the Adventurer’s Guild.”

“Mm.”

Fiora nodded, obediently following behind Leon as they made their way back to Sunrisen City. Her pale little feet left prints in the thin snow.

In the distance, a silver pillar of light suddenly shot into the sky, piercing the clouds. It was in the direction of Everfrost Mountain.

A strange resonance stirred in Fiora’s heart, as if someone were calling to her. She lifted her head.

Even here, in the outskirts of Sunrisen City, they could hear the deafening dragon’s roar from Everfrost Mountain—like a long-silent king announcing his return to the world.

Life returned to Fiora’s wan face.

“Could it be…? Mother…! Heh-heh-heh… hahahahahaha—!”

Every trace of gloom vanished. The Ice Dragon King laughed wildly.

“Leon, kneel before me! Lick the feet of your liege, and you might still have a chance to live!”

Leon frowned.
“Fiora… did the Slime scramble your brains?”

“Hmph. You pitiful mortal… I shall forgive your ignorance for now.”

Fiora brushed aside a strand of silver hair. “See that pillar of light? That’s my mother breaking her seal—the former Ice Dragon King, now returned to this world.”

Long ago, Fiora’s mother—the previous Ice Dragon King—had mysteriously vanished. The Ice Dragon clan believed her dead, and thus elevated Fiora to the throne.

“Fiora’s mother? The… uh, former Ice Dragon King—she’s that strong?”

“My mother’s power surpasses even mine, and her wisdom matches it. Therefore”—Fiora jabbed a finger at him, triumphant—”once she learns of my plight, she will definitely deal with you. Leon, you’re doomed!”