Chapter 24

"Beastman...?"

Selena, who had been watching from a distance, muttered to herself. Beastmen were a race that mostly lived in the south. In the Kingdom of Philfar, one might see them as adventurers or merchants, but they were generally rare. Will, who had been curiously observing the twitching ears, turned his gaze back to the person in front of him.

"Are you a lady, mister?"

The hooded figure, taken aback by the straightforward question, blinked but then smiled.

"Yes, I am a lady."

The beastwoman, who looked somewhat resigned, nodded as Will said, "I see."

"Golem, let go."

At Will's command, the golem released the woman. The golem took a step back, and the woman, who had a puzzled look on her face, was freed.

"Why? If you let me go, you might get caught."

The woman, still sitting, asked. Will smiled.

"Because I was told to be kind to girls."

"...Is that it?"

"That's it."

Will's smile never wavered. The woman, on the other hand, was taken aback.

"It's a chance!"

The man in the cloak smiled with delight. The tension in the Turquis family members increased.

"Now! Take the kid as a hostage!"

The man's expression changed to one of triumph. However, the woman remained hesitant and did not move.

"Will!"

At Cecilia's voice, Will stood up.

"It's okay."

What was okay? The servants and private soldiers of the Turquis family were about to move, but Will's next words stopped them.

"Because the lady's magic power is beautiful."

"......Huh?"

No one understood what he meant, and everyone stopped in their tracks.

"What are you saying, brat!"

"Eh? Don't you know, sir?"

Will laughed, finding the man's reaction amusing. The private soldiers found his innocence terrifying.

"Good people's magic power is shiny and beautiful. But bad people's magic power is sticky and dirty."

"......Huh?"

Everyone except Shiro was taken aback by Will's words. No one had ever heard such a thing. After all, it was rare for someone to see the flow of magic power like Will.

"Phantom beast...?"

Elise looked up at a piece of wind, and the wind wolf sighed.

"It's true. You can sense whether someone is trustworthy or not, can't you? Magic power is something that rises from within... it speaks volumes about the person."

Everyone was speechless, hearing this for the first time.

"Phantom beasts, spirits, or their contractors can tell. Just so you know."

The piece of wind added, seeing the silence of the humans.

"Shiro fell for the lady because of this."

"Piece! That's irrelevant now, isn't it!?"

Shiro, suddenly exposed, protested. Cecilia's cheeks turned red.

"My magic power..."

The beastwoman muttered to herself. Taking it as a question, Will continued.

"It's beautiful."

Without any hesitation, Will said this, and the woman looked up. Will patted her head, which was confused.

"Good girl, good girl..."

"......!"

She had disguised herself as a man and mingled with the thugs. Her life had not been smooth. Touched by Will's warm hand, the beastwoman almost shed tears.

"So what!?"

The man in the cloak took out a throwing knife from his pocket and aimed it. Will, reacting to the man's voice, looked up.

"Dangerous!"

The beastwoman, noticing the thrown knives, covered Will. Several knives attacked from behind her.

"Will!"

Nina screamed. However, the knives were deflected before they reached Will.

"Mu, mu!"

"Kyaa!?"

Will, who had been hugged by the woman, groaned, burying his face in her chest.

"I'm sorry!"

The woman quickly pulled Will away from her chest, realizing he was about to suffocate. She then noticed something and turned around. In the air, three physical barriers were lined up. They were not hers. Realizing this, the woman looked at Will's face.

"Will, you're practicing shield magic!"

Will showed a cute proud face. The woman was speechless, seeing the three-year-old intentionally deflect the knives. The man, still in the posture of throwing the knives, was also stunned.

"No way..."

"Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!"

A high-pitched laugh echoed from above, and everyone looked up. Myna, standing on top of a pile of unconscious men, was looking down at the private soldiers. The soldiers, not understanding why the pile was built or why she was climbing it, were sweating. The servants sighed and held their heads.

"Master Will, at the age of three, has mastered the shield and can even block my headbutt! Your throwing knives are nothing to him!"

The soldiers' sweat increased. They did not understand why a headbutt was considered superior to a knife.

"Charge!"

With a short battle cry, Myna leaped. She spun once and kicked a nearby soldier.

"Underwear!?"

The man, who screamed mysteriously, was kicked in the face and fell over. Seeing this, Will protested.

"Ah! Myna, that's mine!"

Will puffed out his cheeks and pouted. It was better not to ask what it was.

"I'm sorry, Master Will!"

Myna, seeing Will's displeasure, quickly bowed. Behind her, a soldier who had been punched by Ren slid across the ground. The soldiers retreated as Ren approached.

"Ah! Even Ren!"

"Master Will."

Called by Ren's calm voice, Will puffed out his cheeks and remained silent.

"It's over. I've taken care of them."

"......Huh?"

At Ren's words, the soldiers looked around. The courtyard of the school was littered with their defeated comrades. Misha, smiling, was gathering the men into a pile.

"Wh-What... How many were there..."

The man in the cloak whispered, trembling. Ren snorted.

"You are nothing to us."

"Ugh..."

The soldiers, at a loss for words, tried to put some distance between themselves and the others. They could see knights approaching the school gate. A bearded giant was giving orders to his subordinates.

"Damn..."

The soldiers, looking for a place to run, were suddenly overshadowed.

"Ah!?"

Feeling the danger from something stretching out, the man in the cloak dodged. The golem, which had approached unnoticed, extended its arm to capture the thugs.

"Will's! Will's, a good thing!"

He declared. This was a hunt in the name of punishment. However, the golem's swinging arm had trouble catching the soldiers.

"Ah, dangerous!"

"Damn... Don't swing such a dangerous thing."

The man in the cloak backstepped to avoid the golem's arm. Due to Will's lack of combat experience, the golem's movements were more like sweeping than grasping. As a result, the soldiers could read the attack's trajectory and dodge the golem's arm.

"Master Will... There's no choice..."

Ren sighed but was not about to let the soldiers go. They had tried to harm Will.

"Why aren't you stopping him!?"

The man in the cloak shouted at Ren, who was allowing Will's actions. Ren pierced him with a cold gaze.

"What reason do I have to stop him?"

"What kind of child education do you have!?"

The man in the cloak screamed while dodging the golem's arm.

Ren stopped and kept her distance. It seemed she intended to let Will practice magic using the golem in this place.

Something is wrong. Something is definitely wrong—

The common sense of the soldiers did not apply to the people of the Turquis family. They all watched the scene with a calm demeanor.