What kind of person was Ludger to Aidan?
To him, Ludger was an exceptional educator and an equally remarkable mage.
Other students likely thought the same, but the reason Aidan considered him so extraordinary was fundamentally different.
The Ludger the students knew was only the instructor of Seorn Academy.
But Aidan had lived through the Holy War, and he had witnessed with his own eyes the battles Ludger fought there.
The Ludger known to the public was impressive—an elite beyond reproach.
But the Ludger of the Holy War was on an entirely different level.
The magic he used was so overwhelming that Aidan’s very skin trembled just watching it, the kind of power that made one revere him as a mage.
Yet that didn’t mean Aidan feared him.
Even if Ludger looked cold and emotionless on the outside, he was someone who held warm concern for everyone on the inside.
No—what surprised Aidan wasn’t that Ludger had changed.
He was still the same man who seemed cold toward others but actually looked at people properly and sincerely acknowledged them.
Then what was it that startled Aidan?
“You’ve gotten really honest all of a sudden, haven’t you?”
It was the way Ludger was revealing his true feelings without bothering to hide them.
Not that Ludger always concealed his emotions through sly indirection.
He did occasionally speak from the heart.
But such moments were exceedingly rare—and usually happened only in truly serious situations.
So then, was now an important moment?
Aidan tilted his head, then immediately shook it.
Not at all.
“What do you mean I’ve gotten honest?”
“When I said I wanted to become an adventurer. Normally you’d stop me, right? Especially someone like you—I expected you to give very practical advice.”
“Practical advice? Just what kind of person am I inside that head of yours?”
“Hmm. Someone who’d look at me with a heavy, solemn face and go: ‘You plan to become something as trivial as an adventurer? Do you think you can even make a living that way?’ Something like that.”
As Aidan imitated Ludger’s tone, he even mimicked Ludger’s stern expression.
“Ahaha! Of course, that’s just an exaggerated joke.”
“......I see. So that’s how you think of me.”
Ludger didn’t particularly take offense.
He already knew the image he’d shown Aidan—and he recognized exaggeration when he heard it.
Still, Aidan’s words held a grain of truth, which left Ludger feeling faintly, inexplicably disappointed.
“Well, if you’d come to me before graduating, I might have said something similar.”
“Huh? Really?”
“Yes. But you already chose your path. Judging from how you’re wandering around like this now, you probably ignored anyone who tried to stop you and pushed forward with what you wanted.”
“That’s... true.”
“You’ve already made your decision. All I can do now is tell you to do well going forward. And if you’re going to do it, then succeed so greatly that no one can help but acknowledge you.”
Even if he told him to quit now, Aidan was not the type to stop.
Especially since Teishy Friad had undoubtedly been beside him, shaking him by the collar while calling him insane.
Considering her fiery temper, she had probably grabbed him and shaken him violently.
And Aidan, head bobbing back and forth, would have responded with that good-natured smile of his while dodging the issue.
Ludger could picture it so clearly that he didn’t bother commenting.
“Well, that’s a relief! Oh—right, I forgot. First we need to figure out what to do with these beastkin.”
Aidan looked at the beastkin whose heads were sticking out of the ground like radishes.
“What are you planning to do with them?”
“They disobeyed the chieftain’s command and tried to raid humans. They’ll probably receive a punishment that fits their crime.”
Aidan added that capturing them alive instead of killing them had been the right decision.
“The relationship between humans and the beastkin is slowly improving. Iona and Leo are working really hard for that. But... it’s still not easy.”
“Of course.”
The rift between races was not easily closed—especially after a major war.
The beastkin had reasons to resent humans, to scorn them, to kill and plunder them.
Humans likewise saw beastkin as savages and wanted to drive them off the land.
Thanks to Iona and Leo, the relationship had become notably more amicable compared to the past.
But then there were ones like these raiders, who ignored their leader and acted recklessly.
“That’s why the punishment has to be carried out by the beastkin themselves. It maintains legitimacy for both sides.”
“True. And it also shows humans that the beastkin want a cooperative relationship.”
If the chieftain punished those who raided humans, the humans couldn’t complain—
unless the punishment was too lenient.
But would the beastkin, known for their strict adherence to discipline, really go easy?
That thought proved correct: when some of the captured beastkin heard that the chieftain would judge them, they thrashed and screamed in despair.
Most of what they cried was a plea to be allowed to die with honor here instead.
“So how do you plan to haul all these guys off?”
“Oh, you don’t have to worry about that.”
Aidan pulled out a whistle from his pocket.
Not an ordinary whistle—something carved from the horn of some beast.
He blew into it, producing a long, high-pitched tone that humans could barely hear.
Kkiiiiiiiiiing!
Ludger lifted his eyes to the sky.
Beyond the clear blue with only a few clouds, a massive eagle cried out in response.
And moments later, beyond the shimmering heat of the blazing desert, a group appeared.
Thudududududu!
The ground rumbled with the sound of pounding hooves.
A squad of beastkin in practical leather gear came riding toward them.
When they spotted Aidan and Ludger, they halted nearby.
“Aidan!”
A beastkin woman at the lead spread her arms and greeted Aidan warmly.
He embraced her in return and touched his forehead to hers.
A beastkin greeting, apparently.
“Loina. I didn’t expect you to come.”
“I happened to be patrolling nearby. More importantly—who is that behind you?”
The beastkin called Loina looked at Ludger.
Ludger looked back at her.
When she lowered the cloth covering her mouth, her appearance was striking by any standard.
Not a delicate beauty—
but a healthy, sun-kissed beauty, with brown skin bronzed by the sun.
Her long golden hair flowed down her waist like rippling waves, shining under the sunlight.
As expected of a beastkin woman, she was tall and well-built—nearly 180 cm, unusually tall even for her kind.
But still slightly shorter than Aidan, which only highlighted how much Aidan had grown.
“He’s my teacher. He taught me back then.”
“Aidan’s teacher? Ah, I’ve heard about him. That’s him?”
Loina eyed Ludger with suspicion.
He wasn’t offended. From the mention of patrols, he could guess her rank. In her position, caution toward strangers was natural.
Compared to the people who rode motorcycles and tortured others to death, she was practically overflowing with goodwill.
Loina was looking at Ludger when her eyes widened—
she had noticed the raiders tied up behind him.
She looked at Aidan. Aidan smiled and shook his head.
“...Don’t tell me you did this?”
Ludger nodded.
“They suddenly attacked, so I subdued them myself.”
“Even if they’re raiders, that couldn’t have been easy. No—forget that. If you did it, then of course it’s possible. You must be a formidable warrior.”
Her wariness faded noticeably.
The beastkin behind her also relaxed. Their gazes now held faint approval.
Beastkin favored the strong. Recognizing Ludger’s strength naturally made him more favorable.
“These guys... they’re from the Volkala Tribe. I never thought anyone would capture the worst troublemakers in the region like this.”
Judging from her words, these raiders had a notorious reputation.
For Ludger, that was fortunate.
The worse they were, the better Ludger looked for capturing them.
Then Loina noticed some corpses. Her expression hardened.
She looked at Ludger as if asking silently, —Was this your doing?
“I held back my strength, but the fight was intense. It couldn’t be helped.”
“I’m not blaming you. These dead ones—despite how they look, they were very skilled warriors. Even if someone tried to kill them on purpose, it wouldn’t be easy. I’m just impressed.”
She didn’t seem inclined to fault him.
She had something more important to deal with.
“But taking these guys out of the ground one by one would be exhausting.”
“Oh, I can help with that.”
Ludger flicked his hand lightly.
The ground rumbled—
and the buried beastkin suddenly rose upward.
He wasn’t releasing them; even above ground, they remained encased in compacted sand like stone coffins.
A compressed-sand prison.
“This should make transporting them easier.”
“It certainly does.”
Loina nodded with satisfaction.
She whistled, and the beastkin busied themselves tying up the raiders.
“What about you? We don’t have spare horses.”
“No need to worry. I have my own means of travel.”
He said it casually, and Loina didn’t doubt him.
After watching him pull enemies from underground, she could easily believe he had unconventional abilities.
“Aidan, you can ride behind me.”
“Huh? Is that okay?”
“Of course. You’re our friend.”
Loina’s expression as she said this was... suggestive.
Ludger glanced between her and Aidan.
Aidan, you fool...
Aidan seemed to genuinely believe Loina was simply being friendly.
Right. This hopeless kid hadn’t even noticed Teishy’s obvious signals despite her being beside him all that time.
Come to think of it, Aidan was pretty popular at Seorn too...
He’d mastered special magic, had a gentle personality, and was exactly the type women found appealing.
Ludger considered saying something, then gave up.
This was one of those situations where unnecessary advice only caused trouble for the adviser.
“Alright! Move out!”
At Loina’s command, the horses began to run.
Naturally, the raiders tied behind them were dragged across the ground as they were pulled along.
The southern wasteland horses were truly exceptional—
strong, tireless, bred to run long distances.
Ludger took to the air with flight magic and followed the group with ease.
“Wow...”
Several beastkin stared in amazement as Ludger flew alongside them.
Loina grinned and accelerated when she saw he could keep up.
“Let’s go! We have to be back before sunset!”
The southern lands were truly vast.
There were no mountains—only endless plains.
Eventually, the sand gave way to sparse grass.
Soon it became a full green steppe, with gentle ridges and the occasional stream.
As he flew, Ludger saw something on the horizon.
“We’re here!”
Aidan shouted, having seen it too.
So... that must be the beastkin’s village.
The village of the Beastkin Tribe, led by their Great Chieftain.
Even Ludger, who had wandered across the continent in his past, had never visited such a place.