Everything in moderation

Neigh! Neigh!

“No! Your body is out of balance right now; you can’t have any more meat or sugar!”

Neigh…

“No means no. If you keep fussing, I’ll ban your juice too. Just eat your grass peacefully!”

The puppet replied, her tone sharp.

Her slender white hand patted Rao’s dark back, causing its smooth, black fur, like satin brocade, to ripple slightly.

A thread of subtle magic flashed from her palm, instantly coursing through Rao’s body and providing feedback on his physical state.

The nightmare’s bloodline surged wildly within him, desperately devouring the resentful magic to strengthen itself.

However, the out-of-control resentful magic had intertwined with his flesh, causing severe physiological imbalance.

‘The progress is still a bit slow… it looks like it will take at least two more months.’

The thought of this enormous trouble made the puppet seethe with irritation.

“And you’re still so greedy! Your body is a mess! The resentful magic is corroding you. If I weren’t tidying your body every day, you’d be mincemeat by now! I always tell you to eat slowly and be mindful of your absorption limits, but you never listen! Now you’re paying the price, aren’t you?”

Neigh~

“Don’t give me that ‘is it my fault?’ look! Sigh… never mind, never mind. Why did I ever bring you along in the first place…”

The puppet pressed a hand to her forehead, sighing helplessly.

“Remember this! For these two months, you can only eat grass and drink juice! If you don’t behave, I’m washing my hands of you!”

Neigh! Neigh-whinny!

‘Easy for you to say… who knows what you’ll actually do… Never mind, you’re the one who’ll suffer in the end anyway.’

She tugged the black horse’s long ear.

Leaning forward on its back, the puppet continued speaking into its ear:

“We’re almost there. Don’t act strangely, alright? While I’m not afraid of those Temple Knights, it would still be a hassle. Understood?”

Seeing Rao nod frantically, the puppet’s furrowed brow finally relaxed, and her gaze swept over the surrounding scenery.

The bleak autumn wind blew, carrying a few withered yellow leaves with it.

Beneath her feet lay a carpet of fallen leaves in various hues, while above, the clear sky was faintly visible through the golden foliage.

The trees exuded a fragrant scent, the air was filled with the aroma of fruit, and the distant calls of birds could be heard—a truly beautiful autumn scene.

‘Another autumn. Unconsciously, more than a year has passed…’

The dazzling gold of the birch leaves made the puppet momentarily lose herself in thought, as if in a daze, she once again saw the golden wheat waves below the cliff.

‘Ha, it’s this season again… I wonder how Holo has been doing lately. Ever since that close call, I haven’t used the concealment spell on that sachet for a while…’

‘Still… best not to. After all, it was her own choice.’

Gathering stray strands of hair from her temples, the puppet buried a flicker of longing deep within her heart and began to scan for the increasing signs of human presence along the path.

Disordered footprints, a visible dirt road, broken branches, and the wisp of cooking smoke rising in the distance all indicated the imminent appearance of a village ahead.

‘What a familiar scent of livestock…’

A fresh breeze enveloped her once more, and the puppet led the black horse towards the bustling area that had come into view.

Her wide black cloak concealed her captivating figure, and the lowered hood hid a face that could enchant anyone.

Thus, like a dark silhouette, the puppet entered the human village.

People cast glances at the two figures in black, mounted on the black horse, but soon lost interest and returned to their tasks.

After all, compared to a seemingly unremarkable traveler, filling one’s own stomach with work was far more important, wasn’t it?

‘Heh, the ‘Concealed Aura’ enchantment woven into this robe does have some use after all… though only when my face isn’t revealed.’

A cool, low whisper emanated from beneath the dark hood, only to be followed immediately by a return to silent stillness.

After traveling a little further, the puppet stopped before a house.

It was a modest two-story house, unassuming in appearance yet situated almost at the very center of the village.

The vibrant life force within its rooms also shone as the brightest flame in the entire settlement.

‘The village chief’s residence, then? I hope to gain some information about the rumors here…’

Tying the black horse outside, the puppet knocked on the long wooden door.

Knock, knock, knock…

“Who’s there?”

An aged yet authoritative voice emerged from behind the wooden door, immediately conjuring the image of a white-haired, stern elder.

Indeed, when the door swung open, the old man perfectly matched the puppet’s mental conjecture.

Beneath his neatly kept, white hair was a serious and earnest face, etched with wrinkles but imbued with the wisdom of a long life.

He wore a coarse cloth robe.

Though his skin had begun to sag, the muscles beneath still held explosive power.

Even in the puppet’s eyes, the soul fire burning within his gaze flickered with the essence of virtue.

‘Heh, what a robust old man. But this soul… is he a knight who once underwent training? Good, at least there’s no foul stench of the nobility about him.’

Thinking this, the puppet bowed slightly, dipping her head in a polite greeting to the elder.

“You are?…”

Gazes at the mysterious, all-black figure at his doorstep, the village chief’s brow furrowed in wariness, an inexplicable aura beginning to gather within him.

“Forgive my intrusion. I merely heard rumors of a monster disturbing the peace here and have come as a demon hunter to investigate. I am not what you might imagine… so please rest assured, I will not harm a single blade of grass or tree here.”

Sensing the energy fluctuations within the village chief’s body, the puppet once again bowed with the grace of a lady, exuding an aura of profound tranquility and peace.

The white-haired elder clearly hadn’t anticipated such a situation.

He paused for a moment before fully opening the door and stepping aside, inviting the puppet inside to discuss further.

The hearth fire crackled, casting a bright warmth.

The unique scent of burning wood filled the modest room, lending a cozy touch to the slightly worn furnishings.

The white-haired elder sat opposite the table, his gaze sharp as he scrutinized the black-robed figure who was looking around his house.

This individual, entirely clad in black robes, offered no hint of their figure, but their voice suggested she was female.

A hood, overly large, thoroughly concealed her face, revealing only a pointed yet delicate, fair chin.

Even more peculiar was the faint floral scent and the serene, tranquil aura that emanated from her.

She scarcely resembled a demon hunter who battled prey daily and tasted blood from the blade; instead, she seemed more like a gentle, kind noblewoman holding a bouquet of flowers!

‘This delicate young lady is going to face a monster that has already killed several adult men? Truly… I find it hard to believe.’

“I am the village chief of this settlement. You may call me Henry. But, I must ask, madam… are you truly capable of dealing with that monster on the mountain?”

Hearing the elder’s blunt question, Sally, who had been studying a worn knight’s sword hanging on the wall, offered an equivocal smile.

“You must have undergone knight training at some point, haven’t you?”

“That’s right… though seeing the furnishings in my home, it shouldn’t be hard to guess, should it?”

Old Henry glanced at the armor displayed in his house and the knight’s longsword hanging on the wall as he spoke, his heart unable to help but feel even more disdain for this ‘undeveloped’ young woman.

‘Hmph, bringing up something so obvious to the eye with such solemnity. What a reckless one, so eager to show off.’

The old man thought to himself.

“Heh… then you must know the difficulty of cutting through steel, correct?”

With that, the puppet retrieved a small, silver-gray iron ingot and a dark, obsidian dagger from within her robes.

Old Henry looked at the two items in her slender hand with some bewilderment.

‘What kind of joke is this… cutting through steel? Even my former knight commander… What! Impossible!!’

Old Henry watched, dumbfounded, as the dark dagger transformed into a streak of light, erupting in a brilliant shower of sparks on the ingot’s surface.

The iron ingot, so hard that it was difficult to reshape even when red-hot and hammered, rapidly changed form amidst the dazzling display of sparks.

Under his widening gaze, the iron ingot swiftly transformed from a rectangular block into a rose forged of steel.

Gazing at the rose, still warm in her slender hand, Old Henry swallowed with difficulty.

“Heh heh, now you must believe me, mustn’t you?”

The puppet beneath the black robe let out a soft chuckle, then casually pinned the small steel rose onto her black robe as if it were a brooch.

His cloudy eyes fixated on the gleaming rose brooch, as if hoping the small object was merely an illusion.

But after staring for a long moment, his disbelief finally receded from the still-shining metallic luster of the rose brooch, replaced only by mounting astonishment.

‘If it were merely cut in two, I could attribute it to the weapon’s sharpness. But to sculpt an ingot into a rose…’

The old man swallowed again.

Only now did he realize how utterly ridiculous his earlier wariness and disdain for this black-robed lady had been.

‘Wary? With such exquisite blade-work, what could a mere retired knight like myself possibly use to stop her?’

‘Disdain? That’s even more of a joke! Even if she only possessed such skill with a blade, she would still be considered a rare master!’

Thinking of his earlier bluntness towards her, Old Henry felt a faint sweat break out on his forehead.

‘Fortunately, this powerful individual has a remarkably good temper…’

“Do you believe me now?”

Her cool, leisurely voice sounded once more, but this time Old Henry dared not show any disrespect, quickly replying:

“I believe you, I believe you… but, esteemed demon hunter… what reward do you seek?”

The elder watched the unfathomable black-robed powerhouse with a hint of apprehension.

‘The village’s harvest hasn’t come in yet… and there’s no spare money. If she wants a large sum… that would be difficult. Perhaps I’d have to borrow from other villages…’

“Simply tell me some mysterious rumors concerning magic and monsters, and… this mirror.”

The puppet pointed to an old, cracked mirror hanging in a corner as she spoke.

“What! That’s all?”

Old Henry exclaimed in surprise.