"Hahaha! That tickles! Master, that tickles! Hahaha!"

Eira giggled as Nolan rubbed her stomach and tickled her lightly.

Nolan let out a small chuckle. Instead of stopping, he increased the intensity, making the little girl laugh even harder.

After five minutes, Eira was exhausted and out of breath. Her face was flushed as she lay limp on the bed.

"Master... you... you’re so mean!" Eira complained, but the smile on her face showed she was enjoying it.

Nolan smiled. He pinched her cheek and teased, "Who told you to tease me first? If you’d been nice, I wouldn’t have done that."

Eira pouted at his words. But when she thought about it, she had started it first, so she couldn’t really complain.

As the two of them chatted, the sound of footsteps came from outside. Elina walked in, carrying an envelope.

"Brother, am I interrupting you?"

Nolan looked up and shook his head.

"No. Is something wrong?"

He sat up and looked at her curiously.

Elina walked over and handed him the envelope.

"I forgot to tell you. There’s news from the Lionheart family. I’m sure you’ll be interested."

"Oh?" Nolan was slightly surprised as he accepted it. He examined the envelope for a moment, then opened it.

He read the contents for a few minutes, and his eyebrows rose.

"Decennial Contest?"

"Right." Elina nodded and explained, "I received it two days ago, but I was too busy and forgot to tell you. Do you want to go to my place?"

A shy expression appeared on her face. The letter was an invitation from the Lionheart family to attend the event.

However, Elina still had a lot of work to handle, especially with the lumber factory that had just begun operations.

Many noble families were coming to her to negotiate and purchase the factory’s products, making it impossible for her to leave the town of Virella for at least the next two months.

"Alright. Leave this matter to me. I’ll let Uncle Luke know that you can’t come."

Nolan folded the letter, slipped it back into the envelope, and handed it to Elina.

Elina smiled contentedly. Fortunately, she had Nolan—someone she could always rely on.

"When are you leaving?" Elina asked.

"Probably tomorrow morning. There’s something I need to take care of tonight."

Elina didn’t say anything. After exchanging a few more words, she pinched Eira’s cheek before turning and leaving.

Nolan looked at Eira and asked gently, "Do you want to come with me tomorrow?"

Eira’s eyes lit up. "Can I?"

"Of course." Nolan patted her head. "Get ready tomorrow and wear something nice, alright?"

"Mm! Got it!" Eira nodded enthusiastically.

***

Nighttime...

A fleeting shadow darted from one tree to another. After a moment, it revealed itself.

It was a handsome man with black hair and purple eyes. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

Who else could it be but Nolan?

Nolan glanced down and leaped to the ground.

"You’re here," a calm voice sounded from behind him.

He turned and saw Malverna stepping out from the shadows of the trees.

Nolan nodded. "Where are the demons?"

Malverna snapped her fingers. Instantly, three demons emerged behind her.

They had terrifying appearances. The demon on the left had a tall, muscular body and the head of a wolf.

His expression was fierce, and his mouth was lined with rows of sharp teeth.

The demon in the middle was even larger, standing nearly three meters tall. He had a humanoid body, but his face resembled that of a red bear.

His pitch-black eyes gave off a threatening aura.

The last demon looked relatively normal. He appeared human and wore round glasses, with a pointed nose and long ears like an elf’s.

However, his pupils were vertical—like a snake’s.

When they saw Nolan, all three bowed their heads and greeted him. "Good evening, Your Sovereign."

Nolan nodded in response. These three were high-ranking demons whom Malverna had successfully subdued.

"I’d like to ask for your help. Malverna has already told you what I want, right?"

"Yes, Your Sovereign!" the three replied respectfully.

Nolan smiled in satisfaction and explained, "The person I’m looking for is a woman. She’s human, and I don’t know her exact location. However, her most striking trait is a unique ability—she can cure all illnesses. Remember, if she is a mage, then she is not the woman I’m looking for. Most likely, she comes from the common people, or perhaps from a noble family that previously had no special abilities. But suddenly, she gained the power to heal others and perform miracles never seen before. Do you understand?"

His explanation was the same as the one he had given Jorgan before.

He didn’t know where the incarnation of the Goddess of Life was. The Phantom Chain unit still hadn’t found any satisfactory leads, so he hoped that with the demons’ help, the incarnation could be found soon.

The demon on the right, whose appearance was the most normal compared to the other two, listened carefully and memorized every word.

"Even though your description is a bit vague, I understand. Don’t worry—we’ll help you find her, Your Sovereign," the demon said firmly.

The other two demons nodded as well, offering their own assurances.

"Thank you," Nolan said with a smile.

After exchanging a few more words, the three demons vanished from sight.

Nolan turned to Malverna and gave her a grateful look.

"Thank you."

"You’re welcome. I’ll go find the other demons and ask for their help. The more demons we have searching, the faster we’ll find her," Malverna said casually.

Nolan nodded and said nothing more. He trusted her.

***

The next morning, Nolan and Eira said goodbye to Rafine and Elina, then left the mansion.

Nolan wasn’t taking the horse-drawn carriage. That would take too long. The fastest way was to use long-distance teleportation magic.

Watching their backs, Elina scratched her head and asked in confusion, "That’s strange. Why aren’t they taking the horse-drawn carriage?"

The journey to the capital was long, and the carriage was usually the fastest mode of transportation.

"Didn’t Nolan say his carriage was waiting outside the town?" Rafine asked hesitantly.

"Huh? Really?" Elina blinked in surprise.

"Right. Don’t worry." Rafine reassured her.

But deep down, she let out a small sigh and whispered to herself, ’Poor thing... she still doesn’t realize her brother can use magic.’

Rafine actually wanted to tell Elina about it, but she had promised Nolan not to.

So she had no choice but to keep it to herself.

...

The Lionheart family grounds...

"Hya!"

Evalyn swung her sword and sliced through three dummies in front of her.

She then leaped upward, spun around, and cut through four more dummies behind her.

Her movements were so graceful and swift that the servants couldn’t help but stare in awe.

"Young Lady Evalyn is truly amazing!" one servant praised.

"You’re right! Her swordsmanship is so beautiful—it’s a feast for the eyes!" another servant added admiringly.

But Evalyn was the only one who didn’t think so. She landed on the ground and let out a long sigh.

"My abilities..." She stared at the wooden sword in her hand with a complicated expression. "They’re not improving."