Ailien is a spirited child living in a cabin deep within the woods.
One day, a man as large as a bear and as striking as a wolf arrives at her doorstep.
“Ahem! I knew you’d come.”
But Lily—as she’s called—isn’t the least bit flustered!
After all,
“Lily, you shall succeed me and become a grand mage.”
She is destined to follow in the footsteps of her grandmother—a great hero of the war between humans and demons!
Though, being just a child, she’s still a little bit weak for now.
***
Callisto, the Grand Duke who rules the Principality of Rubentain, has ventured into the notorious Hayana Forest in search of traces left by Marlin Zeronias—the grand mage who led the human-demon war to victory.
But what he finds there is…
“I am the grand mage!”
…a chubby-cheeked little kid claiming to be the very grand mage he sought.
Unfortunately, however…
“Your magical power is quite weak, isn’t it?”
“Ah!”
The magical energy he senses is incredibly faint.
He can’t very well leave a child all alone in a place like this, so he decides to take her along.
“Can I bring Kiki and Didi, too?”
“Kiki and Didi?”
“I suppose having three extra mouths to feed might be a bit much, huh?”
As the little one glances up at him, a cat and a flying squirrel creep closer.
“Kiki and Didi won’t eat much—they’ll only have a tiny bit, I promise.”
“……”
“So, please… take us along!”
***
Ailien no longer lives in a cabin in the woods; she now resides in the castle of Rubentain!
“Do you think you might be able to fall asleep if I let you rest your head on my arm?” “I never gave you any candy—what’s that you’re holding in your cheek?”
“Oh my, it looks like you’re covered in a dusting of sugar.”
They say a hero’s journey is meant to be an incredibly solitary path,
but the affection showered upon me by the household of the Grand Duke is just too wonderful to turn away.
I really shouldn’t be settling down like this, though.
I need to hurry up and find the ‘treasure,’ just as Grandmother instructed…
“Do you regret it? Saving me back then?”
And then there’s *him*, his purple eyes gleaming—he’s just as much of a handful.
Why does everyone keep getting in the way of Lily’s solitude—the solitude she needs to gain the power to become a hero?
