When Andreas returned to Moonshadow's Rest, the peaceful and tranquil town seemed to have encountered no accidents. The residents continued their lives with the characteristic slow pace of long-lived races.
However, upon reaching the Lord's Manor where he resided, a very familiar, colossal silhouette in the back garden was the first thing to catch his eye.
Andreas tilted his head in bewilderment, wondering if his eyes were playing tricks on him.
"...A hydra?"
...
"What kind of stunt are you pulling this time?"
Rubbing his temples to soothe a growing headache, Andreas looked at Leticia, who was standing before him with shifting, guilty eyes. "And more importantly, how did you bring this big fellow up from Blackfathom Deeps and get it to behave so obediently?"
Squatting in the back garden of the manor was a massive hydra. Judging by the color of its scales, it was indeed the one Andreas had previously encountered in Blackfathom Deeps.
"I recall this guy's name is Aku'mai, right?"
Hiss~
Hearing its name, all three of Aku'mai's heads hissed simultaneously, seemingly responding to Andreas's call.
"Ahaha~"
Leticia scratched her head awkwardly, letting out a nervous laugh. "I just wanted to go and see the hydra you mentioned before. Bringing it back was a complete accident."
"Sigh~"
Dath'Remar, who happened to be visiting recently, patted his forehead with a wry smile. "Andreas, I must say, your apprentice has quite the... adventurous spirit."
Through Dath'Remar's explanation, supplemented by Leticia and a long-faced Feron Riverwind, Andreas finally understood the sequence of events.
More than half a year ago, after Andreas departed Moonshadow's Rest for the Broken Isles, Leticia became like a Husky that had been released from its collar. Initially, she remembered Andreas's instructions and patiently helped the interim administrator, Maclay, manage the territory's affairs.
However, Leticia's naturally flighty temperament clearly clashed with Maclay's rigid, by-the-books style. Staying with such a dull person for a long time made Leticia increasingly restless. Seeing that Maclay managed the territory perfectly fine on his own over the first two months, the little demon hidden in Leticia's heart could no longer be contained.
Andreas had previously led a unit of Combat Priestesses and Moon Guards to clear the ruins of the temple now known as Blackfathom Deeps. Upon returning, he had mentioned the hydra Aku'mai to his young apprentice. Due to his hurried departure, Andreas hadn't found the time to kill the beast. For a long time afterward, this seemingly dim-witted hydra caused no trouble, content to stay in the depths of the ruins playing in the mud.
Two years had passed, and while the threat of Aku'mai wasn't forgotten, since it showed no intent to cause trouble, Nawaz, the captain of the town guard, had gradually marked it as a "harmless (tentative) creature under observation."
Although Leticia had received strict aristocratic education from her parents since childhood, Andreas knew from his first contact with her that she wasn't a conventional, pampered noble lady. Within her heart hid a wild and restless... Husky.
The death of her parents had left Leticia depressed for a time after the War of the Ancients, but under the care of Andreas and Shandris, the girl had bravely stepped out of those shadows. Without the strict discipline of her parents and under Andreas's semi-hands-off upbringing, Leticia's lively and active nature was gradually unleashed.
While Andreas often found her boundless curiosity a headache, he never intended to suppress her nature; he only sought to guide her so she wouldn't let it run wild in inappropriate settings. Over the past few years, Leticia had performed very well. Without the need to suppress her personality, her learning efficiency had actually increased significantly. Whether it was the improvement of her personal strength or the territory management required of a noble, both Andreas and Dath'Remar were very satisfied with her progress.
Because Leticia's mother, Lady Felice, had sacrificed herself to save the Sunstrider family's young daughter, Celes, Dath'Remar had always felt deep gratitude and guilt toward the last remaining member of the Moonsong family. When Andreas asked Dath'Remar to temporarily serve as Leticia's tutor for noble studies, Dath'Remar agreed without hesitation.
After Leticia followed Andreas away from Nordrassil, Dath'Remar would visit Moonshadow's Rest once every quarter to teach the maturing Leticia specialized noble subjects, including etiquette and governance.
A little over a month ago, when Dath'Remar arrived for his visit, he was surprised to find Leticia missing. Inquiring with Maclay yielded no clear answers, but fortunately, Feron Riverwind found Dath'Remar and hesitantly revealed some information.
It turned out Leticia couldn't contain her curiosity. Using the Shadow spells Andreas had taught her, she bypassed the guards at the entrance of Blackfathom Deeps and slipped unnoticed into the underwater ruins. Before leaving, she had invited her friend Feron, but he was busy with the ocean exploration task Andreas had assigned him and declined.
By that evening, Feron realized Leticia was gone and immediately guessed where she had gone. As Dath'Remar arrived just then, he learned of her behavior from Feron, leaving the head of the Sunstrider house caught between laughter and tears. As Leticia's teacher, he knew that beneath her well-behaved exterior lay endless curiosity.
To prevent her from getting into danger, Dath'Remar had Feron inform Maclay and Naisha while he set out alone into the ruins to search for her. When Dath'Remar followed Feron's map to the deepest part of the Deeps, the scene before him gave him a fright.
Leticia was standing right in front of the massive hydra, looking up as if communicating with it. This sight of "Beauty and the Beast" in close contact nearly caused Dath'Remar to instinctively hurl a Pyroblast at Aku'mai's face.
After calming down and observing for a moment, Dath'Remar confirmed that Aku'mai bore no ill will toward Leticia; the girl and the beast were truly just "communicating." This situation amazed him. He had heard Andreas describe the hydra as an aggressive pet of the Old Gods.
Andreas looked at Dath'Remar and asked helplessly, "So, after confirming repeatedly that Aku'mai was harmless, you used a teleportation spell to help Leticia bring it back?"
Dath'Remar gave a bright thumbs-up and laughed, "Haha, well, quite a few things happened in between, but that's roughly how it went."
What the hell are you laughing at...
Andreas pressed his fingers to his temples. A behemoth like that suddenly appearing in town—Andreas could guess with his eyes closed that it must have caused a massive commotion.
Pulling his thoughts back, Andreas looked up at the dim-witted Aku'mai and fell into deep thought.
"Xal'atath, come out and answer me."