Years slipped by.
Under Mazin's management, business flourished. Merchants came and went, caravans filled the roads, workshops never rested, and the slaves continued their work.
Life marched forward without waiting for anyone.
Esther was now twenty-two years old. Six years had passed since she first entered Mazin's household.
During those years, she had become far more than a servant.
She managed businesses, negotiated trade, expanded Mazin's fortune, protected the workers, and helped raise Ozaki as though he were her own child.
Yet beneath her calm smile, a quiet longing had begun to grow.
She wasn't tired of working. She was tired of belonging to someone else. She wanted only one thing.
Freedom.
That evening, she stood before Mazin's desk. "Sir..."
He looked up from the ledger in his hands.
"I wish to be released." Her voice remained steady. "I want to live the rest of my life... as a free woman."
Silence settled between them.
Mazin stared at her, wondering if he had misheard. His most valuable employee, the woman responsible for much of his wealth, the person Ozaki trusted more than anyone else. Wanted to leave.
"No."
The answer escaped before he could think. His fingers tightened around the armrest.
If Esther walked away... his businesses would suffer. Ozaki would suffer, everything would change.
His expression softened.
"If money is the problem, I'll pay you. I'll give you a proper salary. More than anyone else in Kehi."
Esther slowly shook her head. "It isn't about money... I simply want to be free."
Money had long ceased to matter to her. After six years of managing Mazin's empire, she had become one of the wealthiest women in Kehi.
Her understanding of finance surpassed that of most merchants, and her personal fortune had reached thirty-four million Flicks, enough wealth to live comfortably almost anywhere in ROKYE.
Yet none of it could buy the one thing she truly desired.
Freedom.
Mazin lowered his eyes. He knew her, once Esther made a decision... changing her mind was nearly impossible.
After several moments, he finally nodded. "...Very well, I'll release you."
A gentle smile appeared on Esther's face. She bowed respectfully. "Thank you, Sir."
"But..." Mazin raised a finger. "There is one condition."
She lifted her head.
"I take everything, your money, your belongings, everything... Only then... will I let you go."
Silence returned.
Six years of savings, six years of work, everything she had built. Esther closed her eyes for only a heartbeat before smiling once more.
"If that's the price... I accept."
Mazin studied her carefully. No anger, no hesitation, no regret.
She truly valued freedom more than wealth. For the first time in years... he admired her and feared losing her.
Without Esther, his businesses would never be the same. Ozaki would lose the closest thing he had ever known to a mother, and Mazin himself would lose the only person he had ever trusted with his empire.
He nodded once. "Then it's settled, you'll leave with nothing."
"And from this day onward... you owe me nothing."
Esther bowed again. "I understand." She turned toward the door.
"Esther."
She stopped. "Yes, Sir?"
For several seconds, Mazin remained silent.
"You've served me well."
It wasn't quite gratitude, but it was the closest thing Mazin had ever offered another person.
A soft smile crossed Esther's face. "Thank you."
She stepped outside. The door clicked shut behind her.
Mazin remained seated, motionless, his fingers tapped slowly against the armrest.
Then...
A small smile spread across his face, hidden, calculated. The first step of his real plan had begun.
---
The contract of freedom was signed by both Esther and Mazin.
Before sunrise, she packed the few belongings she was permitted to keep and quietly left the estate.
Ozaki was still away at school. He knew nothing, not about the contract, not about Esther leaving, not about what awaited her beyond the city.
Her destination lay far to the northwest.
Heisis Village.
To reach it, she first had to cross the vast forests surrounding Kehi.
Meanwhile... Mazin spent money, a great deal of it.
Gold could buy loyalty, enough gold could buy silence. He hired four assassins.
Their orders were simple.
Bring Esther back. Alive.
Nothing else mattered.
Among them stood a fire mage, two earth mages, and an air mage.
None were registered adventurers, yet each possessed the strength expected of a C-Rank mage.
C-Rank mages specialized in overwhelming power and defense, forming the frontline of most battles.
B-Rank mages, by contrast, relied more on tactics, teamwork, and battlefield awareness than raw force.
Years before civilization spread throughout ROKYE, forests covered far more land than cities. Roads were little more than worn trails carved through endless wilderness.
Esther walked alone beneath towering trees.
At first...
Everything seemed peaceful, then the birds erupted from the canopy, leaves rustled violently, branches snapped somewhere behind her.
She stopped, slowly turned. Nothing.
Yet something felt wrong. The forest had been silent only moments before.
Now... Everything was running.
Fear settled inside her chest. Three thoughts flashed across her mind.
Kidnapping.
Rape.
Death.
She ran.
Her bags slipped from her hands and disappeared into the grass, but she didn't stop, she didn't look back. She simply ran.
There were no proper roads through this part of the forest. Travelers simply walked toward the next village by instinct and experience.
Every time Esther glanced behind her, she drifted farther west without realizing it.
Instead of heading toward Heisis...
She was running toward Ouei Village.
Her breathing became ragged, her legs burned.
She had never trained a day in her life. The men chasing her had spent years hunting people.
The difference between them wasn't small, it was overwhelming.
After covering hundreds of kilometers, her strength finally gave out. She stumbled to a stop.
Moments later... The four assassins emerged from the trees.
Each breathing heavily. Each smiling.
"You made us work harder than expected."
One cracked his neck. "You'll pay for that."
The fire mage stepped forward, flames erupting around both arms before spreading down his legs. Heat rolled through the forest, and nearby trees ignited almost instantly.
One earth mage stomped the ground, the earth shook violently. Massive boulders rose into the air, slowly orbiting around him.
The second earth mage slammed both fists together, stone burst upward. Rocks ground against one another until a ten-foot golem rose between them.
The air mage lifted an open palm, wind gathered beneath his feet, raising him slightly into the air before exploding outward in a violent shockwave that bent trees and nearly extinguished the surrounding flames.
Esther stood in the middle, surrounded.
Her breathing became shallow. She had never used magic, not once, not in twenty-two years.
Her fingers trembled, her knees weakened, she couldn't move, she couldn't think. Only fear remained.
Then... Something changed. The hunters felt it first.
A strange pressure spread throughout the forest.
Cold.
Heavy.
Ancient.
It came from Esther.
Without ever consciously casting magic... without ever releasing magic... Her power had silently accumulated inside her for twenty-two years.
Now, with her mind consumed by terror... Her body abandoned conscious thought.
It entered one instinct.
Survive.
A massive boulder shot toward her head. The fire mage compressed blazing flames between his palms into a burning sphere and launched it.
BOOM!!
Smoke engulfed the battlefield. Broken stone flew through the forest.
The four men smiled. "It's over."
Then... One frowned. "...Where?"
There was no scream, no body, no blood.
Nothing.
A shadow fell across the battlefield... slowly.
All four looked upward, their eyes widened.
High above them, a colossal sea serpent made entirely of water descended from the heavens.
A spell that normally required an A-Rank mage.
Esther had created it... on the first use of magic in her life.
The stone golem raised both arms, locking its massive forearms together into a shield.
BOOOOM!!
The water serpent crashed into it. The impact drove the golem deep into the earth.
Stone groaned beneath the pressure.
CRACK.
Fractures raced across its arms before torrents of water burst through them like rivers breaking a dam.
The air mage reacted instantly, compressing streams of wind into razor-sharp blades that shot upward toward the serpent.
Then... that feeling returned, stronger.
The fire mage's flames flickered, his instincts screamed. Someone was behind him.
He spun, nothing. Left, nothing. Right, nothing.
Above, a calm voice whispered beside his ear.
"GRISH Fury."
The surrounding water compressed.
Before he could react... a gigantic war hammer formed from water, slammed straight into his ribs.
CRAAACK!!
Every rib shattered instantly. His body tore through one tree... then another... before disappearing deep into the forest.
Esther lowered the hammer her eyes shifted toward the remaining three assassins. Her voice was quiet.
Almost emotionless.
"One down."