Chapter 141: Courting Disaster in Progress

“Are you going to be in any danger?”

On the other side, Ruby had finished reading Tenasha’s letter. While it was true that greater power came with greater responsibility, Ruby couldn’t help but worry about her safety. Humanity’s understanding of magical beasts was still just the tip of the iceberg.

“What danger could there be? They’re just a bunch of unintelligent beasts.”

Mayuna noticed the unhidden concern on Ruby’s face and felt an inexplicable warmth swell within her. To Ruby, she was never some invincible archmage; rather, she was like a young lady of the household—someone who worried over even the simplest matters involving her.

“As expected, I’ll go with you after all...”

Before Ruby could finish, a strange knocking sound interrupted her. She turned to see an owl, seemingly carved from ice, repeatedly banging its head against the window.

“That’s the principal’s familiar.”

Mayuna immediately recognized the magical construct. She opened the window and let it in. The pale blue owl landed on the floor and slowly melted into a pool of cold mist. The liquid then began to arrange itself into several lines of text on the floor.

“Hmm, so now you’re really coming with me. I didn’t expect the principal to be so daring.”

Mayuna quickly understood the message: the principal was heading to the Mage Guild with Shudor, entrusting her with the students’ safety.

Although Ruby found this unexpected extracurricular activity strange, he had enough reason to accompany her—to keep an eye on Mayuna and ensure the students’ safety.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Three days later, Swort and his team trudged gloomily across a barren expanse of yellow earth. Why were they walking through this desolate wasteland? It all began with the teleportation array in Hedonmar breaking down.

Hedonmar was a formidable fortress, the frontline defense against magical beasts. Since its construction, it had never been breached. Naturally, there was no teleportation array directly leading there, so they had to teleport to a secondary city that supplied the frontline base, then travel the rest of the way.

But upon arrival, the person in charge informed them that Hedonmar’s teleportation array had broken down for unknown reasons and was under urgent repair. What was even more disheartening was that not a single magical beast carrier remained inside the city—all had been dispatched as supply wagons. If they wanted to reach Hedonmar, they would have to walk for an entire day and night.

“Ugh, if I had known, I wouldn’t have come.”

Ximei, a first-year prodigy, was naturally selected for the internship squad. But now, staring at the endless yellow expanse, her initial excitement had completely vanished. The other students felt the same. Were it not for the constant supply of food and drinks provided by Ruby along the way, they probably would have turned back.

“Why did the teleportation array suddenly break? Is this internship going to be dangerous?”

At this moment, another teacher in the group spoke. Bai Yu, chosen for her character and strength, seemed uneasy as she asked the two male teachers. She had an inexplicable bad feeling all day.

“Don’t worry, Teacher Bai Yu. What danger could there be here? If anything, the risk would be at Hedonmar itself.”

Although the first step of the plan had failed, Swort saw it as a minor setback. His expression conveyed that no matter how dangerous it got, he would protect them. Bai Yu merely offered an awkward smile and went to look around.

“Ruby, I’m heading off now. I want to repel them as soon as they leave the Beast Forest.”

After walking for about half a day, the archmage girl came to Ruby’s side and whispered a few words. She had no time to dawdle; she had to arrive before the beasts. She had considered teleporting the entire team but abandoned the idea. The people at her space magic academy knew about her powers, but teleporting such a large group would risk exposing herself.

“...Take care of yourself.”

Ruby gently wrapped Mayuna in his arms and whispered a few words close to her ear. The archmage girl stiffened at this gesture, blushing as she vanished with spatial teleportation.

“Ah, showing off your affection again, huh? So shameless! Mayuna, you’re so lucky—space teleportation really is something else.”

Ximei, who happened to see this scene, called out begrudgingly. It was clear the archmage girl was too lazy to continue walking and had simply slipped away. Having space magic and being so headstrong was truly enviable.

“Just focus on the journey.”

Ruby tapped Ximei on the head and continued on. After about ten more minutes, Swort signaled for them to stop. A person lay in the middle of the road, life uncertain. To be safe, only three teachers went forward to investigate.

The traveler seemed to have collapsed from heatstroke, still draped in a cloak meant to shield against the scorching sun. When Ruby removed the cloak, he was speechless. He never imagined he would find the enigmatic green-haired princess unconscious here, at such a time and place.

“Ugh, cough! Ruby? How are you here? Am I dead?”

After giving her a few sips of water, Ruby managed to pull Tenasha back from the brink. The green-haired princess opened her eyes drowsily, realizing she was lying in Ruby’s arms. She gave a silly expression and asked.

“I’m no grim reaper. I was just wondering what you were up to.”

Ruby shoved his water bottle into Tenasha’s mouth, giving her a little more water before releasing her.

“Me? Of course, I was worried about Nana wanting to check out Hedonmar. But Father wouldn’t allow it, so I snuck out. Then the teleportation array broke, and I ran out of water halfway here.”

“You really are an idiot...”

Ruby looked helplessly at the shining armor beneath her cloak. Wearing that in such heat while traveling—she was lucky not to have died here.

Afterwards, Ruby briefly explained the field activity, and Tenasha naturally joined the group to continue their journey.