In a flash of movement, Caius performed a rolling recovery, narrowly avoiding Hilda's small, reaching hand. He squatted atop a fallen log, cigarette still clenched between his fingers.

  "Girl, I think you need to calm down," he said, a bead of sweat forming on his brow.

  "I am calm! I want a smoke!" Hilda pouted, her lips forming a little pout that starkly contrasted the elegance she'd shown earlier as the graceful Little Swan.

  She was acting just like a rebellious little princess now.

  Caius couldn’t help but find her strangely adorable. Amused, he bit down on his cigarette and grinned. "Alright then—if you can snatch it from me, it's yours."

  "You said it!" The words had barely left her mouth when Hilda turned into a streak of golden light, shooting straight at him.

  Caius's pupils contracted.

  So it wasn't his imagination. In her drunken state, Hilda was even faster!

  In the blink of an eye, she was already upon him, one small hand lunging directly for the cigarette in his mouth.

  Caius quickly leaned back to dodge, then launched himself into the air, leaping away from her grasp.

  But to his surprise, before he'd even landed, golden magic circles burst into existence all around him. From them, chains forged from radiant gold light shot out toward him.

  “Holy—!” Caius nearly dropped the cigarette from his mouth in shock. He punched a nearby tree with his full strength, using the recoil to fling himself out of the way.

  Landing hard, he glanced up at the golden chains still writhing through the air. He swallowed hard.

  Drunk Hilda wasn’t just being rebellious—she was like someone who had broken free of all restraints. Her power, unshackled, surged to the surface. She could even recall and wield magic she’d long forgotten.

  Impressive.

  Caius grinned, his lips curling with excitement. He looked toward Hilda, now standing on a treetop bathed in golden light, and gave her a nod of challenge.

  "Come on. Let's keep going."

  Hilda, in her drunken, defiant state, caught the provocation and immediately pouted, then surged forward again in another golden burst.

  Caius turned on his heels and sprinted.

  The golden light streaked after him, and in no time, it was right behind.

  But Caius twisted at just the right moment, narrowly avoiding her grasp. Hilda, her reactions sharper than ever, adjusted instantly and gave chase.

  Meanwhile, the little Catgirl sat munching on her skewer of grilled meat, eyes wide as she watched the two figures dash and weave through the forest. Their game of tag turned the chase into a spectacle—and somehow, her food tasted even better for it.

  Soon, Hilda had forced Caius into an open field.

  Without trees to weave through or obstacles to slow her down, her speed overtook his. She caught up in an instant, and the two of them clashed—hand-to-hand, no weapons, no magic. Just raw physical skill.

  And truth be told, Hilda’s attacks had become fiercer, more direct—every strike and grab aimed precisely at the cigarette in Caius's mouth.

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  He nearly lost it several times.

  But fortunately, Caius was the more skilled brawler. Even with her drunken buffs and berserker-style fighting, she still couldn’t overpower him.

  The cigarette was nearly spent now—just two or three puffs left.

  Just as Caius thought the whole thing was winding down, the unexpected happened.

  He was ready to block Hilda’s next strike—a downward knife-hand blow—but midway through the motion, she shifted tactics. Instead of the expected chop, she spun and kicked him right in the stomach.

  It didn’t hurt much—but the move launched Hilda into the air.

  Under normal circumstances, that would be a fatal mistake. Going airborne in front of Caius was practically asking to lose.

  But in the next instant, Caius's eyes went wide in disbelief.

  A pair of golden wings, conjured from radiant magic, unfolded from Hilda’s back.

  Caius was stunned.

  Not just by how stunning she looked—like an angel mid-flight, light flowing from her form—but because—

  "Wait. She can fly?!"

  Yes. Apparently Hilda could fly. Not for long durations, sure, but long enough to outmaneuver Caius.

  Suspended mid-air, Hilda ceased all attempts at close combat. Instead, she began casting a flurry of binding spells.

  The earth beneath Caius's feet surged and clamped around his ankles.

  Chains of golden light descended from the sky, coiling around his arms and waist.

  Thorny vines erupted from the ground, binding him tighter.

  Then came magical bindings. Gravity bindings.

  And finally, layers of frost crept across his body, encasing him in glistening ice.

  Over ten different binding spells.

  Layer upon layer, Caius was completely immobilized—only his head remained free.

  He could feel the strength of the magic. If he truly wanted to break free, he could unleash his trump card and shatter the bindings in an instant.

  But… he simply sighed.

  Not worth it.

  "Alright, I yield," Caius said with a chuckle, looking up at the triumphant Hilda who had just landed in front of him. He admitted defeat freely.

  Sure, she'd surprised him with her sudden maneuver, but a loss was still a loss.

  Hilda hadn’t come out of it unscathed, either.

  That binding spell barrage had drained her magic reserves almost completely. Even the glowing wings behind her flickered out of existence.

  She was panting heavily, but her eyes remained locked on the dwindling stub of the cigarette in Caius’s mouth.

  With determined steps, she walked toward him.

  Caius raised a brow. “Alright, alright. Just undo the spells, and I’ll roll you a fresh one—”

  But before he could finish, she was already in front of him. Without a word, she snatched the cigarette from his lips and, to Caius's utter disbelief, popped it into her own mouth and took a puff.

  Then—

  Cough! Cough! Cough!

  Hilda hacked violently, eyes watering, and tossed the cigarette butt away like it was poison.

  "Ugh… that tastes awful… cough, cough…"

  Caius’s eye twitched. He was silent for a long moment before muttering, “Can you, uh… unbind me now?”

  What answered him was not a word—but the gentle, rhythmic sound of Hilda’s breathing.

  Caius blinked.

  She’d fallen asleep.

  Right there, sitting down and looking woozy after her coughing fit, she tipped over and dozed off on the grassy field in front of him.

  "You’ve gotta be kidding me… Hey! Don’t fall asleep yet! Let me out first!"

  No answer.

  She was out cold.

  Caius looked to the sky in exasperation.

  Fortunately, the duration of her spells wasn’t too long. One by one, the layers of magical bindings began to dissipate.

  Finally free, Caius stamped out the cigarette butt and the small flame that had just ignited the surrounding dry grass. Then he turned toward Hilda, who was lying on the ground like a sleeping beauty. With a helpless smile, he gently lifted her into his arms and carried her back to camp.

  "She fell asleep, meow?" Kiki asked, glancing toward the slumbering Hilda under the shelter.

  Caius nodded. "Next time we’re on a mission, absolutely no alcohol for her. That’s just asking for trouble."

  Then he raised an eyebrow, eyes scanning the area.

  "Hey, little kitty."

  "What is it, meow?"

  "Don’t you feel like… someone’s watching us?"

  "Not at all, meow."

  "Strange… Stay alert. There might be someone nearby. I’ll go check it out."

  "Got it, meow!"

  Not long after, Caius made a round of the perimeter and returned. The camp looked as peaceful as ever, and he hadn’t found any suspicious presence.

  Was it just his imagination?

  He wasn’t sure.

  That eerie sense of being watched was vague—entirely based on instinct. His body hadn’t reacted to any actual threat.

  Maybe it had just been a passing Magic Beast glancing in their direction before moving on.

  That seemed more likely, Caius told himself.

  But several kilometers away, atop a mountain ridge, an old man in a black cloak stood watching. His chest rose and fell with restrained breaths.

  "Stay calm… calm…"

  "The boy hasn’t done anything… Can’t interfere, can’t interfere…"

  "Damn it, kid—if you so much as touch a single hair on the lady’s head, I swear I’ll crush you!"

  Back at the camp, Caius suddenly shivered again.

  No. Someone was watching them. He was sure of it now.

  Time to do another sweep.