Warlet recounted everything she knew. Sorbet and Darius clenched their fists tightly. Of course, they were furious, for their children had been injured so severely that their legs or arms were broken.
"I will search for him myself," said Sorbet.
"Do you know his features?"
Sorbet nodded. "I will ask Warlet to meet a painter. She will describe the appearance of that Monkey-Masked Youth. With that, we will have a sketch of the culprit."
Darius nodded. "I will return home and ask the Viscount to help send his troops to hunt down that bastard. I will never forgive him for what he has done."
Sorbet nodded back. "Neither will I."
The two of them immediately left. Sorbet departed with Warlet, while Darius carried the children back to his residence. There, the three would receive much better treatment.
**
The city of Stromhall grew tense. Soldiers patrolled the streets, inspecting every house one by one. They were searching for a face that matched the sketch.
Wanted posters were plastered all over the city. Every citizen of Stromhall was promised 300 gold coins if they succeeded in finding the Monkey-Masked Youth.
Naturally, that reward was enormous. People searched for the masked man relentlessly. Unfortunately, no one managed to find him.
"Why didn't you just kill them?" Jörmungandr asked.
"This is far more entertaining—watching them panic until they're driven to despair. If I simply killed them, once they're dead, what's left?" Crowne stood, turning his back, and walked toward the table in his room. "Now I have only one goal: to find my mother."
Jörmungandr turned her head. "Are we going to Moonlight City?"
"Yes, we will go there. But we cannot enter directly, since only adventurers of rank A or higher are allowed inside Moonlight City."
"So what will you do?"
"I will take more missions and participate in the rank promotion test. You and Sylvara will assist me. In a single day, we should be able to complete several missions at once."
Jörmungandr furrowed her brows. "Let me help you alone. I am sure that will be enough. That glutton over there…" she pointed at Sylvara, who was eating, "…just leave her in your realm. She won't be of much use."
Sylvara stopped eating when she heard that. She glanced at Jörmungandr. "We can settle this in battle. Do you dare?" she challenged.
Jörmungandr smiled. A green aura flared around her body. At the same time, Sylvara released a dense blue aura. The room shook violently. Crowne could only shake his head in exasperation at the two. Ever since Sylvara had appeared, she and Jörmungandr had quarreled nonstop.
Their gazes clashed, unleashing sparks of magical energy that made the air tremble. Two overwhelming forces were colliding, each eager to prove its might.
Crowne clapped his hands once. "Enough!" he scolded.
Jörmungandr and Sylvara stopped immediately. They turned their eyes toward Crowne, then returned to their own business. Sylvara went back to eating the meat she had ordered from the restaurant downstairs. She had ordered ten kilograms of it.
Meanwhile, Jörmungandr approached Crowne. "Well?"
"I already told you. I need both of you, so work together to help me and Ronan reach rank A. Will you agree to that?"
Jörmungandr and Sylvara both nodded. "I will help you," they said at the same time.
Crowne felt relieved. They could complete rank F missions twice more. After that, Crowne would be allowed to take higher-ranked missions, though under one condition: he had to be accompanied by an adventurer of higher rank, at least rank C. With that, he could accept rank E missions.
Crowne had his eyes on a rank E mission: hunting Gorthak. These were wild boars the size of grown men, possessing deafening roars and brutal charges.
A Gorthak was a rank E beast. There were many of them, and they were relatively easy to kill. They often destroyed villagers' farms, which made them frequent targets of hunters. Moreover, their meat was delicious. Their thick belly fat made the flesh savory, perfect for restaurants, while their tusks could be crafted into weapons.
Crowne planned to hunt at least twenty Gorthak in a single day, enough to gather the points required to join the rank advancement exam.
Of course, it would take time. But this was the only way Crowne could quickly climb to rank A. He also wanted to capture and tame some beasts. That mission still remained untouched. It was stuck at 0/50 and had not progressed since it appeared.
Crowne turned his gaze toward Sylvara. "You attacked the Viscount Darius' estate earlier, didn't you?"
She nodded while chewing her meat. "Mmm, mmm."
"What do you think about those four nobles? How much chance do you think they would have of defeating you?"
Sylvara tilted her head, thinking. She glanced at Jörmungandr, then nodded.
"Seven percent."
Crowne was shocked by the number Sylvara gave. The difference in strength between the Magical Beasts he had bought from his system's shop was staggering. Even though Sylvara's price was lower than Jörmungandr's—she had cost 70,000 market points, twenty thousand less—the gap in power was immense.
If Sylvara was already this strong, Crowne couldn't imagine just how powerful Jörmungandr truly was. Considering her massive true form, it was no wonder she was terrifying. Even a Supreme Magus would seem like a child before her.
Crowne glanced at his system screen. "I can't believe I've obtained servants this strong. With them, do I even need to train anymore?"
It almost felt pointless, for Sylvara and Jörmungandr could do anything. But Crowne quickly dismissed that thought. He didn't know what the future held. There could come a time when Jörmungandr and Sylvara vanished, or were simply not by his side.
If, at that moment, he was attacked by someone on par with a Supreme Magus, he would be killed in less than two seconds.
"What a foolish thought," Crowne muttered.
He looked at Jörmungandr and Sylvara in turn. Then his gaze lingered on Jörmungandr for a long moment.
"Your name is too difficult to pronounce. Do you want a new one?" Crowne asked.
Jörmungandr fell silent for quite some time. Slowly, a smile spread across her face. She nodded quickly.
"Y-Yes," she replied.
Crowne studied her face for a long time. The young man sighed, then leaned back into his chair.
At the same time, Sylvara let out a small laugh, covering her mouth with her hand still greasy from meat.
"Shut up!" Jörmungandr snapped.
Sylvara shrugged, stood, opened the door, and left. "I want to eat more."
Crowne tapped his fingers on the table, thinking for a moment. "How about Velrisa? What do you think of that name?"
Jörmungandr fell silent again, lost in thought for a long time. Crowne watched her, uneasy, worried that she might dislike the name.
"Is the name bad?"
Jörmungandr shook her head. "It is a beautiful name."