After finishing my nap, I casually gathered some monster materials and returned to the town.
Sure enough, by the time I reached the guild, reports had already come in.
Apparently, a massive turtle-like monster had suddenly appeared in the Twilight Forest.
Ah… sorry… it’s my fault for not properly notifying anyone in advance.
However, since I’d taken on a monster-slaying quest in the forest, some of the adventurers were already speculating, “Could it be…?”
When I admitted it was “one of those cases,” their faces were a mix of understanding and fear.
Most of them had probably never seen Ivy at her full size before.
I’d mentioned before that she could grow much larger, but they likely hadn’t expected her to be the size of several houses.
I should’ve explained everything more clearly when we’d built some trust.
It wasn’t even three in the afternoon yet.
Despite taking it easy, I figured I’d still have plenty of time and energy to handle my guard duties.
Just as I was thinking that, the voice of the guild master reached my ears, and I found myself sprinting in the opposite direction.
“Hey! Lady Ekaterina was attacked, and here you are wasting time in the guild!”
“I had a hunch they’d strike when I wasn’t around, and it looks like I was right.”
“So, you let them move freely as bait?”
“Not exactly—more like an insurance policy.”
When I rushed back to the margrave’s manor, I found figures collapsed on the ground.
Not Katya, though—it was several men dressed entirely in black, their bodies convulsing.
They were tied up and conscious, but unable to move as they wished.
Ivy’s barriers don’t just protect—they can also retaliate, knocking back or paralyzing anyone who attacks.
Before leaving Katya’s side, I’d asked Ivy to set up an advanced barrier capable of such countermeasures.
Her fatigue earlier was likely due to maintaining it.
Of course, I had the barrier’s strength verified and approved by the margrave beforehand.
I figured that if my absence lured out potential attackers, it might actually help us.
For two weeks, no one had dared make a move, so I considered the possibility of this continuing indefinitely.
While steady guard duties meant steady pay, endlessly watching over someone would be exhausting for both Ivy and me.
That’s why I decided to take a lighthearted gamble—hoping it would spark some kind of change.
But to think they’d actually target Katya while I wasn’t there…
Honestly, I hadn’t expected an attack at all.
Who would’ve thought someone would be foolish enough to go after the margrave’s daughter?
And yet, these men were apparently strong enough to incapacitate the guards.
Thankfully, Ivy had already healed them, and no lives were lost. Still, this was my mistake.
I should have extended Ivy’s barriers to cover the guards and soldiers as well.
I’d been cautious about misuse or exposing Ivy’s abilities, but saving lives was more important than secrecy.
And poison or assassination—such crude methods, really.
If I were just a particularly skilled griffon rider, their plan might have worked.
But I’m just a regular guy, with the extraordinary Ivy by my side.
It seemed their assumptions didn’t account for her abilities, and I’m glad they didn’t.
If they had, they probably wouldn’t have attacked at all.
Still, since we captured them alive, maybe we can extract some information.
“Have you identified them from their belongings?”
“No, they only carried weapons and poison for suicide. They can’t even bite their tongues due to the paralysis.”
I see…
“Ivy, can you peek into their minds?”
“Hah! Even Ivy can’t cast mind-altering spells. Such telepathic or mind-control magic has long been banned and forgotten…”
“Mi~”
“…Wait, you can do it!?”
Ivy nodded.
She really can do that… and here I am, surprised after asking.
Attacking, defending, healing, and now mental magic—what can’t Ivy do?
As I watched her cast some spell-like ability on the heads of the fallen men, I couldn’t help but think, She really is incredible.
Ivy is as reliable as ever—someone I can always count on.