Wizard: I crush legends with martial arts.

How did it evolve?

Alphonse was greatly surprised. It was unexpected that the female minotaur would have such an appearance and figure. Were the male minotaurs similar?

Although female monsters like Rishi and Jung also had imposing figures, their appearances were far inferior to those of this female minotaur.

If you ignore her horns, bull ears, and bull hooves, she's practically a magnified version of a stunning beauty.

It's huge in every sense of the word!

But I also understand that this is not the time to dwell on her appearance.

He said seriously, "Excuse me, I'd like to ask you if you've seen a dwarf named Tess come here?"

The woman looked puzzled and asked, "What do you want with him?"

"He was our friend. He disappeared after arriving in Berzac, and we came here to find him," Alphonse said truthfully.

"How can I be sure you're his friends? How do I know you're not lying to me? Humans are known for their treachery and cunning in the eyes of us orcs!" the woman said, glaring at Alphonse.

Alphonse immediately sensed a connection; it seemed this woman knew Tessie's whereabouts.

I was overjoyed; I had really found the right person!

But something was strange; she seemed unable to sense Mia's strength and showed no fear whatsoever.

Alphonse could not sense any change in the strength of her fighting spirit from her; there was no fluctuation whatsoever.

Perhaps she has plenty of confidence in her abilities?

Could it be such a coincidence that I just happened to run into a powerful female minotaur who could hide her true strength?

"Tess originally lived in my territory. I disappeared for a while due to some accidents, which is why Tess passed through Bozzack to look for me. But I have returned safely, while he has disappeared."

Alphonse carefully chose his words. He didn't have any tokens related to Tessie in his hand, so he could only talk about his past habits and his culinary skills in order to gain the woman's trust.

The woman nodded repeatedly. Alphonse had described Tessie's appearance and skills very accurately, and she was already seven or eight parts convinced. Her expression softened, and she revealed a simple, honest smile.

"Are you the Lord Alphonse of the Frostwind Territory he mentioned? I've heard him say that you're a good person. He signed a slave contract with you, but you never treated him as a slave. You even taught him ancient witchcraft, which greatly enhanced his strength."

"I am Alphonse, that's right!" Alphonse nodded quickly.

"I am Leo Asti of the Minotaur tribe. Since you are friends of Tess, you are also my friends," Leo said, then changed the subject. "However, I cannot take you to him today. I have very important matters to attend to tomorrow. I can only lead you to where he is after I have finished my business tomorrow."

Leo paused for a moment, then added, "But you need to be mentally prepared!"

"Did something happen to him?" Alphonse asked urgently.

Mia chimed in, "We know that the double-edged axe he carries contains a demonic curse. Has he been corrupted by the curse? Has he been transformed into a half-demon?"

Leo's eyes darted around, and she countered, "What if that's the case? Would you kill him?"

Alphonse immediately realized that if Leo had said so, she would never have revealed where Tess was hiding.

But how could he do that? Tessi had always been loyal to him, and since everything was caused by him, even though he had become a half-demon and lost his mind, he still had to find a way to save him.

"He's our good friend. We won't kill him; we'll only try to save him!"

"right!"

Mia and Mahaya echoed each other's sentiments.

Leo didn't directly reveal where Tessie was, seemingly because Mia's words had made her doubtful. "No matter what, we'll have to talk about it after tomorrow. I don't have time right now, but you can rest assured that even if you see him now, the situation won't change whether you see him now or a few days later."

Alphonse hesitated for a moment. "Is he still alive?"

"They should be considered still alive, but they've entered a rather strange state." Leo didn't want to go into too much detail, after all, Alphonse and the others hadn't fully gained her trust yet.

Her friend's status made her more cautious.

She knew perfectly well that if humans encountered demons, they would be wiped out. She didn't want to harm Tess because of a wrong turn.

Upon receiving news from Tessie, Alphonse grew impatient; he couldn't wait until tomorrow.

He silently apologized to Leo in his heart, gazing into her eyes, his pupils instantly filled with a mesmerizing light that spread out in layers.

The Soul-Capturing Technique, however, failed to work.

Leo raised an eyebrow, her expression turning cold as she hardened her face. "Your eyes are strange. Are you trying to use mind-control magic on me? Unfortunately, the racial trait of us Minotaur is an iron will, making us immune to any mind-control spells! If you do this, I can no longer treat you as a friend!"

Mia quickly apologized on his behalf, "I'm sorry, his gaze was a little strange. He didn't mean to do anything to you, Miss Leo. We were just anxious to know where Tessie was."

Leo pouted. "Fine, I'll trust you one more time."

He pointed out to Mia and Mahaya, "It's not convenient for you two women to sleep in these ruins. You can come back to Labyrinth Town with me. Centaurs can visit without any problem, and half-elves are barely acceptable as well."

As she spoke, she looked at Alphonse and said, "As for you, Alphonse, you are human, and I can trust you and consider you a friend, but not my people. You must stay outside and cannot approach our habitat."

Alphonse nodded, that was the only way, and let Mia and the others go and check the situation first.

The Soul-Capturing Technique was ineffective against Leo, who was Tessie's friend, and since they couldn't capture her, they resorted to torture to extract a confession.

Besides, she has already said that her racial talent is an iron will, so torturing her will probably not be very effective.

It's just sleeping outdoors; I have Bill Grinch's cabin, so there won't be any problem sleeping outside for a day.

Just then, a clear voice drifted from the sky, "I have a way to get Lord Alphonse into Labyrinth Town!"

Alphonse looked up abruptly, and Mia also looked in alarm toward the direction from which the sound came.

Even with their heightened senses, neither of them could detect when the owner of the voice had appeared.

It was a handsome young man with almost feminine features, wearing a beige robe. He looked almost indistinguishable from a human, but he had a pair of animal ears on his head and a fluffy tail. He was currently hanging on the feet of a bird-woman girl as they slowly descended.

If it weren't for his voice, everyone would mistake him for a woman.

The short-haired bird-woman was also pretty and delicate. In addition to having wings on her back, she also had a pair of small wings on the sides of her head, but her hands and feet were sharp, hook-like claws.

The bird-woman landed with flapping wings, while the young man elegantly placed one hand on his chest and bowed slightly to Alphonse.

This is clearly a matter of etiquette in human kingdoms.

"Who are you?" Alphonse asked coldly.

Seeing this bird-like girl flying down, flapping her wings the whole way, how could such a sound escape my ears?! (End of Chapter)