Hello, is this a letter addressed to Demon Fortress?

Click.

The sound of dry leaves being crushed underfoot.

In the silent wilderness, it sounded particularly jarring.

"Keep your voice down!"

A young man's voice was extremely low, filled with barely suppressed tension.

"Don't make such a commotion! If we attract the demon, we'll all be doomed!"

The girl who had crushed the leaves retorted defiantly.

"There are leaves everywhere here, how am I supposed to find a place to stand?"

"Be quiet."

The eldest monk spoke in a cold voice.

His robes were adorned with two silver stars, making him the only one among the group to hold a superior rank.

"My concealment magic can't block out sound. If you don't want to feed the demons, shut up."

The girl lowered her head and whispered something.

"I'm sorry, Mr. O'Brien."

O'Brien nodded and looked away.

He looked at the group of young Ross family members around him and sighed silently.

There were students inside wearing magic academy uniforms.

There are young people who have just graduated from college a few years ago.

Some he could name, and some he couldn't.

A dozen or so young faces, all bearing the same unease in the cold wind of the wilderness.

"Since we're already here..."

He spoke, his voice softer than before.

"Let's go back together, alive."

In the corner, the young man who had just lost his temper couldn't help but mutter to himself.

"What good would it do to go back alive?"

"If we fail to complete the family's mission..."

He secretly covered his face, his voice filled with despair.

"We might even be expelled from the family and become those lowly wandering mages."

A younger boy standing nearby couldn't help but speak up.

"At least... we're still alive."

"There's nothing wrong with becoming a wandering mage."

The young man suddenly became agitated and grabbed the collar of the boy's uniform.

"Didn't you see what those lowly wandering mages were like at the academy!"

"So what if you're a genius with naturally high magical abilities! You're still ridiculed and mocked every day!"

"Like a rat crossing the street!"

"I told you to be quiet!!"

O'Brien growled.

He read out the young man's full name, word by word.

"Kyle Ross. Shut your mouth if you don't want to die."

The young man named Kyle was speechless.

She released her grip on the boy's collar and lowered her head.

O'Brien looked at him and sighed again.

At that moment, a voice rang out.

"Lord O'Brien."

It's a girl.

She stood at the edge of the group, wearing a dark travel cloak.

The cloak was a bit old, and the edges were frayed.

Her messy black hair was carefully tied into a low ponytail, hanging down her shoulder.

Even with such meticulous attire, she didn't stand out any more.

She possessed an extremely faint, almost transparent presence.

Like a fallen leaf on the water's surface.

Quietly and silently.

They can be overlooked at any time.

Her eyes were calmly fixed on O'Brien.

There was no tension, no fear, and no other emotion in his eyes.

"Your concealment magic has become unstable."

She spoke, her voice flat and monotone.

"It's time to change shifts."

When O'Brien looked at her, his gaze lingered for a moment longer.

This girl is the strongest person on the team besides him.

Superior to the lowest level.

If he remembers correctly.

She and Josephine Ross, the girl who had just apologized to him, were in the same grade.

I just turned eighteen this year.

O'Brien is thirty-eight years old this year, and he was thirty-one when he broke through to the lower level of the Prodigy.

An eighteen-year-old extraordinary lower-level mage.

He doesn't understand.

At this age and with this level of ability, he should clearly be a highly regarded genius.

Why did he only learn that the Ross family had such a descendant on the day the team gathered?

He nodded, stepped back, and made way for the center of the line.

The girl stepped forward and stopped.

Close your eyes and begin to chant.

The incantation flowed from her lips, long and tedious.

Every syllable was pronounced with extreme precision, and every pause was just right.

A thin layer of light spread out from her body.

Pale blue, with extremely subtle ripples.

Enveloping the entire team.

The light barrier was weaker and more transparent than the one Aubrien had previously used.

But it was very stable, with no signs of shaking.

The girl opened her eyes.

Those dark eyes calmly swept across the surrounding wasteland.

"That's fine."

The procession continued forward.

We slowly made our way into the depths of the barren wasteland.

In the group, Kyle watched the girl's back and couldn't help but take a few steps forward to Josephine's side.

"who is she?"

He lowered his voice.

"I know almost everyone in the Ross family, but I've never met her before."

Despite having just argued, Josephine did not show much displeasure.

None of the Ross descendants felt good after being assigned this dangerous mission.

Within the family, being an illegitimate child at most subject them to cold treatment.

They were ridiculed and bullied by the legitimate descendants.

And here, they might die.

The long journey away from the magical city for the first time also wore down the spirits of all of them.

Everyone is like a powder keg these days.

They clearly disliked each other within their families.

Josephine, however, felt a sense of shared suffering with Kyle.

Josephine looked up at the girl who had unknowingly walked ahead.

"It's normal that you don't know her."

"Didn't you see her hair and eye color?"

Kyle was taken aback, then suddenly realized something.

"Could she be—"

Josephine sneered, her laughter laced with mockery.

"Strictly speaking, she is the only one among us with the true bloodline."

"They might even have the right to inherit the position of family head."

She paused.

"Unfortunately, her mother was from the Ashley family."

"The Ross family has always kept her out of the public eye, for fear of implicating her."

"And now—the family has a perfectly legitimate reason, without damaging its reputation, to remove this stain."

Josephine did not deliberately lower her voice.

Almost the entire team could hear it.

O'Brien was stunned. He looked at the girl's hair color and instantly realized what was going on.

The girl stopped in her tracks.

She turned around.

Black eyes looked over.

Josephine's expression froze instantly, and she subconsciously took a half step back.

But she still forced herself to lift her chin.

"W-what? I was right."

The girl did not respond to her.

Her gaze shifted from Josephine's face, sweeping across the surrounding wasteland.

It looked like they were searching for something.

Then, she looked up.

Look up at the sky.

Her brows furrowed slightly, and a hint of doubt flickered in her dark eyes.

The girl's strange behavior aroused everyone's suspicion.

O'Brien instinctively gripped his staff tighter.

"What's wrong? Is there a demon?"

The girl did not answer.

She just stared at the empty sky for a long time.

He then gave up, lowered his head, and looked at Josephine.

After glancing at it, he silently turned his head away.

Continue leading the way while maintaining the invisibility spell.