Strongest Warlock - Wizard World Irregular

Nero had a list of the Witches who had gone missing during their missions, and the siblings wanted to know if any of their friends were among those listed as missing in action.

Knowing that the brother and sister wouldn\'t be able to sit still until they got the answer to their questions, Ethan encouraged them to see the Headmaster once more.

He also told them that regardless whether their friends were in the list or not, their mission wouldn\'t change. With their personalities, he was certain that the two would be more determined to complete the mission if any of the people they knew were included in the list.

\'Do you guys have any idea why the missing ones are all Witches, but no Wizards?\' Ethan asked Sebastian and his Other Half for their input on the subject.

\'Since there is no mention of ransom, we can rule out this being a mass-kidnapping incident to make money,\' Sebastian replied. \'Perhaps there\'s a more sinister plot at hand.\'

\'Well, I can think of many reasons, but all you need to know is none of them are pleasant,\' Ethan\'s Other Half commented. \'For the culprit to solely target Witches who have nothing else in common, that only means that they don\'t care who they are, where they are from, and what family they belong to.

\'As long as they are Witches, they are on the list to be captured. Frankly, I, at least, hope that they\'re not being used as blood sacrifices to summon an Evil God or something. Because if that\'s the case, we won\'t find anyone alive even if we are to capture the culprit.

\'Also, what I\'m gonna say may seem gruesome, but it\'s still not the worst-case scenario- since they\'re targeting young ladies, it could also be the work of human traffickers or slave traders. It\'s not the first time that it happened. In ages past, those with power were often sought out by those without.

"They hope that by capturing Witches and Wizards, they could breed a magical lineage that will make their families rise. Of course, given that only witches are being targeted, one can\'t help but think that the fate waiting for them is worse than death.\'

Ethan\'s face hardened. He had already considered these possibilities as well, but hearing them was still unpleasant. Rogue Wizards and Witches often led bandit groups to kidnap people on a regular basis.

He had experienced this firsthand during his escort mission, and the outcome of that was him and Lily escaping through a Nexus, which sent them to the Lands of Alastor hundreds of years ago.

\'We\'ll be moving out tomorrow after the search area assigned to us is finalized,\' Ethan said. \'I just hope we get to the bottom of this, so no more victims will be added to the list.\'

At that moment, Emma entered the balcony and sat down beside Ethan.

The young lady was still hiding her true features because she didn\'t want Cedric to know what she really looked like.

"Young Master, the preparations for a Divination is complete," Emma reported. "Would you like to start now?"

Ethan pondered before shaking his head. "Let\'s wait for Lilian and Cedric to return. That way, we only need to do it once."

Emma nodded in understanding before refilling the young man\'s cup with tea.

"Truth be told, I did a preliminary scrying during our journey, Master," Emma said. "But I didn\'t see anything unusual. Perhaps the mastermind of these disappearances wasn\'t active at that time, so I didn\'t get any results."

"It\'s good enough that you tried," Ethan replied. "Thank you, Emma."

Ethan drank the cup of tea in his hand as he once again gazed at the Flying Ships that were parked in the distance.

"Luna, Joanne, and Ramona should be starting their missions by now, right?" Ethan inquired.

Emma nodded. "Yes. They\'re going with a large group, so I\'m sure that they will be safe, Young Master."

Ethan had sent Dainsleif to protect Luna and the others, so he was assured that they were in good hands.

While the young man was thinking about his lover and sister, who was very excited to complete her first mission, Lilian and Cedric returned.

A single glance at Lilian\'s pale face was enough to tell Ethan that their worst fears had been confirmed.

The young lady didn\'t hesitate to bury her head in the young man\'s chest, seeking support.

[E/N: Cedric\'s just as devastated. Send in Lyall to give him a hug.]

Ethan hugged Lilian and patted her head, telling her that it was going to be alright.

Right now, the only thing they could do was wait for morning to leave Nightfall Academy and head to the area assigned to them.

***

Somewhere along the borders of Eastshire, a merchant caravan made its way to the resting area designed to host travelers like them.

Joanne was disappointed because the bandits that she was expecting to attack them during the day didn\'t appear.

She was itching for a fight, but the people she wanted to fight seemed to be busy elsewhere.

"Don\'t pout like that, Joanne," Princess Ramona said as she lightly poked her best friend\'s cheek before giving her a hug from behind. "A peaceful journey is good. It means that no one has to get hurt."

"I know that," Joanne replied. "It\'s just, whenever I remember my brother\'s story about being attacked by bandits during his first mission, I feel like I want to avenge him."

The Princess who heard Joanne\'s words giggled, finding Joanne\'s words quite funny. "Any bandits who dare to attack your brother will find themselves kicking a steel plate," Princess Ramona commented. "Truth be told, I\'m very tempted to see such a scene."

"I know, right?" Joanne smirked. "I can already see them prostrating and begging for forgiveness. It\'s such a shame that we can\'t see any action at the moment."

The two handmaidens, who accompanied Joanne on this trip, glanced at each other and helplessly shook their heads.

Unlike their Young Miss, who wished to encounter hardships along the way, they preferred the peace that they were currently having right now.

As the sun slowly descended over the horizon, the merchant group arrived at the destination where they would build their camp for the night. Luna sighed because dark clouds were hanging above their heads.

\'Is it going to rain?\' Luna thought, feeling the moisture that was hanging in the air. \'I just hope that it will not rain too hard tonight.\'

The faint rumbling of thunder echoed in the distance, making it seem that it was going to

rain.

Luna sighed in her heart because these rain clouds reminded her of her lover, Ethan, who was currently on a secret mission.

"Are you thinking about Ethan? You\'ve got this lovestruck look in your eyes, you know?"

A young lady with long black hair with blue and green eyes asked in a teasing tone. She was the only person whom Luna knew that had two different eye colors, making her stand out from the Third Years of Terra Manor.

She was none other than Samantha Blackwood, the Healer of their team and one of Luna\'s close friends in the academy.

Luna was still shocked when Samantha asked Ethan what color her underwear was. Thinking of it now made her smile faintly as she remembered the embarrassed look on her lover\'s face.

"I am," Luna replied.

"Hah... it\'s good to be in love," Samantha commented. "I hope I\'ll be as lucky as you, Luna. Are you sure Ethan doesn\'t have a brother? I don\'t care if he\'s younger or older. I just want to

know if he really has one."

"Joanne said that she has no other brother aside from Ethan," Luna answered. "So good luck

in your search for your prince charming."

Samantha sighed exaggeratedly before looking at the cloudy sky.

Although she didn\'t stand out when it came to combat power, her magical sensitivity was very

high.

Sensing the moisture in the air, she knew that it was about to rain.

So she decided to just stay in the wagon for the night and not pitch a tent, like the other

merchants are currently doing around their base camp.