"Beautiful, isn't she?" Warren noticed Caius staring and couldn't help but grin mischievously, lowering his voice as he spoke.

  However, Caius simply shook his head.

  Warren was taken aback. "You don't think so?"

  Caius grinned. "Don't you feel that calling her 'beautiful' is a bit... inadequate?"

  "Now that you mention it... you're right!" Warren took another look and nodded in agreement.

  After all, the female students standing behind her were all quite attractive, but in comparison, calling her just 'beautiful' seemed insufficient.

  "Who is she?" Caius asked.

  "Hilda Kiel!" Warren immediately replied. "She's a legendary figure at Hydis Magic Academy!"

  "She enrolled just a year ago, but don't underestimate her!"

  "Not only did she skip grades, but in just one year, she was elected as the president of Hydis's student council!"

  "Is that impressive?" Caius asked.

  "Of course, it's impressive!" Warren said excitedly. "In a Magic Academy, you can't attain that position without real ability. It's even recognized within the Empire’s official system!"

  "Moreover, she's a dual prodigy, excelling in both martial arts and magic. Before turning twenty, she has already reached Platinum rank—stronger than even our captain!"

  "Ahem..." Geoffrey, who had been silent until now, coughed with a dark expression.

  Warren let out an awkward laugh before continuing, "In short, she's a goddess among mortals, an almost perfect existence!"

  "She even has a Title—'Swan Blade Maiden.'"

  "If you're her enemy, the snowstorm you see might not be real snow but rather the countless sword slashes she unleashes!"

  "And..." Warren suddenly leaned in close to Caius, lowering his voice. "Rumor has it that her background is extraordinary. Even the prince of Chadath Kingdom bows his head in her presence!"

  "Wow, that impressive?" Caius pursed his lips.

  The Kingdoms under the Empire wield significant power. If even a prince of Chadath Kingdom had to bow before her, just how deep did Hilda's background run?

  Caius chuckled. A deep background, formidable strength, and immense charm—that made for an interesting challenge.

  Noticing Caius’s intriguing expression, Warren was momentarily stunned before whispering, "Bro... you’re not thinking of pursuing her, are you?"

  "Many noble heirs have tried and ended up in miserable situations..."

  "Pursue her?" Caius laughed and turned toward the library. "Why would I? I'd rather spend my time completing more missions."

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  "I'm so handsome—if anything, she should be the one chasing me."

  Everyone: "..."

  At that moment, Geoffrey and the others were truly baffled. This guy had the appearance of an honest, down-to-earth man, so how could he be this arrogant?

  This wasn’t confidence.

  This was sheer narcissism!

  Everyone followed behind Caius, looking exhausted, except for Kiki, who was giggling with delight.

  She found Caius’s self-assuredness—bordering on narcissism—very appealing.

  Because strong confidence was a necessary trait of a powerful individual!

  Catfolk girls admired strength.

  And they weren’t the only ones.

  Geoffrey and the others didn’t take Caius’s words seriously, assuming he was just joking.

  As they arrived at the entrance of the library, they saw many students leaving in groups.

  It was the end of class, after all.

  Caius quickly spotted their client.

  She was a woman who looked about twenty-six or twenty-seven, with long deep-blue hair, exquisite features, and an elegant posture.

  She also wore gold-rimmed glasses, exuding a mature charm.

  "Instructor Holan, the potions you ordered have arrived and are currently in the unloading area of the academy," Geoffrey said smoothly, clearly familiar with Holan.

  Holan frequently purchased magic potions from the shop, and Geoffrey was always the one escorting the deliveries.

  "Thank you," Holan said warmly, nodding with a smile. Her gaze briefly landed on Caius.

  It couldn’t be helped—his physique was far too eye-catching.

  However, she merely glanced at him before shifting her attention away.

  That was until Geoffrey, with an apologetic tone, said, "However... there was a bit of an issue this time. Some of the goods were damaged..."

  Holan paused, her elegant brows furrowing slightly. "How much damage?"

  "Twenty bottles of low-grade magic potions and ten bottles of mid-grade magic potions..." Geoffrey stole a quick glance at Caius as he spoke.

  The latter, however, simply stood with his hands on his hips, leisurely admiring the campus scenery—this academy was so... academic!

  Hearing this, Holan visibly relaxed.

  She had ordered five hundred low-grade magic potions and fifty mid-grade magic potions, all meant for experiments and potion refinement.

  When she first heard there was damage, her heart had skipped a beat.

  The academy was running an experimental project on potions, and results had to be produced within a short timeframe. Otherwise, they wouldn’t receive further funding, which would spell disaster for her.

  Fortunately, only thirty bottles were lost—an acceptable margin.

  Still, it left Holan slightly displeased.

  Leaning against the doorway, her crimson lips pursed slightly as she shook her head. "This won’t do. These potions are important to me, and I’ve been a loyal customer of yours..."

  She left the sentence hanging, clearly waiting for Geoffrey to respond.

  Geoffrey immediately said, "Don't worry, we'll compensate you or replace the lost potions in full!"

  Hearing this, Holan nodded in satisfaction. "Then just replace them as soon as possible."

  "Of course! Thank you very much!" Geoffrey quickly responded, breathing a sigh of relief.

  He didn’t try to argue. After all, his job was to deliver the goods safely to the buyer.

  What happened along the way was irrelevant—the buyer only cared about the end result.

  Holan then followed them to the unloading area, as she needed to inspect the shipment and oversee the unloading process.

  While Geoffrey and the others struggled with unloading the goods, Caius leaned idly against the side, making no move to help.

  After all, he had already handled the most important task. The rest of the mundane labor naturally fell to Geoffrey and the others.

  His mission was escorting the goods, not unloading them.

  After all, he was a mercenary, not part of the magic potion store’s security team.

  However, just as the unloading neared completion, Caius suddenly remembered something. He walked to the back of the third carriage and pulled down a large sack.

  The sack was nearly as tall as a person, bulging with its contents.

  Most notably, the sack's surface was soaked with blood, sticky and reeking of a foul stench, with flies swarming around it.

  Seeing this, Holan, who had been overseeing the unloading, wrinkled her nose and instinctively covered her mouth. "What is that?"

  She didn’t want her potions to be contaminated by whatever was inside that sack. If that happened, she would demand replacements.

  "Oh, Wolf Demon remains," Caius said casually.

  He was planning to take them to Grilla City later to see if he could sell them at the market.

  Grilla City was larger than Ocean City, so he figured he could get a better price there.

  However, the moment Holan heard the words "Wolf Demon," her eyes widened.

  "Wait a moment!"