The Letos Family
“I’m sorry, Ryu… But Mariada cannot be healed.”
Those words hung in the air for a moment as I slowly widened my eyes. They went against my belief—against my trust in the healing magic that had carried us this far. A sheen of sweat formed on my cheek, and a weary smile crept onto my face.
“What? What do you mean?” I anxiously asked.
“I’m sorry…” Asahi said as he slowly lowered his head.
He couldn’t face me. He couldn’t bear to see me like this.
“No,” I said quietly, trying not to raise my voice. “You have to heal her. You’re the only one who can heal her…”
No one said anything. They all just watched as I crumbled into a mess.
“Then—use holy magic. It should be powerful enough to—”
“I used light magic and holy magic on her,” Asahi cut me off. “But nothing seems to be working.”
He didn’t even let me finish. The small piece of hope I was clinging to shattered.
“No…” I stared blankly, biting my lower lip.
“Krai…” Reina placed her right hand on my shoulder, trying to comfort me.
I stepped closer to Mariada, lying on the bed, my face a mess of despair.
My eyes widened, my pupils shrinking until they looked like small beads in a pool of white ash.
My trembling hands hovered in the air before finally resting on hers. I stared at her almost dry face as if looking hard enough might heal her—
as if this were a fairytale.
But it wasn’t.
I wasn’t the only one breaking. Even Asahi bit his lower lip in frustration over the failure he had just faced. Healing magic was his specialty. Until now, everything he healed—whether through light or holy magic—had returned to normal.
Yet he failed to save this one woman.
The one who mattered most.
The one whose death would spell a lifetime of despair for his friend, and all he could do was watch.
“Miss Mary… No,” I whispered.
“I thought so,” Tessa said calmly. “She’s lost a lot of mana. You sensed it too, didn’t you?”
“Yes,” Reina replied.
Tessa addressed Reina directly, remaining calm and composed while I was falling apart.
Reina closed her eyes and nodded softly, as if she had known this all along.
I heard their exchange and looked up.
“Master Rei…”
I called her name. She understood immediately—the look of a helpless child needing an answer.
She met my gaze with a face that saw reality as it is. No sugarcoating.
“Krai, Mariada’s body is constantly releasing dark mana. Because of that, she disperses any light‑emanating mana that attempts to enter her body. Healing magic cannot take hold.”
“No. There has to be a way to save her.” I shot back.
“It isn’t her life that’s in immediate danger,” Reina continued. “It’s her lifespan. I fear it has been reduced to a near‑fatal point.... Even if we find a way to heal her injuries, she doesn’t have much time left.”
Each word chipped away at me, but I kept pushing. I needed even the smallest sliver of hope.
“What do you mean?”
Reina didn’t answer.
She let me find the answer myself.
And I did.
The realization struck hard. Tears slipped down my cheek as my pupils returned to normal.
I turned back to Mariada.
Then Reina spoke again.
“I'm sorry.”
She shut her eyes and clenched her fist. She was holding herself together—but barely. Her body was beginning to betray her.
The quiet valley of despair had gained another member.
Reina had forgotten to seal Mariada’s Space–Time magic before we left for the Zeus Woods. Now her trusted maid was losing her life because of it.
The slave collar incident only added to the underlying problem.
This presents the perfect opportunity, Tessa silently thought.
She scanned the room, taking in the hunched backs and broken expressions, then walked closer to the bed where I knelt.
Being the only one there without a defined relationship with Mariada, she remained calmer than the rest of us.
“Lord Krai," She said. "Do you know how Dryot's come to be?”
She asked a trivial question in the heart of despair—far too casually.
“Huh?” I lifted my head to look at her.
I couldn’t understand why she was asking this. Now was not the time.
“We begin as dryads,” she continued without pause. “Tree spirits. Protectors of the forest bla bla bla... But when exposed to high concentrations of flame manacules, our bodies begin to change. A mutation, of sorts.”
She spoke as if lecturing an audience, her voice full of energy.
“However, exposure to flame manacules alone only creates a low‑level Dryot. A cheap imitation of what I am.”
“What are you getting at here, hot pepper?” Reina snapped, eyes narrowing.
“Let me finish, Ice ogre.”
Reina glared at her, irritation flashing across her face.
“Listen, Lord Krai,” Tessa said, lowering her voice as she met my gaze. “To become the Dryot you see today, I was given a name by my lord, Zeraff. That is how I evolved into an intelligent being.”
“I don’t… understand. How is that relevant?”
My voice cracked as I spoke. Tears still clung to my eyes.
She crouched down to my level and placed her hand over mine—the one resting on Mariada’s.
“Lord Krai, you can save her. All you have to do is give her a name.”
The words didn’t make sense.
A name?
She already had one.
Stop it, Tessa, I thought. Stop giving me false hope.
“Enough!” Reina shouted. “Don’t burden him with something he can’t do!”
“You shut up!” Tessa fired back. "At least I found a way to save this girl!"
Their argument erupted amid the tension.
And it snapped something in me.
“Both of you—shut up!” I barked.
Silence.
Everyone stared.
“Tessa,” I called.
“Yes, Lord Krai,” she answered immediately.
“Miss Mary already has a name. What you’re suggesting won’t work.”
Tessa smiled softly.
“She does, and it's a beautiful one. But you can give her something she doesn’t have—an upgrade from a simple name,” she said with confidence. “You can give her a family name.”
“No, Krai! Don’t do it!” Reina stepped forward. “It’s too dangerous!”
She tried to stop me, but Tessa moved in front of her.
I didn’t listen to her.
Tessa was the only one offering hope. Reina was only listing dangers, which told me everything I needed to know.
I turned back to Mariada. My mind drifted to the first day we met.
“Letos…”
My voice was low, steady, and filled with emotion. Everyone in the room fell silent.
“I, Krai Letos, grant you the family name you gave me… Letos. Mariada Letos—please wake up.” I raised my voice a little.
They watched in stunned silence as I bestowed a family name upon a being with one of the greatest mana reserves in existence.
What I was doing was dangerous.
Naming a being was one thing.
Granting a family name was something else entirely—an act rarely attempted.
Reina had learned fragments of this knowledge from her master, who warned her never to attempt it. Tessa, however, knew far more—and that was why she watched with anticipation.
Krai, this is something you must accomplish to be lord of this place, Tessa thought. Forgive me, Lord Zeraff, but I had to test him.
Then it began.
Mana poured out of me and into Mariada—violent, overwhelming, like a fountain.
At first, it seemed manageable.
Then my knees buckled.
The mana was leaving my body faster than it could replenish, and with the battle fatigue still clinging to me, my vision went dark.
I collapsed onto the bed, system shutting down.
I never saw whether the naming succeeded.
As I lost consciousness, the required mana threshold was met.
Mariada continued to glow, bathed in the mana flooding into her body—
like a human lamp lying on the bed.
☆
The night passed, and the morning sun peeked through the window. Birds sang their morning melodies, and the chill breeze was just as pleasant.
But what truly caught my attention—or rather, what woke me from my slumber the morning after I passed out—was my hair being stroked by gentle, soft hands.
They caressed my bright crimson, spiky hair with the utmost care, taking notice not to poke the horn on my forehead.
It was beautiful.
I shifted slightly and slowly opened my eyes.
Morning light struck my retinas, forcing me to blink before opening them again.
For someone who had just woken up, the world outside was painfully bright.
I remained lying on what felt like a pillow—no, the softest pillow I had ever had the pleasure of resting on.
The hands were still stroking my hair. When I looked up, I was met with a sight I would forever burn into my memory.
Purple cat ears twitched, as if reacting to sound. I blinked again and focused on the face beneath them.
A human face.
A beautiful human face—adorned with purple cat ears.
This person hadn’t been here the night before. Nor any other day.
And yet, I wasn’t alarmed.
Something about her presence calmed me.
“Good morning…” She said.
The voice was sweet and soothing, like reliving a distant memory.
I sat up from the soft pillow—her lap—and rubbed my eyes before speaking.
“Who… are you?”
A reasonable question when meeting someone for the first time.
She smiled softly.
A smile that fit that beautiful face perfectly.
Before me sat a woman with cat ears and a human face—soft yet fierce purple gem‑like eyes, faint dimples barely noticeable, and long, shimmering purple hair flowing down to her waist.
She was lovely. With the morning light illuminating her, she looked almost unreal.
“It’s me, Krai… Mariada. Mariada Letos.”
My eyes widened.
“Miss Mary… It’s really you.”
I sobbed as I stared at her, and she pulled me into a gentle embrace. My head rested against her waist.
I wasn’t crying, but my expression was heavy—filled with relief and quiet satisfaction.
She accepted me, stroking my hair once more.
“Thank you for saving me, Krai.” She appreciated.
“Thank you for staying alive…" I returned it. "Please don’t do that to me again.”
We stayed like that, embraced under the morning sun and cool breeze. Neither of us cried, yet joy and happiness were clear on our faces.
Tears would have only cheapened the moment.
A heartfelt embrace was enough.
☆☆☆
That same morning, news of the attack on the count’s mansion spread like wildfire. It wasn’t something one saw every day—especially damage not caused by an army or anything resembling one.
It was unnatural.
The Adventurer’s Guild was the first to receive word. They rushed to the scene that very morning. None of the adventurers knew who—or what—was responsible. Only the guild master and Kierra knew the truth.
Yet they acted as if they didn’t.
“She didn’t just rescue her servants,” Shugal said quietly. “She destroyed this place.”
He and Kierra stared at the devastation in stunned silence.
“What were they even fighting here?” an adventurer asked.
“…”
Neither Shugal nor Kierra answered. They exchanged glances and continued pretending ignorance.
The place was as Shugal said. Reina and her companions had decimated the count's manor beyond recognition.
Some soldiers lay there on the ground. Some are dead, and some have just passed out. But when they searched the whole place, they couldn't find Count Juliq Herlon or Vevil's body.
They were missing.
☆☆☆
The Kingdom of Ormsford—where Vismagia, the origin of these troubling events, was located—was the first nation to receive news of the count’s downfall.
Vismagia, a city under Count Juliq Herlon’s jurisdiction and far from the capital, still managed to send word to Ormsford by morning.
Perhaps because the incident involved a count—a man of high court standing—the news traveled unusually fast.
“Your Majesty, urgent news!” A man shouted from outside the royal bed chamber.
He knocked one more time, edging the sleeping king awake.
The king did not stir.
“My king, please wake up!”
Only when the queen spoke did he shift, groaning softly.
Later, a tall, slender man with a goatee and disheveled hair sat upon the throne in the grand throne room.
His name is Manfroi Ralf Ormsford, King of Ormsford.
He lounged casually, supporting his head with one arm, legs crossed confidently. Sleep still lingered in his eyes.
“Now then,” he said lazily, “what did you wake me up for, Fred? It’s far too early to disturb my sleep.”
His voice carried the unmistakable tone of a man accustomed to being obeyed.
Fred bowed deeply before answering.
“My apologies, Your Majesty, but this matter required immediate attention.”
“Very well. Speak.”
“Count Herlon’s mansion has been destroyed.”
Fred wasted no time.
“…Count Herlon?” the king repeated, unimpressed.
He remained still, unmoved, as if the news were nothing more than a mild inconvenience.
But Fred continued.
“There was a battle last night. The destruction itself is one thing—but the manner of it was unnatural. A large portion of the manor was obliterated. Almost as if… a dragon had blasted it away.”
The king yawned.
“Is Herlon alive?”
Concern was absent from his voice.
“Yes,” Fred replied. “He was found unconscious in his study, missing an arm. He is currently receiving treatment. I’ve already dispatched an escort to bring him here for questioning.”
The king straightened in his seat, interest finally piqued.
“Do we know who did it?”
“No…” Fred hesitated. “However—”
“What?”
“Based on the count’s recent activities, I believe the one responsible was Reina Stacia.”
The king’s eyes widened. He leaned forward slightly.
“Is that so?”
“I believe it is.”
Manfroi leaned back, a slow smile spreading across his face.
“Well, well… Count Juliq Herlon,” he said with amusement. “It seems you were useful for something after all.”
Any trace of sleep vanished.
“I want a letter drafted immediately!" He ordered. "We can use this.”
“As you wish, Your Majesty.”
A chilling smile lingered on the king’s face.
Manfroi Ralf Ormsford cared little for the fate of the count—or justice. What mattered was what Reina Stacia’s involvement could bring him.
A king and a count, cut from the same cloth.
Only their stations differed.
