The Death Mage that doesn't want a fourth time

11 Did you think you'd saved a beautiful girl?

That day, Zadiris was holding a study meeting with the young girls from the village to teach them about grasses, fruits and mushrooms that could be used for making medicine or food.

Many of the race that Zadiris and her group belonged to did not place a high priority on passing on their knowledge, but she knew the importance of teaching the younger generation these things and often talked about it to the people around her, so the people of her village were likely aware as well.

The reason she was only bringing girls with her was the great difference in appearance and characteristics between the two sexes in her race. Males were well-suited to fighting and manual labor, while women did work that required thinking. Though this was a general rule, she had already taught the smarter men in the village enough, so she didn't bring them with her today.

Of course, just because monsters weren't attacking didn't mean that she let her guard down. Zadiris herself was confident in her strength and magic, and their study meeting was happening just at the edge of the forest. Strong monsters wouldn't appear, and at this time of year, adventurers shouldn't come this way either.

「She went that way!」

「Shit, she's fast! Don't let her get away!」

However, the reason things had turned out like this was because she had let her guard down after all.

They were found by a group of five adventurers.

「Be careful, she's a Mage, a high-class one! Don't let your guard down!」

「I know! We let all of the others escape; if we don't catch this one we won't make it through the winter!」

Zadiris had succeeded in using her magic to confuse the adventurers and allow the other girls to escape. However, she had expended too much Mana in doing so – to the point that it would be difficult to defeat the adventurers if she fought them now.

With that being, the case, her only option was to run, but –

「Haah, haah, haah.」

Her breathing became quick, like that of a dog or a wild animal. Her heart was pounding painfully, but she couldn't do anything about it.

『To think that I've run out of breath already! I guess I can't win against time.』

As Zadiris lamented her old age, an arrow flew across just to her side. As the adventurers took aim at her, she reflexively spun her body to the right.

「AH!」

Three seconds later, her feet were standing on empty air. She was at the edge of a cliff. It was a small cliff on the boundary of the forest. It was a cliff of a height such that one wouldn't die by jumping off it, and one would normally be able to make a safe landing in the forest.

However, this time it was fatal.

Zadiris, losing her balance, hit the cliff's slope like a ball and began rolling down.

「Ugh...」

She crashed into the ground and landed face-down. She tried to stand up, but she couldn't put any strength into her legs and arms. Despite the fact that her life was in danger, they demanded rest and refused to obey her commands.

She was already winded, but this was the effect of leaving the Devil's Nest. She was really feeling her age taking its toll on her.

『Well, this is fine. The clan will not perish just because I am gone.』

Her successor had already been nominated. There were reliable men. She had managed to let the young ones with the future on their shoulders escape.