Ethan had only recently noticed Illya's situation.
Perhaps due to preconceived notions, he hadn't realized it was strange that Illya's body wasn't changing. Originally, because of her constitution, Illya wouldn't grow further. But after the rule distortion caused a physical transformation, her body had become that of a normal person.
As a normal human, her body definitely shouldn't have remained in the form of a ten-year-old. It should have continued to grow. That was how it should be under normal circumstances.
However, in reality, Illya's body had barely grown.
The word "barely" was used because Illya's body had changed slightly, unlike Ethan, for whom time seemed to have completely stopped.
But the change was minimal. Even though Illya's body could grow like a normal person's, the rate of growth was extremely slow.
"Her situation... we'll see."
Ethan hadn't yet decided whether Illya should create a "surface" image of normal growth, like himself, or simply maintain her current appearance.
After all, in real life, it wasn't unheard of for someone to stop developing early.
"I thought you weren't into that kind of thing, but now I'm starting to doubt it again."
"..."
Ethan was speechless. Why did she always think in that direction?
While the two of them were talking, Professor McGonagall had already arranged Harry and the others' punishment. Filch, the caretaker, led the children away for their detention.
"In the past, we used to tie up the thumbs of disobedient students and lock them in the dungeon. Their screams were truly delightful... It's a shame we can't do that anymore. You lot are very lucky."
Filch's words left Harry and the others not knowing how to respond. Should they be thankful they escaped such a terrifying punishment, or disgusted and scared by this man?
Fortunately, they didn't have to ponder the question for long, because Filch soon handed them over to Hagrid.
"Your punishment is to patrol the Forbidden Forest with Hagrid... He could use some help anyway."
After saying this, Filch left. Hagrid then prepared a few tools, like a lantern, and gestured for the students to follow him.
Watching this scene, Ethan suddenly remembered that this should be Harry's first face-to-face encounter with Voldemort.
Of course, he had no interest in Voldemort or Harry Potter. He suddenly recalled that during this time, Voldemort had been attacking unicorns in the Forbidden Forest, drinking their blood to sustain his life. Ethan's focus was on the unicorns.
Back in the Cabin in the Woods world, he had collected samples of many creatures, including unicorns, with the goal of recreating them in the future and populating his island with various life forms.
What was the difference between the unicorns from the Cabin in the Woods world and those from the Harry Potter world?
There shouldn't be much difference in appearance. They were all basically white horses with a horn on their heads.
However, their magical properties should be quite different.
Leaving aside the unicorns from the Cabin in the Woods world, the ones from the Harry Potter world were unique. Their blood was viscous, silver like mercury, and possessed strong magical power that could extend a person's life. Drinking unicorn blood could keep someone alive even when on the brink of death.
However, those who relied on unicorn blood would also be cursed, living a life worse than death.
As for whether that curse could actually affect him, Ethan didn't really care. What mattered was that this was a good opportunity to collect a sample.
"Let's go, to the Forbidden Forest."
Ethan gently placed his hand on Scáthach's shoulder and activated teleportation without asking for her opinion.
There was an anti-Apparition ward around Hogwarts, but for Ethan, who came from another world and used a different magical system, the ward had no effect. It wouldn't even trigger an alert. Even while inside Hogwarts, Ethan could move freely wherever he wanted.
The reason he hadn't used this before was simply because he hadn't needed to.
The two of them left the Hogwarts rooftop and arrived in the Forbidden Forest, following Hagrid and the others from a distance. Ethan didn't need to search hard for unicorn samples. By following Hagrid, he would soon encounter a pool of unicorn blood.
He only needed a small sample. But after Ethan finished collecting it and stood up, he realized Scáthach had vanished.
"Crazy girl!"
He guessed that she had gone off to watch the excitement, as Malfoy's screams could be heard in the distance. It seemed Harry had already encountered Voldemort.
Turning around, Ethan decisively left the Forbidden Forest.
He had already said he wouldn't get involved, and he meant it. Did Scáthach think she could lure him into the plot with something like this? Too naive.
As Ethan walked out of the Forbidden Forest, he heard footsteps behind him. Then, a small hand slapped him hard on the lower back.
"You really just walked away. Aren't you worried about letting a little girl like me run around alone in such a spooky forest full of monsters?"
"..."
Ethan looked at her with a "are you serious" expression. Spooky forest full of monsters? All those monsters combined couldn't even pose a threat to her.
Even adding Voldemort into the mix wouldn't make a difference. Just one stab would take care of it. Why would Ethan worry about the safety of such a powerful demigod?
"Did you see Voldemort?"
"Voldemort? You mean that weirdo in the black robe?"
"He's a pretty famous villain in this world."
As for being some kind of Demon King, in Ethan and Scáthach's eyes, he didn't qualify. He was just an evil person with extreme beliefs and behavior.
"That's it?"
Scáthach pouted. She had thought the main villain would be a lot stronger. She was disappointed by how weak he actually was.
"Are you really just here to learn magic?"
"What else would I be here for?"
"To challenge strong opponents?"
Scáthach believed that Ethan's strength came from constantly challenging powerful enemies and breaking through his limits through battle and effort.
Especially since he could travel freely across countless universes, he never had to worry about not having opponents.
Part of the reason she kept following Ethan was because she thought that, with him, she'd always be able to find powerful foes to fight.
Unexpectedly, in her first real trip to another world (Arthur's world didn't count), there was nothing worth fighting at all.
"I have absolutely no interest in challenging strong opponents."
Ethan didn't grow stronger by fighting. He preferred to stay in safe places, quietly training and making potions to improve his strength. He rarely visited dangerous worlds. Even if he did, he would thoroughly prepare in advance.
Although his actions might seem bolder as his strength grew, his underlying habits hadn't changed. He would never touch a world filled with powerful gods or strange rules he couldn't understand or deal with.
In this respect, he and Scáthach had completely different worldviews.
"If I were my younger self, I would've thought it was a sick joke that someone like you had so much power."
"Younger self?" Ethan glanced at her. She looked calm, and it didn't seem like his approach bothered her. "So your thoughts have changed now?"
"No!" Scáthach gave a big smile. "I just think everyone has their own way of living. There's no need to force others to follow mine."
Scáthach wasn't a naive girl. The long years had given her clarity, and growing older had shifted her perspective—though she'd never admit it.
Moreover, in her mind, the strong had the right to act as they pleased. Ethan was strong enough, so he could do whatever he wanted.
If Ethan couldn't beat her, she'd probably treat him very differently. Not strong enough but still want to slack off? No improvement? If she cared, she'd beat you up. If she didn't, it meant she didn't care enough to bother.
"Something should happen next, right?"
"Yeah. Why?"
"Not going to check it out?"
"What's there to check? Just focus on your own business. How's your Rune magic research going?"
Scáthach tilted her head, her two pigtails bouncing with each step.
"I've restored most of the Rune magic and restored most of my magical power."
"Restored" meant that the spells could now be used normally even without their original magical source. Scáthach's goal was to be able to use magic in any world, even in places without magic, or where the rules fundamentally rejected it.
"I'm still working on absorbing the magic from the Land of Shadows. The only thing bothering me is that the effects of the potion I took are fading fast as my power increases, and I'll be back to my original appearance soon."
"That's fine. Girls mature earlier than boys anyway. Worst case, just use illusion to cover it up."
As he said this, Ethan's tone carried a hint of envy.
He had to use illusion to fake growing up, while Scáthach had the opposite problem.
"I really wish we could switch."
Just as they were about to return to the castle, Ethan suddenly stopped.
"Come to think of it, should I go take a look at the Philosopher's Stone? That thing holds magical power. Maybe it'll help with my current situation."
Ethan rubbed his chin, falling deep into thought. When it came to the issue he cared about most, all his previous talk about "staying out of trouble" and "avoiding the plot" was completely forgotten.
(To be continued.)
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