"Why did this happen?"
That was the first question the Second asked as he dealt with yet another Clock Tower incident. While magi were known for wielding powers beyond ordinary people's comprehension, indiscriminate killing was rare among their kind. Despite everything, magi were still human.
Having assisted the Second through many such incidents, and with her growing love for detective novels, Gray had grown tremendously since the days she first left her village.
"The real question is: why hasn't any enemy shown up? If there was an enemy, and we were trapped in a bounded field, there's no way they wouldn't have appeared by now. So what if there isn't an enemy?"
Lainis picked up the thread seamlessly. Like Gray, she too had been influenced by the Second's analytical style.
"What are you trying to say? That the problem lies with my store? Impossible! I never use second-rate rituals," Luvia replied, her tone slightly irritated. She wasn't an idiot—she understood exactly what Gray and Lainis were implying. No enemy meant the issue likely stemmed from a faulty bounded field.
To a magus, a botched field or spell wasn't rare. Every year, many newcomers to the world of magecraft accidentally kill themselves—some even starve to death, trapped by their own field spells. Of course, that kind of thing usually only happened to untrained amateurs. Any magus with even a modest lineage wouldn't make such rookie mistakes.
"Exactly because you insist on using only the best—that's why it failed. I sensed something odd the moment I entered. Now I get it. You went overboard. You've heard the Second's lecture on bounded fields, right?"
"Ugh…" Luvia hesitated, realizing the truth in Lainis's words. She had only denied the accusation earlier because she didn't want to lose face in front of Rin. Now, after listening to Gray and Lainis's reasoning, she knew exactly what had gone wrong—after all, she had constructed the bounded field.
"This way."
Luvia led the group down to the building's basement, where the field's core was located. Along the way, she explained the function of the field she had established: it was a ritual designed to amplify customers' desire to buy—a type of suggestive magic. If someone had no desire to shop, the field would have no effect. But for customers who were merely on the fence, the field would push them to act.
Daniel was immediately impressed and mentally made a note to negotiate with Luvia about using this magic in his own businesses. He had plenty of companies that could benefit from such a spell.
"What a nouveau riche…"
As Luvia opened a magical lock and ushered them into the hidden chamber, Rin's eyes sparkled. The underground room was enormous, with bronze statues of varying forms lining the walls, adorned with glittering gemstones. The bronze centerpiece on the high altar was covered in enough enchanted jewels to fund a small nation.
"Just as I thought," Lainis murmured, shaking her head.
Luvia, now understanding the problem, turned red in the face. She had intended to show off her family's wealth, but in doing so, she had sabotaged the field's balance. A bounded field required equilibrium—too much or too little magic could destabilize it.
Had the decorations been ordinary, there wouldn't have been an issue. But Luvia had used enchanted gems, each radiating magical energy.
Just as she was about to begin removing the gems from the altar's bronze statue, an alarm blared. The statues flanking the room, which had looked purely ornamental, began to move.
This was the security mechanism built into the field. Upon detecting an intruder, it would activate and eliminate the threat. But now, Luvia—the field's creator—was being treated as an intruder.
If this had happened to some third-rate magus, it wouldn't have mattered. But Luvia wasn't just anyone.
"Trimmaw," Lainis called, summoning her mercury homunculus. But Luvia raised a hand to stop her.
"No need. I'll handle this."
Seeing her resolve, Gray and Rin also held back.
BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.
Luvia hurled five differently colored jewels, instantly obliterating the first wave of animated bronze statues. Then, with a graceful flip, she landed behind one statue and suplexed it, shattering it into pieces.
"Ahh! Look at that elegant stance, that flawless execution!"
Trimmaw suddenly shouted in excitement, narrating the fight as if it were a professional wrestling match.
"…Flat."
Lainis clenched her fists as Daniel, Gray, and Rin turned to her in surprise. No one knew Trimmaw better than she did—this absurd commentary could only mean one thing: Flat had tampered with her homunculus again.
Curious about Trimmaw's internal mechanisms, Flat had once taught her strange catchphrases—until Lainis had forbidden him. But clearly, he'd found a way to do it again.
"A proper lady wrestles."
After finishing off the last of the bronze guardians and letting off some steam, Luvia looked much happier.
"Is that true, Lainis?" Gray asked innocently.
"She's… different," Lainis sighed. She had no idea how to explain this to someone like Gray.
Once the core bronze statue was destroyed, the bounded field collapsed. The group returned to the surface to find the mall once again bustling with shoppers. Other than a few mysteriously broken glass panels—caused while the group was trapped—everything seemed normal.
After purchasing what they needed, they prepared to leave. Luvia stayed behind to reconstruct the field.
Lainis hadn't bought anything for herself—she'd purchased three outfits for Gray. Gray herself had only picked up a journal for the Second. Rin stocked up on a few gemstones.
"Do you know why the field activated? It was designed to gather wealth and treasure. Apparently, it recognized us as treasure—and didn't want to let us leave."
As they walked back, Lainis took the opportunity to explain. Being the Second's sister, she'd inherited his curiosity and desire to get to the root of magical phenomena.
"Miss Lainis, Miss Luvia, Miss Rin—you're all treasures. I'm not."
"Don't sell yourself short. Believe in yourself—you're a rare and precious treasure too."
Lainis smiled as she gently pinched Gray's cheek. For someone like her, Gray's innocence was irresistible—and utterly enjoyable to tease.
Chaldea. Da Vinci's Magical Workshop
"Hey! Who the hell are you people?! Where the hell is this place?!"
Add, now disassembled into dozens of pieces, shouted in outrage. He never expected to be taken apart.
"This is Chaldea—an organization dedicated to saving humanity. Don't worry, I won't hurt you. I'm just curious."
"Impressive… You really were made by Atlas."
Da Vinci gazed at the disassembled Add in wonder. Of course, this wasn't something Add did voluntarily—it was Daniel who had carefully taken him apart using the powers of the Op-Op Fruit.
In a mirrored space, a blue cube suddenly appeared in Daniel's hands and began to transform. It shifted from scythe to warhammer, then to shield, bow, greatsword—changing again and again.
At last, under a surge of overflowing mana, Add transformed into a golden spear over three meters long. Light blazed from the spear's tip, piercing the sky like it was cleaving heaven in two.
"Its power rivals the Keys of God… If those existed in this world, they'd be Noble Phantasms too. Too bad the greatsword form doesn't resemble Excalibur at all. Otherwise, I might've tried pairing it with Avalon."
Add's original form was a blue cube—remarkably similar to the Key of Void. Unlike the Key, which was gold, Add's greatsword form had been added—likely to pay homage to King Arthur.
Although the blade looked like Excalibur, it had none of its true power. Daniel could replicate such a sword with no effort.
"Gray, here's Add."
After completing the projection, Daniel returned to the Second's quarters and handed Add back to Gray, who had been tidying up.
Though Lainis had bought her plenty of new clothes, Gray still wore her hooded dress most of the time. After all, the Second didn't want to see her Arthurian face.
The new outfits didn't go to waste, though—whenever Lainis dragged her off to "girls' gatherings," Gray wore them. These gatherings, attended by Lainis, Gray, Rin, and Luvia, naturally didn't include Daniel.
"Where's the Second? He's not here today?"
"He's still sleeping. Last night, he met up with some classmates and… accidentally drank too much."
Gray recounted what had happened. Normally, she never left the Second's side—especially in public, where she acted as his bodyguard.
"A magus who runs an internet company…? I didn't think we had those. So Olga-Marie's finally appeared, huh."
Naturally, the Second's "classmate" was one of Lord El-Melloi's former students. Over the past decade, they had all gone through major changes—some had died, some fallen into ruin, and some prospered. A few had even quit magecraft.
The Second was the most successful of them all, having become a Lord at the Clock Tower. Though many viewed his title as hollow, it was still a Lordship.
Back in the day, he'd been bullied—lacking both pedigree and talent. Now, none of those classmates could hope to reach his level. Even if the Second held no grudges, others still saw him as unapproachable. Eventually, it was Olga-Marie who stepped in to reconnect him with the group.
"Ah!"
Just as Daniel was about to take his leave, a strange cry came from the inner room. Gray dropped the books she was organizing and rushed to the bedroom.
"What the heck?!"
Inside, they found the Second staring at his reflection, shouting in disbelief. He looked at least ten years younger—back to his old self as Waver Velvet.
"Master, what happened?"
Though his appearance had changed drastically, Gray was certain—this was still her teacher.
"So cute…" Add's voice echoed from her sleeve.
"Add…" Gray, unamused, yanked him out and shook him vigorously. For her, shaking Add had become a form of stress relief.
"I don't know. Was I tricked yesterday? At least… it's not a curse."
After a quick check, the Second sighed in relief. There were no signs of malediction.
"Haha! You really are adorable!"
Lainis came rushing in, laughing uproariously. Once she confirmed there was no danger, she laughed even harder.
"You're still going to class like this? Maybe you should call in sick."
Seeing him preparing lesson materials, she knew exactly what he was planning.
"Today's class is important. And I need to confirm something."
"It smells like Master."
In the classroom, despite his youthful new look, his students had ways to confirm his identity—Svin simply sniffed him. Once confirmed, class proceeded as usual—though today's atmosphere was particularly cheerful.
No matter how hard the Second tried to act stern, his innocent and pretty face made it impossible to take him seriously.
"They're all just here to enjoy my humiliation."
After class, he reached out to the other Lords for help. But after seeing his appearance, they all just laughed—none offering assistance.
"Projection magic… Is that what he's aiming for?"
With his intellect, the Second quickly deduced that this was an application of projection magecraft—used by a classmate he'd met through Olga-Marie the previous night.
"Flat. Svin."
Determined to fix this, the Second began assembling a team to break the spell. While he lacked raw magical power, he had many talented disciples.
With Flat, Svin, Rin, Luvia, and the ever-enthusiastic Yvette, they formed a pentagram ritual circle—ready to dispel the projection magecraft afflicting him.
______
(≧◡≦) ♡ Support me and read 20 chapters ahead – patreon.com/Mutter
• Every 100 Power Stones = 1 extra chapter on Saturday.• Every 5 reviews = 1 extra chapter on Saturday.