Published: January 22, 2026
After putting all the books back in their original places, I returned to the war room.
“Hey, Orun-kun, um, do you have a moment?”
Lucre spoke to me hesitantly.
It’s rare for her to approach me like this.
Is it something she finds hard to talk about?
“What’s up?”
“W-well, you know? I was wondering if you could teach me the magic you used earlier to levitate those books…”
She asked to learn the magic with a very apologetic tone.
Those who develop original magic usually don’t reveal it.
If the technique is understood, anyone could use it.
If others easily use a magic you’ve painstakingly created, it’s only natural you wouldn’t find that amusing.
That’s why, when original magic is made public, it’s usually sealed inside magical tools and sold as magic tools with the same effect.
By turning it into a magical tool, the technique can be made more complex.
In other words, by mixing in a ton of dummy sequences, the true technique becomes unrecognizable.
Truly skilled magicians might understand it, but such people are very rare.
Even I, who have studied magic deeply enough to develop original magic, cannot analyze the technique of magical tools.
As far as I know, there’s only one person who can do that.
These reasons probably explain why Lucre was hesitant.
That said, I had originally planned to make this public.
“Sure, no problem.”
“Oh, really? You don’t mind!?”
“Yeah, this magic was created by accident while developing other spells. Besides, it’s more useful for daily life than dungeon exploration, so I was planning to release it eventually. I just hadn’t gotten around to it because I’ve been busy.”
“Hey, then can I learn it too?”
Ms. Rain seems interested in this magic as well.
“Of course. No problem.”
◇
I wrote the technique on paper and handed it to the two of them.
They cast the magic while looking at the paper.
Chairs, files, and chalk around us floated in the air.
(To pull it off in one try — impressive. That technique was quite complicated.)
“Whoa! Amazing! This is so convenient!”
“Morning! Huh? Things are floating. Did you develop a new magic?”
As Lucre got excited, Will entered the room.
He immediately saw the floating objects and instantly recognized it as new magic.
“Good morning, Will. How did you know it was magic? Didn’t you think maybe it was a ghost’s doing?”
Ms. Rain asked Will.
“Huh? Ghost? Not here, maybe in the dungeon, but not here. Hey Rain, did you really think a ghost did this? Haha! That’s why they call you a kid.”
Will teased Ms. Rain with a laugh.
—!?
Suddenly, a chilling murderous aura emanated from Ms. Rain.
She smiled and said,
“Will, sorry, I didn’t quite catch that. Could you say it again?”
Cold sweat poured down Will’s face.
“N-no, it’s nothing. Don’t mind me.”
“Really?”
“Ah, yeah! I didn’t say anything serious.”
Will looked relieved that the interrogation was over.
“If you say that again, I’ll make you cry.”
A cold voice came from Ms. Rain.
“Yes, sorry.”
Will trembled, apologizing.
“Ms. Rain’s scary…”
Lucre, sitting next to me, whispered so softly only I could hear.
I strongly agreed.
◇
At nine o’clock, Ms. Selma entered the room.
“Good morning.”
“Good morning, Selma. Right on time as always.”
Ms. Rain’s earlier intimidating aura had completely vanished, replaced by her usual big-sister demeanor.
“Sorry, I stopped by the Exploration Management Department. Now, about today’s plan: the department requested us to gather wool from the Noxious Sheep because it’s running low. So today, we’ll be on the 86th floor, confirming our cooperation while hunting Noxious Sheep.”
Noxious Sheep are large demonic beasts resembling two-meter-long sheep.
Their wool is extremely tough and highly elastic, offering excellent defense.
Additionally, they breathe out a reddish-black breath that paralyzes anyone who inhales it.
They’re quite troublesome demonic beasts.
Though a tough opponent, the wool that protects them is used to make clothing with high defense.