Early morning. After finishing preparations to go to the Labyrinth, I headed down and found Lydia and Benny, who had arrived before me.
“Good morning! Did everyone have nice dreams?”
“I don’t dream when I drink, I sleep too deeply.”
“Ever since I merged with Shadow, I only have nightmares.”
Lydia, clutching her head due to a hangover, and Benny, who somehow was sitting on the table again, answered nonchalantly.
Unable to withstand the awkwardness, I let out a deep sigh.
“…Shall we just stick to saying good morning?”
“Yeah.”
“High-high.”
-Creak.
From beneath Benny’s feet, a mini Shadow emerged, wriggling cutely.
No, looking closely, it had transformed its tentacle tips to resemble itself—eyes, teeth, tongue; it had it all.
…I wonder if it can transform into someone else’s form besides itself.
As I briefly imagined something resembling Benny standing next to Benny, I soon stood in front of the table where Benny was sitting, staring at her quietly.
“W-what?”
“Hmmm.”
I slowly looked Benny over from her purple crown to the tips of her toes peeking out from her fitted dress, letting out a small laugh.
“Benny, could you call me the genius mage Jonah?”
“…What are you talking about all of a sudden?! And who is Jonah?!”
“No, how come you, Benny, can say that to me while being Benny-benny?”
I casually returned the basic magic book I had used as a pedestal for the Goddess statue to Benny, muttering in annoyance.
“You used it well. Thanks to that, my hand maneuvers have improved.”
“Did you seriously learn all of that in one day? Even if it’s basic magic, is that even possible…?”
Seeing Benny’s wide-eyed expression made me feel a tad guilty, but honestly saying “I don’t know at all” would just hurt my pride too much.
“Hmph! Getting caught by me is as easy as stealing a child’s wallet!”
“Why would you want to steal from a poor child?!”
“Because I’m that poor child, so it’s fine!”
“It’s not fine! Stop the chain of crime!”
Benny jumped around like a freshly caught mackerel, insisting it shouldn’t be done. Enjoying her spirited reaction, Ellie, dressed in a uniform, emerged from the warehouse.
“Don’t worry, Benny. Jonah doesn’t rob the pockets of the poor or children in the first place.”
“…Is that true, Ellie unnie?”
“Yeah. Instead, he often targets the pockets of fully grown adults.”
“???”
Benny tilted her head in confusion. I kindly explained to her.
“Think about it. How much do you get from robbing children?”
“Th-that’s true.”
“So, you’re aiming for the wallets of adults. Preferably slightly bad adults. They usually carry a lot of cash.”
“….”
“The point is efficiency. Ahem.”
“Y-you’re an idiot! This is a problem of ethics and crime!”
Benny shouted, hopping in place. Smoothing her shoulder as if calming her down, I continued.
“Hahaha! Don’t get too worked up like that….”
I trailed off and shook the wallet I had just taken from Benny right in front of her.
“You could get pickpocketed like this, you know?”
“My wallet?! When did you take it?!”
“When I patted your shoulder just now. My other hand slipped it away while you were focused on my hand.”
“I may not know, but surely Shadow doesn’t have blind spots! …Ah! They’re an accomplice!”
Only then did Benny realize that Shadow had pretended not to see my little trick. She began to thwack her shadow.
Of course, Shadow, seeming annoyed, gave a few pats before disappearing into the shadows.
“Seems like you two are getting along well?”
“What?!”
“More than yesterday, right?”
“…I have no words if you put it that way.”
She certainly seemed more at ease than before. I suppose her fear of having to control Shadow forcibly or the dread of an unpredictable engulfment had lessened.
Perhaps that meant Shadow would also lower its defenses against Benny.
Although engulfment wouldn’t be completely gone, I felt like we had successfully slowed its pace.
“By the way, Benny. Why are you here today?”
“I called her.”
It was Lydia, not Benny, who answered my question.
Taking a sip of the honey water Ellie had brought while struggling with her hangover, she let out a long sigh.
“Jonah, you and Benny need to go to the Labyrinth today.”
“What? Why? Is it… is Lydia tired of me already?!”
“Don’t say weird things. There’s a pressing matter.”
“A pressing matter?”
“Yeah. There was a summons from the Guild.”
High-ranking Adventurers receive various benefits from the Guild. On the flip side, the Guild can request help from high-ranking Adventurers when necessary….
Though it’s called a request, it’s essentially semi-mandatory. If you refuse, you lose all the benefits that come with your title.
“What was the content?”
“A crazy Mage disrupted the Mage Tower and ran away. It’s a common occurrence.”
“Is it actually common….”
I blinked at Lydia’s calm response when Ellie, who had just lit a Mana Herb cigarette, added her explanation.
“Accidents happen every day at the Mage Tower. Most of them can be managed within the tower so outsiders don’t know.”
“Wow….”
“But if the accident was caused by a high-level Mage, the situation changes. The scale of the cleanup becomes much larger, right? If it stays within the tower, it’s fine, but if damage reaches outside, they call in other Adventurers for a quick resolution.”
“So, Lydia is the problem solver?”
“Exactly. With her sturdy build and proficiency with various weapons, she can handle any situation flexibly. So, she’s often called for unexpected situations like this.”
“Oooh….”
Turning to Lydia, she met my gaze and, despite her hangover, made a V sign with her hand.
“Yay!”
It was a soulless bragging gesture.
“Are you sure you’re okay with your hangover?”
“Yeah. I’ll be fine once I channel some auras.”
“…Then why haven’t you done it?”
“Using my aura to sober up is uncool.”
“Isn’t it foolish?”
“There’s a world that a minor like Jonah doesn’t know about.”
“….”
Recalling my memories from when I turned 20 in my past life, blindly drinking everything that came my way, it seemed Lydia was the one being strange.
I watched her for a moment with disdain. Misinterpreting my gaze, Lydia again made a V sign with both hands.
“Yay!”
It was a deadpan double peace.
Shaking my head in exasperation, I reached out my hand to Benny.
“Benny, shall we head out first?”
“I don’t mind, but… we need to eat first.”
“Oh.”
“Ellie unnie looks super gloomy holding a sandwich at the back.”
“…….”
Turning around, I saw Ellie, with her ears and tail drooped, staring longingly at the sandwich.
“…You need to eat to get strength! Shall we eat heartily before we leave?!”
Saying this, I hurriedly sat at the counter.
Ellie’s sandwiches were abundantly meaty and delicious.
*
“So, can you show me what you achieved yesterday first?”
On the second floor of the Labyrinth, we descended together. As I checked the Safe Zone number, Benny said this.
“Just a second. This is… 32. Okay, it’s done. What did you say, Benny?”
“Basic magic. Show me what you learned yesterday. Since you seem quite confident, I assume you actually learned something… but there’s a big difference between being able to use it and being able to use it well. Can you start with producing some moist droplets?”
“Oh, that thing….”
I scratched my head and gave a sheepish smile.
“Honestly, I didn’t learn any other basic magic.”
“? Wait, what was that about giving it back while showing off?”
“Instead, I’ve learned to do this.”
I stretched out my hand toward the air and released the surging mana within me in an instant.
Boom!
With a sound of something bursting, an invisible shockwave shot forward.
According to the knowledge lodged in my head, it’s good for emergencies, but not very efficient, so I wasn’t holding high expectations for it….
But with this level of power, it was stronger than a serious punch from my extended arm. That’s more than enough.
Seeing me release my mana, Benny’s eyes widened for a moment, but she quickly wore a nonchalant expression.
“Well, that’s neat. It’s a technique that inherently has a lot of waste, but it doesn’t feel excessive for what it is. But that’s not magic, is it?”
“Wait a second. I still have one more.”
Maintaining the same extended arm, I concentrated my mind. The swirling mana began to flow along its destined route. A clear image rose in my mind.
But that alone wouldn’t cut it. It was, after all, a 2nd-circle spell.
So, I added a bit of incantation.
“Devour the offerings. Raging Flames.”
Fwooosh!
A massive, raging fire burst forth a short distance from my hand.
Though it looked impossible to move or throw, the flame was menacing at the size of my own body.
It had transformed from a mere spark to a campfire-level blaze just by evolving from 1st to 2nd circle.
Proudly, I turned my head to Benny, who stood there with her mouth agape, revealing her sharp shark teeth, which somehow looked adorable.
“H-how did this happen? Suddenly a 3rd circle level of magic?!”
“Oh, was this a 3rd circle? No wonder it’s powerful.”
I reflected. There’s only a four-tier difference between 1st and 5th level.
However, considering that basic magic can escalate to grand sorcery within just those four levels, it’s no surprise that each leap in tiers means significant power increase.
Dropping the final bomb on the bewildered Benny, I declared:
“Oh, and I’ve awakened my aura too.”
“That basic magic book I lent you, right?! Is it not some ancient magic tome?!”
Benny fell into confusion!
But honestly, her frantic rummaging through her inventory while displaying her cute behind is quite alright.
…Seriously, that dress is overpowered.
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