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“Ohh… this is the bug.”

A few hours before the operation was carried out.

The item we were searching for was quickly found by the guild staff Momo brought along.

It had been hidden inside the lampshade in the guest room, eavesdropping on our conversations the entire time.

“Is this… a marble?”
“It’s a crystal infused with magic. I believe it was attached to this magic lamp and has been operating continuously.”
“I see. It was too faint to notice. You really do need an expert for this kind of thing.”

The palm-sized crystal, camouflaged among the decorations, looked like nothing more than a slightly blue-tinged glass bead at first glance.

The lamp worked using magic power filled from an external source, and it seems a portion of that power was diverted to convert our voices into a signal sent to another receiver. The magic power contained in the magical device itself was nearly zero, so it would be difficult for anyone who wasn’t familiar with magical devices to notice it.

“By the way, was this conversation overheard?”
“Don’t worry, I’ve cut off the sound transmission using ‘The Eighth.’ What they’re hearing now is just the ambient noise of this room.”
“You’re pretty skilled, little Laika…”
“Stop calling me little. Also, I’d like you to check the other rooms to make sure there aren’t any more of these. This is a job only you can do.”

“Aaagh, a little girl asked me for a favorrrrr! Just leave it to me!”
“Is that so? Thanks, I appreciate it.”
“Master’s starting to misuse her appearance more and more…”
“That’s a harsh way to put it. I was just asking for a favor. Now then, we have another act to perform. We need to lure out the one who set up this crystal.”

✦✧✦✧✦

“W-W-Wait, there really was someone here, Master!”
“I know, so don’t panic. I see now. He cloaked himself in a layer of water, blending into the surroundings through light refraction. Where did you get that toy?”
“—Toy? That’s a bit insulting. It was quite an expensive piece.”

As Momo tore away the shimmering space, a man with wavy blonde hair appeared, accompanied by a splash of water.

He had a delicate face with a striking beauty mark under one eye, and his sharp eyes seemed like they could make any girl in town swoon with just a glance. Unfortunately for him, that handsome face wasn’t going to be of any use here.

“As a courtesy, I’ll ask your name.”
“Jack. Jack Cassini. You may call me the Charming Cassini, my clever lady.”
“Laika Galactica. I don’t have a wizard name. Now, sorry to be abrupt, but I’m going to break both your arms and legs.”
“Whoa, that’s dangerous! Awaken, fairies.”

An air bullet, cast without incantation, was instantly neutralized by an earth wall that suddenly rose up.

When the dust cleared from the impact, the man had already vanished. He must have hidden himself behind a water curtain again in that brief moment.

Even though I increased the precision and strength by including an incantation, his reflexes were quick. He was definitely capable as a wizard.

“Momo, you should stay back and watch closely. This is how wizards fight.”
“O-Okay…! Please be careful, Master!”
“Oh dear, you’re not only clever but also kind, aren’t you, my lady? Sacrificing yourself to let the pink-haired maiden escape.”
“You’re too full of yourself, narcissist. Do you really think you can beat me after being lured out so easily?”

I could hear the man’s voice, but his presence and magic were undetectable. On top of that, he was using a wind spell to distort the sound, making it impossible to track him. He had the skill to back up his arrogance.

“Let me ask you one thing while I still can. Was it you who caused Stell to suffer from Magic Crystallization Syndrome?”
“Yes, it was. A beautiful piece of work, don’t you think? Yet, when you tried to treat it with a substitute, it hurt my pride a little.”
“It was quite a well-crafted joke, convincing enough to fool anyone… But I don’t understand. If you were going to go to such lengths, wouldn’t it have been easier to just poison Stell instead?”

“That wouldn’t have been a beautiful job. You understand, don’t you? I try to avoid harming ladies whenever possible.”
“As much as possible, huh… Does that mean you’ll let me go too?”
“My lady, that’s a difficult request. You’ve delved too deep.”

―Sensing a warning from below, I instinctively slammed an air bullet straight down.

I barely managed to throw off the trajectory, but a sharp water blade still stabbed into my arm. He must have moved the water soaked into the ground to my feet and then fired it.

“Master!?”
“The Charming Cassini leaves nothing to chance. This entire area is already under my control.”
“Ha! You’re awfully full of yourself for someone who’s only managed to give me a scratch.”
“My lady. Unfortunately, your bravado only sounds like hollow posturing.”

A dry snapping sound echoed from somewhere, and the ground, along with the thick vegetation, began to rise.

No, to be precise, it was the ‘water’ that had been thoroughly absorbed into the soil. It looked like nothing more than muddy water writhing like a giant worm, but within it, gravel and leaves swirled at a tremendous speed.

“It’s a muddy arm that will tear your flesh apart if you touch it. How long do you think you can last?”
“For someone who calls himself charming, you’ve got some pretty nasty tastes.”

As we exchanged banter, I kept dodging the mud flying at me from all directions.

Each time it whizzed past my ears, a roaring noise, like a compressed waterfall, emanated from within the mud. It didn’t seem like he was lying about it tearing through flesh on contact.

And it wasn’t just mindlessly flinging mud around; the attacks gradually closed off my space, limiting my movements. If I tried to slow down and escape into the sky, that would be the end of me.

“Master, I should help too!”
“Stay back, Momo. There’s nothing you can do, even if you join the fight.”
“B-But…!”
“What a touching friendship. I’m moved, my lady. I’ll be sending both of you—no, all three of you, including the lady of the Umravolf family—to the same place.”
“I’ll have to decline. It seems you’ll be the one getting sent off first.”
“―What?”

The space had become so tight that I could no longer fly around freely. I had been waiting for this exact moment, when the mud would close in from all directions, aiming to finish me off.

All the water the man was controlling converged into the smallest area possible, creating a scenario where he could achieve maximum efficiency with one decisive move.

“O frost―become a cage.”

The mud finally reached my head… and in that instant, everything froze.

My breath turned white, and with a crackling sound, the mud surrounding me began to solidify into ice. The freezing spread rapidly, starting with the nearest mud, and even the water curtain hiding the man was frozen, shattered, and revealed his figure.

“…W-What… is this…?”
“Hey, long time no see. You don’t look so good—caught a cold, perhaps?”

The look on his face, realizing that he had been completely outmaneuvered by someone he had underestimated, was immensely satisfying.