"She's a bit on the small side," Louis noted, glancing at Elena on the dance floor and nodding as if to himself.
"What are you thinking about? I'm saying her age is too young."
"Oh?" Louis looked back, but he quickly recovered with a light cough. "Right. Her age is a bit... young."
Wayland rolled his eyes. "Besides, she's not my type."
"What is your type, then? I've been around the Clock Tower for seven or eight years--I can introduce you to ten or twenty girls easily."
"..."
'Being a magus really is a waste of your talents, isn't it?'
Wayland let out a satisfied burp. "I'm done here. I'm going back to my cabin to get some sleep."
"You're not going to wait for the others?"
Wayland glanced at the crowd still drifting across the floor. They'd been at it for hours, yet they still maintained that effortless, aristocratic poise.
Since ancient times, magi had considered themselves a form of nobility. It was a change Wayland still hadn't fully adjusted to. In this moment, he felt the divide between himself and them more clearly than ever. He wasn't one of them. Not yet.
"I'm not waiting. There's nothing for me to do here anyway."
"Fair enough."
After saying his goodbyes to Louis, Wayland headed straight back to his room.
["You detestable brat!"] Irigal's voice suddenly rang out, sharp and irritated.
"What now?" Wayland scratched his head, confused. "Are you talking about Louis?"
["Hmph!"]
"???"
'What is wrong with this system?' he wondered. 'Since when does it have the right to get angry at its own Master?'
He instinctively checked the system logs.
There was a string of garbled characters, looking exactly like someone had smashed their face against a keyboard in a fit of rage.
The time stamp coincided perfectly with his conversation with Louis about Elena.
'This is getting weirder and weirder.'
Wayland couldn't wrapped his head around it. He felt as though the system was becoming increasingly... unpredictable.
No.
'Human' was probably the better word for it.
He began to suspect if there was a hidden setting: as his power increased, did Irigal's intelligence and personality become more pronounced?
After two more days of smooth sailing, the cruise ship finally docked at the Port of London.
It was Friday afternoon. Exactly five days had passed since Wayland had requested a leave of absence on Monday.
Hishiri Adashino and Elena didn't have much to say. They immediately departed for the helicopter terminal, escorting the eight recovered 'Cursed Bodies' under heavy guard.
Since the next two days were the weekend, many of the other team members chose not to take the helicopter and left on their own.
Wayland checked the time on his system: 4:15 PM.
He took a slow, leisurely ride on a red double-decker bus back to the street housing the Department of Modern Magecraft, arriving just in time for dinner.
Afterwards, he returned to his dormitory.
The first thing he did was swing the windows wide, letting the fresh air circulate and clear out the stale, slightly musty scent of the room. He'd left in such a hurry that he'd forgotten to vent the place.
He refilled his watering can with fresh tap water and tended to his little project.
The Fairy Seed remained stubbornly silent.
There wasn't even a hint of a sprout. It remained completely hidden beneath the soil. If he hadn't known it was a special seed, Wayland would have assumed he'd already killed it.
He'd tried his hand at gardening back home once. His mother had called it 'cultivating his character.' Under his 'expert' care, the flowers had lasted exactly one month before becoming nourishment for a nearby cactus.
In fact, that cactus had been the only thing he'd managed to keep alive for three years.
Wayland suddenly thought of Irigal. If he were following a game prompt, it would probably say:
[You used 'Watering'. It was okay. The Fairy Seed shows no change.]
He wondered when he'd finally see a 'Super Effective' result.
After a thorough cleaning of his room, Wayland headed straight for the Mage's Plaza.
The sunset hadn't completely faded, but the lights surrounding the plaza were already flickering to life. At this hour, the square was mostly empty. He spotted a couple strolling together near the perimeter, clearly enjoying the evening rather than testing any spells.
He let out a soft click of his tongue. The sight reminded him of his senior year in high school--the hallways and the athletic field always seemed to be crawling with couples just before evening study sessions.
He found a secluded corner for himself.
While the eight 'Cursed Bodies' recovered by the Department of Policies were immensely valuable, the most precious prize of the expedition was currently sitting in Wayland's own hands.
Projection Magic: Thorned Divine Spear--Rank D+.
In gaming terms, the plus sign represented a multiplier for a burst of instantaneous power.
The spear itself was Rank D, but it was capable of unleashing double its base potency in a single strike.
Wayland recalled that Scathach's original Gae Bolg Alternative was Rank B in her hands, but she possessed the Primordial Runes to push it even further.
[Translated and Rewritten by Shika_Kagura]