Several weeks had passed since the completion of the hideout.
Life settled into a rhythm. Classes just started.
John spent his mornings buried beneath reports and spreadsheets in the HR office before attending night classes. Skinn continued working at various construction sites as part of a surveying team, returning home dusty almost every day. Jaz balanced her own classes with taking care of Brei, who had become slightly more comfortable around everyone—at least enough to leave her room without locking the door behind her every time.
Boss, meanwhile...
Rarely stayed in one place.
The abandoned office that concealed their headquarters had gradually become livelier.
Blueprints were scattered across the conference table.
Pinned beside them were rough sketches of roads, nearby forests, abandoned structures, and circles drawn in red ink.
Boss quietly examined another sheet while Karl leaned against the doorway.
"...You still aren't satisfied?" Karl asked.
Boss shook his head.
"Not yet."
Karl walked closer.
"The mana density already feels different."
"It does."
Boss placed another pin onto the map.
"But it isn't enough."
John, who had just arrived after work, looked over the table.
"What are those?"
"Future problems."
"...That's reassuring."
Boss ignored the sarcasm.
He pointed toward several locations.
"We've been unintentionally increasing ambient mana around these areas."
Skinn frowned.
"By existing?"
"By using magic."
Boss folded his arms.
"Mana doesn't simply disappear."
"It disperses."
"The more frequently magic is used..."
"...the richer the surrounding environment becomes."
Karl looked outside the office window.
"So we're making stronger monsters."
Boss nodded.
"And stronger dungeons."
Silence filled the room.
"...That sounds like a terrible side effect," John admitted.
"It is."
Boss didn't deny it.
"Unless..."
He tapped the center of the map.
"...we control where the mana gathers."
Jaz tilted her head.
"...Can we actually do that?"
"We can."
Boss slid a small document toward her.
"A Mana Reflector."
John picked up the paper.
The device looked surprisingly ordinary.
A flat metallic frame containing several embedded crystals arranged in concentric circles.
"...That's it?"
"It only looks simple."
Boss took the paper back.
"Every reflector is custom-made."
"The dimensions depend entirely on the environment."
Karl scratched his head.
"So..."
"...expensive?"
Boss answered without emotion.
"Very."
"How expensive?"
"Enough to buy a decent house."
Everyone stared.
Skinn slowly lowered the cup he had been drinking from.
"...For one?"
Boss nodded.
"For one."
"...Never mind."
Boss looked toward Jaz.
"I'll need you to visit Manademia."
Jaz already understood.
"The full moon."
"Tonight."
She nodded before reaching for a notebook.
"How many?"
Boss slid another sheet toward her.
"I've finalized the specifications."
The discussion that followed lasted nearly an hour.
Wall thickness.
Crystal ratios.
Reflective angles.
Underground depth.
Magical conductivity.
John quietly gave up trying to understand halfway through.
"...Do you actually understand what they're talking about?" he whispered.
Skinn shrugged.
"I stopped listening after 'crystal ratios.'"
Karl quietly chuckled.
"...Same."
Meanwhile...
Boss and Jaz continued discussing measurements as though they were architects.
"...Increase the diameter."
"No."
"Why?"
"The mana pressure exceeds the tolerance."
"...Right."
"Also increase the secondary ring."
"...By?"
"Three centimeters."
"...Done."
John blinked.
"...Are they speaking another language?"
Karl smirked.
"They probably are."
Nearly another thirty minutes later...
Jaz finally dropped her pen.
"...I'm exhausted."
Boss looked over the completed notes.
"...Good."
She rubbed both temples dramatically.
"I never want to hear the word 'reflector' ever again."
"You'll survive."
"...Barely."
Everyone laughed.
Even Boss allowed himself the faintest smile.
Boss reached into a drawer and produced another folder.
Jaz immediately recognized it.
"...Brei's registration papers?"
Boss nodded.
"We're doing both tonight."
John looked confused.
"...Registration?"
"For Manademia."
Boss answered.
"She's old enough."
John blinked.
"...Children can enroll there too?"
"They have separate divisions."
Boss closed the folder.
"Primary."
"Secondary."
"Higher."
"It functions like any other educational institution."
"...Just hidden."
Jaz slipped the documents into her bag.
"I'll take care of it."
John looked toward Boss.
"...Can someone accompany applicants now?"
"They changed the regulations."
Boss answered.
"Children must be accompanied by an adult."
"...Makes sense."
Jaz stood up.
"I'll go get Brei ready."
She disappeared upstairs.
The room remained quiet for several seconds.
Then...
Skinn slowly turned toward Boss.
"...Question."
Boss looked up.
"What."
"...Why aren't you accompanying her?"
Silence.
John suddenly realized where Skinn was going with this.
Karl did too.
The corners of Karl's mouth twitched.
Skinn continued innocently.
"I mean..."
"...you're basically her guardian."
Boss remained expressionless.
"I am."
"So..."
"...why Jaz?"
Boss stared at him.
"...Because."
"...?"
"...They require an adult."
The room went completely silent.
John lowered his head.
Karl bit his lip.
Skinn blinked once.
Twice.
Then realization struck.
Boss looked like...
...an eleven-year-old child.
Karl failed first.
A snort escaped.
He immediately covered his mouth.
John turned away, pretending to inspect the wall.
Skinn tried.
He truly tried.
"...Pff..."
Boss slowly shifted his eyes toward him.
"...Say it."
"I wasn't going to!"
"...You were."
"I wasn't!"
Karl finally lost the battle.
A burst of laughter echoed through the room.
"I'm sorry!"
"I'm really trying!"
Boss sighed.
"...Children."
John couldn't hold it anymore.
He laughed quietly into his sleeve.
Boss pinched the bridge of his nose.
"...I'm older than every person in this room."
"Doesn't help," Karl replied between laughs.
Boss looked genuinely annoyed now.
"...Finished?"
Skinn raised both hands.
"...Almost."
Boss simply walked away.
"...Hopeless."
His voice disappeared into the hallway.
The remaining three immediately laughed harder.
A few moments later, Jaz returned with Brei, who quietly held onto the sleeve of Jaz's hoodie.
She looked around at everyone's smiling faces.
"...Did I miss something?"
John wiped a tear from laughing.
"...Nothing."
Boss answered from the hallway before anyone else could.
"They're immature."
"I heard that!" Skinn shouted.
"I know."
Boss replied flatly.
The room settled down once more.
Jaz adjusted Brei's backpack before taking the registration folder from the table.
"...We'll be back before morning."
Boss nodded once.
"Good."
He handed Jaz a sealed envelope.
"Payment."
She weighed it in her hand.
"...This much?"
"For the reflectors."
Jaz looked at the amount written inside.
Even she paused.
"...We're spending all of this?"
Boss answered without hesitation.
"It'll pay for itself."
John watched the two quietly.
He still understood almost nothing about mana engineering.
But one thing had become clear.
Boss wasn't simply building a hideout anymore.
He was building something meant to last.
And whatever lay ahead...
He was preparing for it far earlier than everyone else.
The afternoon disappeared faster than expected.
After finalizing the measurements for the mana reflectors, Jaz leaned back against her chair and closed her eyes.
"...I forgot these things always have so many requirements."
Boss nodded without looking up from his notes.
"They're expensive because they're customized."
"I know, but why do they need the dimensions of the rooms down to the centimeter?"
"Because if the angles are wrong, the reflected mana collides with itself."
"...And?"
"It becomes everyone's problem."
Jaz stared at him.
"...That's the explanation?"
"Yes."
She sighed dramatically.
"I regret asking."
Karl chuckled from the corner while sorting construction receipts.
"You've been inside that office for almost two hours."
"It felt longer."
"It sounded longer," Skinn added.
John looked over the blueprints spread across the table.
"So these reflectors really control where mana accumulates?"
Boss nodded.
"They don't create mana."
"They redirect it."
"Imagine rain."
"You can't create rain."
"But you can dig canals."
John slowly understood.
"So instead of random monsters appearing..."
"...we decide where stronger ones appear."
Boss gave a short nod.
"Exactly."
Karl folded another document.
"So we're basically making our own hunting grounds."
"Safer hunting grounds," Boss corrected.
"No civilians."
"No unnecessary mana leaks."
"No surprises."
John looked impressed.
"You already planned all this?"
"I planned it before buying the land."
Silence followed.
"...Of course you did," Skinn muttered.
Boss ignored him.
"Tonight."
He tapped the blueprint.
"Full moon."
"Manademia opens."
Jaz opened one eye.
"I know."
"You don't have to remind me."
"Good."
Boss slid a folded document across the table.
"Transfer credentials."
"Lambrei Jess."
"Primary Year Three."
Jaz accepted the papers.
"I'll handle it."
Boss handed her another folder.
"And these."
She opened it.
Her eyes widened.
"...You're kidding."
"No."
"There are seventeen pages."
"Specifications."
"For reflectors."
Jaz slowly looked back at him.
"...Boss."
"Hm?"
"...Do you hate me?"
"No."
"You simply read faster than everyone else."
Skinn laughed so hard he almost spilled his drink.
Karl turned away, trying not to laugh.
Jaz pointed accusingly at both of them.
"You two are no help."
John scratched his head.
"...Actually..."
"I feel sorry for you."
"Thank you."
"That somehow makes me feel worse."
Everyone laughed except Boss.
He simply continued writing.
"...Anything else?"
Jaz groaned.
"No."
"...Good."
Several minutes later she stood up, stretched her arms, and collected the folders.
"I'm heading home first."
"My brain needs a reset."
Boss nodded.
"Eight-thirty."
"I know."
"I'll meet Bre there."
She walked toward the exit before pausing.
"Oh."
She looked back.
"If anyone asks..."
"I'm carrying homework."
Karl laughed.
"Technically true."
She rolled her eyes.
"...Unfortunately."
The door closed behind her.
Silence remained for a second.
Then Skinn slowly looked toward Boss.
"...You know."
Boss kept writing.
"No."
"You could've gone yourself."
Boss looked up.
"...Where?"
"Manademia."
"With Bre."
Boss blinked once.
"I'm not an adult."
The room became quiet.
John looked confused.
Karl stared blankly.
Then realization struck.
Boss still physically looked like a young child.
Even if everyone present had already accepted how terrifyingly competent he was...
To ordinary people—
He was still just another kid.
Karl suddenly covered his mouth.
His shoulders began shaking.
John looked away.
Skinn bit his lower lip.
Boss narrowed his eyes.
"...Don't."
Karl completely lost.
A muffled laugh escaped him.
Skinn followed immediately.
John held out for another three seconds before giving up as well.
Boss sighed.
"I hate all of you."
That only made them laugh harder.
"...I actually forgot."
Skinn wiped tears from his eyes.
"You'd probably get stopped at the entrance."
"'Where are your parents?'"
Karl added between laughs,
"'Young man, you shouldn't be traveling alone.'"
John tried imitating a security guard.
"'Where is the responsible adult?'"
Boss slowly stood.
"...Continue."
"I'll remember this."
Three people immediately became quiet.
"...He's serious."
"...Yep."
"...Definitely serious."
Boss sat back down.
"Good."
The office returned to silence.
Outside, the sun slowly descended toward the horizon.
The full moon would rise before long.
Meanwhile...
Jaz arrived at the hideout carrying several shopping bags.
Bre quietly peeked from behind the office door.
"I bought you something."
No response.
Jaz smiled.
"...I figured."
She carefully placed the bags on the floor before stepping away.
"You don't have to open them now."
"I'm just leaving them here."
She walked upstairs.
Several seconds later...
The office door slowly creaked open.
A tiny hand reached outside.
The bags disappeared one by one.
The door quietly closed again.
Jaz pretended not to notice.
"...Still progress."
She whispered it mostly to herself.
Bre hadn't spoken much during the past few weeks.
She still cried during some nights.
Still whispered for her father while half asleep.
Still flinched whenever someone knocked unexpectedly.
But she no longer accidentally burned entire rooms whenever she became emotional.
The flames had become calmer.
Smaller.
More obedient.
Healing fire.
Boss had called it absurd.
Jaz secretly thought it was beautiful.
She looked toward the closed office door.
"...We'll get you there."
"One step at a time."
Elsewhere...
Ruth stood inside her husband's office overlooking several construction projects.
Karl had already left earlier.
She quietly reread the business proposal Boss had drafted.
The handwriting remained neat.
Every projected expense matched the attached calculations.
Every possible risk already included a contingency plan.
She smiled.
"...He's annoyingly competent."
Her husband looked over the papers.
"So?"
"You trust him?"
Ruth answered immediately.
"I trust his intentions."
"And his preparation."
"He plans five moves ahead."
Her husband nodded thoughtfully.
"Then we'll proceed."
Ruth folded the documents.
"Our company quietly starts renovating the abandoned building."
"No public attention."
"No unnecessary questions."
"And if people ask?"
She smiled.
"We're expanding storage."
Simple.
Believable.
Perfect.
The sun finally disappeared.
Silver moonlight slowly spread across the rooftops.
John stood outside his apartment holding his grimoire.
His heartbeat quickened.
Tonight.
He would finally return.
Not by accident.
Not through blind luck.
But knowingly.
For the first time since receiving his grimoire...
He was looking forward to stepping into the hidden world instead of fearing it.
Somewhere across town...
Jaz gently knocked once on Bre's office door.
"It's time."
No answer came.
A few moments later, however...
The door slowly opened.
Bre stepped outside wearing the new clothes Jaz had bought for her.
She still avoided eye contact.
Still looked frightened.
But she was standing outside the room on her own.
Jaz smiled warmly.
"You look great."
Bre quietly nodded.
It was almost invisible.
But it was enough.
Together...
They began walking beneath the rising full moon.
Toward Manademia.