Chapter 55

While playing in the secret base, Cain accidentally touched a suspicious magical artifact (or curse item), which put Prince Arundilano in danger, and as a result, Cain was once again put under house arrest.

Since all his training with the royal guard and his various private tutors were on hold, Cain was very bored.

This time, he was allowed to converse with Ilvaleno and Dianna, and he was taking his meals in the dining hall.

At the moment, Cain was chatting with Ilvaleno on the sofa in his private room.

"There are two explosions that a hobbyist should know about."

"Hobbyist's knowledge."

"These are dream-like explosions that can cause a big bang without using gunpowder or magic, and can be triggered with relatively simple tools, full of romance."

"Romance."

"They are the dust explosion and the steam explosion."

"Dust explosion and steam explosion."

Ilvaleno listened with a seemingly uninterested face. Since most of what Cain talked about was trivial, he probably thought this was no different.

"Try to show a bit more interest. The explosion that blew up the secret base the other day was a steam explosion."

"… Wasn't that caused by your magic, my lord?"

Ilvaleno seemed to have become a bit more interested, looking up from his book to face Cain.

"Finally, you're looking at me. I can only perform medium-strength explosive magic, and even the most powerful explosive magic wouldn't cause such a spectacular explosion. Besides, explosive magic is a combination of fire and wind magic. What was I doing at that time?"

"You were using fire magic and water magic."

"Exactly. The setup was done with magic, but the explosion was caused by science… or rather, a natural phenomenon. The principle is simple: when water touches something extremely hot, it explodes. The power was quite sufficient, wasn't it?"

"Water can explode… really…?"

"If you're curious, I can explain it in detail and do an experiment next time. But be careful not to misuse it, okay?"

"I don't know what 'extremely hot' means, but I probably can't do it, so it's fine."

Seemingly intrigued by the idea of water exploding, Ilvaleno marked his place in the book and closed it.

"Then there's the other romantic explosion, the dust explosion. This one is even simpler."

"Does dust explode?"

"Exactly. When a large amount of fine dust is dispersed in the air and a spark occurs, an explosion happens."

"Is that all?"

"That's all."

"But then, wouldn't bakers be exploding every day?"

"There are various conditions. It needs to be in a relatively enclosed space, and the density of the dispersed dust must be just right."

"It's not that simple, is it?"

"You can cause an explosion with just dust and a spark. Isn't that cool?"

Romance, romance. Cain waved his index finger and argued passionately.

Ilvaleno, who had actually experienced the steam explosion, found it hard to deny, but he still found it hard to believe that dust could explode.

"Natural phenomena can be quite terrifying. Just water alone can cause such an explosion, which my magic can't achieve. If you didn't know the principle, you wouldn't even suspect it was me."

After that, Cain and Ilvaleno were questioned by the head of the royal guard and the head of the magic guild, but the excuse that they accidentally activated a mysterious magical artifact in an unmanned secret base was easily accepted.

The head of the magic guild was very interested in the magical artifact, asking detailed questions about its appearance, texture, and how it was activated. The head of the royal guard was concerned about hidden passages from the city and the arrangement of dust and furniture in the secret base.

He might have suspected it was a hideout for a criminal organization. Cain silently waved a flag in his mind, thinking, "Bingo," but he didn't show it on his face.

By now, the authorities might be searching through unmanned warehouses and abandoned houses in the city to check for other secret passages.

The door to the room was suddenly opened with a knock.

It was Dianna.

"I'm done with my studies! Please play with me, big brother!"

"Miss Dianna, please wait for a response after knocking before entering."

"Yes!"

Ilvaleno scolded the energetic Dianna, who always responds but never changes her behavior.

Dianna always responds well.

"Cain! Three!"

"Seven!"

Cain and Dianna had been playing a game called "Add to Ten" for a while. Cain says a number, and Dianna quickly responds with the number that, when added, equals ten.

It was a win-win game where Cain praises Dianna for answering correctly, and Dianna has learned to add without using her fingers thanks to this game.

"What were you and Ilvaleno playing, big brother?"

Dianna patted Cain's thighs to make room and climbed onto the sofa next to him.

"We were talking about romance."

"What's romance?"

"Hmm? It's like a longing for dreams or fantasies? I wonder what the exact definition of romance is."

"It's complicated?"

Cain tilted his head, and Dianna mimicked him.

Seeing this, Ilvaleno thought they looked like a mirror image. Despite their different sizes and hair lengths, they looked very similar.

Cain always has a gentle expression when he's with Dianna.

"Hey, let's build a secret base!"

"Secret base!? That's amazing! It's a secret!?"

"It's a secret!"

Cain stood up, carried Dianna off the sofa, and held her hand as they walked around the room.

They brought a study desk and chair from the study area and placed them a little away from the bed, using books as weights on the seat.

Cain removed the waist tie from a robe in the closet, tied both ends to the bedposts and the back of the chair, and draped a sheet over it to create a makeshift tent.

He flipped a small basket used as a trash can and placed it in the center, spreading a large handkerchief over it.

He hung a small lantern from the middle of the waist tie, but the chair almost tipped over due to the weight, so he added more books to the seat.

After about an hour, the secret base made of sheets was complete.

On the makeshift table, there were candies for snacks, and the room was filled with Dianna's stuffed animals, Ilvaleno's half-read book, and Cain's embroidery tools.

"It's so small, we'll stick out if we hug, Dianna~"

Cain hugged Dianna.

"We'll be found if we stick out, so I'll hug my stuffed animal~"

Dianna hugged her stuffed animal.

"It's too dark to read…"

Ilvaleno frowned as he tried to read his book.

Since it was a secret base, they could eat snacks even when it wasn't snack time, and they could have secret conversations and hide treasures.

The three of them whispered and chatted in the small tent until they were called for lunch.

After lunch, when they returned to the room, the secret base had been completely cleaned up by the maid, leaving no trace.

Ilvaleno thought, "Ah, romance is such a fleeting thing."