Chapter 10

After rolling for quite a distance, Unyounyo stopped in front of a door with a gentle thud.

Unyounyo knocked on the door, thudding it gently.

The king, the spectacled minister, and the prime minister nodded to each other, and the general put his hand on the hilt of his sword.

The spectacled minister opened the door quietly.

The room inside was a typical woman's room, neatly arranged but with a lived-in feel.

Unyounyo, who had rolled there, was a woman in her late thirties.

Seeing the barrier-encased Unyounyo at her feet, the woman looked puzzled.

Then, she was surprised and frightened by the members who entered without knocking.

"You are..."

The king seemed to recognize the woman.

The other members were also shocked and couldn't speak.

"D-d-do you need something?"

The woman's flustered voice prompted the stern-faced spectacled minister to step forward.

"Are you Dana, the maid who served Lady Kushuria? Is this your room?"

"Y-yes, it is, but why?"

"Do you recognize this magical device at your feet?"

"I-I think it looks like something Lady Kushuria used to have."

"What did Lady Kushuria say about this magical device?"

"S-she said that it stores unused magic power and can be used to heal sick people. So, we, the maids who served Lady Kushuria, would put our leftover magic power into this device after work."

"I see. By the way, what color is your magic power?"

"W-well, I don't have any talent for magic, but I have a lot of magic power, and it's red."

"I see, so it came to you because you infused it with more magic power."

"A-are you saying I did something wrong?"

"No, it's fine. It was just a misunderstanding. I apologize for barging in like this. Let's go."

Everyone left the room and returned to where they were before.

After drinking the tea that Duran had served and taking a break,

"At least we can rest easy now. This eliminates the possibility of a mastermind."

"Yes, that's right. The culprit is definitely Kushuria. However, we still don't know the source of the poison, so please continue the investigation."

"Understood."

The king summarized, and the prime minister and the general responded. The spectacled minister would analyze the magical device.

Ingrid and Arlshein couldn't participate in the investigation yet.

It wasn't because they lacked the ability, but because investigating royal matters by anyone other than the king would be suspected of being improper.

With that, the meeting was adjourned.

We were supposed to have lunch in the room, but we were called.

The queen and the twin princes, Anneliese, were waiting in the dining room terrace.

Arlshein and Shell smiled wryly.

When we arrived at the terrace, the queen and Anneliese were drinking tea elegantly, just like in the morning.

The lunch menu included sandwiches, soup, salad, and fruits.

The queen had been entertaining guests in the morning, and Anneliese had had etiquette and history lessons.

The twin princes had been running around in the garden.

Anneliese attends a young academy but is on break now. During the break, she is reviewing history, which she finds difficult. It's tough for the royal family to let their grades slip.

Listening to Anneliese's complaints, the queen comforted her, and Arlshein revealed the pranks he had pulled on the academy teachers, making the queen laugh and comfort her again. The lunch ended peacefully.

Then, everyone went to their afternoon plans.

Arlshein's afternoon plan was to be called by the spectacled minister to a hotel that had gone out of business. The building, originally made of white stone, had turned gray and looked like it belonged in a summer ghost story special, a horror building.

The double doors creaked open, and inside, it looked more like a business hotel in a local area.

To the right was a lounge, to the left was an unmanned front desk, and in the back were several doors and a staircase leading up.

It was exactly like a business hotel I had stayed at in my previous world, except everything was gray.

Had there been a fire? It didn't smell smoky.

As Shell, Arlshein, and I approached the front desk, the previously dark front desk lit up.

The light came from a sphere on the front desk counter.

I remembered a similar lamp in my sister's room that changed color when clapped.

As the light came on, a man dragging his feet appeared from the back.

His hair was messy, his eyes hidden by his hair, and he wore a tattered robe, hunched over and thin, yet his mouth was smiling.

He looked very suspicious and creepy.

"Oh, Prince Arlshein, isn't it? The minister's place, right? Please, come in."

He gestured to the stairs with one hand.

We bowed slightly and headed for the stairs. Glancing over Arlshein's shoulder, I noticed the man flinch as if he had just noticed me. I waved, and he reflexively raised his hand.

Chuckling, Arlshein and Shell looked at me.

"Good job, good job."

"Yes, he looks suspicious, but he's good at his job."

Was that a compliment? I wondered.

We climbed the long staircase to the fourth floor, the spectacled minister's room.

The room had bookshelves on three walls, and the remaining wall had various mysterious tools, bottles of liquids, and eerie-colored orbs. A large desk was covered with many documents, all neatly organized.

The room clearly reflected the spectacled minister's meticulousness.

We sat on the sofa, and the spectacled minister served us tea. Mine was a green juice peach juice! He explained:

"Originally, the basic magic practice was scheduled for tomorrow morning, but the analysis of the magical device you just gave me took longer than expected, so we need to change the schedule. Therefore, I called Prince Hein, Lord Kaito, and the Holy Maiden to practice magic circulation with these magic refinement orbs until tomorrow afternoon's basic practice."

He placed the crystal orbs in front of us.

The colorless, transparent orbs adjusted to the size of our hands—mine was about the size of a marble, and Arlshein's was about the size of a softball. They were much lighter than expected, and I thought they were plastic, but they felt like super balls.

Would they bounce if dropped?

As Arlshein and I examined the orbs,

"The magical device changes color when you channel magic power. The color changes based on the amount of magic power you channel, making it a good tool for magic control practice. Noble children are often taught to control their magic using these orbs from a young age. It's quite difficult to get the colors right, and many adults struggle with it. Think of it as a way to get used to your magic, and practice whenever you have time."

The spectacled minister demonstrated with the orb in front of him.

The colors changed from white to yellow, green, blue, and red, just like the lamp in my sister's room.

"Please note that the orb can only change to the color of your magic power. No matter how much magic power you channel, it won't go beyond your own color. It's just a waste of energy, so focus on changing the color cleanly."

He looked at us, so I decided to give it a try.

I wasn't sure how to channel magic power, but as I looked at the orb, I felt something coming out of my palm, and the orb turned red.

Surprised, I let go, and it returned to its original colorless state. When I touched it with my fingertips, only the touched part turned red.

The same thing happened when I poked it; it turned red only when touched and then returned to its original state.

I played with it, but it only turned red.

"Lord Kaito, you have a rainbow determination, so it turns red with just a touch. It's actually more difficult to channel a small amount of magic power."

He said, looking at my red orb.

I got competitive when told it was difficult!

Arlshein, on the other hand, was cycling through shades of purple.

"Prince Hein, the purple color indicates a mix of red and blue. It's more blue than red, which suggests an uneven flow. Both of you channeled magic power smoothly, so it's just a matter of individual practice."

With that, the meeting was over.

The spectacled minister was going to deliver the orbs to the Holy Maiden.

He had called her, but Cavendish had said, "If you need me, come to me!"

What a fool. So arrogant. I don't like him.

So, we returned to our room to practice magic control.

For some reason, the spectacled minister gave me three additional orbs.

We returned to Arlshein's room.

Sitting on the sofa, we practiced with the orbs.

Since I had received so many, I held two in my hands.

Both orbs only cycled through shades of red, but I was bored, so I tried juggling.

With my hands, which were as cute as autumn leaves, I couldn't juggle like I did at the year-end party in my previous life, so I tossed the two orbs back and forth.

To my surprise, it worked! I don't know why, but as I threw and caught the orbs, their colors changed from red to blue, green, and yellow, and when I caught them with both hands, they turned rainbow.

To confirm, I tried again, and it worked!

Arlshein and Shell were very surprised!

"Hehe."

I laughed it off, and they petted my head more strongly than usual!

When I told them to just hold the orbs and change the color, I could do it easily, and I could juggle up to three orbs before getting bored.

Arlshein, on the other hand, was cycling between red and purple, which was pretty but not much of a change.

So, I poked Arlshein's orb with my finger, and it turned rainbow for a moment, which was fun.

I kept poking and teasing him, but when Arlshein looked annoyed, I placed my hand over his and helped him change the color.

Arlshein was surprised, squeezed his hand, and then focused on the orb. I watched quietly, and it worked!

"Haaaaa?"

"Eeeeeee?"

Arlshein and Shell shouted in unison.

It's not supposed to be that easy! I laughed it off!

"No, no, no, no!?"

"Lord Kaito, what did you do?"

"Huh?"

"No, no, no, no! It's no good to act cute! You're cute, but!"

"I'm not acting cute."

"Is this a sign of genius?"

"Is it okay to accept that?"

"But you did it too, didn't you?"

"That's true, but..."

"Even if Lord Kaito helped, it's not supposed to be that easy! You're a genius too!"

"No, no, no, no! Is that okay? Has a parent ever helped a child practice and made it work before?"

"If there was a way, it would have spread long ago. I've never heard of it. So, how did you do it?"

"Well, when Kaito placed his hand over mine and channeled magic power, I got a sense of the required amount, or rather, the image was transmitted."

"So, you tried and it worked?"

"Yes."

"......We should confirm this with the minister during tomorrow's magic training."

"Yes, that's a good idea."

So, magic control cleared!

Tada! Or not!