Ruler looked at the ceiling, pressed a hand to her throat, and shook her body.
"You really acted that well."
"Even without deliberately demonstrating it, couldn't you have just explained it verbally?"
At Rider and Eltzya's criticism, Ruler blushed and coughed.
"I-I simply place greater importance on methods that are easy to understand. But come to think of it, keeping this place clean must be difficult too... Could it be cleaned with magecraft?"
"If so, there should be traces of magecraft... but there aren't any here."
"This is a magus's house, after all."
"Precisely because it is his home, he probably has strict rules about where magecraft can be used. This is a kitchen where there is no need for magecraft. At most, it would only be used to handle small animals for rituals."
"It looks like there's a basement. Could it be down there?"
Rider was the one who noticed it as well, apparently having picked it up from the subtle sound beneath his feet.
"Not only is your nose sharp, but your ears are keen too..."
Seeing Ruler speak with such admiration, Rider immediately puffed out his chest and said proudly:
"Both are important on the battlefield."
The entrance to the basement was in a corner of the living room, hidden behind a bookshelf. This bookshelf, fitted with wheels, had likely been moved many times, and deep scrape marks remained on the floor.
"Please wait. To be safe, we should first undo the magical lock..."
Just as Rider was about to grasp the doorknob, Eltzya immediately tried to stop him. However, Rider naturally did not heed anyone's advice and simply pulled the door open with a "Hehe."
"It's open~"
Rider said this as he skipped lightly into the basement.
"Didn't some kind of magecraft activate just now?"
"It