The candlelight was bright, and the silence in the study lasted for several seconds.
Ashida stared at Tales expressionlessly.
"Is this question really so important that you're so eager to know?"
Tales smiled.
"Not necessarily. It depends on how badly you want to see my 'trick.'"
Ashida lowered his head and looked at the crumpled sky-blue invitation on the floor.
"This isn't a transaction," he said coldly. "Much less one where you use your Magic User powers as the bargaining chip."
"Then this isn't a transaction." Tales' smile did not change, and he immediately went along with it. "It's mutual assistance between teacher and student, with each learning from the other."
As soon as he finished speaking, Tales sensed that something was wrong. The air around them slowly grew still.
"And this isn't a joke, either."
The Magic User spoke with an expressionless face and extremely slow diction.
"Your Magic User powers are bizarre and unpredictable, and their consequences are unknown. One careless step could endanger your life—"
Tales gently raised his left hand.
Ashida's words abruptly stopped.
The sky-blue invitation on the floor had vanished.
At that moment, it was clamped between Tales' fingers.
"Not bad." Blue light flashed repeatedly in Ashida's eyes. "Impressive."
"A few months ago, when I was forced to knock on the door and learned this trick..." Tales lowered the invitation in his hand, his smile gradually fading. "I was in a Dungeon, being chased around with a blade by some absurdly powerful lunatic. I played hide-and-seek with him all night."
The Magic User said nothing, while Tales continued softly.
"All because he stubbornly believed I was a conspiratorial product created by that 'Three Calamities Alliance' of yours, even though I was born five years after the Year of Blood."
Ashida's eyes moved!
He slowly