Chapter Summaries

Xipei realized that the enemy’s invisibility spell came from one of her old scrolls and felt guilty for selling it, but Mel reassured her that the killers were responsible. Xipei broke the spell, exposing the giant mecha as the Federation forces prepared to face its heavy weapons.

• Xipei recognized her own Invisibility Spell on the enemy’s giant mecha and apologized to Mel for having sold the scroll.
• Mel defended Xipei and learned that she had sold her scrolls anonymously to fund research materials.
• Xipei used her magic to overload the scroll and break the invisibility spell.
• The Shield of the New Star’s captain ordered an attack after the giant mecha appeared.
• The enemy mecha revealed its cannons, and the captain ordered the Federation forces to activate their shields and target its gun barrels.

Xipei and Mel tried to stop a self-destructing giant mech from reaching the prison, while the Federation forces fought to hold it back. As the mech charged, Xipei focused her spiritual power to help destroy its engine.

• The Magitech Corps shield soldiers advanced as two Federation mechs joined the battle, and the black-winged corps commander cut into the giant mech and fought the cyborgs.
• Mel said the cyborgs inside the building were nearly cleared, but the Shield of the New Star captain warned that the giant mech was about to self-destruct.
• Xipei identified the giant mech's energy node, and Mel opened a miniature Absolute Protection at the spot.
• The giant mech charged the prison, and the Shield of the New Star captain used a Dou Qi Shield to slow it down.
• The warden ordered the forces to destroy the engine, and Xipei focused her spiritual power as Mel's shield stood ready.

Xipei used a rune to disable the giant mech, then returned to the cell with Mel to rest. After waking, Xipei learned that Mel had spent the night practicing rune-writing with water magic and flooded their room.

• Xipei used fire elements and mental power to burn tiny runes into the mech's energy circuit, disabling it.
• Mel caught Xipei when their mental power gave out, then teleported them back to their cell to rest.
• Xipei fell asleep beside Mel and woke to find him protecting them from water dripping through the room.
• Mel admitted he had tried to imitate Xipei's rune-writing with water elements and accidentally made it rain indoors.
• Xipei laughed at Mel's embarrassment and thought his earnest, carefree side was cute.

Xipei and Mel recovered from their battle in prison, bonded over their lives and magic, and agreed to rest before practicing rune writing again. After a peaceful day, they resumed training with water magic, and Mel persisted through repeated failures.

• Xipei reassured Mel about his failed practice by sharing how he had once burned a magister's wig while learning to write runes with elements.
• Mel praised Xipei's skill and composure, and Xipei and Mel laughed together before sharing a meal.
• Mel insisted that they rest for another day to restore their mental power, and they spent the day talking about magic, famous mages, and broken electronics.
• A guard explained that the prison withheld the time from most inmates as a form of psychological punishment, but told Xipei and Mel the time because Mel was a fan favorite.
• After a full night's rest, Xipei and Mel began practicing rune writing with water magic, and Mel continued despite repeatedly getting drenched.

Mel successfully cast a fluorescent rune, but a crowd of summit attendees and reporters discovered that he had been detained. When Reynold asked for Mel and the narrator to be released, four people objected, and Mel and the narrator preferred to remain in their cell while the summit continued.

• Mel finally lit a fluorescent rune after two days of practice, and the narrator applauded with Shadow Dance.
• The magic summit attendees, officials, and reporters arrived at the prison and found Mel in his cell.
• Mel explained that he had been detained after causing damage at the grand library, while Lusien defended the arrest and the five-star old man threatened to complain.
• Reynold asked whether Mel and the narrator could be released, but Mel, Lusien, the five-star old man, and a black-clad woman all shouted no.
• The narrator realized that Mel and he wanted to stay in the cell and continue practicing spells until the summit ended.

Mel and Field faced a hearing over their offense, but the officials argued over whether Mel should be released while both men remained in prison. As the dispute continued, Mel learned about Field’s past with Reynold and the political conflict between Reynold’s Magic Council and Field’s institute.

• Mel accepted responsibility for his offense, and Lusien said he and Field would each receive a week in prison.
• Angela revealed that she was the prison warden, and Doug demanded that Mel be released while Field stayed locked up.
• Mel refused to leave unless Field was released too, intensifying the argument among the dignitaries.
• Mel asked Field about Reynold, and Field explained that Reynold chaired the Osland Federation Magic Council.
• Field told Mel that Doug led the National Magic Research Institute and opposed Reynold’s council, and Mel asked whether Reynold had targeted Field.

After Xipei told Mel that her ex-boyfriend had broken up with her because she was not his true love, Mel became furious and assured her she deserved a better partner. The authorities later released Mel from his restraints and took him away, leaving Xipei alone in the cell with her magic notes in Mel’s spatial ring.

• Xipei told Mel that she had broken up with her ex-boyfriend because she was not his true love.
• Mel grew angry and firmly told Xipei she deserved a better partner.
• Warden Crow Angela summoned Mel, and he left the cell with her and the politicians.
• While alone, Xipei reviewed spells and waited for Mel to return.
• Mel came back with Lusien and said he had to leave, with his shackles removed and Xipei’s ring on his finger.

Ciprins remained in prison after Mel was released, then Reynold visited and mistakenly assumed Ciprins had fought with Mephistopheles. Reynold offered to pay Ciprins’s bail and let him stay at his home, but Ciprins tried to correct his misunderstanding.

• Mel left the prison after the politicians took him to the magic summit, while Lusien explained that Ciprins could leave if someone paid his bail.
• Reynold returned and asked Ciprins how he had ended up in prison and whether he was hurt.
• Reynold assumed Ciprins had provoked Mephistopheles and promised to protect him from retaliation.
• Reynold offered to pay Ciprins’s bail and let him continue his experiments in Reynold’s laboratory.
• Ciprins told Reynold that he had not fought with Mephistopheles.

Ciprins turned down Reynold’s offer to reconcile and reflected on Mephistopheles’s skill before Moli visited her in prison. After Moli mistook Ciprins’s words for an acceptance, Ciprins formally agreed to take her as an apprentice.

• Ciprins told Reynold they could only be ordinary friends and refused his offer to pay her bail.
• Reynold left after Ciprins urged him to pursue Mephistopheles, and Ciprins used Shadow Dance to pour herself a glass of water.
• Moli arrived at the prison, and Ciprins scolded her for shouting and rushing to the rescue.
• Moli mistakenly thought Ciprins had agreed to make her an apprentice, prompting Ciprins to explain her concerns about teaching.
• Ciprins accepted Moli as her apprentice and told her to work hard to become a good mage.

After Moli secured her release from prison, she and her teacher left together, and Moli revealed that she had secretly registered herself as the teacher’s apprentice two years earlier. The teacher accepted the arrangement and promised to assess Moli’s magic when they returned.

• Moli returned with Lusien, who removed the teacher’s anti-magic manacles and offered a ride home.
• Moli drove the teacher away from the prison in her luxury hover sports car and said her family was rich.
• The teacher explained that modern law required mages to register their apprentices with the Mages’ Association.
• Moli confessed that she had already registered as the teacher’s apprentice by slipping the form into institute documents for the teacher to sign two years earlier.
• The teacher said she would not be angry but would begin Moli’s studies with an assessment, making Moli wail that her smile was frightening.

The narrator brought Moli home and tested her control over spell incantations while waiting for the summit replay. After Moli accidentally cast fire and got drenched, the narrator discovered her apprentice’s dramatic makeup looked very different once it was washed off.

• The narrator teleported into Moli’s car and told her to drive home quickly, while using an illusion to obscure the license plate from cameras.
• At the narrator’s apartment, she prepared dinner and milk tea, then made Moli recite incantations for a hundred fire spells without casting them.
• Moli accidentally released a flame, and the narrator doused it with water, soaking Moli and smearing her makeup.
• Moli used a Cleaning Spell, revealing a fresh-faced appearance that left the narrator worried she had been under a disguise spell or had a health problem.
• The narrator checked Moli with diagnostic spells, confirmed she was healthy, and learned that her smeared makeup had been death metal makeup popular with young people.

Xipei trained Moli in magic and potion-making, then discussed her arrest and Mephistopheles with her over dinner. Mel contacted Xipei through a metal raven from the berserker summit, and they agreed to spar after it ended.

• Xipei gave Moli a sweet cold-prevention potion and its formula, encouraging her to learn potion-making.
• Moli rapidly improved her fire control, and Xipei let her stop for dinner.
• Moli asked why Xipei had been imprisoned, then assumed Xipei and Mephistopheles were dating and offered to take her shopping for clothes.
• Mel sent a metal raven to Xipei and complained that the berserker summit was tedious.
• Xipei and Mel discussed practicing together after the summit, while Moli secretly took a picture of them.
• Mel met Xipei's apprentice Moli through the raven and praised her, then agreed with Moli that he and Xipei shared similar tastes.

Xipei received a mithril spatial ring that Mel had crafted for her, and Mel invited her to stroll along the city's magic street after the summit. After dinner, Xipei sent Moli home and refused to stay at her apprentice's house.

• Mel returned Xipei's ring and notes, then gave her a mithril spatial ring he had made himself.
• Xipei put on the ring, and Mel admired how it looked on her hand.
• Mel asked Xipei to stroll with him along the city's magic street after the summit, then left after reminding her to eat and rest.
• Moli watched Mel's visit and told Xipei she needed to celebrate an anniversary rather than go on a date.
• Xipei refused Moli's offer to host her, threatened to make her recite a thousand spells, and Moli escaped through the window.

Field watched a news report speculate about Mephistopheles Madsen and the prison incident, then ignored Reynold’s calls. Angela contacted Field about the prison attack, and after Field admitted helping Mephistopheles, she asked Field to improve the mage cellblock.

• Field watched the news report Mephistopheles Madsen’s arrest and listened as a five-star mage speculated that Field had provoked him.
• Field blocked Reynold when he called, then ignored repeated calls from an unfamiliar number.
• Angela identified herself and asked Field where they had been on the night the prison was attacked.
• Angela asked whether Field and Mephistopheles had killed the cyborgs who broke into the prison, and Field admitted they had.
• Angela offered to let the matter drop if Field came to the prison and improved its mage cellblock.

After Lady Angela thanked the narrator and invited him and Mephistopheles to join her investigation into the prison raiders, the narrator watched the summit replay in anticipation of Mel’s speech. The speech began as viewers flooded the screen with comments, and the chapter ended with the narrator admiring Mel’s appearance.

• Lady Angela thanked the narrator and Mephistopheles for defeating cyborgs who had threatened the prison’s elite troops.
• Lady Angela invited the narrator and Mephistopheles to join her investigation, and the narrator accepted on both their behalf.
• Lady Angela sent the narrator contact numbers for Lusien and Lady Alessia, and he saved them.
• The narrator watched the summit replay and reflected on public attitudes toward black mages as viewers waited for Mel’s speech.
• Mel began his speech in a black mage robe, while the narrator admired his appearance and the viewers’ comments filled the screen.

Xipei watched Mel write a diary across the congressional assembly hall’s dome in ancient Elven, including a declaration that he liked Xipei. Xipei realized he liked Mel too, then saw the old director read Mel’s writing and approve of him.

• Mel silently wrote for over two hours on the hall’s dome, using fire elemental energy to form ancient Elven text.
• Xipei recognized Mel’s writing as a diary and read that Mel liked him, then admitted to himself that he liked Mel too.
• Xipei resumed the summit replay and watched Mel finish writing and return calmly to his seat as the attendees debated the text.
• Xipei saw that Mel had considered several gifts for him before choosing the ring he had made, which Xipei was already wearing.
• The old director read the writing through a monocle, exchanged smiles with Mel, and gave him an approving thumbs-up.

Xipei confessed that she liked Mel, then passed along Warden Angela’s requests, which Mel agreed to. On her way back, Xipei spotted a suspicious figure moving like the cyborgs who had attacked the prison and followed him.

• Xipei watched the broadcast of the Council mages studying Mel’s diary and heard Lord Doug mistake it for profound magical writing.
• Xipei sent a paper-bird familiar to Mel, who showed her a portrait he was drawing of her.
• Xipei told Mel that she liked him too, then relayed Warden Angela’s requests, which Mel accepted.
• Mel explained that he had never used a phone, and Xipei agreed to pass messages between him and Warden Angela.
• After saying goodbye to Mel, Xipei spotted a suspicious figure moving through the central district and followed him, thinking he resembled the prison’s cyborg attackers.

Mage Field tracked a suspicious cyborg near the summit venue and asked Lusien to investigate, fearing the man might be an assassin. The cyborg turned out to be using an infrared detection lens, while other suspicious figures nearby carried blinking devices, leaving Lusien and the Shield of the New Star to respond.

• Mage Field called Lusien and reported a suspicious, agile cyborg near the parliament building who might have the assassin class.
• Lusien asked Mage Field to check whether the cyborg had facial electronics or mechanical eyes, then told Mage Field to stay safe and leave the investigation to the Shield of the New Star.
• Mage Field watched the cyborg evade peace officers and a Shield of the New Star patrol with precision.
• Mage Field spotted more suspicious figures carrying devices with blinking red lights.
• Mage Field used Lusien's method to identify the cyborg's apparent detection ability as an infrared lens, which failed to notice the paper familiar.

After learning that the Shield of the New Star had found the cyborgs, the narrator anxiously watched the news for answers. The report revealed a terrorist attack on Holy Light City’s federal prison and possible threats to the International Magic Summit, while the Dawn Alliance staged anti-magic protests.

• The narrator used her paper familiar to overhear the cyborgs discussing a plan involving Mephistopheles, then made it burst into red smoke so the Shield of the New Star could locate them.
• Lusien told the narrator that the Shield of the New Star had found the targets, but he did not contact her again that night.
• The narrator watched the morning news, which reported that attackers had struck the federal prison in Holy Light City and that Lusien was investigating.
• The narrator learned that Warden Angela Rhodes had kept her and Mel out of the news, while the report blamed Lusien’s new weapon for prisoners’ frostbite.
• The news suggested the prison attack might have targeted the International Magic Summit and reported that the Dawn Alliance was holding anti-magic marches and rallies.

Xipei learned that Mel had bought a spacious home in the capital and accepted his invitation to move in with Moli, while warning him about suspected Dawn Alliance agents. Their plans were interrupted when Keweite called to say Lord Doug demanded Xipei return to work, despite Xipei believing he was suspended.

• Xipei heard a news report about Mel's wealth and realized the development Mel had bought was meant to be their new home.
• Mel described his plans for the house and asked Xipei to move in with him; Xipei agreed and said he would bring Moli.
• Xipei warned Mel that suspicious cyborgs might be Dawn Alliance agents and told him to be careful at the summit.
• Keweite called Xipei and reported that Lord Doug was angry about his absence and ordered him to put on his uniform and come in immediately.