“I might’ve designed and constructed it, but Vur was the one that approved upon completion of the building,” Diamant said, emerging from Vur’s body. Soon after, three more boulders fell out Vur’s runes.

Upon seeing Vur’s questioning gaze, Sheryl cleared her throat. “Stella kicked us out.”

Vur tilted his head as silver mist flowed out of his skin, taking the shapes of dozens of animals. They looked around with wide eyes and blank expressions, exchanging glances with one another. Vur lowered his head and tapped on the tattoo on his chest. “What are you doing?”

“Spring cleaning!”

Vur scratched his head. “Wouldn’t it be easier if you made everyone else help?”

“If you want something done right, then you have to do it yourself,” Stella said. “Have you taken a close look at the elementals’ hands? They don’t even have thumbs! How are they supposed to clean things without a proper grip?”

Vur bent down and picked Sheryl up. He held her by the top of her head, which was also her body, and examined her sticklike arms. There were five twigs jutting out of the end, but none of them were opposable. To pick things up, her fingers simply wrapped around objects like a monkey’s tail. “Huh. Interesting.” Vur put the wriggling elemental down before nodding at Tafel. “Did you finish learning?”

Tafel shooed a few misty animals away from her feet. “Not completely, but I did learn a new spell. Do you want to see?”

Vur nodded, and Tafel took in a deep breath. She closed her eyes, and a thin film of transparent mana rose around her. It surrounded her like a bubble before flattening into a prism. Seven identical images appeared behind her, each one a different color. Tafel pursed her lips, and seven more films of mana encased her identical images. After the mana films flattened into shape, forty-nine copies of Tafel appeared scattered throughout the room. If it wasn’t for the fact the building was enormous, there wouldn’t have been enough space to fit all her copies.

“You can still smell me, right?” Tafel asked.

Vur nodded. “You didn’t move either,” he said and went up to the original Tafel. He placed his hand on her shoulder before raising an eyebrow. His hand had been projected on all of the copies. He tilted his head to the side. “Is this skill useful?”

“Maybe,” Tafel said and shrugged. “It might not seem very good right now, but what if it works with other skills in the book that I haven’t learned yet?” She waved her hand, and the mana prisms dispersed, causing her copies to wink out of existence. “What if I learn a spell to conceal my smell? Do you think you’d still be able to find me?”

“Of course,” Vur said. “The copies don’t make sounds or cause the wind to move. I can hear and feel you when you move.”

“You can feel me move?” Tafel asked, her eyes widening. She took a step back, causing Vur’s hand to fall off her shoulder. She put her hand behind her back and raised two fingers. “Can you tell how many fingers I just put up?”

“Two.”

Question marks appeared over Tafel’s head as she stared at Vur. “You can feel the movement the wind makes when I raise a finger…?”

“If you’re wondering whether Vur knows when you fart or not, the answer is yes,” Zilphy said. “And it’s not just me who can tell for him. Deedee senses vibrations quite easily as well. Your spells only affect creatures that solely rely on their eyes; it’s no wonder why the Trickster was sealed away. If his spells were any good, he would still be roaming free.”

A tinge of pink appeared on Tafel’s cheeks, and she glared at Zilphy and Diamant.

“Don’t glare at us,” Zilphy said and snorted. “Even if we weren’t around, Vur’s nose can still smell your farts from a mile away.”

Tafel exhaled, and her horns glowed silver. A portal opened beside her. “I see you have everything in order here,” she said to Vur. “I’ll be going off to study some more. Bye.”

Before Vur could respond, Tafel hopped through the portal, closing it behind herself. Vur scratched his head before looking down to stare at Zilphy. “What?” the green elemental asked. “Did I say anything wrong? Your sense of smell is really sharp, isn’t it?”

***

Mary frowned. None of the mercenaries had any good ideas; it was no wonder why they worked for people instead of hiring them. They couldn’t come up with anything by themselves. As for not being able to come up with a plan herself, Mary conveniently ignored that fact. She exhaled and glanced at the robed woman. Perhaps it was true; slaying a dragon required lots of patience. Luckily, it didn’t seem like Grimmoldesser planned on harvesting Mary Jr.’s soul anytime soon. A furrow appeared on Mary’s brow. Wasn’t that it? The best way to lure Grimmoldesser out was by using Mary Jr. as bait.

Mary went up to the robed woman. “I might have a way to lure Grimmoldesser out by himself.” Mary stroked her chin. “I think he’ll come to any location we choose as well. Didn’t you say flat terrain wasn’t ideal? If we go to a mountainous region, our chances of killing him should be higher, yes?”

The robed woman fell silent. “Our chances will increase greatly, but if you could do that, why didn’t you bring it up earlier, before half of the team was captured?”

Mary crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m not the one who came up with the original plan,” she said. “Your leader came up with it. If there’s anyone to blame for the captured individuals, it certainly isn’t me.”

The robed woman sighed. “If we’re changing locations, we’ll have to pack up the ballistae,” she said. “We’ll have to do it quickly. If the dragon comes out while we’re packing these away, it’ll be like getting caught with our pants down.”