Chapter 26

“John… John… wake up.”

John felt someone shaking him.

Huh…? Mom?

He opened his eyes, quickly realizing that he wasn’t in his home back on Earth. Besides, it had been a long while since he last saw his mom. It would be impossible for her to be next to him. Instead, a girl with bright green hair stood above him, her narrowed eyes gazing at him.

“Come on, wake up. It’s morning,” her sharp voice pierced his ears.

… Ah, right.

John remembered where he was. The treasure hunters’ guild guest room, a room that they weren’t supposed to use, but Ellie allowed them to use it anyway. John pulled his body up, turning his head toward Leyla. She was standing by the bedside, staring straight at him.

He let out a yawn. On the days before, Leyla didn’t wake him up. If she woke up before him, she would just leave the room. This morning was an exception.

“What is it?”

They had returned to town to rest in preparation to fight the monster that resided at the bottom of the dungeon.

“Call Kei here.”

“... Why?”

“Just call her.”

The way she commanded him annoyed John, but he didn’t have a reason to say no. He held his key. They needed to wait for a bit this time.

“Did you find another chair?” she asked with a bright expression. This time, though, the answer is no.

“I’m going to use magic again,” Leyla said, pulling Kei’s attention toward her.

“... Huh?”

“I’ll be fighting a monster. If we complete this quest, we’ll get another chair, so I need it.”

“I mean, you're not banned from using all magic, but teleportation… that one takes a toll on you. It’s not something you use so casually. Using it often is dangerous.”

“So you won’t have a problem with regular attack spells, right?” Leyla asked. She had been using fire magic to light up the dungeon, but that wasn’t considered attack magic. It couldn’t deal much damage. It would disperse immediately after the mage cut the source, making it terrible for battle.

Kei massaged her temples. “You’re misunderstanding something, Leyla. The problem isn’t that you're using magic. It’s you running out of it.”

“Why is that important?” Leyla folded her arms, not pleased with Kei’s explanation.

“Don’t say you misunderstood what I said this whole time?”

Leyla raised an eyebrow, and Kei groaned while John simply stood there, looking back and forth between the two. She had a tired expression on her, something John wasn’t expecting to see.

“Look, if you drain your magic, you might not be able to use it anymore. That’s why I told you to stop using magic, to let your magic recover.”

“In other words, I can use it again, right?”

“In moderation, please. It’ll be a whole lot of trouble if you run out of magic. I won’t be able to help you.”

“Fine, I’ll be careful.”

“Anything else?”

Leyla shook her head.

“Good luck, then. Remember, in moderation.” Kei disappeared from the room.

“If you’re going to use magic… shouldn’t you get a wand?” John asked.

“The way I use magic is different from how the humans of this world do it. A wand won’t help.”

While John had used magic, his ability was still basic. The last time they trained, Isak insisted that he shouldn’t use magic just yet. The more control he got over his magic, the better he would be when he did wield a wand.

“I should be able to handle that monster, though. How about you? Will you just hang around the rear doing nothing?”

Leyla’s words pissed him off slightly, but unfortunately, that was the most logical course of action. If he couldn’t fight, the best he could do was not disturb those who did fight.

“Actually, you shouldn’t have come in the first place. That way, I won’t have to protect you.”

“... Fair enough,” he answered with reluctance. He didn’t want to be treated like a deadweight, but she was right. He really wanted to argue on this. No one would be happy after being called useless. That was the truth, unfortunately.

“Urk… Have fun, I guess.”

•••

“Where’s John?” Isak asked upon meeting up in the guild.

“He’s not coming,” Leyla answered, drawing curious looks from both Ellie and Isak.

“Huh… I guess his ability to use magic is still limited… So that made sense.”

“Besides, even if he could use magic, not like he could use it to fight.”

Fighting with magic was inherently different from just using it. Whatever John came up with, it’s unlikely to be powerful enough to harm a monster. Even if he did, could he do it while dodging monsters and attacks? Most likely not. If anything, bringing him risked him making a mistake. Leyla wouldn’t want to deal with both a monster and John’s runaway spells.

It was much better for the two of them to set off on their own. That way, they could concentrate on just fighting the monster.

“We’ll get it done and we’ll get that chair.”

“You really like this chair, huh?” Ellie murmured. “It’s a nice chair, though, so I don’t blame you.”

Ellie didn’t seem keen on prying the true meaning of the chair, unlike a certain headmaster.

“Have you gotten your equipment in order?”

Leyla wouldn’t need to bring anything. Isak checked his sword. That would be his main weapon.

“I’m ready.”

“Here, some potions,” Ellie gave them a small bag with some health potions inside.

“I hope this trip is worth it,” Leyla murmured.

“... I’m not too hopeful about that, honestly,” Ellie said. “But the boss insists.”

With their preparations done, they headed toward the dungeon.