Lemi held a gleaming white wand and used it to draw specialized Spell Patterns in the air, causing them to manifest.

‘Just like my Magic Cards, I designed Lemi’s Wand to store Mana. But, unlike the former, she has to chant the spell herself.’

By drawing a pattern in the air, she could manifest whatever Spell she wanted—as long as the wand had enough power left.

The good thing was that she could charge the item with Mana, but since I forbade the use of that, unless where necessary, she had no choice but to rely on the stored power.

‘She also has the Miasma version of the wand…’ I smiled, looking and the holster on her hip.

The purpose behind the tools was to help Lemi understand how to use Magic faster, and also to control her output.

“Thankfully, it’s going well.”

***************

We decimated the enemies in our way and made it to the center of the Labyrinth without much to do.

‘It’s somehow meaningless to call this a Labyrinth Of Despair, at this point…’ It simply felt like we were cheating our way through the journey.

It was almost ridiculously funny that my friends and I struggled so much to take this place down.

‘Well, there was no way we could have made so many advanced Magic Tech back then…’

At the moment, with the existence of Spell Cards, there was no need for a person to even use Mana or Cast Spells.

‘Inepts will be capable of using Magic, and even those with low affinity can use high-grade Spells…’

I was getting closer to my goals, but something still gnawed at me. The whole concept of Inepts… seemed inconsistent with my most recent discoveries.

‘Not now, Jared. You’re at the final hurdle…’ I pulled myself back to reality and looked at the structure before me.

Everyone was around me, and we were finally at the center of the maze—directly before the Labyrinth’s source of power.

‘My friends and I never got this far in my past life.’ I smiled with satisfaction, though a tinge of sadness lingered.

“There.” Lemi beamed, pointing in the direction of a glowing card that warbled in the air.

It was slowly spinning, emitting energy that was hard to describe.

The power surrounding it felt like a culmination of multiple types of energy, and it was so fluid and malleable—like water.

I felt the energy density, quality, property, and several other elements shift as I observed it. The more I watched, the less I understood.

“Should we grab it?” Edward grinned with excitement, stepping forward.

“H-hey!” Jerry protested, hugging the big man by his muscular stomach.

I sensed a harsh glare from Ciara for some reason, and I also noticed Maria glancing in my direction.

Her expression remained blank, but she had been doing the same thing for a long time now, and I was beginning to feel… uncomfortable?

No, it was more like being self-conscious.

‘Ah, I don’t like this…’

Maria and I hadn’t really spoken since that incident in her room, and I didn’t want that. She was a fun girl to be with, and I truly enjoyed her company.

But now… it seemed like she didn’t want to talk to me at all.

‘Neron is always with Serah, Ana is with Lemi, Jerry and Edward have guy talks all the time. Ciara is either stuck with Jerry or talking with Maria. Asa is an overactive kid that can get into any of the social circles and blend well. Maro would rather work than talk…’

I almost didn’t have anyone to talk to. But, it wasn’t like I was totally friendless, though. After all…

“It looks beautiful, doesn’t it?” A feminine voice rang in my ears.

… I had Aloe Vida.

Her beautiful blond hair swayed as she looked above her with a lovely smile.

She pushed her hair slightly backward with her hand, causing me to notice her brilliant earrings and dazzling necklace. Her lovely skin accentuated their glow, and I was happy they suited her well.

“You should stop looking at me so intensely… even I get embarrassed, you know?” She responded, glancing in my direction.

“Haha, sorry about that.” I laughed slightly.

Aloe Vida and I had been talking a lot lately, mostly about our experiences and what happened at Ainzlark while I was gone.

On a few occasions, I told her a bit more about Magic, but we mostly discussed personal affairs.

It made me feel closer to the young lady. And, one thing I noticed about her was…

“Maria is still staring. She likes you, doesn’t she?”

“Ah, you figured that out too?”

… Aloe was very perceptive.

“Has she confessed yet? She has, hasn’t she?”

“How do you know so much? Do you maybe have a mind-reading ability I don’t know about?” I asked, taking a step back in an attempt to accentuate my point.

“Haha, of course not.” Aloe burst out laughing.

It made me happy that she laughed at my silly attempt at a joke.

Truthfully speaking, I was feeling a little left out in terms of social engagements. Since I was the leader and teacher, it seemed like I was not welcome in everyone’s social circle.

In a way, they somewhat isolated me—or did I do this to myself?

Thanks to Aloe, though, things were different. I had a cheerful person to keep me company, and while she was very enthusiastic about certain topics, I found it refreshing.

‘Sometimes it’s nice to just listen, rather than speak.’

“I don’t have any ability like that. It’s just… I know how it feels to like someone, confess, and get rejected.”

“Eh? You do? You never told me about that.”

“Well, it’s an embarrassing story.”

“Come on, spill it. Who was it?” It didn’t feel strange at all that I was a fifteen-year-old, teasing someone in her twenties.

We were both just very compatible at conversing.

“Well…” Her eyes moved in a particular direction.

My jaws dropped in shock and my eyes bulged. This was a shocking revelation I never expected.

“No way… Neron?!”

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