‘It made no difference?’

Having heard what Riley said, Nainiae’s mouth opened vacantly.

Even as they sat there, the ring that Nainiae was wearing was collecting mana from the surrounding and diligently piling it in her heart, near her Circles.

“Young master, just what are you…”

It was an accessory that collected mana just by wearing it.

It was certain the item was priceless.

‘He didn’t notice anything from wearing it?’

Looking at Riley’s uninterested face, Nainiae’s gaze was getting filled with shock.

“By the looks of it, the servant lady here still doesn’t know what a monster Riley is. He is powerful like a monster. You don’t know, don’t you, right?”

“There is no need to tell her that. Isn’t that right? Nothing good would come from telling her anyway.”

As if he was trying to say Nainiae should get a hold of herself, Riley raised his right hand and placed it on top of her head and started to mess up her hair.

“…Ah.”

As if that was the right medicine for it, Nainiae, who had her mouth open like a ba.s.s, closed her mouth.

“Well, I kind of figured as much because they are all belongings of a mage, but… So, in conclusion, all three items are more or less useless to me.”

After having gone through Nainiae’s hair to turn it into a mess, Riley shrugged and said,

“Well, you take it. Wearing a ring is a bother because it only tickles my finger.”

“Young master? N-No! I couldn’t accept something like t-…”

When Riley said he would give the ring to Nainiae out of the blue, Nainiae shook her head to say she couldn’t accept it.

“In that case, just hold it for me for a while. It’s a bother to have it with me.”

Riley’s face genuinely said he found it to be a bother.

Actually, it was less efficient for Riley to wear the ring.

It was correct to say he didn’t need it.

Because of the blessing he received from his past life, he could collect even more mana just by breathing, and the mana he collected was of a higher quality than what the ring could gather.

“…I understand.”

Nainiae, unable to refuse, answered.

For now, Riley handed all of the items to Nainiae. Riley looked at Andal.

“Is that all you came for?”

Riley shook his head.

Andal’s face was crumpled again.

“Now what?”

“There’s one more thing.”

Riley asked about the second favor as he looked at the changing room that Andal just came from.

“Can I have mana measured?”

“Mana measurement?”

Andal asked as he tilted his head to the side.

“There is a mana measurement boulder that was presented by some guardian runt… But why?”

It seemed Andal thought it was odd.

With his face scrunched, Andal changed his question in the middle,

“You want to use it? Na… Why bother with getting it measu-…”

“No.”

Riley answered as he shook his head like a fool.

‘That’s not the reason? I was pretty sure that was the reason.’

After hearing what Riley just said, Nainiae had a curious look on her face.

“This kid is going to use it.”

“Um?”

“…?”

Riley nodded toward Nainiae.

Naturally, Andal’s gaze moved toward her.

‘Y-Young master?’

Nainiae’s lips started to quiver.

It was because she was not expecting things to go this way.

“Hmm…”

Andal leaned all the way forward to Nainiae and started to look at Nainiae’s face.

Soon, he started to wiggle his nose and sniff to smell her.

He wasn’t trying to smell her shampoo or skin.

He was going after the smell of mana inside her.

“Oh? That is odd? It’s certainly unique?”

Sniff Sniff

Having confirmed the smell of mana coming from Nainiae, he mumbled as if he found something precious.

At the same time, Nainiae’s shoulders shriveled.

“…”

‘To think I’ll be examined by a dragon?’

Nainiae was frozen solid, but in her head,

She could hear Riley’s voice directly in her head.

She was embarra.s.sed. She thought Riley must have figured out what she was thinking.

Having concluded that Riley, the master who she served, was a greater existence than a dragon standing in front of her, Nainiae corrected her posture and upheld her shoulders with pride.

“Hm… Let’s see… There is something special mixed in?”

Andal extended his hand toward Nainiae’s bangs.

It looked like he determined that there was something around her right eye.

“Uumm...”

Nainiae’s hair was lifted gently.

Andal scrunched up his face after he discovered the horrible scars and dead-white eye.

“Huh, why are there so many things mixed in? It’s really busy and complicated here.”

He didn’t cringe out of disgust for her appearance.

He cringed because of the complexity.

Andal was trying to a.n.a.lyze the inner workings of her white eye, but he shook his head.

“This… Hm… Even I can’t figure it out.”

Andal was gently brushing Nainaie’s scars with his hand, and he took his hand back after he declared he was giving up on trying to figure out the white eye.

The way he responded seemed like he didn’t care at all about her scars.

Nainiae asked as she fiddled with her bangs.

“Sir Andal.”

‘Should I ask? Should I not ask?’

Nainiae went over this question and hesitated a few dozen times in that brief moment. She carefully inquired,

“That is… My face. Is it not uncomfortable for you to look at?”

It was a question that she asked Riley once as well.

Back then, Riley answered, ‘No? Not really?’

“Ha.”

Having heard Nainiae’s question, Andal cracked a smile and said,

“Hey, servant.”

“It’s Nainiae.”

Riley corrected Andal by telling him her name.

As if he was trying to say he will yield, Andal corrected himself.

“I got it, you rascal. I got it, got it. Okay?”

“…”

Nainiae blushed.

“Servant Nainiae… I’ll ask. When you see several tens, hundreds or thousands of ants pa.s.sing by your feet… Are you the type that observes each of the ant faces one by one?”

It seemed Nainiae realized what Andal was trying to say.

Nainiae shook her head left and right in response.

Andal continued,

“…It’s like that.”

Having answered Nainiae’s question, Andal leaned back and moved his hands toward two empty cups on top of the table.

“Certainly, there are a lot of convoluted things there. Mana and other things…”

Andal determined that it would be difficult to exactly observe Nainiae just using his eyes. He tossed the cups into the kitchen sink and continued,

“All right. Try using it. I’m curious about the result too.”

Andal waved his hand in the air.

Following his hand movement, although n.o.body touched the door, the changing room’s door opened on its own.

As Riley watched the changing room’s door open, he inwardly murmured ‘all right’. However, he asked Andal with his face still maintaining an unexcited look.

“Even you can’t see it?”

“The nature of mana is decided by how one’s born, so it’s hard to examine it just by looking at it. On top of that, that eye is a type that’s different from her natural mana type. How should I say it, a chaotic mix was forced in there?”

The inborn nature of mana was something even a dragon could not see.

Having heard Andal’s explanation, Riley asked what he was curious about,

“So, is that why all of her magic has ash color?”

“What?”

“I’m talking about the color of her magic.”

“Her magic has ash color? In all elements?”

“That’s right. Fireball, chunk of ice, lightning… They were all stuffy gray colored.”

“Huh… Interesting.”

Andal, with a curious look on his face, stared at Nainiae. Andal walked further into the room.

It was to guide Riley and Nainiae to the s.p.a.ce below the changing room that was prepared separately.

***

They were under the pub’s changing room.

While they were walking down to the secret s.p.a.ce underground, Riley asked,

“…Even if it is just to change the mood… Say something.”

Having heard what Riley said, Nainiae carefully brought up a question,

“How long have you been friends with each other?”

Perhaps it was a question with a pretty high difficulty.

Both Riley and Andal just dragged on without being able to answer promptly.

“I’m not sure?”

“I don’t know.”

“Me too.”

Andal and Riley both mumbled.

It was certain Riley and Andal met when Riley was young, but they couldn’t remember when exactly it was.

“I can’t quite remember well.”

“Ah hahaha…”

Nainiae was giving out a hollow laughter. Riley gave a quick look to Nainiae behind him and asked,

“Why do you ask?”

Nainiae answered as she faced Riley,

“By chance… Young master… I was wondering if you were also a dragon.”

“What?”

It was not just Riley.

Andal, who also quickly turned his head to look at Nainiae, also had his face scrunched.

Both of them looked very displeased about it somehow.

“You think I’m something as lowly as…?”

“You think this dumba.s.s could be one?”

They both asked at the same time.

Their stern faces felt like they were advising Nainiae to correct herself.

“I’m disappointed, Nainiae.”

“Are you also a dumba.s.s following after your master?”

“…”

Nainiae was walking down into the underground by following them. She bit her lip.

She felt certain the flames would splash to her if she said anything else.

“Andal. That was a little too harsh. You called her a dumba.s.s?”

“You were the one that was harsh, don’t you think? ‘As lowly as?’ What do you mean, ‘as lowly as?’ ”

Nainiae was watching the two from the back. She smiled quietly.

It was because she could confirm two things from their conversations.

First thing was that Riley was not a dragon. The second thing was that they were very close friends.

After a long bickering, they finally arrived at the end of the stairs. Having reached another wall, Andal murmured,

“…Now, we are here.”

“…?”

‘No matter how I look at it, this place seems like a dead end. ‘We are here?’ What did he mean by that?’

Nainiae was tilting her head to the sides. Meanwhile, Andal waved his hand toward the wall.

“Welcome, Sir Andal.”

It felt like a thick voice was coming from the wall, and soon, the wall opened to left and right to reveal a path.

Nainiae’s eye opened widely.

‘Golem?’

Living, moving walls.

In other words, having witnessed two well made golems, Nainiae was impressed.

As she saw the scenery inside the cave, she opened her eye even wider.

“…This place is?”

“I used a simple magic to connect the bas.e.m.e.nt of the pub and my cave.”

“Oh my…”

“Hey, Riley. Did you see that? Your servant knows how incredible this is… So, what the h.e.l.l are you doing?”

Andal’s face crumpled.

It was because, before Andal realized, Riley already left his side. Instead, Riley was already standing in front of the mana measurement boulder.

Soon, Riley put his hand on the boulder.

Andal yelled,

“What the? Hey! Why are you doing it?”

Riley responded as if he was trying to excuse himself,

“Um. I want to try it too.”

Hearing his sleazy voice, Andal realized why Riley was looking for a mana measurement boulder and why he had his hand on the boulder. Finding it all to be unbelievable and nonsensical, Andal murmured,

“This rascal. I was wondering why you came…”

As Andal started to walk toward Riley, Nainiae, who was standing next to Andal, also rushed toward the young master.

‘I was wondering why he hired a mage as a maid. So there was a reason after all.’

“Hey. We had this conversation before too. Just what do you want to do with it after learning magic?”

“…?”

Riley didn’t answer.

Instead, he just had his hand on the boulder and waited.

“Are you really trying to take over the world?”

“Have you gone insane?”

It seemed Riley could not stand that question.

He asked back if Andal was insane.

“In that case, what’s all this ruckus about?”

When Andal asked again, Riley answered quietly,

“Picking apples are such a bother.”

“What?”

“It’s such a bother to go pick apples. Climbing trees is a pain too.”

‘You have all that physical strength and abilities and also all that mana, but you think picking apples is too much of a trouble?’

Of all stories Andal had heard in his life, this was the most ridiculous and nonsensical one.

Andal looked like he was staring at a lunatic. Andal mumbled,

“You duma.s.s rascal.”

He continued,

“You are a young master of a count’s House. What all the servants are for?”

“…Ah.”

Andal had a point.

Riley opened his mouth like a ba.s.s as he thought why he didn’t think of that.

If he only had Ian as the servant, Ian would have said, ‘Young master, please go pick it yourself and eat it. How long are you planning on sitting and rolling around?’

However, now, he had Nainiae.

“You have a point.”

“You crazy dumba.s.s rascal.”

Andal complained once again.

“…?”

Regardless, Nainiae was standing next to Riley and observing the boulder. Having noticed that the mana measurement boulder was not showing any particular response, she tilted her head to the side and asked,

“Young master, you do have your hand on it, right?”

“Can’t you see? I have it touching the boulder right here?”

“That’s odd. There should be a response…”

The boulder was not showing even the slightest movement.

It wasn’t showing any gentle, steady light. It wasn’t shaking either.

Realizing this, not just Nainiae, but Andal also tilted his head to the sides.

“Um?”

Perhaps about five to ten seconds had pa.s.sed.

A cracking sound could be heard, and the boulder started to crack from the bottom.

“What the? What’s this? Its response was a little late?”

“This is…”

With a look of disbelief in her gaze, she stared at the boulder.

Meanwhile, the boulder was still cracking further.

“Andal, is this one defective?”

“No. This one isn’t defective. This is correct.”

After the boulder finally responded, Riley cringed and turned away.

Andal shook his head and said it was not defective.

“…It is Time.”

Nainiae murmured.

“What?”

“Young master, your innate type is…related to time.”

“Time?”

Riley asked with a question mark above his head.

Andal nodded and confirmed,

“That’s right. Time.”

‘Not Fire, Water, Wind, or Earth, but Time? What do you mean Time?’

Riley didn’t understand, but he took his hand off from the boulder and asked Nainiae and Andal,

“Is it something good?”

And then…

The mana measurement boulder that Riley had touched crumbled and collapsed.