Clothbound Magic Circle – Part 5
“Wait—there was a Wizard this close to me?!”
“…Sorry. That’s not it.”
“Oh. Really? But then how did you make that leek huge?”
I wanted to tell him, but I couldn’t.
I hesitated again, fumbling for words.
“I totally thought you used magic to enlarge it. Guess not?”
“…No, I didn’t… Um, could you please not tell anyone about this?”
Mossan blinked in surprise.
“Uh… what? Is this something dangerous?”
“Probably. And—if you don’t want to hear it, we can just stop here.”
He groaned, thinking hard.
“Uuuuuuuugh… No, I’m curious. I’ll keep it secret.”
So I told him.
About my skill.
About the Skill Orb.
Mossan listened quietly—until a certain point, when he suddenly started thinking intensely.
“So the leek got huge because of the liquid left after the Skill Orb dissolved?”
“Yeah… nothing happened for about eight hours, but when I came home today, it was gigantic.”
“…This might… actually prove a hypothesis I’ve been considering…”
He muttered to himself and began pacing around the room.
Then he stopped, sat down right in front of me, and spoke.
“Hey, can I tell you something?”
He didn’t wait for my answer.
“My real name is Daisuke Todoroki. I’m two years older than you—twenty‑six.”
I recognized the name instantly.
The country’s top Wizard.
The first Wizard ever acknowledged here.
But there was no way I could’ve guessed that this white‑haired, bottle‑bottom‑glasses guy was him.
“Oh, you know me… Well, yeah, everyone does. I was all over the internet and magazines, and I worked as a government ambassador. Anyway—about resetting Skill Orbs. I want to help.”
“…Help?”
“Yeah. First, tell me exactly how you made it dissolve.”
I explained the steps from the other day.
“Hmm… one tablespoon of salt in a cup of water… about 200 ml with 18 grams of salt… Okay. We’ll need a lot of Skill Orbs. I know someone who can get them. I’ll arrange it. Once we have the materials, we’ll run experiments!”
He said all that in one breath, then bolted out of the room at incredible speed.
“I’ll contact you later! Thanks!!” slam
…For the record, I do have one Skill Orb right now…
Bam bam bam—SLAM!
The door burst open again.
It was Mossan.
“Oh—one more thing. Don’t tell anyone I’m a Wizard.”
SLAM! bam bam bam…
