「…How does it work?」

Neela asks, looking at the dull, crystal-like rectangular plate on Straf's chest that hangs off his shoulders by leather straps.

「Ah, that's the funniest part. Everyone apparently forgot that the mana testing crystals suck mana, so I thought, wouldn't that also work on spells?」

Tink tink.

Straf grins, and pats the spell armor piece on his chest.

「As it turns out, it does. The fact that these things are basically magical waste makes it even better.」

He shrugs, spreading his hands with his grin growing while he looks at Cycelia and her friends.

「It's a resistor crystal?… Wait, but the anti-magic field becomes immensely unstable if you move the resistor crystal, everyone knows that.」

Tisha remarks, furrowing her brows while she looks at Straf's armor.

「Yes, how did you get around that issue?」

Neela nods, and the two glance at each other, deeply confused.

「Tsk… Were you not listening? I am not using any MacGuffin fields. It's a straight-up, real, genuine magic armor. Who wants to hit me with a spell and try it out?」

Straf clicks his tongue and rolls his eyes in frustration. He grabs the plate, and presents it to the three girls. More gray than white, dull and opaque, It indeed looks like a resistor crystal, but in the shape of a rectangle long and wide enough to cover most of a man's chest.

「Huh? Isn't that dangerous? What if it doesn't work and you actually get hit with the spell?」

「I already tested it to see if it works. It's pretty solid, but there's a lot of room to improve. I think it'd work better in form of replaceable and modular segments, kind of like ERA blocks…」

Straf shrugs in reply to Neela's question, once again tapping his plate. His other hand rests on his hip in a fist.

「Modular?…」「Era?…」

Neela and Tisha tilt their heads, glance at each other with their brows furrowed, then look at Cycelia for answers.

「Ahh… Straf says a lot of things like that. All the time. Sometimes his foreign language slips in…」

Cycelia explains with an awkward smile, and Damian steps forward.

「So you don't mind if I hit you with a spell?…」

The handsome student asks, looking at Straf's even more so handsome face.

「Nope. Give me your best shot… But you better hit the plate.」

Straf nonchalantly shrugs in response, and spreads his arms, inviting an attack.

「Straf, no! That's a little too dangerous!」

Cycelia protests with an intense gaze and a little worried frown.

「Relax, Lia. I tested it, it works.」

He returns a little smirk, and Damian lifts his palm towards him.

「I'm going to hit him with a weak Windbolt, it shouldn't-」

Damian says, but Straf immediately cuts in.

「Tsk… I said, give me your best shot. Seriously. Hit me.」

Straf insists, and pats his magic armor plate again, he then moves his hands behind his back, and waits. The three girls move aside, with Cycelia being the most reluctant of the bunch.

「Tsk… Vortex, vortices, swirling winds, become tame for my gain. Pleasant breeze and breath of life, bring my adversary a final gasp!」

Damian clicks his tongue, and begins casting with his palm pointed directly at Straf's chest while glaring at his bored eyes.

「『Windbolt』!」

The handsome student shouts, his voice reverberating through the quiet halls. Though all three appear a little concerned, Cycelia looks on with a tight-lipped grimace and huge emerald eyes.

FWOOSH!

A gust of wind blows through the silent hall, disturbing the girls' hair and flapping their skirts. The fist-sized blur closes the gap to Straf in an instant, and impacts the rectangular resistor crystal plate on his chest.

「…Huh? It ate my spell?…」

Damian utters out as the spell unceremoniously disappears, and Straf's magic armor glows a little before the light quickly fades. The lamps above take a few seconds to settle into their regular up-down bob, seemingly lightly disturbed by the gale as well. Straf looks down, then shrugs when his eyes return to Damian.

「Yeah. Pretty cool, huh?」

Straf asks the group, grinning smugly.

「Woah! That's incredible!」

Neela exclaims with her fists excitedly clenched.

「Yeah… You held back too much, pants-shitter.」「Khrhk!」

Tisha delivers another quick verbal jab at Damian. He glares at her, grinding his teeth.

「You shit your pants? Gross, dude.」

Straf says, furrowing his brows at the embarrassed student. Damian's glare snaps to Straf.

「I did not! It's a lie!… This is why I keep telling you to stop calling me that!…」

Shouting towards Tisha, Damian points at Straf in outrage with his hand shaking in anger.

「…And I wasn't holding back. That armor is genuinely kind of impressive.」

With his arms crossed and turned away, Damian loathfully admits. Cycelia powerfully nods her head with a wide, relieved smile on her face, concurring with him.

「…Can I try it out?」

He asks, side-glancing at Straf.

「Hm? You want me to hit you? Sure, knock yourself out.」

Straf shrugs, and lifts the armor off his shoulders by the leather straps. He walks up to Damian, sets the straps on his shoulders while he spreads his arms, then lets go.

Clunk!

「Urgh!… What the fuck!?…」

With a grunt, Damian abruptly falls to his knees in an awkward pose. Both of the plates impact the ground with a loud, echoing clunk.

「Hey, are you alright?」「Damian! Are you okay!?」「What happened?」

The girls ask as they rush over and begin orbiting him.

「Hnngh!… Hrrrrnngh!… What the?… Hngh- It's too heavy!」

He exclaims, letting out heavy grunts while feebly attempting to stand up with no signs of success. Tisha and Cycelia attempt to take the armor off, but they too find themselves struggling to lift it.

「Come on, it has some weight to it, but it's not that heavy. Have you tried to hit the gym, you scrawny little princess?」

Straf derisively asks, standing over Damian with his hands in his pockets, looking down at him with a snide grin.

「Not that heavy!?… Are you insane!?… Who's going to wear this!?- No, how did you wear this!?」

Damian asks, huffing and puffing from fatigue already, looking at Straf with a shocked expression.

「Well, when I figure out the final design, 1st Rat Slayers are going to wear that. And I can wear this because I'm not a pants-shitting pretty boy wimp like you.」

Straf shrugs, then points at him, grinning.

「Rat Slayers?… Never mind that, help me! Take it off!」

「Fine, fine, stop crying…」

Straf rolls his eyes, and casually lifts the weight off Damian's shoulders. He lets out large, relieved gasps as he can breathe freely again. The girls help him back up to his feet, and while they're not looking, Straf throws the prototype armor into his [Portable Storage], closing it before anyone notices.

「Huh? Where did it go?」

Neela asks, being first to notice the armor's absence.

「What did?」

「Your armor. Weren't you holding it just a second ago?」

She says, pointing at Straf's hands while they're in his pockets.

「I put it away into my inventory, since it's kind of awkward to wear.」

「Your what?」

「His inventory, Neela. Straf's magic can store things away into this weird vortex. He can even store food there, like ice cream, and hot dogs…」

Cycelia chimes in, explaining Straf's [Portable Storage] for her.

「Hot dogs, huh?… Haha, I'm a little peckish, so it sure would be nice to eat one right now-」

Tisha chuckles, joining Cycelia's side with her girly fists on her hips.

「Mmmpf!?」

「Hot dog.」

Straf says, stuffing his sausage in a bun into Tisha's smug mouth.

「Pfwah!… Don't just stuff things into my mouth all of a sudden!」

Tisha exclaims, indignant, surprised, and lightly blushing as she grabs the hot dog and pulls it out of her mouth.

「…You're right, she is kind of a bitch.」

Straf nonchalantly says, looking at Damian. His eyes open wide in shock, and he glances at Tisha.

「What did you call me!?」

She growls at Straf, then properly processes his statement.

「…What did you call me!?」

Tisha turns her scowling face and glaring ice-blue eyes towards Damian.

「I- I didn't! It was his words!」

Damian quickly deflects, pointing at Straf's bored face. The two glare at Straf, and he returns an uncaring look.

「Well, you also said that if given the choice, you'd want her in your bedroom for 24 hours, so-」

「Stop! Stop! It was your forced, deranged question!」

In a panic, Damian shuts Straf down, shouting, waving his arms about, and pointing at him.

「Ha! You wish, peasant! In your dreams!… Nom!」

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

Tisha scoffs, and turns her pale, reddening face away. With one fist on her hip, she showily chomps down on her hot dog.

「…So, what are you doing here, Lia? Looking for vampires?」

He asks, looking at Cycelia, who continues awkwardly smiling through the situation. Her emerald eyes jump to him.

「Ah, no, close… Ghosts.」

「Ghosts? To prove they're real? To exorcise them? To catch them?… I hope not, 'cause if you use traps and balls, we're going to have lawyers on our ass in no time.」

「To prove there is a ghost in the Academy, and to study it if we're able to.」

Damian chimes in into Straf's and Cycelia's conversation.

「Ah, that's a relief… You think there's a ghost around?」

Straf asks the handsome student, shrugging his hands before returning them to his pockets.

「I do, and I'm going to prove it. I-」

「If he doesn't, he's going to be my slave.」

Tisha interrupts Damian's explanation, causing him to click his tongue in frustration.

「Ah, so it's like that…」

Straf remarks, looking at Tisha, nodding his head as he rubs his chin.

「…I think you misunderstood her. She's not a bitch, she's just into kinky shit. Lucky you.」

「What?」「What?」

He adds. Damian and Tisha look at each other, furrowing their brows.

「…What do you mean?」

Damian hesitantly asks.

「What I mean is, she'd probably drag you along on a chain like a dog.」「Hrk!」

Straf replies, and Tisha winces, clenching her teeth in the background.

「…I'm well aware that she'd to everything in her power to humiliate me-」

Damian nods, but Straf abruptly starts clicking his tongue while shaking his head.

「Tsk tsk tsk tsk… No, you misunderstand. It's not about making you feel bad, it's about her making herself feel good. She wants to feel like she can make you do anything.」「Hurk!」

Straf wags his finger, and explains, shrugging his hand with a light smirk.

「Hah!… T- That's what slaves are for! They have no will of their own!-」

「Yeah, but there's a slight difference in saying,「mine my coal, slave!」and saying,「warm my bed, slave!」you know?」「Hngh!」

Straf cuts Tisha's defense off as he over-acts her supposed commands while gesturing with his finger, and she lets out a pained grunt again. She bites into her hot dog, rapidly chewing.

「…Anyway, whatever happened to you being afraid of ghosts, Lia?」

He asks, turning his bored eyes to Cycelia.

「Ah… Well… I still don't want to come across any ghosts, but I'm mostly having fun spending time with Tisha and Neela.」

She bashfully taps her fingers together, turning her emerald eyes aside.

「Hm… Well, as long as you're having fun. Can I have the room key? I have more stuff to read through, and I don't feel like working more today.」

Straf asks, and expectantly extends his hand out towards her.

「Ah, yes, here you go.」

Cycelia briefly fumbles with her pocket, and drops the thick door key into Straf's waiting hand.

「Right. Don't wander around too long, Lia. I'd be more concerned about grues than ghosts…」

He snaps his finger with his other hand, and points at her while walking off in the direction of the girls' dormitories.

「I won't, we were just about to finish for today!」

Cycelia nods her chestnut head as he walks past.

「…Bustin' makes me feel good!…」

Straf walks off humming a tune with an excessively bouncy step, even for himself, and disappears behind a corner in the distance.

「…What is a grue?」

Damian asks, briefly looking down the hall where Straf went and turns his eyes to Cycelia.

「I… Have no clue.」

She admits, spreading her hands. The group collectively shrugs, and they continue onward towards the last unexplored piece of the wing…

…

The next day, in the early morning, in Cycelia's Academy room…

「Straf, will you not join us?」

Cycelia asks while tying her boots.

「Nope, once I finish this book, I'm going to have the headmaster show me a MacGuffin.」

Straf replies, flipping another page of his tome, focused on the text within. He looks less than pleased to be reading it, however.

「I see…」

Cycelia nods. With her hands in her lap and her face markedly sullen, she simply sits on her bed without doing much anything for a few silent moments.

「…Well, how about next week, when the classes start again?-」

「Can't. Sorry.」

Straf abruptly replies, and flips another page, so soon after the previous one, that it seems as if he was merely using the book to appear dismissive.

「…I see. I'll be back late at night, then.」

She announces, and heads for the door.

「Ah, don't wait for me-」

「I know.」

Crrrrr-rreaaaak.

Cycelia hastily departs with a blunt reply and a creak of the rusty hinge.

「…Alright, then.」

Straf nonchalantly shrugs, and returns to reading his magic book…

…

Roughly thirty minutes later…

Clap!

Straf slams the book shut after reading its afterword, and promptly disregarding it.

「Right. All play and no work makes plot molasses. Time to go.」

He stands up, discards the tome he just read into his [Portable Storage] like a piece of garbage, and heads for the door. Lacking the key, he leaves the door shut, but unlocked, and heads for the stairs. When he reaches them, a student walks out to the same floor, but quickly flattens himself against the wall to make way for Straf. He scoffs at the student, and heads upwards. Minutes later, he arrives at the ominous hallway.

「…Man, would it fucking kill them to put more of those lights here?」

Straf idly remarks, looking up at the sparse magic lamps hovering above. He lets out a large sigh, and walks through the set of doors into the headmaster's office.

「So how about that MacGuffin?」

He asks, as soon as his foot makes it into the room.

「Ah, Straf… Good timing.」

Corvus says over his shoulder, once again standing in the window.

「Good timing? Better not say you were expecting me, or I will call you out on your bullshit, and you will no longer look like an old, magical wise man.」

Straf says, approaching the headmaster's desk with his hands in his pockets.

「…Are you a cat, or something, old man? Seriously.」

He asks, as Corvus steps down from the elevated portion of the room behind the desk to meet him.

「While I did not specifically expect you to burst in through the door at that exact moment, I knew you would come…」

Corvus says, gingerly placing one foot in front of the other while he climbs down the steps.

「Bullshit, are you telling me-」

「…You wanted to see the barrier crystal, after all.」

Corvus explains while talking over Straf, and smiles gently at him, adjusting his glasses.

「…Alright, fair enough.」

With a tight-lipped grimace, Straf nods, conceding the headmaster's point.

「Still, why good timing?」

He asks, while Corvus sits down on his comfy office-like chair and swivels to his desk. The old mage doesn't reply, humming loudly while he rummages through the shelves, looking for something.

「Ah, there it is…」

The headmaster abruptly announces, and pulls out an envelope. Corvus holds it out for him, and Straf takes it into hand.

「…This is a little favor I want to ask of you, I want you to deliver this- Ah! Don't just open and read it!」

Corvus exclaims, sounding more indignant, surprised at Straf's audacity, and outraged rather than upset.

「…Professor, if you would happen to be available, please notify me- Wow, don't worry, I'm not going to… Too boring. I was expecting some secret, important communication.」

Straf brashly reads the topmost part of the letter, before throwing his hands up and packing it back into the envelope.

「And you would read it right in front of me!?」

The headmaster asks, again sounding more surprised and amazed by the audacity than even slightly angry.

「Hey, serves you right for cheaping out on wax… What do you want me to do with this?」

Straf asks, flapping the envelope in his hand.

「This is a letter for our demonology professor, Professor Arkeis. He requested his own study as a part of his tenure, and he is a rather… Severe recluse, so we use letters to communicate.」

「…And I'm supposed to be a delivery boy? What's next, four wolf paws for the alchemy professor?」

「It's just a little favor you could do for me, Straf. If you don't want to, I'll have someone else do it-」

「Fine, I'll do it…」

Straf rolls his eyes, shrugging his shoulders, and casually throws the letter into his [Portable Storage].

Clunk.

The headmaster's head perks up so quick, that his glasses slip off and land on his desk.

「Was that!?…」

Corvus exclaims, squinting heavily as he looks for the glasses right in front of him. After a moment of fondling his desk, he finally finds them, and slips them back onto his nose.

「Was that a dimensional pocket!?」

He shouts, pointing at the space where the purple vortex was occupying just a few seconds ago…