Whether the space itself had been sealed away or ensnared within a barrier, the admissions briefing hall of the Mage Tower was swallowed by an unnatural magical darkness.0

“Hmm…” Ria murmured, her eyes narrowing as she stared into the darkness beyond the door, the keen eyes of an adventurer at work.0

“Do you get it, Ria?” Leo asked.0

“No… I don’t know. I can’t see anything, and it feels like there’s nothing there. I mean, I’m not a mage, after all…” Ria replied, shaking her head. 0

Even the system couldn’t read it, and there was no way to make sense of the phenomenon.0

"What could it be? What could it be?" Maho said as she approached with a beaming smile, her arms overflowing with torn pamphlets from every department. "If this really is a magical terror attack, does that mean we've been kidnapped?"0

“I haven’t thought that far yet… Oh, right,” Ria replied, tapping her temple lightly, as if knocking the thought back into place.0

I lost focus for a moment. No matter the chaos, escorting the princess must always be my top priority, Ria thought.0

"Please have a seat for now, Princess Maho. Leo, your only focus should be on her."0

"Okay! Princess, come with me!" Leo said.0

"Okay, okay~" Maho replied, having wandered over out of curiosity, but just as quickly, she returned to her seat beside Leo.0

"… As expected, she doesn't miss a thing," Ria muttered.0

Maho was the picture of innocence, a perfect image of the naive princess from old fairy tales—full of openings, easy to overlook. But beneath that facade lay not just a single blade, but dozens, each sharpened to a deadly edge, coiled like serpents in the dark, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.0

Even now, it probably wasn’t just curiosity that had led her here. Although she had wandered over not out of interest,...0