After finishing dinner, Leaf and Ray had returned to their lodging, and I was in my final evening training session of the day.

Surprisingly, Thelema School had everything you could want. The training rooms had been abandoned for ages, but now they were back in business.

While I was in the Abyss, Hekate personally took care of cleaning and organizing the place.

With no money to hire help, the school head was scrubbing the floors herself with a mop... it was oddly touching.

Still, for demonologists, training basically meant image training.

Since using demonic arts required a price, paying training just wasn't the same.

But the training room wasn't empty. I wasn't the only one there.

"Definitely faster."

"Really?"

"Yeah. From opening the contract to firing the magic circle, it only took three seconds. That's half a second shorter than last time."

Mear was with me while I practiced firing the magic circles.

Two heads were always better than one. Just timing it wasn't enough—Mear had taught me her own tricks and tips for mana control.

Thanks to her help, my records had finally started improving.

"Nice."

I smiled as I watched Mear.

She was sitting on a chair, her legs dangling in the air because they were too short for the seat.

Since her feet couldn't reach the floor, she kept swinging them back and forth.

Her legs moved slowly at first, then picked up speed, looking like a puppy wagging its tail.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

I noticed her staring back.

She stopped shaking her legs and changed her posture.

Pulling her knees up to her chest, she rested her small feet on the chair and gently wrapped them with her hands.

"No."

"...What?"

"I just have a feeling about what you're thinking. So no."

One effect of the brand.

When I was close, Mear could sometimes sense what I was thinking.

Right now, she could.

"But how long are you going to keep using 'Master'?"

"Why?"

"I mean, I'm your owner now, right?"

"...Please don't say that outside of our private moments."

I knew she was older than me, and since she's an elf, she has different standards. But still... it was a bit tricky.

Humans rely heavily on visuals, after all.

"How's the team? Did you get one?"

"Hekate told me?"

"Yeah. We're going back to the Abyss."

"Yeah. Owner."

We could just be the two of us then.

It wasn't like I was forcing her.

Hah, I was proud of that.

"The team is good. Priscilla and Jake..."

"Priscilla and Jake? Those are the ones I know?"

"Exactly."

It wasn't on purpose.

It was probably just a coincidence.

I hadn't told Mear about Jake yet.

All three of us were mages.

We had some connection.

It wasn't hard to imagine she'd arranged it this way.

"Then we're all Seniors?"

"So we'll be operating mostly on the third floor. If there's an opening, we can go to the fourth."

The third floor.

How long would it take us to get there?

"It won't take long."

"...Does that mean you can read my thoughts too?"

"Uh-huh. The brand gives clear control to one side only. Unless I specifically send the thought, it doesn't reverse."

So Mear had been reading my face the whole time.

"If it's Roman, even the second floor is possible right now."

"Really?"

"Yeah. It's a shame the demonologist doesn't have better tools or strong single-target spells, but we have utilities that surpass them. If it's just support, the third floor should be fine."

I understood the lack of tools.

I'd focused too much on demonic arts and only mastered basic universal magic. I hadn't contracted with enough demons to expand my repertoire.

"Hey, Mear, how many demons have you contracted with?"

"Me? Oh, wanna guess?"

After the brand was marked, Mear had used her natural intuition to figure out my contract demons.

That question made me realize I could do the same.

I closed my eyes and focused on the flow of mana.

I felt two connected conduits from the beginning.

Seir and Leraje.

And one faint star shining between the two giants, like a sun.

'That's Mear.'

The conduit connected through the brand with me.

And that small star had more paths leading from it.

"Five... no, seven?"

"Right. Seven. About average for demonologists."

In other words, Mear's unique demonic mana was at least seven.

Three times more than me, who only had two.

"Of those, two are nameless demons, more like familiars than actual demons."

"Wolves?"

"No. They're like offspring of the demon that governs decay. Roman, you don't have a familiar yet?"

"Yeah."

"One familiar would be nice. It could take the lead in emergencies, and scouting is useful too. How about I use a nameless demon as a familiar for you?"

"I'd probably never be able to use it."

How dare they match up against great marquises and dukes!

I'd probably kick them away.

Seir is worth keeping an eye on, but Leraje is out of the question.

"Or you could have a familiar through familiar magic, which is universal magic. I'll teach you."

"That sounds good."

The evening training was about to continue.

§

"Ugh... did I miss anything?"

"Got it. Let's go now~"

At the pub on the first floor of the inn where Ray and Leaf stayed.

When I walked in, I saw Ray grumbling to Leaf about wanting to leave quickly, while Leaf was carefully reading the paper in her hand, half-paying attention to Ray.

"What are you doing?"

"Oh, you're here."

"Welcome."

The innkeeper gave me a glare for not ordering, but I ignored it and sat at the table with the two of them.

Leaf pushed the paper toward me.

"Mr. Roman, please check it."

"What's this?"

It was the supply list Leaf had written.

A few bottles of health potions, mana potions, signal smoke flares, extra clothes, several blankets, spices like salt, pepper, and a few kinds of herbs...

"Nothing seems to be missing?"

"Really?"

"Got it~"

"Hmm, then let's wrap it up like this. Shall we go?"

Leaf rolled up the list, stood up, and Leaf let out a long groan.

"I wouldn't listen to you when I said I was fine."

"Ray's too sloppy. I can't trust you with this sort of thing..."

"What? Come here!"

Leaf had dodged this kind of thing many times already and quickly hid behind me.

I grabbed Ray's small head and ruffled it.

"Stop joking around. Let's go."

"It wasn't a joke."

"Then treat it like a real one."

Ray flicked my hand away with a click of her tongue.

"Your head's a mess."

"It always was."

"You bought the potions from the shop Mr. Roman knows, right?"

"Yeah. I only know the face, but it's better than not going at all."

It was the potion shop run by Mear's old teammate.

While Leaf carefully picked potions from the list, I casually asked the owner.

"Mear's going back to the Abyss again this time."

"Really? Alone?"

"I made a team."

"...You'll join us later?"

"Maybe. We'll see when the time comes."

"Take care. She's a poor girl."

The owner handed me a bottle of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠potion.

"Consider it information fee."

"What's this?"

"Amplification potion. It's expensive. Handmade."

"...Were you an alchemist?"

"Right."

"I thought you were a martial artist."

The owner chuckled like she'd heard a joke.

It was the truth.

No, how could that muscle be anything but a martial artist.

"Do you know how tough an alchemist's job is? In the apprenticeship days, I even stayed up all night stirring a ladle. Muscles are essential for an alchemist's survival."

That was a pretty reasonable reason.

"Anyway, take care. If you find any good materials, bring them. I won't eat them all."

"I remember."

"Mr. Roman, all the supplies are packed."

"I'll pay."

After filling the potion supply list, we filled Leaf's supply list one by one.

And when we finally finished shopping—er, supplies—Ray and I were already walking with the energy of someone who'd just fought in the Abyss.

"It's over now, right? For real?"

"Hmm, I want to see one more thing..."

"Leaf, no."

I can't, for real.

"Then how about a quick stop at the Union?"

"The Union? Why?"

"I thought it might be better to register properly as a team like Mear."

Ray tilted her head.

"Why? You don't need to. That place has a rush feel anyway, so registering there is fine, but we don't need to."

"But it would be better to have something formal. It'll make me feel more at ease, and I'll feel like we've actually become a real team."

I thought it was necessary, but since quests were accepted per team, it couldn't hurt to register in advance.

"Yeah, good idea. If we find any decent quests, we can take one."

Money wasn't an issue, but sometimes the reward for quests wasn't just money—it could be rare items.

Plus, it would be advantageous for promotion reviews.

The Union was close to our path.

Before long, we entered the Union building and stopped dead in our tracks at the unexpected words.

"So who is this Roman guy?"

"Oh, right. My little brother took the test and everyone said he was the only one who saw him—Cheon Geum, Yeom Punghee, the Grand Duchess, all of them."

"A demonologist can compete? How?"

"Tsk. My opinion's different."

Ah, this.

Had the incident at the test spread as gossip?

There were many eyes watching, after all.

It wasn't just my skill—people would be surprised that I, not someone else, was the center of our group.

As I stood quietly, Ray poked my side with her elbow and laughed.

"Huh, wanna borrow my hood? What do you think?"

I couldn't refuse.

"Sure. Lend me your hood."

With that, the team name would be easy.

Let's call it Hood Squad.

Let's Do It!

After dinner, Leaf and Ray had returned to their lodging, and I was in my final evening training session of the day.

Surprisingly, Thelema School had everything you could want. The training rooms had been abandoned for ages, but now they were back in business.

While I was in the Abyss, Hekate personally took care of cleaning and organizing the place.

With no money to hire help, the school head was scrubbing the floors herself with a mop... it was oddly touching.

Still, for demonologists, training basically meant image training.

Since using demonic arts required a price, paying training just wasn't the same.

But the training room wasn't empty. I wasn't the only one there.

"Definitely faster."

"Really?"

"Yeah. From opening the contract to firing the magic circle, it only took three seconds. That's half a second shorter than last time."

Mear was with me while I practiced firing the magic circles.

Two heads were always better than one. Just timing it wasn't enough—Mear had taught me her own tricks and tips for mana control.

Thanks to her help, my records had finally started improving.

"Nice."

I smiled as I watched Mear.

She was sitting on a chair, her legs dangling in the air because they were too short for the seat.

Since her feet couldn't reach the floor, she kept swinging them back and forth.

Her legs moved slowly at first, then picked up speed, looking like a puppy wagging its tail.

I noticed her staring back.

She stopped shaking her legs and changed her posture.

Pulling her knees up to her chest, she rested her small feet on the chair and gently wrapped them with her hands.

"No."

"...What?"

"I just have a feeling about what you're thinking. So no."

One effect of the brand.

When I was close, Mear could sometimes sense what I was thinking.

Right now, she could.

"But how long are you going to keep using 'Master'?"

"Why?"

"I mean, I'm your owner now, right?"

"...Please don't say that outside of our private moments."

I knew she was older than me, and since she's an elf, she has different standards. But still... it was a bit tricky.

Humans rely heavily on visuals, after all.

"How's the team? Did you get one?"

"Hekate told me?"

"Yeah. We're going back to the Abyss."

"Yeah. Owner."

We could just be the two of us then.

It wasn't like I was forcing her.

Hah, I was proud of that.

"The team is good. Priscilla and Jake..."

"Priscilla and Jake? Those are the ones I know?"

"Exactly."

It wasn't on purpose.

It was probably just a coincidence.

I hadn't told Mear about Jake yet.

All three of us were mages.

We had some connection.

It wasn't hard to imagine she'd arranged it this way.

"Then we're all Seniors?"

"So we'll be operating mostly on the third floor. If there's an opening, we can go to the fourth."

The third floor.

How long would it take us to get there?

"It won't take long."

"...Does that mean you can read my thoughts too?"

"Uh-huh. The brand gives clear control to one side only. Unless I specifically send the thought, it doesn't reverse."

So Mear had been reading my face the whole time.

"If it's Roman, even the second floor is possible right now."

"Really?"

"Yeah. It's a shame the demonologist doesn't have better tools or strong single-target spells, but we have utilities that surpass them. If it's just support, the third floor should be fine."

I understood the lack of tools.

I'd focused too much on demonic arts and only mastered basic universal magic. I hadn't contracted with enough demons to expand my repertoire.

"Hey, Mear, how many demons have you contracted with?"

"Me? Oh, wanna guess?"

After the brand was marked, Mear had used her natural intuition to figure out my contract demons.

That question made me realize I could do the same.

I closed my eyes and focused on the flow of mana.

I felt two connected conduits from the beginning.

Seir and Leraje.

And one faint star shining between the two giants, like a sun.

'That's Mear.'

The conduit connected through the brand with me.

And that small star had more paths leading from it.

"Five... no, seven?"

"Right. Seven. About average for demonologists."

In other words, Mear's unique demonic mana was at least seven.

Three times more than me, who only had two.

"Of those, two are nameless demons, more like familiars than actual demons."

"Wolves?"

"No. They're like offspring of the demon that governs decay. Roman, you don't have a familiar yet?"

"Yeah."

"One familiar would be nice. It could take the lead in emergencies, and scouting is useful too. How about I use a nameless demon as a familiar for you?"

"I'd probably never be able to use it."

How dare they match up against great marquises and dukes!

I'd probably kick them away.

Seir is worth keeping an eye on, but Leraje is out of the question.

"Or you could have a familiar through familiar magic, which is universal magic. I'll teach you."

"That sounds good."

The evening training was about to continue.

§

"Ugh... did I miss anything?"

"Got it. Let's go now~"

At the pub on the first floor of the inn where Ray and Leaf stayed.

When I walked in, I saw Ray grumbling to Leaf about wanting to leave quickly, while Leaf was carefully reading the paper in her hand, half-paying attention to Ray.

"What are you doing?"

"Oh, you're here."

"Welcome."

The innkeeper gave me a glare for not ordering, but I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠ignored it and sat at the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠table with the two of them.

Leaf pushed the paper toward me.

"Mr. Roman, please check it."

"What's this?"

It was the supply list Leaf had written.

A few bottles of health potions, mana potions, signal smoke flares, extra clothes, several blankets, spices like salt, pepper, and a few kinds of herbs...

"Nothing seems to be missing?"

"Really?"

"Got it~"

"Hmm, then let's wrap it up like this. Shall we go?"

Leaf rolled up the list, stood up, and Leaf let out a long groan.

"I wouldn't listen to you when I said I was fine."

"Ray's too sloppy. I can't trust you with this sort of thing..."

"What? Come here!"

Leaf had dodged this kind of thing many times already and quickly hid behind me.

I grabbed Ray's small head and ruffled it.

"Stop joking around. Let's go."

"It wasn't a joke."

"Then treat it like a real one."

Ray flicked my hand away with a click of her tongue.

"Your head's a mess."

"It always was."

"You bought the potions from the shop Mr. Roman knows, right?"

"Yeah. I only know the face, but it's better than not going at all."

It was the potion shop run by Mear's old teammate.

While Leaf carefully picked potions from the list, I casually asked the owner.

"Mear's going back to the Abyss again this time."

"Really? Alone?"

"I made a team."

"...You'll join us later?"

"Maybe. We'll see when the time comes."

"Take care. She's a poor girl."

The owner handed me a bottle of potion.

"Consider it information fee."

"What's this?"

"Amplification potion. It's expensive. Handmade."

"...Were you an alchemist?"

"Right."

"I thought you were a martial artist."

The owner chuckled like she'd heard a joke.

It was the truth.

No, how could that muscle be anything but a martial artist.

"Do you know how tough an alchemist's job is? In the apprenticeship days, I even stayed up all night stirring a ladle. Muscles are essential for an alchemist's survival."

That was a pretty reasonable reason.

"Anyway, take care. If you find any good materials, bring them. I won't eat them all."

"I remember."

"Mr. Roman, all the supplies are packed."

"I'll pay."

After filling the potion supply list, we filled Leaf's supply list one by one.

And when we finally finished shopping—er, supplies—Ray and I were already walking with the energy of someone who'd just fought in the Abyss.

"It's over now, right? For real?"

"Hmm, I want to see one more thing..."

"Leaf, no."

I can't, for real.

"Then how about a quick stop at the Union?"

"The Union? Why?"

"I thought it might be better to register properly as a team like Mear."

Ray tilted her head.

"Why? You don't need to. That place has a rush feel anyway, so registering there is fine, but we don't need to."

"But it would be better to have something formal. It'll make me feel more at ease, and I'll feel like we've actually become a real team."

I thought it was necessary, but since quests were accepted per team, it couldn't hurt to register in advance.

"Yeah, good idea. If we find any decent quests, we can take one."

Money wasn't an issue, but sometimes the reward for quests wasn't just money—it could be rare items.

Plus, it would be advantageous for promotion reviews.

The Union was close to our path.

Before long, we entered the Union building and stopped dead in our tracks at the unexpected words.

"So who is this Roman guy?"

"Oh, right. My little brother took the test and everyone said he was the only one who saw him—Cheon Geum, Yeom Punghee, the Grand Duchess, all of them."

"A demonologist can compete? How?"

"Tsk. My opinion's different."

Ah, this.

Had the incident at the test spread as gossip?

There were many eyes watching, after all.

It wasn't just my skill—people would be surprised that I, not someone else, was the center of our group.

As I stood quietly, Ray poked my side with her elbow and laughed.

"Huh, wanna borrow my hood? What do you think?"

I couldn't refuse.

"Sure. Lend me your hood."

With that, the team name would be easy.

Let's call it Hood Squad.