They started a metal affinity magic lesson right after our picnic was done.

“Are you sure you want to rank up with metal molding? I recommend ranking up with metal armor first.”

“But I’ve used that spell all my life. I don’t want to start from scratch.”

“It’s your choice. In that case, let me explain how to complete a perfect cast of metal molding.”

“Just what I wanted to know!”

I focused on Suuru’s face because I knew what was coming.

“It’s not too complicated. You need to use a mix of sel coming from different parts of your body and focus it where you want to release the spell. The exact ratios are 12.6% from the head, 14.1% from the left arm, 18.2% from the right arm, 20.9% from the belly, 15.5% from the left leg, and 18.7% from the right leg. The speed at which you accumulate sel should also be precise. 0.73 seconds for the head, 0.84 seconds for the left arm, 0.68 seconds for the right arm, 0.65 seconds for the belly, 0.74 seconds for the left leg, and 0.71 seconds for the right leg.”

I appreciated Suuru’s speechless expression while grinning. Eventually, she let out a dumbfounded noise.

“…Huh?”

“What’s wrong?”

“You’re joking, right?”

“I’m always serious.”

“…You didn’t come up with those numbers to make fun of me?”

“No. That’s how I cast the spell, too.”

“No way…”

She looked so flabbergasted that I burst into laughter.

“Pftt! Hahahaha! Suuru! Your expression is so funny! I knew you’d react like that. Where’s my phone? I need to take a picture! Ack, Minsto, you still didn’t give it back to me!”

“It’s still dismantled.”

“Darn it. It was such a precious opportunity!”

Suuru trembled in shame and rage.

“T-Tila! Stop laughing! It’s not funny!”

“Hahahaha!”

“Tilaaaa!”

We played around for some time under Minsto's calm gaze before managing to calm down a little.

“Are you telling me it’s so hard to do a perfect cast?”

“It’s fine if you train diligently.”

“Why do you think it takes people years to rank up?”

Minsto answered first while I went second. Suuru looked very distressed now.

“That can’t be… What’s with those precise numbers? There’s no way I can do that. Tila, you’ve ranked up so fast. You used some kind of shortcut, right?”

“You wish. If there were a shortcut like that, the world would be filled with transcendents.”

“Argh…”

“Don’t worry, I’ll be cheering you on. Mentally.”

“That’s not helping!”

We bickered for the rest of the day while enjoying the nature around us. We came back home for dinner, and Suuru started to train under a teacher for real during the evening. I hoped she would make good progress from now on, since unless one was a genius, it was hard to rank up without any real guidance.

The following day, I made my way to the outskirts of Geola as usual when I noticed something unusual. There were large groups of people waiting outside the military tents, most wearing simple clothes. They were neither feline nor canine but consisted of a large variety of species, except those two. They had pretty terrible expressions on their faces, a mix of despair and resignation.

It wasn’t hard to guess where these people were coming from. There were only two possibilities. They either came from some of the villages around Geola or Thuk, with the latter choice being almost certain.

I entered the main tent after announcing my presence, only to find that the occupants were in the middle of a meeting. As I came in, some of the participants acknowledged me with a nod after seeing me coming every day for weeks. I responded to their light greeting with a nod of mine before focusing my gaze on Crali at the end of the table.

They had taken a break during their discussion due to my arrival, and there was only silence in there. Crali had an annoyed expression on while the rest of Geola’s leaders seemed embarrassed.

“Good morning. I’m sorry for interrupting.”

Crali stared at me for a second before responding.

“You’re here. Stay for a moment today.”

“I understand. Is it related to the people outside?”

“That’s one of the reasons.”

“Who are they?”

“Refugees from Thuk. Thuk’s army has been on a losing streak recently and had to retreat into their territory. Makji and Taifau had to advance, but they’re still fighting hard, so their supply lines are stretched thin. They started to pillage villages on their way to resupply, and these people are fleeing that.”

“How cruel.”

“That’s how it is. As if we needed that right now. We don’t have any leisure to take care of them right now. The army’s barely able to stop a riot from happening inside the city. And those hundreds of people outside are just the beginning. There were thousands of refugees coming to us during the last war.”

“What are you going to do?”

“That’s what we’re discussing right now, but no one has any good idea.”

She glared at her ministers even though doing something like that wouldn’t resolve the problem. Some of the older ones didn’t even care about her glare and took it face on without blinking.

“We don’t have the manpower and resources right now!”

Crali shouted randomly before turning to me.

“You! Find a solution!”

“What? Me?”

“Yes, you! Do something about it!”

“How unreasonable. I’m just a merchant. What do you even want me to do?”

“I don’t care, just do it! Or give us an idea or something! Why is this all happening to me?”

I wasn’t one to take something like this without fighting back.

“Isn’t that your job? Why’d you ask me?”

“No, my job is to listen to my advisors' opinions and solutions and make a final decision.”

A snicker made itself heard in the corner of the room where Angin was lying down as usual.

“That’s why you’re so great at the job.”

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