Lin Jun took the yellow book back from Gray. The half-torn page drooped weakly, lifeless.

Strangely enough, it really felt as if that page had died.

Words still appeared and vanished on the surface, but not in the frenzied, repetitive flood from before.

[It’s falling off! The page is falling off!]

[How’s it fair to bring a dragonkin here!?]

[Wait—wait—let’s talk, don’t use violence!]

[Whoever you are, we can negotiate!]

As it “typed,” a faint magical pulse rippled from the book—its trump card.

Lin Jun noticed the wave… but nothing happened.

Had it tried to charm him and Gray?

Yet the status panel showed no change.

So he focused back on the writing.

Mangled fragments… barely words.

Good. Perfect.

With only a Level 2 Common Language skill, he couldn’t understand a thing.

Damn. How he missed being literate in his past life. If only he had more humans around now—

Lin Jun, how have you fallen so low? Depending on greed instead of learning?

Fine. Once Dilan was sane again, he’d start learning Common Language from him.

But for now, the notebook needed a solution.

He held it up toward Gray, ready to ask—but one look at her clear, innocent eyes made him think better of it.

She wasn’t the one to ask.

For now, he’d just have to wait for their “cultural specialist”—literate Dilan—to wake up.

Lin Jun tossed the yellow book to the ground. A self-detonating Puji sat on it with a plop, suppressing it.

If it tried anything, the Puji would blow itself up in its face.

Meanwhile, other Pujis carried the unconscious Dilan into a hollow mushroom.

Inside, the mycelium would restore his mana. From now on, these mushroom houses could serve as dormitories for employees.

——

“Ugh… where am I?”

Soft all around him, like lying on the most comfortable bed.

The mycelium in his body was full of mana—he hadn’t felt so nourished in ages. Outside, he never dared drink potions freely, only a sip at a time.

Opening his eyes, he blinked at the odd ceiling.

Not wood, not stone… it looked like… a mushroom?

Dilan’s eyes widened. Memories of before he blacked out returned in fragments.

He scrambled upright and clambered out of the “bed.”

Sure enough—a giant mushroom.

“You’re awake? Then stay right there.”

Boss’s voice in the network. He froze obediently.

He wasn’t sure what he’d done wrong, but clearly he had.

A moment later, Pujis dragged his “good friend,” the yellow book, over.

And with them came a humanoid covered in jagged, heavy scales.

Lizardman?

No… he’d never seen this race before. And that pressure—stronger than a Diamond-ranked adventurer.

Without doubt, if they fought, this figure—shorter than him by a head—could crush him with a single punch. Not even his special body could save him.

Through the network, he sensed the connection. A new subordinate of the Boss? As expected of the Boss!

Only… why was she eating a Puji in her arms?

Thud—

His good friend was tossed at his feet.

The Boss’s command came through the network:

“It writes, you read. I speak, you repeat. Got it?”

The Boss wanted to interrogate his good friend? Perfect! Surely through dialogue they could coexist peacefully.

“Yes, Boss!”

He opened the book. One page was half missing.

…

Lin Jun glanced at his “translator” and his “muscle,” both ready.

Time for a pleasant interrogation.

First order:

“Remove the charm.”

Dilan didn’t understand, but dutifully translated.

[Okay, okay, I’ll remove it.]

As the words were read, Dilan’s eyes went hazy. A moment later—

“B-Boss… what’s happening? I…”

【Status: Charmed. Moderate】

Before he could finish, Gray—at Lin Jun’s signal—stomped the book and yanked at the half-torn page.

No time for words to appear. With a sharp rip, the page detached.

[AAAAHHHH!]

The page dissolved into ash, faint layered wails echoing as it vanished.

What the hell was this thing?

Even more sinister than he thought.

“Remove the charm,” Lin Jun repeated.

Dilan hesitated at his good friend’s agony. Only after Boss repeated himself did he speak the order aloud.

This time, the book said nothing. But Dilan screamed, clutching his head, writhing on the ground.

Lin Jun only nodded at Gray, who gripped the remaining pages, ready to tear them all.

Luckily, the book didn’t dare resist further. When Dilan’s screams faded, the charm status was gone.

“F-Forgive me, Boss… I…”

Though charmed, his memories were intact. Now free, the truth of it was clear.

Prostrate on the ground, Dilan poured everything out—the whole story, his knowledge of soul-bound artifacts, everything.

The book remained silent, no words at all.

Lin Jun was surprised.

He had thought Dilan had simply been possessed by some evil tome.

But it turned out vampires and demonfolk were involved as well.

“How are you feeling? Need rest?”

Dilan’s state was like a man carsick for an entire day, stomach emptied dry.

“No, Boss. Please continue.”

“Then I suggest you confess everything yourself. Spare yourself some pain.”

But in Gray’s claws, the yellow book stayed mute, refusing to yield.

“A tough one?”

She pulled one page free, tearing it slowly, piece by piece.

It too dissolved into ash with a wail.

Yet this time—not a single word appeared.

Interesting. Try another.

“Uh… maybe it’s because… you’re choking its ‘neck’?”

Dilan pointed uncertainly to the handful of pages Gray gripped tight.

???

A book… with a neck?

They tried loosening her grip.

[Fine! I’ll talk! I’ll say everything! Just get that black monster away from me!!!]

——

St. Clair Ducal Estate.

Inanna rubbed sleepy eyes, pushing herself up from the downy bed.

She glanced at the covers shoved aside and sighed, ruffling her messy pink hair.

While asleep, she’d unconsciously shifted from Puji form back into human, always kicking the blankets away.

But she couldn’t help it—she loved casting Transformation before bed.

In Puji form, with senses dulled and hazy, it was perfect for relaxing into sleep.

Well… she wasn’t afraid of the cold anyway, so it hardly mattered.

Since she was awake early, she might as well head to her teacher and begin today’s magic lessons.