“...Huh?”
The binding completely ensnared Suiz, holding him frozen in place. This was the spell Erin had given me before the operation—one effective against humans, but one that wouldn’t kill.
“What is this? Binding magic? Some kind of artifact?”
With all his limbs and joints locked up, Suiz was powerless to free himself. All he could do was wait for the spell to expire.
“It’s Erin’s magic,” I explained. “You can’t move anymore. Shall we consider this my win?”
“How do you have her magic? No, that’s not important. How did you suddenly get behind me?”
Suiz hadn’t yet realized the secret to my trick. Following Shadow Runner with your eyes required getting the hang of its movement, and once Suiz had adjusted to it, he was left oblivious when I instantly disappeared on him.
“We got the idea from a teleportation trap we found in the dungeon. Erin used her knowledge of spatial magic to improve it into a spell that allows the caster to warp to a specific point.”
And that specific point was five meters forward. That was why I’d needed to get exactly that distance from Suiz. After that, all I’d had to do was trigger the trap, turn around, and activate the binding magic in my palm.
“I see. An instant warp, huh? That’s over my head, but I guess I should’ve expected as much from a thief like you.”
“It’s really all thanks to Erin.”
She was the one who’d suggested incorporating something other than Spell Shot into my gloves. They were made of a fabric catalyst, and I always stored Spell Shot in the palms by necessity, but that left the back side free. She’d thus had the idea to add magic circles there that couldn’t be activated by Palm Shot anyway—my right hand held Gate, while my left held the teleportation trap. Meanwhile, my right palm contained an offensive spell and my left binding magic.
“This was my first time using it, so I’m glad it worked out... Unfortunately, this is still going to make things harder for me from here.”
I wasn’t supposed to waste the teleportation trap in a fight. The original plan was to get close to Neme’s room and use it to get inside, but now I’d spent it against Suiz. There was no crying over spilled milk, though. He was the strongest thief around, and he hadn’t left me much choice in the matter.
“Honestly, how am I supposed to get to Neme now? There are too many guards here. It’s impossible now, isn’t it?”
“Who knows? Don’t ask me. I’m just the loser here. I won’t get in your way anymore.”
“You sure accepted your defeat readily.”
“I know when to give up. I’ve lost. I was completely and utterly defeated.”
“You look pretty happy in spite of that.”
“Duh! I don’t get to have interesting fights like that every day. I’m completely satisfied.”
“You betrayed us so you could fight me, and now you’re satisfied that you lost? I can’t believe you...”
“Don’t be like that. You had fun too, didn’t you?”
I sighed at the childish innocence in Suiz’s eyes. “I guess a little. I never want to do that again, though.”
“It wouldn’t kill you to be a little more honest about your desires, you know?”
“You’re too honest about yours, Suiz.”