It seemed like Soff and Lulomet’s vision had returned. Keeven still looked dizzy, but he didn’t let that stop him.
“…These are weeds,” he said, observing the green clumps that had fallen to the floor once the barrier was dispelled. Sure enough, the green stuff that had exploded from the flower was vegetation. The divine flower could spawn plant life, just like Lulomet had said. “This stuff wouldn’t have hurt us at all.”
The clumps of grass were strange, but grass could only do so much damage, no matter how hard it was flung. At most, it might have stung their skin a little.
Unsurprisingly, the divine flower had vanished after scattering its vegetation, leaving a path of greenery that extended into the depths of the dungeon. It might have just exhausted the last of its power to escape capture.
“Well then… Should we pursue it?” Soff asked.
Clavis turned to look at the group. After a brief pause, he said, “Aren’t you bored? Kunon helped us a lot by getting us down here quickly, far surpassing my expectations. He even outdid us by briefly capturing the divine flower. And Lulomet uses dark magic. We’ll need him to help us wilt the plants and clean up, since light, wind, and earth aren’t suited for that. That leaves us teachers with nothing to do.”
The idea that the teachers weren’t doing anything wasn’t strictly true. They could help if something went wrong and were thus a reassuring presence on the team. But when Clavis put it that way, it did seem they had little reason to be there.
“But you know what? This is a rare opportunity to show our dear students what their teachers are capable of,” Clavis said.
Soff and Keevan looked at the two students in question—Kunon and Lulomet. The sight of the two boys listening to their conversation filled the teachers with conviction. If they didn’t do something, their students would never take them seriously. The boys might tell their classmates things like, “There were teachers with us, but I’m not sure what they did” and “Wait, did they do anything at all?”
Soff and Keevan weren’t just teachers—they were sorcerers. Being underestimated as teachers was one thing, but it would be a blow to their pride if anyone doubted their abilities as sorcerers. They were also graduates of the Advanced class, and they couldn’t stand the thought of their juniors being unimpressed by them.
“Let’s do this, Keevan,” said Soff.
“You bet.”
Kunon and Lulomet were surprised. They didn’t have many chances to witness their professors’ magic, and they were quite pleased by this development.
The rest of the search passed in a flash.
“Our teachers are amazing, aren’t they, Lulomet?” said Kunon.
“Yes, they are.”
A few quick words were all the three men needed to get on the same page.
“I’ll search for it.”
“I’ll catch it.”
“Then I suppose I’ll secure it.”
That was all the communication they needed before they sprang to action.
Soff would detect the flower, Keevan would catch it, and Clavis would make sure it didn’t escape. They were leaving the last part to Clavis because he was the only one who knew how to handle divine flowers without harming them.
After deciding on a simple plan, the teachers went forth into the darkness.
Keevan produced some yellow sand. “All right, Soff.”
“Here I go.” Soff’s gentle breeze picked up the sand and blew it deeper into the dungeon. “I found it!”
“Capturing now!”
Soff’s wind detected the divine flower. Then, on his signal, Keevan concentrated the sand the wind was carrying and hardened it.
“Good work.”
The ball of sand fell to the ground, and Clavis collected it.
Their job was done. They had caught the divine flower in no time at all.
This was only a small taste of the teachers’ prowess, but Kunon and Lulomet were happy to have witnessed it.
The men had used their spells in unconventional ways and displayed an impressive adaptability and level of experience. They were also skilled enough to combine their spells on the spot without arranging anything beforehand.
Their actions appeared simple, but everything they did was very high level. Any group of Advanced class students probably could have pulled off the same thing, but not nearly so smoothly. And Lulomet and Kunon were skilled enough to understand that.
Once they’d caught the divine flower, Lulomet disposed of the plants it had spawned, bringing their operation to an end.
“Let’s head back,” said Clavis. “Keevan, drop the sand.”
“Got it.”
The floating sand ball crumbled, revealing the divine flower.
“Wow, so this is what it looks like…”
“Hmm…”
Soff and Keevan observed the divine flower with great interest. It was still floating in the air, trapped in a membrane of light.
“…?!”
Meanwhile, Kunon was shocked by something else.
No way.
He couldn’t believe it. He had thought it might be similar, but…now that the sand was gone and he could perceive it clearly, questions rattled in his mind. Still, he said nothing. After all, it was impossible. Completely and totally impossible.
The light membrane Clavis had produced couldn’t be the Saint’s Sanctum spell. No matter how identical it was, or how similar it felt, that spell was exclusive to saints. It could only be used by women with the light attribute who held the position of saint. Clavis was a light user, but he was a man. He should be incapable of using that spell. Could he secretly be a woman? And a saint at that?
Kunon considered that for a moment but ultimately rejected the notion. Clavis was very good-looking, but not in a feminine way. So what was going on? What was this spell that was totally identical to Sanctum?
The Saint was Kunon’s classmate and business partner. He’d witnessed and felt Sanctum practically on a daily basis. This spell seemed entirely its equal. The likeness was striking; he couldn’t find a single difference.
“That sure was quick,” Clavis said casually. “We might be able to make it back for a late lunch.”
“It’s glowing,” said Soff.
“This small light that looks like a firefly… Is that the light spirit?” asked Lulomet.
The two of them studied the flower closely from many different angles. This mythical plant was so rare they were determined to get a good look at it while they could. Keevan was even sketching it.
Kunon, however, was more interested in the membrane surrounding it.
“…Um, Professor Clavis—?”
“Let’s head back. Kunon, carry us up,” Clavis said, as if avoiding Kunon’s timid question.