I was explaining Storage Magic to the adventurers.
At the moment, a muscular man emerged from behind the counter.
"Guild master!"
The receptionist shouted anxiously. So this man was the one in charge here.
He scowled as he questioned receptionist.
"Exactly what happened?"
"Well… it's like this…"
The receptionist explained to the guild master what had just happened. Then the guild master walked toward me.
(So… tall…)
My head barely reached his waist. I'm over 130 cm tall now, but he must be over 2 m. I had to tilt my head back just to look up at him, so I stepped back a little.
"Kid, can you demonstrate Storage Magic for me?"
"Sure. I can also teach everyone how to use it."
I agreed to the guild master's request, then turned to the others and explained how to use Storage Magic.
"First, gather mana in your hand, then say "Storage"—you can even say it in your mind. A circle will appear in front of your eyes. I call it a Storage Hole."
I placed the cup into the Storage Hole, then took out a cabbage to show the guild master. He crossed his arms.
"Kid, how big is this thing inside?"
"The Storage Hole is cubic. I'm 12 years old now, and it's 12 m in width, length, and height."
"So it increases by 1 m every year?"
"Exactly."
The guild master seemed to understand. He raised his hand and chanted "Storage", and a blue Storage Hole appeared.
Soon, the others created their own Storage Holes, and holes of various colors appeared.
"I did it!"
"I did it too! Really, everyone can use it!"
"I'll keep buying until I'm satisfied!"
Seeing them so excited, I guessed this solved many of their problems. And the big sister from before… your image seems a bit strange now. Suddenly, the guild master asked a question.
"Kid, why is the color of the Storage Hole different?"
He noticed that his Storage Hole's color differed from the others.
"The color of the Storage Hole matches your hair color."
The guild master stared at me silently, his gaze intimidating.
"Kid, what are your names?"
"I'm Karen, and she's Lina."
The guild master nodded, giving me the feeling of being watched by a principal at school—ready to be summoned for tea at any moment.
"I am the guild master of the Bakiko branch, Wiley. Karen, Lina, you came to sell monsters and register as adventurers, right?"
Finally, the topic returned to why we were here. I quickly nodded.
"Yes."
"Let's first see the monsters you're selling, Sylvie."
Wiley called out a girl's name, and the receptionist responded.
"Yes, guild master."
Sylvie came around the counter to check the monsters, then turned and asked.
"Mr. Karen, Ms. Lina, where did you defeat these monsters?"
She was probably questioning whether we had really defeated them. I pointed in the direction we came from.
"The forest over there."
As I spoke, others began whispering among themselves, though I could still hear a few comments.
"Hey, he said the southern forest."
"Isn't that where only a blue-ranked adventurer can defeat monsters?"
"Unbelievable that they got through there unharmed."
Noticing the whispers, Wiley asked Sylvie.
"Sylvie, is there a problem?"
"Guild master, one of the monsters Mr. Karen and Ms. Lina defeated is the Fangblade Tiger from the southern forest."
I recognized the Sugrith Tiger, so the Fangblade Tiger must be the smaller one.
"What!?"
Wiley suddenly exclaimed. Sylvie continued.
"Although it was hunted down, its body is completely unharmed, no visible injuries."
"What!? Let me see!"
Wiley carefully picked up the Fangblade Tiger with both hands. Being so tall, he looked like he was holding a small child, and he examined its body from every angle.
"Isn't that the dangerous monster from the southern forest?"
"They actually hunted down it… who are these people?"
"Ah! The Fangblade Tiger looks so cute in the guild master's hands!"
So this small tiger is the dangerous monster Gajeel mentioned? And the person who said Lina was cute earlier… definitely need to keep him away from her.
"There really isn't a single scratch. How did you manage it?"
Will looked incredulous after checking, asking how we did it. I didn't want to reveal the derived magic, so I altered part of the story.
"We trapped it in a Water Cage to suffocate it."
"Wait, how do you catch it without water?"
I knew someone would ask this, so I prepared a demonstration.
"Just put it in water. Lina, show them with the Sugrith Tiger."
"Okay."
Lina conjured a large water water around the Sugrith Tiger and chanted.
"Water Cage"
The tiger floated inside the water ball toward the center. Then Lina sent the water ball flying into the air. The crowd shouted in amazement: "Ooooh!!!" Wiley stared at the water ball, pointing at it with a shocked expression.
"Wait a moment! What magic was that just now? And the magic that moved the water ball—what was that!?"
"That magic is Water Ball."
"Water Ball? The basic magic, Water Ball?"
"Yes."
Wiley gave me a look as if he didn't believe me, but I wasn't lying.
"Impossible! I've never heard of Water Ball leaving the caster's hand!"
No one had discovered this trick before? Lina is really amazing! Seeing Wiley like this, I stayed calm.
"Lina, put the Sugrith Tiger down."
"Mm."
I had Lina cancel the Water Cage, then spoke loudly.
"Those with water element, come over here. I'll teach you how to operate it."
Some of the people gathered around me. Since I don't have a water affinity myself, I let Lina take over the teaching.
"Lina, show them how it works."
"U-uh… I-I can't…"
Lina nodded instinctively, then seemed to realize what I meant, and shook her hands, refusing.
"You need to learn to talk to people too. It's fine, I'll protect you."
Since Lina was shy and probably hadn't spoken much with others since arriving, I hoped she could make some female friends.
After all, some things can only be shared between same-gender friends—even though I don't know exactly what.
In my previous life, I remembered how groups of girls would chat while deliberately avoiding boys, but the girls didn't mind at all.
"Mm, I'll try."
I was glad Lina agreed. This way, everyone could get to know her, especially since I tend to attract all the attention.
People who speak a lot leave a strong impression, while those who speak little gradually fade from memory, causing situations like "Was there such a person? I've never heard of them. Who are they?"
Lina probably wouldn't fade away like that, but I wanted to prevent it. She then began teaching the others.
"First, conjure a water ball. Then, use one finger to decide the direction. To stop it, clench your fist."
Lina demonstrated, and the others tried to control the water sphere, but none of them could make it stop exactly where they wanted.
"I see… it's so hard to stop at the right position."
"It's really hard! This little girl is amazing!"
"This girl is so cute! And from earlier, I couldn't see clearly, but that boy is cute too!"
"!"
That comment was really dangerous—and it's from a man. Why does he always notice things differently from everyone else? I need to pay serious attention to him. Even Lina started being cautious.
"I understand how you controlled the Sugrith Tiger, but the Fangblade Tiger is very fast. How did you manage to catch it?"
Wiley seemed to grasp the Water Ball technique but questioned how we captured the Fangblade Tiger.
So the Fangblade Tiger is an agile type—no wonder it dodged the first strike of the Tree Bind. At that moment, the voices of a crowd interrupted us.