I couldn’t help but be amazed at the enormous floor plan.

“Forty rooms?!”

“It’s only twenty if you exclude the ones with obvious purposes.”

“But you said there might be more hidden rooms.”

“That’s why it’s hard to search them all.”

Examining the L-shaped mansion’s layout carefully, I noticed its fascinating structure. Particularly impressive was the greenhouse that pierced through the center of the mansion from the first floor to the third. One wall was designed with glass so the greenhouse would be visible from the banquet hall and dining rooms on every floor.

“Do you remember what they grew in there?”

“Ornamental trees popular among nobles and flowers with vibrant colors but no fragrance.”

“Hmm. Any animals?”

“A few small birds. Even then, the glass was so thick you couldn’t hear them chirping.”

Iris went on to explain that Baron Klaus had a special affection for the greenhouse. He even employed specialists to maintain it and always dined facing the greenhouse. Thanks to magical power, flowers that normally bloomed for just one season would repeatedly bloom and wither year-round.

“Anything unusual about it?”

“Not really. I wondered why he was so obsessed with it and watched for years, but except for his extravagant spending, it was just an ordinary greenhouse. No poisonous plants or prohibited flowers at all.”

“You mentioned the garden was entirely filled with Dehid flowers?”

“Yes. Especially at sunset, it looks like a purple sea. Beautiful yet somehow eerie.”

Just like him, Iris muttered, her lips twitching slightly.

According to Iris, Baron Klaus didn’t host banquets as frequently as other nobles. He preferred smaller gatherings, inviting like-minded nobles for tea parties or discussions. Iris, who always stood by his side during these events, said she always thought the same thing.

“To put it kindly, he’s excellent at getting into people’s minds; to put it bluntly, he’s good at finding weaknesses and vulnerabilities.”

A strange tension filled the room with Iris’s words. I rolled one of the two completed floor plans into a cylinder and tied it securely with string. Then I handed it to Sezan.

“Lord Sezan, many people will recognize you, so please engage guests in conversation and bring up topics related to the Baron. It might also be good to draw attention to yourself so Baron Klaus approaches you first. No host would be pleased with a guest who outshines them.”

“Understood. This time I’ll make full use of my family name.”

Nodding slightly, I turned to Iris who was sitting beside me.

“When the banquet starts, Iris, please follow the Baron as usual and gather information. If possible, ask the servants about what happened while you were away from the mansion.”

“Got it. They’ll all be glad to see me after so long.”

Thankfully, Sezan and Iris accepted the plan without objection. Since they were people I could trust, I just needed to successfully complete my part. Pointing at the floor plan spread on the desk, I said:

“Meanwhile, I’ll explore the mansion. Since the Baron is the only one who knows me, I should be able to move around relatively easily.”

“Try to time it when guests are just arriving. He’ll probably be busy greeting them.”

“The research presentation would be good timing, when he can’t easily leave his position.”

“Yes. I’ll do as you both suggested.”

As soon as the meeting ended, Iris left for Baron Klaus’s mansion, and Sezan returned home with the floor plan. Neither would be at Angelus University for a while. In four days, we would meet again at Baron Klaus’s mansion as planned.

After leaving the floor plan in my dormitory and returning to the research lab, Asrein immediately spoke up, seemingly having waited for me.

“I looked into the guest list and found something in common.”

“Really?”

Indeed, a capable person could easily accomplish difficult tasks in a short time. Asrein tapped the document with his pen tip and said:

“Their territories must be adjacent to magical creatures’ habitats; they must have newly built temples within the last three years in their territory; and they must have recently requested mediation from the imperial direct protection facility regarding magical creatures. It seems that lords who meet at least two of these conditions received invitations.”

“So his claim about gathering lords affected by magical creatures wasn’t entirely a lie.”

All the conditions Asrein mentioned were closely related to magical creatures’ ecology. But one thing puzzled me.

“Does Baron Klaus himself meet these conditions?”

“As far as I know, there’s a temple in his territory, but no particular connection to magical creatures.”

“…That’s strange.”

I had never heard news of magical creatures appearing in the village under Baron Klaus’s rule. Why would someone who doesn’t meet the criteria talk about effective coexistence between magical creatures and humans? Everything from his research content to his purpose felt suspicious.

“I’ll look into it more myself.”

As I was about to leave again, Asrein urgently called me back.

“Tae-oh, wait.”

“Yes?”

Uncharacteristically, Asrein hesitated to speak. His lips opened and closed several times, appearing almost anxious. Unconsciously, I held my breath, waiting for him to speak. Just as Asrein was finally about to say something—

“Professor.”

A youthful voice accompanied by a knock sounded from outside the door.

“I’m a student taking the Magical Creatures course. I came because I have something to ask.”

The knock snapped me back to reality. What did I think Asrein was going to say? Fantasies make me happy, but when they become delusions, they only make me miserable.

Without lingering, I went to open the door, casually asking Asrein:

“Is it urgent business?”

“No… it’s nothing. Go ahead.”

I never got to hear what Asrein was trying to say. But that’s fine. Maintaining a proper distance is better, so I should continue like this from now on.

“Then please call me when you need me.”

As soon as I opened the door, I met the student who had come to the research lab. Holding a thick textbook, the student greeted Asrein with sparkling eyes. Seeing that expression full of pure admiration somehow gave me a nostalgic feeling.

Leaving the research lab behind, I turned my steps to get the necessary supplies. When I arrived at the herb garden, I saw someone carefully tending to the beds in a corner. As I cautiously approached, I could see what the caretaker was pulling out.

“Why are you removing these flowers?”

Despite my sudden question, the caretaker answered without being flustered.

“These reproduce too well and consume nutrients meant for the herbs.”

“So all the flowers you’re pulling out now will be thrown away?”

“Usually we use them as fertilizer, but lately there are too many, so we mostly burn them.”

Perfect timing, since I needed natural materials. I quickly crouched down next to the caretaker and asked:

“Then may I take them and use them?”

“What? Well… go ahead.”

Perhaps finding it suspicious that I suddenly wanted to take wildflowers, the caretaker eyed me with a dubious look. Nevertheless, I steadfastly gathered the pulled flowers and held them in my arms. After shaking off the soil from the roots and counting, there seemed to be about forty blossoms. Still not enough.

“Are there any more of these flowers?”

“These?”

When I nodded vigorously, the caretaker pointed to a bench with a gardening trowel.

“I’ve collected them in that sack over there. But why do you want these? They can’t even be used as herbs.”

“I want to dry them and use them as fragrance.”

“Ah~ Then help yourself. It’s good for me too, since I don’t have to dispose of them separately.”

“Thank you!”

From now on, I could ask the caretaker whenever I needed flowers. With the bouquet tucked under my arm, I dragged the sack toward the Magic Department’s practice room. Fortunately, since the academic conference had just ended, there was an empty practice room available. I opened the sack of flowers in the middle of the practice room and muttered in a small voice:

“System.”

– Yes, Tae-oh.

“I’m going to try summoning a magical creature from the encyclopedia. I’ll change the amount of magical power and number of flowers with each attempt, so record everything without missing anything.”

– Understood.

First, I decided to try summoning Nur using only magical power. Since I was in good condition, I was confident I could succeed without difficulty. I took out the encyclopedia and opened the page with information about Sainur. Placing my hand on it, I concentrated all my mental energy on gathering magical power.

Just as a faint heat haze appeared at my fingertips, I squeezed my eyes shut and called his name.

“Sainur, over here. Come to me now.”

A strong wind suddenly arose in the sealed space without windows. Slowly opening my eyes, I saw black eyes through the swirling wildflowers. I had succeeded in summoning with just one attempt. But my joy was short-lived, as dizziness hit me like acute anemia.

Staggering in place, I greeted the confused Nur.

“Nur, hello. You’ve grown a lot since last time.”

[Where is this? No, what’s wrong with you?!]

“Well, this is, you know…”

Do clothes in a washing machine always feel this way? The world is spinning. I collapsed onto the floor and lay down using the sack as a pillow. Panicked, Nur wiggled his bottom and paced around me.

“Haha. Nur, I just need to sleep a bit…”

[What the hell. You summon me and then suddenly fall asleep? Hey!!!]

My consciousness gradually faded, and I fell asleep almost like I had fainted, then naturally opened my eyes later. Since the practice room was lit 24 hours a day, I couldn’t gauge how much time had passed. As I rubbed my eyelids with the back of my hand and got up, System greeted me.

– I thought you might never open your eyes again.

“Too bad for you. So how long did I sleep?”

– Not even ten minutes.

“Where’s Nur?”

– He lost his physical form as soon as your consciousness faded.

“…I thought so.”

Summoning using only my magical power is possible, but the duration is very short. To move around with a summoned magical creature, I must know how to utilize natural materials. I picked up the bouquet tied with string and summoned Nur again. The fresh, moist flower petals withered within seconds.

When the flowers had completely dried up and lost their vitality, a loud reprimand rang in my ears.

[Hey!! Are you playing games with me?]

Nur, summoned into the practice room, immediately lunged at my legs and lightly bit my calf. Though I knew he was just playing, I quickly apologized, intimidated by his sharp fangs gleaming menacingly.

“S-sorry. I’m experimenting to find a more efficient summoning method.”

[Ha. What if someone notices me appearing and disappearing? Good thing I hid in the bushes to avoid misunderstandings.]

“That’s Nur for you. So smart!”

When I clapped lightly, Nur snorted and turned his head away sharply. But seeing his tail tip wagging, I could tell he didn’t dislike the compliment. I crouched down and gently stroked his head, receiving a gruff response.

[Are you going to do this again?]

“Sorry, but I think so.”

[Sigh…. Fine. How many more times?]

“Well~ About 30?”

[You’re really crazy. Do humans always lack moderation?]

Despite his words, Nur didn’t refuse. Once I had his permission, I repeatedly summoned and dismissed Sainur without hesitation.

“Which attempt is this?”

– This is the 10th attempt.

After trial and error, I discovered one fact. The minimum number of flowers needed to summon Nur was 20. That wasn’t too many, but Nur disappeared shortly afterward. Using that as a baseline, I tried reducing the flowers one by one.

“Hmm. Then this time I’ll try substituting magical power for the reduced flowers, like when I summoned Agnus. Tell me the remaining magical power.”

– I’ll record everything without fail.

I wanted to know how much magical power equated to the life force contained in one flower. Though the relationship wouldn’t be perfectly proportional, having a rough estimate would be tremendously helpful. Meanwhile, completely dried flowers piled up on my feet.

Gulping down the Sarracenia potion I had prepared in advance like an energy drink, I said:

“21st experiment. I think I’m starting to understand…”

– Summarizing the results so far, Sainur can last about one hour with approximately 50 flowers.

“Good. Let’s prove it.”

I took exactly 50 wildflowers from the sack and summoned Nur. Completely adapted to this situation, Nur maintained a detached expression regardless of what I muttered.

“Start counting one hour from now.”

– Understood.

“By the way, if Level 2 Nur requires this much, then to hold Hyperion’s main body… it would easily consume an entire flower bed or a whole tree?”

– That’s the nature of the law of equivalent exchange, isn’t it?

Nothing was ever easy. To make matters worse, fatigue overwhelmed me, and I collapsed again. Dried flower petals piled around me, wrapping my body like a fluffy down comforter. 

Taking advantage of the moment, I lay flat on the floor, and Nur quietly approached and sat beside me.

“Haah… I used too much magical power.”

[Can I stay now instead of going back?]

“Mmm. I’ll just sleep for a bit first.”

[Again?]

This time I closed my eyes with warm Nur in my arms. Burying my face in his soft fur, I quickly fell asleep. After what seemed like a long nap, I still felt something soft against my cheek.

“Huh? What? Why is Nur still here?”

[Because I could stay.]

“Even though I fell asleep?”

[Yeah. It was fine. But now I have to go.]

As soon as he finished speaking, Nur vanished without a trace. How strange. In the early experiments, Nur disappeared as soon as I fell asleep. System explained this phenomenon as “my consciousness being cut off.” But this time was different.

“How long did I sleep this time?”

– About one hour.

“The calculation was correct.”

Suddenly, a hypothesis flashed through my mind. When summoning using only natural materials, magical creatures can maintain their form until they consume all the life force of the natural materials.

Even if the summoner faints or their magical power is cut off, the magical creature can still use the life force obtained from natural materials.

That means—

“Theoretically, summoning might be possible even in spaces where magical power is completely controlled…”

Discovering this new fact cleared my mind despite my tired body. Happily rolling on the floor, I got white flower petals all over my clothes and hair. Lying neatly buried in flower petals, System approached and looked down at me.

– It’s quite a spectacle.

“Hm? What is?”

– Seeing you surrounded by white flowers, it’s just like your funeral.

“Do you really have to use that comparison?”

When I glared at him from the corner of my eye, System flashed an annoying smile. It seems there’s no way to fix his twisted personality, inherited from a part of Oceanos. Heaving a deep sigh, I got up from my spot.

“Let’s get back to work.”

– What are you planning to do now?

“I want to experiment with how many of Hyperion’s seeds I can summon at maximum.”

– That’s experiment addiction.

I burst into laughter seeing System frown with apparent disgust.

“I need to get smarter. That’s how I can help Asrein.”

– You really are…

As I shook out my hair and clothes, flower petals fell to the floor in cascades. The strangely golden-tinged petals resembled his sun-drenched hair.