Chapter 42
“Fei’er, Fei’er! What happened!? What was that sound? Uu… I can’t see…!” Qifeng was so frightened, even her ponytail shot up.
“D-Don’t be scared… I’ll go out and see.”
Although I told her not to be scared, I was actually very nervous myself. So, I wrapped the bath towel tightly around myself and went to see what was going on, but I was yanked back by the chain after just one step.
R-Right… My right hand is chained to Qifeng’s left. I was just about to ask her to move closer so I could get closer to the door, but when I tugged her, that silly girl just stood up!?
“Eh?”
“Eh!?”
I watched her take a step, her foot slipped— and her entire body lunged at me!?
“Uwah…!” In my panic, I clutched my bath towel.
Qifeng isn’t wearing any clothes!
Thud—!
We both fell to the floor. I was pinned underneath her. Not only did she get foam all over me, but the hand that was tightly clutching the bath towel in front of my chest… got wedged between something soft and shameful…!!!
“Uu… I’m sorry! Fei’er, are you okay?”
“Uwah…! Get up, get up, hurry and get up! You’re so heavy…! You’re crushing me!” I yelled desperately, on the verge of tears.
Qifeng’s weight is actually pretty light, about the same as mine, but I don’t know why… she gave me the impression of being crushed to the point of being unable to breathe.
Thank the Holy Light, she finally climbed off of me. I preserved my integrity and didn’t look at her once the entire time.
“I can’t see… you tugged the chain, and I… I was just instinctively pulled along by you…” Qifeng stammered.
“What kind of instinct is that?” I said helplessly. “Anyway, just stand there and don’t move, okay? I’m going out to look.”
“Mhm…”
I tiptoed over and peeked out through the crack in the door. I saw Lian Qi standing in front of the sofa, covered in soot, brushing black ash off her uniform.
“What happened?” I asked, peeking through the door crack.
“N-Nothing—! The Enchantment magic failed, and it… exploded.”
She looked up at me and stuck her tongue out, embarrassed. Her nose was covered in ash; I almost burst out laughing.
“Are you hurt?”
“No, I’m not. You— you’re done washing already?”
“Not yet.” I smiled and closed the bathroom door.
Thank goodness, thank goodness.
I leaned against the door and let out a sigh of relief.
I really thought something had happened to Lian Qi.
“Um, Fei’er, what happened?” Qifeng asked nervously from behind her blindfold.
“It’s nothing. Lian Qi’s Enchantment magic failed and exploded while she was practicing.”
“Eh? But wasn’t she making the enchantment fail on purpose?”
“She was.”
Hmph, wasn’t the fact that my and Qifeng’s uniforms got ripped all Lian Qi’s “deliberate” masterpiece?
Eh—!?
Wait!
An explosion?
It just hit me. Lian Qi… actually managed to make Enchantment magic produce an explosion effect?
Ooh… my heart is beating so fast…! At this moment, I’m so excited for Lian Qi.
“Qifeng, let’s hurry up and wash,” I said to her. I couldn’t even stop the smile from spreading on my lips.
As soon as I finish helping Qifeng, it’ll be my turn. Then I’ll go out and ask Lian Qi how she did it~!
…
…
…
After our bath, our bodies were all warm. Qifeng and I, each wrapped in a bath towel, sat on the sofa, staring intently at Lian Qi.
“How— did you do it?”
“It’s nothing, really.” Lian Qi scratched her head. “I was just focusing on making the enchantment fail. And as I kept failing and failing, it just… exploded. It might be because I made the magic power unstable.”
“Eh? But doesn’t a failed enchantment just make the object break into pieces?” Qifeng said, hugging a pillow.
“It breaks into pieces because it can’t withstand it, right?” I snuck a glance at Qifeng and snatched the pillow from her hands with lightning speed.
We’re all girls, right? What does she have to hide? I’m the one who needs to cover up, okay?
Ehehe~ I happily nuzzled my face against the pillow. Hugging it in my arms immediately made me feel more secure. Such a sense of security—! By the way, it’s such a pity I didn’t bring my Bamboo Monster pillow.
Lian Qi looked at us, coughed lightly, and said, “From my perspective, magic power is just a form of energy. It’s not strange that it would explode when it goes out of control, right?”
“It’s also possible that your wish for Explosion Magic, Lian Qi, has manifested as an inherent magic that enchants objects with an explosion effect,” I said to her with a smile.
“In any case, I’ve finally made some headway on learning Explosion Magic. At least now I know how I, as an Enchantment school mage, can create an explosion.”
“Yeah,” I said softly. Seeing Lian Qi so excited, I was genuinely happy for her. Even if it’s not the fire-attribute Evocation school, it doesn’t matter. Lian Qi did it.
At the same time, I also breathed a sigh of relief. After all, there really aren’t many days left until the graduation festival ranking tournament.
“To experiment with Explosion Magic, you’ll have to come with me to the woods on the training grounds to pick up more branches over the next few days,” Lian Qi said.
“Mhm… Just… please don’t blow up the dorm.”
And, as long as you don’t blow up my clothes, that’ll be fine. I thought to myself.