I finished reporting my victory in the duel to everyone in the towns of Egarton and Bradley. The ones who had particularly helped me were Boris and Alec's B-rank adventurer party.

If Boris and his team hadn’t gone all the way to the neighboring Kingdom of Bardon to gather information about Ande's trump card, the Magic Eraser, there was a very high chance I would have lost that duel.

Unfortunately, I didn’t know which town Boris and his group were based in, so I asked the Adventurers' Guild to consider the remainder of Alec’s younger brother’s medical expenses as fully paid and to give them a generous reward.

I had already distributed rewards to all the adventurers who helped me train. Even though it was a neighboring country, travel expenses and gathering information couldn't have been cheap.

Since my victory in the duel was also thanks to the valuable information I received from Boris and his team, they deserved proper compensation. I also left a message for them, but the next time we meet, I’ll make sure to thank them in person.

After finishing my request at the Adventurers' Guild, I wandered through the town, enjoying some street food alone for the first time in a while, and then returned to the Great Mage’s house.

“Were you researching again today? I bought some food in town for lunch, so help yourself.”

“...Ah. Thanks.”

When I brought breakfast through the portal this morning, I found Ande deeply absorbed in reading the books left behind by the Great Mage. Maybe this is what people who are truly engrossed in research look like.

“Masayoshi, would it be alright if I went to your world after this?”

“Ah, sure, I don’t mind. Want me to show you around town again?”

“No, I have something I want to investigate. I wish to examine this door from the other side.”

“The door, huh.”

Now that I think about it, Ande had also been closely inspecting this portal from the other side yesterday. A magic that connects worlds—though I don’t understand the theory behind it at all, it’s only natural that a magic user would find it fascinating.

“Alright, I get it.”

By now, it was past noon, and my mother had already left for work. That meant Ande could be in my room, studying the ceiling portal for a while, without any problems.

After confirming that my mother had left, I brought Ande into my room and lent him the sturdy stepladder I always used to reach the ceiling portal.

“………………Hmm.”

Ande climbed the stepladder and carefully examined the black surface. To me, it just looked like a pitch-black pool of water, but maybe Ande’s eyes could see something different.

Since I had no idea what he was seeing, I decided to start reviewing for school, which would be starting soon. This summer break had been so eventful that I had completely forgotten everything from before the break. I needed to refresh my memory.

“...So I wasn’t mistaken after all.”

“Huh? Did you notice something?”

After spending hours observing the portal from various angles, Ande climbed down from the stepladder and muttered under his breath.

“...Masayoshi, I need to talk to you about something important. Come with me to the other world.”

“So, what’s this important talk about?”

Following Ande’s lead, I stepped through the portal and arrived at the Great Mage’s house. Ande had been wearing a serious expression the entire time.

“Masayoshi, first, I need you to stay calm and listen carefully. The black circle that my master constructed—the magic that connects our two worlds—that door will soon be closed.”

“Huh!?”

Wait, wait, hold on! The portal to this other world is going to close!?

That’s ridiculous! If this door shuts, I won’t be able to travel between my world and this one anymore!

“You’re joking, right!? The Great Mage’s letter said that as long as this house exists, it would continue absorbing magic from its surroundings and remain connected indefinitely!”

The letter left behind by the Great Mage—the very first thing I read upon arriving in this world—had definitely said so! It said that because the house absorbed surrounding magic, the portal would remain open indefinitely!

And now, suddenly, Ande comes along and tells me it’s about to close? Could it be that this happened because Ande came here? Or because he traveled to my world? I couldn’t help but suspect it.

“...Masayoshi, I understand how you feel, but please calm down and listen. Come with me.”

Saying that, Ande led me outside into the yard of the Great Mage’s house.

“...Here.”

He walked up to the fence surrounding the house and pointed at a spot beyond it. However, I didn’t see anything there.

“Uh, there’s nothing there, though…”

“As I expected, you can’t see it. My… the eyes of a High Elf are somewhat special. I can see magical energy and its flow.”

Oh, right. High Elves are a race with exceptional magical abilities. They can see things normal humans can’t. Thinking about it again, it really is a cheat-like ability.

“There’s a barrier spell surrounding this house. It not only protects the house but also absorbs ambient magical energy. That magic is used to sustain both the barrier and the portal.”

“I see…”

I didn’t fully understand, but this place was known as the Forest of Ruin, a place where vast amounts of magical energy accumulated. The strong magic here attracted powerful monsters, and the barrier existed to protect the house from them. At the same time, it absorbed magic from the surroundings to sustain both the barrier and the portal.

“And the problem lies with this barrier’s ability to absorb magical energy. This part of it is damaged. Most likely, it wasn’t a natural occurrence—it was broken by some powerful magic or force. Judging by the signs, it was already damaged when I arrived at this house, but… does anything come to mind?”

“No, not really. Maybe some monster broke it?”

“...Hmm. I did fight some of the monsters in this forest. But I don’t think they had the strength to break my master’s barrier magic. There may have been an extraordinarily powerful individual among them…”

“This is a huge forest, after all. Maybe there’s some ridiculously strong monster out there………………huh?”

“What is it?”

Something… something felt off. The location of this broken part of the barrier, and the fact that something powerful must have caused it…

“…Uh, sorry. I think I’m the one who broke the barrier.”