"Alright... Let's do this."

I placed the smartphone on the table and psyched myself up. After taking a breather from sightseeing in the commercial city, I suddenly remembered the smartphone I had won at the auction.

"So, what’s the plan?"

Rio asked, but I wasn’t about to just channel electricity into the USB port right away. In that sense, the smartphone wasn't even at the stage of being used yet.

"For now, I guess I should practice generating a weak electric current with magic..."

"Yeah. It’s actually pretty hard to hold back power, you know."

The more magic power you put into it, the stronger the effect. To weaken it, you just need to use less magic power, but once you get to a certain level, it actually starts increasing again. The amount of power needed to charge a smartphone should be minuscule, so I feel like I really have to suppress it a lot.

"I’ve never really practiced holding back before."

"...Well, our master was way too strong."

Yeah, we were always the ones being held back for.

The lightning spell I use most often is Lightning Bolt. It shoots lightning forward, but I need to figure out how to modify it for this.

"For now, if I can get a weak current to flow from my fingertips, that should be enough."

I focused my magic power into my right arm, converting it into electricity. I was trying to do it little by little, but it was still tough.

"This is hard..."

Rio, who was sitting across from me, furrowed her brows as she stared at her own hand.

I could hear crackling sounds coming from my right arm... Was I discharging electricity? I should probably calm my arm down a bit.

Wait, this is starting to feel like something out of a teenage power fantasy. Actually, my arm is starting to go numb. Calm down, my arm.

After silently concentrating for a while, Rio let out a big sigh.

"How about we take a break?"

"Ah, yeah, sounds good."

Just as we relaxed for a moment, there was a knock at the door.

"Coming."

We were staying in a suite in the commercial city. At this timing, it could only be Olivia, the maid assigned to the suite.

"Excuse me."

As expected, Olivia entered, pushing a cart.

"I have brought your tea, as it is ready."

Seriously, what’s with this person? Her timing is so perfect it almost makes me suspect she’s been watching us all day.

"Thanks."

She placed a plate of baked sweets on the table and poured steaming tea. Her movements were swift and precise. Once everything was set, she even went over to give Nir, who was lying in the corner, a snack.

Rio and I moved to the prepared seats and first took a sip of tea.

"Phew."

Taking a breather really is important. Our master was all about relentless training, but I’m sure taking breaks helps maintain focus.

"Delicious."

Rio also praised Olivia’s tea.

Both of us reached for the baked sweets—

—only for a loud crackle of static electricity to run through us.

"Gwaaaah!"

"Owww!"

We both clutched our fingertips in pain.

Well, since we usually have magic around us for defense, it didn’t hurt that much, but... it was one of those things where you just reflexively yell "Ouch!"

"A-Are you alright...?"

Olivia looked concerned as she spoke, but I held up my hand to signal that it was fine.

"Yeah, we’re fine. It just caught us off guard."

Nir was unbothered, happily munching away at his snack. He didn’t seem the type to react to minor noises.

"I’m glad to hear that..."

"That was surprising."

"It didn’t really hurt that much, but I still yelped."

We hesitantly touched hands to confirm nothing else would happen before finally reaching for the baked sweets again.

The crisp texture and the way the sweetness slowly melted on my tongue were incredible. Since they were served in a suite, they were probably high-class. I was a little afraid that getting too used to luxury would make it hard to go back.

When I finished my tea, Olivia silently refilled my cup. But once I was satisfied and didn’t need more, she didn’t pour another without asking.

I guess she could read it from my expression. I idly mused over such things as I savored my baked sweets.

"Thanks for the meal."

"Alright, let’s get back to it."

After the break, it was back to practicing weak electric currents. But then I got sidetracked practicing teleportation, and when that actually succeeded, I got way more excited about it.

"Huh...? I think the smartphone’s screen just flickered for a second..."

As I focused back on the weak electric current practice, Rio suddenly muttered.

"What?"

I stared at the smartphone, but it remained dark. I tried pressing the power button—

"Ah! The backlight flashed for a moment!"

"Why did that happen?"

"Hmm..."

We both thought about it but couldn’t figure out the answer.

"All I was doing was practicing making a weak current from my hands, right?"

"Yeah..."

Neither of us had touched the smartphone while it was on the table. So, was the key generating electricity from a distance?

Placing the smartphone back on the table, I generated a weak current nearby. No reaction.

I moved my arm closer to the smartphone—

"Ah, it lit up!"

"Oh! Wait, ahh..."

But just as quickly, it went dark again. So the distance and the strength of the current mattered...

Feeling like I was onto something, I spent the rest of the day battling the smartphone. In the end, I finally succeeded in charging it.