In short, given the current situation, the magic circle hadn’t posed any real threat to them—it only dissolved their clothes.
And it only dissolved the clothes; weapons and armor didn’t seem to be affected. No, that wasn’t entirely accurate. Shifuni’s clothes seemed to enhance her spellcasting, and Liami had some magic-infused tools on her, but all of those were dissolved. How exactly did this magic circle decide what could be dissolved and what couldn’t?
The more Liami thought about it, the angrier she got. Thanks to this magic circle, all the potions and tools she had painstakingly saved up for were gone. Completely gone!
Huh? Tools? Liami suddenly felt like she had forgotten something.
At that moment, Shifuni glanced at the floor beside Liami and said uneasily, “Hey, Liami. What did you bring with you today? Why is that part of the floor sizzling and bubbling with those disgusting-looking bubbles? What exactly did you bring?!”
Hearing Shifuni’s words, Liami suddenly remembered what she had forgotten. She had forgotten that she still had the potion the president gave her on her person! And that potion…
Following Shifuni’s gaze, Liami saw a patch of floor bubbling with a strange color and occasionally sizzling. Obviously, that was the potion Liami had forgotten.
Although the potion itself wasn’t dissolved, the bottle and the wooden box containing it were completely dissolved. Without a container, the potion had spilled as a puddle on the floor. It still looked usable, but since Shifuni had already noticed it, this assassination attempt could be considered a failure.
But that was exactly what Liami wanted. She had never planned to use this potion to assassinate Colin; this situation conveniently got rid of the potion for her. The only problem left was whether the president would hold her accountable when she returned.
Just thinking about the president made Liami feel gloomy and somewhat afraid. Not just because the president was powerful, but also because she used to be Liami’s teacher and had taught her many things during their childhood training.
Because of that, whenever Liami saw her, she felt a bit nervous, fearing that the president might be displeased with something.
But now, Liami glanced at Colin. She too had her reasons for not obeying the president’s orders, even if the president would be unhappy or angry. Liami absolutely did not want Colin to be assassinated!
This wasn’t just because of the bond between them—it was Liami’s principle. She had her own code: she would never assassinate someone she considered a genuinely good person. Colin was the best person she had ever met in that regard. She would never betray her principles!
Liami had shifted from merely glancing at Colin to carefully sneaking looks, and now she was staring directly at his back without blinking.
Shifuni had been observing Liami’s attitude toward Colin from the start, and now she couldn’t help but comment on Liami’s constant staring.
“Hey! Your eyes are about to start melting! Is he that good-looking or what?”
Shifuni’s words snapped Liami out of her thoughts. She looked down at her feet again to find Shifuni eyeing her suspiciously, as if doubting whether her feelings for Colin were appropriate.
Liami was startled. She definitely didn’t want others to know she had even thought about something like that. So she quickly dodged the topic.
“What melting? I’m thinking! Thinking, you know! My eyes just happened to be looking that way, that’s all!”
Shifuni still looked doubtful, but seeing Liami’s evasiveness, she reluctantly dropped the subject for the time being.
Just then, Colin, who had his eyes closed and was facing the other way, suddenly spoke up: “I think I know why my clothes weren’t dissolved by the magic circle.”
His words immediately caught Shifuni’s attention, saving Liami’s urgency. Taking a deep breath to steady herself, she prepared to listen to Colin’s explanation along with Shifuni.
“Remember the ‘Sanctuary’s Crest’ and ‘Sanctuary’s Sword’ I’m wearing? They’re not ordinary equipment; they’re some of the most important treasures owned by the Sanctuary. I’ve heard they were crafted for a great hero in history, and the potential sealed within them is unlike any other gear. That’s probably why my clothes weren’t dissolved—their power protected me.”
After hearing Colin’s explanation, Liami and Shifuni agreed that it made sense. But Liami suddenly realized that, as one of the Sanctuary’s most important treasures, Colin was able to wear them openly. That meant his status within the Sanctuary was probably higher than she had imagined.
At that moment, Shifuni suddenly uttered an “Ah!” breaking Liami’s train of thought. When Liami asked what was wrong, Shifuni hesitated and seemed unable to say anything.
Frowning, Liami felt a bad premonition rise within her. Finally, Shifuni gathered her words and slowly said what she had just discovered.
“Uh… Liami, before I say this, can you promise not to get angry?”
Liami’s unease grew, but she immediately agreed to Shifuni’s request. Whether she would actually hold to her promise depended on what Shifuni was going to say. Liami was quite flexible with verbal promises, after all.
“Well, you remember that book we found in this room earlier? The thing is… it got dissolved too! I’m sorry! Liami, please forgive me! Being a woman for life is pretty interesting, you know!”
Liami had already guessed what Shifuni was going to say halfway through. When she had been gathering her thoughts, she had considered this possibility.
After Shifuni confirmed the fact, Liami had been thinking about just letting it go since it was beyond anyone’s control. But then Shifuni added a line at the end that felt deeply mocking to Liami.
That caused the calmness Liami had just regained to boil over again. She pounced on Shifuni, who couldn’t resist, and started furiously squeezing her cheeks.
“Shifuni! Do you even know what you should and shouldn’t say?! Just you wait! When we get back, you’re gonna live in the bathroom for the rest of your life!!!”
Hearing the commotion behind him, Colin wasn’t sure if he should turn around to intervene. But the problem was, both of them were in such a state right now that if he turned around, he’d definitely witness a very unpleasant scene.
After a brief inner struggle, Colin gave up on trying to stop the fight. After all, even if he tried, he probably wouldn’t be able to calm Liami down.
At that moment, Liami was wildly pulling Shifuni’s cheeks apart with both hands. Each time she applied force, Shifuni let out a miserable scream. Seeing Liami getting more intense, Shifuni panicked and shouted loudly:
“Wait! Stop pulling! You’re going to tear me apart!!!”