Arima.
The Seventh Executive of the Evil Organization.
Self-proclaimed mage and the world’s greatest magician.

—Welcome, ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to Arima’s show!

In a world filled with heroes who possess a variety of superpowers and abilities that far surpass human perception, magic—a craft that deceives the eye and confounds the senses—had become a somewhat obsolete genre. With superpowers already a reality, how could mere sleight of hand and tricks continue to amaze people?

Astonishingly, Arima had succeeded in achieving the near-impossible and had become the world’s greatest magician.

After watching his performance videos online, I understood why he was hailed as the world’s best magician.

—Hmm? Hmm★

The apple that Arima took a bite from and placed down miraculously restored itself. As he tilted his head in puzzlement, Arima took another bite, and despite the crunching sound echoing, the apple remained whole.

Startled by this sight, Arima gulped down a mouthful of water. Even as water streamed down his chin, the level in the bottle didn’t decrease at all.

As the audience gasped in amazement, Arima invited a member of the audience onto the stage to experience the same phenomenon.

This wasn’t just a magic show; it was more akin to a magical musical, a performance blending his exceptional skills with a keen sense of entertainment.

‘How on earth did he do that?’

Having watched the entire performance, I couldn’t help but marvel as I tried to analyze Arima’s show. I knew well enough that it was customary to enjoy and forget magic in the moment, but isn’t it human nature to want to uncover secrets?

I replayed the video in slow motion, determined to figure out the trick. Yet, astonishingly, I couldn’t detect any sleight of hand or illusion.

‘No way… the apple just reappears…? How is this even possible?’

In the video, the apple Arima bit into clearly existed in his mouth. But in the very next frame, the bitten apple had returned to its original state.

At first, I thought perhaps the apple had somehow returned from his mouth to its original position, but that wasn’t the case. In one frame, both the apple in Arima’s mouth and the restored apple appeared simultaneously.

At this point, I began to wonder if this was less a magic trick and more a type of superpower, but that too seemed doubtful. Arima’s performances featured such a wide range of magic that it seemed impossible to attribute them all to a single superpower.

“A magician, or perhaps a mage…?”

“Watching my videos?”

“…You startled me.”

I frowned as Arima suddenly leaned in close, his face appearing out of nowhere. Honestly, seeing that pretty face of his always irritated me. Knowing that he enjoyed deceiving others made it even worse.

“What do you need, Arima?”

“Oh my, did you suddenly get cold because you found out I’m a man♥?”

“That’s not it. So, what do you want?”

“Hehe, fair enough. They do say beauty is a crime, don’t they?”

“No, they don’t.”

As I began to rise, signaling that he should leave if he had nothing important to say, Arima placed a hand on my shoulder, stopping me.

I frowned, not wanting to spend another minute with this guy, but his next words froze me in place, even more than his touch.

“I heard from the boss☆. You’re like me, aren’t you?”

“Like you? What do you mean—”

“The truth is, I’m also powerless. A person with no superpowers at all.”

I tilted my head in confusion, unable to grasp what he was saying. Powerless? Did that mean all the magic he performed on stage was simply sleight of hand and illusion?

Surprisingly, that wasn’t what he meant. The “like me” Arima referred to had a more layered meaning.

“Nice to meet you, fellow Earthling.”

“…What?”

“I’m an otherworlder from Ardenia… just like you’re an otherworlder.”

Incredibly, Arima was an otherworlder, just like me.

We weren’t from the same Earth, but the fact that we were both otherworlders in this world was a powerful connection, one strong enough to wash away any previous animosity.

We shared many stories, discussing how we ended up in this world and what our lives were like in our original ones.

“I was a promising grand mage. Everyone in the world bowed down at my word…”

“I see.”

“And you? From what the boss said, you didn’t seem like an ordinary person either.”

“I was just a normal graduate student. Very ordinary.”

“Haha! I guess on your world, they consider someone like you ‘ordinary’?”

I even learned the secret behind the magic I couldn’t figure out, even after scrutinizing the video for so long.

“It’s magic. Real magic.”

“Magic… like the kind used by magical girls?”

“No? Don’t compare my sophisticated art to that primitive nonsense. My magic was a legitimate academic discipline. Compared to that, the so-called magic used by people here is on the level of cavemen… Just comparing them makes me feel insulted.”

“Ah, my apologies. I sometimes feel the same way, so I understand.”

So that’s what it was.

I had wondered how he managed to restore the bitten apple and the consumed water—turns out, it was all magic. A concept even more ridiculous than superpowers, but then again, if someone like me exists, why not magic?

After all, according to Arima, it’s an established discipline. It’s a craft that deserves respect, especially compared to superpowers, which are limited by innate potential with minimal room for growth.

“How long have you been here?”

“Hmm—about five years, I think?”

“Five years… I heard your executive number is 7.”

“I didn’t become an executive right away. Even when I first arrived in this world, I had no trouble surviving. I wandered the world for a while until I met Regalia and was scouted by her.”

“I see.”

I couldn’t help but feel a twinge of envy. To have a skill that allowed you to survive without any difficulty, even when dropped into a foreign world… It was impressive, especially compared to science, which becomes completely useless without the necessary infrastructure.

On a whim, I asked,

“Is there any way I could learn magic?”

“No. Ah, it’s not that I don’t want to teach you, it’s that it’s impossible.”

“Impossible? Why?”

“Unlike the people of Ardenia, the people of this world don’t have the necessary ■■■ to use magic. And since you’re not from this world either, it’s unlikely you’d have it.”

“Ah, I see. Like superpowers, then.”

After all, I can’t use superpowers either, unlike the people of this world. That’s simply because I lack the organ necessary to manifest superpowers.

Even if I were to consume Leviathan’s gene module, I wouldn’t suddenly develop superpowers. Unlike the people of this world, who are born with the genetic potential to develop these abilities, my genes lack such an organ entirely.

Similarly, if magic also required a specific organ, it makes sense why magic never developed on Earth. Without the necessary organ, how could anyone use magic?

“That’s a shame. I wanted to try using magic at least once.”

“Haha. Unfortunately, that’s not something I can help with.”

“If it were possible, you’d probably already have your own army of mages by now, instead of joining the evil organization.”

Arima fell silent and stared at me, his gaze heavy with meaning. Uncomfortable with his stare, I quickly changed the subject.

“By the way, five years… You must miss your home.”

“…I do. I miss it a lot. If I close my eyes, I can see it clearly. It’s almost frustrating how vividly I remember it, even though I know I can’t return.”

“I sometimes dream about it, but… I don’t really miss it yet. Maybe because this place looks so similar to home.”

I laughed lightly, trying to brush it off, but Arima suddenly pulled out a necklace from under his shirt and began to toy with it. The sky-blue gem, which seemed to hold a cloud within, glowed faintly.

“This is the only thing left from Ardenia. A Dragonheart.”

“…A Dragonheart?”

“Yes. It’s the heart of a dragon I hunted in my youth. It holds immense magical power and has enormous symbolic value as well—”

When he mentioned that it was an artifact from Ardenia, I hesitantly took the Dragonheart from him. Surprisingly, I could feel a tremendous flow of energy from what appeared to be just a simple gem. If I focused, I could even feel a heartbeat, as if it were alive.

After returning the gem to him, I recalled a technology I had recently developed while researching Sten. It was a method I devised to try and return to Earth. However, lacking any object with a tangible connection to Earth, I couldn’t put it to use…

‘But with this—’

Could it be possible to travel to Ardenia, the world Arima came from?

A world of swords and magic.

His homeland.