As I silently stared at her, Alejandra let out a playful laugh.

“Don’t tell me you think I’m volunteering just because of the bet?”

“…Maybe a little.”

“Please. You could go first if you really wanted to. I lost that one. I just want to experience it sooner rather than later.”

Alejandra spoke like a child eager to ride a new amusement park ride.

She wasn’t trying to win our little bet through some trickery or prove something by going first. She genuinely just wanted to experience teleportation for herself.

She really was consistent.

“I’ll go first. If there’s still a fight going on outside, I’m better suited to handle it than you are.”

“We’ve already seen the outside, right? The Grand Duchess’s farsight magic can see through even magical concealment. If there were fighting outside, the mirrors wouldn’t still be intact.”

“It’s best to prepare for the worst.”

“Hmm~ fine. I’ll hold off a little longer.”

Alejandra stepped back with a slight pout, accepting the decision.

So, it was settled.

“The order of departure is up to you, Grand Duchess.”

“Me?”

Fiona looked surprised when I singled her out.

“Yes. You’ll go last. If the connection with the mirrors gets severed while we’re moving, it could be disastrous.”

“Oh… I see.”

Fiona, who had been looking a little down earlier, perked up. Maybe having a role to play brightened her mood.

“I’ll go second-to-last.”

“And I’ll go third.”

Leif and Ray quickly rushed to Fiona’s side, reserving their spots in line. Seeing them, the others hurried over to do the same, eager to secure their place.

“Well, would you look at that. You’re the one moving everyone, but they’re all rushing to the Grand Duchess. Isn’t that funny?” Amaia remarked, her easy-going tone making it clear she didn’t take any of this too seriously.

“Amaia, aren’t you going to pick a spot?”

“Me? I’ll just take whatever’s left. The most dangerous spots, the first and last, are already taken by the big shots, so the rest are all about the same, right?”

“Fine. Then come after me. Third place suits you.”

Alejandra, already sure she was locked in as the second, spoke with confidence. After all, no one was about to challenge her for that spot, given the earlier exchange.

“Roman, are you ready?”

“Anytime.”

“Then let’s get moving. Sooner the better.”

Arthur glanced at me as if asking whether we needed to hold hands, but I quickly shut that idea down. Sorry, but I’m not into holding guys’ hands.

“Just stay still. Even if you feel something strange, don’t activate any magic.”

“I’ll remember that.”

Leif and Ray had quickly gotten used to teleportation, while Fiona barely had time to process it. However, a mage like Arthur might cause issues if he resisted or let his magic surge—it could disrupt the spell.

‘I wonder if I’ll ever get strong enough to forcefully teleport someone even if they resist.’

Maybe when I reached that level, I’d be powerful enough to return to Earth.

With that idle thought pushed aside, I summoned my magic.

Seir’s thick, tar-like power flowed through the blood-brain barrier and settled in the thalamus. My brain perceived space, and in the moment my will desired to be somewhere else—

I was there.

“Is it over?”

“Yeah. That’s it. Simple, right?”

“…It’s a bit dizzying.”

“You’ll feel a little nauseous.”

Maybe because Arthur’s senses were so sharp, the disconnection between his brain’s spatial awareness and where we reappeared left him momentarily disoriented, rubbing his forehead lightly.

‘Ray adapted quickly, though.’

Maybe it was because she’d only teleported within the underground, or perhaps beastfolk had extraordinary adaptability to such changes.

“Shall we head back now?”

“Already? Shouldn’t you rest a bit?”

“I’m fine. Better to get this over with quickly and rest later.”

I took a deep breath of fresh air and locked my gaze onto the underground reflection in Fiona’s mirror.

Then, we teleported again.

Using the spell consecutively left me feeling a little queasy, but I managed.

“Next up is me.”

“Got it.”

“Can we teleport two people at once?”

It wasn’t possible. Sure, it would be nice to finish faster by teleporting multiple people at once, but I didn’t have the output for that yet.

The magic power replenished quickly, but there was still a limit to how much I could use in a single burst.

I hadn’t tested it yet, but I was sure there were distance limitations, too.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought. If you could, we wouldn’t be doing this so slowly. Forget I asked. That was a dumb question.”

“It’s fine. Let’s go.”

I reached out to touch Alejandra’s shoulder for the teleport, but suddenly she grabbed my hand instead.

“Huh?”

“Isn’t this better?”

“Hey!!”

A lioness’s roar echoed through the chamber, sharp and fierce.

Ray, clearly annoyed, had bristled like a lioness defending her territory from a hyena.

“You—cut that flirting out.”

“Hmm? You’re an interesting one. Can I touch that tail of yours?”

“No way in hell!”

Ray, acting like the fierce protector of the group, snapped at Alejandra, glaring at her with suspicion. It made sense, given that Alejandra had tried to pull me away from the team before.

“Just let go and behave,” I said, nudging Alejandra’s hand away as Ray forcefully pried it off.

…It was soft, though.

“Hurry up and drop her off, then get back, okay?”

“Got it.”

What could I do? You stick with your team, after all. My loyalty was to my group, even if Alejandra was a wild card.

In the end, Alejandra would leave. She had a secure place waiting for her at the Alexandria School, while I’d be diving headfirst into the Abyss.

If she offered me membership in her school in return for our bet, she’d probably mean it. But would I want that? All I’d get from joining as a favor would be mockery and scorn.

‘Besides, in the long run, I need to stay independent…’

I shook off the distracting thoughts about the future, grabbed Alejandra’s shoulder, and cast the teleport spell again.

“Huh?”

Alejandra stood still in silence for a moment after we arrived outside.

Satisfied, I left her to Arthur and immediately teleported back underground.

“Third!”

“Amaia Hierro, going up as number three!”

Amaia sprinted over, raising her hand excitedly, and we teleported again.

It was starting to feel like I was riding a never-ending roller coaster.

Then, by the seventh trip, I felt something off with my sense of direction.

My body wobbled. Was I spinning? Or was the world spinning?

It felt familiar.

Maybe it was like the time I secretly drank some of my parents’ soju and got drunk, or the time in my slave days when a blow to the head messed with my inner ear.

It was that kind of dizziness.

“Roman!”

“Hey! Snap out of it!”

Leif and Ray’s voices rang in my ears, making my head feel even foggier.

“Give me a second, keep it down…”

“S-sorry.”

“Are you okay? Maybe we should stop. The people outside can bring reinforcements or something.”

“That’s unlikely.”

“Why?”

“The outside is a mess.”

There were no intact buildings left.

What we’d seen in Fiona’s mirror was just a small part of it.

Several instructors had probably died too.

If things were fine out there, they would’ve already regrouped with us by now.

“And we’ve got injured people here, too.”

Davenport was barely conscious. We’d planned to send him out as soon as it was safe, but we couldn’t leave him down here much longer. We had some basic medical supplies, but no way to remove the curse afflicting him.

“Let’s move the instructor next.”

After resting a bit, my dizziness faded, and my sense of balance returned.

Maybe I had overused my magic.

My body felt sore all over, but I could probably push through for another day.

“Let’s focus on the instructor now.”

“We’ve got enough people gathered. Let’s split the group. I’ll take the instructor and check the area outside. Alejandra can manage things here.”

Arthur quickly formed a team of the most agile and versatile people.

He must’ve been planning this in advance because he organized the group in no time.

“…Don’t push yourself too hard.”

As if I didn’t know that already.

I waved Arthur off and teleported back underground.

The second hurdle came after moving 11 people.

The accumulated fatigue must’ve caught up with me.

Where I had managed seven trips before, my body gave out after just four more this time.

My world was spinning again.

It felt like I was seasick, my head pounding and my stomach churning.

I pushed away the people trying to help me and stumbled toward the wall, retching.

Thankfully, there was nothing left to throw up, but it was still an embarrassing sight.

“Haa… haaa…”

I took deep breaths to steady myself, and slowly my vision cleared.

My magic reserves were refilled.

But I’d need a solid 12-hour sleep to recover from this.

After checking my condition, I turned back to the group.

“Who’s next?”

I tried to sound upbeat, but the people around me still looked worried.

Then one of them pointed at my face.

Wondering what was wrong, I touched my face and felt something sticky on my fingers.

When I pulled my hand back, I saw my fingers were stained red.

Great. A nosebleed.