After defeating the ninja mage, Ben tries to sense his surroundings again. The previous ninja mage could hide his presence and magic power from Ben, so he needs to be more vigilant now.
'That black color of his magic must be shadow magic. He can hide in the shadow to avoid detection. It is the most suitable magic for stealth and infiltration.' - Ben analyzes.
Ben returns to his team and Arthur's group while the Mayor's men tie up the ninja mage.
"Everyone okay?" - Ben checks on them.
"Y-yeah, we're more worried about you, though." - Arthur expresses concern.
"Don't worry about me, I can handle things like this better than you guys. Anyway, we need to be careful in case there's someone who is still hiding. Let's wait here in the open, so we won't get cornered inside. I can protect you better in here until the magic council mages come." - Ben suggests.
"Alright, we'll follow your advice." - Mayor agrees.
They wait there for 15 minutes before the mages from the magic council arrive with their flying magic ship. No further attacks occur during their wait; it seems the ninja mage was the enemy's last resort.
"I'm Geld, from the Magic Council. Are you the mage who captured them?" - Geld introduces himself.
"Yeah, we're mages from Cait Shelter." - Ben responds.
"Cait Shelter? Ah, alright, I understand. Can you tell me about these mages and the chronology of their attack?" - Geld requests.
Ben provides Geld with details about the dark mages and the events that transpired. Geld records the information with his lacrima and nods along. He is surprised by Ben's feat and how the battle unfolded.
'This kid doesn't lie, I know it from his tone. So he defeated the 6 of them alone, and just now he defeated the last one here. This kid has good potential; I'm glad he's not raised by a dark guild.' - Geld thinks to himself.
"Alright, I've collected everything I need, so we will leave now. Thank you for your cooperation." - Geld informs.
"What will happen with their employer?" - Ben inquires.
"If it's proven that they were hired, then we will capture the one who hires them. Hiring dark mages is already a crime, not to mention the assassination job. If it's proven, then we will put them in prison." - Geld explains.
"Alright then." - Ben accepts.
The mages from the magic council leave with the captured dark mages. They have also checked the vicinity and found no other suspicious mages, so it's safe now.
Team Ben and the Mayor's group can finally enter the mansion now. They go to the living room, and some maids offer them iced tea and snacks. Ben takes the iced tea and gulps all of it down quickly.
"Phew, that feels great. Can I get some glasses of iced juice? I need to cool my body's temperature after some battles." - Ben requests.
"Understood." - Maid 1 acknowledges.
"Hoho, I like the way you drink, boy. You will be quite a drinker in the future." - Ray comments.
*BONK* The Mayor's wife knocks her husband's head.
"Don't teach a child to be a drunkard like you!" - Mayor's wife scolds.
"A-Alicia, I'm just praising how the boy drinks his iced tea." - Ray defends himself.
"Hmph, it's the same." - Alicia asserts.
'It seems that no matter what the world is, the wife will be the 1st in command in most families.' - Ben recalls his family that has a similar structure.
They rest and chat calmly while waiting for Joseph's group. The group finally reaches the mansion after 2 hours. A horse carriage is slow, even more so when they need to take some detours.
"You won't ask me to find the spy, aren't you?" - Ben questions.
"No, of course not. We will do it ourselves; it's our internal problem." - Joseph assures.
"Alright, I think our job ends here, so we'll take our leave." - Ben decides.
"Wait! Why don't you join the dinner with us and stay here for the night? It's almost dark, so I think it's better to return tomorrow." - Arthur suggests.
"Oh, that's a good idea, Arthur." - Ray agrees.
"I don't think we can do that, right, girls?" - Ben asks.
"We want to stay." - The girls express their desire.
"What? Why?" - Ben raises an eyebrow.
"We want to explore the town tomorrow, like when we explored Clover Town." - Wendy explains.
"Oh, alright then." - Ben agrees.
Team Ben decides to stay in the mansion tonight and explore the town tomorrow. They have a big dinner with the two families to celebrate their success today.
Ben doesn't restrain himself and eats a lot of food on the table. His appetite has grown along with his power growth. Everyone except his team is dumbfounded by Ben's appetite.
"How can he eat so much with that small body?" - Maya wonders.
"Mages are truly mysterious." - Ray comments.
They continue their dinner, with Ben devouring a lot of food. After dinner, they take a bath in the mansion's big bathroom with hot water.
"Rich people really have everything in their house." - Ben remarks with a pissed expression.
"I don't think you can say that just after seeing the hot bath." - Arthur chuckles.
"That's what a rich person always says." - Ben realizes, forgetting that he is a billionaire.
"Sigh, whatever, just enjoy the bath." - Arthur suggests.
They enjoy the bath before going to their bedroom to sleep. Wendy and the cats want to sleep in the same room with Ben, and he agrees. They must feel wary to sleep by themselves in a foreign place. Nothing noteworthy happens that night, and they just sleep peacefully.
The next day, Team Ben explores the town and sees many new things. They buy some items that intrigue them as usual. Then, at the end of their exploration, they go to a magic store. Ben wants to buy more magic spells that he doesn't have.
[12 low-level spells, 2 medium-level, and no high-level spells. Other spells have been owned and recorded.]
'Hmm, I guess the spells in public stores are not that different from each other, huh? Guilds have a greater variation of spell and magic collections after all.' - Ben thinks.
[Finding some unknown books about Gods, Demons & Curses.]
'Gods, demons & curses? That's new, let's buy the books.' - Ben decides.
Ben purchases all the new spell books and the books about gods, demons, and curses. He knows that God exists because of his reincarnation, but he hasn't confirmed the existence of demons. This is a Magic World, so demons should exist too. He just never learned about them nor seen them yet.
Team Ben finishes their exploration and returns to the Mayor's mansion. After bidding their farewell, Team Ben leaves the mansion and returns to their guild. It takes 3 hours to reach the guild because Ben drives slowly so they can enjoy the scenery.
"What took you so long to return from a simple job?" - Roubaul questions.
"Sigh, the job changed." - Ben explains
.
Ben then tells Roubaul about their job, and the old man just nods along.
"Well, it's good that you have a good heart, Wendy. But you need to think of the danger it poses to you and your friends! Even if Ben-boy is strong and can defeat strong mages, it will be harder to fight while protecting you. If not for the car's defense system, you, Bella, and Carla might get injured too." - Roubaul lectures Wendy.
"Yes." - Wendy looks down.
"Well, it's not a bad experience for you guys. With what happened yesterday, you should understand that our jobs as mages are dangerous. That's why we need to choose wisely on what job that we'll take. We also need sufficient power to protect ourselves." - Ben advises.
"Yes, we'll train to get stronger, right Carla, Bella?" - Wendy looks at her companions.
"Of course." - Carla affirms.
"Strong." - Bella nods.
"I'll wait for it." - Ben rubs their heads.
The three girls immediately leave to train in the training ground.
"They don't need to do it right away." - Ben sweatdrops.
"Hahaha, that's how children are." - Roubaul laughs.
"Old man, I think you need to choose the job that we did as a team to be the easiest job. I will take care of the more dangerous jobs myself, so we won't be in trouble like yesterday." - Ben suggests.
"I know, I will look into the job more carefully next time. I didn't realize that the job has been rejected by the mages who took it previously." - Roubaul admits.
"Alright, I leave it to you." - Ben concludes.