In fine print

"We're terribly sorry, but the teleportation array isn't operational at the moment. We need more time to repair it."

The trio was sent away from the teleporter before any of them managed to say a single word.

"...then our help is necessary… Just as you said it would be... Let's go."

Adrianna sulked for a moment but then shook her head and nodded at the other two, who appeared to be exceedingly okay with the rather unfortunate situation.

"We will go out and do some hunting! We will target monsters that can be turned into the best materials for reconstructions and level up on top of that!"

"I suppose this is the perfect example of making the best out of a bad situation!"

Both Melinda and Zane nodded at each other, not bothered by the heavy rain and wind, already set on action.

"...level up…? Wait! My lady!"

"...?"

Adrianna looked at them, shaking her head in disbelief, but then her eyes widened as she muttered and instantly grabbed Melinda's arm with an alarmed call.

"Adi? There's nothing to worry about! The ability is the most important, and yours isn't the best with directly strengthening you, but the safety of the stats that come with increasing one's level is…"

"My lady! That's the case! What is your level now?!"

Melinda saw the desperate expression her maid was making and smiled before reassuring her - but Adrianna shook her head and asked tensly.

"My level? Umm… around 45-ish? Maybe 47 at most? We can go check in the guild or in the shop with magic items, if you want. Now that I think about it, it would be best to update my card while we're at it. But, what got you so worked up?"

Melinda furrowed her brows and answered after a bit of consideration at Adrianna's response.

"No one said we're supposed to act as some inept fools. On the contrary, our capabilities, talent, and hard work bring honor to our homeland. You know, the thing that aristocrats like the most."

The gold-haired girl added, doing her best to come up with something that would reassure the other girl.

"Oh, no! My lady, since I've been the one doing the paperwork, you haven't read through the application for the Jade Academy! You don't know! It stated that the aplicant must be below level 50 at the moment of admission or else they will not qualify!"

"...what…?"

Adiranna declared, causing Melinda to freeze up, dumbfounded.

"In one of the annotations to the rules, there was a stipulation stating that in order to not cause any scandals, the level limit must be imposed on the applicants. It mentioned something about the students not being stronger than the teachers... To me, it sounded a bit as if they were just throwing it in as an afterthought, but if you try to enter Jade Academy with level 50 or higher, it might be considered a provocation even worse than if Diamondium ordered your return after all the negotiations! Your whole plan might be compromised before it properly started!"

"..."

"..."

The maid pointed out, and the other two looked at each other and then at her.

"The magic item shop is closer."

Melinda's face turned pale, and she declared, grabbing the hands of the other two and pulling them with her.

"It will be okay. You said you are level 47 at most. There is no reason to be so tense, we can disband the party and if you will be careful…"

Zane breathed out, calming down faster than Melinda, and tried to reassure her, but…

"I am not sure! I wasn't paying attention to the number of rings because I didn't expect the serpent to die from the test throw! I was only guesstimating when I said I'm at level 47!"

"!!!"

But as the hooded girl scoffed back at him in a distressed voice, he shut his mouth instantly.

"We're here. You think they are open?"

A few moments later, the trio stopped in front of the shop where Melinda got the equipment that might have summoned the super boss, and the girl furrowed her brows when she saw the boarded-up windows.

"It looks abandoned. But let's be honest, every building looks like that now…"

Adrianna responded while looking over her shoulder at the ruined city in the middle of a storm.

"Donating enough would open up the item shops first, but maybe the amount we donated wasn't enough... or, more plausibly, since this is the real world now, the funds weren't transferred to them yet."

Zane leaned in and whispered so that only Melinda would hear him.

"Fair point…"

The noble girl furrowed her brows and nodded.

Still…

"Let's check it out anyway."

"You two go in. I see some madmen out on the balcony over there - if we're going hunting, I want to go prepared."

She declared, but before she took a step, Zane tapped her shoulder and pointed to the side.

"Sure. Adi, let's go."

Melinda nodded to him and then beckoned the maid before reaching the shop's door.

The door was either open or just lost the strength contest against the noble girl...

...yeah...

Inside, the store was dimly lit thanks to some kind of item placed on the counter in the back…

The first and all the following steps felt crunchy because the floor was covered with a thick layer of fine shards of glass and crystals…

"What the?!"

…and the gusts of wind that stirred it all up alarmed the shopkeeper who, until that moment, was focused on salvaging his wares from the ruined shelves that didn't withstand the destructive shockwave.

"Who are you people?! I warn you! Don't try anything stupid, or else!"

The man gasped in desperation, backing off with so much momentum that one of the items fell out of his grasp.

It was an unassuming-looking marble sphere the size of an average apple.

After the fall, it started rolling towards the entering girls.

"Hello, mister, it's me again~ Are you open for business?"

While Adrianna closed the door and stood by her side, Melinda took off her hood and greeted the shopkeeper.