After that, Dan Feng and Roxy checked back into the inn they had stayed at before.
They would remain here until the nationwide commemoration of the Hero Ars began. At that time, they would assassinate Darius Silva Ganius, the upper minister of the Asura Kingdom.
Without hesitation, they rented three rooms in one go: two on the second floor that they had used previously, and one adjacent to Bloody Kant's room.
The reason for this arrangement was that Dan Feng and Roxy occasionally needed to discuss matters not suitable for Shana to hear. To avoid exposing Shana to unnecessary complications, they decided to place her in the room next to Bloody Kant's.
And today was a special day for Roxy.
She would be conducting a chantless magic lesson for Shana—something she had been looking forward to for a long time!
It seemed Roxy had a particular passion for teaching others, as if she greatly desired to become a proper instructor.
Since Roxy was still somewhat inexperienced in teaching magic to others, she deliberately scheduled Shana's first lesson in Bloody Kant's room.
That way, if any issues arose, she could immediately consult Bloody Kant.
Once everything was prepared, Roxy cleared her throat lightly and, with a smile, said to Shana: "Ahem, alright, Shana—I'm going to start teaching you magic now. Please listen carefully, okay!" With that, she gently retrieved a beginner's magic staff she had prepared long ago from her storage scroll.
The staff was nothing special—just an ordinary one embedded with the most basic magic stone—but for someone just beginning to learn magic, it was more than sufficient.
"Here, this is for you. It's a little gift I prepared especially for you!" Roxy handed the staff to Shana. At the tip was set a small water-blue gem that sparkled beautifully under the sunlight streaming through the window.
Shana accepted the staff with delight, her eyes sparkling like stars as she stared at it intently, reluctant to let go.
Especially her pair of white wolf-like ears—they twitched nonstop from excitement, clearly expressing the joy in her heart.
"Wow, what a beautiful staff! Is this really for me?" Shana exclaimed in wonder. She gently stroked the staff, feeling its texture, her face beaming with happiness.
"Of course. I'm glad you like it. Though this is just a beginner's staff—once you earn some money later, you can upgrade to a better one." Seeing Shana so happy made Roxy feel genuinely delighted as well.
She continued, "Alright, now that you have your staff, let's officially begin learning beginner-level magic today!"
Roxy excitedly pulled out several ordinary sheets of paper from her bag—these were the "lesson plan" Dan Feng had prepared for her.
The pages were densely filled with the most basic magic chants and methods for sensing the flow of one's own mana.
"Shana, I'll first demonstrate the most basic Waterball Technique for you. Remember the chant words—then you'll just recite them exactly as I say."
Roxy took a deep breath, steadied herself, and began chanting the incantation for Waterball: "At the place of your desire, grant the vast protection of water. At this moment, let the cool, murmuring flow gather here—Waterball Technique!"
As she chanted, the mana within her body began to converge in her palm, drawn by an invisible force. It quickly gathered into a crystal-clear water ball.
The water ball sparkled under the sunlight, resembling a flawless aqua gem.
The water ball slowly fell from Roxy's hand into the wooden basin she had prepared in advance.
The sphere instantly filled one-third of the basin.
Shana stared unblinkingly at Roxy, watching her skillfully cast the Waterball Technique, her heart filled with longing for magic.
"See? This is the beginner water magic, Waterball Technique. Once you've mastered it, you'll never have to worry about running out of drinking water again." Roxy explained to the curious Shana.
Shana shouted excitedly, "So amazing! Please let me try too!" She couldn't wait to experience casting magic herself.
Shana took a deep breath and slowly began chanting the Waterball Technique.
"At the place of your desire, grant... um... grant..." Halfway through, she suddenly stalled—she seemed to have forgotten the chant words Roxy had just said.
An embarrassed look appeared on Shana's face. She scratched her head awkwardly and said to Roxy, "I think I forgot the rest..."
Roxy didn't scold Shana. Instead, she smiled gently, took out the "teaching plan" Dan Feng had written, and handed it to Shana, saying, "It's okay—just read it exactly as written here."
Shana took the "teaching plan" and carefully looked at the text, but soon frowned and said to Roxy with a troubled expression, "Roxy-neesan, I'm sorry... I can't read these words."
Shana had been wandering since childhood and never had the chance to receive systematic education in human language. Though she could speak the human tongue, she was completely illiterate in human script.
Roxy understood Shana's difficulty with reading, so she mentally added another item to Shana's training list. Then she comforted her: "I see. In that case, just repeat after me."
And so, Roxy read the words one by one, and Shana repeated them after her.
In Shana's astonished gaze, she watched as a somewhat loose water ball began to form at the tip of the staff in her hand.
The water ball wasn't perfectly round like Roxy's—it was loose and sloppy—but for a first-time caster to achieve even this much showed that Shana had considerable talent as a mage.
In the end, Shana's Waterball Technique successfully dropped into the wooden basin.
"Good! Now practice this a lot. Once you can cast Waterball Technique quickly and accurately, I'll teach you another magic technique." Roxy said gently to Shana.
Shana nodded seriously, indicating she would definitely practice hard.
Afterward, Roxy asked Bloody Kant to keep an eye on Shana's practice for a bit, then left Bloody Kant's room and headed upstairs.
At this time, Dan Feng's room door was open—he had just returned from outside not long ago.
He had briefly scouted the streets somewhat close to the palace, looking for suitable assassination spots.
But in the wide-open streets of Ars, the only places suitable for an assassination would be narrow alleys.
However, as an upper minister, Darius would certainly never enter such remote backstreets.