Furina's mouth fell slightly open. She stammered in disbelief.
"Wha… wha… what just happened? Shajin, I clearly saw Lynette jump into the water tank! How did she vanish in the blink of an eye? And how did she get out?"
Shajin glanced instinctively at the cute ahoge sticking out from her head and almost chuckled. He had half a mind to press it down but thought better of it—this little Hydro Archon was proud in front of others.
He lowered his hand, shrugged casually, and said,
"If we could figure it out that easily, then he's got a long way to go."
"The beauty of magic lies in the performance, not in exposing the trick."
"Once the mechanism behind it is known, magic becomes mundane."
"Are you sure you want to know?"
Furina's ahoge twitched.
"On second thought… maybe not. Huh? There's another act?"
Lyney gave a polite bow.
"Judging from that applause, I'd say everyone enjoyed the last performance, yes?"
"But! Our magical journey is far from over. What I've prepared next will astonish you even more."
"Magic involving teleportation and disappearance—there's still room for evolution beyond those."
"Many of you may be thinking: 'Sure, that water tank escape looked flawless, but after all, Lynette is my assistant.'"
"In that case, I have plenty of time to prepare everything in advance."
"So for the next trick, I'll need the help of a lucky member of the audience."
"Assistants, please bring out the enchanted boxes!"
Several staff members rolled out two large boxes—one was placed center stage, and the other near the aisle in the audience seating area.
Lyney gestured toward them.
"As you can see, we've got two boxes—one here, one back there in the center aisle."
"Those of you sharp enough might already have guessed: the next act is a switch."
"Our chosen lucky guest and I will each step into a box. One minute later, we'll emerge… from each other's box."
"Everyone, keep your eyes glued to the box in your zone. Don't give me even the tiniest chance to tamper with anything."
"And to pick the lucky guest, we'll use this random selector."
"It's entirely randomized—even I don't know who the magic will favor."
"Let's begin, shall we~?"
Lyney paused for a moment, then checked the screen.
"Oh, it's seat 3 in row 7—congratulations! You're about to witness the impossible firsthand."
A woman stood up, wearing a confused and mildly concerned expression.
"Come, bring her up beside the magic box~"
The box opened slowly, revealing the interior.
"Apologies for the tight space. But we've done our best to make it comfortable—it should help ease any nerves."
"You don't need to do anything. Even if you start feeling something strange… whatever you do, don't step out."
"If the trick gets interrupted, I really can't guarantee where you'll reappear. Might even be in the Fortress of Meropide~ hehe…"
"Now, before I step into the box, I have one last favor to ask the audience—would you kindly count down for me?"
"Just like this: Sixty, fifty-nine, fifty-eight… slowly and steadily. Speed isn't important."
"In the darkness of the box, I can't see anything. Your voices will be my only guide."
"Oh, and no funny business! If you finish sixty numbers in thirty seconds, I'm doomed~"
Lyney spread his hands in mock exasperation.
"Sigh~ Judging by your expressions, I clearly can't trust you. But let's practice anyway."
"Sixty… fifty-nine… fifty-eight… Come on, repeat after me."
The crowd played along.
"Sixty… fifty-nine… fifty-eight…"
Lyney nodded.
"Perfect! Just like that, keep it steady~"
"All right, once the countdown finishes, we'll see each other on the other side of the stage."
Lyney and the selected woman each entered their boxes, and the countdown began.
A staff member tapped on Lyney's box from the outside.
"Mr. Lyney, are you still in there? Ready?"
His voice echoed from inside.
"No rush, no rush. I'm still aligning the direction of the magic."
"If I accidentally pop out somewhere bizarre—like falling from above the audience—it'd turn into a performance accident~"
Bang!
Shajin's ears perked up as a thump came from below the stage.
"So that's how it is… a secret tunnel."
"Shajin? Something wrong?" Furina asked.
"Nothing."
Outside, another staff member knocked on the box.
"What's going on? Mr. Lyney, I can still hear you in there."
From inside came his reply.
"I dropped part of the set dressing. Trying to put it back. It's pitch-black in here—I can't tell which side is which."
The crew scratched their heads.
"We're out of time. Props are a minor detail—the show matters more!"
"No, I won't allow any imperfections in my performance. But don't worry—listen, we've still got twenty seconds~"
"Nineteen… eighteen… seventeen…"
"Oops~ Things are getting a bit chaotic. Sorry about that, everyone."
"Although… I feel like you're counting faster and faster. Still, I understand—it's tiring."
"Even ten seconds is plenty of time."
As the numbers continued dropping, spotlights focused on both boxes.
"All right, preparations are about done."
"Whew."
"Swapping two people…"
"What a massive operation."
"Even for a seasoned magician like myself…"
"There's no guarantee of success on the first try."
"Hey, am I in the back? These boxes look exactly the same—I can't tell!"
The crew tapped the box onstage.
"What? Still not done?"
"Ha… Let me give it another shot."
"Lyney" emerged from the aisle-side box.
"Everyone! Count ten more seconds—this time I promise it'll work!"
The audience burst out laughing but joined in nonetheless.
"Ten!"
"Nine!"
"Eight!"
…
"Three!"
"Two!"
"One!"
"And now… it's time to witness a miracle!"
Lyney really did emerge from the box in the aisle!
Then he raised his hand and pointed toward the stage.
The audience turned in unison to follow his gesture.
BOOM!!
The water tank used earlier, still suspended above, suddenly came crashing down with a thunderous crash—flattening the box onstage beneath it.
A mask worn by one of the stagehands was sent flying through the air.
_
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