The tea house was completely full, and besides the seats for drinking tea, even the standing area temporarily opened during the magic show was packed.

It was something to be glad about that every seat was taken, but I couldn’t just be happy.

The proof was the unusually intense gaze focused on Kwon Je-in, who was sitting side by side with Kwon Rena, drinking tea and waiting for the show.

Moreover, sitting across from them was a magician player whom I had only seen on TV.

I thought having foreigners at school was something I had gotten used to after seeing Jared Lee, but seeing him now felt unfamiliar.

‘Not all the audience who came now are here just to see magic. More people probably entered after hearing that Kwon Je-in was here at this time. Also, since that magician player is here too.’

Inside, the space was styled with various rare plants and a fancy, avant-garde atmosphere infused with Ong Gildong’s sensibility.

Rather than a tea house, it felt like being at a bizarre-themed botanical garden or a fashion show venue.

Although some who recognized the value of the plants Guseulbi grew or Ong Gildong’s design were shocked and reading the description plaques, those who were actually expecting the magic show were in the minority.

In the first place, magic wasn’t that popular in this world.

That British magician was highly recognized within the industry and quite active as a player, so he was popular, but magic itself was not part of the major culture.

“What preparations do I and Uisin need to make?”

“Hmm, nothing much. Since the costumes are already perfect, you just need to put on the masks!”

By the way, following the star avatar, the theme for this costume was ‘Rediscovery of School Uniforms.’

Currently, our class kids were wearing modified versions of the Eungwang High school uniform.

Some replaced the fabric with silk and satin and added norigae to give it a Korean traditional style, others added chains and leather for a gothic feel — the class wore various designed uniforms.

Some designs were so embarrassing just to look at, but even to my eyes, some were quite good; whichever way, if the disciplinary committee members patrolling the school gates found these uniforms, they’d feel a thrill of panic.

Still, only the attention-seeking duo was ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) allowed to use the aurora-colored fabric, and the mask we got that covered only the eyes shone like the aurora.

‘Even if I wear this, my identity won’t be hidden at all, but anyone can tell just by looking that we’re the magic assistants of that attention-seeking duo.’

A magic show wearing modified school uniforms in a tea house with a concept mixing a botanical garden filled with rare creatures and an experimental fashion show venue — really a ridiculous and abstruse concept, but the attention-seeking duo was very happy preparing for it.

Magic wasn’t popular as mentioned before, but the demand still remained, and Ong Gildong loved magic.

Magic manifested as supernatural abilities, miracles performed by higher beings in the divine realm, and Kwangrim — miracles used by humans.

Although the place of magic was shrinking in a world where all these coexist, it still had a charm that fascinated people.

‘Just like sports where humans compete with purely trained strength and skill, even if machines faster and stronger than normal humans exist, it gains popularity.’

The world’s fastest runner can’t run faster than a car, but every time a new record is set, there are people who rejoice and cheer.

Likewise, some people were captivated by the scenes created purely through magic without supernatural power.

It made them feel like touching an unknown beyond abilities, and gave them the thrill of solving the mystery of how such magic was possible.

“...That’s all for the explanation! Got it?”

“Yeah. I thought being the assistant would let me know the secret of the magic, but too bad.”

“Hmm, it’s better to figure that out yourself!”

“Right, it wouldn’t be fun if we just told them.”

In Seon-oh, who was also the assistant, smiled gently after hearing this.

Our roles were very simple.

They could have just randomly selected assistants from the audience applicants as planned, and there wouldn’t have been a problem, but it seemed unnecessary to not use us.

When we said something like this, the attention-seeking duo vehemently opposed.

“If you’re not on stage, our performance is different!”

“Yes. Just having a partner we’re in sync with on stage makes us perform better. Alright, let’s go!”

Pop!

All the lights went out, and blackout curtains covered the windows, plunging the room into darkness.

The remaining light sources were the audience’s personal devices and some pre-installed glowing plant lights.

Some players calmly and reflexively used Insight skills to secure their vision.

When they detected supernatural powers, I got even more nervous.

‘There are high-level players mixed in the audience. So it will be even harder to perform the magic show. If a player with eyes like Cheondongha is watching and uses Kwangrim to observe, it’s almost impossible to cheat.’

Of course, Cheondongha wouldn’t ruin the fun by exposing the magic secrets of juniors like that with such a boring trick.

He would probably only try to discover the secret through observation and deduction.

Just like me now.

“Mesdames et messieurs! Thank you for coming to the show by me and my partners today!”

“Hello!”

Ong Gildong welcomed the audience fluently in French, followed by Guseulbi energetically greeting as they stepped onto the stage.

That French phrase addresses ladies and gentlemen, a conventional phrase signaling the start of the show.

Then a spotlight came up and shone on In Seon-oh, introducing her; since she was an unplanned guest, everyone was surprised and cheered loudly.

Especially PlayerZ fans spotted In Seon-oh on stage and applauded enthusiastically.

“Now, from this moment, I will show you these supernatural power blocking handcuffs we’ll use! Please check them yourselves!”

Hearing that, In Seon-oh and I each quickly jumped down from the stage.

We held up large, bulky supernatural power blocking handcuffs so everyone could see them clearly.

Those using Insight skills could quickly tell whether the attention-seeking duo were using supernatural powers for magic or not, but since there were ordinary people too, showing these was a good performance touch.

To help with the show, or to settle doubts some players had, every time I walked over and showed the handcuffs, people stopped to check if supernatural powers passed through the cuffs.

Various colored supernatural auras were emitted but none passed through the cuffs, and everyone nodded.

Of course, whether intended or not, there were some who tried to interrupt.

“Hmph, the supernatural blocking effect of this item is decent, but its durability is disappointing. Even if you get tied with this, if you break it with strength or increase your supernatural power output greatly, it’ll break. It won’t work on me!”

Noisy.

Just as I was thinking that, White Tiger spoke up plainly.

“Jo Yi-shin thinks you’re being noisy.”

“So does I.”

Hwang Ji-ho quieted down.

He walked past the seats where our class sat and checked a few more.

By the time he finished a rough round, the stage setup was already complete.

While people’s attention was distracted by In Seon-oh and me moving around, more people didn’t notice how the stage was being set.

This was the essence of magic — to grab attention by means other than power or supernatural abilities.

“Alright, fill up the seats quickly!”

“I’m ready!”

I fastened the handcuffs on Ong Gildong’s hand, and In Seon-oh did the same for Guseulbi as the magic show officially began.

They pretended to try to use supernatural powers to confirm the handcuffs were really working, then started moving.

The beginning was quite basic magic.

“For those who found us, we have gifts for you!”

Showing an empty hat, they placed it on the table and began pulling out things one by one.

Instead of gifts, absurd things started coming out of the hat.

A swan statue appeared, then a light that had been in the audience seats.

People watching the hat closely murmured.

Especially those using Insight skills squinted their eyes, still unable to detect traces of supernatural power, trying to figure out the trick.

“Finally, it’s time for the gifts we prepared.”

“Yeah! I thought it would come out now too!”

When Ong Gildong and Guseulbi made exaggerated gestures and spun around, then grabbed the hat again, the brim had grown much bigger than before.

It seemed made of a material that stretched and fixed when pulled.

That itself wasn’t surprising.

What shocked the audience was when Ong Gildong and Guseulbi both reached inside and pulled something out.

“It’s Teacher Ham Geun-hyung!”

“Changcheon Myeonggung!”

From inside the widened hat came out Teacher Ham Geun-hyung!

We thought he was busy and absent, but apparently he had decided to secretly help the two.

Holding each of his disciple’s hands, Teacher Ham Geun-hyung looked fierce at first glance but seemed to be enduring embarrassment.

He greeted those calling his name and alias loudly, then went down from the stage.

Our classmates and fans of Changcheon Myeonggung were very happy, but others looked just dazed.

Maybe for those people, or because Ong Gildong was confident that no one would discover the secret hidden in the hat, he threw the hat high toward the upper part of the stage where Teacher Ham Geun-hyung was walking.

“Everyone, let’s applaud for our teacher as he leaves!”

Swish!

The hat spun wildly and floated through the air.

Inside, packaged aurora cotton candy dropped down to the audience.

Thanks to the lights turned on in perfect timing, the falling aurora cotton candy looked magical.

‘The aurora cotton candy reservations weren’t that many, but ordering a lot was for this moment.’

The show continued after that.

As if his earlier nervousness was a lie, Ong Gildong moved all over the stage with ease.

Since Guseulbi was actually the assistant with more weight in the act, Ong Gildong held the center of the stage.

Ong Gildong made In Seon-oh float in the air without using supernatural powers, cut me inside a box with a sword, then put me back together.

When the box I was in was cut with a sword, dark red smoke burst out for dramatic effect and misdirection.

At that moment, a few juniors screamed and rushed onto the stage, but our classmates quickly stopped them.

Ong Gildong’s show was full of thrills.

Finally, Ong Gildong was trapped in a tank covered in seaweed, unable to move, but then reappeared completely dry, scattering cards.

He still had the supernatural power blocking handcuffs on his hands, so those who couldn’t figure out the magic’s secret acknowledged defeat and gave a standing ovation, with others gradually standing up as well.

“Thank you!”

Amid cheers, Ong Gildong and Guseulbi laughed, delighted and not knowing what to do.

It might have been a long time since they received such wholehearted attention.

They stepped back, held hands with In Seon-oh and me who were also applauding, came to the center of the stage again, bowed, and left.

As they left the stage, I noticed that among those giving a standing ovation was that British magician player as well.

He wasn’t just giving a courtesy clap but seemed to genuinely respect them.

As expected, when the tea house of this concept ended and there was a short break, I saw Ong Gildong exchanging device codes with the magician player and enjoying it so much it looked like he might faint.

After that, our class opened a new tea house.

It was a martial arts-themed tea house with a daru (traditional teahouse) concept proposed by Jin Jeongmuk.