Afterwards, the holidays passed by in a breeze of moment that it felt unreal to me. I guess it was true that we would feel holidays were so fleeting, but even a week of work or school felt like it lasted an eternity…
What is it called? Theory of relativity?
Where have I heard of it before?
Anyway, after the exciting sleepover, my friends returned all to do their own activities, and it was family time for me!
I felt somewhat worried for Iris, but she especially wanted to go back to check on that sister of hers, the only one she felt close to.
With that said, the new year quickly arrived and thus, it would soon be 7 years since I reincarnated as Lyra. More or less, I’ve gotten used to this new lifestyle…
As I did a new year reflection, I thought of what had happened so far, on how I was at first suffering from culture shock, but since I thought of my current condition as better than that one as Reinst… I was surprisingly quick to accept and adapt to things.
The challenge for me was still the same. To graduate from my old self, but to make use of that knowledge in this life.
To let go of past matter… Okay, easier said than done.
Every time I met my past acquaintances, especially my former family, I was shaken.
Therefore, I was anticipating the things that would happen in this new year, but at the same time I was afraid that the currently peaceful time would suddenly end…
As school started again, all of us managed to continue to be in the special class without any hindrance.
All of us naturally spoke of the things that happened during when we were away from one another, and I was so sad to hear Iris bitterly repeat her experience back at her supposed home.
Iris said that she made a blunder that more or less involved the safety of her sister, and so she was punished to reflect on her wrongdoings and it seemed like they won’t welcome Iris back at home again for the next breaktime…
Until when? One could not be so sure…
I had lived way longer than Iris that I knew she was schemed in her own “family”. There is no way Iris would neglect her sister’s safety, as she loves her sister so much.
I’m not sure Iris knows of it, but seeing her bitter smile, I feel quite emotional. She is so young, but she has to shoulder all this harsh thing…
But perhaps, it might be better for her not to come back to that “home”.
Other than that, everything seemed to proceed smoothly. Classes were nothing as I considered it as repeating what I’ve learned. There were some updates that I had to adjust myself to, however.
One day, it was finally that time of the year!
It was the time for the new batch of the students to get tested for their magic aptitude.
I slightly feared that my [Dark] magic would be exposed, but oddly enough, this academy didn’t conduct the magic testing in a showy way, such as conducting it in the open, where many of the students could see.
Instead, they conducted it personally just like the yearly health examination.
And the one who was responsible for my class’ magic testing?
Obviously it was none other than Miss Norma!
“…”
In the classroom, there was currently nobody other than me and Miss Norma.
I was sitting in a small chair across Miss Norma as I fidgeted about, and I stole a few glances at Miss Norma who was intently staring at the result of my magic test. Her glasses glittered as they reflected the light from Miss Norma’s Provice.
Miss Norma took a glance at me, and I was surprised at her sudden movement that I quickly tried to straighten myself and to look composed, but Miss Norma seemed to have caught my movements.
She smiled before saying, “Little Lyra, here is your magic test result.”
…eh?
She didn’t comment about my result?
Let alone commenting about the [Dark] magic affinity, she didn’t even energetically comment to my result, as I could totally imagine her being totally ecstatic.
I took a piece of paper that she handed over to me.
Yes, the result was displayed in the Provice and would be stored in the database there, but they would normally write the result in a piece of paper for the student to take.
Ah, by “writing”, it might be more accurate to say that the result was “copied”. Just now, Miss Norma grabbed a piece of empty paper and focused her eyes on it as she looked between the paper and the Provice back and forth. As she stared at the paper, some words were written on it.
Yes, it was also a type of magic. If the examiners weren’t proficient at this kind of magic, there would be a type of device provided for them to do the task.
I stared at the paper and read a similar result.
[Name : Alrescha Lyra HartmannMana Capacity : 999
Magic Affinity :
- Neutral : 5/10
- Fire : 4/10
- Water : 7/10
- Thunder : 6/10
- Wind : 6/10
- Ice : 10/10
- Earth : 5/10
- Plant : 6/10
- Dark : 10/10
- Light : 8/10
- Life : 9/10
- Void : 0/10
Note : 0 = unable to use, 1-3 = weak, 4-6 = normal, 7-9 = strong, 10 = very strong]
It was totally identical to the paper I received back then when Mom brought me along to the Capicastle to get tested right after my sixth birthday.
Not even the slightest change was present.
I wasn’t sure if I should be happy or sad.
“It was an amazing result!”
Suddenly, I heard Miss Norma’s usual energetic voice. When I looked at her, the glint in her eyes was back!
This… was the normal Miss Norma!!
“As expected of Ophelia-sama’s daughter! Your result didn’t fall short on my expectation, and it was as amazing as your older brother’s result!! Seems like I will be so lucky to witness the rise of a pair of magician siblings!!”
I slightly jumped back as she leaned over to me.
…Excuse me, but being stared at by an adult with glistening eyes—or glasses this close was quite… an experience to have.
But…
I had been hiding the truth about my [Dark] affinity and hadn’t really exercised it in class, and I never mentioned it, too.
Why didn’t Miss Norma mention anything about it?
This was the only thing that puzzled me.
After taking some more compliments from Miss Norma, there was a knock on the door, indicating that it was time for the next student to take their test.
When I went outside, I saw my circle of friends was there, waiting for me.
“Lyra, how was your result?!”
The one who energetically bounced over to me was none other than the lively Carbuncle.
“E-eh, yup, it was nothing new. Just the same old result I mentioned.”
“Can I see?!”
“Eh, but… this…”
I showed her an envelope that was already sealed. Yup! Thankfully, the test result was already sealed inside the envelope given, as the teacher instructed the students to hand it over to their parents.
…I was the one who sealed the envelope, though.
“Ehhh, why are you so quick to seal the envelope, Lyra?! No fun!” Carbuncle pouted.
“W-well, it was nothing new, so I just acted in the heat of the moment and sealed it on the spot… Wait, Carbuncle, did you get tested?”
Carbuncle immediately shook her head.
“Of course not! How could I afford to destroy the testing device? Hahahaha!!” Carbuncle proudly boasted.
…Well, that made sense. And it was not that Carbuncle was here to train her (already strong) magic.
…Heck, I imagined the device exploding right after Carbuncle touched it, and I imagined it would be quite the scene, so… okay, wise decision!
“What about you guys?” I quickly asked.
“Well, same as you, the same old stuff,” Luca answered indifferently. I looked at him and noticed he had also sealed the envelope off.
Did he seal the envelope right after getting the result, or did he just seal it after seeing I did so?
…This kid, I couldn’t really read him!!
On the contrary, Kiri and Iris all still grabbed their not-yet-sealed envelopes.
“Aw boo, Lyra and Luca are no fun, sealing their results like that!” Kiri protested. Although he was supposed to be Luca’s aide in the future and most probably his personal knight, but the one who was standing right in front of me was nothing but a child. He had yet to learn a good hold of restraint, and combined with Luca’s attitude of wanting Kiri to act naturally, it made Kiri develop this kind of open attitude.
“That’s right… It’s not fair, right?” Iris also joined Kiri’s faction.
“Sorry, but don’t you think you have known about me and Luca’s magic affinities? But as for you two, you don’t even join the Magic class, so your results are more mysterious!” I tried to argue back.
Luca slightly glared at Kiri, and Kiri was taken aback for a moment.
“Fine, fine, not like it matters anyway,” Kiri sighed and surrendered his paper easily.
…Kiri, I guess you still have a long way and a lot of forging to be done… before you can be a splendid knight, yes. But the one who intimidated Kiri was Luca, so Kiri’s yielding nature to Luca could be considered good…?
“Well, my result is terrible, but I don’t really mind about my magic affinity…,” Iris also surrendered her paper with resignation, but from her tone of voice, I could sense a little bit of dejected feeling.
Well, two papers were handed over to me, so why should I reject them?
We all came closer to one another to take a look at their results.
[Name : Kiri ElsworthMana Capacity : 164
Magic Affinity :
- Neutral : 6/10
- Fire : 4/10
- Water : 0/10
- Thunder : 0/10
- Wind : 7/10
- Ice : 0/10
- Earth : 2/10
- Plant : 0/10
- Dark : 0/10
- Light : 0/10
- Life : 0/10
- Void : 0/10
Note : 0 = unable to use, 1-3 = weak, 4-6 = normal, 7-9 = strong, 10 = very strong]
[Name : Iris SorreilMana Capacity : 44
Magic Affinity :
- Neutral : 5/10
- Fire : 2/10
- Water : 3/10
- Thunder : 0/10
- Wind : 0/10
- Ice : 0/10
- Earth : 3/10
- Plant : 2/10
- Dark : 0/10
- Light : 0/10
- Life : 0/10
- Void : 0/10
Note : 0 = unable to use, 1-3 = weak, 4-6 = normal, 7-9 = strong, 10 = very strong]
“…”
Iris’ result was indeed terrible, and Kiri’s result somewhat reminded me of my past self’s result. And it also didn’t matter as our families emphasized on swordsmanship.
But I guess they were not lying when they said that they weren’t good at magic and didn’t try to bother with magic classes.
After everyone was tested, we were all gathered in the spacious hall.
What is it, I wonder?
Before I could even think of something, the whole hall was dimmed and suddenly, there appeared a holographic projection of a scene in front of the hall.
There, two magicians were battling against each other.
Their strength looked to be on par at first, as they managed to dodge, defend, and attack back. They also used the same affinity: Fire. Things seemed to be so even at first, but at the end of the day, one of them showed their inferior magic capabilities and lost the match.
At the end of the projection, it was clear whose magic capability was more amazing.
…What is this school planning to do, to let us watch this?
As soon as I pondered on it, suddenly, Miss Norma appeared right in front all of us.
“After watching the scene before, let me ask you a question. Which one of them possesses a superior magic power?”
She asked.
I was at a loss of words. It was as clear as the day, so why bother asking this?
In addition, I was sure that there were some of the students here who felt dejected after seeing their test result. Someone’s magic power was destined at one’s birth, and it was impossible to change.
“The one who won.”
The students answered in a not-so-united voice.
Miss Norma only smiled and said, “Then, look at this.”
Suddenly, another holographic picture was projected. The screen was divided into two sides. The left side had the picture of the loser along with what seemed to be their magic test result, and the right side displayed the winner’s.
And we were all surprised.
On the left side of the screen, it was clearly displayed that the person’s mana capacity was 643, and their affinity with [Fire] was 8. Meanwhile, on the right side of the screen, the mana capacity displayed was… 558, and the affinity to [Fire] was 7.
Clearly, the one on the left should possess a stronger magic power, but why did they lose?
After a moment of silent, the students couldn’t help but break in an uproar upon witnessing this mystery. Miss Norma didn’t say anything, as if she was deliberately letting us speculate first.
“Let me tell you why I showed you this,” Miss Norma said.
All of the students went into silence, as we all were so eager to listen to her explanation.
“While it might be true that the loser should have possessed a stronger magic power, but the winner actually the one with lower magic power. Why was it possible?”
She went silent before proceeding.
“It was simple. The winner was more diligent in training their magic, and they had a good strategy compared to their opponent. Thus, I’d like to say this to everyone here.”
“Having a lower affinity and mana capacity doesn’t mean you will lose. After all, one’s magic power also depends on how hard you train it. On how you use your mana. On how good you can build your strategy to defeat your opponent. The reason I showed you the scene just now was to encourage everyone that may be disappointed with their result. And to the ones with overwhelming results, don’t let your guard down and stop working so hard just because you already possess a good inert talent. Practice, and practice, and you will be rewarded.”
Miss Norma’s image was so different from the one I remembered. This way, everyone could see that she was worthy of her title of Royal Magician, and of her position as the magic teacher here.
“To the ones that have difficulties in exercising magic but are eager to use magic, do not worry as technology is evolving. There are various devices invented that can more or less give you the experience of using magic. Though it might not be as convenient as using the power inside of you, if you truly love magic, you won’t be discouraged by it.”
I was stunned at her words, for I had no knowledge of such devices.
But when I thought of it carefully, as Reinst, I was raised in a swordsman family. Nobody was there to nurture any passion for magic, so naturally, I didn’t really pay any attention to things related to magic.
Therefore, I was very surprised at her revelations today.
Mom never told me of such things, perhaps since I already possessed amazing magic capabilities, and that I was so diligent in my training.
She indeed emphasized the importance of training, and never said anything about me not having to work so hard due to my amazing capabilities.
She only told me that if I was careless and underestimated my opponent, then I could lose, and I thought it was quite a natural thing that I didn’t ask further. It was the same in swordsmanship, too.
In short, since I was so cooperative and willing in my training so far, Mom didn’t bother motivating me with this kind of thing, as I would definitely be all right.
I wondered if she would show and tell me about this possibility if I were to laze around…?
At the end of the sudden motivational session, I could see that some of the students who looked dejected at first—were now looking pretty determined.
I smiled and felt that this academy was indeed a good academy.
***
That night, Mom naturally asked me about my magic test session at the academy, so I didn’t think twice before divulging the whole matter to her.
…Surprisingly, she was stunned for she actually thought I already knew of this thing!!
……Mom, please don’t assume I know this sort of thing naturally…
“That’s right, having a larger mana pool might give you an advantage, but it doesn’t mean that you can keep up your mana when fighting against someone with smaller mana pool. Your opponent might be so adept at regenerating their mana, so the condition might be overturned.”
“And what use is having a good knife whose edge is never sharpened? The same goes for having a higher number of affinity but never bother to train it.”
Mom tried to clarify the matter after she cleared her throat from her initial surprise.
I nodded at her explanation.
“I-I sharpen my daggers diligently, Mom!”
Unexpectedly, Alt-nii was the one who exclaimed, and from his behavior, I could tell that… he was lying…
Mom and Dad chuckled at the same time and Dad patted Alt-nii’s head as his big hand messed Alt-nii’s hair.
“Now now, make sure you really do that, Alt!” Dad said.
“Altaire, Mom didn’t say it to remind you, but that’s good that you are reminded of it,” Mom added.
After we all calmed down from Alt-nii’s sudden remark, Mom shifted her glance at me and added.
“But I believe it won’t be a problem to you, Lyra. You’ve never lazed around in your training, after all,” she said—perhaps trying to justify her reason for not telling me this before, and I guess my conjecture was right all along.
“Speaking of which, what did your teacher tell you about your result?” Mom suddenly asked.
“Eh? Ah… come to think of it, Miss Norma strangely didn’t ask me anything in regards to my [Dark] magic…”
Mom’s question made me recall the thing I felt off the most during the testing session.
“Really? That’s good,” Mom smiled contently, and I had a hunch…
“Did you tell her in advance, Mom?”
Mom then smiled, and that smile answered everything to me.
As her subordinate, Mom could easily summon Miss Norma and talk to her about me and my [Dark] magic.
Therefore, Miss Norma didn’t make much of a ruckus out of it.
I couldn’t help but bloom in a smile. I felt so happy that I have such a considerate mother this time.
And I guess it didn’t count as overstepping one’s boundary—I mean, making use of one’s authority, right?
I can consider it as a mother worrying about her daughter, thus the mother told the teacher beforehand.
“Thank you, Mom!”
I smiled happily as I followed my childish instinct to come and hug Mom, before lightly kissing her cheek.
Mom’s face also turned gentle as she returned my hug and kisses.
“Eh, Lyra, no portion for Dad?”
…Dad shamelessly asked.
“Mom, I want some hugs and kisses, too!”
Alt-nii added as he demanded the same treatment from Mom.
“Then, Dad and Alt-nii can just exchange hugs and kisses!” I jokingly said.
“Haha, that’s a nice idea!” Surprisingly, Mom went along with my joke.
“This is after all the privilege of a mother and a daughter!” She said with a content smile.
“T-then, this father and son won’t hold back!!” Dad felt as if he was challenged and thus, he accepted the challenge.
…Really, this family.
My chest felt an indescribable warmth spreading—but by this time, I was already used to this sort of feeling. It was a pleasant kind of warmth.
It was the warm feeling of love.
