Chapter 34: A Lesson in Magic and Unexpected Company

Time with Presia

Knock knock.
Room 707 in the research building. As always, I knocked and entered without waiting for a response. After all, it wasn’t my first time here, and there was no need to wait for a reply, I knew well enough that no answer would come.

As I entered, as expected, the curtains blocked the sunlight, and the room was dark, with the lights turned off.
I walked into the dark side room, and there, lying on the sofa, was Presia.

Before waking her up, I tidied up the nearby table to make some space.
“Boss, I’m here.”
I took out the books to study, finished preparing, and woke Presia from her sleep.

“Hmm… Elysia…?”
With her eyes still half closed, Presia slowly sat up. I put my hand under her armpit to help her sit up, then gently fixed her messy hair with my hand.

“You promised to teach me the basics of magic today. Don’t you remember?”
“I remember.”
Presia replied with a sleepy voice and jumped off the sofa.

As she waved her fingers lightly, one by one, the lights in the room began to turn on.
With a snap of her fingers, the teddy bear she had been hugging stood up and started walking out of the room, wiggling its bottom.

After waiting a moment, the teddy bear returned with a tea set. Despite walking awkwardly, the teapot’s hot water didn’t spill.
When it placed the tea set on the table but couldn’t figure out how to place it because the table was too high, Presia snapped her fingers again.

The teapot and teacups floated in the air, and the teddy bear holding them also rose with them.
The teddy bear landed on the table and skillfully set the cups and teapot, then poured tea from the pot.

Once the tea set was placed at the edge of the table, the teddy bear hopped off and returned to the sofa.
It was almost like a lie that it had moved just moments ago, now sitting motionlessly with its head bowed, which actually felt quite fascinating. But in reality, this was normal.

Slurp.
Presia sat at the table, took a sip from her teacup, then set it back down.

“Before we start the lesson, let’s have a quick cup of tea.”
“Shall we?”
At Presia’s suggestion, I sat down in the chair across from her.

“By the way… Are you sure your body is okay now?”
“Ah, I almost forgot to thank you. I heard you were the one who healed me.”
Presia, who had used healing magic to treat me, surely knew how I was feeling. Still, the fact that she said that meant she was concerned about me.

I later heard that Presia’s healing magic was even more powerful than the divine magic of most priests, so I could get a sense of her skill level.

“No, it was because of you, Elysia, that I’m safe. It was the least I could do, and if you need anything else, feel free to ask.”

“Hmm… How about we stop saying who should be more grateful? Let’s just appreciate the gratitude as it is and leave it at that.”
To me, being grateful to Presia was obvious, and it seemed like she felt the same about me. If we kept repeating who was more thankful, it would never end.

“Of course, it would be best if something like this never happened again, but if something similar does happen, I’ll act the same way. I’m sure you would too, right?”
“Hmm?”

Seeing Presia nod, I opened my mouth again.

“If we already know each other’s true feelings, don’t you think just saying ‘thank you’ is enough?”

Of course, expressing feelings is important. But wouldn’t it feel stifling if we get too caught up in it? While we might not be at the point where we can understand everything without words, between Presia and me, I think just a simple word of gratitude should be enough.

“…”

Fortunately, it seemed like the meaning of my words got across. Presia nodded and gave a short reply.

“Then, I’ll leave the rest of today to you. Boss.”

With that awkward talk out of the way, we decided to start the original lesson for today, which was the basics of magic.

“How much do you know about magic?”

“Well… I guess magic is using mana to create some kind of phenomenon, right?”

Using fundamental energy is similar, but it’s quite different from a knight’s aura. A knight’s aura is a technique to train and strengthen oneself, while a mage’s magic is a technique that uses the natural energy of the world to express their will. That’s why magic, unlike an aura, can cause various phenomena. Although people are part of nature, magic can, though inefficiently, also strengthen the body like an aura can.

Historically, even legendary mages were said to have caused miracles that ordinary people could hardly imagine.

“So, how do you cause these phenomena?”

“By chanting and using magic circles.”

Of course, it’s difficult for people to use the energy of nature. But what makes it possible is magic spells and magic circles. People use these two as mediums to turn what was once considered a miracle into a mere technique.

“Right. But we need to understand why it’s chanting and magic circles, and what their exact roles are. Of course, if Elysia is just interested in exam scores, then we don’t need to dig into this much. Memorizing it is enough. But I think understanding it will definitely help you in the future.”

Even though I probably wouldn’t use magic in the future, since I’m just going to swing swords, Presia’s words suggested that it might still be useful somehow. Perhaps, if I ever have to face a mage, even a little knowledge would help.

“Yes. Please go ahead.”

And so, I accepted Presia’s kindness without hesitation.

From then on, Presia’s magic lecture began. The quality of the lecture was on a different level from the usual magic classes I attended. Of course, I’m not criticizing the professors for their teaching abilities, but since they teach at the Knights Department, very few students actually use magic in practice. Due to the lack of talent and passion for magic, the professors mostly teach the theory and move on.

Therefore, it was inevitable that Presia’s class, which focused on teaching magic in depth, was of much higher quality.

“I use a different system of magic compared to the usual methods, so I might be a little off when it comes to more advanced topics. But I’ve definitely mastered the basics of magic recently, so you don’t need to worry.”

At the end of the lecture, Presia said something that was hard to understand.

“Pardon?”

“Huh?”

My flustered reaction made Presia tilt her head, confused by my response.

“You mastered the basics of magic recently?”

If Presia had just mastered the basics of magic, she would be considered a beginner mage. But Presia, who was invited to teach at the Academy, couldn’t possibly be a novice mage, could she?

“Yes. Before coming to the Academy, I used magic my own way.”

From what I know, Presia came to the Academy at the same time I enrolled. In other words, since this semester, she’s been here. That would mean that within this one semester, Presia has gone from starting magic to mastering the basics.

“During the first semester, the magic I tested on Elysia were all magic that I created while studying the basics of magic.”

What a prodigy!

“It was a bit confusing because it was different from the magic I used before, but… it was fun.”

Normally, a person would be confused and find it fun, but imagining a completely different form of magic would be beyond most.

“If Elysia wants… should I teach you my magic too?”

Instead of me wanting to learn, it was Presia’s face that was filled with anticipation, as she was eager to teach.

“Is it okay?”

Looking at her face, I couldn’t bring myself to refuse. Of course, it wasn’t just because of that reason that I accepted; I also had some expectations. Who knows? I might have talent in the magic Presia uses, even if I’m clumsy with the usual magic.

And so, I became Presia’s first assistant and her first student. And then…

“Yeah… Elysia doesn’t have talent in magic.”

Once again, I felt the reality of my lack of talent. I had hoped a little, but this was normal. I already knew I wasn’t talented in magic, so I wasn’t too discouraged. Besides, lacking talent doesn’t always mean you should give up.

“Still, will you continue to teach me?”

“Yeah!”

In response to my request, Presia smiled gladly and agreed. Still, as I continue to learn her magic, there’s a part of me that hopes maybe, just maybe, as she said, the stars might grant me a wish someday.

Besides that, I think Presia’s magic will eventually become a system in its own right, leaving its name in the history of magic. When that time comes, I might even be able to leave my name as her first student beside hers. A tiny, worldly thought crossed my mind.

A very tiny one.

“Then, thank you very much today. I’ll be going now.”

As roll-call time was approaching, I expressed my gratitude and started to tidy up the table. After all, the basics of magic were already finished, and Presia’s magic could be learned anytime.

“Excuse me…”

However, just as I was about to grab my textbook and leave, Presia caught my sleeve.

“Yes?”

For some reason, Presia was holding onto the hem of my clothes and looking back and forth between me and the sofa. She tilted her head several times, then quietly let go of my sleeve.

“It’s nothing. Then, be careful on your way back.”

“Yes. See you next time. Have a good night.”

I waved my hand to Presia and stepped out of the research room. By now, the stars had already appeared in the sky, and time had passed.

I went back to the dormitory to avoid being late for roll-call.

Fortunately, I arrived just as the evening roll-call began. After the roll-call ended without incident, I quickly washed up, changed into my pajamas, and got ready for bed.

Tap, tap.

However, just as I turned off the lights and was about to lie down, I heard something. I looked around the room, but I couldn’t see anything that could make the noise. Thinking it was just my imagination, I started to return to my bed, but the sound came again.

Creak, creak.

This time, it sounded like something was scratching. It was a disturbing sound, like something sharp scraping against glass. Since I was paying attention to the sound, I turned my head towards the direction it came from.

My gaze was directed toward the window, through which moonlight was shining into the room. And beyond the window, I could see two small, sparkling round eyes.

“Is that a cat?”

I quickly got out of bed and opened the window, and the cat jumped inside the room. I had only seen the cat during the bright daylight, but this was the first time I saw it at midnight. I knew that cats liked high places, but my room is on the third floor of the dormitory. I didn’t think cats would come up so high, but the cat actually managed to reach my room.

More importantly, did it knock on the window because it knew this was my room? Or did it just want to come inside, and by coincidence, it ended up in my room?

As I stood in the middle of the room, lost in curiosity, the cat hopped onto my bed as if it were its own, curled up, and lay down.

The sight of the cat meowing at me, looking at me as if it were the owner of the room, made it clear that there was no real owner of the room.

I had no intention of kicking it out anyway. In fact, if I could sleep with the cat, I would gladly welcome it. Once I got under the blanket, the cat seemed satisfied and closed its eyes to fall asleep.

I smiled softly as I looked at the cat and drifted off to sleep.