episode_0012

No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t understand this person’s thoughts at all. If you’re a royal, you can create a friend if you set your mind to it, but I didn’t understand why I should become the teacher’s friend, and especially if someone who had already attacked me said such things, that also didn’t make sense to me.

To be honest, if I say I’m a friend, I was already a friend in reality. I didn’t think that saying “let’s be friends” like now actually makes someone a friend.

“I’d like to ask for a reason.”

“Do you need a reason? It’s something that can’t be stopped when friendship forms between people.”

“Why me, honestly, there are many people around Princess Ceresia, and they also consider themselves friends, so why are you doing this to me?”

“Am I really a friend?”

At that moment, her eyes sharply changed. Feeling like I had said something wrong, I slightly lowered my head and offered an apology. If we eat together, have conversations, and wander around the school, isn’t that what being friends is about?

“If you see me as a friend, maybe I am. But Astan, even though you call me ‘Princess,’ are our positions equal?”

“… No, they’re not. Even if we became friends, it would be the same.”

“So, that’s why I’m suggesting we become friends.”

With those words, she slowly began to walk and gestured for me to follow. Following her cautiously, we walked slowly toward the sparkling academy, and she threw a question at me.

“Have you ever heard of a story about a commoner becoming friends with royalty?”

“No.”

“When commoners become friends with royalty, they usually want something, so it’s not common for commoners to become friends with royalty. If there’s a difference in status, they can’t erase such thoughts.”

“Would someone knowledgeable make such a suggestion?”

She looked at me with a big smile in response to my question. I couldn’t help but think she was truly beautiful. Whether it was because she was a princess of a country or simply because she was beautiful, I couldn’t find an answer no matter how much I thought about it. The moonlight sparkled beautifully as it shone on her. It was like a scene from a novel or a fairy tale, and as I waited for her to speak without saying a word, she held her words in her mouth.

“Do you know Prince Chartro?”

“If you mean His Highness the prince, then yes, I do.”

“Brother also attended the academy, although he didn’t graduate and returned to the capital, he made friends at the academy. He said that the time he spent at the academy was the freest time in his life, and here at the academy, status doesn’t matter.”

“That’s a valid point, but I don’t really think it’s that equal.”

“But, isn’t it something we can ignore within the academy?”

I looked at her without saying anything in response to her words. Her red eyes looking at me caught my attention.

“What would change if we became friends? I don’t think anything would change for me.”

“It’s a matter of the heart, because the word ‘friend’ carries a certain feeling.”

I looked at the glass bottle she had filled with mana. If we became friends, could I learn the method, should there really be such a thing as being friends? With that thought, I handed her the glass bottle and spoke up.

“I’ve decided.”

“Yes, tell me.”

“You don’t need to teach me how to fill the glass bottle with mana, I’ll figure it out myself.”

“And?”

“We won’t become friends either.”

In response to my answer, she seemed disappointed, as if it wasn’t the right time. We were not in an equal position right now. Even if we became friends, she was an exceptional magician and I was not, so excluding the royal status, it was the same.

“Later, when the moment comes that I feel like calling you my friend, then I will consider us friends.”

She simply nodded and held the glass bottle in her right hand, filling it with flames. As soon as the flames were contained, the glass bottle shattered instantly, and she smiled at me.

“Mana continues to flow, just like flames, unrefined. Mana that doesn’t stop flowing has no choice but to break the glass bottle. It’s giving mana the command first, the command to stop. Simple, isn’t it?”

“Why are you teaching me this?”

“It’s because I want to be your friend.”

She smiled brightly, then took the first step and walked away somewhere, while I watched her go before heading back to the dormitory.

It felt like she had spoken a bit coldly, and it stung a corner of my heart.

I woke up before breakfast and stopped by Senior Leonard’s lab. Since he said I could take the glass bottles, I grabbed a few and left the lab. While walking towards the dining hall, I suddenly felt someone’s gaze on me.

It felt like someone was watching me. Even though I felt like I could catch them if I ran now, I couldn’t be sure who was watching me, so I stopped thinking about it and continued to the dining hall. The academy is a dangerous place. Even if I caught the person following me, I couldn’t think about what would happen next if they were stronger than me.

When I arrived at the dining hall and sat in front of Sharon, she stopped eating and looked at me.

“You’re a little late today.”

“I had somewhere to go for a moment.”

“You know there’s an outdoor class this morning, right?”

“…That’s the first I’ve heard of it.”

At my words, Sharon smiled faintly. I’ve never heard of an outdoor class, where did she hear about it? Who told her? I stared blankly at Sharon, and then the fairies began to set the meal in front of me.

“You didn’t read the notice on the first floor, did you?”

“…It’s surprising that there’s a student checking that area.”

Normally, nobody thinks about passing through that area, and even if there is something useful for first-year students, it’s not related to me. Even if there is, it’s mostly about recruiting clubs or such cases.

“What was the first class today, Mana Theory, right? Is there a reason to have a class outdoors?”

“I heard that it’s common to give wands to first-year students at this time, fairies told me.”

“A wand… It seems awkward, have you ever used a wand?”

“Nobles with talent in magic make swords or wands when they are young.”

“…As expected of a noble.”

In response to my words, Sharen grinned and rummaged through her pocket to show me the wand. There was a small gemstone carved into the handle of the wand. I immediately thought it wouldn’t be an ordinary price.

“It’s a wand carved with Sgullan, the success rate of magic isn’t certain, but it doesn’t break easily.”

“Even if you learn to use a wand, what’s important is understanding magic by yourself. It’s ultimately difficult.”

Thinking that, I spoke to Sharen while looking at her.

“Can I touch it?”

“Yeah.”

Carefully, as Sharen said, I grabbed her wand with my hand and felt a chill at my fingertips. Perhaps because it was made with Sgullan. After all, it must have such properties as it grows in the northern region… If I can feel this much coldness, can I draw out coldness from this wood?

With that thought, after putting down the wand, Sharen put the wand back in her pocket, and I slowly began to eat.

“People with wands on the left, those without on the right.”

At the professor’s words, when I moved to the right, quite a few students were standing there. When I glanced, Cerestia was also standing there. If you’re royalty or nobility, most people with wands would be there. I was curious why she was here.

The professor’s words made me nod, and before I knew it, fairies flew over and handed me a wand. As I cautiously gripped the wand, a different sensation than Sharen’s wand rose through my fingertips.

Certainly, there seemed to be a difference from high-end wands, but I couldn’t figure out how to find a wand that suited me. And to be honest, I was curious if I really needed to use a wand.

“The wand will enhance your magical power, but some students still can’t use magic, so let’s practice using this wand to practice your magic on your own today. If any student is stuck, please ask questions.”

As soon as the professor finished speaking, the students scattered. While deliberating whether to practice with a glass bottle in my pocket or with a wand, Ceresria’s voice reached me from the corner.

“Wouldn’t it be harder with a wand?”

“But it would be more certain.”

“Wands are used by those skilled in mana manipulation. If you can’t even contain mana in a glass bottle, using a wand would cause magic to go wild.”

“Why don’t you have a wand, Ceresria?”

“I have one, but I don’t use it for the same reason I just mentioned. If I were to use magic with a wand right now…”

She glanced around and smiled at me.

“At least seven people would have been burned.”

“That’s scary.”

“That’s why I don’t use it, and my mentor also said that relying on a wand neglects research.”

“I remember.”

In response to my words, Ceresria looked at me and whispered softly.

“Do you feel like becoming friends? I told you something like this.”

“I’ll focus on practicing.”

“He’s a really strange person, Astan.”

“I have something to say.”