CH 20

Later that afternoon.

I'm staying with you! After desperately trying to persuade Fiona to stay at the palace, we went to the library.

I went there to work, but all I had to do was sit at my desk as I had a stack of documents to submit to the palace.

While I was doing paperwork, Lady Sion was reading a magic book.

Up until now, She's only been working on books about magic theory and other subjects handed out by the school, but now that she's signed a contract with a grimoire, She can read magic books and use them as her own resources. I think she was happy about that, and she had a big smile on her face when she picked up the grimoire.

I'm also doing my paperwork on one of the benches in the library, sitting across from Lady Sion so that she can ask me questions if there are any parts she doesn't understand.

She's currently reading a beginner's magic book on the water system. Basically, it doesn't matter what system of magic books you learn from. You should be able to handle any kind of beginner magic, so it doesn't matter which one you start with, your growth rate will be the same.

So, why did Lady Sion choose to start with the water system?

"My mother is good with water systems."

She said.

It's easy to inherit one's mother's specialty, so in a way, she was right.

Once she opened the spellbook, Lady Sion immersed herself in the book with her innate ability to concentrate. In addition, she reads very fast. Within a minute or two, she could turn the pages and move on to the next content. She has a promising future.

Well, I should concentrate, too.

I moved my pen across the paperwork, piling up one finished item after another.

Expenses, types of books delivered, the total number of visitors counted automatically, and so on. I wrote down and checked various details.

I think I should just let the royal palace's accountant do this, but they've got a lot on their plate. So I have to do it myself.

And after some time of intense concentration, Lady Sion, who had finally taken her eyes off the spellbook for a moment, muttered to herself.

"Mr Serel is..."

"Yes?"

I looked up from my paperwork, stopped moving my pen, and looked at her.

"What's wrong?"

"How did you learn magic, Master Serel?"

"How did I learn it?"

"Yes. To be able to fight that well against a mage with the Book of Wisdom (Cherubim), I think you must have put in a lot of effort, but I also think there must have been some other specific way of learning."

"Hmmm..."

I'm not sure how to respond to... honestly, even if you ask me a question with a glint of curiosity in your eyes.

I'm sure that the reason I can compete with high ranking mages with a low ranking grimoire, the Notensho (Powers), has something to do with the vast amount of knowledge I have crammed into my head. But that's not all.

"...memories of real battle, if you will."

"A memory of a real battle?"

Lady Sion, who tilted her head, didn't seem to understand at all. That's true. I don't think there are many people who can understand it at first glance.

"To put it simply, you have to actually use magic in battle. By engaging in mock battles with a number of people - battles that are as close to actual battles as possible - experience is accumulated, and judgment, magical skills, and physical abilities naturally improve. Well, this is a really rare training method. I would never let a promising mage like Lady Sion do this."

"But if you use that training method, you can become a strong mage like Mr Serel..."

"Lady Sion."

Folding my hands, I pause a moment to convey my thoughts to her.

"Being as close to real combat as possible means that it's an environment where you can easily die. Both sides are really trying to kill the other, you know. They will take advantage of an opening and use powerful magic to overpower the opponent's defences, and they will relentlessly attack an exhausted opponent. Human beings can become as strong as they want by putting themselves in an extreme environment. But if you make a mistake, you will die... No, it is because you never make a mistake. It is the people who have strayed from the path that can survive. I've learned magic on a less than admirable path, if I do say so myself."

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry I asked you such a thoughtless question."

"No, I'm the one who told you. Anyway, I won't let anything like that happen to Lady Sion. If there is any danger to your life, I will do my best to protect you."

I've promised that I'll teach her magic.

It's the teacher's role to protect the student. I'm not going to let such a cute student get hurt.

For some reason, Lady Sion kept her gaze fixed on me and smiled.

"I understand. I'll have you make me stronger little by little, without fail."

"Whether or not you can get stronger depends on how hard you work, Lady Sion. I'm only going to teach you the techniques."

"Yes. I will try my best."

"Good. If you work hard, you'll eventually become stronger than me using Ramiel."

You might not be able to visualize it at the moment, and you might be feeling the difference in your abilities as a mage up close. But I'm sure that Lady Sion will be able to reach the place where I am standing now. And it won't be too far in the future.

Lady Sion suddenly closed the spellbook with a bookmark and took a big stretch.

"It looks like I'll be spending a lot of time with you from now on, Mr Serel."

"Until school starts, I suppose. At the very least, I need to be around as much as possible until the curse incident is over."

"'I feel like Fiona is going to be jealous of me."

"Why does Fiona have to be mentioned here..."

When I winced as I held my temples, Lady Sion chuckled.

"Miss Fiona is very close to Mr Serel, isn't she? It's like she's always by your side, or there's no room for anyone in between. When I told her that it was best for her to stay by Mr Serel's side, she had a terrific expression on her face."

"Hmmm... She does have a tendency to be a bit reliant on me, doesn't she."

I don't even have to think about it again, I know that.

But I'm sure it wasn't about romantic feelings or anything like that. We've known each other for a long time, and we've had a casual relationship or at least the most frequent meetings. There was a difference in status, and there were things that people said about us, but His Majesty the King was very tolerant.

That's why I'm sure that Fiona has always taken it for granted that I'm around her.

"...I think it's hard for her to accept that someone who is supposed to be with her is with someone else. It's like a toy that's been stolen."

"You feel that way because you have special feelings for them. But I want to learn magic too, so I can't give up being by your side."

"I've been asked to do this by the Duke. I think Fiona understands that, but... I'm afraid of what will happen after the whole escort thing is over."

"...after you're done?"

"Yes. Well, I don't want to say too much."

I don't want to ruin Fiona's image any further, so I won't mention it.

But I'm sure she's going to be so sulky that she'll storm into the library. She's probably going to spend the whole day there. She's a princess, so I hope she'll think hard about what it means to visit a man her own age.

"Anyway, that princess is quite a troublesome girl."

"But when she's with you, she seems to be enjoying herself, doesn't she?"

"Is that so? I think it's just your imagination..."

Personally, I've been having a pretty hard time most of the time.

But from a third-party perspective, it seems like she's having fun. I guess I can't deny it because I don't dislike actually being with them...

"Please don't become like that selfish princess, Lady Sion. But you can copy her gentle side."

"Her gentle side?"

"Yes. She can reach out her hand to those who are weak, and she is subtly caring."

"I knew you were a nice person, Fiona!"

"Yes, she is. There are some things I wish she wouldn't do, but she's generally a good girl. There are a lot of challenges, though."

"Well, I'll be a good girl who doesn't annoy you, Mr Serel."

"I would really appreciate it if you would."

Apparently, Lady Sion will be all right.

To be honest, it would be quite difficult to add any more selfish children.

The duke seems to be educating her well, and she herself is a good student. I'm really relieved that she's a great pupil.

"(No room for me huh...)" [TL: whisper]

"Lady Sion?"

"It's all right, It's nothing."

Shaking her head as if to disguise something she had muttered, Lady Sion opened her spellbook again and concentrated on her studies.

I also picked up a pen, but instead of working in silence as we had done earlier, we proceeded with our own work, chatting the whole time.