Chapter 55

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A dark, murky feeling welled up from the depths of my chest.

It's not that I can't forgive or anything.

Biting my lip tightly, I tried to suppress the raging emotions, when something was pressed firmly against my chest.

Startled by the hard sensation, I saw Kousuke's serious eyes.

"Your face looks bad. You're hungry, let's roast some sweet potatoes."

"Roast sweet potatoes...?"

What was pressed against me turned out to be a sweet potato. As I took it, Kousuke rubbed his nose with his index finger.

"It got a bit difficult halfway through, but I understood that you did it for me. Thanks."

"Um, sorry for saying bad things about Kousuke's parents."

"Well, I was bad for not cleaning up, but you were bad too. That's fine."

Kousuke said this with a carefree attitude, as if to dispel the tense atmosphere, and then grinned. He then waved at my grandfather, Gensan, who had been holding his breath.

"Grandpa, let's roast sweet potatoes first! I'm hungry too!"

"Ah, o...okay. Kousuke, gather some leaves. Would the elves like to eat roasted sweet potatoes too?"

"Yes... I'll have some."

"Ah, me too. Of course, Lala will too, right?"

"Thank you for the invitation."

The elf trio, which had been quiet as if to avoid the tension, joined in the excitement of roasting sweet potatoes. When I was gently pulled by the hem of my blouse and looked down, Regulus was fidgeting with his eyebrows lowered.

"What's wrong?"

"Big brother, what does 'mukatsuku' mean?"

"'Mukatsuku' means something like 'a little dislike' or something like that."

"Big brother, do you 'mukatsuku' at Lala?"

"No, Regulus is very cute."

Burying my face in his fluffy golden hair, I could smell the sun. Inhaling the scent of a chick, the heavy feeling in my chest gradually became calm. Hugging Regulus back, the warmth of his small body felt good.

"...The roasted sweet potatoes will be delicious."

"Big brother, what are roasted sweet potatoes?"

"You place sweet potatoes in the embers of a bonfire. They become sweet when they're roasted."

But with that method, it takes a long time to cook. Since Kousuke seemed eager to eat, I wondered how we would do it. The elf trio and Kousuke had already piled up a mountain of leaves and dry branches. To change the mood, I took Regulus's hand and approached the pile. When you think of a bonfire or campfire, there's a standard song. I believe the original is a French folk song, "At the End of the Day." The original lyrics are beautiful, but the version sung at campfires is "Burn, Burn." I hummed the song that came to mind. Suddenly, a loud bang echoed, and flames rose from the pile of dry leaves in front of me.

"Whaaat!? What's happening!?"

"Wow! Amazing!?"

"Kyaa! So cool!"

As I stood there in shock, a hand was placed on my shoulder. It was Mr. Romanov's hand. Looking up, I saw that he had a slightly serious expression. Before I could ask what was wrong, Lala's voice, slightly sharp, cut in.

"Mamamaru, when you use magic, you should let people know first."

"Huh? What?"

Surprised by the unexpected words, I saw Lala's expression change to "Huh?" as she looked at me. Victor, who seemed equally confused, pointed at the bonfire.

"Did you start the fire with magic?"

"Me? I can't do that. I just finished building the basic magic neural network."

"But... I felt a magic release from you..."

"Magic release?"

What's that?

Not only me, but Kousuke and Regulus were also taken aback. Apparently, a magic release is a trace that appears when someone uses magic. When Victor explained that it came from my body, I was even more puzzled.

"I just sang a song."

Pouting, I saw Mr. Romanov, who had been touching my shoulder with a serious face, suddenly widen his eyes.

"Fengdie, when you sang, did you imagine the leaves in front of you turning into a bonfire?"

"Ah... Well, I imagined a bonfire because the song is usually sung during a bonfire."

"Ah, that's it."

"That's it."

Lala and Victor nodded, and Mr. Romanov rubbed his forehead.

Did I do something wrong?

As I watched the trio nervously, they huddled together and talked. Then, Mr. Romanov firmly grabbed my shoulder.

"Starting tomorrow, we'll begin proper magic lessons."

"Ah..."

"Your singing has the same effect as a magic incantation. If you don't learn to use magic properly, a lot of unintended things will happen. Do you understand?"

"Yes...!"

Unconsciously using magic is dangerous!

It was fine this time because no one was near the fire, but it could have been a disaster if someone was there.

As I nodded, Mr. Romanov, Victor, and Lala also nodded. Then, I felt a poke on my back and turned around to see Kousuke and Regulus with sparkling eyes.

"Hey, was that magic just now?"

"Um, apparently, it was?"

"Can I do that too?"

"If you train your magic neural network... probably?"

"Regulus too! Regulus wants to try!"

The two of them were excited.

Is this a chance?

If Kousuke learns magic here, he might become more interested in learning other things. It could also be a chance for others to realize the importance of education.

Let's do it.

But I don't know how to teach magic.

As I thought this, Regulus went to the tool shed and brought back a wooden branch.

"Big brother, did you forget?"

"Oh, Regulus, you remembered. Thank you."

It's the primordial flute I received from the princess. Seeing it, Victor's face lit up. Victor can appraise things, so he must have recognized what it was.

"You, that...!"

"This is the princess's payment to Victor."

"Such a valuable thing... to me...!?"

Victor reverently knelt and held the flute. Everyone around him was stunned. Then, moved to tears, he hugged me tightly.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"Wait, I don't understand what you're saying..."

"I'll do my best to help you."

So, he will help. I got that.

I remember Victor is one of the world's top mages. Maybe he can teach Regulus and Kousuke magic.

Mr. Romanov shrugged, and Lala was trying not to laugh, her shoulders shaking.

I don't quite understand, but at least I got a magic teacher for Regulus and Kousuke.

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