Field Training (3)
The first guest was Ayla.
Madam settled Ayla into a chair with practiced ease and busied herself with preparations.
Ayla quietly looked around with a demure posture.
The neatly arranged room resembled a laboratory.
The room felt so academic that a research paper might have sprung out at any moment. Somehow, that made Ayla feel oddly at ease as she looked toward Madam.
'This isn't a dream, right?'
Madam was the first elf Ayla had ever met.
What was more, she was a dark elf, said to be extremely hard to encounter, with pointed ears and skin that seemed to hold darkness—all of it was striking.
Compared with everything Ayla had read about elves in the Magic Tower library, Madam was a startling surprise that directly contradicted what she thought she knew.
No matter how she looked, there was no sign of a twisted personality or any trace of a stubborn old fossil.
Instead, she marveled at her elegant appearance and captivating charm.
Who would have ever guessed that just the act of offering a glass could seem so graceful?
If she had to pick one unusual point, it was that a dark elf who preferred solitude was living among humans, rubbing shoulders with them.
This didn't particularly strike Ayla as significant.
She thought it was no different from how anyone else lived.
While some people befriend many and build vast networks, others simply get by with a small circle.
Of course, since she had set aside her own preference and chosen differently, there had to be a hidden reason.
This stirred a strange curiosity in Ayla.
"I have a question."
"Hm? Tell me."
Madam stopped what she was doing in the middle of preparing the Mana Circuit Tuning.
She half-turned and fixed her gaze on Ayla.
"Um, well..."
Madam stared so intently that an awkward silence settled over the room.
When Ayla awkwardly averted her eyes and cleared her throat, Madam chuckled and finished her preparations.
Afterward, Madam pulled a wooden chair over and placed it behind Ayla.
She opened a well-worn notebook and spoke in a gentle voice.
"Before we begin, would you tell me your name?"
"It's Ayla."
"Ayla, what a pretty name."
Madam carefully rested a hand on Ayla’s shoulder.
She gently patted Ayla’s shoulder to help her relax and kept the conversation going.
"So, what are you curious about?"
"It might be a sensitive question, but why did you come here?"
At that, Madam felt that anyone connected to Karon was somehow different.
After all, only Flora had ever asked her that.
She figured that while Flora had approached her to gauge what effect she might have on the organization, Ayla was simply curious.
The pairing of a girl with a hidden sword and a girl who knew nothing but magic intrigued her.
She looked forward to seeing what color would emerge when paints that could never meet were mixed together.
"Hmm~ It's nothing special, but do you want to hear it?"
Madam tapped Ayla’s shoulder rhythmically with her fingertips, as though playing piano keys.
Ayla did not miss the opportunity.
"Yes, please."
"Then I suppose I'll have to start with how I met Karon."
As promised with Karon, Madam told the story while revealing as little personal information as possible.
"Before I settled here, I wandered alone. Then I met Karon for the first time in the Northern Region of the Continent."
"In the Northern Region of the Continent?"
"Yes. He was so relaxed in a land dangerous for humans to travel that I grew curious."
Madam calmly drew out the few memories she had of Karon.
At the same time, she examined Ayla's Mana Circuit with delicate hands.
"What could he be doing there? Why was his expression so dark?"
Madam kept her tone relaxed while checking Ayla’s Mana Circuit so the girl would not feel uncomfortable.
"So I watched more closely. Karon was keeping an eye on some man. It looked like he’d thrown him into demonic territory."
"Wh-What?"
That moment, a fading word resurfaced in Ayla's mind.
It reminded her of the Crash Course briefly mentioned on the first day of class.
Realizing that a course she'd thought half a joke actually existed, she was speechless.
Madam, who couldn't possibly know that, emphasized Karon's strength.
"Karon is much stronger than he looks. He just doesn't like to show it."
"Ah-ha...."
"Anyway, once we actually talked, we got along surprisingly well. That was when I decided I could finally end my long journey."
In the meantime, she reached the core of the Mana Circuit.
From this point, all she had to do was briefly awaken the part that was still dormant.
"Hmm?"
Madam discovered something strange in Ayla's Mana Circuit.
The parts of Ayla’s Mana Circuit involved in controlling mana were slightly different from those of other mages Madam had examined.
'Is it because of this structure that she can't produce enough power?'
Even after the tuning, there was a good chance Ayla still would not be able to draw out the level of power she wanted.
There might even be problems such as wasted mana under normal conditions.
To be on the safe side, Madam rechecked the circuit.
Naturally, no problems were found.
Then the possibility narrowed down to one.
It meant Ayla possessed a Mana Circuit so unusual that even a long-lived Dark Elf rarely encountered one like it.
"How interesting...."
Madam marveled at the Mana Circuit, completely absorbed in it. Ayla asked cautiously.
"What's wrong?"
"Ah, it's nothing."
Madam paused the tuning and copied the Mana Circuit she had seen into her notebook.
She wanted to help the girl who didn't know how to handle her own Mana Circuit.
So she had to show it to the one mage she knew who was in a league of his own.
She resolved to show it to Karon no matter what.
"I'll finish up."
Madam hurriedly completed the tuning, then placed her hands on Ayla's shoulders.
Then she peeked over Ayla's shoulders.
"How do you feel?"
"It’s incredible. It feels like something that was blocked has opened up. I feel so much clearer."
Ayla let out a soft hum, then gave a more precise description.
"To be exact, I'd say the mana flow is smooth."
"You've pinpointed the effect of tuning exactly. It'll last for one minute, so check quickly."
"Yes!"
Ayla hastily took out a Resistance Stone and injected mana into it.
She was doing exactly what she always did, yet suddenly it felt as though a new horizon had opened before her.
She could only stare blankly at the sight.
"Wow...."
While Ayla stared in wonder, the minute passed like the wind.
The effect of the tuning gradually faded, and her mana flow returned to normal.
"I never knew one minute was so short."
"It's a fleeting moment for everyone."
"It would be nice if I could keep doing this forever."
As Ayla put away the Resistance Stone with a deeply disappointed expression, Madam closed her notebook and rose from her seat.
"There’s no need to be disappointed that it only lasted a moment. You’ll reach that level yourself someday."
"Really?"
"Of course. A dark elf's discerning eyes are special."
"Thank you."
As Ayla rejoiced at the unexpected praise, Madam smiled subtly and went out first.
Ayla followed with a buoyant step, already thinking of bragging to Karon.
"Instructor! Look at this."
"Oh, you made progress."
The person Ayla sought right after finishing the Field Training was, of course, Karon.
She showed him the Resistance Stone and boasted about her achievement.
She excitedly added that Madam had praised her, barely able to contain herself.
Seeing that, Karon let out a quiet laugh.
While the warm atmosphere continued, Madam addressed Karon.
"Karon."
"What is it?"
Karon could tell there was something unusually serious about Madam’s expression.
It wasn't just to exchange light banter.
Just as he expected, Madam tilted her glass and spoke in a low, pointed tone.
"Looks like we'll have a lot to talk about later."
"Is it important?"
"Extremely important."
Then she glanced at the bottle and cocked her head.
"You weren't drinking on the sly, were you?"
"I'm busy. Please go on to the next one."
"Alright~"
Karon looked incredulous and waved a hand dismissively.
On the other hand, satisfied with the response she'd gotten, Madam called out the next person.
"Next is the young lady beside Karon. Come along."
Madam pointed to Flora, then went straight into the room.
Flora said nothing, merely gave a slight bow to Karon, and moved.
Flora had visited with Karon several times before, so unlike Ayla, she was completely at ease here.
She sat down in the chair with familiarity and waited for the tuning.
Thus, Madam could also treat Flora casually.
She gazed at Flora, who sat vacantly staring ahead, with half-lidded eyes.
"Flora, it's been a while, hasn't it?"
"Yes. It's been two years."
Flora glanced at Madam and kept her answer short.
Madam brought a chair and placed it in front of Flora.
"Aren't you going to do the tuning?"
"Hmm~ This time I figured we'd just talk."
"Now you're not even doing the tuning."
"We already know everything about each other anyway."
Flora had no intention of avoiding this.
Madam had always been like this whenever Flora came by.
She simply let herself be carried until the waves stopped.
In the end, the tuning was set aside and the conversation turned to catching up.
With Flora giving nothing away, Madam broke the ice first.
"Nothing's different from two years ago, is it?"
"Well, that's right."
"But compared to then, you look awfully bright today. I wonder who that could be thanks to?"
When Flora took too long to answer, Madam leaned in to her eye level and gently tested the waters.
"It must be because of Karon."
"...!"
In that instant, Flora flinched minutely.
For Flora, who always maintained her composure, Madam was the one person who could get under her skin.
"Let's see...."
Madam brought a clock and placed it neatly on the table.
Depending on the Level, the time required for tuning was usually around ten minutes.
With small talk included, she could easily stretch the session to twenty minutes, but Madam hated having so little time.
Normally, not just twenty minutes—she could have spent an hour without Karon saying a word—but since he'd drawn the line saying he was busy, she had no choice.
So whereas she usually swept things along slowly, this time she intended to rush it all at once.
Madam leaned far forward, pressing into the opening.
"That reaction is rather suspicious..."
To prompt a reply, Madam thought up a slightly mischievous prank.
She expected that after hearing this, Flora would deny it, telling her not to talk nonsense.
"Don't tell me you're interested in Karon?"
"..."
"H-huh?"
Instead of denying, Flora chose silence.
Instead, the faint blush that spread across her cheeks without her realizing said everything.