That's Not How You Use Magic (3)

A few days after meeting Ayla.

We began training as planned on the still-dim streets.

It had been a long time since I'd done something together with Flora.

"Let's wait a moment."

"Yes!"

The first day was scheduled to start a little later than planned.

Flora, who had been quietly watching the road leading to the academy, turned around.

"Won't the Magic Tower Master complain later that you messed with his precious disciple?"

"That man isn't terribly narrow-minded. If anything, he'll thank me for building up her stamina."

Flora nodded in agreement.

Then she stretched and gazed steadily at me.

Looking thoroughly pleased with herself, she spoke.

"I got ready to work hard with you, Boss. How do I look?"

"It suits you."

"Not that kind of answer. Put some sincerity into it."

"If this isn't sincerity… guh-hack!"

A sharp red glare and an unrestrained wrist-snap assaulted my back.

At a glance, it looked like a strange dynamic where a subordinate was defying her boss, but there was a reason.

Beyond the fact that I cherished Flora, she had kept the organization running while I was in prison.

Thanks to her, it had been preserved without quietly going through dissolution procedures.

How could I treat someone I owed that much to with a heavy hand?

So when it came to Flora, this much was nothing worth fussing over.

When I put on an expression of wounded innocence, what came back was a dead end.

"Boss."

"Yeah. I'm listening."

"Your answer."

"…"

Wherever she'd learned it, she shut me down right off the bat.

Apparently my sincerity hadn't come through.

I examined Flora carefully from head to toe.

First, she'd tied her hair up into a ponytail.

It signaled her intention not to let anything get in the way while running.

Highly practical.

My gaze traveled downward.

Next, her outfit.

She'd definitely bought clothes for running, since it had been a while.

Even in loose-fitting attire, her attractive figure stood out distinctly.

If Flora had lived an ordinary life, she would have been one of the most sought-after young ladies in society.

That was a fact with not a shred of exaggeration.

"Hmm."

I looked her over thoroughly, then wore a confident expression.

This would satisfy Flora.

"I'll put some sincerity into it."

"Good."

Before speaking, I collected my thoughts briefly.

Facing Flora, I loosened up my body and poured out what I wanted to say without hesitation.

"I've always thought you had a good sense for clothes, but I see you can pull off this kind of style too. It really suits you, you know?"

"Hmm…"

"On top of that, tying your hair back shows real commitment, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and I can tell you're serious…"

"Boss?"

Maybe my sincerity was landing after all.

Since Flora cut me off mid-sentence, I kept it short and simple.

"You're genuinely one of the most beautiful women in the Empire."

"Wh-what?"

Flora wore a dazed expression, as if she'd been smacked hard.

She stopped moving and stared at me.

She even abruptly started fiddling with her hair.

Flora's gaze rolled off into empty space.

Soon she collected herself, stepped closer to me, and smiled brightly.

"As expected, there's no one like you, Boss."

"It's nothing."

I could tell Flora was satisfied.

Using the lull, I pulled out the symbol I'd extracted from the Demon.

"That Demon I killed recently gave me this symbol. Have you seen it before?"

"That's the symbol that stands for the Hamel Family."

It looked completely different from the Hamel Family crest I knew.

At the unfamiliar information, I tilted my head.

"The Hamel Family? That's not the symbol they use."

"This one only carries weight in the slums. Let me explain."

Flora calmly added the background knowledge I was missing.

"About a year ago, the head of the Hamel Family distributed food in the slums. At first, everyone was suspicious. There was no reason for a noble to come there."

"…Go on."

Flora nodded and continued.

"Even so, the head kept giving without asking for anything in return. As time passed, the slums gradually changed, and the number of people who followed the head naturally grew."

Then she pointed to the new symbol representing the Hamel Family.

"So this symbol was created out of gratitude."

Hearing her explanation, the situation painted itself clearly in my mind.

In any era, wherever there were those who fattened themselves by bleeding the weak dry, there were also those who practiced generosity.

The Hamel Family appeared to belong to the latter.

Of course, if the story ended here, it would be nothing more than a heartwarming tale.

But reality had turned into a life-or-death tightrope walk.

In the slums, where identities were hard to trace, the Hamel head had the spectacular misfortune of getting entangled with Demons.

As a result, this time I would end up coincidentally saving one virtuous noble.

It was the opposite of the past, when I'd killed nobles whose interests had clashed with the organization's.

Resolving this matter well would clearly bring nothing but benefits.

Beyond the Hamel Family, I could present a favorable image to the Imperial Court as well.

There was, however, one variable.

The kind who purged first and asked questions later when it came to enemies of the Order.

The likelihood of running into a heretic inquisitor from the Calde Order was high.

Even with my deal with the Empire, they would undoubtedly regard me with hostile eyes.

Since I had no desire for an unpleasant encounter either, I decided to deploy an exceptional asset.

"Where is Alcyone right now?"

"Currently active elsewhere."

"A mission that's hard to return from?"

"Not exactly. She's managing a Magic Device Shop."

"…?"

An answer I hadn't expected came back.

It was work that didn't suit Alcyone, whose main activities were infiltration and tracking.

My mind ground to a halt from bewilderment.

I couldn't fathom why a capable operative like her was in that kind of position.

Had she been injured carrying out the last mission I'd assigned her?

Hoping that wasn't the case, I asked for the precise reason.

"Why is she doing that?"

"Hmm, last month she said she wanted to enjoy a vacation~"

"Oh-ho."

Injury, my ass.

I hadn't realized the organization would loosen up just because I was doing prison time.

I briefly considered sending her to the Northern Region of the Continent for the first time in a while.

She'd rested plenty by now. It was time to work.

I shook my head slowly and clicked my tongue.

"I'm back and she couldn't even bother to show her face…"

Hearing my muttered words, Flora simply shrugged without comment.

Conveniently, the chancellor hadn't said anything either, so I decided to go catch her today.

Somehow, I'd ended up in a position to assign Ayla simple homework from the very first day.

I needed homework that would be useful in actual combat.

I was still considering what kind of assignment would be meaningful.

Ayla appeared, brimming with fighting spirit.

"Good morning!"

It was early enough that she should have been tired, but her voice was full ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of energy.

"You arrived on time."

"There's no way I'd miss an opportunity like this."

Ayla, who'd given a pretty satisfying answer, rolled her eyes here and there as she took in the situation.

"It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise, I look forward to working with you."

When Ayla greeted her first, Flora bowed her head with a soft, graceful smile.

Then a conversation between the two women unfolded.

It began with light small talk and led into a time of getting to know each other.

They exchanged names, hobbies, this and that, and grew closer.

After radiating the feeling that they'd known each other for years, they inevitably arrived at a section that demanded an answer.

"If you don't mind my asking, could you tell me what kind of relationship the two of you have? I saw you leaving together after class yesterday."

"Oh, it's nothing special."

Flora sidled up to me.

Then she lightly patted my left arm and answered.

"We've been together for a long time. I trust him completely."

Hearing this, Ayla wore a somewhat surprised expression.

It was understandable, since Flora had stated her trust without a moment's hesitation.

I felt a sense of pride myself, since Flora had said it directly.

"It's hard to find a mage like him, you know. If you have questions, ask him lots of them. Understood?"

"Of course I will!"

Before I could even react, Ayla's face lit up with excitement.

"So what are we doing at dawn?"

"We're going to run."

"What?"

Along with an expression of utter incomprehension, question marks must have been popping up wildly above her head.

Since she was staring at me anew, I revealed the reason for running.

"Stamina is essential for mages too. Do you always fight in the same spot?"

"Ah…"

From that short syllable, it was clear she'd grasped what I was trying to convey.

Ayla immediately began to stretch.

True to her Magic Tower background, she presented a stiff body.

Straining to reach toward the ground, she spoke in a trembling voice.

"Th-then, h-how far do we run?"

"Hmm, for the first day, something light…"

At that, Flora abruptly cut in.

"Since it's the first day, a light 2 miles sounds good."

"I think 3 kilometers looks better than that unit system."

"1.86 miles."

"…"

I cast a sidelong glance at Flora, who was fooling around with an antiquated unit system.

The modern era used the metric system, yet here she was with the imperial system that belonged to decades ago…

"Huff, why miles?"

When Ayla voiced her confusion, I couldn't hide my own bewilderment.

With a sinking feeling, I moved my parched lips.

"Miss Ayla, you said you came from the Magic Tower, correct?"

"Yes, that's right."

"Then do they still use the imperial system there?"

"Some of the elders do."

Ayla answered without a split-second of hesitation.

Well, if it was the elders, that made sense.

Even after the metric system was established as the standard, there were still those who clung to the imperial system.

It was usually older mages who did that, and since Ayla frequently interacted with the Magic Tower elders, it was only natural she'd grown accustomed to it.

In that case, what about the Magic Tower Master?

I rubbed my chin and pondered.

There was a high probability he used the metric system.

If he used miles, I might be a little disappointed.

But that was mere speculation.

I had to hear it directly from his disciple, Ayla.

I approached the answer with caution.

"By any chance, do you know which system the Magic Tower Master uses?"

"Except when speaking with some of the elders, he uses the metric system."

Hearing the model answer, I nodded before I knew it.

"The Magic Tower Master is clearly an enlightened mage."

"Of course he is!"

My guess had not been wrong.

With this, I was certain the Magic Tower's future was bright.

When I praised the Magic Tower Master, Ayla's shoulders rose high.

Then, thoroughly elated, she dashed off.

"Instructor, I'm done warming up, so I'll go ahead!"

Up until this moment, Ayla could have confidently called herself more energetic than anyone.

* * *

The results of the run went as expected for the first day.

"Hah, M-Miss Flora… you call this light?"

"Of course. The target is 5 kilometers."

Ayla was panting roughly, looking ready to collapse flat on the ground at any moment.

Since it had been a while for me too, I focused on steadying my breathing as much as possible.

Flora, on the other hand, showed a composed reaction.

Seeing this, Ayla looked at me with an expression that screamed she was dying.

I sublimated the continuous distress signals begging for rescue into heartfelt encouragement.

"Just like when you first learn magic and it's difficult, stamina is the same. You only have to struggle for one month."

"Hah, one month is nothing, then!"

"Let's both do our best."

Apparently possessing some degree of competitive spirit, Ayla nodded and plopped down onto the ground.

"You'll come to the remaining two sessions too, right?"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

Ayla slowly turned her head, which had been facing blankly forward.

The way she was blinking, she seemed to be out of it.

So I emphasized the most important homework without any flowery language.

"I'm busy today, so I'll give you simple homework. You must do it."

"I may lack stamina, but I'm confident in magic."

"Your homework is to take good care of your body until next time."

"What? That's the homework?"

Ayla tilted her head.

Her reaction was as if I'd stated the obvious.

I pressed firmly on my legs and spoke.

"Because when you wake up tomorrow, hell will unfold before you. This week in particular will be the hardest."

"Nah. No way."

Ayla smiled faintly and brushed it off as nothing.

It showed she'd done nothing but read books at the Magic Tower, just as expected.

This was something you couldn't understand until you experienced it yourself.

I could only hope she survived the pain that made getting out of bed feel impossible.

Walking itself might even become a struggle.

Watching Ayla grin goofily, proud of having run a mere 3 kilometers, I calculated that for a first day, it had gone pretty well.

I'd built a modest rapport with the Magic Tower Master's disciple, so in the long term, it was a gain.

Didn't they say small gains add up?

Thanks to that, what I needed to do today was clearly decided.

Tracking down the symbol the Demon had given ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠me.

I could handle this alone, but the efficiency would be terribly low.

To juggle the academy, which might assign me anything at any moment, with investigating the symbol, even having two bodies wouldn't be enough.

That was why I'd intended to make use of Alcyone, who excelled in this area.

According to Flora's testimony, however, she was in the middle of thoroughly enjoying her vacation.

I might not look it, but I wasn't the kind of bad boss who suddenly summoned someone in the middle of their vacation…

Like a good ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠boss, I should go meet her in person.