Changed Daily Life
These days were the most confusing and complicated time in Lily's life so far. It wasn't just because the practical exam was only a few days away.
The Olive Wand's choice. Recruitment attempts from various factions. Professor Ria. People's stares. Supplemental classes. Saintess Clara... Every single one was something a plain girl from a slave background could never have imagined.
Especially the rivalry between the Olive Wand and the Wall Jujube Wand.
"Agh, my head hurts..."
Before she lost her parents. Back during her slave days, she'd overheard some novels circulating among commoners a few times. She remembered they were completely different from the literary works nobles supposedly read. They focused less on depth and more on immediate fun—light, but all the more entertaining for it. Maybe that's why; such subjects would never be tolerated in 'refined' noble society. Back then, Lily had harbored a strong resentment toward nobles.
"It was definitely about a country bumpkin farm boy who becomes a hero and defeats the Demon King, right?"
In fact, the heroic tale of 'the hero defeats the Demon King!' appeared often even in noble literature. But what made that novel special wasn't the hero's saga itself, but the extra flavors added like seasonings.
'Harem.' In other words, stories where the protagonist captivated his childhood friend from the hometown, the Empire's princess, the Holy Kingdom's saintess, the Union Kingdom's princess, and so on.
Among readers of that novel, the two most popular heroines were the pure-love faction supporting the protagonist's devoted commoner childhood friend who'd loved him for ten years, and the princess faction charmed by the tsundere appeal of the ever haughty and noble princess who showed her vulnerable side only when alone with the protagonist.
She remembered how thrilling it was watching those two fight over the protagonist. Their appeals highlighting each other's strengths somehow felt cute, and it really brought out their characters. Of course, Lily had rooted for both. Being a girl, she couldn't fully immerse herself in the emotions of a male-oriented novel. So she'd felt a bit of regret, wishing she could empathize more with the protagonist's feelings.
"But that doesn't mean I wanted to end up in that situation myself..."
Haa— Lily sighed, gazing at the two wands on her desk.
She didn't have Professor Ria's talent for reading a wand's thoughts. But thanks to personal tutoring, she could now somewhat empathize with the wands' emotions. As a result, whenever she carried them, their feelings flowed into her.
Until now, for convenience, Lily had always worn both wands together. But now that she could empathize with their emotions, she couldn't anymore.
Wearing them side by side made their intense feelings clash constantly. If she put their emotions into rough words, it felt like this:
'I've been with Master an hour longer! Master is mine!'
The Wall Jujube Wand was claiming ownership over Lily like that—
'But only I can make Master truly special, you know?'
While the Olive Wand boasted about itself, crediting its own merits.
'Ugh, our Master can be plenty happy without trash like you! I'll take her away and we'll live happily just the two of us!'
...It was only after hearing something a bit creepy like that, that Lily decided to carry the two wands separately on each side.
Was it just her imagination that the wands' bickering kept reminding her of the novel's childhood friend and princess dialogues?
Professor Ria's words resurfaced in Lily's mind once more.
— Sometimes, there are wand owners who are loved that exceptionally. Whether it's their ability or personality that appeals, there are cases where they can carry multiple wands.
"...You didn't mention this kind of situation would happen."
Lily muttered softly in a pouty voice as she gathered both wands. She had no desire to abandon either one.
The Wall Jujube Wand held immense meaning for Lily. Being chosen by it was the first moment she'd stepped into the world of magic from a hopeless life.
The Olive Wand was the same. Lily didn't want to let go of that single ray of special light in her dark life. Besides...
The two wands' rivalry didn't have only negative effects.
Though they bickered endlessly, together they produced a strange synergy. Usually, it went like this:
'I alone can protect Master!'
'Heh, discussing protection in front of me... How amusing.'
'Pfft, as if a pathetic thing that can't even cast attack spells could?'
'Hah? You done talking?'
After sniping at each other like that, their magic efficiency noticeably improved. It was the principle of mutual motivation—not wanting to lose to the other.
Even now, they were already heating up against each other before she'd even reached the training grounds.
Anyway, since the efficiency improved, it worked out. Smiling with that thought— she couldn't make a bad face in front of her few friends.
Through supplemental classes with Professor Ria, Lily had gained someone she could call a friend. Gunter Nordenburk. They'd ended up chatting while sharing the training grounds during practical exam prep, and somehow grown closer.
Strictly speaking, Gunter hadn't done anything to her on that first day in the auditorium. He hadn't demanded anything or tried to recruit her to his faction. He'd just followed the crowd of other faction heirs, so she held no grudge. No sense of rejection at all. That made it easy to get close.
"You're here again today."
"The practical exam's just days away. Can't skip even a day."
Lily said that, looking at Gunter. He'd arrived first and was surprisingly engraving runes onto his axe with his wand in hand.
He looked up from his work at Lily.
"Surprised?"
"A little. I figured northern warriors would just swing axes when training."
"Misconception. The axe is merely a medium for manifesting magic. Warriors of the Nordenburk are mages too. Engraving efficient, powerful runes is an important virtue."
"I see?"
Lily responded as she took off her coat and hung it on the rack.
"Spar today too?"
"If you want. Show me what you've got."
"This time, I'll use both wands."
"Just what I hoped."
What had thawed the awkwardness between the formerly distant Gunter and Lily was sparring.
After Professor Ria had Lily spar Gunter using her wands and offered advice last time, they'd met daily to practice following it. Lily honing her ability to catch the wands' desired spells, judge situations, and cast quickly. Gunter correcting his habit of charging blindly at mages and practicing exploiting openings.
Thanks to that, both had grown sharply in a short time. Going from 0 to 50 is easy and fast. Even if they only raised their practice areas to around 50 points, they could overwhelm other students—who were still at 0 without Professor Ria's classes.
Even Professor Ria had evaluated them as capable of handling black mages now.
"Can't wait to see the faces on the Empire and Union Kingdom guys. Practical exam's gonna be fun."
"Same here."
Muttering that, Lily paused as she was about to activate the sparring facilities.
The new relationships in Lily's life over the past week weren't just Gunter Nordenburk.
"No need to hesitate at the door like that, Saintess."
Since that corridor encounter last time, she'd been bumping into Saintess Clara more often.
At first, she thought it coincidence. With all her new tasks and wandering the academy, it made sense. But as it piled up excessively, it started feeling off. At some point, it seemed blatant tailing.
So she decided to let it be. They were teaming up for the practical anyway, and Professor Ria was trying to pull her in too—no need to chase her off. Plus, Clara somehow seemed more at ease around her.
"Ah, no... I was just curious there's someone using this out-of-the-way training hall..."
"Sure, sure. I'm sure."
Lily grinned playfully and grabbed Clara's arm. With barely any force, just a light tug, Clara's body followed without resistance.
"Since you're here, watch the spar."
After her parents' death, Lily had been too busy charging forward to look around. She'd assumed she'd always be alone, forging her path solo.
But...
"This isn't so bad."
Lily murmured softly, raising her wands.
"Eastern Union Kingdom native, merchant Wilson. Identity confirmed."
With those words, the academy's back gate opened.
'Wilson' smiled as he entered the academy.
About three days left until the practical exam began. Plenty to prepare.