That's Quite a Big Problem
Consolation so utterly indifferent that one wondered if it could possibly be any more apathetic. Kain’s words seemed far more interested in the stir-fried anchovies on the dinner table than in her troubles, and Arina’s face immediately scrunched into a pout.
“You can’t just brush it off like that!”
Her tone rose slightly, which was out of character for a girl who rarely raised her voice. It revealed exactly how much stress she was carrying. And that was only natural. This was the first assignment she had received since enrolling at Benedict Academy, and a major problem had cropped up that now put her at risk of failing.
I don’t really get it, though.
To Kain, the idea of failing a class held no particular weight. Having never placed any importance on academics, he couldn’t understand why Arina was so worked up over something like this. Still, he could tell where her real struggle lay.
If he had to put it in game terms, it was like a heavy-spending whale who had poured money into the early game only to receive a critical quest that required capturing a live field rabbit. The character had grown so overwhelmingly strong that every rabbit died in one hit, leaving the player with no idea how to clear the quest. That was basically her situation.
Controlling my strength, huh…
Kain had never deliberately tried to restrain his power. From the moment he first awakened his Ebon and felt the need to handle mana, he had chosen the path of the dark mage—who simply used the overflowing mana—rather than the mage who tried to control it. Control had come naturally as his realm advanced, so from his perspective Arina’s problem could only be chalked up to a simple lack of talent. In other words, half-baked talent created exactly these kinds of issues. If someone possessed the overwhelming talent Kain had, they would instinctively match the number ten no matter how much ambient mana gathered, and they would do it on the very first try.
A genius could never understand ordinary people. Someone born with absurd talent that refused to let anyone else comprehend it. Yet perhaps that was an enormous blessing. Had Kain lacked such talent when he awakened his Ebon, the uncontrolled power would have run wild and turned another stretch of the continent into a barren wasteland like the eternal frozen tundra to the north.
I can’t exactly teach her that method.
The simplest solution that came to Kain’s mind was to let the excess mana flow away naturally. That was, after all, the fundamental principle of dark magic, and therefore completely useless to a girl walking the path of a proper mage. Besides, judging from the evaluation criteria, such a shortcut would never earn her a good score.
Unlike spirit arts that twisted the path through loopholes or dark magic that strode down an entirely different road, magic was an academic discipline that pursued the proper, honest method. One simply worked diligently until familiarity came. There was no other way. Therefore the only thing Kain could say in this situation was, “Instead of worrying about that, just practice one more time.”
But she’ll definitely get even angrier if I say that.
She already knew that answer. What she wanted wasn’t a solution, but empathy and comfort. Unfortunately, Kain was congenitally incapable of offering such emotional support. He had tried to show sympathy earlier, only to be accused of having no feelings at all.
“……”
In the end, the solution Kain chose was to stay silent and focus on moving his chopsticks. All he could do was sigh inwardly at the fact that he had somehow ended up watching out for a little kid’s mood.
“Haa.”
Perhaps she had given up on receiving any comfort from him. Arina let out a small sigh and began picking at her food. She had never been a fast eater, but now her worries kept her from concentrating, making her even slower. She was so slow that by the time Kain finished his entire bowl, she had barely eaten a third of hers.
If you have time to worry that much, just practice like I said.
The sight finally made the silent Kain lose his patience.
“If you really don’t know what to do, why not try learning some basic martial arts?”
“Huh? Why martial arts all of a sudden?”
“Whether it’s mana manipulation or anything else, it ultimately involves using the body. If you train as a martial artist, it might become easier to handle.”
This was actually true. Just as Ebon users who had experienced mana rampages possessed higher mana affinity than others of the same level who had pursued different studies, martial artists—who primarily used their bodies and handled mana instinctively—tended to have superior mana control compared to other ability users. In the end, mana operation was similar to motor skills.
Of course, this was nothing more than a frustrated remark born from irritation. There was no rule saying that mastering one discipline prevented you from learning another. Still, people usually only began studying a second field after reaching at least expert level in the first. For a beginner like Arina, who was already struggling just to learn magic, dipping her toes into another discipline would only leave her half-baked at everything. The amount of material she would need to cover would increase absurdly.
As far as Kain knew, only one person had ever managed to understand and advance multiple disciplines to a high level while in that kind of situation: Greed.
“That’s a great idea!”
“……”
Apparently unaware of any of that, Arina clapped her hands and accepted his suggestion positively. Kain realized something. Ah, right. She’s a beginner. Moreover, she was still a child who couldn’t properly weigh the pros and cons. It was only natural she wouldn’t know such basic facts.
“Of course, I’m already overwhelmed just studying magic right now, so I won’t be able to train in martial arts professionally. But learning a little as exercise on the side wouldn’t be bad at all.”
At her next words, Kain realized he had been mistaken. Arina hadn’t spoken without thinking. Martial arts would only be supplementary. She had no intention of specializing; in fact, it was less about martial arts and more about simply starting to exercise.
“Well, if that’s what you mean, then sure.”
Running would certainly improve her stamina. It wouldn’t be as dramatic as proper martial arts, but better motor skills would make mana manipulation at least a little easier. Still, the results would be minimal. In the end, what she needed to do was exactly what other mages did—study the discipline with honest, almost stubborn effort and keep practicing day after day.
“Nom.”
Arina now ate at her usual pace, as if she had found a solution. Watching her deliberately ignore that truth, Kain shook his head in exasperation before he could stop himself.
Well, she’ll figure it out.
She was a diligent child despite how she looked. She would probably finish eating, go to her room, and spend the rest of the day clutching her magic tools and practicing nonstop.
“Haaam.”
Thinking that, Kain didn’t even bother clearing his dishes. He yawned, shuffled over to the sofa, and flopped down. As always, he tapped at his smartphone. The sight was the very picture of a lazy, good-for-nothing adult in perfect contrast to the extremely diligent child.
Not only Arina was struggling with the assignment Professor Matilda had given out.
“Hmm.”
It was a short break after lunchtime. Hemming, who had finished preparing ingredients faster than usual today, sat in a chair before the evening rush and stared intently at the magic tool on the table.
“……”
He rolled it around and fiddled with it for a while, then picked it up and squeezed with all his might. But unfortunately, not even the slightest breeze stirred above the tool.
“How the heck do you use this thing?”
The professor had explained it several times, yet he still had no clue. It wasn’t that he struggled with using mana or matching numbers. What Hemming was stuck on was far more fundamental: just what exactly was this magic tool supposed to do?
Having run into a massive wall right from the start, Hemming set the tool back on the table and could only glare at it as if it were his mortal enemy.
“Goodness, you technophobe.”
A woman set a glass of cold water in front of him and sat down across the table. Anna shook her head, looking at her husband with clear exasperation.
“This is exactly what I told you. I’ve been saying for ages that you should use magic tools more often and get used to them.”
Who in this day and age still wrote account books by hand? Even people older than them used computers and smartphones. She simply could not understand why a man who was still in his thirties refused to accept new civilization and remained stuck in the past.
“You like magic but can’t handle a single magic tool.”
“Haha, I’ve got nothing to say to that.”
At his wife’s scolding, Hemming smiled sheepishly and scratched the back of his head.
Creak.
Just then, the door to the Peace Restaurant they ran swung open. They had put up a sign saying they were closed, but perhaps the person hadn’t seen it. Such customers appeared from time to time, so Anna, who had been sitting with Hemming, changed her displeased expression into a smile and turned her head.
“I’m sorry, customer. We’re still in the middle of dinner preparations. Could you wait about ten minutes?”
“Um, well… I did come to eat…”
Someone entered the shop hesitantly. At the familiar voice, Hemming turned toward the entrance.
“Oh?”
A welcoming smile spread across his face and he jumped to his feet.
“What brings you here, Togun?”
“Hello, sir.”
Perhaps the tension had melted away at the sight. Togun returned a bright smile of his own and bowed politely toward the approaching Hemming.
“I heard last time that you were opening a restaurant.”
“I only told you the name. I don’t think I ever gave you the location. You found it pretty well.”
“It came up when I searched on the internet. I used the navigation.”
Togun held out his smartphone as he spoke. Perhaps because he had just been wrestling with a magic tool that refused to work no matter what, Hemming unconsciously swallowed a groan and closed his eyes. The development of modern civilization really was advancing quickly, he thought.
“This is my new friend from the academy, Togun Masao.”
“Ah, so this is the boy you mentioned…”
Her husband had talked about him often. He had made a new young friend who wasn’t much older than their own son. The boy had a good heart and took great care of his elders, apparently.
“This is my wife, Anna.”
“Nice to meet you, Togun.”
“Ah, yes! Nice to meet you too! Um, so…”
What should he call her? As if guessing his dilemma, Hemming chuckled and spoke casually.
“Just call her ‘auntie’ the same way you call me ‘uncle.’ Make yourself comfortable.”
“Oh my, who are you calling auntie? Would you call me ‘aunt’ instead? Just ignore what this man says.”
Anna shot her husband a glare and jabbed him in the side with her elbow. Hemming clutched the wall, tears springing to his eyes from the sudden pain.
“I told you not to elbow me! Your elbows are so pointy it hurts!”
“Then speak more nicely.”
The way they bickered like friends revealed the warmth of their family.
“Oh, right. You said you came to eat?”
Hemming cleared away the magic tool he had been fiddling with on the table earlier. He guided Togun to the seat and asked, “Is there anything you’d like? We’re a home-style restaurant, so I’m not sure if it’ll suit your taste.”
“It’s fine. I’m not picky and I eat everything. But didn’t you say you were on break earlier?”
He worried that he might be stealing time when they should be resting. Hemming simply laughed as if there was nothing to worry about.
“We’ll just say we’re opening a bit early today. The ingredients are already prepared anyway.”
He opened the menu and set it in front of the boy.
“Cheonggukjang probably won’t suit a kid’s palate. Do you like meat? My wife makes incredible stir-fried pork.”
“Ah, but I’m not good with spicy food…”
“Really? Then how about the stone-pot bulgogi?”
“I’ll have that.”
“Okay! Auntie! One stone-pot bulgogi! It’s a VIP customer, so use plenty of meat and make it delicious!”
“Who are you calling auntie! Who?!”
At Hemming’s words, Anna playfully grabbed his sideburns and tugged. Then she chuckled and disappeared into the kitchen. Soon afterward, the sound of cooking and the delicious aroma began to spread throughout the restaurant.