Back from Magic School
“Miss, you should unpack your things first.”
“Oh, right! I’ll be back!”
The young lady, who’d been lingering in the garden for a moment, headed inside to unpack.
She must have rushed straight here without even bothering to unpack first.
Not that it surprised me—she’d been wearing her magic school uniform, after all.
I let out a slow breath and sank onto a bench in the garden, figuring I’d earned a moment to catch my breath.
Keng…
Whitey was sitting right beside me, nodding off with sleepy little jerks of its head—probably because I’d woken it up.
To be honest, I was a little rattled.
What if her eyes had suddenly lit up like they used to, and she chased me off?
I hadn’t seen much of her lately, but those occasional eerie glimmers in her gaze grew more unsettling the more I thought about them.
I had a hunch those eyes were why she treated me like a dog.
God only knew what she saw in me or what went through her head.
Thinking back to how she’d bolted straight for me the moment she arrived at the mansion, she seemed every bit the ordinary girl.
Before magic school, she’d been all moody and snippy through those teenage years, but she seemed improved now.
Or maybe she was just thrilled enough to drop the attitude.
Considering how pumped she’d been earlier, she must have been waiting to come back home.
Whatever the case.
“It’s been a while since we put this on.”
“Yes, now that the young lady’s here.”
With her arrival, they’d buckled the collar around my neck for the first time in ages.
Come to think of it, there’d been a point when they’d stopped using it altogether.
It didn’t feel like much anyway.
Not compared to that shackle-like collar from my first days here.
Looking back, I still wondered why they even had something like that.
It was a restraint designed to bind powerful Aura users of great authority—likely an item for chaining captured knights in wartime.
Its effect was brutally strong; even if they put it on me now, I doubted I could break it.
How the hell had Alden snapped his and escaped the Colosseum?
That was five years ago already? Time flew.
“Puppy!”
While I waited with the collar on, the young lady emerged again.
Her outfit was closer to training gear than her usual dresses—practical and loose.
“What are you planning, Miss?”
“Let’s train! I learned magic!”
“Ah.”
She’d come back from magic school eager to show off her new spells, no doubt.
“Sure, let’s go.”
I was curious about her new magic too, so we headed straight for the training grounds.
“It’s just like I remember!”
The grounds were deserted when we arrived.
Unlike the slacker patrols lately, today—with the young lady back—everyone was probably circling the mansion grounds extra tight.
The memory of the mansion burning two years ago was still fresh; they wouldn’t slack off with her here.
“If it looks like you might get hurt, say so right away?”
“Don’t worry.”
We took our positions and did some light stretches.
It was less “training” and more sparring, really.
Ever since Terra had taught her that sparring-style practice was best, before she left for school, we’d done it this way.
“First up: a spell that makes the ground vanish! Don’t fall, okay?”
“...Don’t worry.”
She’d picked up a bunch of magic, sure, but I wasn’t worried about getting hurt.
How long had she even been at magic school?
Probably just the basics.
With that, I stood ready before her.
“Here goes! Focus right here!”
A magic circle lit up in her hand—not the usual crimson, but a dull, earthy brown.
Different from what I’d seen before.
She’d said it would make the ground disappear, so probably earth magic.
To test it out, I activated Track and waited for the spell to fire.
And then—
Light burst from the circle and poured into the ground.
Boom!
The patch of earth beneath my feet vanished in an instant.
“Huh.”
...That strong?
My feet lost purchase, balance slipping as that floating sensation hit.
Thanks to Track, I landed cleanly, no issue.
“Puppy okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
Fine, but I was a bit surprised.
The hole was deeper than I’d expected—about waist height.
And the area was decently wide.
Imagine that in a real fight; downright dizzying.
Handy enough that I almost wanted to learn it myself.
“Next up…”
She ran me through her other basic spells too.
“This one’s a double barrier.”
“Double?”
“Yeah! Hit it once! It won’t break!”
Crash!
“Uh…”
“...It broke.”
Some weren’t all that impressive.
“Light!”
Fwoosh!
Others seemed plenty practical for combat.
...Had Terra really only taught her to spam fireballs?
You really needed school for proper training?
The young lady beamed, thrilled to show off her arsenal.
“What do you think? I learned tons!”
“Yeah… But do they teach this much normally?”
Still.
How had she picked up so much in her short time there?
Even basics weren’t easy; the study load must’ve been insane.
I asked if other students got this much.
“Huh? They teach more if you’re doing well.”
Apparently not.
Made sense—the Boyd family’s prodigy would stand out at magic school too.
“Alright then…”
With the new spells out of the way, time to see how her old ones had grown.
Whoosh.
A crimson circle bloomed in her hand, and a fireball ignited in the air—nearly as big as her torso.
Bigger than the last time I’d seen it.
No wonder Terra drilled her on this one; it felt leagues beyond the others.
“C-can I fire this? It’s been a while; you sure you’re good?”
“Don’t worry.”
It was bigger, the power more palpable.
But she urged me on confidently.
I drew the sword I’d brought along, eyeing the flames.
Usually I’d borrow one from the mansion, but it was time to get used to this blade.
Easier to channel Rush into, anyway.
Since the masked fighter in the sewers, I’d been putting more focus on Guard and Rush in training.
“Ready? It’s stronger than before, okay?”
“Don’t worry.”
With that—
“Here goes!”
Whoosh.
She finally let it fly, still hesitating a touch.
As the fireball hurtled toward me, I gathered Aura.
No Track or Fleet.
A light Guard to shield my body, then slammed Rush into the sword.
And right as—
Fwoom!
The fireball filled my vision—
I swung.
Boom!!
It exploded straight back the way it came.
A perfect magic deflection.
“Whoa!”
I sheathed the sword as her cheer echoed from across the field.
And I wasn’t even scratched.
Back when we did this, the borrowed blades would be mangled after one block.
Good steel made all the difference.
“Good puppy!”
She rushed over clapping, ruffled my hair.
“Let’s head back!”
We left the training grounds a total wreck.
...The servants would clean it up.
I’d seen a few of their excited faces stiffen when she arrived; probably their job.
Anyway.
Training done, we returned to the garden and my doghouse.
She trailed me all the way, clearly planning to hang out the rest of the day.
“Hm? It’s wandering around.”
“Yeah, getting more active lately.”
Whitey was right there, drawing stares from the maids as it roamed the garden.
“Hmm, not quite a baby anymore?”
“It’s only been open its eyes a short while.”
She strode right up, intrigued, and carefully scooped Whitey up.
“Hee… So cute.”
“Where’d you find it?”
“Picked it up in the mountains over there.”
“Hm? The Kaine Mountain Range? Hmm…”
She tilted her head, pondering why I’d been there.
“Parents dead?”
She brushed it off casually, inspecting Whitey.
“Yes, they were gone when I found it.”
I answered, feeling a twinge of tension.
Why was I on edge?
She was just your typical carefree teenage girl.
“Hmm…”
Blame those red eyes.
Ordinary jewel-like gems most times, but that occasional unnatural glow.
“So you made it family?”
Like right now.
Damn.
Not sparkling in the sunlight—just glowing, eerie and otherworldly.
She fixed those eyes on Whitey.
“Who gave you permission?”
Her chilling words froze everyone nearby.
Me, Whitey, the trailing servants and maids.
She looked like an adorable teen on the outside.
But in those moments, she exuded an overwhelming presence that dominated the air.
“Miss.”
Rowell spoke up, utterly unfazed as always.
“Haha! Just kidding!”
She burst into a bright grin and set the trembling Whitey down.
“Eek, it’s cold?”
She draped her coat over it, but no one could muster a word.
Gave me chills.
Seemed even creepier than before.
...The magic, maybe?
Nah, probably overthinking.
Whatever.
Keng… Keeng…
Whitey was utterly terrified of her now—hierarchy firmly established.
Hard to believe it was a spiritual beast; it looked pitiful, cowering like that.
I’d sneak it a treat later.