87. Good News and Better News
87. Good News and Better News
"...The hell."
Setting aside that inexplicable sense of unease, I couldn't help but be genuinely surprised as I listened to Phaid's lecture.
Phaid Haveron.
This guy... is fucking good at lecturing.
Of course, I don't need to sit through basic lectures like this. When it came to Mana Control, I was the best among my old comrades.
I'm confident I could explain the method well, too.
Unlike Paulo, Kaloso, or Arisa, my ability was forged through effort, not talent.
In fact, Eurasia's Realm had been climbing rapidly ever since she started learning from me.
And yet, even I... felt there was something worth learning from Professor Phaid's lecture.
Not in terms of Mana Control itself, of course—I meant his way of teaching others.
Whenever Eurasia hit a part she couldn't understand, I'd have her swing her sword first, then throw punches... no, I'd make her understand through sparring.
But Professor Phaid was pointing out those very parts one by one with nothing more than simple explanations.
"...Oho."
So it was interesting.
Ideas kept flooding in about how to teach Eurasia when she returned, how to break through the parts where she was stuck.
Maybe I actually have a knack for teaching?
I was giggling to myself, imagining how Eurasia would react to seeing how much I'd changed in just one week, when—
Scratch— scratch scratch— scratch scratch scratch—
Pina, diligently taking notes right beside me, caught my eye. And naturally... questions about Pina surfaced too.
If she's taking supplementary lessons because she can't understand lectures this easy... just how much of an airhead is she?
I narrowed my eyes and sneakily glanced at the notes Pina had meticulously written.
"...Hm?"
Notes written in a round, bubbly handwriting.
Incredibly neat.
She had the recording function on her Device, and in her notebook she was colorfully decorating the key points and the parts she didn't understand.
But the parts she didn't understand there were concepts that, in my estimation, no student in this room could understand.
There's no way she's taking supplementary lessons because she couldn't understand something like that... so what the hell is it?
I turned my gaze back to Phaid's board work.
Neat, elegant handwriting on the board.
His voice was composed, his intonation relaxed.
Judging by the time that had passed and the material covered, his time management seemed excellent too, and the students had plenty of room to understand and take notes.
It was a lecture with almost nothing to criticize.
If I had to nitpick one thing... it would be that he occasionally slipped in concepts too advanced for the students to understand?
But it didn't feel awkward.
It was just... like he was letting them know it existed?
He phrased it with the nuance that it was something they'd learn eventually, so it was good to know in advance—so there was no problem.
...Was it really just needless worry?
Tsk tsk— I propped my chin on my hand, rolling the now-smaller peppermint candy under my tongue.
The uneasy feeling still... hadn't gone away.
If anything, it had gotten worse than before.
Fuck.
What the hell is this feeling?
I'd attended the lecture thinking it would ease my mind, but after confirming there was nothing wrong, I felt even more unsettled than before.
What is this, one of those "answer's already decided, so why ask" things people talk about these days?
I'm not some damn girl, so why the hell am I acting like this?
"...Annoying."
"Eek!"
Pina, who'd heard my muttering, flinched and cautiously looked at me.
"Not you."
Creaaak... Pina slowly nodded and buried her gaze back in her notebook.
Scratch— scratch—
Pina, diligently writing with her dainty little hands.
And beside her, behind her, the other students spread out. Nothing wrong.
Everyone was working hard.
But my mood wouldn't improve.
...Is it about time for my period?
Third week... yeah, it's about that time.
I rubbed my stomach for no reason and let out a sigh.
An hour later, Phaid's lecture ended.
"If there are any parts you didn't understand or concepts you find a bit confusing, please come to my office. For those who wish, I also offer supplementary lessons after class, so feel free to come by at your leisure."
His tone sounded cold at first glance, but Phaid, who had spoken with subtle kindness, gave a slight bow.
"That will be all for today's lecture."
Then he left the lecture hall without a hint of lingering.
He didn't cast strange looks like Adelia, nor did he try to keep lecturing into the break like Senior Professor Wivir.
He ended it very cleanly and walked out of the lecture hall.
But the students didn't get up from their seats.
They didn't chatter either. They were busy absorbing today's lecture, copying down the board work that hadn't been erased yet.
Pina, on the other hand, set down her pen.
She'd been diligently taking notes since earlier, and it seemed she'd finished a step ahead of the other students.
Beaming— Pina looked at me with a smile that lifted my mood just by seeing it.
[Today's lecture was fun!]
"What's fun about it? We barely even talked."
Tap tap tap— Pina tapped at her Device, hesitated for a moment, then shook her head and typed a new message.
[Just being with you, Eliarnes, is fun!]
I wondered what the hell she meant, but I understood soon enough.
Pina sees spirits.
And spirits flock to me.
I don't know how that looks, but in Pina's eyes it must be a sight she rarely gets to see.
So that's why she says it's fun.
I nodded and giggled.
"Right. Just looking at my face would be fun, I guess."
At that, Pina's eyes went wide.
I wanted to tease her more, but I couldn't.
Because I felt a sting— several students inside the lecture hall were glaring at me.
Pretty soon they'll throw a fit over the sound of me breathing, seriously. I looked around at the students glaring at me with narrowed eyes.
And then.
I felt something strange.
They weren't just glaring at me.
They were glaring at Pina too.
No.
To be precise.
They were glaring at the space around me and Pina.
Above my head, beside me, behind me, above my hand, above my shoulder, behind my back.
They weren't looking at me—they were looking somewhere else.
I couldn't tell what they were looking at, but I could make one guess.
Spirits.
Those three students seemed to see something that even I, beloved by spirits, couldn't see.
*****
I immediately took Pina and left the lecture hall.
Pina, dragged out in a daze with her hand in mine, kept tilting her head as she trotted after me.
We arrived at my personal training hall.
There, I handed her a mint chocolate milk and asked.
"Hey, Pina."
Tilt?
"Are you taking supplementary lessons today too?"
Pina, who'd been lost in thought with blinking eyes, tapped at her Device.
[No supplementary lessons today!]
Then she fired off gaze after gaze full of expectation.
"...Oh yeah?"
[Yes! I'm going to be very free today!]
Her brown eyes sparkled, her dainty lips twitched, her throat bobbed as she swallowed.
Watching Pina express with her whole body that she wanted to hang out with me, I couldn't help but let out a dumbfounded laugh.
Well... even if she didn't like it this much, I'd been planning to stick with her for a while anyway.
If she'd said no, I was going to tie her up in my room, so this was actually better.
"Then shall we hang out after class today?"
Pina's eyes flew open wide.
Nod nod nod—
[Ifyou'reokaywithitEliarnesthenI'mokaywithitanytime!]
She nodded while showing me a message that looked like it had been typed in a huge hurry.
"Yeah. Then today... and tomorrow, and the day after. For those three days, I'll watch over your Mana Control."
[Yes! Thank you!]
"Oh, and I saw your schedule—you don't have any basic fitness lectures at all? That won't do. Pina, no matter how much of a rear-line type you are, basic fitness is important. If your Mana runs out, you'll need to at least run away, right? Right?"
Her nodding gradually slowed.
"So let's exercise together every morning. Wake up at 5 a.m., get ready, and meet by 5:30. Then jog for about two hours, eat, and head straight to class—how great would that be?"
Now the nodding had stopped.
Pina's face, which had been drenched in happiness just moments ago, was turning pale.
"Then after classes, you train your Mana with Stella, right?"
[Yes. Stella said she'd guide my direction until I reach the 3rd Circle.]
"What time do you finish with Stella?"
[Usually when lectures end at 5, we go until 8 in the evening and then eat together.]
"Oh, perfect. Then after eating, from around 9, train with me. At night I'll teach you self-defense. Hey now, what's with that face? Self-defense is so useful once you learn it. Better to learn it now than to regret it later when you're trapped in a Mana-blocking Barrier."
Pina's nodding stopped.
The movement of her fingers, diligently wriggling as she tapped at her Device, also halted.
I gave Pina the kindest smile I could manage.
"Pina. We're friends, right?"
"Eeek..."
"I don't want my friend Pina to get hurt in some unforeseen situation because she doesn't know self-defense."
"Sniff..."
Nod nod. Pina's head, which had finally stopped, nodded again, and a smile returned to her pale face.
[Since you put it that way, Eliarnes, I will follow your wishes.]
The reply that came back was oddly heavy, but... still, it was according to plan.
I barely managed to wipe away my smirk and clasped Pina's hands tightly.
"If you keep this up from now on, we'll become very special and precious 'friends.'"
Nod nod nod— Pina nodded vigorously.
Each time she did, lukewarm teardrops pattered onto the back of her hands.
"Of course, you won't be doing it alone. Stella will come out to exercise every morning too, and she'll learn self-defense with us at night."
Stella might hate it, but what can she do?
If she owes me a debt, she has to move accordingly.
I stroked the head of Pina, who kept nodding, and rose from my seat.
"What's your next lecture?"
[It's the day for Understanding and Analysis of Magic Circles A.]
I debated whether I should follow along and check the atmosphere in that lecture hall too.
Because the looks from those bastards who'd been staring at me and Pina in the lecture hall earlier had been suspicious in more ways than one.
"Pina."
Tilt?
"Hey, do you remember all the faces of the kids who were sitting in that lecture hall just now?"
Pina, lost in thought for a moment, shook her head. Then she held out her Device.
[Still, if I saw their faces, I think I could recall them.]
"Then when you go to this next lecture, could you look around and see if there are any students from the [Mana Control B] lecture hall?"
[Yes. Understood.]
"Look around, and if you can find out their names, bring them back. You can secretly take pictures with your Device too."
Pina, about to nod, hesitated for a moment and looked at me.
[You're asking me to secretly take pictures...?]
"Yeah. Why?"
[I'm sorry to ask, but... may I ask why you want me to do this?]
I stared at Pina's message for a moment, then flashed a bright grin and said,
"Pina, we're friends, right?"
Pina tucked away her curiosity and flashed a bright grin back at me.
*****
After 3rd and 4th period, Pina and I finished our respective lectures and met up again, heading to the dining hall—
"Oh, hello there, Eliarnes."
The professor in charge of [Magic Power Control B].
Phaid Haveron called out to me.