5. Marian
5. Marian
"...Ahem. My, my. When I talk with Noah-nim, I just get so excited without even realizing it."
"That's nothing new."
It's not like it's been just a day or two—if this happens every time we meet, I think she should stop saying "without even realizing it" by now.
"Well, if I've been of help as your boredom relief... then I'm glad. So, is that all your business here?"
"Well, I just came to show my face. I was feeling a bit bored too. I figured Noah-nim wouldn't plan to rest forever, right? That's the case, isn't it?"
Hohoho~
The sight of Marian laughing while sipping tea was that of a flawless noble lady.
If you ignored the fact that the words coming out of her mouth were utterly vulgar...
"Sigh..."
Well, anyway, that's Marian's point.
She's just beating around the bush, but ultimately, she's telling me to rest appropriately and return quickly.
What should I do with this severe voyeuristic maiden...
"...I'll go out in two days. The children's mana manifestation will probably start showing around then. Hmm, Bishop Valerius will likely be the first visitor, right?"
"If you don't like him, I can cancel it for you. Though he'll probably throw a fit again."
"It's fine. I have some thoughts about that guy too."
I don't know where he gets all that money to live such a debauched life,
but if he has that much money to spare...
I'll just make him hand over every last penny he has.
We can replenish the magic stones, and use the leftover money to provide for the children—isn't that a virtuous cycle?
Or not.
"Hohoho! As expected! In that case, I, Marian, shall boldly take the liberty of admiring Noah-nim's embarrassed figure. Surely, with that long and vicious thing, without any consideration for the noble Noah-nim, grabbing your waist with both hands and...!"
"Enough! Enough! If you want to imagine things, go do it alone in your room!"
"My, my apologies."
Marian put the last remaining biscuit piece into her mouth and stood up. With an elegant gesture, she straightened her clothes—so refined that you wouldn't believe she'd just been spouting vulgarities.
"I would love to talk with Noah-nim longer, but if I stay here any longer, that pig of a bishop might come looking himself. I shall take my leave now. Ah, and could you please tell that girl that these biscuits were delicious?"
"...I'll do that."
Finally leaving.
I placed my hand on the pouch of magic stones Marian brought and let out a sigh of relief.
But before opening the door to leave, Marian turned her head back to me and added one more thing.
"Ah, I forgot there was one more matter to discuss."
A foreboding feeling.
My spine went cold. It's definitely going to be troublesome. I grew anxious without realizing and started tapping the table with my finger.
"I can only think it'll be bothersome."
"...A letter arrived recently. Father said that soon the Empire's Third Prince will be coming here. I heard he's embarking on a study abroad journey. Apparently, he'll be passing through Bellua on his way. What will you do? If you're interested... shall I lure the prince to 'that room'?"
"...The Third Prince?"
I stopped my anxious finger-tapping.
The Empire's prince... and the Third Prince at that.
According to rumors I'd heard before, the Empire has an enormous number of royals.
Would the Third Prince be among the influential ones?
No. If he's going abroad to study, it might be because he's been pushed out of the succession struggle.
Whatever the case,
it means foreign royalty is visiting here. And royalty from the Empire, considered the strongest nation on this continent.
Having lived in this world until now, I've met many nobles but never any royalty.
My elf life motto is,
to live comfortably at a moderate pace.
In that sense, royalty... I can only foresee trouble.
"Rumor has it he's quite talented in magic. He's passing through Bellua heading further south to the Magic Tower. Hmm. Mages usually have rather peculiar personalities though..."
"...I'm a mage too, but."
"......"
At that, Marian looked at me intently.
"I, Marian, not only deeply respect Noah-nim but also hold you in great affection. But... Noah-nim. You don't actually think your personality is normal, do you?"
"I am..."
"You're an eccentric who fits the mage stereotype more than anyone."
As I closed my mouth and averted my gaze, Marian chuckled and grabbed the doorknob. Then with a twist of her wrist, she slowly turned it with a creaking sound.
"...Anyway, since you don't seem very interested, I won't take any separate action on my end. I don't have any dream-like fantasies about marrying foreign royalty or anything like that."
"Good that you understand. Now go on."
"...Next time, I'll see you through the crystal."
Marian left the room.
And so...
Peace finally returned to me.
I leaned my head back and let out a deep sigh.
"A hero, now a prince. Just when I thought the city was becoming peaceful, troublesome things just keep coming one after another."
A royal visit.
No matter how I think about it, if this were a game, it would definitely be a special event.
===
"Noah-nim. Th-this...!"
"Hmm, pass."
"Yay! I did it! Nel! I, I became a mage!"
"...Ugh."
The first mana manifestation appeared among the children.
The first step and biggest hurdle to becoming a mage is sensing and manipulating the mana floating in the environment.
The first success, Shuri,
would be elementary school age by Earth standards,
and was a very pretty girl.
Fortunately, it seemed like I could get one or two more to sense mana before my vacation ended.
"...Huuup!"
Meanwhile, Nel beside her was still scowling intensely at the paper, as if things weren't going well.
But no matter how much you strain your eyes,
it won't make you able to manipulate mana.
"Nel! You can't just strain your eyes like that! Instead of straining, relax... um..."
"Qu, quiet..."
Shuri glanced at me then drew a big circle with both hands.
As if describing something surrounding her. Interpreting that from a child's perspective...
"Air?"
At my answer, Shuri asked back.
"What's air?"
"...The stuff we breathe in and out. For a simple example, wind is essentially the flow of air. You must have felt wind before, Shuri."
It was an answer based on experiential feeling rather than any specialized knowledge.
But at my answer, Shuri's eyes sparkled and she started giving Nel advice.
"...Yeah! That's it!"
"Shuri, I'm trying to concentrate here?"
"Nel! You have to become one with the air. Then like this...!"
As Shuri concentrated, the paper on the desk fluttered as if affected by mana.
Then Nel started arguing with Shuri, accusing her of teasing, while Shuri grumbled that she was trying to help.
And so began their bickering argument.
"...Really. So even here there's a childhood friend storyline."
I shook my head watching the two bicker.
While the other children were each doing their own training with similar focus as Nel,
Karl, who could be considered the children's senior, was diligently stirring something next to me.
"...Noah-nim. How long do I have to keep stirring this?"
"Got something else to do?"
"Studying..."
"Keep stirring."
"......"
Dalgona making—something I tried recalling from childhood memories.
Since you only need sugar and baking soda, getting the ingredients in this world wasn't too difficult.
The sight of sugar melting into brown liquid in the ladle.
The smell seems pretty good too.
First, I'll try it with Karl who seems free, and if it works well, I'll teach the method to the other kids too.
Wouldn't that make a pretty good memory?
Honestly, I've pretty much left magic training to self-study through neglect...
But as a teacher, I feel some responsibility to teach them at least one thing that might be helpful in life.
Even if temporary, a teacher is still a teacher.
"Hmm, seems about right."
I added baking soda to the sugar water Karl was stirring. Instantly, it began foaming up.
All the children's eyes focused on the ladle Karl was holding. They watched with fascinated eyes as the dalgona took shape.
And so Dalgona No. 1 was made.
"...What is this?"
"Noah-nim. Is this food?"
"It's like candy."
The moment my answer finished, the children swarmed like clouds.
"Me, me too! I want some!"
"Me too!"
Kids will be kids.
During magic lessons, except for the interested ones, they looked disinterested, but now their eyes are sparkling.
Nel seemed to like candy too.
This time it's not mint or peppermint candy but a real sweet snack, so Nel will definitely like it.
I broke the dalgona into pieces.
Two pieces for Karl who worked hard stirring, one piece for me, and one piece each for the other children fairly.
"Here, everyone put it in your mouth and let it melt slowly."
Almost simultaneously, everyone popped the dalgona into their mouths.
The initial reaction was,
"...Huh?"
Was dalgona supposed to taste like this?
The first taste was bitter, with a burnt flavor, and perhaps I added too much baking soda as there was a strange fishy aftertaste.
"Eugh. Doesn't taste good..."
"Cough cough! Noah-nim, you said this was candy!"
Should I try to excuse that dalgona isn't exactly candy?
Several children immediately spat it out into their hands.
Amidst this, only Shuri...
"I, it's delicious!"
"......No need to force yourself to eat it."
"Uh... ah, no! I, it's really delicious!"
Shuri.
What are those tears welling in your eyes?
You're already learning about social life.
"Noah-nim. Did you give me two pieces to torment me on purpose..."
Karl looked at me with despondent eyes.
The two pieces he received. One piece was already in his mouth, and the remaining piece... upon closer look, clearly showed black burnt parts.
"The heat control was inadequate. The baking soda amount was excessive too."
"You're not going to tell me to do the same thing again..."
"Karl, you'll have to help me until we make perfect dalgona."
"Gaaah!"
"Ah, throw the rest away."
"...I was going to do that without you telling me!"
Karl went to wash the ladle without any hesitation.
I swallowed the bitter taste remaining in my mouth and pretended to be nonchalant with my hands behind my back.
Otherworld Dalgona No. 1: Failure!
The path to becoming a good teacher seems long and arduous.