Tesfia and Alice train late into the night. While the time is one where the sun just finished setting, it isn"t quite yet time for dinner either. Furthermore, they only need to return to the girl"s dormitory. That said, the prestigious Second Magic Academy has a befitting crime prevention system. The school grounds are reasonably safe.
While the power relation between men and women has evened thanks to the establishment of magic, the general public opinion still doesn"t approve of letting a woman return home after dark.[1] As a result, Arus sees the two girls home.
Arus says, "Hey, pay attention to where you"re going."
Tesfia and Alice walk while pinching each other. At times, they endanger themselves by closing their eyes.
Gon!! Tesfia crashes into a street light. A ring echoes into the evening as it shakes. She squats down and clutches her forehead while saying, "— — — —!! Uugh~"
"Fia, are you alright!?"
Tesfia blames Arus with her glare, but he wisely avoids it by acting unperturbed.
She says, "Hold on."
"What?"
"Even if you say something to me, I"m not getting punished for this."
That would be a reasonable protest, if she were an ordinary civilian and not a magician.
A fed up expression covers Arus face. Despite his tone remaining calm, his gaze sharpens. "We-ll, I doubt there"d be any need to punish you if your opponent had been a mamono. Concentrating so much on your mana that you stop paying attention to your surroundings is pretty much putting the cart before the horse. It"s nothing but a joke."
After that, the two girls… Tesfia in particular, continue back to their dormitory with the intention of continuing their training.
A building enters Arus"s view. The doubt that laces his voice can"t be help. Even if just once, he has only seen the men"s dormitory. He says, "Here…?"
……Can the two even be compared? The security system is completely different. Denying entrance into the premise is an authentication gate c.u.m reception area. Even if tall walls are used for locking up master criminals, they"re more for protecting against invaders than inside threats.
The double doors slide open once Tesfia and Alice confirm their ident.i.ties with their hands.
Alice expresses her grat.i.tude with a politeness that leaves behind little awkwardness. "Al, thank you very much for today. We"ll see you again tomorrow at school."
Tesfia, however, gives a cra.s.s wave of her hand. The strange nuance she adds to the end of her sentence by raising the pitch of her voice making Arus and Alice think she"s asking a question. She says, "Well, thanks for your help today. We"ll be in your care once more tomorrow, Al." The way she then turns her face is similar to someone trying to hide her embarra.s.sment.[2]
Arus expresses his astonishment by shrugging his shoulders.
Tesfia turns to enter the dorm as she says, "Next time, we"ll fini…" She"s cut short as she b.u.mps into a soft barrier. Her face is buried within a lavish pair of voluptuous b.r.e.a.s.t.s. While still buried, she mumbles out, "Habuu!!"
Alice"s voice, upon seeing who Tesfia collided against, raises as she says, "Dormitory Leader!!" The meek tone she then adopts proves that the new comer is an upper cla.s.sman[3]. "But I though… there was still time until curfew."
The dormitory leader"s gentle expression is one free from anger. Her graceful features and waist long, flowing, black hair are accompanied by a warm smile. With the height difference between her and Arus almost nonexistent, she isn"t so much cute, but lovely. The mysterious air surrounding her serves as a lure for her beauty.
While Alice is also equipped with a mature charm, the upper cla.s.sman known as "Dormitory Leader," is more bewitching than the Witch, Cisty. As a result, Arus finds her smile dreadful.
Her gentle expression is matched by her voice as she says, "Welcome back, Fia, Alice-san."
Tesfia finally separates from her and gives a fl.u.s.tered bow alongside Alice. Her expression is full of doubt. This is the first time since they"ve enrolled that the dormitory leader has paid them a visit.
Arus gives the upper cla.s.sman a diligent bow to keep from her from prying about him.
She urges him to speak with a warm smile as she says, "Who is this gentleman?[4]"
Arus senses something suspicious, albeit different from what Tesfia and Alice feel, about this upper cla.s.sman. As a result, he initiates proper decorum, even if superficial. He says, "First year student, Arus Reigin. They"re late because I kept them too long."
"……!! No, no, that isn"t a problem at all. The students here are just that enthusiastic about their studies. Besides, the curfew isn"t really enforced."
She glances at Tesfia and Alice for a moment, but then looks back at Arus. She places a hand over her voluptuous chest and gives a slight bow as she says, "My name is Ferinella Socallent. I am a second year student."
Elegance traces her every gesture and reflects the quality of her upbringing. As her hair slips over her charming face, not a single flaw blemishes her form. While some might be fascinated by those action, Arus has his doubts. I"ve heard the family name, Socallent before.
Arus says, "You"re a second year student?"
The dormitory leader is a heavy responsibility a.s.signed to senior students. A member of the faculty could also fill in the position if needed.
Tesfia alleviates Arus of his doubt. She places a hand over her own chest as she says, "Feri-senpai is the sole second year student of this academy who ranks as a triple digits magician. My house hold has long been acquainted with her"s."
What a presumptuous comparison. Aristocratic houses a.s.sociating with one another should only be natural. While the concept of holding peerage isn"t suitable for the era, n.o.bility was able to survive thanks to the old families having deep military connections.
However, aristocrats aren"t the only intolerable segment of society. High ranking magicians behave with the same dignity and pride while also lathering equal respect. This results from their court standings deriving from their ranks. The status of every house is representing through their corresponding military position.
Arus says, "Is that how is? I see."
Ferinella gives a forced nod. She then averts her eyes as she says, "At best, my rank is only 375, Arus-san….."
A triple digit magician attending an academy is ridiculous in of itself. As Arus mentioned to Tesfia and Alice earlier, rankings are greatly influenced by mamono subjugation. He then notices something strange about Ferinella"s words. Her… "At best," remark was off.[5] I"m pretty sure I"m right, but if I"m wrong, I can brush it off with an apology. No need to think about this too deeply.
Arus says, "Is Vizaiste-kyo still well? I"m quite indebt to him since back then."
Ferinella smiles at Arus"s words as she says, "Yes! Father has also been concerned about you."
Vizaistkyo holds the position of general within the army. Before Arus increased his rank through major achievements for the country and was transfer to the Governor-General"s direct command, he was one of the officers under his command. Officially speaking, seven countries protect humanity. In truth, mankind is protected by one country. The great power, Alpha is only one area. This is why the Governor-General and not the Marshal is the highest ranked commander.[6]
Tesfia and Alice are speechless at the exchange between the two. It only last for a moment as Tesfia soon recalls something and whispers it into Alice"s ear.
A convinced expression crosses Alice"s face as she says, "Dormitory Leader, you"re familiar… with Al?"
Ferinella turns towards Arus after a moment in order to include him into her response. "You can say I know him, but this is the first time I"ve been privilege to have an audience with him. I learned about him through father"s stories. With that said, Arus-san, are you teaching these two?"
Arus"s tone is derived of respect for an upper cla.s.sman as he says, "Yeah, the director pushed them onto me."
Ferinella doesn"t mind his disrespect, but instead smiles as her expression relaxes. His lack as formality is interpreted as him being honest about his thoughts. She then cups a cheek and says, "That"s such an envious story."
Are Tesfia and Alice worried about a thorn being included in her words?
Arus says, "Dormitory Leader, these two may be returning late from now on, but please overlook it."
Ferinella"s forehead pulsates, piku. She smiles as she says, "Arus-san, please call me by Feri," but her tone isn"t one that will allow him to refuse.
"O- Of course. In that case, you can refer to me as Al. They"re already referring to me with it."
Ferinella smiles with delight upon hearing his reply. Only Arus notices, but Tesfia and Alices" eyes freeze upon seeing their upper cla.s.sman"s behavior. Ferinella says, "That makes me really happy, but I also have to keep my father"s image in mind. I can"t be so intimate with how I address someone, not to mention, this is also our first meeting. It"s… truly… regretful, but would you mind if I called you Arus-san?"
"Th that"s fine."
"Alice-san, you as well. Please call me Feri-san… or senpai. We"ve already pa.s.sed the stage of you needing calling me Dormitory Leader."
Tesfia nods along with Alice for some reason despite having already called her Feri-senpai. Maybe it"s because even though Feri-san"s looks happy, her smile isn"t a smile?
Whether her difference in treatment between them and Arus is out of respect to his rank isn"t clear.
Arus, having completed his task, judges he no longer needs to stay. He begins to step back as he says, "Well then, I"ll be taking my leave."
Ferinella says, "Arus-san, these two are still girls, so please don"t keep them too late in the future."
"I understand."
"Also… would you mind looking after me every once in a while?"
Arus along with Tesfia and Alice are unable to hide their astonishment at the request. He says, "I"m already watch over two people, a third every once in a while won"t be any different."
An innocent smile befitting Ferinella"s age lights her face as she says, "Great!"
"In all honesty, I"m not so conceited to a.s.sume I"d be able to do much for someone who"s this close to double digits. Don"t expect too much."
Ferinella"s voice rings as she says, "I understand. I"ll be taught without holding expectations."
Arus finally returns home. He couldn"t help but have regret overcome him the entire trip. The mood was one where he was unable to decline her request. And now I"m sacrificing even more of my precious time.
–Dimond Storm–
The final lesson of the week comes after school the following day. As always, Arus hopes to spend the break in peace. Despite my misgivings, this will be my third weekend. Tesfia and Alice rarely approach him during the break.[7]
Although, getting the nickname Al seems to have worked out in my favor. Arus and Tesfia originally didn"t get along, but now that they"ve seemingly opened up to one another, his cla.s.smates have stopped getting blindly angry at him.
……Or that"s how it should have been, but the boys have fallen captive to those two. His male cla.s.smates have gone from glaring at him with eyes full scorn to ones full of envy.
And their appeal is only going to keep growing over these next few years. They might even end up disrupting the reserved forces.[8]
Arus had plans to immerse himself in his research after school. Hence, he narrows his eyes at Tesfia and Alice who stand before the door to his room and says, "…You should have said something yesterday if you had succeeded.[9]"
Tesfia says, "You can"t do that. You can"t cut our practice time."
Alice claps her hands together and says, "Al, please… even if it"s only a little, I want to improve faster."
Their training can be completed independently, but it"s inevitable that they"ll want to ask questions. The answer is reduction, the reduction of his time.
Arus hesitates on rejecting Alice upon seeing her directly beg him for instruction. Furthermore— countless red spots cover their arms. I don"t want to view it as a girl"s arm… but still.
Despite the advent of magic technology, injuries can"t be healed in an instant. At most, the natural healing abilities possessed by the person"s cells can be raised. The situation changes if healing spells are overlapped, but few magicians can perform such spell craft. While the academy has an emergency healing magician on standby, there is no a.s.sistant healing magician.
Healing magic requires the healing magician to synchronize with the injured person"s mana. Mana is by nature filled with the owner"s personal information, so when two people are casting over a third, there will be three different wavelengths of mana present.[10] The proper method will prevent a rebound from occurring and allow for the cell itself to be influenced. Tesfia and Alices" wounds could be healed in a few minutes.
The technique required isn"t on the level of just possessing skillful mana manipulation. Preforming cellular interaction could be likened to a master craftsman at work. The technique is different from what the two girls and Arus are practicing and also tremendously more demanding.
Therefore, we"ll just have to wait for those red marks to heal on their own.
Arus speaks after that slight pause. "I understand, I"m somewhat at fault for the red marks over your arms after all."
The two nod as the door to his room slides open.
Alice says, "— —!!"
Tesfia says, "What"s this!" The room is nothing like it was yesterday: the mountain of doc.u.ments collapsed and papers cover the floor. The long desk is buried in doc.u.ments as well, there isn"t even a s.p.a.ce for drinks. "Why don"t men ever care about this?"
Arus has no idea what she"s trying to say.
While Tesfia and Alice continued training back in their dorm room, Arus immersed himself into his research. This is the result. The two girls exchange glances and roll up their sleeves.
Arus says, "I don"t know what you"re planning, but don"t do anything unnecessary. Everything is efficiently sorted like this."
Tesfia says, "Arguing is pointless!!"
Alice"s crisp movements and cleaning skills put profession house keepers to shame. Despite not understanding the doc.u.ments she"s handling, she"s able to roughly keep them in order based on the locations she got them.
Tesfia… well, she"s an aristocrat. She tidies the doc.u.ments with enthusiasm, but her execution is lacking.
Tesfia says, "Alice, you can do anything.[11]"
"I didn"t do that much!"
Arus, regardless of his thoughts, is shocked at how his room changed from a disaster to organized in only a few minutes. He speaks before Tesfia can voice her displeasure. "…He……hey, both of you, cut it out."
Tesfia says, "I guess it can"t be helped. We"ll just have to see how it goes from here."
Arus smiles at the comment. Neither of them did this for a reward.
A/N: There, see?? This release wasn"t nearly as long as the previous one~ That said, this should have been finished a few days ago. I just happened to get busy… Either way, it"s here now so I hope you liked it!! We can already see a bit of a divergence from the manga. Arus meets Ferinella a day earlier. Still, it isn"t that big of a change.
Thanks for reading,
~Gandire Alea
[1] I could be reading this one backwards: 魔法の確立によって男女の力関係はないに等しいのだが、世間一般では暗くなってから女性だけを帰らせるというのはあまり関心しない風潮にある。
[2] This one was tricky: 見ようによってはしっしと払っているようにも見えたが、顔を背けた姿は照れ隠しのようにも見える。
[3] The kanji used both here and in the t.i.tle isn"t the one for senpai. It reads joukyusei. As a result, I used the translation it.
[4] It doesn"t say gentleman, but the word she uses for "you" is polite."
[5] それに……たかだかという言い草にアルスはウンザリとした確信を持ち始めた。
[6] （形式上は７カ国が人類の防衛に当たっているが表面上は全人類を守護する一国であるとされているため、表向きは大国アルファも一区域に過ぎない。そのため元帥ではなく総督が最高司令とされている）
[7] それもテスフィアとアリスが休みの合間にアルスへと近寄って来ることに少なくない影響があってのことだ。
[8] This one really left me stumped @[email protected]: 成長期にある二人はこれから女性としての魅力が年々増すことだろう。一層の苛烈さを極める可能性は十分に秘めた予備軍だ。
[9] 「……昨日出来たら来いといったはずだが」
[10] この技術は施術者の魔力を負傷者の魔力に同調させる技術が必要になる。本来魔力には個人の情報が詰め込まれているため、三者三様なのだがそれに波長を合わせて送りこむことで反発に均衡が保たれる瞬間がある
[11] 「アリスはなんでもできるな」
2.4 A Decent Level of Talent>