Magic Lesson (Lucien Arc)

As a result, there was no seafood for dinner.

Apparently, it takes at least three hours by carriage to get from the port town to the ducal capital, and since ice-making machines have not yet become widespread, transporting seafood all the way there is difficult. It seems their thinking is that although it would probably be fine in the current season, there is no need to go out of their way to eat something risky.

That's true, but...! Ice-making machines need to be made available as soon as possible. Commoners can't afford to buy them, so the ducal family would probably have to purchase them and lend them out. Then we'd need people to watch over them so they wouldn't be stolen, as well as people who could imbue them with mana if they were used frequently...

That sounds like quite a lot of work.

There was also the question of whether we could even make that many. I don't know how much magic iron or how many magic stones are available. Is there enough to make them available to commoners as well?

There are a lot of problems to solve.

Well, for now, let's go to the port town and enjoy some seafood!

There was no seafood, but dinner was still delicious. After dinner, we turned in early, since we were probably tired from the journey.

When I lay down on the bed in my room, I fell asleep almost immediately.

"Good morning, Leon-sama."

Hmm... Roger was waking me up. But I was still sleepy.

"Leon-sama, weren't you supposed to teach Lucien-sama magic today? You need to get up soon, or you won't make it in time."

"Yeah, I'm getting up..."

Right. I was supposed to teach Lucien magic today. I couldn't be late.

All right! Time to get up. I sat up in bed and gave a long stretch.

"Good morning, Roger."

"Good morning. I have a message from Lucien-sama's attendant. Apparently, Lucien-sama is very much looking forward to having you teach him magic today, and would like you to come as soon as you are ready, preferably earlier than scheduled."

"Really? Then I should hurry quite a bit, right?"

"Yes. Apparently, Lucien-sama has already finished breakfast."

Isn't that too early? Wait, does that mean he's already waiting for me!? Waiting is one thing, but I couldn't make him wait for me.

I had to hurry!

"Roger, have breakfast prepared right away. I'll get dressed in the meantime."

"Certainly."

And so I got ready more quickly than I ever had before.

I'm kind of tired already, and it's only morning.

"Leon-sama has arrived."

Roger knocked on the door to Lucien-sama's room and announced my arrival. It would have been better to practice magic outside, but Lucien had summoned me to his room.

When the door opened and I entered, Lucien was sitting on the sofa, waiting for me with his golden eyes shining brightly.

My first impression of him had been that he was sharp and dependable, but judging from how he had acted in the reception room yesterday and how he was acting now, his true nature seemed to be quite curious. Well, he was only nine.

"Good morning, Lucien-sama."

"Good morning, Leon. Have a seat."

"Excuse me."

"Everyone, once you've prepared tea for Leon, could you all leave?"

At Lucien-sama's words, the servants efficiently prepared the tea and withdrew. The guards also left without a fuss.

I might actually be trusted quite a bit. Or rather, the ducal family's servants really were on another level.

"Leon, you're going to teach me magic today, right?"

"Yes. You have the fire attribute, right? How much magic power do you have?"

"Leon, we're the same age, so you don't have to be so formal with me! Since you're my first friend, I want us to get to know each other better."

He said it again... Just like Martine-sama, did Lucien-sama really understand that I was a commoner?

"But I'm a commoner..."

"That has nothing to do with it! Of course you need to speak formally in public or when other people are present, but when it's just the two of us, this is fine, isn't it?"

This was one of those times when refusing was pointless. He wasn't going to take no for an answer.

Well, it was probably fine when we were alone. The problem was that I might get used to speaking casually and accidentally let my speech slip when other people were around. I had to be careful.

"Then I'll do that when it's just the two of us."

"Thank you! Call me Lucien."

"All right. I look forward to being friends, Lucien."

When I said that, Lucien's face lit up with genuine delight. If it made him this happy, then I was glad.

"So, will you teach me magic? My magic power is four. Will that be all right?"

"Yeah, your magic power doesn't matter when it comes to learning magic. I just wanted to check how much magic you could use before running out of mana."

I had been told to wait until after graduating from the Royal School before teaching magic, but I'd been given an exception for people who knew about every attribute.

"That's good. Since it's fire magic, outside would be better, right? There's a magic practice area."

"Then let's go there."

Lucien and I went to the magic practice area outside. It was behind the residence, in an open space where rocks and targets had been set up.

Lucien's attendant and guards, along with Roger, were standing some distance away. They were far enough away that they couldn't hear our conversation.

"When you use magic, you visualize something, right? What do you visualize?"

"I imagine fire."

"So when you use fire magic, you visualize flames?"

"That's right."

"Then I want you to add the image I'm about to explain to your current one."

I explained air and oxygen all over again. I had wondered how sharp Lucien was since he seemed to like swordsmanship, but he understood things remarkably quickly.

He was flexible in his thinking and had a good memory. With his strong swordsmanship and intelligence, he would probably be incredibly popular once he went to the Royal School.

"Leon, I think I understand, more or less. Can I try it?"

"Yeah. Use magic with the image I just explained and try hitting that rock with a Fireball."

"All right. 'Fireball.'"

Wow! It was pretty fast. Lucien might be talented at magic as well.

"How was that? I think I used less mana than usual."

"Leon! This is amazing! I used less than half as much mana as before."

"I'm glad to hear it."

I was glad it worked. Relieved, I relaxed a little.

"Then don't forget that image. If you can call it to mind immediately, you should be able to use it in an emergency as well."

"Got it! Thanks, Leon."

"It's nothing. We're friends, aren't we?"

When I said that, Lucien looked incredibly happy. Since he was the lord's son, he probably couldn't make friends in the territory, after all.

"Yeah!"

"Well, shall we finish up and head back?"

"Hmm, before that, could you show me some of your magic, Leon?"

"My magic? I showed it to you yesterday..."

"Yesterday wasn't an attack spell, though. Could you show me an attack spell?"

"I suppose that's fine... Would a Fireball do?"

"Hmm, you can use magic of every attribute, right? Can't you combine them into one spell?"

Oh no... I could, but it was far too powerful. Would he be frightened if I showed it to him?

"Um... I can't."

I denied it, but I must have let my gaze wander slightly, because it was obvious to Lucien that I was lying. He gave me a skeptical look.

"Leon, lying is bad."

"Ugh... It's just too powerful."

"Then just reduce its power."

Well, he had a point. The only people watching were Roger, Lucien's attendant, and his guards, so there shouldn't be any problem with showing him every attribute.

The attendants and guards of the others had already realized that I could use every attribute when we first met, so apparently the household staff serving the ducal family had been informed too.

"Then I'll try a spell called Fire Bullet. It's an arrowhead made with earth magic, wreathed in fire magic."

"What is that? It sounds incredibly cool!"

"I think so too."

I was a little happy to be complimented. Until now, I had only practiced in the forest. Besides, I had recently been practicing healing magic almost exclusively, so I hadn't used these spells in a while. It felt good to use them again.

Hmm, how much mana would give it only a small amount of power? I should be fine if I used about the same amount of mana as last time. That time, it had only embedded itself in a rock.

I casually called out Fire Bullet as I cast the spell, simply because it looked cooler that way.

'Fire Bullet'

The Fire Bullet I launched flew toward the rock at tremendous speed and blew it to pieces.

Oh no!! I instantly realized what was happening and created a Wall in front of us, packing it with enough mana to make it sturdy.

BOOM...

There was a tremendous noise, and then silence descended.

Oh no... Why had it become so powerful? I was sure I had imbued it with about the same amount of mana as before. Could my magic power have increased so much that I could no longer control it precisely?

Healing magic used a fair amount of mana, so it hadn't required delicate control.

Ugh... I really messed up.

When I looked around, I saw that the ground around us had sunk where I had created the Wall, and small fragments of rock were scattered everywhere.

The servants in the distance appeared to be standing there in a daze.

When I glanced over, Lucien was standing there with his mouth hanging open in shock.

How was I supposed to deal with this situation?

Someone help me!