Kiyotaka woke up in a bed in a room he did not recognise, dressed in new clothes.
Kiyotaka: (Did I sleep that deeply? They changed me while I was asleep as well? It looks like Emilia healed my injuries.)
He looked around.
Kiyotaka: (This room is quite nice.)
He got up as he stretched his limbs.
Kiyotaka: (Well, let's see about this place.)
Kiyotaka walked over to the door, opening it as he walked through the halls.
Kiyotaka: (This must be a mansion.)
Kiyotaka then realised it upon seeing a painting.
Kiyotaka: (Hm? I'm trapped?)
He walked around a bit more.
Kiyotaka: (It's looping over and over again.)
Kiyotaka sighed, considering his situation.
Kiyotaka: (Is this some kind of precaution to prevent me from snooping around? I doubt it. With what kind of person Emilia is, she'd tell me beforehand. Or was it decided by other people when we made it here?)
Kiyotaka then looked at the door to his right.
Kiyotaka: (Well, let's see what happens if I try to change things up. If it's the same, I'll return to my room and wait for them. If it's different, I'll know something else is going on.)
He opened the door as a little girl with blond hair in twin drills was sitting on a chair in front of the door, as she was reading a book.
???: [What a profoundly aggravating man you are, I suppose.]
Kiyotaka: (Have I broken the loop?)
He looked around.
Kiyotaka: [A library, huh? Are you the librarian?]
???: [Betty does not have to answer any questions you ask, I suppose.]
Kiyotaka: [Fair enough. I'm guessing you're referring to yourself in the third person?]
???: [Even though your presence is aggravating, you would be correct, I suppose.]
Kiyotaka nodded.
Kiyotaka: [It seems I've bothered you. Should I leave?]
Betty: [You should know the answer already, I suppose.]
Kiyotaka sighed.
Kiyotaka: (Then why is there such a dead look deep in your eyes? Like you're alone and wanting companionship.)
Kiyotaka: [Are there any rules to this library while I'm here?]
Betty: [Do not talk to Betty, I suppose. Human.]
Kiyotaka inspected her with curiosity in his eyes.
Kiyotaka: (Hm? She's not human, huh? Must be a spirit. Interesting. So they can be similar to humans as well.)
Betty's eyes widened a little, and she looked intently at Kiyotaka as if his gaze was familiar to her.
Betty: [You're looking at me with much curiosity, Human.]
Kiyotaka: [Well, there are a lot of things I'm curious about right now.]
Betty: [That look is greedy for knowledge, I suppose.]
Kiyotaka: [Greedy? Hm... I guess I am a bit of a greedy person. I can't really help it, though. Is it allowed for me to read these books?]
Betty: [Are you...『That Person?』]
Kiyotaka: [『That Person?』I'm not sure what you mean.]
Betty shook her head.
Betty: [No. Betty was mistaken. You could not be 『That Person』.]
Betty got up and walked towards Kiyotaka and stood in front of him.
Kiyotaka: [Hm? What is with that face? Did I offend you somehow?]
Betty's eyes sharpened.
Kiyotaka: [I should really be going.]
Betty: [Don't you dare move, I suppose.]
Kiyotaka: (Why is there some disappointment in her eyes? Is she waiting for『That Person?』It looks like she's been waiting for『That Person』for an incomprehensible amount of time. Who is『That Person』, though? It doesn't sound like she knows them. If so, then why wait for them that long?)
Betty held her hand out, touching his chest.
Kiyotaka: (Given the aggression in her eyes, this is likely going to be painful.)
A sharp and agonising pain flowed through his body like electricity and fire as he fell to the floor. He didn't show pain on his face, but his consciousness was fading.
Kiyotaka: (Ugh damn it...)
Betty: [Well, I can confirm you aren't an enemy, but I didn't expect you to go down so quickly, I suppose.]
Kiyotaka: (So... quickly?)
※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※
Kiyotaka woke up to the same ceiling as before.
Kiyotaka: (I didn't die again, did I? No. There's less light out than before. It's likely that whatever she did to me knocked me out.)
Kiyotaka got up slowly when he saw two maids, one with blue hair and another with pink hair.
???: [Oh, he has awakened, Sister.]
???: [Indeed, he's awakened, Rem.]
Kiyotaka: (Maids huh? Hm... makes me remember when we ran a maid cafe for the cultural...)
Kiyotaka sighed.
Kiyotaka: (That life is behind me now. It's unlikely I'll ever be able to return to it, so I must sever those attachments slowly...)
His mind shifted to Ichika.
Kiyotaka: (There's no way I could sever that attachment. Not only because it's irresponsible, but because I don't want to.)
Kiyotaka sighed again.
Kiyotaka: (But at this point it's just clutter in my mind that will slow me down...)
Kiyotaka paused his thoughts, contemplating them and thinking about what he wanted.
Kiyotaka: (... I guess a little clutter is fine, especially since I don't want ever to let go of those memories.)
Rem: [Our guest seems bothered about something, Sister.]
???: [Indeed, it seems that way, Rem.]
Kiyotaka: [It's really nothing. I was just thinking about something for a second.]
Emilia knocked on the open door as she looked in.
Emilia: [Good morning, Kiyotaka.]
Kiyotaka: [Oh yes. Good morning, Emilia.]
Emilia bowed her head.
Emilia: [I'm truly sorry about Lady Beatrice. She didn't mean for this to happen.]
Kiyotaka: [What was it that she even did?]
Puck floated out of his gem.
Puck: [She absorbed your Mana, but since you have such a low capacity, you fainted right away.]
Kiyotaka: [I have low mana capacity?]
Kiyotaka: (I'm surprised I even have Mana.)
Puck: [Yes, you do. Most of the time, that happens because the body is damaged in the person's early years as a child.]
Emilia: [Kiyotaka...]
Kiyotaka: (Hey now. Don't reveal my past so casually.)
Kiyotaka: [I suppose that must be the case then.]
Emilia: [Are you okay? That doesn't sound like a very good thing. And when I was healing you, I noticed. You have scars all over your body.]
Kiyotaka: [I was just a very unlucky child.]
Emilia: [Unlucky... are you sure you're okay?]
Kiyotaka: [I'm fine. It doesn't bother me that much anymore.]
Emilia relented as Puck smiled.
Puck: [Tell me, Kiyotaka, have you ever used Magic before?]
Kiyotaka: [Not once in my life.]
Puck: [I see.]
Kiyotaka: [Can you explain magic to me a bit more? If that's okay?]
Kiyotaka: (Learning magic will definitely be useful to me later on.)
Puck: [Sure sure. But your body isn't in a great condition, so try to rest for now. We'll go out into the yard later today.]
Kiyotaka nodded.
Kiyotaka: [Alright. I'll take some rest.]
Kiyotaka closed his eyes, falling asleep.
※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※
Kiyotaka stretched his limbs, performing some basic callisthenics as Emilia looked curiously.
Emilia: [What are you doing?]
Kiyotaka: [It's an exercise I do every morning. It's good for your flexibility and for your blood circulation.]
Emilia: [Blood circulation? That sounds reaaally scary.]
She seemed to be imagining circulation as something scary, like losing your blood from being bled out.
Kiyotaka: [Hm? Not really. It's basically how well your blood moves through your body. The better it does, the less tired you'll feel. You'll be able to improve your stamina a bit by doing this every day.]
Kiyotaka: (Of course, there might be more effective ways to do that in this world, but this is all I know.)
Emilia: [Hm? But why would it?]
Kiyotaka: (Well, I did know I would have to explain it to her.)
Kiyotaka: [In the most basic way to say it, your blood gives strength to your muscles, so the better it flows, the easier it is for your muscles to gain that strength. It's actually a bit more complicated than that, but it's a bit much to tell someone who has no idea about the topic.]
Emilia: [Oh...]
Emilia began copying Kiyotaka's movements as best as she could as they finished.
Puck: [So. Are you ready to learn?]
Kiyotaka nodded.
Kiyotaka: [I'm ready to learn.]
Puck: [So basically, there is mana inside your body, and when you channel it through a gate, it becomes magic. There are a few important steps. 1. Gather your mana. 2. Visualise the spell you're using. 3. Ready your gate. 4. Use the incantation.]
Kiyotaka: [That's quite simple. How do I figure out what kind of magic I'm capable of?]
Puck: [You've got pretty much 0 chance of becoming a mage.]
Kiyotaka: [I see.]
Kiyotaka: (That makes sense. I apparently have a very low amount of Mana. Based on my experiences in the White Room, which caused my body to be damaged when I was young, probably less than the average civilian. That's quite a handicap.)
Puck: [But... you have a really good chance at being a great Spirit Arts User.]
Kiyotaka: [Spirit arts huh?]
Puck: [Yup. Instead of your body, you should draw mana from your surroundings.]
Kiyotaka: [So I should draw mana from my surroundings?]
Puck: [That's right. Now let me see about your affinity.]
Puck extended his tail with the tip touching Kiyotaka's forehead as he started making a mewing sound.
Puck: [Alright. I know your affinity now. Earth Magic... Fire Magic and Yang Magic!? Woah.]
Emilia: [He has three affinities? That's reaaally amazing.]
Kiyotaka: [It is?]
Puck: [Yeah, I've got three as well.]
Kiyotaka: [I see. So what does Yang Magic entail exactly?]
Puck: [It lets you use light-based attacks and also lets you increase your physical abilities and restore the quality of certain items, though I can't guarantee that you'll be able to do all of these things. It varies from user to user.]
Kiyotaka: (I severely need something that I can use for physical enhancement. Let's hope that ability is within my capability.)
Puck: [Usually, Yang magic is performed by creating magic circles on the ground.]
Kiyotaka: [Can you teach me?]
Puck: [Um... well, the thing is. Two of my affinities are Yin magic and Water magic. My other affinity is fire magic, but the thing is, well, your fire magic is different to mine.]
Kiyotaka: [Fire magic? Is it rather an ability to manipulate temperature?]
Puck nodded.
Puck: [Lia and I decrease the temperature to create Ice, but your magic seems to be focused on increasing temperature.]
Kiyotaka nodded, understanding.
Puck: [Still, the basic rules still apply, so while I might not be the best teacher for you, I can still help you with the basics.]
Kiyotaka nodded as Puck landed on his head.
Puck: [Based on your affinity, you can learn spells from 3 different attributes, but you have the highest affinity for Earth magic, so let's try that.]
Kiyotaka: [Alright.]
Puck: [Focus on feeling the mana around you gather towards you like little particles of light. Imagine a sphere in your body. That's your gate. Then focus the mana into the gate and then back out and shout Dona!]
Kiyotaka followed his instructions.
Kiyotaka: [Dona!]
A stone shard floated beside him, but it crumbled only a few seconds later.
Kiyotaka: [Hm...]
Puck: [That's not bad, but you're putting too much detail into the image in your head, and that's getting in the way of the essence of what you're trying to make. Sure, making it detailed will be useful later on if you want to tweak the spell to hit with more force, but you're way too inexperienced to add detail to the formation of spells as of now.]
Kiyotaka tried to blur the image in his head, but when that failed, he imagined a basic outline of the object.
Kiyotaka: [Dona!]
A shard of stone appeared and fired into the ground, sticking there.
Puck: [Woah! You picked that up really quickly!]
Kiyotaka: [Is it meant to not shatter on impact?]
Puck: [Well, usually it will shatter, but your one's pretty dense, so it won't break easily. It'll do more damage, but it costs more mana. Personally, I think making it sharper and less dense is better since you can fire off more attacks.]
Kiyotaka held out his hand.
Kiyotaka: [I wonder if...]
Kiyotaka focused on something.
Kiyotaka: [Dona.]
A stone was generated in his hand, taking the form of a sword. Unfortunately, it crumbled before Kiyotaka could even try to swing it.
Kiyotaka: [Looks like that kind of spell is out of my league for now.]
Puck: [That was creative, but again, a bit too complex for a beginner like you. Plus, a sword is even more complicated than that shard you tried to make the first time.]
Kiyotaka: [It felt like there was a certain thing that blocked me from creating it too.]
Puck: [That's easy. Every spell has a different incantation. Even if it's Earth magic, it's a lot different from typical Earth magic, so it needs a specific name, or your mana will confuse it for a different spell.]
Kiyotaka: [Is that so?]
Puck: [Yeah. Dona is a technique for basic constructs. It's not well suited to complicated constructs.]
Kiyotaka nodded, understanding the concept as he lifted his hand.
Kiyotaka: [Dona!]
A pillar of earth raised up.
Emilia: [Is this reaaally your first time using magic, Kiyotaka?]
Kiyotaka: [Um, yes, it is.]
Puck: [Looks like we ran into a really talented person, huh, Lia?]
Emilia smiled and nodded.
Kiyotaka: (Nope, most of this is just me thinking logically and fixing my mistakes. If anything in terms of talent, I'm probably average.)
Rem and Ram then walked over.
Emilia: [Oh? What brings you two here?]
Rem and Ram: [Emilia-Sama. Our lord Roswaal-Sama, has returned.]
Kiyotaka: (Another important person, huh? Perhaps a similar station to Emilia, I do wonder about how high up she is in the hierarchy of this country. At the very least, she's a noble, but she's a half-elf, so it seems strange to me that she has any pull in this country, considering their opinions. Is there a special reason for that? Wait... is this girl...)
Kiyotaka looked at Emilia.
Kiyotaka: (Could it be that I really got myself involved with someone that high up? Then Felt is likely as well...)
Kiyotaka followed Rem and Ram with Emilia as they walked towards the mansion.
Kiyotaka: (I guess I'll be meeting this Roswal person now. Let's see what type of person he is.)
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To Be Continued
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Rating Out Of 10 For This Part:
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