SRC 20

Chapter 20

While I was thinking about how to ask Noah questions, the school day ended before I realized it, and I headed to the second-year building backyard as promised.
Perhaps because it was used as a student rest area, groups of students were gathered here and there.
Noah was sitting next to the fountain, which stood out the most.
Students passing by would glance at him and whisper among themselves.
I guessed they were probably talking about how Noah was young yet already a second-year student and the heir to the Magic Tower.
But none of them actually approached him to speak.
It seemed neither Liam nor Noah had many friends.

“Did you wait?”
I approached Noah and greeted him cheerfully.
A playful smile, usual for him, appeared on Noah’s previously expressionless face.

“Welcome! You kept Noah waiting, impressive!”
“I ran here as soon as homeroom ended.”
“If you’re a student, you should get here faster than me.”
“Since you started from the second-year building and I started from the first-year building, there’s bound to be a speed difference.”

I said it somewhat resentfully, but Noah didn’t accept my excuse.
“As punishment, run a lap around the backyard.”
“Here? The whole backyard?”
“Yes.”
“You’re joking, right?”
“Don’t you want to learn from me?”

I was the one who felt disappointed.
I needed both advanced practice and a chance to talk with Noah.

I clenched my teeth and ran a large lap around the backyard as instructed.
Since I usually didn’t exercise, I felt like I was going to die from exhaustion.

“D-done running… Huff…”
“How can you learn magic with such weak stamina?”
“Does magic have anything to do with physical strength?”
“It does. Magic requires mental strength, and mental strength comes from physical strength.”

I subtly looked Noah up and down.
“You don’t look that strong, though.”
“Want to test it?”

Noah rolled up his sleeves and extended his hand to me.
I wasn’t sure what he wanted, but I reached out anyway.
He grabbed my arm firmly and pulled me, making me stumble and fall into his chest.
Noah smelled fresh, like a field of grass.

“How is it?”
“You’re… strong.”

Whispering into my ear, his voice sounded surprisingly mature.
So… magic really does require physical strength.

I covered my ticklish ear and straightened up.
“From now on, train your stamina too.”

Noah smiled as usual and hid his hand back in his sleeve.
What had that just been?
No matter how cute he looked, is this what it means to be a male lead candidate?

“Okay, I’ll work hard.”
I nodded earnestly at Noah.

“You’re really kind, Olivia.”
Noah reached out and patted my head.
I had no choice but to accept it, having just realized his strength.

“Then shall we start by gathering your power?”
I held out my wrist with my palm up, as Noah had instructed before.
He placed his hand over mine.

“Feel the flow of mana in your body.”
As he stroked my wrist, I felt something moving inside me, gathering into my wrist, and a faint light appeared.
So this is the mana I had learned about in theory.

It amazed me again that I could do magic.
But since my strength was weak, the light faded quickly.

“Now try shaping the light into a round sphere.”
“Okay.”

I had practiced turning magic on and off enough in class to do it by myself.
The problem was controlling it.

I took a deep breath and focused, but I couldn’t feel the movement in my body as before.
After struggling for a while, Noah sighed and gently stroked my wrist.
The light appeared again, forming a round sphere.

“It seems hard without my help. Is there another way?”
I asked for a shortcut, hoping to do it quickly, but Noah shook his head firmly.

“You have to feel it yourself. Just move according to what you feel inside.”

Easier said than done.
I thought Noah could say that because he had been a natural genius since birth.

“Really. You can do it.”
Noticing my doubtful glance, he added that.

I continued trying alone for a while, but nothing happened except the wrist glowing and me making frustrated noises.
As time passed, my focus slipped, and I found myself thinking about asking Noah something else rather than magic.

“Focus.”
Noah scolded sharply, sensing my wandering mind.

Taking this chance, I finally asked the question I had been holding back.
“But Noah, you said your sister also uses light magic, right?”
“Yes, Emma’s specialty is light magic too.”
“How good is she?”

Noah seemed to ponder, recalling his sister.
I studied his expression closely.
I had brought this topic up deliberately to observe Noah talking about her.

“Emma… seems natural at it. She just does it and it works.”
As expected of the heroine sister.
Her skills were unmatched anywhere.

“What do you think of her? Does she seem talented?”
“Pretty good? She could probably work at the Magic Tower if she wanted.”

Does that mean Noah would be her superior?

“Is she talented enough to work at the Magic Tower?”
“Good enough to enter a high position if she wanted?”

I knew she was talented, but not to that extent.
At least I understood that Noah’s evaluation of his sister was objectively positive.

I asked lightly, almost casually.
“Do you want to work with her?”

Noah’s eyes focused on me directly.
This was the first time we were making such direct eye contact, and I felt a little nervous.
His smile disappeared.

“If you do?”
“What?”

Noah’s sudden seriousness surprised me more than him.
“If you want to work with your sister… why?”
“Huh? Then what do you think of her?”

Noah hesitated briefly.
Then his serious expression softened, and he smiled as usual.

“Emma is special. She’s my first friend at the academy!”

What was that expression just now?
Was it just a fleeting illusion?
I checked his face, but the serious look was gone.

“First friend…?”
“Yes. And a good friend. I hope we can stay together even after graduating the academy. Ideally, I want to recruit her to the Magic Tower!”

It seemed Noah meant that he wanted to work with her because he valued her skills, not out of romantic feelings.
As the next heir of the Magic Tower, he was already making such judgments.
Unlike Liam, Noah’s feelings toward his sister seemed purely friendly.

What am I supposed to do?
Is my role really to make everyone move from friends to lovers while being aware of my sister?
I had thought many events had already happened between my sister and the male leads in first year, but the results were completely unexpected.
How could such strong friendship alone form?

Noticing my troubled expression, Noah lightly flicked my forehead.

“Ah.”
“Don’t think like that now, just focus.”
“Okay, okay.”

I tried to calm my confused mind and feel the strength Noah was showing me.
Even after all this time, I couldn’t do it by myself.
I let out a deep sigh without realizing it.

“Let’s take a bit more time. We’ll try again next time.”
I was half giving up, but Noah did not.
Even during elemental magic practice, I couldn’t use magic properly without his help, which was frustrating.

Noah kept teaching theory and advancing progress, but I remained stuck.

“Maybe I just don’t have talent…”
Was it because I wasn’t born a protagonist with innate talent?
I felt gloomy thinking maybe it was all wrong from the start.

“No, you have talent. If you don’t give up, the way will open soon.”

Noah was truly a talented teacher.
He didn’t let me give up when I almost did.

“Okay, I’ll try my best.”