SRC 4

Chapter 4

Elemental Magic class was held in a classroom tucked away in a corner of the building used by the second-years.

The teacher who occupied that classroom sat lazily at his desk, not even looking like he intended to stand up. He was even hugging a pillow, as if he might fall asleep at any moment.

“Now then, this is the assistant who’ll be helping you during Elemental Magic class from now on.”

Without even opening his eyes or properly introducing himself, the teacher pointed to a cute brown-haired boy standing beside him, his hair long and softly curled.

He was so small that one might mistake him for a first-year. His uniform was so oversized that his hands were completely hidden inside the sleeves.

“Hi! I’m Noah! Just call me Senior Noah!”

Even his voice was adorable.

Is he about my height?

He looked smaller than I’d expected.

From my seat in the back, I tried to get a better look at him between the heads of the other students.

“Eek, that’s Senior Noah Logan!”

Siana whispered in a small voice, careful not to let him hear.

“That person?”

“Yes! You could call him the genius mage of this era. He’s the heir to the Magic Tower.”

“That’s Noah Logan….”

No matter how generously I tried to look at him, he resembled nothing more than a large squirrel.

It was hard to believe that behind that cheerful face lay such overwhelming skill.

Well, someone of his caliber would be exactly the kind of person the teacher would appoint to teach in his place.

But more than his appearance or his abilities, something else shocked me even more.

Noah Logan… wasn’t he the second male lead candidate in Academy Love♡ ~Who Is the Male Lead??

Seeing him in a comic book and seeing him in real life were completely different experiences.

His overwhelming three-dimensional cuteness couldn’t be captured even a quarter as well in two dimensions.

“Anyone have questions~?”

Noah asked first, raising his own hand high in the air.

Following him, I was the first to raise mine.

“Senior, I’d like to hear about your first love!”

“Uh…?”

It might have sounded like a joke, but I was completely serious.

Just like how Liam had suddenly gone from being on bad terms with Sister Emma to becoming close friends, I was worried that Noah might also end up forming a different kind of relationship with her.

So I wanted reassurance that Noah’s first love was my sister.

Only then could I safely add him to the list of potential brothers-in-law.

Though he seemed flustered by the unexpected question, Noah soon broke into a deep smile.

“Noah is still pure!”

At his astonishing choice of words, I was momentarily speechless.

“Well? Does that answer your question?”

His eyes were smiling, but a chilling gaze pierced straight through me.

Hmm. Saying he was still “pure” didn’t mean he liked someone… nor did it mean he didn’t.

No matter how I tried to probe, it wasn’t easy to figure out Noah’s true feelings.

Well, it would be strange to go on and on about your first love to a junior you’d just met.

“…Yes, Senior. I’m sorry for asking something unnecessary. I look forward to learning from you.”

In the end, I lowered my tail and politely surrendered to Noah.

“Good. Then everyone, stretch your hands out in front of you so I can see your wrists.”

“We’re not opening our books?”

At that passionate student’s question, Noah promptly burned the book sitting on the podium.

“We don’t need books. Magic is something you feel!”

It sounded extreme, but it reminded me of something Sister Emma once told me.

“Olivia, you can’t try to memorize magic with your head. You have to understand it with your body.”
“But no matter how hard I try, I can’t use magic.”
“Once you truly understand it, you’ll be able to use it too.”

According to my sister, Noah didn’t seem to be saying anything absurd or wrong.

I closed the book I’d opened and set it aside.

The book had been quite expensive, so it hurt to think it would be useless from now on—but I agreed that magic should be learned through practice.

The other students glanced around before following my lead and closing their books as well.

“You’re pretty smart, huh? Then let’s see your ability first.”

After calling me out, Noah clasped his hands behind his back and slowly approached me.

Since I didn’t know how to use magic, I swallowed nervously.

“Alright. Your hand.”

Without resisting, I raised my wrist and held out my hand.

Instead of forcing me to use magic, Noah gently placed his own hand over my wrist.

As his palm brushed over my skin, a small flash of light flickered and vanished.

“Oh? Seems like you have good compatibility with light-based magic.”

“M-Me?”

I had never used any kind of magic before, so I had never even thought about compatibility.

“If you study light-related magic, you’ll see results quickly.”

“Are you saying I can use magic?”

“Of course. Noah has never been wrong, so you can trust me.”

I stared blankly at my wrist.

Was I someone with potential?

Until now, none of my tutors had even properly determined whether I had any talent.

But Noah had casually awakened mine.

As expected, a mage who was heir to the Magic Tower was on a completely different level.

Filled with awe, I kept glancing back and forth between Noah and my wrist.

He went around checking the magical affinities of the other students as well.

“Alright, now that Noah has checked everyone’s affinities, let’s try casting magic.”

“What? What about those of us who can’t?”

“Now that you know your strong field, try working at it.”

“How are we supposed to try…?”

“Figure it out.”

His answer was mercilessly cold.

But maybe… just maybe… I really could do it.

I wanted to believe his words—that I had talent for light magic.

So, just like Sister Emma and Noah had said, I tried to feel something.

I closed my eyes.

And I recalled the small light Noah had shown me.

When I cautiously opened my eyes, nothing had happened.

As time passed, some students seemed to grow disappointed; I could hear sighs here and there.

But I didn’t give up.

As I strained in concentration, I felt a cold touch again.

“Remember the sensation from earlier when Noah used his power. Something very special must have flowed through your body.”

Seeing that I hadn’t given up, Noah gave me another chance.

This time, instead of forcibly drawing out my energy with magic, it felt like he was recreating the earlier situation to help me draw it out myself.

Just as he said, I traced back the sensation that had flowed through my wrist when his hand touched me.

“O-Olivia.”

I heard Siana’s startled voice.

I tried to open my eyes, but they were blinded by brightness, so I squeezed them shut again.

“Ugh.”

“Success.”

Noah grabbed my wrist, blocking the radiant light pouring out.

The brightness instantly subsided, and I could see again.

“D-Did it work?”

“Yes, it did. For now, it seems you can only cast magic with assistance and don’t know how to extinguish it yet, but still.”

“W-Wow…”

Noah added something else, but just hearing that I had successfully cast magic made me tremble with joy.

I have talent for magic!

That alone was more than enough to make me excited.

“As expected, blood doesn’t lie. You’ve got talent for light magic just like her.”

Noah said it casually, but the words lodged clearly in my ears.

He was definitely talking about my sister.

So she had strong compatibility with light magic too.

Just as he said—perhaps the same blood truly did flow through us.

And his words carried another meaning for me.

They meant that, in some way, Noah was conscious of Sister Emma.

As the second male lead candidate, it would make sense if he knew quite a bit about her.

That’s probably why he recognized me so quickly as her younger sister—and why he knew her abilities well.

“You know my sister well?”

“I wouldn’t say ‘well.’ We just know each other.”

Noah drew a subtle line regarding his relationship with her.

I couldn’t tell whether that came from a lack of confidence in their relationship, or simply from a lack of interest.

He didn’t seem to think badly of her, but there was no clear affection either, which left me frustrated.

“I-I did it too!”

I wanted to ask more, but another student succeeded in casting magic, and Noah’s attention shifted to them.

It seemed it wouldn’t be easy to talk with him during class.

“Oh, well done! It’s all thanks to Noah. You know that, right, kids?”

For someone of Noah’s caliber, even self-praise was well deserved.

As class time drew to a close, Noah stood at the front and spoke.

“You’re still not skilled enough to control your magic properly, so there’s a risk of losing control. Don’t use magic recklessly. You’ve read the academy regulations, right? If you use magic without Noah, it could lead to a serious accident—so hold yourselves back until the next class, okay?”

He placed his index finger against his cheek and winked.

Only someone that cute could pull that off without seeming irritating.

“Yes!”

Wholeheartedly agreeing with Noah, I nodded enthusiastically.