In the early afternoon, with the sun beginning to slant, I sat facing Elena.
“When will the magic teacher come?”
“She said she would come in the afternoon, so I expect she’ll be here soon.”
“I hope she comes quickly.”
Elena’s short legs swung beneath her chair. She seemed quite excited by the fact that she would be learning magic.
How much time had passed since then?
While we were chatting, a knock suddenly came at the door.
Elena’s eyes went wide, expectation spreading across her face.
“Is it the magic teacher?!”
“I will go and check.”
Leaving Elena behind, I stepped out of the room, and soon found someone standing before the door.
It was a girl with red hair, one who did not look particularly extraordinary.
“I am Luke, Lady Elena’s personal attendant.”
“I’m Sicily Gardner of the Marquisate of Gardner. I’ve come for Lady Elena’s magic lesson.”
The Marquisate of Gardner—I had once heard of them from Father. They were a family with territory not far from the ducal domain, a lineage of mages who had passed down magic for generations.
I had wondered how they had found a teacher so quickly; it seemed the duke had used his connections after all.
“Then please wait a moment.”
Saying so, I lightly knocked on the door.
“My lady, your magic teacher has arrived.”
“Come in!”
Elena’s voice was brimming with excitement. So much so that I wondered if she might come bursting out.
In any case, since permission had been given, I opened the door at once and entered with Sicily.
“Lady Elena, it is an honor to meet you. I am Sicily Gardner of the Marquisate of Gardner.”
“It is an honor to meet you as well, Miss Sicily.”
The two of them lightly grasped the hems of their skirts and exchanged courteous greetings. Not only Sicily, but Elena as well, had a certain elegance in her movements.
“I heard that you wished to learn magic, my lady.”
“Yes…! I want to become an amazing mage…!”
The moment the word magic came up, Elena’s eyes changed. They sparkled brightly, like those of a child out on a picnic.
Thanks to that, it became rather difficult to find any elegance in her…
But perhaps that was fine. This side of her seemed more fitting for her age.
“Then, before we begin our discussion in earnest, shall we do a simple test?”
“A test…?”
“To see whether you can become an amazing mage, my lady.”
“What if the test says I can’t become an amazing mage…?”
“Then it would be unfortunate, but there would be nothing we could do.”
Gulp.
Elena swallowed and sent a sidelong glance my way.
She was probably anxious. All the more so because she had been looking forward to this so much.
Of course, I knew. I knew that Elena had talent, and that her worries and fears would end up being needless.
It would have been nice if I could tell her that in words, but it did not seem like a situation where a mere attendant could speak up.
“It will be all right.”
With that meaning in mind, I slowly nodded.
Did it reach her properly? The trembling in her blue eyes gradually subsided.
“Are you all right, my lady?”
“Yes, I’m all right.”
“Then, just a moment…”
Sicily trailed off and brought her hand to her waist. A small bag hung there, and it seemed she was about to take something out of it.
What she soon drew from the bag was a transparent orb of quite considerable size.
Elena’s eyes went wide when she saw it.
“How did you put that inside when it’s bigger than the bag…?”
“Ah, this is a magic bag. Isn’t it fascinating?”
Perhaps pleased by Elena’s reaction, Sicily put the orb back into the bag and took it out again.
Even to me, the sight of the orb changing size as it pleased was fascinating.
It felt as though common sense itself was being uprooted.
“It’s so amazing…!”
“Then shall we do this? If you can become an amazing mage, my lady, I’ll give you a magic bag as a gift.”
“A-A magic bag…! I’ll do my best…!”
“It isn’t as though doing your best makes everything possible… Well, I suppose that doesn’t matter.”
Sicily folded a handkerchief and placed it on the table, then set the orb on top of it.
“Watch closely.”
As Sicily’s hand gently settled over the orb, red and blue energy bloomed within it.
“There are a total of six attributes in magic: fire, water, wind, earth, light, and lastly, darkness. Then what attributes do red and blue represent?”
“Fire and water…!”
“Correct. What appears in this orb is the talent a mage possesses. In other words, the talents I possess are the fire attribute and the water attribute. For reference, an ordinary mage only possesses one talent.”
“Then, Teacher, are you an amazing mage?”
“I wouldn’t say I’m amazing, but I suppose I can say I’m special. Even in my family, there are only a few people with two attributes.”
If even in a mage lineage, those with two attributes were rare, then it was practically the same as saying they almost never existed in other families. Talent tended to be strongly hereditary, after all.
But there were exceptions everywhere. I had no doubt that Elena would be one.
“Then this time, would you place your hand on the orb, my lady?”
Elena hesitantly stretched out her hand.
And the moment that hand touched it, the orb was dyed in brilliant light.
“Huh…? Hweh…?! Eeeeeek?!”
Sicily’s expression changed in succession, like a gradient—from bewilderment to surprise, and then to sheer astonishment.
Startled by her reaction, Elena shrank back as much as she could. In the process, her hand naturally came away, and the orb returned to its original appearance.
“M-My, my, my lady…! Shall we try that one more time? No, please do it just one more time…!”
“O-Okay…”
Though flustered, Elena placed her hand on the orb. Then, just as before, the orb began to shine brilliantly.
“I expected her to be impressive, but to think it would be beyond even that…”
Hadn’t Sicily said there were a total of six attributes in magic?
There were six colors visible in the orb now. In other words, Elena had talent in every attribute.
She had said that even in a mage lineage, talent in two attributes was rare, so there was no need to say just what level Elena’s talent was on.
“My lady…”
Sicily clasped both hands together and held them out to Elena. Resting atop them was the small bag.
“Please, will you become my disciple…? I will truly do my very best…!”
“W-Well…”
Elena hesitated, unable to answer easily. It did not seem to be because she disliked the idea, but simply because she was flustered.
However, perhaps that was not how it felt to Sicily.
“I-If this isn’t enough, then this as well…”
A bag, plus a wand.
A short wooden wand was added atop Sicily’s hands. I did not know exactly what it was, but it seemed to be an item that would help with magic.
At that moment, Elena sent a look my way. It was a gaze that strongly conveyed a plea for help.
I slowly nodded in response.
I could have watched a little longer and seen what other items Sicily would pull out, but considering Elena’s dignity, it was right to stop around here.
In any case, if she needed something, the duke’s connections and wealth could secure it easily enough.
“I’ll do it. I’ll become your disciple.”
“Thank you…! My disciple…!”
Someone like Elena was surely what people meant by a super subordinate. No, perhaps she was a super-super subordinate.
And so it seemed the situation would end with Elena becoming Sicily’s disciple…
Unfortunately, the arrow turned back toward me.
“Would the attendant like to try as well…?”
Sicily’s eyes were full of expectation. Since Elena had shown something so astonishing, she seemed to think that I, as her attendant, might have something too.
“Unlike my lady, I am an ordinary person.”
“You won’t know that unless you try, will you? Unless you’ve had your talent measured before at some point?”
“I have not, particularly…”
I knew without needing to try. It had been written in the original that Luke—in other words, I—had no talent for magic.
Thus I intended to refuse to the end, but unfortunately, Elena’s curiosity had been stirred.
“Luke, try it too…!”
“Yes, my lady.”
I could refuse Sicily, but I could not refuse Elena. She was the master I served, after all.
With an inward sigh, I approached the table. Then, with both their gazes focused on me, I placed my hand on the orb.
“Ah…”
A sigh escaped Sicily’s lips. Even though I had placed my hand on it, the orb remained transparent.
Had she understood the meaning of that sigh? Elena tightly grasped my hand.
“Luke, it’s all right…! You’re good at swordsmanship…!”
“You praise me too highly.”
That day, I made a vow. I would train my swordsmanship until the day I could make Sicily eat her pity.
* * * * *
Elena learned magic truly quickly.
“Luke, look at this…!”
A small flame bloomed above Elena’s palm.
According to Sicily, it would take a week to sense the mana within one’s body, and a month before using magic for the first time.
And yet Elena had done it in a mere fifteen days. She could only be called an unprecedented genius.
Our lady is amazing.
“When I watch you, my lady, it feels as though all my common sense is being shattered.”
Though she said that, Sicily also seemed happy to have become Elena’s teacher.
Well, being the teacher of Elena, a future great mage, would be more than enough to take pride in.
“Luke, you’re too slow stepping forward!”
While Elena was growing, I had not been idle either.
I was receiving training from Chrome, the captain of the First Knight Order.
Having been on the northern front until only recently, he demanded even bolder and more practical things from me.
There were still limits imposed by the body of a nine-year-old, but thanks to that, I was able to improve quickly.
In exchange, I was completely exhausted once training ended…
“Luke, Luke, I learned this today.”
Because Elena endlessly boasted about the things she had learned, I could not rest leisurely either. Though in the first place, the very thought of an attendant resting was a luxury.
“That is remarkable, my lady.”
“Right?! It’s amazing, isn’t it?”
They said praise could even make a whale dance. Whenever possible, I tried to praise Elena’s achievements.
If that became motivation and helped her develop further, it would help the future me as well.
Being the personal attendant of the master of a magic tower sounds a little more impressive than being the personal attendant of a duke’s daughter, doesn’t it?
And so time flowed and flowed, until one particular day.
“The duchess…?”
After finishing lunch and returning to the mansion, I saw the duchess coming out of Elena’s room.
When I stopped in place and bowed my head, the duchess clicked her tongue—tsk—as she passed by me.
I was not particularly offended. I was simply puzzled.
“What reason would someone who isn’t even on good terms with Elena have to come all the way here…”
Could it be…?
Feeling uneasy, I quickened my steps, and soon arrived before the firmly closed door.
When I held my breath and listened carefully, I heard the sound of sniffling from beyond the door.
Why was it that ominous premonitions never missed?
Sighing inwardly, I knocked on the door.
“It is Luke.”
“Come in…”
I immediately opened the door and entered, and there was Elena, sitting in a chair and sniffling. Her lips were jutting out like a duck’s, and the rims of her eyes were red.
“Luuuuuke.”
Elena hopped down from the chair and came pattering over to me. Then she spread both arms and hugged me tightly.
That was—uh, hmm, ah?
I was so flustered that I froze for a moment, then carefully patted her back.
“My lady, did something happen?”
“My stepmother scolded me…”
“What happened for you to be scolded?”
“I was playing around with magic and ruined a painting my stepmother liked…”
That was something worth getting scolded for, wasn’t it…?
Of course, I could not say that out loud. Not only did I not know how she had been scolded, I also had to be on Elena’s side no matter what.
“I was planning to start soon anyway, so perhaps this works out.”
The 1,529 plans for Elena and the duchess to become close. It was time to take the first step.
“Sniff!”
Ah, the snot is a bit…