Fia was stunned again.
In the sea of colorful elements, Claire stood out like an anomaly.
Every element that got close to her would be transformed into a silver glow, and these silver lights floated around Claire like glowing sprites in the night.
Fia had seen this scene before, the first time she met Claire.
Back then, Claire stood in the courtyard at night, her silver hair illuminated by the floating orbs, her fair skin glowing with a holy, translucent light, like a moonlit fairy.
But after that, Fia never saw those silver orbs around Claire again, to the point where she thought she must have imagined it.
Now, with the help of “Mana Vision,” Fia finally understood what those orbs really were.
Those orbs she saw back then were the embodiment of elements.
Seeing Claire bathed in silver moonlight again, Fia momentarily forgot what she was supposed to be doing.
It felt different from the first time she saw Claire.
If the first time was just admiration, now there was something else—something warmer and harder to describe.
It was something you could only feel, not put into words.
“Wh-what is it? Is there something on my face?” Claire shifted a little, self-conscious under Fia’s gaze, thinking she had something on her face.
“Ah, it’s nothing.
I just realized now that there are always those silver orbs around you.” Snapping out of her daze, Fia awkwardly rubbed her nose.
“I’ve learned ‘Mana Vision.'”
“Huh? Fia, you can see the elements around me?” Instead of acting like it was normal, Claire looked shocked, her green eyes wide.
“No one but me has ever seen the elements around me.
I thought I was the only one who could see them.”
Actually, I saw them even before I learned “Mana Vision.”
Fia answered quietly in her heart.
Claire looked like she didn’t know what to say.
“Fia, you aren’t some mysterious person like me, are you? You can resist my curse and see the elements around me.
That’s not something ‘Mana Vision’ can do.”
No, no, I’m from another world.
There’s no way I’m the same as Claire.
Just as Fia was struggling to answer, Claire changed the subject herself, as if her earlier words were just a joke.
“Let’s try ‘Torrent’ again.”
“Okay.”
Fia took out the magic crystal containing “Torrent” and poured mana into it.
A stream of water as thick as her arm shot out, but it only traveled less than ten meters before losing strength and falling to the ground, the whole thing lasting less than five seconds.
Other than making water to drink when you’re thirsty, Fia couldn’t imagine what use this spell had.
No wonder it only sold for one silver coin.
“So? Can you use it directly?” Instead of complaining about the spell’s effect, Claire was more concerned about whether Fia had learned it.
Her beautiful face and the scent of herbs drifting over made Fia look away in embarrassment.
“Let me see… Yeah, I got it.”
Claire pulled her face back and pointed her chin at the far wall.
“Try using it.
Remember to use Sea of Illusions’ Cloud Moon.”
“Okay—wait, what?” Fia yelped in surprise.
Because just as she raised Cloud Moon, Claire hugged her lightly from behind.
Well, “hugged” wasn’t quite right.
More accurately, she took the posture of a teacher, lifting Fia’s arm from behind.
Since Fia was holding Cloud Moon in her right hand, Claire supported her right arm, almost touching the mana surge at the back of her wrist.
The height difference made Fia feel something soft pressing against the back of her neck, and the warmth and the girl’s scent made her too nervous to move.
She could only whisper a reminder.
“Claire, are you—”
“This way I can better sense the flow of mana in your body.
Little Fia, when you use magic, you don’t communicate with the elements at all.
I’ve never seen anyone like that.”
She’s way too close.
Fia couldn’t even focus on what Claire was saying.
All her senses were tuned to the information coming from Claire.
Warm breath brushed her earlobe, the tingle of fabric against skin, the itch of silver hair brushing her cheek, the faint sound of Claire’s breathing, and the stronger scent of herbs.
All these girlish details mixed together, making it impossible for Fia to concentrate on casting the spell.
She even felt that if she turned her head just a little, her cheek would bump right into Claire’s.
Of course, if Fia could see Claire’s face, maybe she’d regain some composure.
In fact, Claire’s face was a little red too, but since she was behind Fia, she didn’t have to worry about being seen.
“Alright, go ahead and use the spell.”
Her gentle voice sounded right by Fia’s ear, and the warm breath on her earlobe made Fia grateful that casting spells didn’t require much focus—otherwise, she wouldn’t be able to do it at all right now.
Claire was just like a demon from a romance story, deliberately tempting her.
Taking a deep breath and ignoring the wonderful sensations from behind, Fia used “Torrent” as the information in her mind instructed.
In an instant, a massive water jet over two meters wide blasted out in the underground training ground, shooting like a furious dragon and slamming into the wall.
The recoil almost made Fia stumble back into Claire’s arms.
She felt like if she aimed it at the ground, she might actually fly—and if she did it from a carriage, she could probably make a water-powered vehicle.
Fia looked up at Claire’s beautiful face.
Claire had already let go of her hand, her expression complicated.
“Still can’t sense any communication between your mana and the elements.
And honestly, Fia, I’m starting to think you’re not a genius, but some kind of chosen one.
If I hadn’t seen it myself, I’d never believe that was ‘Torrent.’ That was second-tier magic power.
‘Torrent’ shouldn’t be able to do that, no matter what.”
Claire sighed, realizing that marveling at it wouldn’t help.
“Well, as long as you can cast magic normally, it doesn’t matter if your process is different.
I thought it would take hours, but it was all done in less than fifteen minutes.”
As Claire stepped back, the wonderful feeling of her body pressed against Fia’s back disappeared, leaving Fia a little disappointed.
“So, do you want to learn ‘Enchanted Blade’ next, or go upstairs and get something to eat?” Even though it was a question, there was no real choice.
Both Fia and Claire had only eaten breakfast, and it was already afternoon.
To use “Enchanted Blade,” you needed to chant, so you had to learn the magic language and how to recite it with the right rhythm and tone.
Compared to that, filling their stomachs was obviously more important.
Not to mention, since coming to this world, Fia hadn’t tried any of the local street food.
Of course, the most important thing was that you could learn magic anytime, but time with Claire wasn’t always available.
Sharing a meal with Claire was definitely a must for any date.
Fia couldn’t help but imagine what it would be like to go on a date with the heroine in a bishoujo game.
“Let’s go eat first.”
Lifting her head, Fia showed an innocent, childlike smile.
