The Boreas family's schedule didn't include a post-lunch nap.
After eating, most of the group walked with slightly unsteady steps—likely because the blood had rushed to their stomachs—except for Allen and Ghislane, who looked as steady as ever.
Normally, one would expect someone like Eris to be drowsy by now. Allen even expected her to sprint off around the next corner and curl up in the stables to sleep.
But she didn't.
Why?
Partly because eating together with "companions" was something Eris, who had grown up in isolation, rarely experienced. It was novel. She enjoyed it.
The young lady was in high spirits, walking energetically.
When one is immersed in the joy of being with others, with dopamine pumping, it's instinctive to avoid making decisions that would separate them from the group.
For Eris, that translated to having no urge to skip class and nap alone like she usually would.
Even if she didn't consciously understand that she was part of this group joy, her instincts had already decided for her.
Another reason was the offhand praise from Sauros earlier.
He was her top-ranked role model, proof of how much she adored her grandfather.
Now, with classroom learning associated with praise from him, it suddenly didn't feel so dreadful.
At least, not right now.
So, under Eris' enthusiastic lead, the group moved into the courtyard for the afternoon tutoring session.
Magic and swordplay.
Naturally, those should be taught outdoors, right?
That made perfect sense.
This change of plan threw off Rudy's idea of a classroom-style magic theory lesson, but seeing Eris so lively, he didn't feel flustered by the disruption—in fact, he felt relaxed.
Surely this magic lesson would go smoothly, right?
Wrong.
An hour later, reality slapped him in the face.
"May the great blessing of water descend upon the place you desire. Let the cool stream appear—Water Ball!"
In unison, Ghislane and Eris chanted.
Plop.
A tiny water ball, barely larger than a marble, popped out of Ghislane's palm and hit the grass, shattering into sparkling droplets.
Next to her?
Eris' outstretched palm was completely empty.
Too real.
Allen, Sylphy, and Rudy stared in silence.
This was her 53rd failed attempt at Water Ball.
Eris' good mood and eagerness to learn had naturally been ground down with every failure.
Rudy glanced at Eris' tense face, paused for a moment…
Then started clapping!
"Great job! Keep going, you're almost there! Eris, your arm muscles are twitching—try to stop focusing on them. You don't need to feel the mana flow; just relax your body..."
Eris clenched her hand into a fist, as if trying to crush her "failure."
She shot Rudy a glare, and her rage oozed out through gritted teeth.
At that moment, Rudy shrank back slightly. For a second, he thought he saw a fire-breathing red dragon before him—but blinked, and it vanished.
Still, the dragon had roared!
"Are you mocking me with that clapping?!"
Rudy was stunned. His encouragement technique had been inspired by Sauros earlier. Hearing Eris react like that, lashing out, made his temper flare—but he quickly breathed deep and calmly replied,
"No, not at all. Magic is tough to learn at first, but if you keep at it—"
"Why should I even learn magic?!"
Rudy rubbed his face.
Here we go again—classic rebellious-kid logic.
"Learning magic might not seem useful for a swordsman, but the process itself sharpens the mind—"
"I said, WHY should I learn magic! Not WHAT it can do!"
That left Rudy momentarily speechless.
"Uh... magic is fun? And casting it gives a sense of accomplishment?"
"Nope!"
"Uh... you like adventurers and dungeons, right? Maybe when you're one, you'll need magic—"
"I've got my sword! Ghislane doesn't know magic either! And she's an adventurer!"
Ghislane looked like she wanted to say something, but glanced at the damp grass and scratched her head helplessly.
Yeah... not in a great position to argue.
Seeing Ghislane's reaction, Eris' eyes lit up. She spun her finger around and pointed at Allen.
"Does Allen know magic?!"
That caught Rudy off guard—he honestly didn't know. In his memory, Allen had never shown any interest in magic. Even with the legendary Roxy nearby, Allen had remained focused solely on swordplay.
He really didn't know whether Allen could use magic or not.
And the person now caught in the spotlight—Allen—was equally baffled.
Could he use magic?
Nope. Not at all.
If not for Eris and Ghislane repeating the chant 53 times earlier, he would've messed up even the incantation.
He had tried once, back when he was younger, reciting a basic "blow spell" out of a beginner's book. It slightly increased his mana pool, but the recovery rate was so poor, it hindered his battle aura training. So he gave it up completely.
He truly never learned magic.
And seeing how Eris was rejecting magic, Allen realized something important: without the life-or-death kidnapping and that big firework moment from the original timeline, she lacked the motivation to want to learn.
Could Rudy just recreate that firework?
No. The original scene wasn't about the spell—it was about the emotion of that life-or-death experience.
A pretty spell alone wouldn't make her want to study magic now.
Allen fell into thought.
Meanwhile, Rudy couldn't hold back anymore and fired back at the unreasonable young lady.
"Why are you dragging Allen into this? Allen even knows Advanced Sword Techniques—do you?! I'm only teaching you magic because I'm your tutor, fulfilling Philip-dono's request. Are you going to disobey your father?"
"Huh? I'm not learning! Ghislane doesn't know magic either!"
"Ghislane is Ghislane! She doesn't need magic!"
"Allen doesn't either! I don't need it either!"
Rudy's cheek twitched. He growled through clenched teeth,
"Allen doesn't know magic? You don't even understand what a genius is! Just because he doesn't use it, doesn't mean he can't! He just doesn't bother learning!"
"Hah? Ghislane doesn't use magic either! You're lying!"
"Who's lying?!"
"You!"
"Me?! You?! Who said Allen can't use magic?!"
"I did!"
"Allen can TOTALLY use magic!!"
Allen twitched.
What the hell was this?!
This sounded like some dumb playground dad-bragging argument:
"My dad makes money!"
"My dad can fly!"
"My dad eats poop!"
He gulped.
Tch. I really can't use magic. Rudy, what the hell are you doing dragging me into this?!
He quickly opened his mouth to set the record straight.
"I—"
But then froze.
All four pairs of eyes—Eris, Sylphy, Ghislane, and Rudy—were staring at him intensely.
Allen was caught off guard.
Then the system popped up gleefully like a prankster.
[Current Phase: Private Tutor Arc | Cumulative Contribution Score: 44]
[In just two days, your 'presence' has been burned into the minds of Philip, Eris, Sauros, and Hilda.]
[It may seem you've run out of ways to raise your contribution, but is it really that hard?]
[You already planted the seeds during your youth. Didn't Sylphy and Rudy only ever learn magic together with Eris now because of your interference?]
[New Side Mission: Form the Protagonist Party Ahead of Schedule]
[Objective: Reignite Eris' interest in magic—not to teach her, but to deepen bonds among you, Rudy, Sylphy, and her.]
[Reward: Contribution +6]
[Timer: 10 minutes]
Allen stared at the screen in shock.
He hadn't even asked for a mission.
'You weren't around during the morning class! Now that something funny is happening, suddenly you show up?'
[Nonsense. I'm a serious system.]
'You're a person?'
[I'm your god.]
'Scram.'
[Ok.]
Mental chatter ended. Smoke vanished.
Allen was still trapped under the gazes of four expectant eyes.
He had no idea what to do.
"Um... uh..."
"Well then."
He'd meant to say, "I really can't use magic," but if he did, Eris might just give up completely.
Water Ball was a basic spell, consuming very little mana. If he just relaxed and channeled it properly, he could maybe manage...
Steeling himself, Allen stepped forward.
He raised his hand and recited the chant Eris had just used dozens of times.
"May the great blessing of water descend upon the place you desire. Let the cool stream appear—Water Ball!"
He felt mana drain from his body and gather in his palm.
Streams of moisture from the air condensed—and a head-sized ball of water formed.
Everyone stared in awe.
Sunlight filtered through the ball, casting brilliant waves of color.
Rudy smiled, about to say something—
Then in the corner of his eye—
Plop
The water ball dropped straight down and burst into a puddle.
Rudy opened his mouth, glanced at the red-faced Allen, then at Ghislane, who was furiously blinking at her feet.
Finally, he looked at Eris.
She grinned triumphantly.
"See? Allen can't do it either! So I don't have to learn!"
Silence.
Allen awkwardly looked at the puddle and mumbled to Rudy,
"Uh... do I have to keep channeling mana even after the spell forms?"
Rudy, face in hand, groaned weakly.
"Allen-sama... you seriously don't know magic? All your skill points are in swordplay?!"
"...Apparently."
Eris gleefully watched the two flounder.
Allen not knowing magic didn't lower her opinion of him—it made her feel closer to him.
See!
Grandpa can't use magic! Ghislane can't! I can't!
And Allen can't either!
Perfect!
I don't need to learn it!
Just as she opened her mouth to proclaim victory—
Sylphy walked up beside Allen and took hold of Eris' hand.
More precisely—she gripped the hilt of Eris' sword.
Sylphy looked down at the blade, her expression nostalgic. She smiled gently.
"I used to want to learn swordsmanship too, you know. But in the end, I chose magic."
That stunned Eris—and Rudy turned to look at Sylphy too.
He remembered, back when he first met her two years ago—she'd also insisted on learning swordsmanship over magic.
(End of Chapter)
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