Chapter 30: Oh, that, is that so? Because we held hands?

There was always nothing "wasted" in Flan's actions.

Perhaps there was also no such thing in his thoughts or thought processes. Fear, terror, tension... The elements that drastically reduce human behavioral efficiency were nonexistent in the boy.

At least, that's how Becky perceived it.

Even in the face of a crisis, it didn't feel like a crisis. It was never arrogance. Flan always had valid reasons for his actions.

'...Yes, it had been like that since we first met in front of the Agora board.'

"Pay close attention to this part, especially. Given your level..."

One, two... The jumbled spells that Becky had written transformed into correct answers, each with a distinct appearance.

The challenging puzzles that Becky couldn't grasp were turning into simple tasks with a mere touch from Flan.

It was a remarkable feat... but Becky still didn't understand those spells.

Until the explanation concluded, the girl could only gaze at the boy's profile.

That softly glowing side profile seemed somewhat peculiar.

The epitome of a magician.

A rare species that perseveres through intuition without wavering, explores logic, and if the path of truth is in front of its eyes, it charges ahead even if its entire being is consumed by flames.

Without a shred of self-doubt, not relying on anyone, an eccentric who forges their own domain with their own abilities.

“…… “

All those qualities were embodied in the boy's profile, exuding grace.

At the same time, Becky unknowingly reached out her hand. It was because Flan, who was right beside her, felt so distant.

Just as her palm was about to touch that sculpted profile...

“Did you understand?”

Those words instantly cleared her mind.

"Ah, well, that's..."

After slipping her hand into her pocket, she stuttered involuntarily.

Becky was still dazed by the subject he had been explaining wholeheartedly.

“Sorry….”

"What could be so difficult?"

Letting out a deep sigh, Flan took hold of Becky's wrist.

"Uh... huh?"

Becky's shoulders trembled slightly. However, Flan's gaze remained fixed on the memo page of the Trivia.

"If you don't understand, shouldn't you at least try drawing it yourself?"

As Flan moved his hand, Becky's hand naturally followed. This time, Becky made an effort to concentrate on the spells.

"......First, establish the framework."

The circuits drawn along Becky's fingertips began emitting a blue light. The girl's eyes, fixed upon them, also sparkled naturally.

“After that, we will figure out the main points.”

“Wow….”

Could a seemingly mundane spell be drawn like this? Becky unconsciously let out a sigh of admiration at the sight resembling a starry night sky embroidered on the memo paper.

"For the finer details, pay attention to the density."

Around that time, Becky understood Flan's teachings.

At the same time, she subtly felt her own thirst for knowledge as she raised her head.

“Impossible…. Does not exist….”

Becky repeated Flan's words in a dazed manner.

She wanted to express the emotions that started to build up inside her with words.

The moment she turned her head towards Flan and was about to speak, the two were enveloped in a white light.

In the distance, Hailey, who was clinging onto the rocks, also began to radiate brightly. It was only then that Becky remembered Hailey's presence.

'I'm so embarrassed.'

For Becky, Flan was simply a grateful presence. Why did Hailey constantly belittle everything?

Becky managed to create a non-elemental sphere in her hand.

Following what she had just learned, she abandoned form and focused on maximizing the eruption's output...

-Crack!

A dull sound reverberated as the impact hit Hailey's forehead, causing her head to snap back.

“Huh?!”

'...What should I do? I hit her much harder than I intended.'

◈◈◈

Immediately after being repatriated, I looked around the surroundings.

"They're putting the evaluation on hold for now."

"Martin claims he saw a skeleton."

"A skeleton? He's probably bluffing again to impress a woman. That's completely unrelated. Why would a skeleton appear in the artificial labyrinth?"

Just as Violet had mentioned, Becky and I were likely at the tail end, while the nearby students were already buzzing with chatter.

"Kyaaaaah!"

Hailey's scream pierced through the air.

“My face, why is my face like this!”

Clutching her swollen face, she urgently covered it with both hands and slumped down.

While the students buzzed around, Violet swiftly assessed the situation.

Unexpected real monsters and variables had emerged, but fortunately, there were no accidents or casualties.

Due to the instability of the internal observation, the scoring for the exploration assessment was ultimately put on hold.

What a waste of artifacts. I let out a deep sigh, and suddenly, Becky approached me.

"Hey, Flan."

“What is it?”

“That…. Thank you.”

I nodded briefly. In fact, I wasn't in a position to receive thanks.

I hadn't acted solely to save her, and Becky had survived simply because of widespread magic.

But Becky still had something to say. She extended her Trivia towards me.

"I think you've explained enough."

"..."

Becky's gaze shifted subtly to the side. I couldn't discern why she hesitated to tell me something so significant.

"Trivia code. Do you want to exchange with me?"

“Trivia code?”

"Well. If... if you don't want to, it's okay. I just thought it would be nice to stay in touch. We can share exam information and stuff."

I asked out of pure curiosity, but Becky hastily went on with her words.

"And... friends... Aren't we friends? Hey, you may not be familiar with it. Friends exchange things, you know? It's not a big deal."

“Sure.”

'Why is she so indecisive?' I summarized her words concisely.

"You want to stay in regular contact with me. Right?"

“That…. Something like that. Yes. We are friends, after all.”

"We're not friends."

I lightly cut off Becky's words.

Firstly, there was a significant age difference between me and her, and secondly, I wasn't the type to easily make friends.

“…Huh?”

Becky's face filled with astonishment.

“Huh? What?”

Becky tilted her head from side to side. Then she rolled her eyes, pondering something earnestly.

“Huh?!”

Suddenly, her small face turned as red as her hair.

"Oh, then... Um, is that so? Because we held hands, right? Ah~ That's what you were thinking. Um, okay. Next time, would you like to go perfume shopping with me?"

Unable to comprehend her incomprehensible words, I had no choice but to let Becky's words go in one ear and out the other.

I knew it was a relationship where we would stay in regular contact.

"Do you want to stay in contact with me?"

"Hmm?"

Becky still couldn't meet my gaze.

After fumbling with her fingers for a while, she nodded slightly.

"...Because I want to, let's exchange codes."

"Fine."

I decided to indulge her enthusiasm.

I tore out a page from my Trivia notes and used telekinesis to suspend it in the air, then started jotting down some notes.

『How did healing magic become the center of controversy?』

Soon, that page landed in my hands.

I had thought that having someone to assist me would make it much easier to delve into the subject thoroughly.

『Magic and Healing』, 『Magical Healing』, 『Healing Ethics General Law』, 『Ethics of Healing』... After taking notes, it amounted to about eight volumes. Fortunately, it wasn't too overwhelming.

After finishing my notes, I handed them to Becky. She blinked her round eyes.

“What is this?”

"Let's summarize the key contents of the books mentioned."

“Summary?”

Becky tilted her head.

"Well... I appreciate that you're considering my studies. Why all of a sudden?"

"You said you wanted to stay in contact with me, didn't you?"

'What's with the suddenness?'

A relationship where we stay in contact regularly every day. For that, there was no better fit than a partner relationship.

“No…. That’s right… but...”

Becky alternated between looking at the memo and my face.

"Isn't this... too much content? To extract the essence, you'd have to examine everything."

"I didn't have high expectations to begin with."

It wasn't a story of entrusting and relying on Becky for everything.

It was just that if it could be even a little helpful, it was worth leaving it to her.

That was all.

"If we do this, until when...?"

“Tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?!”

Becky jumped up in surprise.

This was already a considerable concession. Trixie’s book would be in my hands tonight.

"If you don't want to, forget it."

"No, no! We can do it!"

As I tried to take back the memo paper, Becky stealthily snatched it from my hand. I had no intention of forcing her, though.

"Hey, Flan..."

Becky spoke with tears welling up in her eyes.

"If we do this, will we also keep in touch and go perfume shopping...?"

'Well, I guess I can offer that kind of compensation.'

I nodded readily.

“Yes.”

"Yes..."

Becky murmured tearfully and headed toward the library.

She selected only books that seemed to have some academic value. So this process would undoubtedly be a significant help to Becky as well.

I never expected any words of gratitude in the first place.

Soon, I also headed towards the training room.

◈◈◈

Even late at night, the lights in the private training room of the Fritz family, located next to the dormitory, were still on.

Trixie had just finished ballet.

Normally, she would have immediately soaked her body in the bathtub, but at the moment, she couldn't stop examining Trivia.

[ ▶ Agora board, next question to be posed.]

[ ▶ Please take a look just once!]

[ ▷ Do you have a page with spells written on it? ]

[ ▶ Yes! Hehe]

[ ▷ Tear it up and throw it away. ]

If someone else had said this, Trixie would have exploded in anger. But at the 'Teacher's' instruction, she immediately complied.

By the way, 'Teacher' was a nickname Trixie had come up with for the instructor.

[ ▶ Have you had dinner?]

[ ▷ Is this also a part of teaching? ]

[ ▶ I'll give you a gold coin!]

If it was a gold coin, it was more than enough for Trixie.

While waiting for slow replies, Trixie promptly repeated her responses. In the midst of that, the instructor asked Trixie.

[ ▷ When will you send the books?]

[ ▶ I'll send them now.]

After sending the reply, Trixie immediately checked the status of 『How healing magic became the center of controversy?』.

The book was in pristine condition, like new, and beautifully wrapped with a ribbon. Surely, he would like it.

"......Hmm."

For some reason, Trixie suddenly created a few small ants out of flames, as if possessed.

Her ability to manipulate fire elements was outstanding, and using fire as 'summons' was not difficult for her.

Five ants hid in various places on the pages. They would report their positions to Trixie in real-time.

'Who could this "Teacher" possibly be?'

Trixie swallowed her dry saliva.

--- End of The Chapter --

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