Chapter 41.1: Yufia Queensroad

Until I turned 15, I attended the local magic school—Terrence Magic School—which taught magic by dividing students aged 6 to 15 into elementary and middle school sections.

Unlike the current Crawford Magic Academy, which sorts classes by academic ranking, Terrence Magic School arranged its classes so that the average performance in each was roughly equal.

My grade was split into four classes, and although class shuffling occurred every year, I never managed to make a single friend.

Not only was I poor at expressing my thoughts and feelings, but it seemed that my face and demeanor came off as extremely cold to others, so I couldn’t get close to anyone.

Furthermore, my father was known locally as a discriminatory magician who looked down on the less able—and that may have contributed to people keeping their distance.

As “the daughter of a bigot,” I had even heard absurd, unfounded rumors about myself, and I believe the girls regarded me with disdain, blatantly avoiding me.

Even when I turned 10—entering 4th grade of elementary school—I still couldn’t get close to anyone, and because of that, I barely remembered most of my classmates; yet there was one and only exception.

That exception was a male student who, upon entering 4th grade, was in my class for the first time.

Among the class—or rather, across the entire grade—he was exceptionally poor in practical skills.

Most students, after enrolling at Terrence Magic School at the age of 6, would manage to activate the basic fire magic, 『Ignition』, by inscribing its spell on magic medium paper within less than a month.

Furthermore, the magic power coursing through a person, when released outside the body, takes on an appearance resembling smoke or mist; by controlling that mist and reshaping it into a magic circle, one can cast magic without using magic medium paper.

By the time they reached 10, most students had grown to a level where they could at least cast a “fireball” roughly the size of an apple without using magic medium paper.

And yet, even when he turned 10, he still hadn’t managed to cast 『Ignition』—even with the aid of magic medium paper.

Objectively speaking, his abilities were inferior even to those of a 6‑year‑old right after enrollment.

Yet, in written exams he consistently scored full marks.

Not only was there a stark discrepancy between his practical skills and his written exam scores, but what was particularly striking was…

“—Hey, Shion, my 『Water Ball』 isn’t coming together as a proper sphere. The spell for forming a sphere should be correct, though…”

“Could you show me your magic circle?”

“Yeah… How is it?”

“Hmm… Ah, I see. Look here—the spell for adjusting the water volume is slightly off. It should be… like this. I think the formula’s flaw is why the sphere isn’t forming properly. Try fixing it up here.”

“Ahhh! I see, as expected, Shion! Thanks!”

“Yeah.”

“Hey, Shion!”

“Yeah, good morning.”

“That 『Wind Cutter』 you taught me yesterday—I adjusted the magic power flowing through the spell just as you advised, and it worked perfectly! Thanks a lot!”

“I only told you what the textbook said. It’s your own ability.”

“No, no! It’s thanks to you, Shion!!”

“By the way, Shion, have you managed to cast 『Ignition』?”

“No… not yet.”

“I see…”

“But I’m sure you, Shion, will definitely nail it in no time! If we can do it, so can you!”

“Yeah. Do your best, Shion.”

“Yeah. Thanks, both of you.”

…And yet, despite his exceptionally low practical skills, he was admired and respected by his classmates.

He was the kind of person I had never encountered before, and even though I had never spoken with him, he left a deep impression on me.

However, I had already given up on making friends, and in the end, I spent my days thinking of him as “just one more classmate I’d never really interact with again.”

……And then, one day.

One afternoon after school, while on my way home, I realized I’d forgotten something and returned to Terrence Magic School to retrieve it.

I walked down the hallway, now completely empty of students, and upon entering my eerily silent classroom, I was surprised to find that one student still remained inside.

“………”

When I saw that scene, I couldn’t help but gasp.

It wasn’t simply because there was someone in a classroom I believed to be empty.

What met my eyes was an utterly shocking sight.

The student seated at one of the desks—with both hands resting on the table—was frozen in place, not moving an inch.

In the silent classroom, not even the sound of breathing or the faint rustle of clothing could be heard; furthermore, it seemed as though he hadn’t noticed me entering through the door at all—as if time itself in the room had come to a standstill.

Not even the faintest movement from blinking or breathing could be sensed, rendering the scene disturbingly eerie.

It was as if his very presence were an inhuman performance, and I found myself silently transfixed.

He appeared utterly absorbed, so I quietly approached—not wanting to disturb him—and when I glanced at his work, I saw that a magic medium paper inscribed with the magic circle for 『Ignition』 was spread out on the desk, indicating he was attempting to cast that spell.

Yes, the student before me was the only male in our grade who couldn’t even cast 『Ignition』 using magic medium paper.

Oblivious to my presence, he continued pouring his magic power into the circle with single-minded concentration.

Magic power on its own holds no ability; when channeled through a magic circle in the proper sequence, it transforms into various kinds of magic.

The magic circle at his side was aglow with red light along roughly 80% of its circular path, and it was on the verge of activating 『Ignition』.

I stared at his work with abnormal tension, intent on witnessing the moment of activation that was surely about to come.

However, immediately after that—

Like blowing out a candle, in an instant the red light illuminating the magic circle vanished.

“……！！ Haaaah——… no good.”

Then, as if time that had been frozen suddenly resumed in a flurry, the air shifted—and he gasped deeply, barely managing to catch his breath after nearly suffocating.

After exhaling the deep breath he’d drawn, he let his hands drop limply under the desk and muttered in frustration.

“………Ugh!”

“……”

 Immediately after, when he noticed me, he exclaimed in surprise.

At the same time, his chair and desk clattered noisily, which startled me as well.

“…Uh, um, sorry…”

“Ah, no. I was the one who got overly surprised. Sorry—I just didn’t expect anyone to be there.”

“It’s because I was silently watching…”

“Hm? Were you watching me the whole time?”

“…I’m sorry.”

“No, no! I’m not mad! It’s just that, since you had no way of not watching me practice magic, I found it kind of odd.”

“Um… it was amazing, so…”

“?”

When I said that, he tilted his head in confusion.

“Was that your failed Ignition just now?”

“Not the result… but, it was just that—the way you were concentrating… it felt like time around you had stopped, and I couldn’t help but be drawn in.”

“Heh, what’s with that?”

He laughed softly, as if he hadn’t noticed anything odd at all, as if he were taking it as a joke.

“I-I’m sorry… I know I’m saying something weird, right?”

“Ah, no. I don’t really get it, but if that’s how it appeared to you, then it’s not weird.”

Seeing my apologetic expression, he gently reassured me.

“Today, I really felt like I would succeed—I could tell my focus and determination were way higher than usual; at least, my fighting spirit was there.”

“Really, your concentration was amazing…”

“Well, I did fail, though.”

“But, but, it was so close… just a little more…”

“Yeah. I’ve finally come just one step short. It took me seven years to get here, but now I can clearly see it right before me.”

“Yeah, next time for sure… …huh?”

There was something about him that made you want to root for him. Even though we were talking for the first time, I naturally found myself cheering him on as if we were old friends.

But his last words caught me off guard.

“W-wait, seven years…?”

Honestly, I thought I must have misheard.

But he didn’t seem inclined to correct me; he simply confirmed it as if it were obvious.

“Yeah. I’ve been practicing every day ever since I first wrote the Ignition spell by myself when I was three, and finally I got to this point.”