Chapter 74 - Aptitude for Magic
"...It's delicious."
Kurune, who had just taken a sip of the tea Flora brewed, murmured quietly with her eyes wide open.
"Right? Flora's tea is incredibly good."
"Yes, I'm surprised. It's much better than the tea those nobles drink. It must be because the original flavor of the tea leaves is being brought out to its fullest."
Kurune offered her honest praise, paying no mind to Aisha's strangely boastful attitude.
For Kurune, who loved tea, to praise it this much, the tea-brewing skills of Flora and Fiona-san must be quite substantial. It certainly tasted better than the tea served in noble households.
"You're both overpraising me. I still have a long way to go."
Flora, praised by Kurune and Aisha, looked happy despite her humble words.
She tilted her cup as if to hide her bashfulness.
"No, it really is delicious. I'd love to serve this to those foolish nobles who brag about how good their tea is."
Kurune spat venom toward the nobility with unusual intensity.
Kurune had never been fond of nobles to begin with, but I felt her hatred for them had accelerated since she started working as a teacher at the Magic Academy. She probably got tangled up with some nobles at the academy.
Setting aside myself, who vaguely understood the circumstances, Flora and Aisha, who were far removed from the existence of nobility, looked a bit perplexed.
"...Ahem. I just had something unpleasant happen with a noble in a recent job, so I accidentally let some venom slip. I'm sorry."
Noticing the two's confusion, Kurune cleared her throat.
"...Being a teacher at the Magic Academy sounds tough."
"It's something we can't even imagine."
Aisha murmured while picking at a Pico Fruit, seemingly uninterested in nobles, while Flora gave an ambiguous smile, unable to picture it at all.
Well, that made sense. If you lived a normal life, there were few occasions for commoners and nobles to interact.
Watching Kurune, I felt glad to be away from the constraints of the kingdom, but at the same time, I felt sorry for leaving her in a position where she had to deal with them.
I'm sure Elliot will handle the difficult matters later. Yes, I want to believe that.
Elliot's face, wearing a cramped smile, flickered in the corner of my mind, but I immediately brushed it away.
I enjoyed the aroma of the tea Flora had brewed for me and brought the cup to my lips.
The unique fragrance of the tea leaves spread through my mouth, followed by a mellow sweetness and a refreshing finish.
The warm tea permeated the inside of my body, calming my heart.
It felt as though the complicated thoughts in my head were being blown away.
After enjoying the tea in silence for a while, Aisha spoke up while staring at her tea.
"Still, that magic to produce water from earlier was convenient. If I had that, I could drink water whenever I wanted, and I wouldn't even have to fetch it. I wonder if I could use magic too?"
"That's surely impossible for us. That's only for a few talented people like the nobles or Kurune-san."
Flora said with a wry smile at Aisha's murmur.
"No, all of us humans possess mana, so strictly speaking, anyone can use magic, you know?"
""Eh!?""
As expected, Aisha and Flora, who knew little about magic, wore expressions of surprise.
"However, just as Flora-san said, most people can't use proper magic because they don't contain enough mana suitable for it. It would be ridiculous to collapse from mana exhaustion just by creating a tiny spark, right? So, it's just that there are few people who can use magic properly; technically, almost everyone can. It's just that the effort required to use it and the resulting return don't balance out at all."
"Huh, so that's how it is."
"I completely thought we were absolutely unable to use magic."
Hearing Kurune's simple explanation, Aisha and Flora let out voices of surprise.
Yes, just as Kurune said, many commoners have low mana capacity—meaning many are not suited for practical use, but it doesn't mean everyone is unable to use it.
However, if the result of years of effort to use magic is only being able to ignite firewood and then collapsing afterward, it's meaningless.
Unlike nobles, few commoners live lives of leisure. Therefore, commoners don't use magic if the effort isn't worth it.
In contrast, nobles have repeatedly married those with an aptitude for mana, so their descendants are born with relatively high mana.
That's why there are many magic users among the nobility.
"Which means, even we might be able to use magic."
"Yes, if you have enough mana and the time to practice."
A faint sense of expectation seeped into Aisha's words at Kurune's statement. Her eyes seemed to sparkle more than usual.
"That's assuming you have a sufficient amount of mana."
"Shut up. Does that mean you have mana, Aldo?"
When I threw in a small heckle, Aisha turned a huffy expression toward me.
"I had a fair amount, you know? I can use at least a little magic."
"Well, I wouldn't call Aldo a mage, but he can use it for support, I suppose?"
When I puffed out my chest as if to say 'how about that,' Kurune threw cold water on me.
Then Aisha snorted and laughed.
"What's that? How mediocre."
"Guh! It's fine. It's faster to slash with a sword than to fire off magic anyway."
"That's true for Aldo, but that's also strange in its own way."
Yeah, I'm a swordsman, so it's fine. It's just a matter of closing in faster than the opponent can chant magic. If magic comes flying, I just have to dodge it. I don't need to fight with magic, which I'm not good at.
"Kurune-san, how do we check if we have mana?"
"That's right! That's right! We want to know how much mana we have too!"
Flora and Aisha said with a bit of excitement.
They were likely a bit elated by the fact that they might be able to use it.
Speaking of magic, it's a power that stands alongside the sword as a symbol of human strength. It's no wonder they yearn for it.
I also used to be happy thinking that the power I could use would increase, even if only by a little.
"The quickest way to check mana is to have a mage measure it. A mage checks how much mana the other person has by flowing their own mana into the other's body. Actually, a crystal called a mana crystal is more accurate—"
""Please measure it!""
Kurune tried to continue showing off her knowledge, but the voices of Aisha and Flora cut her off.
Kurune was taken aback by their reaction and gave a wry smile.
"Yes, alright. Then, shall we try measuring the mana of you two?"
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"Alright, I'll measure Aisha's mana first. I'm going to let my mana permeate your body, so it'll feel a bit ticklish, but please bear with it, okay?"
"Bring it on."
Kurune gently reached out her arm toward Aisha, who nodded firmly.
Placing her hand on Aisha's arm, Kurune closed her eyes.
Then, Kurune's body glowed faintly, enveloping her entire being.
"...Eh, something's glowing."
"Stay still."
Aisha was flustered by the phenomenon of mana activating and glowing, but she regained her composure upon hearing Kurune's serious command.
Flora watched Kurune's body, glowing from the activation of mana, with an expression of surprise.
The faint light enveloping Kurune's entire body traveled down her arm and moved to Aisha's arm.
From Kurune's arm to Aisha's arm.
At first, Aisha stared blankly at her own glowing body, but her expression changed as the mana spread.
"Wait, what is this? It's ticklish. It feels like a hand is fumbling around inside my body."
Aisha fidgeted, perhaps because her body felt ticklish.
"Bear with it a little longer."
"Y-Yeah. ...Hiiiii!"
However, since she had been told by Kurune not to move, she couldn't, and so Aisha fought against the ticklish sensation assaulting her entire body.
Well, a mana crystal measures it automatically so there's no problem, but this method makes the other person's mana circulate through the entire body, so it feels ticklish. That feeling of someone else's mana intruding is quite ticklish.
...Still, the sight of the usually aloof Aisha blushing and squirming was precious.
"Ah! Aldo-san, you mustn't look!"
Just as I was thinking that, my vision was blocked by Flora's hands.
"Eh? Why?"
"Just because! Anyway, please don't look!"
It's not like I was looking at a woman's skin. I didn't quite understand, but since Flora was being so insistent, I let her have her way.
My vision was pitch black and I couldn't see anything, but the sensation of Flora's hands was pleasant.
"It's over."
As I waited while feeling the softness of Flora's hands, I heard Kurune's voice.
At the same time, brightness returned to my vision.
"Nn... I see. So, how was it?"
Aisha, having caught her breath, stared at Kurune with an expectant gaze.
"Ahaha, unfortunately, it seems Aisha has very little mana. I think even if you practice, you won't get magic effects worth the effort."
At those words from Kurune, Aisha's shoulders slumped in disappointment.
"...And here I thought I could make life easier using magic..."
"Sorry."
"It's fine. Kurune, you did nothing wrong. I just didn't have the talent from the start."
Though she found out she couldn't use magic, Aisha didn't seem that depressed.
Well, she had lived until now without being able to use magic. For Aisha, it was probably just a 'it would be nice if I could' sort of thing, not something she was obsessed with.
"If you become able to use magic, life gets easier, but the practice until you can use it is quite grueling."
"Now that you mention it, I hadn't thought about the practice. Thinking about it that way, there might not be much merit for me unless I had an extraordinary amount of mana."
Aisha never wavers.
"Look, Flora, you have her do yours next."
"Yes, but I probably don't have any mana anyway. I think I'll pass after all."
Had her enthusiasm cooled a bit from the fact that Aisha had little mana? Flora waved her hands in refusal.
"Checking is free, so have her look. It's just a bit ticklish."
Urged by Aisha, Flora's gaze turned toward me.
"It's a rare opportunity, so have her check. You might have some mana, you know?"
"...Then, I'll have her measure it."
Perhaps my push worked, as Flora trotted over to Kurune.
"Alright, next I'll measure Flora-san's mana. It'll be ticklish, so please bear with it?"
"Ah!? Aisha! Please cover Aldo-san's eyes! Because it's embarrassing!"
Just as the mana was about to be passed, Flora raised her voice.
"...It's not like it's such a suspicious method that you need to hide it, you know? The ticklishness depends on the person."
"It's embarrassing if I end up like Aisha."
"That makes it sound like I was exposing myself in a disgraceful way... Well, fine."
Aisha, while looking somewhat dissatisfied, came around from behind and blocked my vision.
A scent different from Flora's, a mix of earth and grapes, wafted over.
Perhaps because she frequently handled soil and crops, the skin of her hands was a bit tougher than Flora's, but her fingers were longer than Flora's and sufficiently soft.
"...Seeing Aisha block Aldo-san's eyes also gives me complicated feelings."
Ah, Flora is getting a little jealous. I found myself feeling a bit happy at her rare reaction.
"Alright, I'll finish this quickly, so here I go—"
"Eh? Hya-i!"
Perhaps irritated that things weren't progressing, Kurune began flowing mana into Flora's body.
Maybe because the mana was flowed in suddenly, Flora let out a high-pitched voice.
"Hya! Something is coming into my body through Kurune-san's arm..."
From beyond the darkness, Flora's voice sounded strangely suggestive.
"Ha, haan!"
"Hey, could you not make such strange noises!?"
"B-But..."
"...Both Aisha and Flora-san are sensitive, aren't they?"
Just to be clear, normal people don't react this sensitively. If a grown man made a sound like those two, it would be nothing but a nightmare. These two were just a bit sensitive.
"...Want to see?"
"I want to see."
To Aisha's voice whispering from behind, I replied instantly.
Then, I heard a giggle from behind, and light shone into my vision.
There was Flora, tinged with Kurune's mana and wearing a feverish expression.
Her face was red, and she was biting her lower lip as if enduring something.
It was just like an evening tryst—
"Just like an evening tryst?"
The moment I thought that, Aisha whispered in my ear.
Her breath tickled my ear.
"Stop that."
To punish Aisha, I reached my arm around and pinched the flesh of her side.
"...Ouch! I'm not going to let you see anymore."
Then, I heard Aisha's voice of protest, and my vision was enveloped in darkness.
As if in retaliation, my eyeballs were poked and rubbed with her fingers.
"It's finished."
"Nn, haa... haa... how was it?"
With Kurune's voice, my vision opened up, but because Aisha had rubbed my eyeballs, my vision was blurry.
"Flora-san has mana!"
"Is it true!?"
"It's true!"
My vision was blurry, but I could vaguely tell that Flora was pressing Kurune for details.
"How much is there?"
"I can't say the specific amount, but it's enough to use attack magic, and it won't run out immediately!"
That's quite a lot. Even among commoners born with an aptitude for mana, it's not rare to find mages who run out of mana after two or three attack spells. Compared to that, Flora could be said to have plenty of mana.
"Isn't that great, Flora!"
"I don't really understand, but it means if I put in the effort, I can use sufficient magic, right?"
"Yes, that's right!"
At Kurune's words, Flora and Aisha rejoiced together.
Then, perhaps because she was so happy, Flora came and hugged me.
"Aldo-san, I might be able to use magic!"
Seeing Flora's happy smile, my cheeks loosened involuntarily.
"That's really amazing. I'm glad for you."
As I spoke while hugging her and stroking her head, Flora smiled. She seemed uncontrollably happy.
"I understand that Flora has a lot of mana, but how does she become able to use it?"
Had she forgotten that part? At Aisha's words, Flora snapped her head up.
With everyone's gaze gathered on her, Kurune puffed out her chest and said,
"It's alright. That's what I'm here for. I may look like this, but I was a former teacher at the Magic Academy!"
That's good. I had been worried because of the unpleasant things that happened at the Magic Academy in the royal capital, but it seems she hasn't come to hate teaching magic itself.
Come to think of it, she was explaining things gleefully just now.
For me, knowing Kurune's dream, just knowing that was enough to make me happy.