A sultry voice echoed from one corner of the Magic University.
"No, absolutely not."
A certain student stood in front of the building they called the gymnasium storage warehouse.
There, a young man had seized the arm of a girl with pale blue hair.
"C'mon, it'll be fine? Teacher, please!"
"No."
The girl was merciless toward the young man.
She turned her face away with a "hmph," lips pursed stubbornly.
Even so, the young man wouldn't let up.
"Just once—just one time is all I'm asking."
"No. Let go of me. Lunch break is about to end."
"Don't say that!"
The young man refused to release his grip.
The girl looked around helplessly.
There were people around, even if this was in front of the gymnasium warehouse.
Their gazes averted quietly from her silent plea for help.
Because the young man was scary.
He was the most notorious delinquent in the neighborhood.
The people around him thought this: Even if they intervened, the girl's fate wouldn't change.
In fact, they themselves might end up in a miserable situation.
There was no one brave enough to help the girl, even knowing all that.
"Teacher, think about it carefully. This isn't a bad deal for either of us.
Sure, it might be a little unpleasant right now, but in the long run, it'll definitely be a plus for both of us."
"That is… certainly…"
"If you grant my request, I'll listen to whatever you ask of me."
"Mm, but you see…"
The young man pressed further against the hesitant girl.
He leaned in close to her ear and whispered softly.
At that gesture, the girl's face flushed red in an instant.
She fidgeted with her braided hair, twirling it around, and lowered her gaze shyly.
"Student Council!"
At that moment, the man said to be the most handsome in the school arrived.
Behind him walked a white-haired girl wearing sunglasses.
"Squee! It's
"The 'Silent Fitz'!"
It was Luke and Fitz, the student council officers.
"Luke, you look so cool today too!"
"Hug me!"
"Fitz, you've gotten way cuter lately."
"I want to see your real face."
Receiving the crowd's cheers, the two of them stood before the young man and the girl.
"We received a report that
Luke let out a sigh.
What he saw was the young man called Rudeus and the girl called
Neither a female student nor an assault.
Confirming those facts, he turned around and started walking back the way he came.
"Fitz, I'll leave the rest to you."
"…Mm."
Fitz scratched her ear and nodded.
"Haah…"
After Luke walked away, Roxy let out a sigh of her own.
"Female student, huh."
"It can't be helped. It seems people still don't quite recognize that you're a teacher, Roxy."
Rudeus nodded as if he understood.
"Hm?
He suddenly noticed that Fitz looked a bit displeased.
One cheek was slightly puffed out.
"Hey, Rudy. Even if you're married, you shouldn't push things. Girls have times when they don't want to, you know?"
"Huh? Yeah, of course I get that."
"Well, Roxy might be more skilled at it, but I have my moments too…"
Fitz mumbled shyly.
"…Could it be?"
Rudeus approached Fitz, his face unable to hide his excitement.
He poked her puffed-up cheek.
Fitz pulled that cheek in, and the other one puffed out instead.
"Ah! Sylphie, you're jealous!"
Rudeus hugged Sylphie tightly.
Sylphie wasn't exactly unhappy about it, but she didn't let her angry expression break.
"I-I'm not exactly jealous or anything!"
"You don't need to worry, Sylphie. Of course, I have no intention of leaving you out."
"W-wait, so you mean… the three of us together…?"
Rudeus whispered into Sylphie's ear.
"That's right. You and me together—we'll both learn from Roxy."
"Huh? Roxy will teach us?"
"Well, obviously. She's the number one expert in this field."
When Sylphie glanced over, Roxy turned her face away with a "hmph."
"I still haven't said I'd agree to this."
"Don't say that. Sylphie wants to learn too, right?"
"I-I mean, it's embarrassing…"
Sylphie fidgeted, having been held in Rudeus's embrace this whole time.
Dressed in men's clothes, the sunglasses hid her expression, but behind them glistened moist eyes.
"B-but, if it's for Rudy's sake… then sure?"
"Sylphie!"
Overcome with emotion, Rudeus buried his face in her hair, marveling at how soft and good it smelled, and tightened his embrace.
Sylphie grew languid from the strength of his arms and relaxed completely, as if to say she didn't care anymore.
She was pretty easy.
Roxy watched the scene with a look of envy.
To Roxy, Rudeus pressed on with his questions.
"Why won't you teach me?
Could it be… that you don't like me?"
When Rudeus said this as if he were hurt, Roxy flinched.
"That's not it at all! I love you, Rudy—I mean, I adore you!"
"Then why?"
"Because if I teach you this, you'll have nothing left to beat me at…"
"That's—beat me at what? Roxy, you're already above me just by existing!"
"Listen here, Rudy. Since we're on the topic, let me make this clear: I'm not the lofty person you make me out to be. I'm the petty kind of person who's afraid of being surpassed by her own student."
"No problem at all! I think that pettiness is wonderful too!"
"In any case, it took me several months to master it! And both you and Sylphie have more talent than I do, so you'd likely master it much faster…"
At that point, Fitz also realized her understanding had been off.
She stopped looking dreamy and turned to her husband.
"Sorry, Rudy. What were we talking about again?"
To Sylphie's question, Rudeus answered.
"Oh right. I was asking Roxy to teach me Water
That's what this was about.
--- Rudeus's Perspective --- The bicycle of youth.
That is to say, the tandem bicycle ride of a boy and girl at the age of romance.
The boy pedals in front while the girl rides behind.
The girl sits sideways on the rear rack, wrapping her arms around the boy's waist and pressing close, or riding with a bit of distance between them.
The boy pedals, but often the bicycle belongs to the girl.
And these tandem rides appear along the riverbank at dusk.
The red sun of sunset would conceal their slightly flushed cheeks.
I find myself in a similar situation right now.
The sun is still high.
But right in front of me, I can see the nape of Sylphie's neck.
If I leaned my face in, I'd be at the perfect distance to savor her sweet, wistful fragrance.
My hands are wrapped around Sylphie's waist, crossing near her belly button.
Our upper bodies are completely pressed together.
I can hear the thumping of Sylphie's heartbeat through my chest.
Wonderful.
For the record, our lower bodies maintain a slight distance.
I shouldn't need to explain why.
Even with a wife, there's a certain decorum between those who are close.
After all, I'd heard plenty of news stories in my past life about drivers getting sexually frisky and causing accidents.
We're riding a horse, but being playful with the person holding the reins is strictly forbidden.
"Matsukaze is a wonderful horse. He listens well, he's docile, and he's strong too."
A voice came from in front of Sylphie.
Looking over her shoulder, I could see a pale blue head.
It was Roxy.
She was sitting in front of Sylphie.
"Yeah. A horse this impressive is rare."
We were all riding together on a single horse.
From front to back: Roxy, Sylphie, me.
Matsukaze—the most neglected pet in our household—showed no complaint about carrying three people and strode forward powerfully.
"I'm pretty sure Ginger was the one who picked him out, right? That man has a good eye for horses."
"Sylphie, do you know a lot about horses?"
"Huh? No, not really. But back in the
"They must have been quite impressive."
At those words, Matsukaze let out a snort.
"Oh, sorry. Of course you're impressive too. After all, you're a
Roxy hurriedly soothed Matsukaze.
Does this horse understand human speech?
Or can Roxy speak horse?
Well, no matter what kind of pet it is, if you talk to it every day, it'll eventually respond.
"Still, riding in the front at my age is a little embarrassing."
Roxy blushed and hid her face behind her hat every time they passed someone.
Sitting in front of the person holding the reins—it must feel like being strapped into a child seat on a bicycle.
"If it's too much trouble, I could have ridden Jiro instead, you know?"
"No way. You'd just use that as an excuse to run away, Roxy."
"I'm not a child. I wouldn't run away."
Listening to my wives' friendly conversation, I surveyed the surroundings.
Currently, we were outside the city.
To our right flowed a beautiful creek; to our left stretched open meadows and forest.
Even though this was the Northern Lands, there was plenty of greenery in this season.
We'd passed potato fields and wheat fields earlier, but now only an open plain spread before us.
I wasn't sure how many hours we'd traveled, but we'd apparently gone far enough that there was no one in sight.
Fish in the river reflected the light, glimmering.
This river was a tributary of the one that flowed near Sharia.
We didn't need to come this far—on a nice day, fishing somewhere near town would probably be pleasant enough.
Well, I'd never actually been fishing, though.
"Now that I've agreed to teach you, I'll do it properly."
The reason we were in a place like this— was because Roxy had finally relented.
She had listened to my repeated requests and granted them.
"I will teach you the Water King-class spell…"
She paused, looking somewhat reluctant.
'Lightning.'"
I reached over Sylphie's shoulder and gently patted Roxy's arm.
Even so—Lightning.
Just the name sounded like a generic lightning magic spell.
But thinking back, this world didn't have lightning magic per se.
And this was King-class.
What kind of fearsome spell could it be?
"Oh, this spot should be fine."
At a certain point, Roxy hopped down lightly from the horse.
She tied Matsukaze to a tree about as thick as her thigh.
That sight brought back nostalgic memories.
Back when I'd learned Water Saint-class magic, we'd done the same thing—come out to the countryside and tied the horse to a tree.
"Teacher, do you remember Caravaggio?"
"Yes.
Roxy said that with a distant look in her eyes.
Back then, I was still five years old.
Twelve years had passed since then.
I'd gained many more abilities, but I'd only just reached King-class.
It felt like I'd taken quite the long road around.
Oh wait.
That time, lightning had nearly killed the horse.
He'd barely survived, but it wouldn't have been strange if he'd died instantly.
Roxy might have forgotten, so I should probably take precautions.
"Is it safe this time?"
"Absolutely. But to keep Matsukaze from catching a cold, please surround him with an earthen fortress."
"Understood."
As instructed, I encased Matsukaze in a dome of earth.
The horse offered no resistance as he disappeared into the earthen shell.
"So, um, should I stay back?"
"No, it's fine. I can only cast it once, so please watch."
Sylphie and Roxy exchanged these words while putting on rain gear.
At Saint-class, they'd been soaked to the bone.
Since the spell would bring rain, they'd brought these preparations.
"Are you ready?"
"Yes."
"I'm fine."
Roxy nodded and pointed toward a tree in the distance.
A massive tree.
Even from far away, I could tell its trunk was enormous.
"I'll use that tree as the target. Since I can only cast it once, watch carefully."
"Okay."
Roxy took a deep breath in response.
"Inhale… exhale…"
She gripped her staff, closed her eyes, and began focusing her mind.
The preparation was taking longer than usual.
At Saint-class she'd cast it without ceremony—was King-class that different?
"Hah…"
Looking at Roxy with my magic eyes, I could probably see mana rising from her.
Roxy stayed like that for a while, then finally spoke softly.
"Alright. Let's begin."
I tensed up as well.
Roxy drove her staff into the ground.
Her left hand gripped the shaft while her right hand hovered over the magic stone, palm open.
And then, as if verifying each word, she began a slow incantation.
"O grand spirit of Water, O prince of Thunder who ascends to the heavens!
Fulfill my wish, bring forth a savage blessing, and show these puny beings your power!
Strike the divine hammer upon the anvil to display your awe, and flood the earth with water!"
Halfway through, I realized.
This is different from— "O rain! Wash away everything, and purge all that exists!"
In an instant, the sky turned overcast and black.
At the same time, a pounding rain began to fall.
A horizontal gale howled through, soaking my robe in a heartbeat.
The sky blazed with lightning, on the verge of becoming a thunderstrike.
But this was merely—Water Saint-class attack magic: 'Heavy Thunder Cumulonimbus.' "O luminous spirit of Light, O Thunder Emperor who rules the heavens!"
The moment I thought that— Roxy continued the incantation.
"Do you see the one who stands tall! The enemy of the arrogant Emperor!
With the divine sword, shall I strike that foe down in a single blow!
With radiant power, shall I make known the Emperor's might!"
With each line, the sky contracted.
The pitch-black clouds were being crushed together into a single point.
The compressed clouds crackled with shifting light.
Eventually, the clouds shrank to the size of a bean…
"Lightning!"
A pillar of light rose up.
There was no other way to describe it.
From the compressed clouds, a pillar of light was driven into the ground.
It was a bolt of lightning.
BOOOM!!!
An instant later, a thunderous roar shook the air.
At the edge of my vision, Sylphie grimaced and clapped her hands over her ears.
I could only stare, transfixed, at the magnificent spectacle.
"…"
I couldn't say anything.
Not a single word came out.
Unaware, I'd clenched my fists so tight they were trembling.
I swallowed hard.
After the roar, nothing remained.
The pitch-black clouds that had covered the entire sky, the torrential rain that would have washed away the earth, the lightning as bright as midday.
And the massive tree we'd seen in the distance.
Nothing. None of it.
The sky was simply clear, stretching endlessly.
The ground was merely wet, as if from a passing rain.
Where the tree had been, only fine black dust—like charcoal powder—was visible.
"Ah…"
Roxy swayed on her feet.
She released her staff and nearly collapsed where she stood.
I caught her in my arms just in time.
"Are you alright?"
"I'm glad it worked. With my mana reserves, even with a staff, that's my limit for a single use… But more importantly, did you see it? Lightning?"
"Yes, teacher."
I saw it.
I saw every bit of it.
And I memorized the incantation word for word.
"Do you think you can use it?"
"Let me try!"
Leaving Roxy to Sylphie's care, I gripped my own staff.
Aqua Heartia.
My partner through thick and thin since I was ten.
I could probably cast it without one.
But I raised my staff high.
Recalling the scene I'd just witnessed, I shouted toward the sky.
"O grand spirit of Water, O prince of Thunder who ascends to the heavens!
Fulfill my wish, bring forth a savage blessing, and show these puny beings your power!
Strike the divine hammer upon the anvil to display your awe, and flood the earth with water!
O rain! Wash away everything, and purge all that exists!"
A tremendous amount of mana surged from my palms through the staff and climbed toward the heavens.
Thunderclouds formed, and mana ran wild.
If I chanted Cumulonimbus here, the spell would be complete.
But I didn't complete it.
Right—once completed, I probably wouldn't be able to compress it.
I had to move to the next step without stabilizing the mana.
"O luminous spirit of Light, O Thunder Emperor who rules the heavens!
Do you see the one who stands tall! The enemy of the arrogant Emperor!
With the divine sword, shall I strike that foe down in a single blow!
With radiant power, shall I make known the Emperor's might!"
With each word, the mana raged wildly.
I forcibly suppressed it, desperately compressing it into a single point.
Brute force.
This spell had to be controlled through sheer strength.
Until now, there had never been a spell that required such aggressive control.
This might fail.
No, wait.
It's here.
I recognized this sensation.
This felt similar to amplifying the power of Rock Cannonball.
The moment I understood that, control came easily.
"Lightning!"
The instant I spoke the word, I felt a hole open directly beneath the compressed mana.
It burst through.
BOOOM!!!
…It fell.
A bolt of lightning descended with a thunderous roar.
There was no target.
But it struck precisely at the point I'd aimed for.
"…"
And nothing remained.
There were no black clouds in the sky.
Only a clear blue sky stretched overhead.
The ground was wet from rain.
Rain droplets clung to the rain gear.
The afterimage of light was seared into my eyes, and the thunder still rang in my ears.
It was a success.
"…That's incredible."
Sylphie's astonished voice came from behind.
I had become a Water King-class mage.
--- "I'm a little frustrated."
On the way home, Sylphie said that.
Afterward, she'd tried to replicate what I'd done.
After one failure, she successfully cast Water Saint-class magic: 'Heavy Thunder Cumulonimbus.' However, 'Lightning' eluded her.
She failed, and her mana was completely drained.
Mana compression seemed to be difficult.
Maybe the reason I'd pulled it off was because I'd used similar techniques regularly.
Sylphie was naturally dexterous; with a few more tries, she'd probably manage it.
"Even I fail about once in every five attempts."
Roxy said this to comfort Sylphie.
I'd succeeded effortlessly, but the fact that Sylphie couldn't do it helped preserve Roxy's pride… I think.
Comparing them side by side, it seemed Sylphie's mana surpassed Roxy's.
Could be from using magic constantly since childhood.
Roxy's total mana reserves shouldn't be low, either.
"Rudeus did it in one try. You really are amazing."
"That's true. I expected as much, but seeing you succeed that easily is a bit discouraging."
"…"
I had nothing to say to either of them.
True, I'd been using magic since I was two or three years old, diligently working to increase my mana reserves.
But the fact that they'd grown this much was almost certainly because my body had a unique constitution.
I'd put in the effort, but I'd also cheated.
So I didn't know what to say to them.
In any case, getting my exhausted wives safely home was part of the job.
Once we got back, maybe I'd give them shoulder rubs.
No funny business today.
They'd earned it.
"Oh, Rudy, look. What a beautiful sunset."
When she said that, I looked at the western sky. The brilliant red sun was sinking below the horizon.
The beauty of nature like this was the same in any world.
"Yeah, it's beautiful."
Should I have told her she was even more beautiful?
"Hah…"
Sylphie must have been tired too, since she was leaning her weight against me slightly.
We'd make it home before the sun fully set, but I should keep alert.
Neither of them could use magic right now.
If a monster showed up, I'd handle it.
Perimeter watch, then.
"…Sometimes I think I might be dreaming."
Roxy said quietly.
Sylphie tilted her head, puzzled.
"A dream?"
"Yes. I sometimes wonder if I'm still trapped in that labyrinth, and this is just a happy dream I'm seeing at the edge of death."
I half-listened to their conversation while keeping watch on our surroundings.
The two of them spoke slowly in tired voices.
"I've become so much happier in this past half year.
I got married, and I became a teacher.
I might be in the way for Sylphie, but I'm grateful that the three of us can ride together like this."
At the word "in the way," Sylphie's body flinched.
"No. You're not in the way at all.
I'm happy that I can get along with Roxy too.
If it came down to competing for Rudy, I'd probably lose."
Sylphie said this without confidence, so I hugged her a bit tighter.
She released one hand from the reins and patted my hand as if to say "I know."
"If it weren't for my luck, I never would have met Rudy when I was little… Without that, Rudy wouldn't have given me a second glance."
"I don't think that's true…"
"If I hadn't met Rudy, I definitely wouldn't be alive today."
If I hadn't met Roxy or Sylphie when I was young, what kind of different life would I have walked?
At the very least, without Roxy, I'd still be a shut-in.
Never going outside, never meeting Sylphie—if the Teleportation Incident had happened, could I have survived on the
If I hadn't met Sylphie, at the very least, I wouldn't have gone to the Fortress City Roa.
I never would have met
But I might have still gone to school.
Since I'd hit a wall with magic either way, I probably would have insisted on going to the
If circumstances had been different, Paul might have given the okay without waiting until I was twelve.
But Sylphie wouldn't be there. She wouldn't be waiting.
Or maybe I'd have become classmates with
And upon graduation, I'd have gone to the Great Forest to live as a beast-race member.
No—the Teleportation Incident would happen first, so I'd probably end up back in Asura.
In any case, I would have walked a completely different life.
Yet somehow, I felt like we would have met somewhere and ended up bound together anyway.
Like what they call causal determinism in science fiction.
Or you could call it fate.
Destiny.
"…"
I reached out my arms and pulled both Sylphie and Roxy into a hug.
"Rudy…"
None of it mattered.
The things that never happened.
What mattered was cherishing the two people in my arms.
As the sun set, we headed for home.
--- Back home, I organized my notes on Water King-class attack magic.
'Lightning.' The principle behind this spell was simple.
Spread a massive amount of mana across the sky, compress it, then drop it onto a designated location.
That was all.
Create clouds, then strike with lightning.
Thinking about it that way, 'Heavy Thunder Cumulonimbus' and 'Lightning' were a natural combo.
Its power was unmatched among all the spells I knew.
It concentrated the energy of 'Heavy Thunder Cumulonimbus'—which boasted the highest mana consumption of anything in my arsenal—into a single point.
It might even surpass a max-charge Rock Cannonball.
If I used this power, I could surely fly through the future.
Though the spell was called 'Lightning,' its true essence lay in mana compression.
Perhaps other King-class spells could be handled using the same principle.
In any case, once I'd chanted the incantation once, I could reproduce it indefinitely without chanting.
From now on, combined with 'Heavy Thunder Cumulonimbus,' I could trigger a lightning strike in an extremely short time.
I'd practice it, but there probably wouldn't be many opportunities to use it.
If I simply wanted to attack a single target, Rock Cannonball was plenty.
'Lightning' was overkill.
I wondered if I could reduce its power somehow.
Experimenting with various things, I accidentally succeeded in generating an electrical current.
Without chanting, I created a small cumulonimbus, compressed it, and released 'Lightning' at a targeted location—electricity would arc to that point.
The voltage seemed low, so despite the discharge, the power was restrained.
I didn't understand the mechanism, but it was convenient.
That said, even at low power, using it up close would electrocute me too and cause serious pain.
Well, not lethal.
Just enough to numb me for a while so I couldn't get up.
Attack magic that backfired on the user was too dangerous to rely on.
But I'd keep practicing.
It would be a great technique for incapacitating opponents.
Electricity targeted objects directly, making it hard to dodge, and the paralyzing effect on nerves might even work through Battle Aura.
I didn't have a test subject at the moment, but if Bardigarde ever returned, I'd ask to use him as a guinea pig.
It could become my trump card in a pinch.
Incidentally, even though the spell was called 'Lightning,' I named this variant 'Electric Shock' to distinguish it.
I'd learned a good spell today.
School Rumors, Part 6 "The Delinquent Leader is Eccentric"