CH 113

Magic Lecture

“What do you mean?”

Sheila tilted her head.

She only knew that it was an ore containing magic essence. If it was specially processed, it could perform various functions powered by the magic essence stored in it.

“You don’t seem to know that there are different types of magic stones, do you?”

“By types, do you mean cheap or expensive, as you said earlier?”

As expected of the shrewd Zechs, he didn’t fail to listen and immediately replied with an answer. Jornwerner was satisfied with his excellent listening skills.

“That’s right. Magic stones are priced according to the amount of magic power they can store. The higher the content, the rarer the stone.”

Jornwerner stood up lightly as he explained.

Without hesitation, he picked something from the shelf, which was as unorganized as the table. They seemed to be randomly arranged, but perhaps they were lined up according to what Jornwerner could understand.

Placed on the table were stones the size of the palm of one’s hand. Red and blue, they all emitted vivid colors.

What made them different from normal gemstones was that they contained a mysterious shimmer. It felt as powerful as the life force itself.

“Amazing, it’s beautiful….”

“Moonlight stone, which emits a magical light on nights with a full moon; fire-red stone, which can only be mined from the crater of a volcano; and mercury stone, which contains magical power and is produced very rarely in ordinary crystals. These are the purest magic stones. Unlike the scraps of magic stone used for lamps, which have little magic power, these stones are rare and highly valuable. You two know about the regulation that you must report to the country as soon as you find one, don’t you?”

Both Sheila and Zechs could only give a cursory nod. The magic stone was that attractive.

“Zechs, did your family ever deal in magic stones?”

“Magic stones are expensive, and the pre-processed ones are rarely in demand, except among the nobility. I’ve at least seen gems of similar size when I helped out in the family business, but they never felt this powerful….”

Jornwerner continued his explanation, looking amused at the two children nodding at each other with fawning looks on their faces.

“The place where it was mined and the type have little to do with the attributes of the magic stone. There are some biases, though, such as the fact that fire attribute is more common in fire-red stones.”

“Is the attribute something that exists in spir――magic as well?”

Sheila almost said “spirit arts” and hurriedly corrected it. The six attributes of earth, water, fire, and wind, combined with darkness and light were the foundation of spirit arts. Even Sheila knew this.

There was a circular connection between all of them, water to fire, fire to earth, earth to wind, and wind to water. Light and darkness were in a conflictual relationship and were higher than the attributes of the four elements.

Light and darkness spirits were rare in existence, and Sheila had never even used the spirit art of darkness in particular. Since it was a technique that governed the dream and spiritual fields, it wasn’t compatible with the short-sighted Sheila in the first place.

She then tuned in to the lecture again.

“Magic stone change color according to their attributes. So, even though we call them fire-red stones, their appearances may vary.”

“That would make it hard to tell which stones are from where…..”

Jornwerner picked up on Sheila’s casual muttering and his eyes lit up with delight.

“You’re unusually perceptive, Sheila-kun.”

“Is it necessary to say ‘unusually’ every time?”

“It’s true that if the colors are different, it’s hard to tell them apart.”

“Wow, I’m ignored. Now I know how Zechs felt during the cooking class.”

Zechs glared hatefully at Sheila.

“You’re just trying to make fun of me by going to all the trouble of making a dig at me. Moreover, it’s presumptuous to call it a ‘cooking class’ just by you making herbal tea.”

“Excuse me. I’ve proven before that I’m a surprisingly good cook, haven’t I?”

“Don’t flatter yourself.”

The trivial quarrel was brought to an end by the sound of Jornwerner’s annoying clapping sound.

“All right, you guys are getting sidetracked. If you really want to prove a point, why don’t you have a cooking showdown next time? Now, concentrate on the lecture.”

The two students hurriedly straightened their postures.

Jornwerner pointed to a sample magic stone.

“This crimson stone is a mercury stone, which is characterized by its starry glow. This azure stone is a fire-red stone. It looks like a flickering flame, doesn’t it? Incidentally, as I mentioned earlier, you can distinguish moonlight stones by their characteristic of emitting light only on nights with a full moon.”

Comparing the stone in front of her with Jornwerner’s words, Sheila exclaimed in surprise.

“Eh? This red one is a mercury stone and the blue one is a fire-red stone?”

From the impression of the name, she had thought it was the other way around. Next to her, Zechs was also silently surprised.

“The fire-red stone that I prepared here is of water attribute and the mercury stone is of fire attribute. An easy-to-understand contrast, isn’t it?” 

“It’s true. It’s easy to understand and very interesting.”

Sheila was a little apprehensive about whether she could really understand magic, but she was intrigued at once. This was Jornwerner’s skill in teaching.

He was eccentric, but he didn’t scorn them just because they were commoners, nor did he use the same attitude when dealing with nobles as when dealing with them. Maybe that’s why Sheila trusted him somehow.

And that would surely resonate with Zechs as well. Sheila looked sideways at her friend, who was listening intently to the lecture, and gave a small smile.

Time passed quickly, and the lecture finally ended as it began to get dark outside.

As she was about to leave in a hurry, Zechs, who was going ahead of her, suddenly stopped.

“Thank you very much, Jornwerner-sensei.”

He looked firmly at Jornwerner and bowed deeply. His entire demeanor conveyed a deep sense of respect.

“Your lecture was very easy to understand and interesting. More so than any of the other lectures.”

Since “Combat Training with Magic” started in the fifth grade, Jornwerner’s lecture was a new experience for Zechs. Unlike Sheila, who had to take supplementary lessons almost every day.

It was natural for him to be impressed, and his impression of Jornwerner must have changed completely.

“I’m sorry to be so forward, but I look forward to learning from you again.”

Zechs smiled and bowed again before leaving the room this time. Sheila was about to follow but stopped when she remembered what she had forgotten to say.

“That’s right. I’m sorry for bringing Zechs here unexpectedly today. I had your permission, but I should have informed you again beforehand.”

Sheila turned around, apologizing in a manner that was far too casual compared to her friend. Jornwerner stood there looking terribly defenseless for some reason.

He was a man who, like the usual aristocrat, never showed emotion, always smiling with bewitching grace. However, he sometimes had an innocent expression on his face, just like right now.

When Sheila was staring at him with curiosity, he also looked back at her with a strange look.

“…. You’re like a door.”

“?”

Sheila tilted her head in confusion and looked back at the door she had touched. Looking at the wooden door, she couldn’t make out the slightest bit of what he meant.

“It’s a strange feeling. It’s like the world is expanding.”

Sheila raised her eyebrows in suspicion and frowned at his mutterings.

“I don’t really understand, but the world is a big place to begin with, isn’t it?”

When Sheila replied with a simple and obvious answer, Jornwerner’s eyes widened. His azure eyes shined like a starry sky, but she didn’t know why he was so surprised.

“――Right. That’s true.”

“No, you say that as if you just noticed it for the first time.”

“Are you a genius, by any chance?”

“When Jornwerner-sensei says it, it sounds sarcastic.”

Sheila shrugged her shoulders and quickly ran after Zechs.