After leaving the cafeteria, we headed to the library.
I wasn't sure if the exorcist facility was used year-round, but it still had a dedicated library.
We were heading there because Aya-chan was supposedly working on her summer homework.
"Itsuki-kun, do you know why Aya-san can't use magic anymore?" Shirayuki-sensei asked me.
"...No, I don't. Aya-chan said she doesn't know either," I replied.
"I see..."
"Is this kind of thing common?"
When I asked, Shirayuki-sensei hummed thoughtfully for a moment.
"Losing the ability to use magic is not uncommon. For instance, people who suffer from PTSD—ah, to explain it simply, people who are mentally scarred from fighting 'Ma'—often lose the ability to use magic."
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I immediately thought of someone close to me who fit that example. Nina-chan.
"Other cases could be slumps or yips..."
"A slump and yips? What's the difference?"
"A slump means you can still perform actions, but the results don't follow. For example, you can do 'Kaijutsu' and 'Shijutsu,' but your magic doesn't work as intended," she explained.
I nodded, trying to follow.
"Yips, on the other hand, mean you can't perform the action at all. You might be able to do 'Kaijutsu,' but not 'Shijutsu,' or perhaps you can't even do 'Kaijutsu' anymore, which means the magic itself becomes unusable."
Ah, I see... that makes sense.
I'd heard the terms "slump" and "yips" before in my previous life, but now I fully understood the difference.
"Could it be that Aya-chan is experiencing yips?" I asked.
"It's possible... but usually, slumps or yips happen to more experienced exorcists. It's hard to imagine a six-year-old would develop something like that," Shirayuki-sensei replied, shaking her head slightly.
Indeed, when she put it that way, it made sense. Slumps and yips typically affect athletes who've accumulated experience. While some middle or high schoolers might experience them, Aya-chan, who's only been studying magic for a few years, seems an unlikely candidate.
So why can't Aya-chan use magic anymore?
I tilted my head in confusion, and Shirayuki-sensei continued.
"However, with 'Resonance,' we may be able to find out the reason. Let's give it a try."
Before entering the library, Shirayuki-sensei knocked a few times. From beyond the door, we heard Aya-chan's response.
"Y-yes!"
"I see. Let's find out what's going on, shall we? Aya-san, could you give me your hand?" Shirayuki-sensei asked.
"Y-yes."
At Shirayuki-sensei's request, Aya-chan extended her hand.
The moment she did, threads of Silveit extended from Shirayuki-sensei's arm, connecting to Aya-chan's hand.
The threads wrapped around both of their arms and began to shimmer with a rainbow-like glow. Resonance was now in progress.
"Aya-san, I'm going to take a closer look."
"O-okay."
The moment Shirayuki-sensei closed her eyes, my own vision went black.
Wait, what the!?
I panicked, unable to understand what was happening, but soon enough, my vision returned. What I saw next was... a lush green rice field?
"...A rice field?"
I looked around and realized I was standing on a desolate country road. Houses were scattered far apart, surrounded by nothing but mountains and rice paddies.
The sun blazed down from the sky, and the clear blue sky was almost painfully bright.
"Where is this...?"
"W-why is Itsuki-kun here!?" Shirayuki-sensei's startled voice rang out next to me.
"Uh, Sensei? Where are we?" I asked.
"This is... Aya-san's mind," she said, still looking shocked.
...Wait, what?
I tilted my head in confusion.
It wasn't the fact that I was inside Aya-chan's mind that surprised me—I'd been through this kind of experience before.
What shocked me was that, unlike Shirayuki-sensei, I hadn't connected to Aya-chan through Silveit. I hadn't "Resonated" with her, yet here I was, inside her mental landscape.
"...Why am I here?" I asked, still baffled.
"I-I don't know," Shirayuki-sensei admitted, looking just as confused as I was.
However, her expression quickly shifted to one of determination.
"W-well, there's no helping it now. Consider this field training. Stick close to me, Itsuki-kun."
"Y-yes, understood."
And just like that, an unexpected practical lesson had begun.