Exactly one month ago, on the 9th of the Moon of Azure, it was the day after I visited Nel in the hospital. Immediately after the bell announcing the end of the day’s classes rang out, Nel arrived at the dormitory. She executed my request to teach me magic on the same day.
At that time, only Lily and I were in the dorm. Fiona had gone out for shopping and snacks for the Lich extermination quest she took on.
Anyway, this was the first time Lily had met Nel face to face.
“Hello, Chrono-kun. Um, this girl is definitely a… member of the party…”
“Ah, that’s Lily. Come on, Lily, say hello—”
“Yaaah! Go back!!”
Lily was the first to bark. Like a Salamander before an intruder in its territory, she hissed and growled in intimidation. While her childish demeanor might be cute, it certainly lacked etiquette in front of a princess she had just met.
“Um, Chrono-kun…”
Suddenly faced with the adorable fairy’s fierce hostility, Nel was at a loss and flustered.
“You can’t come in! Go back!”
Lily was raising her voice. A fairy barrier was fully deployed around her small body, flickering periodically with light.
It was the same glow I had seen when I first encountered Lily in the Fairy Forest and when a real fairy warned me to “get out of the forest.” The intense blinking was a sign of the fairy’s intimidation.
“Sorry, Nel, just wait for a moment.”
I hurriedly picked up the growling Lily, closed the front door, and temporarily retreated. While holding the pouting and dissatisfied Lily, I quietly asked her.
“Hey, Lily, what’s wrong all of a sudden?”
“Muu, why is that person coming to our place!? You’re not allowed to meet with Chrono! It’s dangerous!”
It seemed that young girl Lily understood the content of the First Element Master Emergency Meeting in that way.
Unwitting contact with Nel, who is of royal blood, is dangerous, which equals to being a person she shouldn’t meet. To the young Lily, Nel must appear as a winged monster.
“Of course I’ll be cautious, but to ban meetings completely—”
“No way!”
That seemed to be a firm refusal. It felt like she was demanding a breakup with a cheating partner. Well, I’ve never had a girlfriend, so I don’t even have any experience with cheating.
“I’m sorry, Lily, but I really need Nel’s powers.”
“Why!? Can’t Lily do it!?”
The reaction was so intense it felt like I could hear a sound effect of “Gaan.” Her eyes and mouth wide open, the shock was painfully clear.
“Unfortunately, you can’t teach me modern magic, can you?”
“Um, um… if you blow, fire comes out.”
“That’s your unique magic, I can’t imitate that.”
I felt bad that Lily was about to cry, but this was a problem I couldn’t help. Lily had relied solely on her powerful unique magic and hadn’t learned modern magic like a typical magician.
Of course, Lily currently had the prowess worthy of a Rank 5 adventurer, so her experience honing her unique magic wasn’t inferior to proper magical training.
“I explained this before, but in order for me to master the blessing, I really need to learn modern magic.”
“Uu… isn’t Fiona good enough?”
“Unfortunately, I couldn’t keep up with Fiona’s lessons.”
In my cowardice, I still hadn’t told Fiona that her explanations were filled with sound effects and were hard to understand. Ah, I should be prepared for the Second Element Master Emergency Meeting around today.
“That’s why I absolutely have to ask Nel to teach me. I understand why you’re on guard, but please try to understand.”
“…Okay, I’ll listen to what Chrono says.”
It seemed like she reluctantly agreed, but Lily acquiesced. As expected of Lily, what a well-behaved child she is.
Thus, Nel was officially permitted to come and teach me magic—
“Haah… here we go again.”
In front of me now was the ever-glimmering Lily, performing her fairy-style intimidation, and Nel, nervously trying to approach the dorm.
“Chrono isn’t here! Go back!”
“N-No! I promised Chrono-kun that I’d teach him more when he returns from his quest!”
It was somewhat comical that a princess was genuinely intimidated by a little girl, but to her, it was serious.
Anyway, unless I intervened, this wouldn’t be resolved.
“Lily, don’t you think it’s time to be a little nicer to Nel?”
“Chrono!?”
“Ah, Chrono-kun!”
Lily looked a bit guilty while Nel beamed a bright smile.
“I’m sorry, Nel, Lily is just being cautious, so please forgive her; she doesn’t mean any harm.”
“Yes, it’s fine. I’m not concerned at all.”
Thank you for that lovely royal smile. Truly, Nel is an angel.
“Muu!”
In contrast, Lily puffed her cheeks out in an unimpressed manner. However, she jumped into my chest and cuddled up to me. Even angry, Lily is still a cute fairy.
But, Nel shot me a slightly sharp gaze, “Hmm…” at my overly sweet treatment of Lily. I played dumb and pretended not to notice.
“Anyway, let’s go inside.”
Carrying Lily, I led Nel into the dorm. We headed for the lounge, not my room.
On the night of the 9th of the Moon of Azure, the Second Element Master Emergency Meeting was held to discuss whether it was permissible for me to learn magic from Nel. Since Nel was visiting, the resolution was in favor, but several rules had been established.
One of them was not to have lessons in my room.
If Lily dislikes someone entering my personal space, should I suggest separating rooms? When I did, she cried. Apparently, that was not the issue.
In any case, magic lessons from Teacher Nel would always take place in the lounge. Well, I had no objections as long as she would teach me anywhere.
“Chrono-kun, I’ll prepare tea and snacks, so wait a moment.”
By the way, since the 9th, Nel had started bringing some kind of offering with her every time. It made me a little uncomfortable since I was the one being taught. But, Nel’s tea and snacks were delicious, making it hard to refuse. I couldn’t help but indulge in her kindness.
“Thank you as always.”
“You’re welcome,” she replied with a cheerful smile and headed confidently toward the kitchen. I entrusted the preparations to her, but since only Nel could brew tea well, I let it slide.
“Lily, make sure to say thank you when you eat.”
“…Okay.”
While exchanging such pleasantries, I settled down with Lily still in my arms. She was just right to sit on my lap.
By the way, this was the second rule of the lessons: Lily must always be present during teaching.
In case Nel had any ulterior motives and tried to telepathically hack my brain, I kept Lily, who could immediately sense and defend against telepathic presence, by my side. I thought I might be too cautious, but neither Lily nor Fiona would budge on this point.
Of course, this led to the suggestion from the Great Witch Teacher that perhaps Fiona could be the one to teach.
At that moment, I steeled myself and finally spoke up. That her explanations were filled with sound effects and hard to understand. Fiona cried. I wanted to cry too. A painful memory from the past.
“Alright, please enjoy it while it’s hot.”
After waiting a few minutes, Nel returned with steaming red tea and mousse-like sweets in cups. She efficiently finished setting the table, and it was finally time to eat.
“Um, I think we finished with the basics of ‘Defense Enhancement’ and ‘Concentration Enhancement’ last time, right?”
While savoring the ridiculously delicious mousse that was likely bought from a famous shop in the Upper District, I checked the progress of the lesson. It had been almost a month after all.
“Yes. I want to prioritize learning these two, so please continue quickly.”
“Yes, leave it to me!”
With a thud, Nel placed a thick grimoire on the table and proudly answered, her large chest puffed out. It shook. Even without the attribute of being a big-breasted girl, it was hard not to glance.
“Chrono, say ah!”
“Hm, ah… ah.”
Lily suddenly pointed a spoon at me, so I ate almost reflexively.
“Is it delicious?”
“Yes, it’s delicious. Do you want some too?”
“Yeah! Aaah!”
In return, I fed Lily, who was on my lap. I felt like a doting dad. Ah, this is soothing.
By the way, the spoon I used was one Nel had brought. This luxurious silver piece, embossed with a relief of white wings, was the same one I had used when I ate pudding during her hospital visit.
Not only that, Nel brought the entire set of tea cups, giving me a sense of commitment.
However, the set didn’t include small spoons for children, so Lily’s spoon was her own.
“Um, Chrono-kun… well, I want to…”
As I doted on Lily, Nel seated across from me leaned forward and called out.
“Hm, what’s wrong?”
“I-I also… uh, um, never mind.”
“O-Oh, really?”
Suddenly, she let out a troubled sigh as if she had given up on something, and sat back down quietly. What was that about? Could it be that my affectionate interaction with Lily was too creepy…? I hope not, but I’d better be careful.
“—Thank you for the meal.”
Shortly after, we finished eating, and it was finally time to begin lessons after a month.
The Fourth Trial was coming up. I needed to grasp ‘Defense Enhancement’ and ‘Concentration Enhancement’ to some extent so that I could challenge the Last Rose!
“Fuwaa~”
In contrast to my enthusiasm, Lily yawned, feeling drowsy after eating the snacks. Come on, I need to focus.
Lily is gathering her strength.