Arc 1: Part 27

"All you need to do is gather your mana and think of your element! Imagine it as I did!" Friena shouted while flying in the sky with fire propelled on her feet and back.

"What?" Joshua looked perplexed since he couldn't comprehend what she meant.

"Just ignore what she says," Kyle said. "But you have seen what your magic can do from her example."

"Yeah, if I can replace her fire with my wind, I'll be able to move freely without restriction, and my speed will rise," Joshua said while thinking. "How did she pull it off?"

"She follows her instincts. Sometimes, there are some things that even a human can't describe because they do it so naturally," Kyle laughed.

"Josh, since you can't cast it nonverbally, why don't you create the chant and the magic circle?" Kyle proposed.

"I've been thinking about it," Joshua answered, "but I'm still unsure about it."

He had created his chant, which was easy, but the difficult part was linking it to the creation of the magic circle as the channel for gathering mana and transforming it into magic.

"How about asking your homeroom teacher for help?"

"Yeah, I probably will." But Joshua was actually reluctant to ask his teacher. He wanted to fix it on his own, but he knew he couldn't be too obstinate about it.

"I'll see him tomorrow," told Joshua again before they ended their training.

....

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On Sunday, at Suroff City.

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Halbus promised them lunch, and he did. He reserved one floor of the restaurant exclusively for them to enjoy.

"If you guys keep improving and performing well, then this won't be the last time I will treat you guys," Halbus enticed them. He was well aware that not all of his students were diligent, so he had to lure them with gifts and then discipline them appropriately. Besides that, he had Eric handle the job.

"But don't expect too much. After all, I need money as well." Halbus would go bankrupt if he had to treat them at this restaurant twice a month. It wasn't an expensive restaurant, but the total price was something that would be devastating to his finances.

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After lunch, Kyle went with Friena as promised, and he didn't like the stare he got from his friends. Especially from Bianca, who looked at them as if she found Grade-A gossiping material. Halbus had given them permission to wander around before the curfew at 6 pm.

"Suroff is truly larger than ours," Friena said while taking a walk with Kyle. They lived in the same city, and Kyle's father was the governor of the city, while Friena's father was a commander who lived there. Their city was smaller than Suroff, but it was growing slowly. If Kyle had to choose, he would choose his hometown. Not because of sentimental feelings, but rather because the suffocating feeling in Suroff was too much due to the population.

"Yeah, so where to go first?" Kyle asked.

"I heard there is a park with food stalls; we should go there." Friena guided both of them toward the said park. What she said was true; the park had food stalls stationed around. Kyle also noticed many people gathered in the park as if they were on a picnic.

"Let's get sandwiches first," Friena pulled him toward the food stand which sold sandwiches. Kyle took out his wallet and paid for them. He looked at Friena, who was eating her sandwich happily.

"Let's get the hamburger!"

"Let's get the hotdog!"

"Noodles!"

"That corn dog looks delicious!"

.

It was a series of food eating. Kyle was full after eating four types of foods, while Friena still had the energy to eat more and move around.

"You are really weak, Kyle," Friena mocked. "A strong man needs to eat a lot," she added with a grin.

Kyle shook his head and waved his hand around. "No, that's dumb. Where did you get that idea? Your brain must be too oily to think like that."

Friena silently jabbed his left abdomen with a smile. "You talk too much."

"Damn you," Kyle grunted in pain while following Friena to another food stall. "Can't you act less violent?"

"That's the only way to shut you up," she replied without looking at him. Kyle just grunted away. He didn't want to argue anymore.

After buying more food, they decided to sit down on a bench.

"Hey, Kyle," Friena called.

"Yeah?"

"Why did you refuse to become the Vice President? I know you have good skills in managing people and in the management part. So why?"

"Because it is tiresome," Kyle sighed. "You know me. I don't like to do anything tiresome."

Friena stared at him silently before she turned away and ate her grilled chicken.

"You are a liar," she stated.

"What?" Kyle had his eyes widened in curiosity.

"If you truly don't like tiresome things, you wouldn't have suggested the spars, you wouldn't have agreed to fight Ninia, you wouldn't have helped your friend, and you wouldn't have butted in," she said.

Friena turned to him and said again. "What exactly do you want, Kyle? You are indecisive."

Kyle was silent. He leaned on the bench and looked up to the sky. He honestly didn't know what he was doing. He had set his goal to live leisurely, but he seemed to have failed at doing it.

"It is hard to not return to your true self," he murmured.

"True self?" Friena frowned.

"It seems no matter how much I try to be apathetic about it,... I can't seem to bring myself to do that." Kyle laughed dryly. For all his lifetimes, he was only apathetic to a few things and only to a certain degree, but despite all of that, he couldn't lie to himself.

"Well," Kyle stood up and said, "It is no use to thinking of it. Come, let's go back before the curfew."

Friena didn't have any objection and returned back to Costina with him. However, she was unsatisfied with the answer he gave her. Despite their friendship, she felt like a stranger to Kyle because she still didn't know many things about him.

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Author: Aida Hanabi

Proofreader: Lola

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