Kaze

After they ate, they went back to the place Nova went missing.

『Okay! Go ahead and try again. Let's not go missing again, okay Nova?』[Raina]

Everyone scattered while Nova and Marn stood next to Reagan and Raina.

『Okay. This is a good outcome for your class already!』[Raina]

Reagan nodded.

『In fact, Nova's achievement might net him a few merit points.』[Reagan]

Nova sank into thought when Reagan said merit points, until he remembered the empty store at the beginning of the year.

『...Merit points? I completely forgot about that! What can I do with them?』[Nova]

『You can purchase magic stones for training, artifacts, or even use them to raise up your grades.』[Reagan]

『...Artifacts?』[Nova]

Reagan nodded.

『It's a lecture I'll give later, just assume that they're items with strange magical properties.』[Reagan]

Marn asked a question too.

『Reagan! Will this squirrel actually become something strong?』[Marn]

He poked its stomach and it bit him back.

『Ouch! What the heck was that for?!』[Marn]

Reagan shrugged.

『Could be. Xandis used to be like a regular snake you know.』[Reagan]

Marn sighed.

『But isn't he your summoned creature?』[Marn]

Raina cut in.

『Do you want to know how strong a tamer can be?』[Raina]

Marn's eyes seemed to shine in excitement.

『Yeah! Can they be as strong as Nova's partner?』[Marn]

Nova looked down at Sir Fluffles when Marn said this, causing Sir Fluffles to put his tongue out and pant back at Nova.

『...Strong as his partner? I don't know. It seems that they get along unreasonably well.』[Raina]

Suddenly, Sir Fluffles flew up into Nova's arms, causing Marn to look away from Raina.

『Sir Fluffles loves Nova!』[Sir Fluffles]

Whenever Sir Fluffles was nearby, Nova felt an endless stream of happiness.

『...Hehe. Nova loves you too.』[Nova]

Marn looked away from those two and looked back at Raina.

『Wait! So, does how well they get along with each other have anything to do with getting stronger?』[Marn]

Raina nodded her head.

『Depending on the bond with the creature, the development of the creature will change in many different ways.』[Raina]

『Then.. How do I make him stronger?!』[Marn]

『Bond with your partner. Only time and training can make them stronger.』[Raina]

Reagan didn't agree here.

『...Or so she says, but in reality, you should just make sure that they eat food and train their mana like you do. 』[Reagan]

Her face went a little flushed from embarrassment.

『...Yeah! That too. Partners train their mana similarly to you. Just feed them and they'll train on their own. You can also have it train by fighting other! Just… not yet.』[Raina]

Marn looked at the chunaru that seemed helpless.

『Hmm… So basically, I have to wait until he's grown up, huh?』[Marn]

『Yeah. Wait until he's at least a second circle beast. Most first circles are extremely weak, just like when you just began a few weeks ago.』[Reagan]

Marn stared at the squirrel on his shoulder.

『...Hmm. Maybe you aren't so bad after all.』[Marn]

The squirrel stared at him strangely before a light drew everyone's attention away from him.

『Oh?! Who is that?』[Raina]

She got excited, as she saw a bright green light.

Sophia ran over to where the others were talking.

『That light was so bright! What was that?』[Sophia]

They ran toward the place where the light came from, but found nobody in the area.

『Where is everybody?』[Nova]

『...They jumped into the enclosures, didn't they?』[Raina]

Moments later, Jade crawled out of the enclosure with extreme winds with cuts all over her body.

Raina ran over and pulled her over.

『What are you doing?!』[Raina]

『..I went inside to see them.』[Jade]

『And?! 』[Raina]

A green lizard crawled out of her uniform's collar and flicked his tongue at Raina.

『...A syldrake?!』[Raina]

『...His name is Kaze.』[Jade]

『...Uh. Well done.』[Raina]

Jade walked past Raina to the rest of the group.

『Jade! Let me heal you!』[Nova]

He came running over with a blue flame prepped.

She smiled at him.

『..Thank you.』[Jade]

The blue flames enveloped her and healed her scratches slowly.

Raina's eyes could not help but wander over to Nova's flame.

『...Oh? That's a really interesting ability.』[Raina]

『Huh? My Blessed Flame Rebirth? It just uses mana to turn things into something else.』[Nova]

She had a wide eyed look for a moment before returning to her normal expression with a contemplative look.

『...Like an alchemist?』[Raina]

『A what?』[Nova]

Reagan stepped into the conversation here.

『I forgot to tell you, Nova is a houseless student that was forced to join Genesis Academy due to a strange event.』[Reagan]

Her eyes shined for a bit.

『Oh?! That's amazing! Doesn't that remind you of-?』[Raina]

Reagan already nodded his head and had an uncharacteristically wide smile.

『Yes. I hope to be able to make Nova as great as him. Maybe they'll even fight side by side in the future!』[Reagan]

Nova was confused about what they were talking about.

『Who are you talking about? Why are you so happy, Reagan?』[Nova]

Reagan looked back at Nova with his smile.

『There is a houseless mage that is one of the leading powerhouses of our nation. Not many people know about his name, so I don't think telling you would help. There is a super hero series about him though! Have you seen the show "Solomon's Gate"?』[Reagan]

Nova thought hard.

『...I think I've heard of it.』[Nova]

He vaguely remembered Freyana telling him that she wanted to watch that show next week.

『It's a masterpiece! But the person is even more amazing! I've fought side by side with him a long time ago and he would defeat the enemy without a single casualty!』[Reagan]

Raina had a half troubled smile while looking at Reagan go on.

『...Sorry, Nova. Reagan is a fangirl only when it comes to this person. A houseless mage is like the most famous story that nobles hear, so they're held in sort of high esteem.』[Raina]

『Huh?! Do you mean to say that he isn't interested?!』[Reagan]

Nova shook his head.

『No. I am. A lot of us houseless civilians dream about becoming strong mages one day. Even if we had to go through normal school before we arrived at military school. Being able to go to Genesis Academy is a blessing for me.』[Nova]

Reagan's face softened a bit.

He put a hand on Nova's shoulder.

『I'm glad you understand the perks that you get. But keep in mind, being treated as a noble has its downsides too.』[Reagan]

Nova stared back at Reagan, who seemed uncharacteristically soft today.

『The more I see you kids, the more I'm reminded of the first class I taught.』[Reagan]

Raina walked close to Reagan and grabbed his arm.

『Don't, Reagan.』[Raina]

He then sighed and looked at the 4 students with a serious look.

『Never let your power control you. You are only as strong as you think your enemy is weak.』[Reagan]

Something about this Reagan felt off to them, but they committed the words to memory.

『...』

After a moment of unbearable silence, two noises reached their ears.

Anastasia and Thomas crawled out of the enclosures.

『You two look fine!』[Raina]

They didn't have a single scratch on them.

Jade's lizard flicked his tongue at everyone nearby.

『No luck?』[Jade]

Thomas and Anastasia both held a desolate look in their eyes.

『The beasts weren't interested..』[Thomas]

『They ran away from me..』[Anastasia]

Raina couldn't help but laugh.

『Haha! So you're too weak, and she's too strong!』[Raina]

The look on their faces sank even more when she said that.

She gave them a sympathetic look.

『It's alright. You can always get stronger. If you haven't met your beast today, it just means that it wasn't meant to be yet!』[Raina]

As she said that, a bright blue light appeared from behind her.

『Wait. The water?!』[Raina]

They ran over to the water and looked down.

Coming up was Katherin.

『Puwah! Hello!』[Katherin]

She waved at them from the surface of the water.

『Can I have some help?』[Katherin]

Nova gave her a swift thumbs up.

『Area!』[Nova]

A hole appeared below her, causing her and some of the water to get sucked down only to appear a few feet away from the group.

『...Thanks, Nova!』[Katherin]

『No problem.』[Nova]

The class semi-crowded around her.

Marn had a flushed face and averted his eyes from her.

『What do you have?!』[Thomas]

She reached into her pocket and pulled out a clam shell.

『...A clam?』[Thomas]

She shook her head.

『No! She's just a little shy.』[Katherin]

The shell opened a little, before it closed again.

『...She's too shy. That's okay!』[Katherin]

She happily laughed to herself.

『Uhm.. Kathy? Can you please change your clothes?』[Marn]

Looking down, she then noticed that the white shirt under her uniform was soaked.

Her face went bright pink before she covered herself with her arms.

『...Nova! Please help me!』[Katherin]