Afternoon plans

"That was amazing, Mimin! You actually won the friendly battle against Yuni!"

"Y-Yeah..."

Lance, there's no need to be so excited about that, you know? It wasn't anything special, so stop shaking my shoulders already... Look, can't you be more quiet, like Sebas is now?

"Mimin, are you okay?"

"Yup! Of course I am!"

"But..."

To be honest, the fight against Yuni shouldn't have been that difficult. I was clearly faster, and stronger, than her. I just wasn't serious at first, and she almost got me because of that. And now, Mina's worried that I got hurt somehow.

Hmm... Everyone was watching us the entire time, weren't they? But why? Is Yuni, perhaps, someone special?

"Did she... say anything, to you?"

"Eh? Do you mean Yuni?"

"Yes... You were standing there for..."

Mina's cat ears are twitching. She's looking at... Luni? It looks like they're communicating using telepathy.

...

"Oh..."

"What is it?"

"Luni says that... She didn't mean to trouble you, Mimin. She says that she's sorry about that."

That's... That's fine, but... Why doesn't she just tell me that directly? Weird...

"Alright, everyone! Let's continue with magic practice in 30 minutes!"

Ah, whatever! I'll think about this later. For now, I just want to lie down, and relax for a moment. With the gentle wind blowing in my face, this is very relaxing...

----------

Really now... Luni has been looking at me for a while now, but she's not doing anything. It's been almost 30 minutes already, and yet she's still...

Luni doesn't talk well with other people? What does that mean, anyway? Is it really that difficult for people to talk to each other? I thought this orphanage is supposed to be like one big family, and yet... I don't know. Everyone else seem to get along well with one another.

Alright, I've decided! I'll talk to them later, together with Mina. I have to! I don't know if this is normal, but I don't think it's good for people, who are living under the same roof, to not talk to one another.

Besides, what's going to happen the next time? Yuni and I aren't on good terms with each other, and yet, Luni and Mina are friends with each other. I can imagine things being really awkward between the four of us...

That's why, I have to find a way to become friends with them!

"What's wrong?"

"Hm? Oh! It's nothing, Mina. I'm just thinking about something."

Now then... My magic is almost fully recovered. Come to think of it, it's been a while since I measured my magic capacity, hasn't it? Alright, gotta remember to do that later, too!

"It's been 30 minutes. Let's continue with magic practice! If anyone is still feeling tired, or hasn't fully recovered their magic yet, please don't push yourselves too hard, alright?"

""""Yeah!""""

Woah! Why is everyone so motivated, all of a sudden? Even Maria is surprised by their reactions.

"Well, good luck, Mina. I'll be here if you need me."

"Y-Yeah..."

I smile at Mina, who seems more nervous than before, as she walks ahead with Lance and Sebas to join everyone else. I guess I'll just do my own thing over here, then.

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Phew... I think I have to stop soon. It's tiring to keep doing magic practice for this long.

...Please, stop staring at me already. What's so interesting about me anyway!? I'm just doing magic practice, and yet, from time to time... Why is everyone staring at me? Even Maria is... But I don't like being stared at by so many people.

...Fine. I'll stop using magic, and see if they go back to doing their own things. I'm tired, anyway.

Mina's also trying hard to learn how to control her magic. She's making great progress, and it's... This is the first time she's ever used magic? Really?

I mean, obviously it's her first time, since she can't use magic before, but... It's kind of amazing how she's doing so well. Just a few hours ago, she's a complete beginner, and she keeps losing control of her magic. But, now, she's already able to maintain control.

Hmm... How long did I take, before I was able to use my magic like that? I think I spent about, 4 hours practicing? Mina is making progress now, as fast as I was back then. That's... incredible.

"Haah..."

Ah, I couldn't help but sigh. What is this feeling I'm having now? Jealousy?

"What's wrong, Mimin?"

"Hm? Oh, it's nothing."

Also, everyone is heading back indoors now. Is magic practice over? It's just Mina and Maria, who are left behind, standing to my right.

"Well... Shall we head back, too?"

"Sure!"

As I agreed, Mina holds my hand, and we start walking together.

"Wait, Mimin!"

"...What? Do you have something to say?"

I knew that Maria has something to say. She's been looking at me the entire time, ever since Mina explained how she increased her magic capacity, which is before magic practice.

"It's just... I just wanted to say... Thank you."

"...For what?"

"For helping Mina. She's always wanted to learn magic, but I was unable to help her..."

Is that it? It's nothing special. I just helped Mina, using what knowledge I had about magic capacity. If that's all Maria wanted to say, then I'm leaving now.

"Wait!"

"..."

"There's still two things I want to ask you about. First, why didn't you join everyone during magic practice?"

"I don't have anything to learn from doing it. That's why."

"But you were doing magic practice by yourself anyway! And, I'm here just to supervise everyone, so that includes you-"

"-Don't need it. I didn't ask for you to stare at me the whole time."

"..."

Haah... Calm down... I shouldn't let my feelings control me.

"Then... Second, you grew up in the Forest of Magic, living together with the Silverwolves and the White Foxes, is that right?"

"Yes."

"By any chance... Have you seen a mirror before? A round mirror with a wooden frame? It's about... this large."

That sounds oddly similar to the mirror I have. Maybe I should show it to her.

"Do you mean, this?"

"What the... That's storage magic, right... Ah, can I look at the mirror for a bit?"

"Sure."

I pass her the mirror, and... She starts rotating it around while staring at it. She's not even using it to look at herself or anything.

"Doesn't seem like it worked... Here you go, Mimin. That's all I wanted to ask you about."

In the end, she passed the mirror back to me without any issues. What was that all about?

"Well then, let's go back, Mina."

"Ah... Yes..."

Now, it's already past noon, so I'm hungry! I can't wait for lunch! Ah, I gotta remember to talk to Yuni and Luni after that, too.