Chapter 7 - Magic Lesson

"So~ are you ready to endeavour on the path of magic, dear Orion~?" Roswaal said, sipping a cup of tea as he sat in one of the manor's many gazebos.

"Yeah, I'm ready," Orion nodded, sitting opposite him. "But… where are we going to start? It might take a while if you want me to read anything."

"No need for reading~ For you to begin on your path of magic, you only need some basic knowledge and demonstration~" He then raised his finger as he closed his blue eye. "First, can you tell me how magic works from your understanding~?"

Orion then explained what he knew from the comments of Emilia and Reinhard, as well as Beatrice's little lesson about spirit affinity and his divine protection. 

"People have mana stored in their… gates, right? Yeah, and they can use that mana to cast spells of various elements, which people also have affinities for. Speaking of that, Puck mentioned being an expert in fire magic, but I've only seen him use ice against Elsa. What's up with that?"

Roswaal nodded his head. "Quite a simple explanation, but not incorrect~ As for why Puck is considered an expert on fire magic, that will be explained as I tell you about the elements."

Roswaal then opened his palm, summoning six orbs of various colours.

"First, there is fire. Contrary to what you may think~ this element governs temperature as a whole rather than only fire~, allowing one to raise and lower it to their will. Puck, as you may expect, is the latter~," he said, a red orb rising above the rest.

"Water is similar~, as while also allowing one to conjure water and ice, also governs life and healing~. Earth and wind are what you would expect~, allowing users to manipulate and generate both the ground and the air," Roswaal then allowed a black and white orb to float upwards. 

"Lastly~, there are the two rarer elements, yang and yin~ Yin's main specialty is separation, allowing one to separate sight from a person by using Shamak, time from an object through Minya, and space itself such as Beatrice's Door Crossing, though that is an advanced application~"

'That's… quite cool. I hope yang is just as strong,' Orion thought, listening to the man with bated breath.

"And then there is yang, which is essentially the opposite of yin, governing the 'connection' or 'mending' of things~ such as connecting people's senses~, connecting them to strength through enhancement~, and generating light~"

"Um, question," Orion said, raising his hand. "How does 'connecting' relate to generating light?"

Roswaal smirked. "Magic and Od Laguna work in mysterious~ ways, but it could be said that light is the fabric of our reality, no~? After all~, it is only because of the light of the sun that we are able to have a conversation like this~"

"Uhh, sure," Orion nodded. "Please continue."

'I don't really get it, but I guess I'll just have to deal with it.'

"Good~ But I understand your confusion~, yin and yang are difficult to definitively categorize~, but you can think that anything that one can do, the other can do the opposite~," Roswaal said, finishing his explanation on the magical elements. "As for how to perform~ magic, that is done through casting~"

"Wait," Orion interrupted, too confused to bother raising his hand. "Didn't you just summon those orbs without a chant?"

"Hmm~ that is something one can do with enough mastery over a spell~ still far above your current level~," Roswaal explained. "But yes~ for each spell, there is an accompanying chant~ You can also increase the power of a chant by adding 'El', 'Ul', and 'Al' beforehand~ Though you won't be using those level spells for a while yet~"

Orion cupped his chin in thought. "Is it really that easy? Just by chanting the right words and out comes a spell?"

"Fufufu~! Not at all~!" Roswaal said. "First, one must control the mana as it leaves your gate, forming it into the spell~ The chant does most of the work, but you must still form it yourself~ This is done primarily through a mix of visualization and pure mana control~"

"'The chant does most of the work'... so, is it like creating an outline, while you yourself follow it?" Orion asked.

"That is a good way of explaining it~," Roswaal nodded. "But you not only have to generate the spell~, but also be able to control it~ This part is exceptionally~ hard with advanced spells~ But for now, let us move on to the basic spells~"

Getting up from the bench, Roswaal then walked out of the gazebo with Orion following behind before the man suddenly stopped and raised his hand.

"Goa."

Suddenly, a ball of flame appeared, hovering over Roswaal's hand as he continued.

"Fura."

Orion heard the air screech as the fireball was suddenly cut, dissipating into the air.

"Lumina."

Finally, a flash of light was emitted from Roswaal's hand, causing Orion to wince as he looked away.

"Those are the three simplest of the basic spells for each of your elemental affinities~ in fire, wind, and yang respectively~," Roswaal said. "Goa, which allows you to create and control projectiles of fire~ Fura, which allows you to unleash attacks of concentrated wind~ and Lumina, which allows you to generate light. Any questions~?"

"Y-Yeah, just one," Orion said, his vision having finally returned to normal. "What do you mean by 'basic' spells?"

"Hmm~ In essence, they are the different applications that each element has and are known throughout the world~ By mastering these spells, mages can build off of them to use other spells or even create their own~" Roswaal explained. "Now, I will explain the ones I want you to start with~ as well as their chants~ To start, I want you to use Goa~"

"Right now?" Orion asked, surprised.

"Indeed~! I am a busy man, after all~"

Closing his eyes with a nod, Orion began to focus on that heat in his core as he felt a hand rest on his head.

"Sir Roswaal?" he voiced, confused.

"It's alright~ I am just here to assist you as it is the first time you have used your gate~" Roswaal answered.

Continuing to look inward, Orion felt the heat in his body.

'That must be my gate, with my mana trapped inside it. So, first, I need to visualize fire,' he thought.

What was fire?

In simple terms, fire was energy.

It was the release of energy during a combustion reaction in the form of heat and light. 

To create fire, you need three things: heat, oxygen, and fuel.

The oxygen was present in the air, but where would Orion find fuel and heat?

'To keep it burning… mana must be the fuel,' he thought. 'And to get the initial spark of heat… I just need some visualization.'

Picturing the time he had burned his hand on the stove, as well as the nights he had gone camping with his family, surrounding the bonfire as the crackle and hiss of the wood echoed throughout the forest, Orion began to get a picture.

'Retain the image… retain the knowledge of what fire is on a scientific level… slowly let your mana release from your gate, willing it outward into a ball, transforming it to act as fuel… and-'

"Goa."

As Orion spoke the chant, he suddenly felt a warmth emanating from his hand. And opening his eyes…

"Whoa!" he exclaimed. "I… I did it!"

"...Indeed you did, Orion~" Roswaal said calmly.

Internally, however, Roswaal was quite shocked.

'That mana control… is he truly a beginner? Could it do with his divine protection? And to not only cast it on his first try but to have it remain so stable… it seems that you are the most unexpected of boons, Orion,' he thought, his eyes sparkling in interest.

"Well done~ but there are more spells to practice~," Roswaal said. "Now that you have an idea~ do you feel confident in continuing~?"

"Yes! Please!" Orion nodded, feeling his blood pumping from excitement.

—

Having gone through Roswaal's lesson, Orion was now meditating in the middle of the yard, refining his image of each element and spell so that he knew what to think of when he conjured it, as well as trying to get his mana moving without having to activate a spell.

While he had not gone through every spell available to him, as both he and Roswaal thought that would be too much for a beginner, he instead was left with six to take home.

There was, of course, Goa, Fura, and Lumina, which Roswaal had initially demonstrated and explained. 

There was also Akra, a yang spell which allowed the caster to enhance a target, either as a general enhancement or, with enough control, enhancing a specific aspect of them, such as their sight, strength, or speed.

Next was Inferna, a fire spell which Roswaal had suggested Orion practice to get the feel of spreading mana over his body, as the spell essentially coated the body and weapon of the caster in fire, increasing their attack and defence. This fire, of course, was harmless to the user.

'But I wish he had told me that before I started rolling on the ground,' Orion thought, remembering that shameful moment.

And lastly, there was Jiwald, a yang spell that fired heat rays from his finger, which he used to accidentally scorch the ground on his first cast.

'...I hope Rem doesn't hate me for that,' he lamented.

Overall, his magic repertoire was quite weak. But with enough training, Orion would be able to increase his control over both magic and mana, while also increasing the power of each spell.

…Hopefully.

And now that he knew the feeling of mana… he was much more confident that his morning sword training would start to bear some fruit.

'But it is a shame I won't be able to use Puck's advice,' Orion thought.

After trying to cast Huma, which was a fire spell that generated a shield of ice, Orion was left with the discovery that he was a 'flame' mage in the fire element.

Essentially, as Roswaal had explained, fire was divided into two categories: those who could increase temperature, which were flame mages, and those who could decrease temperature, which were ice mages, like Emilia.

This sub-categorization of an element also happened with water, where some could only use the healing aspect of the element, while others could only use the water and ice generation part of it. 

While there was this separation, some people could use both aspects of these elements, like Rem with her water magic. 

But unfortunately for Orion, he was not one of those people.

'Well, I think I have enough on my plate as is,' he thought. 'And Roswaal said that those categorizations are just affinities, so even though it would be harder, I could still learn ice magic if I trained hard.'

"Orion?"

Orion was broken out of his meditation, which had quickly turned into a review of his lesson, by the soft voice of Rem.

"Yes, Rem?" Orion asked.

"Rem was about to begin sweeping the guest rooms and was wondering if you could help lift the furniture while Rem swept under it. Of course, you can refuse if you wish," she said.

"No! No, this is great!" Orion said, getting to his feet. "Finally a chance to repay your kindness for helping me learn to read. Lead the way!"

Joining Rem on her chores, Orion childishly wished to show off some of his well above-average strength, but unfortunately, he was quickly shown up by Rem herself, as she was able to lift a wardrobe with one hand. An impossible feat for Orion himself.

'...She really is a superhuman. In more than just her looks and housekeeping skills,' Orion thought dryly. 'Still… this wasn't all useless. Who would have thought lifting stuff would help me advance my fighting ability?'

Having been pushed to the limit with some of the items that required lifting, Orion had noticed he had unconsciously begun using mana to enhance his strength and durability. And, focusing on that feeling, he had started to be able to emulate it to some success.

'It still isn't usable in a fight, as it takes too much focus to activate. In fact, I don't think I can even use it with a practice swing if I want to keep my form good. But… it's a start.'

With his newly discovered mana enhancement, although it was only at an elementary level, Orion was just barely able to keep up with Rem, unaware of the glances of both suspicion and amusement the girl had been sending him.

'He's improving too fast to be a spy if he wanted not to arouse suspicion, and much too weak to be an active member of the witch cult,' Rem thought. 'But… that smell… What is going on with you, Orion?'

—

It had been a few days since Subaru and Orion had arrived at the Mathers manor, and things had settled into a comfortable rhythm. 

Subaru was finally getting the hang of his servant duties while joining Orion's morning training with his 'radio calisthenic' exercises, and Orion had slowly improved at magic and swordsmanship, while also helping Emilia out with her work and studies.

But for Orion, the most pleasing change had to have been-

"Orion, are you finished for today?" Rem asked, holding a towel and a large glass of water.

"Yeah, thanks as always, Rem," Orion said, grabbing the towel to dry off his face that had been dampened with sweat.

Over the past couple of days, Orion had noticed how Rem had gotten closer to him whenever she could, always trying to keep an eye on him.

At first, Orion's heart had been racing at the possibility of the girl harbouring feelings for him, but he quickly discarded that thought.

'She probably is just being nice while wanting to keep an eye on the new guy,' Orion thought. 'I did come here in pretty suspicious circumstances, after all.'

But past the skeptical gaze, Orion had noticed there was genuine kindness in the girl. A kindness that had been most easily shown by her bringing him water and a towel after his swordsmanship training.

As a result of this, as well as their interactions around the manor, it was safe to say that the two had gotten closer. 

"Do you have any work that needs my help today?" Orion asked before gulping down the water.

"No," Rem shook her head with an imperceptibly small smile. "Rem is going this afternoon to get some supplies and food from the nearby village, but Rem thinks Subaru and I will be enough. He's finally gotten to an acceptable skill level for most of the other chores."

"I see… well, if you need anything, you know where to find me," Orion responded.

"Rem has no intention of interrupting your aid of Lady Emilia's work, but Rem appreciates the sentiment."

Rem's expression then turned a little tense.

'Just do it, Rem. You've found nothing that would hint at him being a witch cultist, and he's much too nice to be one, so just ask!' she chided herself internally.

"Orion… why…" Rem gulped in nervousness.

'...Please don't be a cultist, Orion. It would make Rem feel… unpleasant.'

"...Why do you have that disgusting scent on you?" she asked.

Orion's face turned blank from surprise before he backed away from Rem with a red face, hastily sniffing his armpits to check for the aforementioned 'disgusting scent', but to no avail.

"S-Sorry Rem… for making you go through that. I guess I've gotten used to it?" he said, airing out his shirt. "I-I'll go take a bath. Again, sorry-"

"Fu-!"

He was interrupted by the sound of a small chuckle.

"Fufufu!"

Hearing Rem's giggle, Orion was held in place, unable to move.

'Cute…' he thought.

Eventually calming down, Rem then looked at him with a smile. A real smile this time.

"It's fine, Orion," she said, wiping the tear that had gathered in her eye. "In fact, Rem is glad Orion doesn't know."

Still amazed, Orion could only say one thing.

"...Your smile is really beautiful, Rem."

That instantly caused Rem to stand stock still as her cheeks gained a heavy tint of red.

Her mind going blank, Rem did the only thing she could think of at the moment, and ran away back to the manor, leaving Orion confused, alone, and most importantly, with a rapidly beating heart.

'What was that nonsense Subaru was talking about? 'Gap moe'?' he thought, looking at the retreating maid as he pressed a hand against his thumping chest. '...Maybe it wasn't nonsense after all.'

—

Having washed his face and put out the candle, Orion snuggled under the covers, his face set alight in a gentle smile as he thought about the day.

'I feel like I got closer to Rem, my swordsmanship is slowly getting better, I can finally aim my magic attacks properly, and I even taught Emilia the Pythagoras theorem. Yeah… it was a good day,' Orion thought. 'And it wasn't only good for me, huh?'

Orion's mind went to Subaru, who had been bragging about going on a date with Emilia tomorrow before turning in.

He was happy that his excitable otherworldly partner had gotten his wish, but in the days spent working with Emilia, Orion knew that the girl was a bit too innocent in matters relating to love.

'Oh well. They'll grow together, I guess,' Orion thought.

With a happy and healthy mind, Orion closed his eyes, letting his fatigue take him to the land of dreams.

…

And a moment later, he found himself sitting in a chair, with a familiar children's book held in his hand.

"Alright! Time to start the day! I have to get my chores done and…"

Subaru's excited voice trailed off as he looked at his hands with fear before turning to meet the eyes of Orion, his brown eyes opened wide in disbelief.

It took but a moment for the two of them to come to the same conclusion.

Somehow, they had looped again.

Somehow… Subaru had died.