Beyond Physics

I kept pondering how the universe worked as we exited the mansion on this estate and the maid held me in her arms as we drew closer to the training grounds. I couldn't help but take a deep breath of fresh air, which helped to calm my nerves.

There were so many things beyond my understanding that it was better just to keep a check list and put a pin it all later. There was a time and place for everything but magic took first precedence! I mean, who wouldn't want to learn magic?!

"Ah, Miss Mary! So good of you to join us." The one adult I somewhat recognized called out.

"Good morning Head Butler Herald," Mary the maid bowed before bowing to the other adult as well, "And good morning to you Madam Serene. Thank you again for helping with Lady Kyra's magic practice."

The older gentlemen Herald was there with his silver fox look and curly mustache. He wore a simple, yet elegant black suit and tie and stood tall and straight despite his aging body. His smile made those wrinkles more pronounced but he had a gentle gaze fitting for this gentle giant.

The other adult was a woman, perhaps in her late 30s, early 40s, and she wore a loose-fitting, light purple robe atop a stunning skin tight red dress. While it was sexy attire, she had her robe closed up enough to hide the sensual parts of her and left me with an impression of someone who took pride in her looks, while still being conservative enough for work.

She wore quite a bit of makeup that was shaded by a wide brimmed hat with a pointed middle. Basically, a witch's hat that I had seen plenty of times in entertainment and such. She also fidgeted with a decorated piece of wood, twirling it between her fingers as she smiled at the maid.

"Good morning to you too sweetheart," Madam Serene grinned and I could catch Mary blush out of the corner of my eyes, "but no thanks needed, I enjoy helping out the little Lady. While she may be having trouble with the practical aspects of magic, she is my best student when it comes to the theoretical knowledge.

"She's too smart for her age and I wish to see her bloom into a great Sorceress someday."

The magic jargon made me all giddy, as I squirmed a little in Mary's arms, forcing her to shift her hold on me as she almost dropped me again. Her actions caught the attention of the others, shifting their gazes to me leisurely laying in her arms. They both looked on with surprise.

"My~ What a cute creature you have there. Is this the critter the Lady has been going on about?" The Madam Serene turned to Butler Herald who nodded.

"Yes it is. I believe its a baby Armored Raptor that Lady Kyra saved and nursed back to health. Quite a rare find out here but not unheard of."

Armored Raptor? Is that what they call... me? I'm pretty sure armadillos and pangolins are mammals but what do I know at this point. Nothing seems to make sense.

"This little one was up and about when I came in. I believe it was looking at itself in the mirror." Mary gave a little giggle, making the others chuckle as well.

"Kwoo! <Damn, just completely brushed over hitting me with a door. I'll get you back one of these days.>" I tried to roll my eyes but the maid only smiled at me. I guess she couldn't see my facial expressions.

She went up closer to the other two and they all began to look at me with big smiles. Yeah, that's right. Eat up all this cuteness and maybe one day I'll rule over this estate! Mwahaha!

I swung my stubby legs around and made cute noises, distracting them from the child who was supposed to be the center of attention.

"Hey! What are you guys doing?" Kyra yelled at us, "I thought you guys were helping me practice!"

She puffed out her cheeks in protest as she huffed and puffed her way over to the adults. Getting a better look at her, she was a cute kid. With a head full of long, wavy auburn hair and sweet brown eyes she stomped her way over.

"I'm sorry for interrupting your training Lady Kyra, but I thought you'd want to see your new friend when he woke up." Mary bowed again before presenting me in an upside down, half curled position.

I had to crane my neck to see her upright and her face lit up the moment she saw me.

"Rollie!! You're awake!" She jumped for joy over to us and tried to take me out of Mary's hands.

'I don't trust you yet kid,' I thought as I scrambled to cling to the maid, 'You may have nursed me back to health but there's not telling if you can even hold me; and Rollie? Really? You can do better than that.'

Mary pulled back slightly and reminded Kyra to be careful. She simply nodded, probably to get it over with before latching her arms around me and carrying me upright. It wasn't the most comfortable position but it was tolerable at least.

Because my shell was too big, she could only hold onto the edges of it to hold me up and while I didn't know how much I weighed, she seemed surprisingly strong for her age. She giggled as she spun me around and jumped up and down with me, making me sick but I dealt with it.

She was just a kid in the end, I couldn't blame her for seeing something as cute as me. She eventually put me down and started running around, I played the part of a cute pet and tried to chase after her but I wasn't mobile enough to do so and I kept falling down.

She and the adults still ate it up and I couldn't help but grin at my cute tricks. Seeing me curl up in order to readjust myself, Kyra laid down on the grass with me.

"I wanna see you make a ball again! Its so cool Rollie!"

'Don't think I like that name champ, but its not like I can argue.' I complained to myself as I slowly turned myself into a ball.

She watched in awe until I curled up to where just my head was poking out. She giggled as she tried to look inside my shell or poke it to see how hard it was. I let her get it out of her system before the adults decided it was time to end the fun for now.

"Lady Kyra, I believe its time to go back inside. The Lord will be returning soon so you should be ready to greet him." Herald stepped forward.

Kyra pouted again as she continued to play with my little paws with less enthusiasm.

"Father's always no fun and scary. I don't wanna go." She mumbled but it wasn't quiet enough it seemed.

"Your father has many duties for the Kingdom so he has to don a serious demeanor while being in public so often. I'm sure once things die down he will be able to relax. You could show him just how much you've progressed with your magic then too."

Kyra's father, who seemed to be the Lord of this manor, also seemed to be quite an important person. I had no idea just how important but it also didn't seem like he was the best father figure, and focused more on his work. Maybe that's why she went to such lengths to save me, she's just lonely.

When Herald mentioned magic, Kyra's eyes brightened as she picked me up again.

"Oh yeah! I wanna show Rollie my magic! You wanna see it Rollie?" She brought me over to where she stood earlier and got in position.

I gave a little "Kwoo!" to let her know I was interested, because I very much was, and she began to recite what she had learned from Madam Serene.

"Mana is the most important thing in using Magic, Rollie. If you don't have enough mana, you can't cast a spell and if you don't have proper control over it, like I do, you can't cast it properly." She began, looking a bit glum as she mentioned her control.

She quickly picked herself up and smiled at me as I watched her curiously.

"Once you have enough control, you have to teach your body the right amounts of mana to put into a spell without it breaking down. Too little and it won't conjure and too much and it will explode. On top of that, its important to swirl your mana evenly in your hands to help generate power in your Magic.

"After mana, the most important thing is your mental image of what you want to cast. For example, if you want to cast the spell 'Fireball' you have to have a good image of what a ball of fire would look like. The same goes for the spell 'Waterball' which I've been practicing since its safer in case I fail.

"Saying the name of the spell also helps with forming an image but Madam Serene says high ranked Sorcerers and Sorceresses don't need to say the names. That's Chantless Magic and its too hard for a beginner like me, but one day I know I'll be able to do it!"

She pumped her fist with a determined face and I 'kwoo'd' in encouragement, excited to see her cast a spell up close.

"Madam Serene says there are some other things to consider when casting Magic as well but I haven't quite learned that yet. She only wants me to focus on the basics and cast my first Magics. Alright! Here I go Rollie!" Kyra got into position again with her legs shoulder width apart and her arms out in front of her.

She narrowed her eyes and her arms shook slightly as she focused on her spell. Sweat began to bead up on her forehead as did another small bubble of water in front of her. I could see that it was a bit unstable, shaking along with her arms but she was able to bring it to the correct size like earlier.

I saw her glance at me, bringing a smile to her face before she confidently shouted "Waterball!" A small explosion went off, making Kyra fall on her butt again but instead of us being splashed with water like her last shot, the Waterball zipped ahead of us toward the training dummy.

Kyra hadn't seen it launch but it had good power to it and soared ahead. The Waterball fell short of the dummy, splashing into the dirt but the fact that she was able to launch it successfully was the big achievement.

She was able to see it hit further away and had her mouth wide open in shock, not quite believing that she had done it. I turned to see the adults had similar expressions, no one thought she would suddenly be able to do it after so many failed attempts.

"I-I did it! I did it Madam Serene! Rollie, did you see it? The Waterball went 'Voom!' and 'Bam!' and-and-and I did it! I cast my first spell!" She jumped around happily and I tried to join her.

I popped myself up off the ground slightly using my large tail to keep balance and made cute noises to accompany her giggles.

"My, I guess Mr. Rollie must be the motivation she needed." I could hear Herald behind us.

"I guess so," Madam Serene added, "I hope that with this she can get into the Academy without any worry."