Mr.Adler

First of all, I'd have to disagree. I'm living proof that magic is in fact real but I couldn't very well say that. This information, that magic wasn't widely observed, was shocking but it made sense. My family was nobility so surely we'd have employed mages or something if they existed. What didn't add up was that Levi had a concept for what magic was and whether it was just whimsical thinking by past writers or the recounts of ancient historians, I couldn't be sure.

While processing this new information, I hadn't really reacted so Levi was left to assume I was in shock. I was shaken out of my thoughts by Levi. He was laughing at me but part of him showed relief which I couldn't understand. Maybe this was something that he could hold over me? Either way, being laughed at wasn't fun so I ignored it and continued walking to class.

As soon as I started walking again, Levi stopped laughing and followed behind me again. "Hey Charlie, I'm sorry for laughing." I stopped walking again to look at Levi's guilty expression. I didn't want to go into detail so I flashed him a smile and said "It's okay." I then grabbed his hand and walked with him the rest of the way to class.

When we came to the door, Mr.Adler greeted me as usual but grimaced when he noticed Levi. I didn't know why Mr.Adler did that but looking at Levi's distant gaze, I realized I was the only one who'd noticed so I didn't say anything. "Levi's going to be with me today. You can just teach as normal Mr.Adler" I explained briefly. "Of course" Mr.Adler said, clearly gritting his teeth. I went over to my seat with Levi in tow. The seat was big enough for the both of us so we sat side by side as Mr.Adler taught.

During my last lesson with Mr.Adler, he'd begun to teach basic arithmetic. I was of course already familiar with the subject so I was relieved when Mr.Adler began to teach about the spirit lands today. He started with the topography of the forests surrounding Craith and then continued with the societies that reside within the forest. When he got to the topic of these societies, he began to focus on Levi.

At first, he described the general image of elves. He described them in relation to humans, saying that "while elves are humanoid in shape, they're daintier and much more feminine than humans. They lack physical strength and tend to run away from battle." At this point, I was doubting the validity of his teachings. He continued with "elves also possess vulgar pointed ears. Humans are clearly the superior being." First of all, Ahren was a clear example that elves weren't all dainty and feminine. Even Frieda had some muscle tone, albeit less. Secondly, Mr.Adler was being straight up racist which I couldn't help but feel was because Levi was in the room.

I was trying to find a way to translate racist into Tillish since I didn't know the word when I noticed Levi. He was staring at Mr.Adler with a vacant gaze like he didn't understand. That was the final straw. "Come on Levi, let's go." I grabbed his hand and took him out of the room. Mr.Adler had been turned around when we left so he hadn't noticed that we'd left but he heard us walk out. "Where are you going Charlie?" he asked in surprise. I didn't bother responding and kept walking out with Levi.

We'd made it into the hall when we were forcefully stopped. Mr.Adler had grabbed mine and Levi's arms and pulled us apart; his face was red with fury. "WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING SAVAGE!!" said Mr.Adler to Levi, foaming at the mouth. Sensing the danger, on reflex I pushed Mr.Adler away with wind magic. The attack lacked control and I ended up pushing him a couple meters down the hall. His grip had released from our arms but Levi stood in shock. I couldn't risk Mr.Adler having time to get up so I grabbed Levi's hand and ran.

We entered the foyer where luckily, I saw my parents with Levi's. They turned to look at us running into the room with surprise but I didn't stop until we were behind my parents. Soon after our entrance, Mr.Adler entered the foyer like a feral dog. "THAT BASTARD ATTACKED ME!" Mr.Adler roared. It was after this exclamation that Mr.Adler noticed my parents and tried to recover his image. In this time, I'd begun to explain what'd happened. "Mr.Adler was saying mean things about elves and then when we tried to leave, he hurt us." I wasn't being incredibly specific but I doubted I'd have much time so I aimed to get the main idea across. My statement had gotten a reaction from both sets of parents, who were now standing protectively in front of us, glaring at Mr.Adler. I was glad that id managed to gain such unwavering trust. The man in question was in a state of shock, he'd never expected Charlie to take an elf's side especially after all the slander he'd fed him as a child. Mr.Adler's silence was condemning and as such, he was promptly removed by Geralt, but not before shooting a glare towards Levi.

Mr.Adler was always an asshole, but to harm children was a new level. Levi still looked as though the situation hadn't fully hit him which worried me. I went over and said his name "Levi". He looked up into my eyes. "Are you okay?" He nodded slightly but I felt like he was holding back so I went forward and hugged him tightly. What I didn't know was that Levi wasn't thinking about Mr.Adler at all.

—

After things had settled down, I still had an hour or two before lunch so Levi and I went out to the forest. Levi's expression still remained largely neutral until we arrived at the edge of the forest. Seeing that we were now alone, Levi asked "How did you do that earlier?" I cocked my eyebrow at him. "You pushed Adler back but you didn't push him." Oh shit, I forgot about that. Could I tell Levi that I can do magic or should I lie? "Um, ... that was..." I mumbled. "Was it magic?" Levi asked expectantly. I was shocked which encouraged Levi. "Can you teach me?" he asked while showing a broad smile.

If I didn't tell him now, he might say something which would be troublesome but if I do tell him, he'd owe me and I could swear him to secrecy. Besides, what fun is magic if I keep it all to myself? "Okay but you can't tell anyone." Levi immediately agreed before falling to the ground with crossed legs, looking up in expectation. I sighed with a slight smile before explaining everything, including soul space, cultivation, mana theory and manipulation which he soaked up. He seemed to already have had an understanding of meditation and some aspects of the soul space which was interesting. Apparently in the spirit lands, they had something called the spirit arts which was a way of heightening ones senses. Spirit arts were also sometimes used for naming children, in which the parent would inspect the baby's soul for their name. This process reminded me of how I'd been named which made sense since my mother was from the spirit lands.

It seemed as though the spirit arts worked by sensing surrounding mana to detect movement and energy. In summary, it was like instinctual mana sense but less good since they couldn't see mana with clarity. When explaining mana, I'd had to define it on the spot since I'd never needed to explain it to anyone else. I'd used the English word which sounded a bit strange and described it as an energy that can be manipulated to cause phenomena. I was largely relying on my "prior knowledge" but from what I'd observed so far, it was accurate.

The whole time, Levi readily accepted my word as law. Levi was a very good student; I'd almost forgotten that he wasn't even ten! I was very impressed when he attempted cultivation and succeeded on his second go. He wasn't cultivating in his soul space like I'd done in the beginning, he was doing physical cultivation which resulted in his mana core forming before lunch, which in part annoyed me. Before heading back for lunch, I instructed Levi to continue cultivating until he'd at least reached a fully red core before attempting magic. This way, he'd have better control. A solid foundation is key in all things, I didn't want him rushing and getting hurt.

Once we'd returned to the house, I walked with Levi to my room so that we might clean up before eating. I went through the door and then to the bathroom without hesitation which Levi couldn't do. He stood at the doorway to my room for a few seconds before stepping in and looking around. His eyes focused on a dozen or so picked daisies that were standing in a cup of water. The sight brought a smile to his face as he glanced over to Charlie who had been looking at him. Levi quickly turned away and obscured his smile.

"Come on Levi, you should wash up too" I gestured for Levi to come to the bathroom. Levi was still a bit too short for the water basin so I used magic to bring the water down in the shape of a sphere. Levi stared at the sphere in awe before dipping his hands into it and then bringing his hands to his face to wash. I'd spoken in Tillish when ordering the water down so as not to confuse Levi since I couldn't explain English. A seemingly random language that didn't exist in this world couldn't be explained without lying so I omitted this info.

After washing up we went down for lunch. Everyone was seated where they'd been for dinner yesterday, the only difference was that Levi was no longer glaring at me. From the adults' conversation, it seemed as though the guests would be leaving after lunch but they also spoke about getting a new tutor. It was lucky that Frieda and Ahren hadn't blamed us for Mr.Adler's outburst and instead suggested a replacement. I was all for it. I held Frieda and Ahren in high regard and in the same way I thought highly of someone they might recommend. But while I smiled along while listening to the adults discuss, Levi was looking a bit sad. It was soon after my noticing this that lunch ended so I wasn't given much a chance to interrogate.

Everyone assembled in the foyer to bid the guests adieu. In contrast to our first meeting, both sides now shared genuine smiles except for Levi who was pouting. Was he mad about having to leave so soon? I would've said something to him but it seemed like the adults wouldn't stop talking and I didn't want to interrupt. Blind to Levi's expression, Frieda and Ahren began to walk towards the door with Madelaine and Levi. Levi resisted slightly from his mother's grip before entirely pulling away and running back. Before I could react, Levi had wrapped me in a tight hug. He only held on for a second before releasing and bashfully running off through the now open door. So cute, I guess we really were friends.

Little did I know, that's not how Levi saw it.