Two weeks later...
Situated in North Ode was a certain nature park, its plaza a popular testing ground for Mages and Magi-Crafters alike. Today, however, two especially enthusiastic visitors had drawn the attention of everyone around them: Tanya and Alisa.
Here there were Mages of all kinds—dignified master Mages giving hard-faced lectures to their disciples, intermediate Mages showing off their spells and smirking around at everyone to make sure they were watching, wealthy Mages flaunting their top-of-the-line magical equipment—and in the middle there stood a female Knight with an oversized sword casting mid-tier spells while a tiny girl looked on fervently. Of course they were going to stick out.
Tanya canceled her current spell and smiled as Alisa let out a sigh. “You’re doing great, Alisa.”
Frankly, she was impressed. Alisa’s stamina, knowledge, and casting technique were all well above average, and in some areas, she was already on par with an Imperial Magic Academy incumbent. We might just be able to pull this off!
Once Alisa had caught her breath, she rounded on Tanya. “Please, Sensei, let me try again!”
“L-Look... You don’t have to call me ‘Sensei,’ okay?”
“Sure I do! You’re my teacher! And great teachers are worthy of respect!”
Alisa’s practical training had progressed smoothly.
Be it small amounts circulating through the body or large amounts circulating around the world, mana circuits were the foundation of all magic. It took a certain level of prowess to pick up on that—and fortunately, Alisa possessed that aptitude.
“You must’ve really put a lot of practice into this, haven’t you?” Tanya mused as they were running through another practice round.
“Oh, no... I still have a long way to go, so...”
“Don’t downplay your efforts! You’ve worked hard, and you have the results to prove it.”
Tanya beamed at her, and she blushed. “Well... yeah... I guess...” she mumbled shyly, staring at the ground.
“Great stuff,” Tanya nodded to herself. “Really great.”
The entrance exams would surely be a formidable hurdle, but not an insurmountable one. At the rate they were going—
“This might actually work out.”
“What was that, Sensei?”
“Oh, nothing.”
Right as break time rolled around, they spotted a familiar pair of lavender braids in the distance.
“Tanya! Alisa!” It was Nadine, and she was carrying sandwiches in both hands.
“Hiya, Nadine!”
“I got permission to take a long lunch today, so I thought I’d stop by.” She smiled softly, and in that moment, she almost seemed like Alisa’s actual sister.
As much as I’d love to join... I’ll only do so under one condition. It was a bold demand and unexpected from this seemingly mild-mannered counter clerk. What a peculiar young woman we have here, Tanya thought. And more peculiar still: the “wicked” Great Sorceress and her carefree levitation magic. To Tanya, both of them were equally inscrutable.
Oh, and this sandwich is the bomb. I’m really digging this tangy whole grain mustard!
Nadine must’ve bought them from one of the food stands on the main street. Tanya herself often bought lunch there on her days off. But those food stands were quite a walk from the Adventurers’ Guild; she would’ve had to go pretty far out of her way to pick one up.
“Thank you for buying lunch, Miss Nadine,” said Alisa as she munched on her veggie sandwich. She must’ve been starving, because she polished it off quickly without another word.
Quietly, Nadine handed her a second one... the one she’d intended to eat herself. Tanya swallowed her envy along with the bite of food in her mouth.
“So, how’s your training going?”
“Oh, it’s going great! Miss Tanya is an awesome teacher, just like I knew she would be! After all, she’s the legendary lady Mage who graduated from the Academy at the top of her class!”
“Wait, what?! Who told you that?!” You’re gonna make me blush!
“All the girls were talking about you when I went to turn in my application form. They were like, ‘If we work hard like Tanya Artemiciov, no one will judge us for being female Mages!’”
“Wow, that’s... kinda nifty. Thanks,” Tanya stammered.
Obviously she couldn’t exactly tell her that some fucking sexist asshole ultimately “judged” her right out of her party, but yeah.
“Knowledge is power. And it never hurts to be powerful, no matter what gender you are.”
“Right! I want to be just like you so I can keep my little siblings safe, you know? And once I’m a Mage, I’m sure I can take care of an entire household on my own, so...”
“So you need to pass that entrance exam.”
“Right!” Alisa’s eyes lit up.
Meanwhile, Nadine reached over and stroked her hair. “We’re all here to support you, Alisa.”
“Thank you! I’ll be sure to work extra hard after lunch, too!”
“Alrighty then! We’ll start off by having you practice your magic circles!”
“Right you are, sensei!”
As Alisa jumped to her feet, Nadine waved goodbye and headed back to work. And for a moment, Tanya wondered: why exactly did Nadine ask her to do this?