“Incredible…”
Kunon was dumbfounded.
Serraphila had just dashed out of his classroom.
She’d run away with impressive speed. She’d stood up and bowed, and she was gone like the wind before he knew it. He had never seen a girl sprint before. Well, he hadn’t actually seen it, but that was beside the point.
“Hmm…”
Kunon pondered what had just happened. Serraphila, who had been sitting across from him moments before, was gone from the room. She had fled.
That meant…
“I’ll have to make sure she can’t escape next time.”
How could he accomplish that?
All Kunon had done was talk about the appeal of earth magic. She’d grumbled a little, but he’d paid that no mind and simply kept talking.
As the words “earth magic” implied, the attribute’s spells primarily concerned dirt. However, the element’s scope was much greater than just that. You could play with mud and sand, as Serraphila had put it, but that was only scratching the surface.
For example, minerals were part of the earth attribute as well. A seasoned earth sorcerer could freely wield not only dirt, but also minerals—and by extension, metal.
Kunon’s instructor, Zeonly, was an earth user, so he was very familiar with the attribute. As the man’s student, he’d had many chances to observe earth magic up close. He found it so attractive that if he had to choose an attribute other than water, he might go with earth.
He’d found himself thinking that again while developing the magic-containing box. The upperclassmen who’d helped him—representative Bael from the Ability Faction, Elva from Harmony, and Rhadio from Rationality—had greatly impressed him with their abilities.
That was why he had so many things to say about earth magic. There was much he would like to try if he were an earth user. He wasn’t, of course, but that only made him more excited to discuss it.
Serraphila proved unable to handle his gentlemanly passion, however, ultimately leading to her flight.
Next time, he wouldn’t let her get away.
“…I think I know what to do.”
Kunon had told her about dreams he was incapable of achieving. Asking an actual earth user to talk about their dreams would be much more effective.
“Okay, time to find Miss Elva.”
She would be able to talk to Serraphila about the appeal of earth magic from a feminine perspective. Kunon suspected she could easily keep going for over a day.
Kunon quickly made his way to a squat little tower—the Harmony Faction’s base of operations.
“Huh? Kunon?”
“Kunon?”
“Oh, it’s Kunon.”
A number of girls and boys chirped at him like little birds as he approached the tower.
Kunon chose to respond to the most familiar first.
“What are you doing here, surrounded by a group of lovely girls who sparkle like morning dew?”
The voice belonged to his classmate, Hank Beat.
“It’s a coincidence that they’re all girls,” Hank said.
He was telling the truth—he was the only boy in the group, but that was by chance. They were gathered busily by the tower’s entrance.
“What are you doing?” asked Kunon.
“Preparing for an expedition,” Hank replied.
“An expedition? Are you going somewhere far away?”
“Not really. We’ll be visiting a lot of different places. Basically, we’re traveling to collect materials for research and experiments. We’re going to get enough to last the members of the Harmony Faction half a year. Most of us are going on the trip, so it’ll be a big operation.”
I see, Kunon thought.
“So the members of Harmony will be sharing the materials.”
“To an extent, yeah.”
That was very like this faction, which attracted students who valued cooperation. The other factions mostly consisted of strong-willed individuals who typically gathered what they needed themselves. But in Harmony, everyone worked together. Kunon had never had a problem with providing for himself, but…
“If our Advanced class had more than ten students, gathering materials would be a lot easier.”
He already knew ten Advanced students working together were capable of exploring even the ocean. Hank and the others would face no issues on their expedition with so many helpers.
“Yeah, I guess… Anyway, what are you doing here? Don’t tell me you’re coming along.”
Kunon technically belonged to all three factions, so he could join them if he wanted.
“It sounds really fun,” he said, “but I’m here for a different matter.”
Going on the expedition would take Kunon away from Dirashik for a number of days. If he slept away from home, he would need to take his maid to serve him. He couldn’t make a decision like that on the spot. Besides, he’d come for a different reason.
“Is the lovely Miss Elva around? I came to see her.”
“She is, but she’s busy preparing.”
“Really? What to do, then…?”
Kunon didn’t want to get in her way. But he couldn’t think of another earth user he could entrust Serraphila with. He knew some male earth users, but telling Serraphila to spend time with a boy she didn’t know would probably make her uncomfortable, so he wanted to ask a girl.
He decided to see how busy Elva was and discuss the matter with her if he could. If now wasn’t a good time, he would try again later. Perhaps he should invite her to lunch while he was at it.
Having decided on a course of action, Kunon left Hank and the girls and stepped inside the tower.
Kunon looked for Elva as girls he knew called out to him.
“Hello, Kunon.”
He found Elva among a group of people organizing inventory in a storehouse.
“Good morning, Miss Elva. You illuminate this dark room like the stars illuminate the night sky.”
“Why, thank you. You’re ever the gentleman.”
Nearby students shot them cold looks, but they didn’t pay any mind. Kunon also didn’t care that he’d said “illuminate” twice.
Elva had cleaned up her look; she must not have been performing all-nighters lately. The most beautiful girl in the Harmony Faction was in top form.
“You look busy,” said Kunon. “I have a small matter I would like to discuss with you, but if now isn’t a good time, my beautiful princess, I’ll come back another day.”
“A small matter? Depends on what it is. Unfortunately, I can’t do anything time-consuming right now. But I’ll hear you out if it’s something I can do for you on the spot.”
“Umm… How should I put this…?”
Kunon gave the situation some thought. Elva and the others seemed really busy. He was already taking up her time simply talking to her. It would be best to keep his explanation brief. In that case…
“I was hoping you would be willing to teach a new student who doesn’t know earth magic very well the appeal of the attribute.”
The girls around them spoke up before Elva could reply.
“You should do it,” one told her.