Chapter 10: You were like royalty

I walked out of the classroom feeling a bit lonely. The children around my age were clustered in groups, chatting about what they were going to play and where they were going to go.

“Haa~”

Sighing as I descended the stairs, I spotted Emilia standing in line with some other students. Just as I was about to call out to her, she bowed deeply to me.

(Ahh, right, she’s my servant who was assigned to me… Yosh, let’s follow this up!)

I approached her with the most dignified and elegant manner I could muster. Since she was my servant, I continued walking toward the door without looking back. Confident that she would follow me, I kept walking until I reached a spot where there were no people around. After a quick look around to confirm that it was just Emilia and me, I breathed a sigh of relief.

“That was tough…”

“You surprised me, Miss Lumina. You were like royalty back there.”

Emilia smiled widely as she complimented me.

“Stop it… you’re embarrassing me.”

She laughed softly when she saw me blushing.

“So, are we going to the library?”

“Yup! We need to be really smart!”

I clenched my fist and raised it high.

“… but is it really necessary? If you wanted some chocolate cake, you could’ve just asked me to buy or make you one.”

“That’s a good idea! Before we head to the library, let’s have lunch and have that as dessert.”

“So we’re still going?”

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Emilia made a face of resignation and followed me as I headed to the canteen.

***

After lunch, we went to the giant library. Upon entering, I was awed by the splendor and sheer number of books on the shelves. The shelves seemed to be at least 4 meters high and 10 meters wide, forming endless rows and columns. Even the walls were lined with shelves.

“Wow… Seeing it up close really makes you… wow.”

If someone had seen me, they would have noticed the look of shock and awe on my face.

“That’s true…”

“... then shall we go?”

“Yes.”

I approached the library custodian and asked if we could borrow some books on Literature, Mathematics, Science, and Magic.

“Literature and Mathematics are on the second floor, near the edge of the south wing.” Thanks for reading on ManaNovel!

“What about Magic textbooks?”

The custodian frowned and said, “You’re just a general studies student. What use is there for you to read about magic?”

Her words triggered a surge of frustration, but I reminded myself that she was likely just following the rules, so I controlled my anger and remained calm.

“What about scientific books?”

The custodian knit her brows and asked what scientific books were with a confused tone. Before I could explain, my petty grudge about being barred from reading magic textbooks stopped me.

“… never mind, we’ll just go with Literature and Mathematics.”

I walked away from the custodian with Emilia. We continued walking for about 15 minutes and finally arrived at the south wing.

Emilia and I began searching for books related to what I planned to teach her. I managed to secure about six books, while she had only two. I then resumed teaching her where we had left off last night. She had already memorized most of the alphabets we used; all that was left was to teach her how to read and write.

***

“I think it’s a good time for some tea.”

While holding a book in front of Emilia, I shared my thoughts with her.

“… what would you like, Miss Lumina? Black tea or Darjeeling?”

“Hmmm… I’d like some Darjeeling.”

“Understood.”

Emilia stopped moving her hands and stood up.

“Can we have tea here?”

“I’m not sure. Should we ask for permission from the custodian?”

I pondered for a moment, then closed my book and stood up.

“Let’s have tea elsewhere; we might damage the books here.”

“Ahh, then where would be good?”

I crossed my arms and closed my eyes, thinking of a suitable place.

“How about the school park?”

“Understood.”

We returned the books to their shelves and exited the library. We headed towards the dormitory before going to the park.

Once we arrived, the park was crowded, so it took a while to find a spot. When we finally found a place, I used earth magic to create a table and two chairs. Emilia then placed a tablecloth on top and set up the tea set. She then asked me to fill the teapot with warm water. Once the preparations were complete, I sat on one of the chairs and started drinking the Darjeeling.

Noticing Emilia’s restlessness, I asked her what was wrong.

“Ummm… what’s ‘Science’?”

“Ahh… from earlier? Well…”

I considered how best to explain it.

“Umm… it’s a field that studies the things that happen around us. (I think)”

“I don’t get it.”

Emilia grimaced as she tried to understand.

“Well, it’s like this…”

I used magic to fill one of the cups with water and added ice cubes. After a moment, droplets began to form on the outside of the cup. I explained that science studies why these droplets form.

“Isn’t it just sweating because the outside is hot while the inside is cold?”

“Umm… not exactly. Let me teach you the basics of science.”

I took out some of the papers I wrote during class and showed them to her. I explained the three states of matter, what matter is, and where it comes from, based on what I remembered.

“Uhh… solids, liquids, and gases? These are basics? How come such a branch of knowledge isn’t famous?”

My cheeks twitched a bit at her question.

“Umm… it’s not famous because magic exists.”

“Why?”

I took a Mont Blanc from the basket and ate it.

“Well, it’s because it goes against the teachings of magic.”

“Then it’s blasphemy!?”

Emilia’s face turned pale, and cold sweat began to bead on her forehead.

“No!”

“Then what do you mean by going against the teachings of magic?”

“Umm… let’s use this as an example. Try telling me how the world was formed?”

She looked skeptical but began.

“Isn’t it obvious? It’s because God created it.”

“But according to science, it isn’t. There are many theories about the creation of the universe, and the most famous is the Big Bang.”

“Big Bang?”

“Yeah. It’s a complex topic with a lot of explanations. For now, let’s just stick with the cup with ice cubes.”

Since the topic was advanced and skipped many steps, I shifted her focus back to the cup.

“In science, the reason why the cup forms droplets is that the air contains water.”

“Water?”

“Water vapor, to be exact. Remember how steam rises from tea when it’s still hot? That steam is water vapor.”

“Ahh, so if water vapor is cooled down, it turns back into water?”

“Yes.”

I continued explaining the basics of science as we enjoyed our tea. As the sky began to turn orange, I stood up and told Emilia it was getting late. She quickly cleaned up the table and packed away the utensils.

Our days continued like this, and before we knew it, three years had passed.