Chapter 20: War Practice

When my sleep was becoming lighter, I felt the earth tremor greatly. I could hear loud noises near me, so I decided to open my eyes to see the cause. I fell silent at the scene before me.

The students, who had just become my servants, were split into two groups. One group was led by Emilia, while the other was led by six people. The two groups faced each other, maintaining a fair distance.

The two groups were firing at each other. Squinting to see what they were shooting, I realized they were arrows. These arrows emitted a bluish light as they flew through the air.

I became worried that one of these arrows might injure a student, so I followed one with my eyes. The arrow arced through the sky and struck a student in the chest. The student collapsed on the field. I thought she was dead, but a student cloaked in a bluish aura flew down and carried her off the battlefield.

Curious about where she had come from, I shifted my focus to the sky. I saw about 30 students also cloaked in a bluish aura. At the center of these students were Eclara and George, observing the battle.

Dusting off the dirt from my clothes, I headed towards them. Ripples formed in the atmosphere with each step I took. The students enveloped in the blue aura were busy collecting the collapsed students and placing them on the side of the field.

Eclara, who noticed me first, bowed deeply, while George laughed heartily. Unlike George and the students, Eclara, who used normal magic, wasn’t surrounded by a bluish aura. Instead, those near her could feel a strong wind.

“What are they doing?”

This work is hosted on mananovel.com

Pointing to the battle below, George-sensei flashed a big smile and said, “War practice.”

“War practice? Shouldn’t they be practicing magic instead of engaging in a war?”

Eclara approached and answered my question.

“A few minutes after you fell asleep, Emilia explained to us that this magic relies on imagination. Because of that, the students picked it up quite quickly. Some started flying around, others shot mana balls everywhere, and some created tools and replicas of objects. I was even surprised by how easy it was to use this magic.”

“…”

I remained silent as I pondered what had happened.

“One student also discovered that when a person is hit by an object created by mana, they don’t suffer any injuries; they just faint. But this only applies to mana objects that aren’t concentrated.”

“I’m quite surprised that a student was brave enough to test this on someone else.”

It was true; I was surprised. Emilia and I had been experimenting with this magic for a year, but neither of us was bold enough to hit a person with it.

“It was an accident.”

“I see…”

I hadn’t expected that.

“Because of this discovery, I suggested to the students that they conduct practice wars against each other. It helps them grow and develop while channeling their energy constructively.”

George then added an explanation.

“Is that so?”

After they finished explaining, I began watching the battle from above. I ordered a passing student to prepare some tea for me. He became flustered and ran away in tears. A few moments later, a female student approached with red eyes and served me tea.

I really wanted to ask them why they were crying. I was pretty sure that I hadn’t been rude. But since they managed to bring me tea, I chose to ignore their tears and enjoyed my drink.

As the sun reached its peak, the last 50 students faced off. I started to feel hungry, so I descended to the battlefield.

“That’s enough for now; it’s almost lunch. Let’s call this a draw and eat.”

The students were surprised by my sudden appearance. Once they processed my declaration, they all nodded to one another and walked away. The only ones remaining on the field were me, Emilia, Eclara, and the six students who led the opposing team.

“Emilia, I’ll be waiting at the usual spot. Go get the food from the canteen for me.”

“Yes.”

Upon hearing my order, she headed towards the canteen. I then made a mana table and chair in the sky.

As I was about to sit, I noticed that Eclara and the six students had followed me.

“Aren’t you going to eat?”

“I’ll eat after you’re done, Lumina-sama.”

“Us too.”

I wanted to say a lot of things to them but decided to wait for Emilia. I was confident she had anticipated this because I saw her order seven other students to follow her before I left.

“Eclara, since you’re wearing this school’s uniform for the Magic course, does that mean you’re taking classes?”

“Yes.”

“So that means your real age is…”

“13, Lumina-sama.”

I was surprised by her answer. If she was only a year older than me, it meant she was only 6 when she traveled around the kingdom and became my teacher.

(Ahh, that’s right… I almost forgot. She was part of the protagonist’s harem. So her age should be close to mine. But still…)

“So you were six years old then?”

“Yes.”

The other six had question marks floating above their heads, struggling to understand our conversation. I gave them an understanding smile and explained that Eclara was my magic teacher when I was young.

The girl with blonde vertical rolls asked Eclara a question with sparkling eyes.

“Was traveling hard?”

“Because I could use magic, my journey wasn’t that difficult.”

A boy with blue shoulder-length hair supplemented with another question.

“So the reason Lumina-sama is so smart is because of you?”

“Ah, no. Lumina-sama learned to read and solve problems by herself. All I did was teach her magic.”

A girl with pink hair tied in a ponytail puffed out her voluptuous chest, which made me envious, and said, “That’s because Lumina-sama is a prodigy. She even discovered this magic by herself.”

I suddenly remembered something and asked Eclara a question.

“Eclara, this magic is so easy and simple. Why isn’t it widespread or known among magicians?”

“Ahh, well, according to magic theory, the mana in the environment is absorbed by a special organ in the body and converted into internal mana. Once converted, the body can then use it to create miracles.”

“Really? No one has tested it?”

“No, because most are afraid of dying.”

“…”

So unlike scientists on Earth, the magicians in this world either have a narrow mindset or are wimps. We continued talking for a while, and since I forgot the names of the six people, I did my best to act as if I knew them. I was also really happy to converse with people other than Emilia.

A few minutes later, Emilia arrived with seven other students. I was glad that Emilia had seen that the seven would follow me; otherwise, it would have been awkward to eat in front of them. Although they initially refused, I insisted it was an order, so we ate together.

Yes, food really tastes better with more people.

After lunch, the students gathered on the field again and split into two groups. I tried to join them but was stopped by Eclara and George. According to them, the team I joined would always have an overwhelming advantage. When I asked why, they answered:

“It’s because you’re our master.”

Unable to argue with that, I spent the afternoon as a spectator once again.

The war practice ended as the sun began to set in the west. The students said goodbye to me and George before heading back to the dormitory. I then stopped Eclara as she was about to leave.

“I want you to do something, Eclara.”

She knelt in front of me. Since it felt awkward, I stopped her from kneeling.

“I want you to help and observe the person who was summoned here.”

“That anomaly?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

(It’s because he’s the protagonist. Troubles and problems will follow him wherever he goes. And because you were part of his harem in the game, you need to be near him so that he won’t come here searching for you… LIKE HELL I CAN SAY THAT TO HER!!!)

I coughed a few times before tightening my expression.

“I believe he will become a significant person someday. I want you to help him and nurture him as he grows.”

“Really? I only see him as a pervert who likes to peek at girls. He has his good points, but they rarely appear.”

(Ahh, the clichés…)

“Well, just report to me about what he does there, okay?”

“Yes.”

Eclara then walked away towards the Magic Students' dormitory.

“Now, onto the next problem.”

I slowly turned my head to face the seven people standing behind me, including Emilia. Ever since we left the field, they had continued to follow me. Though they hadn’t said anything, it felt strange having people trailing behind me.