Practice Field——the outdoor training grounds spreading south of the main building——had been quiet since morning. Last night, Sato Sho lay in bed thinking about it all. The incident in the library. That serious expression on Emilia's face when she was writing something in her analysis notebook. And that unpleasant sensation when his textbook began glowing in the direction of the sealed section. Something was beginning to move——that premonition hadn't faded even as morning came. But today was all about special training, no matter what. When Sho arrived at the training grounds, Emilia was already there. White shirt, academy uniform, her long silver hair tied back in a single ponytail, several notebooks spread across a wooden table. Her clear aquamarine eyes glanced briefly at Sho. "[gentle]You've arrived. I've just finished preparing" "You're early. You got here before me?" "Of course. Today's training has a specific order" With that, Emilia pointed to the table. A thick booklet sat there. On the cover, written in meticulous handwriting: "Paradigm-Style Flame Magic Control Program (Elementary Level・Sato-kun Special Revised Edition)." Sho picked it up and flipped through it. Diagrams, tables, instruction manuals... there was a lot. "You made all this for me?" "[serious]I organized the data and wrote it last night. We'll start with Step 1. Combining the incantation 'Igna Fol' with your right hand movement to deliberately narrow the flow of magical essence. In Paradigm-style, when the incantation and movement align, you can adjust the amount of magical essence" "I see" Sho nodded lightly. He'd heard the same explanation in yesterday's class. Chant and draw a circle with your hand——that should be all. "Alright, let me try. Igna Fol" He moved his right hand. Drew a circle. BAGOOOOON. Flames burst out sideways. "Uh, whoa!" Emilia quickly raised her right hand and deployed a defensive barrier. A pale blue membrane of light spread out, stopping the flames that shot sideways. The air around them smelled scorched. "...Sideways? Why did it come out sideways?" "[serious]What were you thinking about when you chanted?" "Um, I was thinking 'get smaller'——" "That's it" Emilia quickly wrote something in her notebook. "[serious]Paradigm-style adjusts the amount of magical essence through incantation and movement. But ancient-style magic——the amplitude of your emotions becomes the output itself. When you thought 'get smaller'——your thought had no directionality, so the flames escaped sideways. The fundamental concept of control is different" "So... if I think calmly, it'll work?" "Yes. With a quiet feeling——" "But you still need some spirit, right!!" DOGOOOOOON. This time a three-meter pillar of flame shot straight up. The defensive barrier trembled. A new scorch mark appeared on the training grounds' barrier wall. Emilia kept her barrier up and slowly turned to face Sho. "[cold]...Were you listening?" "Ah, sorry. I was trying to calm down——" "[cold]I'll say it again. Ancient-style magic——your emotions become the output. The more you get excited, the bigger it becomes" "Got it. This time I'll really calm down. Quietly... quietly..." Sho took a deep breath. Closed his eyes. Quietly. Slowly. ...Alright. "Igna Fol——but I guess you still need some spirit for this!" ZUDOOOOOON. The flames spread in three directions. Three more scorch marks appeared on the barrier. "[angry]Were you listening...!?" "I'm really sorry!!" This exchange repeated three more times. Every time Emilia deployed her defensive barrier, Sho's flames came out in different directions and sizes——stretching upward, spreading sideways, and once even flowing along the ground like a wave. The Practice Field's barrier wall gradually turned black. Emilia recorded everything in her notebook while quietly sighing. The data was accumulating. But data alone had its limits. "[serious]...Let me change our approach" Emilia closed her notebook for now. Sho looked confused. "The Paradigm-style procedure won't work for your ancient-style magic. Trying to control emotion-driven magic with procedures is pointless. ...You have to directly sense the flow of magical power itself" "How?" Emilia paused for a moment. Then she moved behind Sho and placed both her hands over his hands. Sho's body stiffened. "Close close close!!" "[cold]Be quiet. I'm concentrating" "No, but your breath is hitting my ear!! You're way too close!!" "[cold]Of course. Direct perception requires close contact. This is research" Sho couldn't see it. But behind him, Emilia's ears were gradually turning red. Even the small beauty mark on her left cheek was flushing slightly. Her expression was all business and research-focused, but Sho couldn't see that since she was facing his back. Emilia concentrated on the sensation in her hands. She felt the magical essence flowing through Sho's hands, transmitted through her own palms. A swirling, irregular flow. A pulsation like a living thing, directly connected to emotional fluctuations. Completely different from Paradigm-style magical essence flow——more primitive, more powerful. (Fascinating... It really is a completely different system.) Emilia's thoughts raced in the direction of research. The redness in her cheeks was forgotten somewhere. "[serious]Sho-kun. Try taking a slow, deep breath now. Don't think about the flames" "Ah, yeah..." Sho consciously regulated his breathing. He was acutely aware of Emilia's hands resting on his, but he stayed quiet to avoid getting yelled at. "[gentle]...I'm starting to see your magical flow. When you're angry or panicked——it becomes chaotic and spreads. But" Emilia went quiet for a moment. She was intently sensing what flowed through Sho's palms. "[gentle]...When you react to feelings like wanting to protect someone, or caring about them——there's a slight tendency for it to come together" "Protect...?" "Try it. Think of someone" Sho thought for a moment. Someone to protect. He barely knew anyone in this world yet. But—— He thought it would be bad if the person behind him got caught in a runaway spell. She'd been maintaining barriers since yesterday. Recording in her notebook continuously. She'd stopped his stupid outbursts without complaining even once. He didn't want to hurt her——he held onto just that one thought, quietly. A small fireball was born in Sho's palm. It didn't waver. It didn't spread. A beautiful, perfectly round flame that fit exactly in his hand. Emilia's hands stopped still over his. Both of them were silent for a while. Then, beyond the training grounds' fence, a voice said, "——Hey, look at that." Sho and Emilia turned around. Three students leaning against the fence were staring intently at them. "The Fortis young lady and the explosive transfer student are... training completely pressed together..." "Like, aren't they totally into each other?" "They're right up against each other... zero distance..." Sho looked at Emilia. Emilia looked at Sho. Emilia's ears were now visibly bright red from every angle. "[serious]This is academic research" The three students buzzed even more. "No, if you say it like that, it's even more——" "The Fortis family's young lady giving close instruction to that dangerous transfer student isn't normal" By that evening, rumors had spread throughout the academy. "The Fortis young lady is smitten with that dangerous transfer student." The next morning, Emilia made an announcement in class. "[serious]There seems to be a misunderstanding, but yesterday's training was purely academic research. Please don't confuse it with romance" However, Emilia's cheeks were faintly red when she made the announcement. The classroom atmosphere stirred. "...Feels like you're just fueling the rumors more though" "[cold]Sato-kun. Please refrain from saying unnecessary things" "Sorry" The second day of training was also at the Practice Field. That afternoon, during a break, Sho was spacing out at the edge of the training grounds. Solva's golden light illuminated the stone pavement, casting long shadows. Two female students nearby were packing up their things and talking. Sho casually spoke to them. "Which direction is the cafeteria again?" "Oh, past that building, turn left" "Thanks! I haven't eaten lunch yet and I'm starving" "[laughing]The transfer student hasn't eaten lunch? The Sunny Spot Pavilion's set meals are cheap and delicious, so try them out" "Really? I'll check it out" When he turned back after parting with them, Sho noticed Emilia standing a short distance away. Emilia had her analysis notebook in her hands. But the pages weren't open. By the time Sho walked over, Emilia had already repositioned her notebook. Her grip was tighter than before——the cover was slightly warped. The edge of the pages was bent. "[serious]Emilia, you look pale. Are you tired?" "[cold]I'm not tired. Let's continue" She turned forward without waiting for his response. (Is she... angry?) Sho couldn't figure it out. But he couldn't think of a reason she'd be angry, and since Emilia said "let's continue," he just thought "okay" and resumed training. He was impressed by her toughness in his mind. Emilia opened her notebook while facing forward. She gently smoothed out the bent page and ran her pen across it. Sho had been laughing and talking with the female students. When she saw that, her grip tightened. She couldn't quite explain to herself why that happened. Because she couldn't explain the reason, it felt even worse. During the final training session. The sun was tilting, and the air in the training grounds was getting slightly cooler. Sho suddenly said while looking at his palm: "[sad]...Why is my magic so hard to control?" Emilia stopped her pen. "If I have a runaway spell here and hurt someone——honestly, it scares me" Sho's voice was unusually quiet. Not joking——genuinely what he felt. Emilia stared at her notebook for a while. The data she'd been writing since yesterday. Records of Sho's magical essence flow. And——yesterday's moment. When that fireball was born from Sho's palm, the sensation of it. "[gentle]...Being with you makes things a little easier" Sho looked confused. "I feel like we can find the answer together. So——" She didn't finish. But after thinking for a moment, Sho answered quietly: "[gentle]When you're around, Emilia, I feel like I can do my best" Both of them went quiet for a moment. Sho naturally faced forward. Emilia did the same. "[serious]Let's continue" "Yeah" Their voices overlapped at the same time, and both of them hurried back to the training position. Neither of them said anything about the air from a second before. Final session. This time, Sho closed his eyes. This morning, Emilia had arrived at the training grounds first. Spreading out her notebook, preparing. She'd deployed barriers to stop his runaway spells multiple times. He wanted to surprise her——he thought that. Flames appeared. They didn't waver. They didn't spread. A fireball that fit perfectly in his hand burned stably for five seconds. Emilia froze. "[surprised]...It appeared. It really did appear" Then she immediately opened her notebook and started writing with rapid pen strokes. "Possessing dozens of times the output of elementary Paradigm-style, yet capable of reaching the threshold of control if maintaining a specific emotional state——this textbook and Sato-kun have a special compatibility" She read it aloud like she was talking to herself while writing. Sho stood beside her, staring intently at the fireball in his palm. "[excited]I did it!! I actually did it!!" The moment he made a victory pose, his emotions burst. The fireball doubled in size. BAOOOOON!! "[angry]Barrier——!" A pale blue barrier deployed instantly, catching the flames. It slid and trembled. Emilia braced her feet and held it