Today was the day of the final examination.
Roxy has lived in our house for nearly two years.
However, she still hasn’t mastered Chantless Casting, which has made her somewhat frustrated.
Nevertheless, she still did her best to teach Rudy and me.
Paul Greyrat’s beloved horse was laboriously carrying three children.
Cough, cough, let me rephrase that—it was laboriously carrying two little boys and one little girl.
It trotted slowly along a scenic country path.
The scenery outside was truly exquisite; the sky was a deep azure, the grass grew lush and green, and the fragrance of soil and vegetation was refreshing to the soul.
With windmills dotting the landscape, waterwheels for irrigation, and farmers working the fields, it looked like a picture-perfect paradise.
Because of Lilia and Zenith’s strict supervision, I hadn’t ventured this far out before.
I never realized Buena Village was so beautiful.
“Are you still scared?”
Roxy asked gently.
Of course, she wasn’t talking to me, but to Rudy.
Once he stepped outside the immediate vicinity of our yard, he started getting flustered, though he was much better than before.
Roxy clearly sensed his emotions and comforted him like a shy child.
“Thanks to Roxy-sensei, I’m not scared anymore.”
Rudy, that bastard, really prioritizes girls over friends.
I’ve helped him so many times, yet he’s barely thanked me.
Gradually, Rudy cheered up.
He and Roxy chatted idly about crop knowledge, and I listened in.
Roxy was truly knowledgeable; she seemed to know everything, even the growth cycles of field crops.
There seemed to be no question this little teacher didn’t understand.
Rudy and I were truly lucky to have met such a great mentor.
Upon arriving at the grasslands, Roxy tied up the horse to demonstrate Water Saint-tier magic—Cumulonimbus.
“O Great Spirit of Water, Prince of the soaring Thunder Emperor!
Grant my wish, bring forth violent blessings, and show your mighty power to small existences!
Let the God’s Hammer strike the anvil, let your terror be fully revealed, and may the flood submerge the earth.
O Torrential Rain!
Wash away and gallop forth, driving out everything in your path!”
Rumble!
Dark clouds gathered in the sky, lightning leaped and flashed within the cloud layers, and then—CRACK!
Paul Greyrat’s beloved horse, Calvajo, was unfortunately struck.
I noticed that Roxy is often quite clumsy when doing things.
She doesn’t act like someone in her thirties at all; it seems her mental age might be similar to her appearance.
This time, after protecting Calvajo, Rudy tried to cast the magic.
His control was excellent; he completed the spell perfectly from formation to finish on his first try, leaving a scorched shallow pit where the lightning struck.
Heavy rain poured down, and a beautiful rainbow appeared in the sky after the magic dissipated.
I feel like this shouldn’t even be considered Water magic; it should be Lightning magic.
However, it is classified as Water magic.
The principle is simply using mana to create Cumulonimbus clouds, generating static electricity through friction, and then using mana to induce it to strike the target.
In that case, can I skip the preliminary steps and just release electricity directly?
Like great mazinger, summoning lightning to kill enemies.
“It’s your turn, Luna-chan.”
“Good luck, Luna.
Don’t be nervous.”
Holding my staff high, I channeled my mana, simulating the cloud formation and lightning generation in my mind…
Forget it, wouldn’t it be better to just let the mana generate lightning within the clouds directly?
Visualize…
visualize…
visualize…
A believing heart is your magic.
“THUNDER BREAK!”
BOOM!
Under the terrified gazes of Roxy and Rudy, I was struck by a bolt of lightning as thick as a bucket.
I’m not a robot, I can shed tears…
My whole body went into spasms, and then I lost consciousness.
“O Goddess of Mercy, like a mother’s love, please heal this person’s wounds and restore them to health—[ExHeal].”
When I woke up, I found myself lying on the grass.
Roxy, after treating me, was looking at me with concern alongside Rudy.
“Sorry, Roxy-sensei, I messed up.”
My whole body hurt a bit, but it wasn’t a big deal.
“Whew, looks like you’re okay.”
Both Roxy and Rudy breathed a sigh of relief.
“Luna-chan, how did you do that?”
Roxy had questions about the voiceless casting and the direct release of lightning.
If I were in her shoes, I’d be curious too; after all, this wasn’t Cumulonimbus anymore, but effectively a new type of magic.
“It’s just visualization.
I directly mobilize mana, imagine the form of lightning, and let the mana turn into electricity itself.”
“Visualization?”
Roxy was puzzled, twirling her braid around her finger in thought.
For someone from this world, such an explanation seemed impossible to grasp.
“Oh, I get it.
You’re converting mana into a different element, just like in an MMO game.”
“Exactly, it’s just like that.”
Rudy understands much better; after all, he and I come from the same world.
“Forget it, Rudy.
Don’t try to experiment with this for now.
This newly developed magic is too dangerous.
It’s best to consult with professors at the Magic University before doing more tests.”
“Okay, Shifu Roxy.”
Rudy was truly obedient to Roxy; after all, this young girl was the person he admired most.
After that, I honestly chanted the incantation for ‘Cumulonimbus’ and successfully cast it.
Roxy also showed a relieved smile; her task was complete.
The next day, Roxy packed her bags and stood at the front door to say goodbye to us.
“Thank you for taking care of me all this time.”
Roxy bowed politely to our family, as if she hadn’t been a teacher to Rudy and me, but rather a guest staying in our home.
“Roxy-chan, won’t you stay a bit longer?
There are still many dishes I haven’t taught you, and the villagers like you very much.
You can continue living here.”
The family really didn’t want Roxy to leave.
Who wouldn’t like a cute, witty, and knowledgeable little teacher?
Our whole family—no, the whole village—liked her very much.
But Roxy still shook her head.
No matter how reluctant we were, we couldn’t interfere with her decision.
She said that because of the two of us, she realized her own lack of strength.
She wanted to travel around to train herself and make up for her shortcomings.
It seems Rudy and I really dealt a blow to her confidence, even though Roxy herself is a genius.
“This is a graduation reward.
I don’t have anything special on me, so use these as mementos.”
As Roxy spoke, she took out two pendants.
Both were green and shaped like spearheads—the mark of the Migurd Race.
However, one of these two pendants was clearly newly made.
“I hope you won’t dislike them.”
“We won’t.
The reward from Roxy-sensei is a lifelong treasure to us.”
Indeed, people like Roxy, who impart everything they know without reservation, are very rare.
If we hadn’t hired Roxy but some ordinary Saint-tier Magician instead, they certainly wouldn’t have taught us Saint-tier magic.
And so, the small blue-haired figure, just as when she arrived, picked up her luggage and staff and slowly disappeared at the end of the road.
Rudy chased after her for a long time before finally returning dejectedly.
The young boy had, from that moment, planted a seed of admiration for the blue-haired girl in his heart…
Actually, Rudy isn’t exactly a young boy, but a greasy uncle in his thirties…
However, since he was a shut-in for so many years, starting from high school, maybe his mental age stayed in his youth.
“I’m full…”
Under the startled gazes of the family, Rudy listlessly returned to his room.
It’s just as well that he left; now no one will fight me for the pork ribs at dinner tonight.
I’m at the age where I’m growing, and I’m planning to develop as a swordsman, so I can’t neglect my diet.
…
After devouring the meal—burp—I was so full.
I walked around outside for a few laps before returning home.
By then, it was already dark, and most households had long since retired, but our house was still luxuriously lit with candles.
Lilia was sitting on a chair at the doorway, mending clothes while waiting for me to return.
“Miss Luna, welcome home.”
“I’m back, Lilia.”
Since that birthday party, my relationship with Lilia has been closer than before.
She seems…
how should I put it…
she seems to look at me like a daughter.
The tenderness in her eyes is exactly the same as when Zenith looks at me.
Naturally, I respect her very much.
I never treat her as a servant of our house, but rather as an elder.
She is our family.
Even if Paul decided to dismiss her one day, I would find a way to stay in touch and help her in life as much as I could.
After all, in this home, her love for me is no less than that of Paul and Zenith.
It was late and time to rest, but as I passed Rudy’s room on the way upstairs, I stole a peek through the crack in the door.
He didn’t seem to notice that his door wasn’t fully closed.
Rudy had his back to me and was holding something against his face.
“Hehe, Roxy-chan, tiny Roxy-chan, you are my goddess, hehe.”
Ugh, that expression, that voice—it was as creepy as it gets.
Is this what they call the Japanese spirit?
Snap, I accidentally made a sound.
“Who is it?”
Rudy quickly hid the small piece of fabric, but I keenly caught it—it was a pair of panties.
I pushed open the door and walked into his room under Rudy’s terrified gaze.
Then, putting on a serious face full of elder-like authority, I said to him: “Rudy…
I didn’t expect…
Anyway, I’ll just pretend I didn’t see anything.
Since I was also the kind of man who collected erotic games and novels in my past life, there’s nothing wrong with a man being a pervert.”
Rudy suddenly knelt before me in a dogeza posture.
“I’m sorry!
Please don’t tell Paul and the others!”
“First, tell me whose they are?”
Rudy didn’t speak, his face looking very conflicted.
“They’re…
they’re Shifu Roxy’s.”
He whispered with his head lowered, his hands already behind his back, clutching the small piece of fabric tightly in his fist.
I could bet that if I insisted on snatching it, he would fight me to the death and counterattack with magic.
“As long as they aren’t mine, Zenith’s, or Lilia’s, it’s fine.”
“You won’t report it to them?”
“I won’t.
I noticed you liked Roxy long ago, but I didn’t expect your interests to be so peculiar.
Is this common among you Japanese?”
“No, only I am this perverted.
Others are different from me.”
Looking at his expression as he hurriedly denied it, he still had a bit of a sense of shame.
“Then it’s a promise: you can’t take our clothes in the future, understand?”
“Yes!
I understand!”
“Alright, let’s leave today’s matter at that.
After all, it wouldn’t be good for either of us if Paul and the others were alarmed.”
Rudy’s face was full of complex emotions: shame, regret, and a bit of embarrassment.
“You…
you don’t plan to use this to blackmail me?”
It seems he still didn’t quite trust me.
“We’ll see later.
You owe me one for this.”