Rebirth From Ordinary Person To The Strongest

After telling the teacher that I was going to look for Nina-chan, I left the classroom.

This isn't skipping out on cleaning; it's a task the teacher asked me to do, I thought to myself, though I wasn't sure who I was trying to justify this to. As I walked past my classmates who were cleaning, I headed toward the stairs.

As I walked, I used a "Search Spell."

I was searching for the person with the second highest amount of magical energy in this school, after me. Nina-chan, as she herself has mentioned, is a Fourth Rank exorcist. Even though there are hundreds of students in this elementary school, only Nina-chan and I have magical energy at or above the Fourth Rank.

So, all I had to do was focus on that target.

The "Silveit" that I had transformed into a "Detection Spell" spun like a compass needle, then pointed like an arrow toward the bottom of the stairs. It seemed Nina-chan was downstairs, likely skipping out on cleaning for something else.

However, I felt somewhat relieved when the arrow pointed downstairs. If she had been in the girls' restroom, I wouldn't have been able to look for her.

Following the direction indicated by the "Search Spell," I walked toward the back of the school building.

Once outside, the number of students dwindled to zero.

Of course. No cleaning group is assigned to a place like this.

Maybe she's skipping out somewhere where no one can find her, I thought as I continued to track Nina-chan's movements. Soon, I heard voices from a distance.

"...Itsuki is always training in magic, even during class. That's not fair," I heard Nina-chan speaking to someone.

Who is she talking to?

Our school has a strict policy against bringing in smartphones, so it couldn't be a phone call.

I thought about this as I quietly approached the source of the voice, hiding behind the shadows of the school building. There, I saw Nina-chan leaning against the back gate. In front of her floated a strange, purple mist-like presence—something odd.

...What is that?

I strained my eyes, but I couldn't see any "Silveit" threads extending from the purple mist. If that's the case, then it's not magic. Could it be a monster...?

I began gathering magical energy inside myself to exorcise it, but Nina-chan, facing the purple mist, didn't seem to be panicking. Instead, she was calmly talking to it.

"...No. I can't. My mom won't teach me any magic," Nina-chan said.

The purple mist trembled.

"What? Teach Itsuki? No! Then I won't be able to win," she responded.

From the outside, it looked like she was talking to herself, which seemed a bit strange, but to me, it looked like she was having a conversation with the purple mist. The mist didn't seem to have any intention of attacking Nina-chan; rather, it seemed to be gently advising her.

So, is it not a monster...?

I tilted my head in confusion but received no answer. However, I quickly shook off that thought.

No, I should just ask Nina-chan. Maybe this could be a way to connect with her.

So, I took a step forward and called out to her, who hadn't noticed me yet.

"Nina-chan! I've been looking for you!"

"…What?" she said, turning around with a clearly annoyed expression.

"Itsuki, you're here because the teacher sent you, but I'm not going to clean. I have more important things to do," Nina-chan said, turning away.

"What's more important?"

"Magic training! I'm going to beat you, Itsuki," she said, looking away.

But earlier, you were saying your mom wouldn't teach you magic, I thought.

However, saying that out loud would reveal that I had been eavesdropping, so I held back.

Nina-chan, who had confidently declared her intentions before turning away, didn't show any signs of trying to hide the purple mist. Maybe it's okay to ask about it...

"Hey, Nina-chan."

"What?"

"Is that purple mist your magic?"

Her reaction was swift.

She jolted as if all the hairs on her body had stood on end, and with a speed I'd never seen from her before, she grabbed my shoulders.

"You can see my fairy spirit, Itsuki!?"

"…Fairy spirit?" I asked, startled by the sudden shake.

"Yes! A fairy spirit. Something I created that only I can see!" Nina-chan said, turning her gaze to the purple mist.

The mist seemed to respond to her, swirling around playfully.

"…You can really see it," she said, peering deeply into my eyes.

Her blue eyes filled my vision, and it felt like I was being drawn into them, as if staring into the sky or the sea for too long. She quietly spoke to me.

"Itsuki, you have it, don't you? A 'Magic Eye.'"

"A Magic Eye…?"

I don't have anything that grand.

"No, it's not that special. I can just see other people's 'Silveit,' that's all."

"…Silveit?"

"Like this," I said, extending "Silveit" threads from my hand. But Nina-chan, who didn't have the "True Eye," couldn't see them and tilted her head in confusion.

"Silveit is made by concentrating magical energy into threads. You can use it for all sorts of magic."

"…I-I knew that!" she said, clearly flustered.

Yeah, you definitely didn't know that, I thought but didn't point it out. I'm mature like that.

"Anyway! You can see magical energy before it's used in magic, right? That means you have a 'Magic Eye!' You can see magical energy, so it's a Magic Eye!" she insisted.

Nina-chan backed away from my eyes, exclaiming as if this was obvious. Considering that exorcists and other practitioners have different terminologies, it wasn't surprising that what I knew as the "True Eye" might be called the "Magic Eye" by her.

So, I have a Magic Eye? I wonder if it'll start reacting on its own someday. Well, it's just a regular eye, except for the fact that I can see "Silveit."

But more importantly, Nina-chan doesn't know about "Silveit." Instead, she mentioned "fairy spirits," a term I wasn't familiar with.

That can only mean one thing. She knows magic that I don't.

…I want to know more. I want to see that magic.

Curiosity, or perhaps a survival instinct, stirred strongly within me. Maybe it would take me to places I've never seen before.

So, I said to Nina-chan.

"Hey, Nina-chan."

"What?"

"Can you teach me magic?"