—Ah? Looks like our class isn't the only one here.

Urie arrived at the academy courtyard and saw more than a few other classes. They'd formed individual group circles, with the instructors giving a lecture at the middle of each.

“Am I late?”

“—Ya!? You don't do that!”

Urie joined his class circle and wound up beside Elicia Perid, who squealed as she was taken aback by his sudden appearance. He had asked his question right by her ear as payback for earlier in the classroom.

"—Since you've all already awakened your mana roots and can be officially called budding magic Adepts, you are now able to sense the mana around you. As I've explained earlier, mana circulation is the process of absorbing mana using your roots and compressing it towards your seed. After which you'll be able to make use of the mana you've absorbed."

The instructor held out his arms with his palms to the sky, and closed his eyes in demonstration, "Spread around and imitate what I do. Try to sense the mana around you, the feeling should come to you naturally."

The students all put distance between themselves and except for two people, closed their eyes while holding out open palms to the sky. Urie looked on hesitantly and held back from following, same for Elicia who was beside him.

“Now, hold this position. You don't have to do this every time, only until you get used to the feeling of letting the mana flow inside your body,” the instructor opened his eyes and came towards the students, guiding each of them meticulously. At some point, he noticed the two who had yet to participate in the lesson.

“Student Elicia Perid, is something the matter?” he asked.

Elicia crossed her arms, displaying her high self-esteem, “Ya, I can already perform mana circulation without having to do that embarrassing pose.”

—Ah? Is that why she was reluctant? I thought maybe Elicia was like me...

Urie suddenly remembered why Elicia looked so familiar. She was the girl he'd likened to a sunflower because she wore yellow at the festival. Even back then she was staring him down with reasons unknown. Other than that impression, he couldn't quite recall anything else.

He had missed the moment Elicia had awakened, when she caused the surrounding dirt and gravel to levitate a few inches off the ground. This meant that as a magic adept, she had an incredibly high aptitude and received a blessing from an earth spirit.

Had Urie known about it, he would find it not too surprising. After all, she was a Perid. Even before her awakening, she probably already possessed an innately colored mana seed like him.

The instructor whistled with astonishment, “Ohoh,” before excitedly turning towards Urie. He asked, “And? Are you the same, student Urie Loeth?”

"Hmm? Huh? Me!?" a complicated expression rose from Urie's face as he thought of a reply. He heard Elicia mumbling beside him, “White-haired Loeth. Of course, he can...”

—Ah... I can, but...

“Instructor, I can also perform mana circulation but...” Urie pondered for a moment before cautioning, “You all need to stay a distance away while I do.”

He was neither arrogant nor embarrassed and his tone of voice was sincere. This only served to confuse the instructor as well as Elicia perking her ear by his side. The instructor politely asked, “Are there any particular reasons for this?”

“Instructor, people may get hurt if they stay near,” Urie answered with a crease forming between his eyebrows.

—I lack self-control. Mother gave a strict warning about this. Although I'm not fond of the fact that she used the previous accounts of my bed-wetting as a comparison. I should just refuse if the instructor won't take my word for it.

Seeing him act so serious, the instructor decided to comply and urged the other students as well to keep a certain distance. Once Urie saw that they were out of his mental perimeter, he sat down cross-legged and his eyes fell into repose.

A bit skeptical, Elicia followed the instructor but sat down at a slightly nearer position than the other students. She gained a small sense of victory the moment she saw Urie sit down and close his eyes, but immediately lost the feeling once she saw what had occurred a few seconds later.

“Unbelievable...”

Surprise, astonishment, and disbelief painted the many faces at the courtyard, as a red hue had begun to envelop Urie's body before starting to flicker around him like wild flames. The display caused an uproar of discussion amongst the faculty present.

“T-The color of mana! It's similar to —!?”

“How can that be? Isn't he a child of the Loeth House? Also—!“

Before the initial excitement even managed to die down, a wave of heat coming from Urie's body stirred the crowd once again. Elicia, who was looking on with sharp eyes, felt the hot air brush upon her face causing her to inadvertently take a few steps back.

Meanwhile, from a window on the highest floor of the academy, a pair of yellow eyes gleamed as the situation below unfolded. With pupils narrowed to vertical slits, they showed excitement a level higher than those on the ground.

“—Keheh! Finally...!” the headmaster grumbled. His mouth had curled up the highest they could and revealed two rows of sharp teeth. He slowly reached out his trembling right hand towards the window glass and from his index finger, a small red ball of light emerged.

He pinched it as he would after picking his nose with his fingers and flicked the glowing ball towards the unwitting Urie below.