Miika who is standing in the magic store closes his eyes.

I am observing him while sitting on wooden chair provided by Griselda.

Miika then put his right hand forward. Mana starts to gather in front of his right hand until it forms a hazy magic circle. The colour of a light blue magic circle slowly turns into green.

"Heal!"

Miika opens his eyes while shout the spell.

The magic circle just disappear and nothing else happened. The way to guess whether the "Heal" spell works or not except from seeing it's actual effect is to see whether the magic circle emits light particles which will touch and heal the wound.

Since the light particles never come out...

"Another failure huh... and this is the third time."

I said that not because I think he disappointed me or anything like that. But it's because I notice that his Astral Body is running low on mana after only use that basic spell three times.

Some of maids in Graize household are also level 1 and they usually can manage using those basic spells for about 8 to 9 times before they almost run out of mana.

Miika's Astral Body capacity is below than average. That's for sure.

The reasoning behind why I choose "Heal" spell is because of his low capacity. Offensive spell tends to have larger mana consumption so it's hard for people with low mana capacity like him.

There are exceptions that use smaller mana consumption but he needs to have a strategy in order to use them properly... which is something that is currently beyond him considering just how straightforward his fighting style is.

That's why I choose Heal since it is usable in many situations without having to think much about how to use it along with smaller mana consumption because of how the spell works.

It heals wound depending on how much mana the user consumes. The smallest mana consumption of that spell will at least heal a small bruise. You can raise the mana consumption to heal larger wounds but at least it is flexible enough for people with low level Astral Body to activate it.

Also, the required aptitude to use Heal is either Water, Light, Earth or Wind. His aptitude is Wind so this spell should be a reasonable goal for him. The problem is...

"Well, it's his first time in learning magic. So this much is expected."

I hear Griselda's voice saying that from behind.

Griselda comes from behind and offers me a glass of iced tea.

"Ah, thank you."

After I take the glass, I notice that Miika try to use the same Heal spell again even though he looks really tired.

"Stop, Miika. Your mana is running low. Rest before you continue."

"*pant* *pant* Understood."

Miika looks tired but he is still standing. I guess it's just his habit to keep standing until someone else tell him to sit.

Griselda then approaches Miika while holding another glass of iced tea.

"Here you go."

"Thank you."

Miika takes the glass from Griselda and drink it bit by bit.

I also take a sip. It tastes like ice lemon tea. I want to know more about this tea that gives me nostalgic taste. But Griselda cut my thought by talking to me.

"I guess it's better to go back to basic by drawing the magic circle using pencil."

"... One of my family members manage to activate this magic on second attempt at the age of 9 though..."

I'm talking about Korsch. The guy who is called prodigy by people around him just like Millson despite him not accomplishing anything much in my eyes.

I remember his smug look just because he managed to use a Water Ball spell. Seriously, why is everyone calling him a-

"He is already able to use Heal spell at such young age after second attempt...? Wow, that kid must be a prodigy..."

Griselda suddenly said that unbelievable statement.

I look dumbfounded while looking at Griselda.

"? What's wrong?"

Griselda looks at me with slight confusion.

"Uh... nothing."

I look away and think carefully about her statement of Korsch being a prodigy.

Wait a minute... I might have look at this learning process from a wrong angle.

I tend to compare how people use magic compared to myself and often internally complain on how inefficient their execution is.

However, I have no Astral Body. I should have known that my way of using magic is pretty different than normal. I never have to deal with mana consumption because I literally use other's mana to use magic.

I remember the time when I used Overtake in the past.

_________________________________________

*Flashback, 1 year ago*

"... ouch."

My right hand got hurt because I cover a falling maid who was mopping the floor. It happened on the terrace near the main garden and no one else saw the incident happened.

The short orange-haired maid did not get hurt much from the fall because I quickly cover the back of her head with my right hand on reflex so my right hand hit the floor instead of her head.

"AWAWAWAWA!! I'M REALLY SORRY! SHION-SAMA!!!"

The short orange-haired maid panicked as she standed up from the floor and looked at me with eyes that are about to cry.

The maid is called Trey, a newbie maid who got recruited by Millson due to her deep knowledge in logistics. But she still had to do basic cleaning stuff as a maid, that's the rule of the maids in Graize Household.

She fell because she is not used to this cleaning stuff but luckily, I was there to notice her.

"I'm fine. More importantly, are you able to use any healing spell?"

I showed her the bruise on my right hand.

"AAA! YES! I'LL HEAL IT IMMEDIATELY!! HEAL!!"

She quickly casted heal on the bruise but the wound is healing slower than expected. Her panic mental state affected her concentration so her magic circle is not as specific as what it should be.

I looked at the brown Heal magic circle. She used an Earth attribute to activate the magic and the brown colour represented that attribute.

I can instantly recognize the magic just by seeing its magic circle due to years of me learning about it. Because magic plays a pivotal role in this world's society.

Then I imagined a better Earth attribute Heal magic circle because of just how sloppy her magic circle is.

Then something unexpected happened.

Her brown Heal magic circle starts to shape like the one in my imagination.

"!?"

As a result, the spell immediately heal my bruise with no trace of wound left.

Trey looked relieved because she did not realized what just happened. But that phenomenon greatly shocked me.

In order to confirm my suspicion, I conducted an experiment for months by sneakily use this ability to alter the various magic spells that other people use.

During my experimentation period, I figured out its ability as well as its limitation.

While Overtake can manipulate the other people's magic, it has its own limitations.

It is obvious but my Overtake depends on other's magic. On top of that, I cannot transform the other's magic into different with magic that has different attribute.

For example, if Trey used her Earth attribute Heal again. I can use Overtake to transform it to any other magic that requires Earth aptitude within my knowledge.

Another limitation is that I cannot increase mana using this power. While decreasing other people's mana will just require me to constantly activate their magic until their mana run out, I cannot do the opposite. Overtake does not create any mana, it still uses mana just like how normal magic works.

I also did a research about this power of mine by looking through the books in Graize household's library. But I find nothing at all about the origin of this power.

*End of Flashback*

_________________________________________

... I guess I really need to stop comparing myself to other people. Overtake is a bit too abnormal for that.

And perhaps... Korsch is really a prodigy after all. Anyway, I can't really expect Miika to immediately be able to use the spell like Korsch.

Practice on drawing a magic circle will improve his sense of image. Then what I need to do is...

"Can I buy some papers and pencils?"

"I knew you would say that."

Griselda quickly replies and prepares them along with a paper that contains a picture of Heal magic circle for reference.

"How much?"

I bring out the bag that contains the coins but Griselda stops me by raising her right hand towards me.

"No need to pay. Think of it as my thanks for bringing me back home. In fact..."

Griselda holds my right hand and put 5 gold coins on top of my right palm.

"Wha!?"

I am shocked by her sudden action but she immediately explains her action.

"This much is actually a given since you two saved my life. Also it's better if you two used this money to upgrade your gears in preparation for the upcoming battle."

"!"

I immediately understand which battle she's talking about. She refers to the battle with unknown monster.

"As much as I want to stop the two of you from going. It's true that we lack the manpower to fight that thing."

I look at Griselda's serious expression. She probably has the rough idea on how dangerous that unknown monster will be.

"... Understood."

I grasp the five gold coins. I'm reluctant at first but this is not the time to hold back in getting any available resources.

"Say... about that monster-"

*knock* *knock*

Before I manage to ask about that monster. Someone knocked the door of the shop.

"Come in~."

Right after Griselda says, the person opens the door and that person is revealed to be Rimikia.

"Looks like you're fine already."

Rimikia says that while looking at Griselda.

"Yeah, thanks to these two."

Griselda smiled while patting my head.

"... Good work. You two."

Rimikia has been intensely staring at me ever since I easily freed Miika from slavery magic. Now is not an exception.

Well, I admit that I was a bit too flashy at that time. I left without much of an explaination after all.

"Here you go."

As if she knows why Rimikia is here for,

Griselda hands over few written papers to Rimikia.

"What is that?"

I ask them while looking at those papers. Rimikia is the one who replies.

"Reports about that monster. Tomorrow, we will be conducting a strategy meeting. So make sure that you come tomorrow."

Tomorrow huh... then I guess I'll just hear more about it tomorrow.

"Understood."

I reply to Rimikia and leave the shop together with Miika.

At least that's my plan but Rimikia mentions something before I go out.

"Guild Master wants to meet the two of you tomorrow. So come to his room after the strategy meeting in the afternoon."

"Understood."

I says that and Miika nods at them before both of us leave the shop.

Miika is holding the white papers and pencils that is given by Griselda using his right hand.

While we are walking, I take out 3 silver coins and put it at the bag that is on Miika's bag.

"?"

Miika looks at me questioningly so I explain my plan to him.

"I'm going to Antarea's place alone. So you go to the inn by yourself first. Eat dinner, take a bath and then practice your drawing."

"..."

"... Miika?"

Miika seems dazed so I call his name just to make sure he's listening.

"! Y- yes. I'll go to the inn first!"

"You don't need to force yourself if you're tired."

"N- no. I'm fine. Really."

"Ok. But take a rest if you're really tired."

Miika nods so I leave him and go towards the blacksmith shop.

.....

....

...

"Your armor sets are already the best set you guys can wear."

When I asked Antarea whether she can create a better armor set because I have extra money for that, she replies with that. Then Antarea continues talking.

"Money is not the problem here. If I use a tougher material, you guys won't be able to wear it because it is way heavier than your current equipments."

"I see..."

Weight is also another problem huh. Miika is physically stronger than me but I don't really want to slow him down because we always use hit and run strategy when fighting monsters.

"Is there anything else you can do? I really want to strengthen our equipments as much as possible before fighting that monster."

"That monster huh..."

Antarea put her right hand to her chin thinking about my request

I already explained Miika's situation to her back when I asked her to make a custom armor set for Miika (which is actually just a copycat of my armor set in terms of design).

"Then what about the weapon? Your member's weapon."

"You can do something about it?"

"He's using a dagger right? I can create a magic dagger for him."

"! Tell me more about it."

.....

....

...

By the time I leave Antarea's shop, it's already night.

We discussed about the magic dagger designs and functions so much that we forgot about the time.

Fortunately, the dining place and public bathroom have not been closed yet. So I take a quick dinner and shower before going back to my room.

*creak*

When I open the door, I notice that Miika is curling up at the corner of the room... again.

He's hiding his face behind his knees... what happened?

I'll try talking to him to ask what happened.

"What are you doing?"

"... nothing."

"What happened to the practice?"

"It's impossible for me."

"Hm?"

I want to ask more about what he meant. But I look at the table that is full of papers because I want to confirm something.

I approach the table and I see a lousy drawings of the magic circles that is way off from the reference picture.

Almost all the papers have drawings on it.... only on one side of each paper.

Yeah, I think I get it.

"You're upset because your drawing sucks?"

"..."

No reply. More or less, I nailed it.

I wonder what to do about this though. As much as I would like to leave him alone, he would most likely stay like that until morning. Yeah, I can see this unfathomable kid doing that.

I touch my bang a bit while thinking about what to say to him.

Then I decide to sit besides him.

"..."

Silence ensues for about 1 minute until he takes the initiative to say something.

"Are you angry?"

"About what?"

"I said that I will do my best... and yet I cannot accomplish much."

Well, I never had any expectation for you to succeed that easily after knowing how hard learning magic can be... is what I want to say. But I try to choose my words carefully this time.

"Well, I'm the one who said that you shouldn't force yourself. So I don't really mind."

"..."

No reply, then I guess it's my turn to talk.

"But... since you're training. Then I guess you have free time right? Hear me out for a bit."

He's revealing his face a bit since he tries to look at me.

"This is a story of someone I know. It's fine if you don't really get it. But just listen for now."

As Miika is looking at me quietly, I continue talking.

"That person is a girl who lives far away from here. One day, that girl managed to get a very good result in her studies at school. Her parents praised her a lot because of that."

I look at the ceiling while continue talking.

"She felt really happy after being praised by her parents. Ever since then, she put a very high expectation on herself. She studied really hard so that she can get praised by them again."

"However, as she moved into a more advanced class, she found it difficult to keep up with the lessons despite her efforts. Many people around her seemed to get better results than her and it gave a massive blow on her confidence."

I look down before continuing.

"On top of that, things have not been really going well for her. Something happened to her family and she cannot focus much at school as a result of that."

"Then when she got bad results in school test. She cried because she was so upset about it. She cried at home so loud that her mother asked her what happened."

"Then when she told her mother what happened. The mother smiled at her while saying this..."

I look at Miika so that our eyes met.

"It's fine. I know that you tried your best."

"!?"

Miika looks surprised while still looking at me.

Then I look forward before talking again. I feel uncomfortable because I rarely do this kind of thing.

"W- well, my point is... it's fine if you acknowledge your limit. But whether it is impossible for you or not..."

I get up and take 1 paper and 1 pencil from the table.

Then I put the paper on the wooden floor near Miika and I start drawing on it. While drawing, I put my left hand behind my back ensuring that I do not draw the magic circle using the help of my left hand.

I quickly finish drawing and shows Miika my drawing of Heal magic circle which is very close to the reference.

"See? If I can do it, that means it's not impossible for you to do it."

Back then before I got my Overtake power, I practiced drawing magic circle a lot after all. So I can draw any magic circle naturally without the help of reference picture. The result is a bit off though because I never really try to draw it with only one hand.

Miika is still silent but he still looks surprised. I hope that he understands my point.

"... but Shion being able to do it does not mean that I am able to do it."

I pinch his left cheek using my right hand out of annoyance.

"So that's how you respond to someone who encourage you huh. This brat..."

"Ouch ouch ouch!"

I'm not really annoyed that much so I let go my hand from his cheek for about 10 seconds.

I stand up and look at Miika.

"Anyway, I'm not forcing you but you need to know this. I'm not going to get angry or laugh at you just because of your drawing. So you can give it a try until you're bored or tired."

Miika quietly nods.

"I'm going to sleep now. Once you feel sleepy, feel free to sleep whenever you want."

I climb the bed and proceed to sleep. Today has been another hectic day for me so I fall asleep quickly out of tiredness.

_________________________________________

*Interlude*

Miika is still sitting at the corner when Shion fall asleep.

After remembering their earlier conversation, Miika picks up the paper and the pencil that Shion left on the floor.

Then he goes to the table searching for papers that he can still draw on.

Instead of using the reference picture that Griselda gave him, he used Shion's picture as a reference to practice his magic circle drawing.

*End of Interlude*

_________________________________________

"... mmm."

The sunlight passes through the window and illuminate my face. It slowly wakes me up from my slumber.

I slowly get up from my bed. After few seconds of thought processing, my mind is fully woken up and I start to look around my room.

Then I notice Miika is sleeping while his face is lying on the table. His hand is still holding a pencil and lots of papers are scattered throughout the table.

I decide to wake him up because we have two meetings to attend today.

".... hm?"

However, when I arrived near him, I noticed that all papers have the drawings on both sides except the last paper that have 1 side of a magic circle drawing unfinished.

I look at various attempts of him drawing Heal magic circles and then I look at Miika's sleeping face.

... well.

I guess it does not hurt to let him sleep a little bit more before waking him up.