“For the fourth group…”

The teacher takes a tiny folded paper from the bag.

“Alexis” And another, “Sophia” And so on, “Matthew and… Tiane.”

Tiane shows annoyance, “Teacher, do I really have to-“

“Those are the rules. The groups for the outdoors class are to be drawn. That will be your team for the day. Now for the last group…”

As in the game, us four ended up in the same group.

Originally, the heroine would get lost and be found by a capture character, but now that there will be no events such as… as… no, I mean……

Really, all I have to do is try my best!

“Sophia, are you feeling well, you look flushed.” When I noticed, Matthew’s hand was in my forehead, “Don’t go getting sick before this class, weren’t you looking forward to it?”

I hastily move a step backwards “I-I fine… Thanks for your concern.” Gosh, don’t scare me like that!

And curse this imagination of mine!

When all groups were formed we were ready to go. We are going into the forest just outside school to have a race. Each group will try to win the race against the others while protecting themselves from wild monsters; attaching other players is prohibited. Although, since is a physical activity, some people prefer to take it easy.

Servants, who normally don’t come for their master’s classes are allowed to come this time, if the master so desires.

I can feel my heart in my chest. We aren’t going to take our bags with us, so I left Christine in the forest beforehand. Not that taking her in the bag for so long would be a good idea anyway. I tied her to a tree with a thread I made by materializing magic particles. It is difficult for me to control my magic from so far away so if someone, or something, approaches her, I’m sure those threads will break in an instant. It does work as a safety measure, even if the monsters are only found deeper into the forest, so I guess it’s fine. I’m not happy with this set up, but it was the best I could came up with.

Sometimes my face seems to hold no lies, but I can at least do this much.

In this world, you call ‘materializing’ your magic when, by simply having a high percentage of magic particles, you can make your element take properties it wouldn’t have in nature. For example, if you want to make a slash of water able to cut someone, you make the edge have a bunch of water particles and position them like the sharp end of a knife. The process is a lot more natural than it sounds. There are people who can make whole weapons out of that, but it’s uncommon to see.

Materializing isn’t actually the right word for it, but since the name was used since antiquity it just stuck. It was called like that because the particles took qualities similar to objects.

However, I’m not very good at it. I can manage threads as they are very thin, but the control necessary to keep them from disappearing is a little messy. I wonder if it has to do with me having trouble imagining materialized light. Imagination plays a big part in magic control, and the idea of using light to touch things is odd. If the light was used to heal or to see things other people can’t see I would get it, but light users are actually supposed to be on the offense! At least light users have talent to evoke magic faster than others or I would be stuck as a lantern.

I first materialized something when I was fourteen years-old. I was singing a song from my past life. It was basically about a spider using her threads to capture her prey, and I thought it would be interesting to do a golden thread. Would it look pretty or simply like a blond hair I thought. Making magic seem pretty is my delight, after all. The threads ended up being difficult to see at first glance, sadly. I don’t tell that to people though, as saying that I trained a spell because it looked cool would gain me weird looks.

But really, I love that song. The lyrics are a little creepy and they are singed with a cute voice. It somehow just fits very well.

No, I do not like spiders.

We were getting near the decided place. Bit by bit, I start distancing myself from my classmates. After looking me around for a while I notice I can’t see some people, Tiane included. Did her group step aside to talk or something? I don’t have a good feeling, but I haven’t done anything so it’s not like I’m worried. As for the other people… Is it really all right for them to disappear just like that?

After distancing myself enough, I step aside from the dirt road and keep going farther and farther from people’s eyes. I use my threads to check if someone is nearby. Sensing no movement I go to were Christine. I release her and she looks at me unsure if to go or to stay. I give her a smile I leave her in that place. Now I just need to be nearby to make sure Tiane is the one that finds her.

Our strength isn’t that different, so she shouldn’t be able to find me if I lay low and don’t do anything.

Gosh, why is this so much trouble?

I climb a tree and wait there. Do nobles climb trees? They are missing out.

After a while I see a group of girl passing by. This entourage is sorrowing Tiane.

“Are you alright, Tiane? You seem tired.” The girl asks why she is in a bad mood, politely.

“It’s nothing; I really shouldn’t worry about this. It’s no big deal.”

This time, another girl steps in, “But I’m amazed, after all-“ She stops mid-sentence and turns around, “Do you hear meowing?”

“Oh, it really is.” Other girl says

I see Tiane’s eyes opening wide, but it’s gone in the next instant, as she simply follows the sound without saying anything.

That should be enough. Let’s go join the others now.

Back there, I see Matthew and Alexis talking.

“Sophia, I didn’t see you for a while. Did you get left behind?”

His concern seems genuine, but I see a glint of doubt in his eyes.

“I got distracted with something and stayed out.”

“I see, if you are fine... We were talking about the race.” He changes the subject, “You know, if we get a good place, us two could get a bonus in our… income.”

I was hoping you would say it!

“Of course!” I give a big smile.

It’s time to recover from the hole Christine left in my wallet!

Alexis sighs to the side with the grumpiness I expected from him, “Anything’s fine by me.”

“Just great.” Tiane finally appears, “I wanted to get this done with fast!”

The white cat in her hands surprises the other two. She passes it to a maid next to her, her movements beautiful and dignified.

“Here, keep her until I’m back. If something happens… you understand don’t you?”

The maid’s face pales and she obediently concedes.

Good grief.