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Chapter 41

I didn't know what to say and turned my head while biting my tongue. Although I was still happy about succeeding in magic, I couldn't bring myself to make eye contact with Cain, thinking that he would reach a favorability of 50 soon.

The favorability is increasing by 10 at once. Even the Hunter, whose raised favorability at a fast speed, did not develop a crush on me so fast. Besides, Cain didn't seem to like me in that way. It was hard to imagine him being in heat over me.

Perhaps Cain's feelings towards me could be... favor toward a test subject? Pride toward your student as a mentor? It didn't seem to be anything like that. Moreover, Cain had never formed a close relationship with anyone before. He hadn't spent a long time with anyone, and it seemed like he had never formed a deep connection with anyone. So, it might be that he unexpectedly developed impulsive affection for me like a duckling imprinting on its mother?

If this situation continues, choosing Cain might have been a good decision. It would be better if the favorability increased a bit more slowly, but it was fine as long as there was no danger of being attacked.

"Ahem, well. This forest is full of earth mana, making it vulnerable to fire. So, if you learn fire magic, it will be easier for you to attack."

Cain said awkwardly, rubbing his neck. The cheeks, ear tips, and around his neck were stained red. I pretended not to see the color as I practiced the fire magic a few more times. Whether the flame appeared or not, with each practice, the success rate gradually increased. Cain applauded from the side.

We continued practicing magic while walking. The path on the mountain was well laid out. When I looked excited, Cain explained.

"Knights come to hunt monsters and magicians, well, they're like wandering around to get experimental materials or improve their skills. That's why they've paved the way."

"But why isn't there anyone around now?"

"There might be many. It's just that there's no one around here. The Studdle Mountains are very large and wide. You could encounter someone eventually."

We continued practicing magic, and I learned to create a large flame using the same magic and explode it like a bomb. Of course, it didn't go well. Seeing the flame streaming down from my wand, I sighed. Cain patted my back.

"Hey, it's amazing for you to do this much with your mana amount."

"Is it comfort or an insult?"

"Want to take a break?" Cain said while casually whistling, which was so amusing that it lifted my mood a bit.

We sat on a flat rock. Cain pulled out a water bottle from the air and handed it to me. Since I was quite thirsty, I took the water bottle without saying a word and drank.

"I'm not teaching you to perform impressive magic. The goal is for you to handle your mana better and get used to it. So, there's no need to be impatient, and you don't have to lose confidence over this."

He said breaking the glass at his feet, the long blades of grass swayed in all directions.

"Magicians who enter the Tower usually have some talent, but they come in because they love magic too much. Even if they fail several times, there's no reason to be discouraged. They'll use and study that magic for the rest of their lives anyway. They enjoy recording failure factors and trying different things on the next attempt."

Now Cain began to wrap the blade of grass into a circle, tying a knot.

"But you keep wanting to prove something. You're not even that fond of magic nor do you have big ambitions, but you get disappointed and discouraged when the spell doesn't work. Why is that?"