After a few dozen minutes had passed since I had served tea to Irena-san, my mom and Hina returned home. As soon as they walked through the door, Irena-san repeated the same explanation she had given me to my mother. After listening carefully to Irena-san, my mom nodded her head.

“We’ll be happy to take care of Nina-chan.”

“Thank you very much.”

Irena-san bowed deeply as she handed over Nina-chan’s luggage and an envelope containing some living expenses to my mother. My mom, however, refused to accept the money.

I overheard her saying something like, “We help each other in times of need,” and I couldn’t help but think that we were able to refuse the money because we were well-off. Exorcists were known to make good money, but seeing how easily my family could take in someone else’s child without hesitation made me realize just how comfortable we were financially.

While I let my mind drift with those adult thoughts, Irena-san hurried off to Haneda Airport. Though we had financial stability, time was something exorcists often lacked.

And just like that, Nina-chan was going to stay at our house for a while. It was settled.

In the living room, where we were sitting with tea in front of us, my mom greeted Nina-chan briefly.

“Nina-chan, it’s been a while. I’m Itsuki’s mother.”

“H-Hello, it’s been a while.”

“Do you have any food allergies or things you can’t eat?”

“…No, I can eat anything.”

Nina-chan nodded politely.

She was very well-behaved in front of adults, but having been in the same class as her for two years, I knew better. Whenever we had broccoli during school lunch, she’d quietly sneak hers onto my plate.

Well, I don’t dislike broccoli, so I eat it, but… Are you sure about saying you can eat anything?

My mom, who of course had no way of knowing this, smiled in relief.

“Good, then we don’t have to worry about meals.”

“And here, I brought a gift…!”

As she spoke, Nina-chan pulled out two tins of what looked like high-quality green tea leaves from her bag.

Seeing that made me feel a bit of relief. I was glad she’d waited until now to give it. If she had brought it out while I was making tea, it would’ve been a waste of perfectly good leaves in my amateur hands.

“Thank you, Nina-chan. We’ll enjoy it later.”

“Yeah.”

Nina-chan nodded, and I noticed how much more expressive she’d become compared to a year ago. Back then, she and Irena-san had a bit of a rocky relationship, and she’d just moved to Japan, so she was likely stressed from the unfamiliar environment.

My mom accepted the tea tins and then went to prepare a guest room for Nina-chan. Our house was a bit too big for a family of four, so we had unused rooms available.

The plan was to turn one of those rooms into a temporary space for Nina-chan.

With Nina-chan and Hina busy with my mom, I decided to take a shower. I’d been moving around a lot earlier, and I was starting to feel sweaty and uncomfortable.

After I finished my shower, I came back to find my mom and Hina getting ready to head out.

“Are you going somewhere?”

“We’re going shopping. Want to come with us?”

“Hmm… What are you buying?”

“Mostly food for tomorrow’s meals.”

“In that case, I’ll stay home.”

I had been exercising earlier, but now I wanted to practice some magic that I hadn’t used in a while.

My mom seemed to have expected my answer because she just nodded and grabbed her bag.

You’d think they could’ve done the shopping while they were out getting the schoolbag for Hina, but my mom loves going out. Hina, of course, had to go with her because she’s still small, and it can be dangerous to leave her alone.

“Nina-chan, are you coming with us?”

“I’ll stay here with Itsuki.”

“Okay, take care of Itsuki for me, then.”

“Leave it to me!”

Nina-chan puffed out her chest with pride as she responded.

And just like that, my mom took Hina with her and headed out to shop. It would probably take them about an hour to return.

With some time on my hands and plans to practice magic, I noticed Nina-chan staring at me intently.

“W-What’s up?”

“You’re going to practice magic, right?”

“Yeah, that’s the plan.”

When I nodded, Nina-chan continued.

“Why don’t we continue the magic training we started last time?”

“Really? You’re okay with that?”

“Of course.”

She smiled, her green eyes narrowing slightly.

The magic training we had been working on was practicing the spell “Castling” together.

“Castling” is a spell that allows an exorcist to switch places with a summoned fairy.

The distance doesn’t matter. No matter how far apart you are, or where you are, you can swap places with the fairy.

The downside is that it uses a lot of magic power, but essentially, it’s a form of teleportation.

A little over a year ago, Nina-chan and I had been trapped in school together, and Irena-san had rushed back to Tokyo. We’d used this spell to escape that situation.

After that incident, I tried experimenting with Raiko-doji, but it didn’t go well. In the end, I had to go crying to Nina-chan for help.

So, with that in mind, Nina-chan and I headed out to the yard. As we walked, she gently opened her hands.

Out of her hands appeared a tiny figure, about 15 centimeters tall.

It was completely white, with no facial features—no eyes, no nose, no mouth. Its face was completely smooth.

However, its attire was the opposite of its face—it wore an elegant dress, and on its back, shimmering wings fluttered ever so slightly, keeping it suspended in the air.

Nina-chan had summoned a “Pixie,” a fairy that exorcists often liked to conjure.

Pixies were particularly well-suited for “Castling.”

Being “suited” for a spell is meant quite literally here. Fairies have certain spells they are better at, and others they aren’t.

For example, Pixies excel at spells that involve “mischief,” like stealing body parts from monsters.

“Okay, Itsuki. I’ll show you how it’s done first.”

“Yeah, please do.”

As Nina-chan spoke, the air around her began to warp.

The scenery bent and twisted, like a mirage, or as if a black hole had appeared, distorting everything.

And in the next instant, she was gone.

When I blinked, the Pixie was floating in front of me. As I moved my gaze, I saw that Nina-chan was now standing where the Pixie had been just a moment ago.

“How was it? Did you see?”

“Yeah, I saw.”

No matter how many times I watch it, “magic” always feels magical.

I can’t wait to be able to use it myself.

“Now, it’s your turn, Itsuki.”

“Alright, I’ll give it a try.”

Just like Nina-chan, I cupped my hands together.

Inside, I concentrated my magic, creating a “core” of condensed energy. From there, I used that core as a base to form the shape of a fairy.

Combining “Condensation Magic” and “Elemental Alchemy,” I crafted a similar white fairy in my hands.

This was “Fairy Magic.”

After a year of practice, I had gotten to the point where I could summon a fairy without needing to use a Relic as a core.

Even so, I was still nowhere near Nina-chan’s level, who had been receiving personal lessons from Irena-san on Fairy Magic.

With that in mind, I focused on my humility and followed Nina-chan’s guidance as I attempted to master the “Castling” spell.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep