47. Training 2 – Alcohol

I continued teaching the three of them body enhancement using Vitality Wrap and Magic Wrap. I summoned dummies again and instructed them to wrap their magic around the surface of their bodies.

"Try to deflect attacks while maintaining that wrapped state," Shiro said, gently poking each of them in turn with a stick.

They couldn’t manage it right away, so we settled on poking each other instead.

"Hmm, wraps are still pretty tricky," Shiro muttered.

"Shiro, wraps are normally Magic Level 3. They’re not meant to be easy," Mitoka explained.

"Yeah. For now, let’s just keep practicing this method," Shiro thought.

"Albert, want to try Vitality Wrap?" Shiro said.

"What exactly is this 'vitality'?" Albert asked in return.

"Ah—about magic, really. There are actually three types. Originally, it’s called Divine Magic, composed of Magic, Vitality, and Divine Arts. What people usually call 'magic' in this world is Magic. And the force that martial artists unconsciously use once they reach a certain level is Vitality," Shiro explained.

"Albert, when I told you earlier to do practice swings, didn’t you feel something wrapping around your body while swinging?"

"Hmm… yeah…" Albert paused, thinking.

"Come to think of it, when I focus hard during sword sparring, I feel this force welling up from inside my body… Was that just my imagination?"

"Haha. No, it wasn’t imagination—real power was actually being generated," Shiro laughed, answering.

“Albert, just focus on feeling that slightly cool energy flowing—different from magic, but treat it the same way. The source of this energy is your dantian, right here,” Shiro said, pointing to his stomach.

“Got it,” Albert replied, concentrating hard to sense something.

Thanks to Shiro’s feedback and guidance—using magic sight and qi sight—what had once been unconscious became deliberate. Albert picked up qi-wrapping and magic-wrapping surprisingly fast.

“Huh. Albert’s talent for martial arts is impressive. Didn’t expect him to grasp qi techniques so easily,” Shiro said, genuinely impressed.

“Yes, he is quite the prodigy,” Aria said, smiling warmly at Albert, her eyes carrying a hint of pride. Shiro didn’t notice.

“Albert! Think of qi-wrapping as strength welling up from within your body—like it’s helping you. And magic-wrapping? That’s like outside force supporting you. With that mindset, you can apply it to strength enhancement, stamina boosts, and more,” Shiro added, sending another tip.

“Ah, I see!” Albert nodded, then tried sprinting, punching, dancing—testing out the new power, gradually mastering it.

“Alright, last one: shields,” Shiro said.

“Shields? Are they different from walls or barriers?” Aria asked.

“Ah, so you can use walls or barriers? That’s attribute-based magic, right?”

“Yes. I can cast a fire wall,” Aria said.

“I can create an ice barrier,” Shestia declared proudly.

“I can’t,” Albert said.

Note: Wall-type magic is beginner-level. Barrier-type magic is intermediate.

"Got it. What I'm teaching now is a shield constructed by manipulating raw mana—no elemental affinity," Shiro said, demonstrating it himself.

Again, he summoned a translucent figurine, gathered crimson mana before his hand, shaping it into a disc about fifty centimeters in diameter. Then, he declared, "Shield," and the mana solidified into something like a thin, glowing glass.

"Imagine deflecting attacks with this. Give it a poke," Shiro said.

Albert jabbed with his sword. "Huh. Solid. Feels like poking transparent stone."

"Try it yourself. By the way, start small—make a tiny disc first. That way, you can get used to moving it however you imagine."

With Shiro and Mitoka’s guidance, each of them focused, manipulating their mana, trying hard.

After about an hour, all three managed to produce decent shields.

"Wow. All three of you? That was fast," Shiro said, genuinely impressed.

"Worked hard. Praise me," Shestia said, drifting over to Shiro again. Shiro ruffled her hair, pleased. Aria watched with a soft smile.

Incidentally, Shiro glanced briefly toward Mitoka—her expression was blank, though he thought he caught a faint smirk. Probably just his imagination, he decided.

"Albert, practice making that shield appear and vanish faster. Visualize it fixed to the ground, and once you can summon it just a half-meter in diameter beneath your feet, you’ll be able to do this."

With that, Shiro activated the shield in quick succession, ascending upward like climbing stairs.

"Ah, I see. So that’s how you floated up when you saved me?" Albert asked, genuinely impressed.

"Yeah, more or less. That’s just part of it," Shiro replied.

◇

"Wait… what’s this Goddess’s Box, anyway?"

One night, while Shiro was checking the library, he noticed an item he didn’t recognize.

When he materialized the box, he found food inside—cheese, salami, crackers, and a bottle of wine.

“…Is this a care package from the Goddess?” Shiro mused.

“…Possibly. It seems we’ve gained the ability to transfer objects,” Mitoka replied, tilting her head cutely.

“…Maybe. Well, since it’s here, might as well make use of it.”

Stirred by Mitoka’s unexpectedly endearing gesture, Shiro carried the box to the dining room.

“Why not have a drink once in a while?” Shiro called out to everyone.

“Ah, is it too early for Shestia?” he asked.

“In this country, drinking is allowed at fifteen. So it’s fine,” Shestia replied.

“Um, so you’re…?” Shiro started to ask her age, hesitating slightly before stumbling over the words.

“Fifteen,” Shestia smiled.

“Just so you know, my brother is twenty-six, and Aria is twenty-five.”

Shestia casually revealed everyone’s ages.

“Ah, thanks,” Shiro said. Aria and Albert both smiled, unconcerned.

“So, this is wine?” Aria asked.

“Yeah, wine from my old world. Red and white. The red’s Pinot Noir—smooth and easy to drink. The white is Riesling, a bit sweet—might suit Shestia. What do you think?”

“Ah, I’ll take some,” Aria said.

“Me too,” Albert added.

“Me too,” Shestia smiled.

Three of them ate and drank in silence, utterly lost in the unfamiliar richness of the flavors.

“This kind of thing? You can’t even get this in the capital! And this wine—what refinement, what a rich, deep aroma!” Aria’s excitement is barely contained.

Shiro chuckled, but stayed silent for a while. Mitoka wasn’t eating. No—she couldn’t eat, so she watched everyone else with a faint smile, busily preparing the other various foods.

"Anyway, what's the deal with the three of them? I mean, if Shestia and Albert are siblings in an adventuring party, where does Aria fit in?" Shiro asked.

"My grandmother was a famous sage and sorceress. I’m her apprentice."

and Aria replied. Then continued.

"Since we've known each other since childhood, we're familiar with one another—like siblings. We've trained together nonstop," Aria said, offering a smile meant for siblings to the two of them.

"Shestia said, 'Aria’s been looking after me since I was little. So she’s like a real sister to me.'"

"Decaying connection," Albert muttered with a sneer,

"Ugh, you always used to cling to me, crying as a kid—yet you’re the older one," Aria retorted.

Shestia smiles back at the gentle, affectionate expression in those eyes. Shiro, too, feels a vague understanding bloom—ah, that’s it.

The person in question didn’t have the slightest clue.

"Those old stories mean nothing. I'm stronger now," Aria glared at me—

"Yeah, yeah," Aria replied lightly.

"Something about coming here to look for ingredients for an elixir?" Shiro asked.

"Part of a possible solution to lift the seal placed on my parents—by circumstances stemming from an old battle. In truth, I came here just to find Shiro," Shestia replied.

"Yeah, right, that's how it is. Sorry, I shouldn't have brought up something painful," Shiro replies.

“Not really a problem. For the past few years, it’s been Brother and Aria-sister who’ve been like parents to me,” Shestia said, a little sad—but also a little happy.

"So, you've been an adventurer this whole time?" Shiro asks.

Hmm, yeah. I’ve actually been working as an adventurer… uh, almost ten years now.

And Aria, surprised she’d said it herself.

"Yeah... so it's been that long, huh..." Albert nods, a hint of surprise in his voice.

"I'm still only about three years in," Shestia said, puffing out her chest proudly. "But I'm Rank A."

"Then again, Shestia’s a genius in a way," Aria smiled, her gaze soft like she was looking at a cute little sister.

"Hey, Shiro—what’d you do before coming here?" Aria asked.

"Yeah, me? I’m a programmer—someone who writes code for... uh," Shiro starts, then stops. There’s no such thing as a computer in this world. Naturally, “programming” wouldn’t mean anything. Though, even back on Earth, plenty of people don’t get what a programmer is.

"Programmer? What's that?" Aria and Shestia both made faces like they'd never heard of such a thing.

"Sure, yeah... Like, when you cast a spell, you recite a chant, right? That chant's made up of certain fixed phrases, isn't it? So, in the same way, writing commands according to specific rules, then telling a machine—well, in magic's case, a spirit—to carry out a task—that's what programming is. And the person who writes all those commands? That's a programmer."

And, Shiro managed to explain it using concepts from this world.

"Ah, so Shiro can write magical formulas, huh? That’s why you can pull off those absurd spellcasting methods," Aria said, nodding as if finally grasping it.

"Uh, well, kinda?" Shiro hedged.

The five of them stayed up late into the night, eating, drinking, and talking until dawn.

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