2

Next day. I was helping with the fieldwork, just like I’d promised Mom.

Ange was happy to work alongside me, but too bad my job wasn’t the kind she could handle. After all, I’ve got magic. Even at eight, I’m trusted with heavy lifting.

Hearing that, Ange looked utterly crushed. Still, I’d be heading to the mayor’s house this afternoon—might as well play a bit with her then. Seems she’s been obsessed with practicing magic lately. I suppose I could show her a thing or two.

I ruffled her hair, then Mom led me to a field a little ways off.

“Alright, dig in here.”

“Me? I’m best with wind magic.”

I squinted at Mom, staring at the field—barely cleared after the harvest, stalks still sticking up like broken bones.

Honestly, I’m not great with earth—moving it around, or conjuring fire or water. As for those so-called attribute-less spells, the ones that don’t belong to any element? I can manage those, more or less.

“It’s fine. Just do it like usual—quick and easy, like always.”

“Quick and easy…?”

Not impossible. To Mom, who barely knows any magic beyond the basics, calling it “modifying spells” probably sounds like nonsense. But to someone who can actually do magic, what I’m doing? That’s revolutionary.

So honestly, I’d rather not. Even in a backwater village, people still come and go. Who knows where my name might’ve slipped out?

If I’m gonna avoid getting tangled up with weirdos, being careful’s probably the smart move.

“Can’t you?”

Mom… don’t look at me like that. You’re gonna make me do it.

“Alright, alright! Stop with the watery eyes already!”

Thanks. Mom’ll be back from harvest like usual, so come find me when you’re done plowing. That’s it for today’s work.

Got it. Just the harvested spots, right? No way I’m tackling any new fields today.

Yeah, if we spread too far, we’ll never keep up. Alright then, count on me.

Good. Let’s do it.

For now, I’m just spinning through ideas, trying to find something I can apply with wind magic.

Done plowing, told Mom, and that wrapped up my work for the day.

Managed to finish by midmorning, so I’m completely free for the afternoon. I was just thinking about heading home for lunch when Ange came running over, her clothes all muddy from the dirt.

“Eld-kun, is your work done already?”

“Yeah, just finished. Heading to eat now.”

“I’m done with my chores too. Want to keep me company this afternoon?”

"Practicing magic?"

"Yeah."

"Good. But I wanna head over to Ange’s place first."

"Okay, got something for her dad?"

Ange’s house was built bigger than the others, designed so the village head could handle all their duties there. So if you said you had business at Ange’s, it usually meant you were seeing the village head.

Guess it was fine not to have a separate office since Ange’s family had been village heads for generations. But what if the head changed? Were they just gonna swap houses or something?

"Got a few things I’d like to ask her. Can the practice wait a bit?"

"Sure!"

"Then I’ll swing by her place later."

"Waiting for you!"

Ange waved big and bright, and I gave a quick wave back before heading home for lunch.

Country lunch is always simple. Mom’s been working since morning, so there’s never time to cook proper, and leftovers end up on the table.

Just like today—sandwiches were already laid out on the table.

I pulled one out of the basket, munched it down in a few quick bites, then changed clothes.

Even though I’d been using magic for farming, I was still a mess—sweat and dirt all over. Couldn’t show up at Ange’s place like that, no way.

I pulled a fresh set from the chest, stepped outside, and scooped water from the barrel behind the house. Doused my head all at once—cold as ice, my spine jolted.

“Ooh, still chilly…”

Shook my head, flung the water off, wiped myself down with yesterday’s clothes, then swapped into the clean ones. Nothing fancy, but I felt fresh as a daisy.

“Alright then… time to go.”

Ange’s house is near the center of the village. Not that the village itself is big—no, it’s tiny. Houses are packed close together, so you never waste time finding your way to anyone’s door.

Even a kid’s feet can carry you there in under a minute. It’s a two-story wooden house, with the ground floor jutting out like a little porch, built for the village chief’s office.

I knock a few times, then push the front door open. Naturally, it’s not locked.

“Coming in!”

From down the hallway, Ange comes running.

“Eld-kun, you’re here!”

“Hey, long time. Is the village chief around?”

“Yeah, in his office. Dad already knows you’re coming—go on in.”

“Thanks.”

I don’t need directions—the chief’s office is right next to the entrance.

I tap the door a couple of times, then step inside.

“Sorry to interrupt.”

“Good to see you.”

The one greeting me was the village chief, seated at a table set straight ahead. Silver-streaked golden hair, narrow eyes, glasses perched on his nose—looked far too calm to be the same age as my dad. Couldn’t believe that guy had once been a rascal who’d run off to become an Armunale rider. Must’ve been Dad’s mistake, that’s all.

Still, maybe the chief’s library has something on the Armunale after all. Might as well ask.

“Now then, what brings you here?”

“Actually… I’d like to know about the Armunale.”

“Ghokk… Ah, the Armunale, you say?”

I start talking, and suddenly the chief chokes up.

“Yes, I saw one not long ago… and I’ve been curious ever since.”

“Mhmm, I see. So Eld here’s a boy, huh? What’d you like to know about Armunale? How to become a knight? Or how it’s made?”

“Yeah—ideally, everything, but for now, piloting and internal structure would be best.”

If I know how to pilot it, maybe I could get that Armunale moving again. And if I understand its insides, even just a little, I might be able to patch things up in a pinch.

It’s been out in the rain and wind for years—gotta be needing repairs all over the place.

“Hmm. Piloting and internal structure, huh. Then you’d probably be better off reading this book.”

The chief stands up, walks over to the bookshelf along the wall, pulls out an old tome, and hands it to me. I take it, run my eyes over the title on the cover.

“Basic Overview of Armunale?”

"Yeah. It’s the textbook they hand out at the Armunale academy. Covers the basics of Armunale, just like I said."

Ah. So they actually have textbooks... That means that story’s real, huh...

I flip through the book, a little shaken by the village chief’s image crumbling a bit. The letters are in our world’s script—easy enough for me to read. The content starts with the basics of Armunale, then goes into the various instruments in the cockpit, basic piloting techniques, how to read the different drive systems, how the internal mechanisms work, and—most fascinating—everything about the senseboard, Armunale’s brain.

Just skimming through it already makes my mouth water.

"Can I borrow this?!"

"Sure, go ahead. I’m not using it anymore."

"Thank you so much! I’ll be careful with it."

Holding the book close, I step out of the office. And there’s Ange, waiting straight ahead.

“Finished talking?”

“Yeah. You waiting for me? I was gonna come get you.”

“Ehehe, couldn’t help but wonder. Is that what you wanted to talk about?”

Ange’s eyes flicker to the book in my hand.

“Yeah. Stuff about Armunale.”

“Armunale?”

She doesn’t know about Armunale yet. Well, I wouldn’t have either if I hadn’t stumbled across that machine by accident—makes sense, really.

“I’ll explain later. Right now, magic practice, right?”

“Yeah!”

Ange and I head out to the woodpile at the edge of town. Can’t practice magic inside the house, and going too deep into the woods with her still feels risky.

The village elder and the mayor both told me to use this spot.

The woodpile’s out near the edge of the forest, where the trees give way to the village. People come here often to gather firewood, so it’s been tamed by hands and feet. Animals don’t come close much anymore.

Which means it’s relatively safe to practice magic here.

I plop down on a stack of firewood, using the log as a seat, in this little shed made only of posts and a roof.

“So, what’re we working on today? No attack spells, remember—village elders banned those.”

Ange’s good with fire magic. To be honest, she’s better at offensive spells than I am. Still, the elders and my father have strictly forbidden teaching her. Kids, you know—mess up, blow something up, cause trouble. But still, knowing a bit of defense magic wouldn’t hurt. I’ll talk to the elders about that later.

I get it. Like, magic that keeps clothes clean, or makes things float in the air? I mean, farming’s a real mess—would be handy if there was a spell like that.

Hmm. Cleaning dirt off things is tricky, but floating stuff? I know one.

Really!?

Ange lights up, grinning from ear to ear.

I aim for a fallen log nearby and cast the spell.

"Levitation."

The log lifts slowly, hovering in place.

Whoa! Amazing! You can do that so easy?

Well, it looks simple, but it’s actually pretty hard. Like, it’s the whole lot of what I’ve taught you so far, all rolled into one.

Is that so?

Range control and holding the spell steady.

If basic magic is about making spells from your own body—lighting a flame at your fingertips, conjuring a fireball—then range control is like my air shock absorber or air cushion, making magic happen out there, away from you. And keeping the spell alive? That’s about keeping your senses linked to it. A flame, once lit, burns on by itself. But a levitation spell? Not so much. You’ve got to keep your senses tied to it, all the time, or it’ll fall. That’s what keeping the spell alive means.

Ange’s learned all the individual tricks, sure. But this? This is the first time she’s ever tried doing them all at once. That’s why it’s the culmination.

“Alright, give it a go.”

“Yeah, levitation!”

Ange casts the spell. The firewood slowly rises into the air, hovering up to waist height—then thuds straight back down to the ground.

“Ah…”

“Range control’s fine. Now it’s just about maintaining the spell. Well, that’s something you’ll just have to get used to through practice. I’ll keep an eye on you, so go ahead and keep at it.”

“Yeah. Then—levitation!”

As Ange began practicing levitation, I reached for the book I’d set aside beside me.

I can watch her practice while reading.

I felt a grin tugging at my lips as I opened the basics textbook.

“Eld! Eld, you—!”

“Huh? Oh—sorry.”

Looking up, I found Ange’s face right in front of mine. Her cheeks were flushed, and she was glaring at me.

“You said you’d watch me!”

“Sorry. Got a bit distracted.”

Honestly, the basics of Armunale—really, really interesting. I figured it’d be as dull as a textbook, but it’s got this buzz, like the backstory in a model kit’s instruction manual.

At first, I was sneaking glances at Ange’s magic, but somehow ended up reading straight through. Guess that’s why I picked up on so much about Armunale.

“Eld-kun!”

“Ah…?”

“I’ve got it! I can do it properly now!”

“Is that so? Then show me.”

“Got it. Watch closely! Levitation!”

The log floated gently up, stopping right in front of Eld’s eyes. No wobbling. No soaring off into the sky like last time.

“Stable as ever.”

“I worked hard for this!”

“Then let’s try an application.”

“Huh?”

Still plenty of time before evening. I’ll give Ange another challenge—just to keep her from getting too full of herself while I get some reading done.

“Levitation, double setup. Start.”

The moment I cast the spell, another log rose into the air, separate from the one Ange had already floating. That’s what they call multiple activation.

I struggled hard to get this far. Even now, I can only manage four at once. She’ll be busy practicing until evening, I reckon.

So I show her this—

“Levitation, double setup. Start!”

And she does it just as easily as I did. No way…

Wait—multiple activation’s just multitasking. I heard somewhere that women tend to be better at multitasking these days. So… does that mean Ange’s actually better at this than me?

“Trying to pull it off all at once… well, at least give it a shot and see how far you can get. Carrying vegetables? Better one at a time, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Three is triple, four is quadruple, five is quintuple. Oh, and I can only manage up to quadruple.”

“Gonna try and pass you, Eld-kun.”

Seriously, I’m scared I’ll get left behind… but, okay, I’ll try my best.

While Ange recited her triple incantation out of the corner of my eye, I lowered my gaze back to the book.

In the end, Ange managed to pull off triple multiple activation that day.

“Wow. Took me a week.”

“Guess everyone’s got their strengths. Quadruple sounds tough, though.”

“Yeah, but Ange’ll figure it out soon enough. Might as well practice with the garden work.”

“Yeah. Thanks for today.”

"Got nothing but free time this week, so let me know if you wanna practice again."

"Got it. See you tomorrow."

"Yeah, see you tomorrow."

I headed back home and finished supper.

Every household in the village eats before dark, then spends the evening with the flicker of a lantern—just like clockwork.

Once the sun’s gone, though, even I can’t read.

I lay in bed, drifting, remembering what I’d read today.