Magic Academy & Red Magic

"But your friends are so stupid, you know?" Rei said after telling the story. "If I didn't tell them, they wouldn't have remembered to write you a letter and you wouldn't have believed me--"

But completely ignoring Rei, Aria immediately took the letter and went to the corner of the ship to read it herself. But even when she had just read Leyna's handwriting that read 'to Aria', she had already started shedding tears.

That's why after that Rei also deliberately left her alone for a while. But somehow Aria looked even more sobbing by herself after reading the letter, which actually started to make him worry that she would really try to escape from the ship because of it.

So even though he hadn't thought of what to say, for the time being he planned to approach her first.

But then someone grabbed his hand instead. "You plan to disturb a girl who is crying?" Asked the little girl wryly. If he's not mistaken, Rei had heard this red-haired girl called the old man 'father'.

"Having no feelings also has limits, don't you think?" She continued. Unable to reply to her, Rei finally became silent again. And finally the girl approached Aria instead.

Rei also didn't realize this until he got on the boat, but it turned out that the girl only had one arm intact. While her right hand was replaced by some kind of clamping iron instead. Compared to her father, this little girl honestly looked more like a pirate.

"Hey, are you okay?" The girl asked Aria.

Hearing the voice of a new person, Aria turned her head slightly in surprise. But because her eyes were still wet, she quickly turned her face back to sob again.

Even though it turned out that the girl followed the direction of Aria's face so that their faces would not be seen by Rei who's still peeping from afar. "Don't worry. If you want to run away from that ugly man, my father still has some poison he usually sells!" She whispered then.

"...Huh, what?" Aria finally raised her head, surprised again.

"The story from your friends was really convincing, but that guy still doesn't look like a good person!" She said again. "But that's okay! Before we get to the capital, we can poison him. Besides, dad already received the money, so we can just throw him into the sea and let him eaten by sharks--"

"W-Wa-Wait, wait…!" Aria cut in finally, starting to get weird hearing a little girl seemed to be planning such a brutal murder. "I-It's not like that. That person doesn't, I mean, I don't…" She said again, even though it turned out she also had a bit of trouble explaining it.

"…So what? You don't want to poison him?"

Silent for a while, Aria stole a glance at Rei who was still watching them from afar and looked back at the letter in her hand. "No… Not really…"

"So we shouldn't throw him into the sea?"

"Yes, please don't." Aria replied bitterly. Although when she turned to Rei again and saw him talking to the old man earlier, she let out a low sigh again.

Aria did have thoughts of going to the capital with him. But apart from the timing being a lot faster than she expected, she also didn't expect that yesterday would be the last time she would see her friends and their siblings. "Sob…"

"...Are you sure you don't want to poison him?" The girl asked again when she saw Aria's eyes start to tear up again.

Aria shook her head, but somehow it felt unconvincing. Even Aria knew that, so she thought of changing the subject first. "B-By the way, you're the daughter of the ship owner, right?" She asked then. "I'm Aria. What's your name?"

"Feny--"

"Hey!" Called Rei suddenly. "When you're done, there's a lot I need to explain before we get there." He said.

"I knew that person wasn't a good person…" Feny chirped. "If you change your mind, I'll prepare the poison." She continued to Aria again, who could only smile bitterly as she walked closer to Rei's place.

But before they spoke, the two of them could only stare at each other in silence. "You don't want to jump into the sea anymore, do you?" Rei asked and luckily Aria just kept silent with sad lips.

"If so, then…" He continued, even though he strangely looked like he was doubtful about something.

But because he felt that he could think about it later, he suppressed that thought and started on the main problem instead. "Firstly, do you know what a magic academy is?"

Being asked a question that she didn't expect, Aria was confused for a moment. "That… Is that different from magic school?" Asked Aria back. Because she also often hears that in other cities there are usually schools to study magic.

"Of course it's different. Unlike a magic school where all amateurs study basic things, a magic academy is a place where magicians are selected to become official members of Luxen."

"Lu-Luxen?!" Aria repeated, somewhat surprised, because this time she recognized that title. "You mean Luxen, the organization directly led by the great sorcerer? That Luxen?"

"Well, they have a specific division in the kingdom, so it's more of a ministry itself . But yes, that one." Rei replied.

"But to be honest your current status as a street show magician isn't very useful to me. So the first thing you need to do when we get there is register to the academy and become a legal student and keep leveling up until you become a Luxen member."

Starting to be undermined by an uneasy feeling, Aria unconsciously began to tremble a bit. "But isn't that… The entrance exam is tough?" She asked.

Aria remembered meeting a circus performer who said that he had failed the selection, and he told her that he had lost his legs and eyes just in the exams.

"Relax, the death rate is only 1 in 20."

"Someone died there??" Asked Aria who was trembling even more.

Although Rei completely ignored that and continued his explanation. "The main exam will be held in less than 6 months. But since you have to pass 7 levels of tests before taking the main exam, you should rush up your level immediately--But well, before that, there's still a bigger problem though…"

"There's still a bigger problem…" Aria repeated in a desperate tone.

"That damn Herka..." He replied in a grumbling tone. "A few months ago he added a rule that only people from class 3 and above could register there. And you…"

But of course Aria immediately shook her head.

"Of course not…" Rei sighed who already knew that. The problem is that Aria, who has only ever helped out in shops here and there and put on street performances, is clearly at the lowest level of society, namely the first class.

If she only needed to be the second class, Rei only had to make her donate a large amount of money to the kingdom. But class 3 and above is rather difficult to achieve instantly…

"The easiest way is usually to graduate from a regular school or even a magic school. But it took years…" Rei said later.

Rei was a little hesitant to say this one, but he finally said it anyway. "Well, if you don't mind, I know some nobles who aren't quite crazy. So who knows you might want to marry one of the…"

"..." But because Aria's face turned pale when she heard that, Rei stopped even though he also looked like he was sighing heavily.

"…Okay, let's think about that later." Rei said finally.

But even during that silence, Rei looked back at Aria with a strange look again from the top of her head to her ugly shoes.

"W-What again?" Aria asked, feeling uneasy again.

"You're a red-magic user, aren't you?" Replied Rei. But because Aria looked confused again, Rei folded his arms in annoyance. "Your source of magic! Don't tell me you don't even know that!" He said.

"Ah, that's what you're talking about…" Aria replied, who seemed to know after all. About how she can only get more magic when she gets some sunlight.

She had been playing her magic since she was little, so of course she knew when she felt like she had a lot of magic and when she didn't.

Rei has suspected it from last night, but it did seem strange that Aria fainted after just using some magic, even though she had seemed fine when they first met--fight.

Plus, even though she fainted all night, it's also weird that Aria got better right away after he put her on the ship's deck with the crows.

That's why Rei realized that Aria might be the weak type of wizard when there's no sun that lights at her.

People like Aria weren't actually that rare, but most magicians usually didn't have certain restrictions on using their magic. So as long as they have enough energy, they should be able to produce their magic by themselves and use it any time they want.

But some other wizards are not like that sometimes. For example, like Aria, a magician who needs sunlight to produce her magic energy. There are even those who need moonlight, cold air, and even reportedly there are also those who need human blood.

"I-I just didn't know it was called red magic." Aria added again because Rei still looked down on her. "My mother used to say that magicians like me are called Ersia."

Somewhat not expecting the answer, Rei was silent for a moment. "...Wait, where's your mother come from?" He asked, but Aria just shook her head slightly looking unsure too.

'Is it just my feelings? But that sounds like Merlam language…'

"Well anyway, it will be troublesome if we just let that be. Because I need you to be able to use magic all the time." Rei continued. Even though it's not a big problem, something unexpected always gives him a headache.

"That's why a magician like you usually needs something that can store magic energy too…" He said with bitter lips. "But you don't have any magic artifacts, do you?"

"Magic artifact?!" Aria repeated, surprised for the umpteenth time today. "Of course not." She replied. If she had something that expensive, of course she wouldn't let her siblings just eat potatoes every day.

And Rei's shoulders drooped as he looked around. "Well, I doubt they have any good stuff here, but I'll ask that old man first." He said.

But when he was about to leave, he turned back again. "In the meantime, you also should ask that kid if she has some clothes for you. Especially shoes."