And then it was spring.

'So, Seika. Did you forget something?

Luft, who came to see me off, said.

The luggage has already been loaded into the carriage.

We'll be fine. But I didn't know that you were the only family to see me off.

I don't blame you.

Luft chuckles.

'Your father is in the imperial capital now, and Grye is in the army. Mother is....'

Just kidding. My brother is all I need.

You're getting good at this. Yifa. I'm your brother, but you have to help him.

'Yes, sir!　

Yifa, who let out a yawn, gets smaller.

'Seika, did you make me stay up late studying again?'

Of course. You can't get into the school without passing an exam. So do I.

'Don't want to root around too much, you know. But yes, it's a seven-day wagon ride from here to Rodnea, so in the meantime...

Even in the carriage, though, I'm learning.

Ehhh.........Seika-kun.......

Yifa wanted to say something, but there wasn't enough time at all, so it was no use.

'But Seika's been getting into Yifa's head a lot too.

Luft said with a laugh.

'Hmm?'

I don't want to give you a necklace. It didn't come cheap. You don't want your good-looking squire to be overdressed, do you?

''You seem to have misunderstood something, but all of these jerky things are magic stones. It's also for school life.

...?

Yifa's next goal is to ask the spirits to use magic.

In order to do so, he wants spirits to be around all the time, but unfortunately, Yifa has very little magical power, and the spirits that gather around her don't usually come close to her.

So we decided to lure them in by using a mineral with magical power stored in it, a magic stone, instead.

The two of us went into the mountains and wandered around, looking for outcrops where the spirits would gather.

It was so hard work that it was no joke, but we found some good quality stones in the rough, so we had them made into necklaces in town.

According to Yifa, quite a few of them have been gathered. I'm happy for you. All that hard work paid off.

''Hmm, I still don't know what Seika is thinking.

I get that a lot. Well, I'd better get going. Brother Luft.

You be careful. Also, show your face on vacation.

I'll think about it.

With that, I quickly got into the carriage.

After that, Yifa climbed in as well.

Yifa. Are you excited?

'Yeah, I'm looking forward to it!　Where's Seika-kun?

'Well...'

I looked out the window of the carriage, imagining the otherworldly city that lay ahead.

I looked out the carriage window, imagining a different world beyond.

I'm going to have a little fun with that.