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Nina proudly explained, but…

Oh no. I don\'t understand a single thing she\'s saying. Even though I graduated from university in my previous life… not understanding what an elementary school student is talking about is honestly a bit of a shock. It makes me a little bit embarrassed to be honest.

"…You understand, right?"

"Uh, well…"

Nina narrowed her eyes at me as I hesitated. But, no matter how much I try, I really don\'t get it.

What does she mean by refining magic power?

"Itsuki, hold out your hand."

"Huh? Okay."

Seeing that I was struggling, Nina took my hand and said, "Here we go," as she closed her eyes.

"…It\'s hot!"

The next moment, what I felt in my hand was the heat of magic power. It was a familiar sensation. I\'d felt the magic power of my father, Aya-chan, and Hina, and I was always aware of my own. There\'s no mistaking this feeling.

The heat was definitely from magic power. But the intensity was on a whole different level—much hotter, much more intense than anything I had felt before. It was like holding a small sun in my palm.

"I gathered the magic power refined through \'Alchemy\' into my hand. How is it?"

"It\'s completely different…"

"See?"

Nina smirked proudly. She wasn\'t wearing that usual grumpy expression; if she kept smiling like this, she wouldn\'t be so isolated in the classroom… I thought, but I kept that to myself.

"How do you do this?"

"Well, first, you need to learn how to refine magic power. We start practicing it at three years old. You know how magic power gathers in your stomach, right?"

Nina pointed to my stomach. Of course, I knew exactly what she was referring to.

The place where magic power accumulates, the tanden.

"You gradually release the magic power stored in there. As you do, the heavy magic power stays in your stomach, while the light magic power slowly circulates through your body."

I tilted my head at Nina\'s explanation.

I\'d never heard of magic power being heavy or light. Magic power is magic power, isn\'t it? I mean, it\'s always been just… there. But now, I\'m being told it has weight? This is blowing my mind.

"You stand with your feet together, right?"

"Yeah."

"You release the magic power from the storage area in your stomach, letting it seep out like smoke into your body. Try it for now."

"…Okay?"

…Isn\'t this just Rotation Art? I thought, but as I was about to follow Nina\'s instructions, she stopped me.

"Oh, Itsuki, wait."

"Huh? What is it?"

"Give me your hand."

I wasn\'t sure why, but I offered Nina my hand as she requested.

"Go ahead."

Following Nina\'s instructions, I focused on the magic power in my tanden and released it. I sent it flowing throughout my body using the principles of Rotation Art, but as soon as it reached my palm, Nina scolded me.

"This isn\'t right, Itsuki. The density of the magic power is all the same."

"Is it bad if it\'s the same?"

"Yes, Itsuki. The heavy magic power should stay in your stomach, and the light magic power should go to the extremities of your body. The first step is to understand that feeling!"

If that\'s the way it is, then I guess I have to accept it, even if I still don\'t fully understand.

"Alright, let\'s try again."

I followed Nina\'s instructions and returned all the magic power in my body to my tanden.

Wow, it\'s been a while since I\'ve pulled back my magic power like this. Not since the Makui training…

…Wait, my stomach feels a little funny. No, that has to be my imagination. I really hope it\'s just my imagination.

So, I tried again. I sent the magic power to my hand, but it still wasn\'t right.

Nina scolded me again, saying, "The magic power is too uniform!"

As I was about to attempt it for a third time, the classroom door opened, and our homeroom teacher walked in.

"Oh, Itsuki-kun. You\'ve already made friends with Nina-chan?"

She looked at us and commented. Explore more stories at m-vl_em,pyr

Well, yeah, it would seem that way.

After all, we\'re standing in the corner of the classroom, holding hands. It would be strange to think we weren\'t getting along.

But regardless, Nina is now one of my magic mentors. We\'re definitely friends. Maybe even best friends, although I\'m not sure if that term would make sense to a modern elementary schooler.

While I was lost in these thoughts, Nina, seemingly annoyed by the teacher\'s comment, said with a bit of a scowl,

"We\'re not friends!"

"Oh, really? Sorry about that. But I\'d be happy if you two got along."

"Just go away already!"

"Alright. See you tomorrow, Nina-chan, Itsuki-kun."

The teacher grabbed her forgotten notebook, smiled, and left the classroom.

What a mature response…!

Whether it\'s Renji-san or our teacher, it seems like the adults around me in this life are unusually well put together.

I used to think that when I became an adult, I\'d naturally be as capable as they are, but now… I\'m not so sure. I feel like I haven\'t matured much mentally since high school. What\'s up with that?

While I was grappling with these disheartening thoughts, Nina, with a slight blush on her cheeks, turned to me and said,

"Let\'s try again!"

"…Okay."

When a mentor commands, there\'s no choice but to obey. I followed Nina\'s instructions, sending magic power through my body once more… but this time too, it didn\'t seem to satisfy her.

"You know, Itsuki, you\'re trying too hard to control the magic power. Let it flow more freely."

"Flow freely…"

"Relax your control, but don\'t let the magic power slip back into your stomach. You need to manage the heavy magic power and the light magic power separately."

Her words made me realize a habit of mine—I tend to overcontrol my magic.

It\'s true. When I think about it, I\'ve always been overly focused on controlling magic power.

Since birth, I\'ve been trying to avoid the pain of Makui, rigorously controlling my internal magic. When it comes to manipulating magic within my body, I\'ve probably had more experience than anyone else my age.

But perhaps that\'s exactly why I\'m struggling to grasp the basics of Alchemy.

This reminds me of what Renji-san said during our Sixth Sense training… something about not overthinking it, about not being too rigid.

"Okay, Itsuki, I\'ll show you how it\'s done. Give me your hand."

But wait, I thought, she\'s already holding my right hand. The only hand I can offer now is my left one…

Hesitantly, I extended my left hand, and Nina guided it to her stomach.

"Here we go, Itsuki."

"…Okay."

I was a bit nervous, having never touched someone else\'s stomach before, even through their clothes. But the next moment, my attention was entirely focused on the movement of Nina\'s magic power.

The intensity of the heat is different.

The heat in her stomach and the heat at her fingertips are completely different, like they belonged to different worlds.

"Alright, Itsuki. You need to let your magic power flow freely. When you do that, the lighter magic will naturally move to your extremities while the heavier magic stays in your stomach. It takes some practice, but anyone can do it once they get the hang of it."

…Wow, this is incredible.

Now that she\'s pointed it out, I can indeed sense the varying densities of the magic power.

"Go ahead and try it yourself, Itsuki."

"…Alright."

I nodded, and Nina released her hand from my left hand, placing it on my stomach instead.

I took two deep breaths.

Then, I relaxed my focus on controlling the magic power.

Slowly, the magic power began to move freely within my body. The sensation reminded me of being reborn after almost dying from Makui (Demon Eater) —a time that had left a lingering trauma.

But the me of now is different from back then.

After undergoing various training sessions and surviving near-death experiences, I\'ve learned to manipulate magic with a fine degree of control, with precision I never had before.

In an instant, I could feel the magic separating within my body.

No, it wasn\'t so much separating as it was that the heavier magic, too dense to be moved by my faint control, remained in my tanden, while the lighter magic moved to my hands, spreading outwards.

It was a strange sensation, one I had never experienced with Rotation Art.

As soon as the magic reached my hands, Nina let go.

"Not bad. It\'s a passable attempt. You felt the difference, didn\'t you?"

"…Yeah. It\'s like there are two types of magic."

"Exactly. That\'s the first step in Alchemy! Now, the real work begins!"

Just then, the bell signaling the end of the sixth period rang.

Looks like there\'s still more training to be done, and it seems like I\'ve only just started.