Ayumu Tries Magic for the First Time.

Finally, after a lengthy struggle, Ayumu stumbled upon an idea.

Wait! Maybe I still have a chance...

"...Hmmm, I will show you, but I haven't decided on the exact spell yet," he said, "Mary, could you start instead? I'll go after you."

Yes, his brilliant strategy... was throwing off responsibility on someone else!

"Hmm... Alright, I'll start then," Maria replied after a slight pause.

T-thanks God. Maybe I can learn a thing or two from her, Ayumu thought, relieved.

Maria began walking away from Ayumu and the others. She stopped when the distance became about a dozen meters. There, she faced a tree growing in the courtyard. 

Maria closed her eyes and concentrated. As she did, she pulled her right hand back, bending it in the process. Then, she began chanting.

"Ab manō—" 

Her voice was gentle but clear. Every syllable she enunciated carefully, yet her tone retained a certain melodic quality. It sounded like a gentle request but had confidence and compulsion to it. 

As she chanted, an invisible pressure gathered in her right hand. It wasn't something visible with naked eye, but when you looked closely, you could see a slight distortion around her arm.

"—aque."

Maria's hand shot forward. As it did, the pressure swirled and transformed into a ball of water. That ball was perfectly clear and glittered on the light. It propelled itself forward and bolted towards the tree.

The spell flew quickly, exceeding Ayumu's expectations, and smashed into its target with a massive splash. Bits and pieces of the tree's bark flew from the place of the clash.

Amazing!, Ayumu thought, they really do have magic here! 

"Wow!" he exclaimed and even clapped a few times.

"Hehe, thank you, thank you!"

Maria smiled playfully as she faced her fiancé. She even gave a joking bow, as if she was an artist that just finished a theatrical performance.

"...Why are you clapping at such basic magic," Vivian said grumpily as she watched the couple.

"Don't be mean to your Big Bro, he's just trying to be supportive," Maria reprimanded her.

"Hmph, even I could do that spell. It's nothing to be surprised about," Vivian replied.

"Patience, Little Viv. Now Fabian will show you something much more impressive, right?" Maria said and turned toward Ayumu.

"Y-yeah, s-sure."

Ayumu replied, but he had no confidence he could even replicate what he just saw, much less cast something more impressive.

"...Alright, let's start with some warmup first," Ayumu said. Despite addressing those words to himself, he purposefully spoke them loudly enough that everyone present could hear.

Ayumu took a deep breath.

He was going to start with the same spell that Maria used. But first, he needed to make sure he followed every step of the way as best as he could. His mind went back to the lesson Maria gave them just a few minutes ago. He poured over it carefully, trying not to miss a single detail. 

Four steps. Visualization. Incantation. Coloration. Discharge. His mind diligently recalled every step. Then, he began his cast.

A ball of water. Envision it.

Crystal clear water, glittering on the light. Slowly, the water takes the shape of a sphere. At first, the ball's silhouette is unstable. The water flows back and forth, threatening to spill and destroy the form. But slowly, it stabilizes, making its outline more certain. Eventually, the sphere becomes unmoving, its surface as calm as that of a perfectly still lake.

Then, Ayumu tried to calm himself down. He slowly breathed in and out, making sure that his consciousness was as steady as the spell he saw in his mind's eye.

Finally, he pulled his right hand back and began incantation.

"Ab manō—"

Ayumu focused on the target in front of him. The same tree that Maria hit with her spell. His eyes locked in on a part of the tree at about his shoulders' height.

"—aque!"

Ayumu shot his hand forward. Everyone tensed up in anticipation, carefully waiting for the ball to come out.

And so they waited. 

But even after a few seconds the ball of water didn't appear. In fact, no water appeared in general. Instead, It was just... nothing.

The courtyard went silent. That silence only lasted a single moment, but it still felt incredibly long to Ayumu.

Just before people present could process what happened, everyone's focus was interrupted by a certain maid.

"...Ah," Lucy muttered as she woke up from her nap, "is it over already?"

""...""

Lucy looked around, checking to see if the lecture was finished. Mysteriously, she found everyone's gazes directed at her.

"...D-did something happen?" Lucy asked, puzzled by the attention she was getting.

Maria had a wry smile on her face. Meanwhile, Vivian sighed.

Seeing their reactions, made the maid feel a bit awkward.

"...I promise I wasn't sleeping," Lucy said, "I was just spacing out..."

"No one said you were sleeping," Maria stated with exasperation.

"...I wasn't," Lucy insisted.

"Sure you weren't." Maria sighed. "More importantly, Fabian—"

As she spoke, Maria was about to turn back towards Ayumu. But in that moment, she saw Lucy's eyes widen in shock. 

"Young Master!" Lucy screamed and rushed past Maria.

When Maria turned around, she saw her fiancé falling as if he had just tripped. His face was twisted in pain, and his arms were reaching for his head.

"Fabian!" "Big Brother!"

Panicked screams filled the courtyard.

Just as Ayumu was about to hit the ground, Lucy caught him.

"Young Master, are you alright?"

"Agh! My head!" Ayumu screamed in pain.

Again. It's happening again.

Images. Words. Elements. Spells. 

Maria. My father. My family. Lucy. Magic. 

Incantations. Spells. Casts. Words. Spells. Spells. Spells...

Countless images assaulted him once again. This time it was even more intense. Myriad of spells and the magical knowledge Fabian had accumulated tried to force itself into his brain all at once. His mind was rejecting it and fighting against the flow. The lifetime of experiences threatened to destroy Ayumu's sense of self.

The sudden influx of information confused his mind. The genius mage's memories were so numerous that they blurred the lines of his ego. He could no longer tell the distinction between himself and Fabian.

And then the boy blacked out.

▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓

Amidst the storm of images, a single scene stood out in Fabian's mind. It was a particularly vivid memory.

The surroundings were blurry, hidden behind a veil of obscurity. Only the old man's face was clear. 

His features were wizened, but there was strength and confidence in his voice that wouldn't allow anyone to dismiss him as just a decrepit geezer. Despite his voice being powerful, his tone was calm and thoughtful as he unhurriedly spoke.

Spells are a prayer to the spirits. You pour your mana into your words and bring change into the world.

They say, that the energy needed for spells comes from heart, and mind is what gives that energy shape. In other words, without the heart and mind working in tandem no spells can exist.

That union of heart and mind is what some people call will.

The old man often talked to Fabian about such things. About will. About spirits. About magic and spells. About the Deas and the world.

Initially, Fabian thought it was only one of those conversations they usually had. And he was right. But something about this conversation in particular stood out to him among the rest.

But here is the most important question. 

If we offer up our prayers to spirits, and they in turn change the world...

Whose will do you think they express? Ours? The will of the ever-present spirits? Or maybe that of the mighty Deas, watching from beyond? In other words, what I'm asking...

The old man's eyes were clear as he stared right into Fabian's eyes, into his soul.

Who is it that shapes this world? Us, or inescapable fate that governs our lives?

What do you think, young Fabian?

Back then, Fabian didn't reply. The old man also didn't add anything beyond that point. Fabian didn't know if it was because he had nothing more to say, or because he wanted to hear the boy's answer first.

Still, that question stuck in Fabian's mind for a long time.

Every once in a while, he would recall the old man's words and wonder to himself what was the right answer. Was there a right answer in the first place? What was the old man's opinion? And most importantly, what was it that he believed in?

Fabian had had his answer ready for a long time. He only needed to look at his own path to know what his conclusion was.

But if that was the case...

Then why could he never shake that question out of his mind?

***

"Ah!"

Ayumu woke up in cold sweat.

When he looked around, he saw the same interior that greeted him that morning: he awoke in Fabian's room.

What was that dream I saw...? Were those Fabian's memories? I saw spells, countless incantations, and at the end there was that old ma—

"Fabian!"

A voice interrupted Ayumu's thoughts.

It belonged to Maria who was sitting by his bedside, waiting for his awakening. She hugged her fiancé tightly.

"Thanks Deas, you're alright," Maria said with relief, "when you suddenly lost consciousness I was so worried..."

"M-my bad," Ayumu replied, "I'm okay now."

"Are you sure? Does anything hurt?" Maria asked still worried.

"No... it's fine. I'm okay now, I promise."

Then, another voice joined the conversation. It came from the farthest corner of the room.

"My apologies, Young Master," Lucy said and bowed, "I was meant to be paying extreme attention to your health today, but instead got distracted. The magic discussion and your spells were so fascinating—"

"You were asleep," Maria retorted.

"As I was saying, the magical lecture was—"

"You were asleep."

"..."

"..."

"...I wasn't," Lucy replied as she made a mental note to make her awakening less noticeable next time.

"...You know what, whatever," Maria sighed, "More importantly, Fabian, you should take a rest for today. No more magic, alright?"

She said and turned toward Ayumu with a stern expression. He looked back at her and replied.

"But I..." Ayumu tried to protest, "...no, nevermind it's fine. You're right."

After looking at Maria and Lucy's concerned faces, Ayumu was unable to fight back. Instead, he decided to approach it from a different angle.

"...Hey, Mary," Ayumu started, "do you want to go on a date today? You know, the one I promised you."

"You mean the undercover date?" Maria asked, "are you sure? You are not in good shape."

"That's exactly why. I think I'm fine physically so this would serve as a nice break. I've just been practicing a bit too much recently."

His fiancée, however, didn't seem too inclined to agree.

"...Hmm, I don't know about that. You don't have to strain yourself for my sake," Maria replied, concerned.

"I promise you I'm not. I'm just trying to get my mind off the upcoming festival, okay?"

While Maria hesitated, Lucy spoke.

"Lady Maria, Master has also said that Lord Fabian could use some rest."

The 'Master' that Lucy spoke of referred not to Fabian but to the baron instead. Hearing her future father-in-law brought up seemed to convince Maria, and she nodded.

"Alright, fine. I get it" Maria acquiesced, "are we going to Delsea?"

Delsea was the name of the closest settlement to the Berions estate. Despite being a village, it was pretty sizable and could be considered the center of the domain.

"Yeah, that should be fine. I don't think we have the time to travel to the nearest town," Ayumu replied.

After all, they didn't have long before the festival. Ayumu thought but didn't say it out loud.

"Hmm... But wouldn't it be difficult for you to hide your identity there? I mean, everyone in the village surely knows what you look like."

"Oh, don't worry. I've been practicing recently. A set of different clothes and a bit of acting, and they will never recognize me!" Ayumu replied confidently.

In response to his words, Lucy's shoulders jerked up in surprise. She recalled the practice she saw that morning and became concerned.

"...Young Master, I don't think you need to hide your identity. A lot of villagers have known you since you were a kid so I doubt you could fool them," she spoke.

"...What do we do then? It's not an undercover date if we're not undercover," her master shot back with a question.

On the small chance that Alcias discovered their trip to the village, it would be problematic. It was unlikely to lead to any serious conflicts between the families, but Maria herself would probably get in trouble on her return.

Knowing that her master wouldn't accept such an outcome, Lucy answered.

"...I don't think you need to disguise yourself, Young Master. It should be fine as long as Lady Maria does," she began explaining, " The villagers haven't seen her many times, and whenever they did, it was for very brief moments or when she was in the carriage. You could feasibly hide her origins if you just changed her clothes."

Hearing Lucy's explanation seemingly convinced Maria and Ayumu as they both nodded in agreement.

"Alright!" said Maria, "We will do what Lucy says. Outside of clothing, I only need to change my behavior a bit, and they won't be able to tell me apart from a commoner."

"I don't think any change will be needed," Lucy replied.

"What do you mean by that?!" Maria quickly shot back.

"I mean that they will confuse you for a commoner anyway?" Lucy answered as she tilted her head in confusion.

"...So you're saying my manners are so bad that they wouldn't even be able to guess that I'm a noble, huh? You could at least pretend to be nice to me."

"Why would I pretend to be nice?" Lucy was once again puzzled by Maria's words.

Maria sighed and gave up on arguing with her any further. Instead, they decided to get ready for their undercover date.

***

Together with the visions, Ayumu received some useful knowledge. That included some information about his family, the festival, the report that Julian mentioned, and various other things.

New information was a great boon, but it was still greatly limited. That's exactly why he insisted on the date. He was starved for knowledge about this world, and going to the village was the first step to gaining that knowledge. And the reason behind his motivation was the belief that the memories weren't just that. They were something more.

He didn't merely receive information. With all of those visions, came details about magic and spellcasting. It was quite likely that having Fabian's memories and body, would also allow Ayumu to have the genius' boy magical talent. And that excited him beyond belief. 

Now, he had a chance to no longer be a simple, boring boy. He could instead become a powerful, talented mage, beloved by others. Just like he dreamed in his previous life.

I've decided. I will become a genius mage. I will become Fabian Aes Berion.

Finally, he was going to move past his previous self. Beyond Ayumu Shinohara.