Obnoxious Ojou-sama Observations

“Fire magic is the easiest to learn, but also the easiest to mess up. That’s why most people start with water magic first, so they can extinguish their own messes. We don’t have time for that, so we;re skipping straight to fire.”

Robolina and I were standing off to the side of the courtyard in front of the school. No one was nearby, but I couldn’t help but feel nervous. What if I lost control and hurt someone?

“Relax,” Robolina said, as if reading my mind. “I’ll make sure you’re safe. Now, I’m going to move your mana for you. It will hurt, but just a little. Try to concentrate on its motions.”

I closed my eyes as she placed her hand on my shoulder. She was right: It hurt, but it wasn’t as bad as yesterday. More importantly, I could feel my mana split in two and strike itself like flint and steel. Then, I felt warmth radiate through my body, and both sides of my mana decompressed and surged toward my hand. Instinctively, I stuck my arm out and opened my eyes.

“Fireball,” Robolina called out. A tiny flame flickered into existence in front of my palm. It burned for just a second before snuffing out. “Now, you try.”

It took me a minute of pushing at my mana before I figured out how to split it in two. Striking the sides together was much easier, but when I felt the warmth, I had trouble merging them back again. After another few tries, I got the timing right.

“Fireball,” I said, and another flame flickered to life in front of my palm. It wasn’t large, and it didn’t last long, but I had made it.

I was really a mage.

It took another ten tries to create what could be considered an actual fireball. As big as a fist, it flew three meters before fizzling. Far enough to be dangerous to a monster. To say I was proud of myself would be an understatement.

“Oh ho ho ho ho! You call that fire magic?” A shrill laugh echoed across the courtyard as a girl with long, black hair and a perfectly-tailored uniform approached. “Fire magic is all about passion. Put your entire soul into it.”

“And you are?” I asked.

Robolina looked at me with an expression that screamed, Don’t you know? But the girl answered for herself.

“Shizuho Yuumondou. The student council president.”

“Yuumondou?!” I blurted out. “Are you related to that chuuni guy?”

She summoned a paper fan from thin air and used it to hide her smile. “Might you be referring to my dear older brother?”

Ah. So that’s why he was so angry when I called him the student council president. He must have lost the election to his little sis.

Raising one hand above her head, she shouted so loud that it caused me to flinch. “FIREBALL!” A flame as big as my head shot straight up from her palm for what looked like a hundred meters before exploding. “That is what fire magic truly is. Give it a try.”

Following her lead, I lifted my arm up and began striking my mana together. No, simply striking it wasn’t going to do it. She told me to put my entire soul into it. I slammed my mana together with all my might. Sparks flew in my mind, and I broke out into a sweat.

“Fireball!” Mine a tad smaller than hers, and it didn’t go quite as far, but there was no doubt I had put everything I had into it.

“Nice work, Sei,” Robolina said. “Better than expected for your first time.”

Shizuho Yuumondou snapped her fan shut, revealing a haughty smile. “I suppose it’s not bad for a beginner, but you won’t get very far with a tutor like her.”

Robolina’s grip on my shoulder tightened, painfully so. “What do you mean?” she hissed.

“Only that if you’re content with such pitiful fireballs, you’ll never be able to teach him the true essence of fire magic. Besides, your style of magic is famously incomprehensible. No one could possibly cast a fire spell without a kindling component.”

“Sei just did,” Robolina said, “because he doesn’t suffer from the same preconceived notions as you do. Besides, you can’t teach him this.” Once more, she split my mana, this time into three. Two of the pieces formed the familiar fireball spell, but the third she compressed into an orb that exploded just as the spell was cast. “Solar flare.”

Upon hearing the spell’s name, Shizuho Yuumondou flipped her fan open and used it to cover her eyes. Wish I’d known to close mine. Bright light accompanied the fireball as it shot from my hand. I was looking right at it and ended up flashbanging myself.

“How droll,” Shizuho Yuumondou said. “Perhaps there is something to your magic after all, but your manners leave much to be desired. Good day to you.” Without so much as a glance in our direction, she walked away.

“What was that about?” I asked.

A smile appeared on Robolina’s face. “Light magic. She was bragging that she’d make a better tutor, but she could never teach you that spell because she’s incapable of casting it.”

“Because it’s more complicated?”

“Because she doesn’t possess the light element. She can move her mana the same way, but it won’t resonate with her soul to produce magic.”

Hold on, magic required a soul? That posed a number of questions. Chief among them, do golems have souls? I thought they were artificial constructs.

My thoughts were interrupted by a deep, jovial voice. “That was something. I don’t think I’ve ever seen the student council president so miffed.” The half-orc from the exhibition match had walked over to join us.

“Tetsukiba, good morning,” I said. “You may not remember me, but your advice helped me pass the entrance exam.”

“Good morning. Of course I remember. Besides, everyone’s talking about you lately. The kid who lives nearby but can’t use magic. Well, couldn’t use magic.” As examined me, his broad smile faded. “Are you aware that your clothes are glowing?”

“Huh?” I looked down at my hands. He was right. There was a faint aura surrounding me, but it stopped at my wrists. “Is this Senpu Hime’s doing?” Just great. Now I’d stand out even more.

“Seriously? One of Robolina’s deities gave a blessing that strong? That’s never happened before.”

Robolina puffed out her chest. “Yes it has. My gods are amazing. You just never noticed.”

“Relax.” Tetsukiba lifted his hands in a placating gesture. “I meant it as a compliment. Not everyone has it out for you like--" he was interrupted by the ringing of the school bell. “We’d better get to class. See you around, Yamaguchi.”

As the two of them headed off toward the second-year classrooms, I made my way to homeroom. I’d been so distracted by my situation the previous day that I hadn’t paid much attention to my surroundings and forgot the way. I couldn’t even follow my classmates into the right room, because I hadn’t bothered to remember their faces. Luckily, I recognized the teacher in the hallway and trailed him in.

The seating chart was still taped to the blackboard, so I took a minute to examine it. Nearly half the names were written in Sylvorian elven script. I recognized the characters, but I couldn’t read them. There were a few names written in characters I had never seen, but the rest were Japanese. Strangely, though, the desks on either side of me were labeled with hiragana given names. Struck me as old-fashioned.

When I walked to my desk, however, I found an elf sitting in my seat. She had long, curly blonde hair, ruby red lipstick, long painted nails, and loose socks. Unlike most elves, she let her hair fall free. She was surrounded by three other girls, decked out in similar makeup, all happily chatting away.

Put simply, a popular girl was sitting at my desk. If I wanted it back, I was going to have to talk to her.

No way. Not happening. That’s right: I’d faced down poisonous slimes, zombies, and giant ants, but I was still too scared to start a conversation with a girl I didn’t know. I’d just wait until class started. Then she’d have to move.

Fate had other plans for me that morning. She noticed me standing there and broke out into a grin. “Hey everyone, look. It’s the guy who lives close to school.”

Was I about to get bullied by a gyaru elf?