Irregular Incantation Instruction

After lunch, we had our first sewing class of the year. It struck me as odd that sewing was a required subject at a magic school. Most schools didn’t offer it as an elective. Evidently, I wasn’t the only one confused. Lots of students were chatting about it before class started.

They all fell silent when the teacher entered the room. She was a dark elf, with a pointy chin and fierce-looking eyes. I couldn’t help but notice the way Akemi Anmori’s eyes lit up when she saw her. She straightened her posture and shook out her hair as if to show off that they had the same hairstyle.

The teacher noticed and smiled politely at her before addressing the room.“Good afternoon, class. I’m Ms. Kagesai. I’ll be your sewing teacher this year. Before we start, any questions?”

About half the class raised their hands. Ms. Kagesai called on a girl with white hair and rabbit ears. She flinched, her ears drooping, as the teacher pointed at her. “Why do we have to take sewing class?” Her high-pitched voice was barely audible.

“Because a mage’s robe is not a mere outfit. It’s a powerful magical tool that assists them in casting spells. No mage worth their salt would allow someone else to make their robe. Any other questions?”

The other students all lowered their hands, but I raised mine. “What about metal armor? Don’t paladins use magic?”

“Sure, paladins cast simple spells, but they rely on their gods for anything more powerful. Metal, being inorganic, interferes with spellcasting.” Now it made sense why I’d only seen leather armor during practice. “Besides, with enough boons, your robe will protect you better than any armor would.”

Finishing an entire robe in a few weeks would be pushing it, but if I could pull it off, it would be a huge help for Yuumondou’s challenge.

⁂

It felt a bit surreal to have practice again a day after the dragon attack. But according to the coach, we couldn’t afford to take time off if we wanted to be ready for the first game. And besides, getting back to a normal routine quickly would prevent trauma from setting in.

Sounded like a recipe for unhealthy repression to me, but the government insisted that we keep everything under wraps. Cancelling practice would be a dead giveaway that something happened, so everyone assembled at the track after school.

Everyone except Robolina.

No one was enthusiastic at first, not even the coach. Dr. Yuzuki stood at her side, but kept her gaze locked on the ground. We all ran a lethargic lap to warm up. The coach didn’t yell at anyone or make them run extra laps. For the rest of practice, we fought low-level monsters. The coach made sure everything I faced could be defeated with fire.

It wasn’t until near the end that we started to shake out of our funk. Tired of casting Fireball over and over, I ran up to a fluffletail and kicked it. It sailed through the air and crashed into the back of Akemi Anmori’s head.

She wheeled around, fury writ large on her face. “What the hell, Yamaguchi? Haven’t you done enough damage for one day?”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t--”

But she wasn’t interested in an apology. She snapped her whip in my direction. I barely managed to jump out of the way. Before she could pull it back, I grabbed it and tugged hard, pulling it free from her hand. Maybe the coach was right. I did have good battle instincts.

This only enraged Akemi Anmori further, and she ran at me, her mouth wide. “I’ll eat you for real this time!”

I doubted it, but I wasn’t going to wait around and find out. I took off running, leaving her in the dust. The rest of the team burst out laughing at us. Even with a popular girl chasing me down, I could see the humor in it. Akemi Anmori evidently couldn’t, though. She roared in anger.

“Enough, Anmori,” the coach yelled. “Try this on for size.”

A clockwork knight materialized between us and swung a sword at Akemi Anmori. She summoned a shield at the last second, deflecting the blow and sending the knight reeling.

“Overgrowth,” she said. Leafy vines erupted from inside the knight’s armor. It hacked futilely at them, but the vines slowed its movement. Akemi Anmori wasn’t done either. She pulled the knight’s helmet off and started tearing it apart with her bare hands.

When she threw the brass gear on the ground, she let out a satisfied sigh. “Thanks, Coach. I needed that.”

And just like that, the spell was broken. Everyone started asking the coach for harder monsters, and by the time practice finished, my teammates were exhausted but happy.

“Good job today,” the coach said as everyone else headed toward the lockers. “Yamaguchi, you ready for some extra lessons?”

Hearing this, Tetsukiba approached us. “What’s this about extra lessons?”

“My scholarship depends on being able to compete,” I said. “But with Robolina gone, the coach offered to teach me some spells.”

He scratched his cheek. “You know, in situations like this, you should rely on your upperclassmen a bit.” Was this his way of offering to help?

“You know, I was wondering if I could ask you about muscle enhancement magic. The first-year textbooks don’t cover it, and I’m sure it would be helpful.”

“Oh, yeah. Sure.” Try as he might, he couldn’t hide the grin forming at the corners of his mouth. “I’ll stick around and give you some tips.”

“Don’t leave me out,” Blooming Flame Blossom said, running up and throwing her arm around me. We’re buds, right? I’m gonna teach you all the best fire spells.” And then, under her breath, so only I could hear, “and some lightning magic too.”

“Not so fast,” the coach said. “Yamaguchi has to run a 400 meter to prove himself. There’s twelve monsters in that event, but mastering twelve spells in that time is gonna be tough. Let’s come up with a strategy to take ‘em out using as few spells as possible.”

I hadn’t thought about trying to minimize the number of spells I’d need to learn. Maybe this wouldn’t be impossible after all.

⁂

The following weeks were tough. I rarely got any rest, between extra lessons and tending to Robolina’s shrines. I didn’t even know where all of them were at first. Luckily, she filed paperwork with the city every time she made a new one. It took a lot of paperwork, but I managed to track them all down.

I also managed, somehow, to finish my robe. Praying to Senpu Hime as I sewed always put me in a trace-like state that allowed me to work faster.

To honor Robolina, I made it out of the same deep blue fabric as hers. I couldn’t pull off the same kind of skimpy design, so it ended up looking more like Blooming Flame Blossom’s robe. That was fine. She helped me more than anyone over the last few weeks.

Speaking of Blooming Flame Blossom, she was waiting for me outside the sewing classroom as I finished cleaning Senpu Hime’s shrine. She somehow always knew where to find me.

After I was finished, I placed a hagoromo I’d hemmed on the shrine. It was the first real offering I’d made to any of Robolina’s gods, and I was surprised to see it vanish in a flash of light. Afterward, I felt a warm happiness spread throughout my body.

“Hey.” I greeted Blooming Flame Blossom as I stepped out of the classroom. “Ready for practice?”

A wide grin spread across her face. “Not today. Coach’s orders. Your race is just three days away. Instead of training, you need to relax so you can build up your mana.”

Made sense. Practice had been harder lately, like I had to force out the spells. My mana reserves must’ve been depleted. We said our goodbyes, but just as she was about to head to practice, she stopped.

“How about you and I hang out this weekend?”

I couldn’t see why not. “Sure. Do you have something in mind?”

“Oh, uh, what do you usually do with your friends?”

“You’re asking the wrong person. I’m not exactly popular. In middle school, my pals and I would mostly just hang out and play video games, read manga and eat snacks.”

“That’s perfect! We’ll go to an arcade and hit up a manga cafe after that. Sound good?”

“Yeah, that seems pretty nice, actually.”

“Sweet!” Pumping her fist upward, she jumped into the air. “I can’t wait.”

Unable to keep her excitement in check, she ran off toward the track, leaving me behind. Only then did it hit me.

Had she just asked me out on a date?