Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Are you sure you will manage alone?” Erna asks Al as the last of heir suitcases are stored in the carriages, a concerned expression on her face as she addresses her youngest son.

"It's fine. Bartolo, Sarah and all the others are here after all. It's not like I’m alone.” He says with a relaxed expression, waving his hand beside his head.

It hasn't been long after he returned from the capital that another letter from a noble family arrived at their doorstep, coming from a count with a territory right between that of Al’s father and the capital.

They said they wanted to talk about some trading deals since the Slowlet have recently grown in influence, and suggested meeting up for negotiations.

He not so discreetly left out Al from that invitation, but that is not a surprise considering all the open fights he had with Eric during his stay in the capital.

Looking back he is pretty embarrassed about it, but he is blaming it on his childish hormones.

And it's not like the young mage is angry that he can stay at home and relax instead of going to one of those stuffy noble meetings. A slow life is the best after all.

“Well, if you say so.” His mother says, her worried expression not yet going away until Nord’s hand falls on her shoulder.

“You know Al can take care of himself, honey. He is very mature for his age, after all.” His father says with a confident expression, before a smile appears on his face. “Except for making him do work of course.”

The brunette can't help but blush at the comment, but does not deny it. His dad isn't wrong with that, after all.

Saying goodbye doesn't take long, the group having to start their journey as soon as possible to arrive at their first stop before it gets dark, so after some last hugs they are all in their carriages, waving their goodbyes to their remaining family member.

“Al! If I find out you have been slacking off on your sword training while I was gone you will regret it!” Elinora shouts towards him as the carriage slowly disappears into the distance, sending a cold shower down the boy's back.

But he has planned for this! He will get his two weeks of peace and quiet!

Bartolo won’t rat him out, and the rest of the maids are easily bribed with sweets. Al has already gathered all the necessary ingredients for making donuts, something that will be completely new to this world, so they won't be able to resist.

And he will make sure to keep the recipe to himself so he can threaten them to never make them again in case they betray the deal so it won't end like last time.

Or well, at least that was the official story.

Since he can't tell anyone about his Spatial magic he has to train it in secret, and once he is finished he will finally make training at least a bit bearable.

Why you ask? Well, right now his father doesn't allow Al to use magic during their training, but if the boy shows him how good he is at using it, Nord won’t continue to be able to say no to him. 

And once he can use magic the fights with his father and sister won't be nearly as hellish as they are right now. He sees the time spent training his spells as an investment in the future.

The moment his family are out of view Al excuses himself, running to the forest behind the mansion where his self built house is, giving to the open area where he has set up a training field for Roomba and himself.

And since the adventurer has gone with Nord as a bodyguard again, no one will interrupt him here.

As far as he is aware Spatial magic doesn't natively exist in this world, something that god really didn't make clear when he gave Al, or rather Yuuji at the time, this ability. Not that the now kid will complain, he would have taken it anyway. It's just so convenient!

That just creates the small problem that he doesn't have any references about what else he could do with this magic besides telepoting and creating storage spaces.

Having any kind of comparison would make it far easier.

But no one else having it of course has its advantages, those being the reason why he doesn't try to create strong spells with his ice magic for example.

If he uses Spatial magic, no matter how strong the spells he creates are, no one else will be able to use them as weapons except him.

Because since the world is still in a very medieval view on science, their magic goes around the same lines, and Alfred has been consciously holding back some of the more advanced chemical and physical knowledge that would make the spells so much more dangerous.

But with his unique magic he won't have to worry about that.

The boy creates a small portal to a new storage space, not that different from his usual spaces, giving it a curious look but only seeing the darkness inside.

“Well, it's space magic. There are some other spells in this world that have abilities related to their name that don't exactly fit with their main theme, like Elinora’s fire magic that boosts her physical strength. ‘Igniting my fighting spirit’, if I remember the chant right.”

Most times it feels to him like a spell will work as long as you put in enough words related to the element into the incantation.

The spell his sister usually uses would be ‘Or burning fire, ignite my fighting spirit into a powerful blaze’. But the effect of that spell isn't bound to fire mages specifically. Just tweak the elemental references a bit and a mage of a completely different attribute will be able to use it.

For wind you could use a chant like ‘Or storming sky, give my body the strength of a raging storm’ and you could get the same result. But usually wind mages prefer speed based stuff like ‘Oh storming sky, make me swift as a breeze.’

And of course you can also create a fire based varian of that spell if you integrate more speed based aspects of fire into it.

Actually, that is also something that Al is pondering about. The strongest version of the fire speed spell he has been able to use himself was using the burning of gunpowder as his basis for a fast flame, something that (as far as he is aware) does not yet exist in this world.

But something instinctively tells him that if he gave the average person this spell it would be near useless until they actually see the quickness at which gunpowder combusts.

A part of him suspects that a big chunk of the power he has when using his spell doesn't only come from the fact that he has been training since his birth, but also because he understands the physical and chemical reaction behind all the processes unlike everyone else using them.

But that is a topic for another time. For now he will focus on creating spells based on their meaning.

“By that logic, maybe I can do something like meteorites or star beams with this magic? It's both space related, even not the same ‘space’ I have been using until now. It would be pretty cool.” He thinks to himself, beginning a small basic space magic chant in his head, a portal appearing in front of his hand.

Thankfully making chants for spells is surprisingly easy. Something he found out pretty fast when he didn't want to say the whole incantation in his mind when using a spell so he just started shortening them.

All it needs to do is keep the original intent and elemental links in its text.

The young mage lets some more of his energy flow into the portal, just to try and get a better feel for the flow of magic till he starts a more complex chant in his head.

It's just some loose words combined with some thoughts of how the attacks should look, but it works, even if it takes a bit of time, the portal is somehow starting to feel deeper, like an infinite expense, and slowly the color begins to shift, small points of light like stars appearing in the void.

“Yes! Just like that!” Al cheers happily, pushing a bit more energy as the portal distorts a bit, looking almost like those nebulas he has seen in documentaries during his previous life.

He spends his entire day like this, and even if he is dead tired and drained of magic by the end of the day, he is more than satisfied with the progress.

The strip of night sky in front of him is proof of his work, looking like a splotchy portal into the infinite depth of space, brimming with energy that is just waiting to be released.

But that is his work for tomorrow. He doesn't want to overstrain his magic reserves too much or he won't be able to learn more the next day. It's the exact same as with overworking your muscles.

He drags himself back to the mansion, or more specifically Bartolo’s kitchen, dropping down on one of the free chairs, the chef giving him a curious look as he sets down a plate of food in front of the boy.

“I didn't think you would actually listen to your sister’s comment about training.” He says curiously, glancing at the exhausted looking boy with a confused expression.

“Nah, I was doing something else. It's an investment for the future.” He says with conviction in his voice, getting a laugh from the older man.

“Well, you certainly look like you trained. Now eat up, you look like you need all the energy you can get.”

‘Wait, if I look like I trained, that means I don't have to bribe the maids with sweets. That's even better! That means I can save up the sugar I gathered up for another time!’

It was hard enough to get that he really only planned to use it as a trump card. Being able to keep it for later would just be perfect.

Al shovels down the food like he has been starved for weeks before excusing himself to go to bed, only taking one short bath to get off all the sweat first.

Of course he makes sure the maids see that he is exhausted so they will report to his sister when she comes back. (He doesn't worry about showing the male servants. He knows they won't betray him like the girls.)

Al pretty much falls asleep as soon his head hits his pillow, the exhaustion dragging him into sleep instantly.

And that is pretty much how he spends the first four days of his vacation, spending most of his day trying to improve his new spells while not killing himself in the process, because during the evening he feels like he might die from exhaustion.

He thought about going down to the village to meet Torr again, but he tells himself that he will do that once he absolutely needs a break. He knows he will eventually from his time training his magic since being born in this world.

But all the work is worth it.

Al stretches out his hands, feeling the energy gather around it as cloud-like portals appear around him, shining with stars and galaxies, before a pair of powerful energy beams shoot out, flying at the stone dummy and melting two holes into it.

He can easily adjust the strength and heat of the projectiles too, because having something this dangerous during training would be a bad idea. (Not that a sword strike from his sister wouldn't be deadly either.)

Before the cloud portals he created even stop releasing their shootingstar-like projectiles Al gathers his magic again, and he feels his feet lift off the ground as he begins to levitate, a bigger portal appearing over his head, glowing in an ominous shade of purple.

In a sudden rush of movement it grows even bigger and at an incredible speed a meteor shoots out of it, falling down on the training field with a loud crash that shakes the earth, throwing around shards of stone that shatter against the shield around Al like projectiles.

“I really have deserved some kind of break tomorrow. I’m sure Torr has some time. Maybe I can show him my new spells.” After all his friend was always interested in all battle related stuff, saying its preparation for when he will become an adventurer.

Al really hopes he will be able to. Torr always just looks so happy when he talks about that wish.

The young mage takes a look at the destruction caused by his spell, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck. “But I probably should clean this up first.”

Al has already reinforced the area with a stone wall spell he made specifically for this, but it still didn't hold once he managed to learn how to properly use his new spells.

As the boy cleans up the damage he lets small shooting stars fly around him to train his control just like he has done so many times before, similar to the training he did when he tried to teach his sister how to use her fireball spells properly.

Anyway, for now he has to go back to the mansion again and tell everyone that the loud crash was his fault, because if he goes by yesterday’s reaction they will be in full panic by now.

Maybe he should invest some time in creating a barrier spell that can keep sounds out.

But that's a thing for the future.

______________

“Take that!” Torr shouts as he jabs at Al with his wooden stick, definitely with enough strength for his age, but without any technique, making it easy for the young mage to block by diverting the movement to the side.

There is a reason he has survived all his training with his sister after all. And as much as he hates every moment of it, it did have some useful results, even if he would never admit that out loud.

But that doesn't discourage Torr, releasing another flurry of blows at his friends without showing any sign of slowing down.

Al lets out a small laugh. “If you have this much energy left, maybe we should increase your math lessons next time.”

“Anything but that!” The village kid calls out in pure terror, letting go of his weapon in shock.

His friend can't help but giggle at his reaction. “You know, you have gotten a bit better already, and you aren't that bad when it comes to learning how to read.” The noble boy says, handing him back the weapon he dropped.

“Really? But I still keep making so many mistakes!” Torr says, looking towards the ground. “Sometimes I feel like I’m not getting better at all.”

“Ah, don't worry. I am an excellent teacher. I know what I do!” Al declares proudly.

Funnily he might actually be correct with that since he has all kinds of modern knowledge that the people around here don't even have an idea exists.

And Torr has been getting better, even if not that fast. It's just that every time the mage noticed an improvement in the other boy’s abilities Al increased the difficulty.

By now Al is actually really surprised Torr didn't notice it yet.

The mage holds out his wooden stick out again, going into a fighting stance (or at least a relaxed approximation of one). “Want to go for another round?” Al asks. Now that Torr has an actual sword he wants to make sure that his friend doesn't accidentally hurt himself with it.

“You bet!” He calls, standing up from the ground, but before he can deliver another strike a terrified scream suddenly cuts through the air, filled with so much unbridled panic that Al has not heard it in either of his lives.

The boy drops his wooden stick and sprints to the source, supporting his body with magic, rounding the corner to see an ant-like monster the size of a bear standing over one of the villagers, its fangs clicking together as its wings flutter violently.

He doesn't even think before his body moves, using the same ice spell he did that time he went hunting with Roomba, the projectile flying through the air before the monster can move, ripping through the insect's skull and throwing it off the woman as its insides are splattered over the ground.

The headless corpse of the creature makes some more twitches before collapsing to the floor, the stones of the walkway breaking under its body weight.

Al feels his body freeze up again at the image of the blood flowing out of the creature's corpse, but he forces his body to move to the fallen woman.

“Are you okay?” He asks, looking her up and down in panic, not managing to keep his voice calm as he holds his hand out to her, thankfully not seeing any injuries.

“Y-Yes. Thanks to you.” She says, her hands still shaking rapidly, her heartbeat strong enough that Al can see it on her throat. “God what is that thing?” She says out loud as more villagers slowly approach from out of the other streets.

That is the moment when Torr arrives, followed by a number of other villagers, the boy now holding his metal sword, his eyes locked on the slain monster.

“What is that thing?” The boy asks, looking at the ant corpse in fear. “I have never seen a monster like this.”

Al walks up to him, inspecting the corpse too. “Me neither, I am pretty sure I would remember an ant this bi-” He starts, but interrupts himself mid thought.

There definitely aren't any ants this big documented in the bestiary they have at home, but there is a monster that looks exactly like this, just far smaller, the size of a cat and not that of a bear.

But the shell looks exactly the same, down to the distinctive pattern, so it has to be one of those. Actually, there are parts of its species that are this large, but only the queens, not the winged scouts like this one.

‘Wait, if the scout it's this big already, does that mean the queen is-’

As if on command, the boy feels a tremor go through the ground, seeing one of the puddles at the side of the street ripple.

Without hesitation Al creates a small stair of barriers up into the air, running up as he supports his eyesight with magic as he looks into the distance.

There, at the edge of the horizon, breaking through the surface of the earth, burrowing its way out of the ground under the forest, trees falling and breaking, a hulking mass appears, almost looking like a small mountain.

That's when its scream hits the village, so deep and guttural that one could almost think it belongs to a dragon, but Al can see where it is coming from, and he also sees the swarm that it calls to attack.

From between the trees a swarm of monster ants appears, dozens after dozens crawling through the woods at an incredible speed, almost looking like a deep purple flood if it wasn't for the sickening sound of their thousands of scuttling legs.

“Everyone to your houses! Run! Barricade the doors and windows!” The young mage shots, supporting his voice with magic.

The reaction is immediate, no one questioning the boy despite his age, the villagers falling into panic as they rush into the nearest buildings.

Al is very thankful that with the wet weather today no one is working on the fields right now since it has been harvested already in the approach of the winter and wet autumn winds, most people are within the borders of the village right now.

He casts his flight magic on his body, feeling himself lift into the air a he circles around the village, letting his magic flow into the ground before making it grow into a tall defensive wall of stone, encircling the entire settlement, high enough that the ant won't be able to climb it that easily, smooth like polishes granite so they won't get any grip on the material.

The boy calls upon his inner magic, feeling the energy gathered around him as he releases his improved Spatial magic, three portals appearing over his head that release giant, burning meteors, flying towards the advancing swarm.

The spell hits the insects full force, the projectiles exploding into a wave of heat and molten stone, burning through the monster's carcasses and leaving behind big smoldering craters in the ground.

But the ants don't seem to care, just advancing forward like a mindless army, walking over the broken corpses of their sisters without a care in the world, a never ending mass making their way through the woods.

‘This kind of monster artificially creates and controls its brood with magic, if I remember right. That means if you take out the queen, the attack will stop.’

He takes one last look at the village, casting another earth wall spell with even more magic pooled into it than before, creating a high and sturdy wall that he desperately hopes will hold long enough before he flies towards the mother of the swarm, the wind rushing around him as he pushes himself to move as fast as he can.

With every meter Al gets closer to it the monster only feels bigger and bigger, its abdomen glowing an ominous green as more and more fully grown ants appear from it like an unending flood.

With not a moment to spare Al gathers his magic into his palm, ripping it the air like a claw and opening a galaxy portal where he shreds space, a volley of shooting stars flying out of it towards the monstrous insect.

They bring the air to a boiling point as they cut through the wind, erupting into a bright explosion of light and heat as they hit the queen right into her eye, leaving behind a cloud of dust.

But Al feels his body freeze up as the smoke clears, the ant queen calmly turning its head to him, barely more than a scratch on her carcass.

She lets out a loud scream as her abdomen begins to quiver. From the gooey green parts of soft, almost slime-like skin a bunch of ant heads appear, crawling out and spreading their wings, immediately taking flight at Al.

The boy has barely any time to react, throwing up a shield to protect himself from them, the freshly born soldiers crashing against the barrier and exploding into acid puddles of their own organs, bubbling dangerously as Al tries to support his shield so it can withstand the assault.

Occupied with the smaller ants he doesn't notice fast enough when the queen begins to move, lifting her front leg with far more speed than one would think possible and smashing it into the flying boy.

He instantly feels his shield shatter as she makes contact, the force making him lose control over his flight spells, throwing him towards the forest ground with a painful crash.

The boy can't help but let out a small cry as he skids over the hard ground, one of his legs erupting into a piercing pain that seems to echo through his bones.

When he looks down at it he finds it sticking out in a direction it's definitely not supposed to, the bone bending in a way that tells him it is broken, and he suspects the only reason he can't see the bone is because of the blood rushing out of the open fracture.

The giant ant queen is towering above him, her jaw clicking almost mockingly, he brood crawling closer to the hurt boy from all sides.

Al knows he can't win like this. His magical reserves are almost used up already. He will be lucky if he can cast even a handful more shooting stars, but even then he doubts they would do any damage, let alone be enough to kill this monstrosity.

In the distance, over the forest leveled by the swarm of ants, he can see the village, or more specifically the wall around it, more and more ants crawling against it and slowly piling up, probably trying to make a long ramp up it so they soon can begin spilling over the defensive fortifications.

And Al would be unable to stop the monsters from devouring the villagers alive, all the people he started to care so much for over the last years. But he can't let that happen. Could never let that happen.

So with no other idea out, the boy presses his hands together and prays.

‘God, please. I know that you are there. I can't do this alone. Please give me enough power to protect the villagers. All the people I care about. I don't care what it costs. Just this one time. Please!” He begs desperately.

"Are you sure?" 

Suddenly all the sound around him disappears and he finds himself in a white void, a familiar figure standing in front of him.

“Are you truly certain you want to do that trade? I can help you, but my influence in the active world is limited. Even I cannot know what results giving you enough power to kill those things will have.” God says, a concerned expression on his face.

“I don't care. I won't sit by and let my friends and family be slaughtered like this.” The boy says with a determined expression, clutching his hands into fists, not averting his eyes from the being in front of him.

God lets out a small sigh, before nodding at the boy. “Very well.”

Al’s eyes snap open in the real world, taking in a shocked breath as he suddenly feels his body erupt into a holy light, rings of golden energy circling around him as the magic in him grows and grows, painfully hot as if it is burning him from the insides.

The ants around him rush him as if fallen into a panic, but the light rings around him expand, rotating around his body at an incredible speed and cutting through the monsters like they were air.

But the moment they do Al feels his arm erupt in pain, cracks spreading over his kin that seem to burn with a golden energy.

But he can't waste any time to think about it. Not now. Not while everyone is still in danger.

He flies into the air again and calls upon the borrowed magic inside of him, feeling the ocean of energy follow his command instead of the usual small river he has.

The spell doesn't even need to charge up this time, a blast of pure energy ripping through the air, somehow feeling like space itself distorts around it because of its sheer power, ripping a clean hole into the queen’s stomach.

The giant monster lets out a pained cry, collapsing to the ground, but Al isn’t doing much better. He clenches his arm as he lets out a cry of pain, watching in horror as his hand begins to crumble away like old, brittle stone.

Though he doesn't have time to react as the monster retaliates, a torrent of acid spewing from its mouth.

The young age barely has any time to throw up a defensive shield as the green liquid flows around him like a flood, the golding barrier withstand the attack without even the slightest bit of damage as Al calls up another attack.

With all the force he can muster through the pain he creates another meteor above the ants, far far bigger than the least one, pushing even more energy into it even as more painful cracks spread over his arm, before shooting it at the giant monster at an incredible speed, the air around boiling as it makes contact, a deafening bang filling the area as it explodes into a ball of blinding flames and heat.

The queen lets out a roar of terror as her army is burned away, swallowed up by the erupting smoldering ash and stone as cracks run through her armor, leaving her behind in a glowing crater, but she isn’t going down, despite the injuries all over he body, and Al realizes that it will take more than a spell like that to take her out.

He can barely concentrate on the fight at this point, the pain coming from his crumbling arm only getting more intense by the second, and he realizes he will have to end this in one attack.

He gathers all the energy he can, dropping the shield he had around his body even if the air heated by his previous spell feels like it scalds his skin, focusing it all in a single point over the ant queen.

It forms into a growing black void with a single, blinding star in its center, shining so brightly it seems about to burst, and a part of Al knows it is, sensing the ocean of the energy borrowed from god collected into it.

The ant queen tries to stand up from the crater she is in, but Al won't give her the chance to move again.

With a loud cry he throws the collected ball of energy at the queen, crashing into her with all of its might.

For a moment it's almost silent, as if all sound itself was swallowed, before the energy erupts, shining bright like a star as it bursts into the form of a galaxy, the ground seemingly evaporating under its unbridled force, and the ant queen with it, swallowed by the bright light completely.

But the blast is gone as fast as it appeared, leaving behind nothing but a crater of bubbling magma.

Flying over the crater Al instantly senses his body cramp up, his vision beginning to distort as his body feels like it is ripping apart from the inside.

He doesn't even have time to land on the ground before he loses consciousness.

Chapter Text

Nord instantly knows something is wrong when a messenger arrives at the counts mansion they were staying at, handing them an urgent letter with extreme worry on his face.

“It's from your territory. There have been problems. Or rather one very big problem.” The messenger explains, exhaustion obvious on his face. He must have not rested so he could deliver this letter as quickly as possible.

Nord wastes no time in breaking open the envelope, his family and that of the count anxiously gathering around him, watching as the dragonslayer's face turns pale in shock.

“We have to return right now.” He says, continuing to read as he hurries to stand up from the table, his panic dragging the others along too.

“Honey, what happened?” Erna asks in a worried voice

“An S-rank monster has appeared on the border of our territory. We have to gather troops right now to take it down, and ask for help from the capital before it gets out of hand.” He says in a fear as his eyes rush over the letters, only for the messenger to interrupt him.

“The monster has already been slain.”

“W-What? How did they kill a monster of that strength so fast?” He asks. “And why the urgent letter then?”

The man looks to the side, obviously not wanting to say it out loud, but seeing no other way out but to explain it himself, he lets out an unsteady breath.

“The monster was a summoner type that sent out her brood over the nearby villages, immediately notifying everyone of their presence, but the monsters were too numerous to hold down, so someone faced the S-rank head one since its death would mean the same for its brood.”

He takes a short moment to breathe, seeing how some dreadful realization begins to appear in the eyes of the parents.

“The monster was slain by a single mage, managing to kill before the swarm could take the lives of more than a handful of citizens, even if it was at great difficulty.”

“No.” Erna says, holding her hand in front of her mouth as she turns deathly pale in an instant.

“Yes, the one who faced it was your son, Alfred. He managed to achieve victory on his own, but he seems to be in a critical condition right now, and isn't waking up.”

The room falls into a shocked silence for a moment before bursting into motion again. “We will go back right after we prepare the horses. We have to inform some healers in the capital. They will know what to do.”

“Go right now. Take our best horses. We will send the rest after you. Including the healers.” The court says with a tense expression on his face, immediately sending out a servant to prepare the animals.

“Thank you.” Nord says with a small bow, turning to his children. “You will stay here and travel back with the rest of the servants while Erna and I go back home.”

“What? No! We will come with you!” Elinora says.

“No. We were adventurers. We know how to do this. You go by carriage. No complaints. We don't have time for this.” He says, a serious expression on his face that doesn't leave any space for argument.

After that it only takes minutes until the horses are saddled up and the couple is riding towards their territory, their horses powered up by magic, but it still feels far far too slow, the dread in the two’s stomachs only growing with every second.

Nord looks over to his wife, seeing the tears on her face that suspects he finds on his own too very soon.

“Hey, he will be okay.” The man says with a confidence he doesn't have. “He is our genius kid. There is nothing out there that can stop him. He will pull through.” He says, but it sounds fake even to his ears.

His little boy, not even going up to his waist yet, facing such a dangerous monster alone. Without anyone to help him.

“I should have never left him behind. I should have insisted on him coming with us.” Nord says, clutching the reins of his horse as they rush through the foliage at an incredible speed.

Like this they will make it back in two days, and the boosting magic should hold the horses awake long enough for it since Erna can refresh it if necessary.

“It's not your fault. You couldn't have known. No one did.” She says, but he knows internally she agrees with him, feeling just as guilty as him.

For the rest of the journey back they barely exchange any words, only taking a single break to let the horses drink before continuing.

As they get closer to their territory, things only get worse.

Giant ant monster corpses are littering the area, destroyed trees, and half eaten animal corpses littering the area that have fallen victim to the insects.

Those things clearly didn't care what they got to kill, as long as it was alive.

When they finally reach the village, they find it surrounded by a huge stone wall, not close to the size as the one of the capital, but big enough to hold off a swarm of monsters for a while.

They ride through a hole in the sturdy structure that looks as if acid has burned its way through it, the people trying to clean up the area instantly noticing the arrival of their lord.

“Nord-sama! You are back!” She says, a relieved expression on her face.

“Where is my son!?” He demands instantly, the happy expression of the villager falling instantly. “Back at the mansion. We owe him our lives, but we don't know what to do. He isn't waking up and he-” The woman doesn't manage to finish her sentence as she lets out a cry.

Nord doesn't wait for her to recover as he spurts on his horse again, riding through the village that is surprisingly intact, the wall probably having held off the worst of the attack. At least for long enough.

The mansion is in turmoil when he arrives, all eyes on him and his wife as they dismount their horses, the animals practically collapsing to the ground the moment they are allowed to.

“Where is he?” The dragon slayer asks in panic, and Sarah doesn't waste any time to lead them to Alfred’s room, seemingly not able to get a single word out, simply opening the door for them with a graven expression on her face.

And Nord knows why the moment he sees his child, surrounded by several servants of the mansion, all of them in various states of sadness and distress.

If the boy didn't make the sounds of constant suffering the man would have thought his child to be dead already.

His skin is pale like ash, cracks running up his neck like he is breaking apart, the ashen color reaching up to his hair hairline, where instead of the warm brown that is supposed to be there is replaced with a dead looking white.

Erna’s hand flies up to her mouth as she sees the blanked lay limply over the place where her son's right arm was supposed to be, now not even a stump left behind, as if something had ripped out the entire limb shoulder included.

She rushes over to her child, kneeling down beside him as she runs her hand over her child's face. “My poor boy. I’m so sorry.” She says as tears run down her face.

Nord kneels down beside her, turning to the village doctor sitting beside his child, looking just as helpless as everyone else. “What is his current stare?” To be honest, the dragon slayer isn't sure if he wants to hear the answer.

“It hasn't gotten any worse, but that's all I can say. I have never seen anything even close to this. We have been treating his open wounds and giving him liquid food, but I don't know how to help otherwise.”

“How did this happen?”

The man looks to the side, unsure on how to explain it. “When your child fought the monster he used some kind of magic I have never seen before. We saw it's glow even from the villige. Already while using it it was damaging his body with evers spell he cast, but he kept going until the S-rank was down and its brood stopped moving.”

His eyes become distant as if lost in a memory. “It's as if he was burning his own body with every cast, starting from his arm, and the moment he eliminated the thread he collapsed from the pain and exhaustion.”

Nord doesn't know what to say to that, but in some twisted way he knows that that is something his child would do, not stopping to fight until they know everyone is safe, no matter the personal cost.

They spend the time in silence after that, the only sound being the constant grunts of pain coming from his child, each of them feeling like a stab into the hearts of the parents.

They don't manage to sleep this night, sitting by the bed the entire time to watch their son. Wanting to be there in case he wakes up.

Or wanting to be by his side in case he leaves them forever.

They both know it's a possibility, even if no one says it out loud.

Both of them were adventurers. They know how deadly overusing magic can be, and this is beyond anything they have ever seen, even in their worst battles. In all the years of their life the two have never felt this helpless before as they watch their youngest child suffer in front of them and they can't help him in any way.

Eventually they do take a rest, but it is closer to unconsciousness claiming them against their will as their body simply shuts down, but they still do not leave their child’s side, not even when the first healers arrive that were sent by the count.

The horrified expression of the healing mage and herbalist as they see the boy’s form tells the parents more than they want to know, and they watch with dread as the healer unravels the bandages holding the place where once Al’s arm was.

Erna lets out a shocked gasp as she sees the flesh below it, or at least what's left of it, accompanied with an intense stench of death.

It's crumbled into an ashen gray with crakes running so deep she can see the bones below, the pulsing red of the still living flesh visible under it all, open and vulnerable, smelling of blood and decay.

The herbalist doesn't waste any time to apply different kinds of ointments on it, trying his best to keep away any infections, but it is obvious that he doesn't know what to do in this situation.

The healing mage isn't much better. She is doing everything she can, trying to heal the ashen skin with her spells, but it doesn't have any effect, so she tries to recover all the other wounds the boy has, among them a broken leg that the parents hadn't even fully noticed yet.

Al does not seem to even perceive the two healers as they work, his limbs body lifelessly lying on his bed, somehow looking so much smaller to the child’s father than before.

Nord usually doesn't pray to any gods, but sitting here, in front of the body of his son, closer to death than life, he calls out to every higher power he can think of, begging them to let his sweet little boy pull through.

Hoping desperately that his prayers will be heard.

______________

Elinora and Silvio arrive two days after the healers, and they too look like they have barely gotten any sleep, just like their parents. 

Erna isn't sure it's a good idea to let them see their brother like this, but she also knows her children are as stubborn as their father. They would sneak to their little brother if necessary.

And like this they will at least have their parents there to support them.

By now the room’s smell is almost biting, a horrible combination of ointments, sweat and the sweet, rotten smell from Al’s infected wounds, his body not strong enough to fight off the illness even with the help of medicine.

Tears instantly begin to gather in the siblings eyes as they see their brother, and the only reason they don't throw themselves on him is because Nord holds them back.

They aren't allowed to stay for long, the healers having suggested keeping outside contact to a minimum so they don't drag in any illnesses that Al’s body would have to fight on top of everything else.

Erna leads her children out of the room despite their protest, bringing them to the dining room where Bartolo has prepared some food for them after their travels.

It somehow doesn't taste as good as they are used to, missing that spark of life all of the man’s cooking usually holds.

They barely manage to finish their meals before Silvio leans onto his big sister, falling asleep while clutching her body like it's the only thing keeping him together right now, hot tears flowing out of the children's eyes as their mother carries them to bed.

It has been years since they fell asleep together like this, but right now they will need all the comfort that they can get.

As Erna walks back to the room she hears a child's voice coming from the entrance, and after a moment she recognizes it as Torr, tears standing in the kid’s eyes, his hands clutching the sword Al brought him as a present.

“Can-can I really not see him?” He asks through teary gasps escaping his mouth.

Mina isn't doing much better, her eyes constantly red over the last days from all the tears, dark rings sprouting under her eyes that Erna is sure she would see under her own too if she were to look into a mirror.

“The healers said it's better the least amount of people are seeing him right now. Even I am not allowed in his room.” She explains, her voice sounding hoarse.

The boy just clutches his sword with even more force, his eyes locked onto the ground.

Apparently Torr was the one of the people who went into the forest to retrieve Alfred from where he had collapsed, rallying the other villagers as soon as the ant swarm stopped moving.

So he was also the one who saw Al in his most injured state.

“Why did it have to be him.” He says as tears begin to flow down his already wet cheeks. “Al doesn't even want to fight. He never does. Why-” He tries to continue, but a sob interrupts him.

“I am the one who wants to be an adventurer, but when the monsters came all I did was run and hide while he got hurt.” Torr sobs, his entire body shaking.

Before Erna even feels herself move she already has the boy in her arms, unbothered by the way his tears soak into her dress. There are enough of her own in it anyway.

“Al is strong. He will pull through this. I know he will. He isn't going to let anything ruin the relaxed life he wants so much.” She says with a voice that she hopes sounds convincing, patting the hair of the boy in her arms lovingly, their hold on each other helping them stay grounded.

Torr does not manage to say anything in return, just sobbing loudly as he holds onto her, but despite everything, she can see the determination form in his eyes.

They will have to stay strong.

For Al.

Chapter Text

The first thing he feels when he wakes up is pain, shooting through his body as if his veins had been replaced with thorny vines, biting at him from the inside with an agony that is so intense it almost feels like it's burning.

“Al?” He hears a hesitant voice from his side, but in his current state he can't connect it to anyone.

A cool hand lands on his forehead, casting away some of the feverish heat he hadn't even noticed up till now, and he can't help but lean into the touch.

With much work he manages to open one of his eyes, the skin sticking together in a sickly way, the light feeling incredibly blinding to him.

But he does manage to catch a glimpse of his parents' faces, blurred as they are, their presence making him relax a bit, despite the pain shooting through all of his body.

In his state he doesn't see the tears running down his parents faces, so full of hope now despite the deep dark rings under their eyes.

The boy feels another hand rest on his body, and he knows it belongs to his father, the man’s calming presence somehow casting away some of the pain, but Al already feels his consciousness drift off again.

It takes him till the next day when he opens his eyes again, not even managing to become fully lucid, but it's an improvement, a glimmer of hope in this mansion that somehow feels far too quiet and empty despite only missing one small boy.

__________

Al looks down at his body with empty eyes, not really sure how to react to the situation.

He knows he said he would be ready to do anything in order to save the people he cares about, and he doesn't regret the choice he made, but that doesn't make the situation much better as he looks down to where his arm once was.

The tears begin to fall before he even notices them, rolling down his cheeks and dripping down into the blanket below.

Two pairs of gentle arms encircle his body, holding him like he is the most precious thing in the entire world as his mother sets down a soft kiss on the top of his head.

“I know this is hard for you, harder than anything you went through, but we will get through this together. We will have your back no matter what, okay?” She tells him as she runs her fingers over his face, wiping away some of his tears, even if they are replaced by new ones immediately, mindful of the ashen skin covering one side of it.

Al can’t help but erupt into a loud sob as he hears that, big tears rolling down his face as his small body shakes with each breath, pain shooting through his body from even the small moment, his only remaining hand grabbing his father’s clothes while hiding his face in his mother’s embrace.

“Your mother is right.” Nord tells him. “You are my strong little boy. You have achieved something everyone thought to be impossible. Saved more people than we could ever count. There is nothing that can stop our family if we work together. No matter what.” His father says in a calming voice, a hand running through his now white hair with an incredible care and gentleness.

And like this, it doesn't take long till the boy falls asleep again in the loving embrace of his parents escaping the pain of the waking world for just a bit longer.

____________

After Al first wakes up it takes him over two weeks till he manages to stay awake for even close to an hour, and even then he is barely able to move his body or keep a straight thought, as if something in his body is just broken to a point he can't function properly anymore.

It's become pretty apparent that the ashen, cracked skin won't be going away anytime soon, the effects of Al overusing his magic leaving a permanent mark on his body as if the lost arm wasn't enough.

(He didn't tell anyone about his interaction with God in fear it would only worry them more.)

When Elinora and Silvio are finally allowed to see their brother, the entire family erupts into tears again, even Nord no matter how he tries to hide them.

At this point Al feels like they are planning to never let him out of their sight again, constantly having at least one person watching him all day round, even when he is losing counionsess again.

But somehow this time he isn’t bothered by it, unlike he would have before, welcoming it even.

The healers have told him that he managed to overcome the infection slowly after he started becoming lucid again, so they have allowed visitors to him again.

After they had announced that it was like the stormegates had been opened, everyone from thankful villagers to the servants and his friends like Torr arrived to see him.

The latter in particular was an encounter filled with many tears from both sides, Al spotting a hardness in his friend's eyes that he doesn't remember being there before.

Apparently Nord has started training the kid in the art of the sword alongside Al’s siblings, and the commoner boy had thrown himself into the training, absorbing the information like a sponge, improving at a rapid speed.

Al can almost see that he has become more fit, his young body always having been healthy from the work he had been doing around the house and filds, but now his arms hold the start of some more battle ready muscle structures that one would normally see at knights or adventurers.

The young mage (well, technically not a mage right now, or maybe ever again since he can't cast any spells at the moment, his body just feeling completely void of magical energy) looks out of the window, spotting the village boy train with Al’s siblings.

Probably for the first time in his life the bedridden kid actually wishes he could take part in it.

After Al had become more lucid and managed to stay awake for longer periods of time, his parents had told him about what happened during the weeks he was out.

The kingdom was in turmoil after the sudden appearance of such a powerful monster without any warning, discussions of strengthening the army and rebuilding the destroyed areas taking the center of attention.

If the Ant Queen had enough time to spread out her brood, growing her numbers while creating a wall of monsters around herself, killing her would have been hard even if the kingdom had thrown their entire army at it.

And even then it is unclear what would have happened if they weren't able to react fast enough, but one thing is for certain, the victims would have been innumerable.

While they prepare they have distributed ray stones throughout the country, magical tools that function as beacons that transport the signal of another monster of that power appearing through the entire country within minutes, allowing them to immobilize all their forces as fast as they can to take out the threat.

But increasing the army means reducing the number of farmers, and because of all the damage the ants did to the fields in this area they need any man on the land that they can get to not let people die of hunger during the winter.

Al suggested using some of the modern farming methods used in his original world to improve production, claiming to not remember where he read it, and his father agreed to try it out.

Even if it only helps to save a single person from starving it will still be worth it, after all.

But right now Nord doesn't know the exact circumstances that the royal family is discussing since his territory is so far away from the capital. At the moment Viscount Yulina is sending Nord over the important information, but the letters take a while to arrive.

Apparently they are also contemplating how to reward Alfred for his actions in taking out that monster, especially considering how he is the son of someone who was given nobility because of a similar action already.

At this moment Al could honestly not care less about that thought, the pain constantly radiating through his body making it hard to think or do anything else for the matter, and his father seems to have realized that very fast.

The next time his father told him about what is happening to distract Al from his pain is not linked to the politics both of them would rather avoid right now, instead telling him about how the village is rebuilding and how they have started to replant the trees destroyed by the ants.

It's a good thing to hear that things are returning back to normal in the village, or at least as normal as things can be right now.

The villagers still send him some presents to visit him as often as possible, including pretty much everything he could think of. 

Some of them send him some food too, but sadly he can only give that to his family members or Torr, not able to keep down any solid food at the moment.

At least he is managing to stay awake longer now, aware for more than some hours a day, even if he still tends to lose consciousness from time to time.

The doctors aren't sure, but they suspect it's a side effect of him overusing his magic to the degree he did, even if they aren't able to fix it.

The boy leans against Torr and Silvio, the two of them sitting beside him as Al once again feels his consciousness be drained away, the two boys beside him supporting his body as his muscles relax against his will, guiding him to lay down on the soft blanket they sit on.

But Al is barely able to follow their actions, the world around him nothing more than a blurred mess of color and warmth as they cover him in a soft blanket.

He really hopes he remembers to thank them after waking up again.

_____________

Al takes a hesitant step forward, leaning his weight against his pacient father’s supportive hands, holding his child so he doesn't fall.

Even those smallest movements with all the help take all of the boy’s power, his legs shaking under his weight like they are about to collapse, and to be honest, right now he feels like he is about to lose to the strain.

“Al, you can take a break. You don't have to force yourself.” Nord says in a warm voice.

But the boy shakes his head, trying to raise his foot again only for his control over the limb to slip, dipping to the side and falling into his father’s embrace.

“I’m serious. Don't overwork yourself, okay? You can take as much time as you need to recover, and even if things will never be the same as before, everyone will love you all the same, okay?”

Somehow every word his father says has been cutting through all of Al’s guards recently, the child hiding his face in the crook of his father’s neck, unable to hold back his tears, caused by both frustration, pain and somehow relief and fear.

It didn't used to be like this, even when he was just reborn in this world, but somehow he has been having problems keeping up his cool since the … since the incident.

Somehow it feels like at all times his body is about to break apart into ash, not even leaving behind any dust.

Nord tightly holds his son in his arms, carrying him down the stairs and into the garden where he sees Mira take care of the laundry, the fabric waving in the gentle wind that makes the young weeds growing on the harvested field wave like an emerald ocean.

There are big patches in the field without any plants thought, destroyed by the ants during their attack on the people and Al’s spells.

Thankfully they should have enough food saved up in the mansion's cellar to get every villager through the winter, some of the produce preserved thanks to Al’s ice magic, having practically turned one of the warehouses into a giant fridge.

He is glad he did that before the incident.

The boy lifts his head up towards the training field where his siblings are sparring together with Torr, the children giving him a warm smile and running over to him.

“Al! Are you feeling better today?” The village boy asks hopefully, sweat dripping down from his forehead.  He must really be giving his all during his spars. Like this he might actually have a chance with his crush on Elinora. She might be an undefeatable monster, but she does value dedication.

“A bit.” Al answers, but it comes out a bit rough and tired, instantly making worry appear on the other kids' faces. The young mage feels a bit bad for it. He doesn't want the others to worry because of him more than they already do.

Torr frowns for a moment, before raising his sword into the air, a slightly forced smile on his face. “Hey Al! Let me show you the moves I just learned! I’m already on my way to becoming as strong as a knight of the kingdom!”

It's an attempt to distract him, Al knows that, but he goes along with it anyway. He could use something to divert his attention away from himself.

Nord sits his son down on the sun-touched grass, Silvio kneeling beside him to give his brother something to lean again, and Al gladly takes the opportunity, laying his head against his the blond’s shoulder.

Watching Torr go through the methodical movements actually turns out to be very calming, and in the back of his mind Al can help but think of a lava lamp. Both theoretically give off the same warm and welcoming feeling.

(He should probably be concerned about the fact that he can relax under the familiarity of sword training, but that is a thought for later.)

In the distance Al can see the village, now surrounded by the wall he created during the attack. According to dad the villagers decided to keep it. It’s not exactly a beautiful piece of art, since it's literally just a big slab of stone, but it certainly does its job.

Or at least it's not beautiful yet. It seems some of the villagers have started planning to build watchtowers into it, so that might make it look a bit more appealing.

‘At least the stone isn't an ugly color. Gray is a bit plain, but it is something you can easily work with.’

If Al was able to use his magic right now he would definitely help, but that doesn't seem to be possible any time soon.

Last time he tried to force out some magical energy he threw up all over himself before collapsing into the mess he made, causing everyone to fall into a panic.

He feels his chest constrict at the thought. What if he will never be able to use his magic ever again? Losing an arm has already taken him to the limit, but his magic is something that has become more essential to him than he could have ever imagined when he first arrived in this world.

It's something he has truly found his own in, just clicking with him in a way nothing else ever has and probably will.

And now it might be lost forever.

A helpless expression appears on his face, the boy looking to the ground in an attempt to stop the others from seeing it, but of course they notice it. Every single one of them has been watching him like a hawk for weeks now.

They don't call him out on it though, or force him to talk about it before he is ready on his own, instead just catching the boy in another warm hug, surrounding him from all sides as if to block out everything else that could hurt him.

And even if he sometimes feels like he should not be this calmed from a single hug, it does help so, so much.

And so does the fact that he knows his family will give it again and again whenever he needs it, no questions asked.

He really doesn't know what he did to deserve a family as precious as this.

Chapter Text

Al sits on his beds, looking into the mirror on the wall as Mina helps him get dressed in something a bit warmer since if he did it alone he would be tired enough after that he could probably fall asleep straight away.

It's not like she is seeing anything new. She has taken care of Al since he was a literal baby and during all the time he was unconscious. Keeping him clean in neither of those states must have been pleasant.

His old clothes don't fit him properly anymore, but not because they have gotten too small, quite the opposite in fact, hanging off him looser than they are supposed to since the recent events did not exactly allow him to keep a healthy weight.

He has been able to eat more again recently, his stomach not just ejecting anything more solid than soup, but it will take a while till he is more than skin and bones again.

Sadly he suspects he won't be getting his baby fat back ever again. It's a great loss since it was so useful when he needed to appear cute to convince his parents of something, not that it usually worked anyway.

His father had apparently planned to take him into the village today, saying fresh air and sun will do him well.

Getting carried around like a little child isn't something he will enjoy, but he is missing the different people in the village, and of course the place itself.

The empty sleeve on the right side is tied shut with a tight knot, stopping the cold air from entering, but to Al it somehow looks just so … wrong, to the point that he much rather just stay inside than let people see him like this.

But he will have to at least get some sunlight, and when he can do that at the same time as visiting the villagers, it is a good thing. His father told him how they have been faring after the attack, but Al will need to see the village to truly understand it.

It doesn't take long till Nord walks into the room, the rest of the family not far behind, wanting to accompany the two. It has been far too long since they did something as a full family that wasn't just sitting by Al in a gloomy atmosphere, trying to make the boy feel at least a bit better.

His father picks him up into his arms, giving him a small smile as he runs his free hand through his child’s now white hair. “If you think it's getting too much, tell us immediately and we will go back home, okay?” He asks, like he didn't ask the same questions so many times before.

Al just nods, cuddling into his father’s shoulder, relaxing into the welcoming warmth.

When the family steps out of the door Al is hit by a gust of cold wind, his father immediately pulling him closer to protect him from the frigid air of the morning.

It's not a surprise. Winter is approaching after all, and even if this one doesn't seem like it will be a bad one, the boy is still a bit worried.

Last winter no one starved to death in their territory, but some food storages were destroyed under the charge of the ants, and also some of the firewood stocks. They should have enough stored up, but still. Unexpected things can always happen. The appearance of the ant queen is the best example for that.

The empty fields are still in disarray, even after the ant corpses have been removed, the craters from Al’s spells still littering the area, even if he can see some people in the distance who seem to be working to smooth it out for the next harvest.

Al would really like to know who it is, by now recognizing a good number of the villagers at least by face, but without being able to enhance his eyes with magic, he won't manage to identify them from this distance.

They aren’t even halfway to the city when some familiar voices reach Al’s ears, blending together in a way that somehow feels calming to him.

He doesn't get enough time to recognize them before one of them breaks off from the chatter of the rest, calling out to the tired boy.

“Al! You are here!” It calls and now Al can recognize it as Torr. The now white haired boy manages to turn his head so he can look at his friend, giving him a small smile as he approaches.

Nord kneels down a bit so Torr can actually reach him, the village boy catching Al in a tight hug as Emma, Sheila and Asmo approach him with a welcoming expression, even if there is still quite some hurt, worry and guilt hidden under it.

It seems that they have been waiting for Al to arrive for quite a while if their red noses are anything to go by.

The young noble has been missing them, all of them, and he is so happy he can spend some time with them again, even if it is like this.

They chat with Al about all the things that are happening in the village while he was recovering and everything else he might be interested in.

To Al’s surprise it seems his wall has given them a handful of other benefits, just as blocking out the cold winter winds, even if breaking holes through the wall to be able to exit it took them quite a while.

Apparently one of the adventurers that has been staying in town for a job was an earth mage, and he burrowed some gates through the wall so the villagers were not trapped in the walls.

The group makes their way through a small gate inside of the wall, just tall and wide enough to let a bigger merchant carriage fit through.

On the other side a bunch of villagers seem to be working on a droppable gate, almost like those of a fortress, making sure the entrance can be sealed off in case of another monster attack, according to Asmo.

The workers look up as they hear Asmo talk, Al recognizing Herman among them before they rush him from all sides, but keep a good enough distance as if they are afraid to hurt the boy by just being close to him.

“Alfrid-sama! You are here!” One of them says in surprise. “It's so good to see you again! How long do you plan to stay? We could show you some of the adjustments we have started on the walls.”

“Just for a while, longer probably won't be possible.” Nord says in a calm voice, the villagers deflating a bit, but giving him some understanding nods.

Al is okay with the reaction as long as they don’t break out into crying ‘thank you’s and apologies again like they did last time. 

As they walk through the streets Al sees the village again bustling with commotion, perhaps even a bit more than is usual for this time of the year, but everything is so alive and not broken and destroyed that it brings a smile to his face.

This is what he managed to protect. This is what he has been fighting for.

Some of the idyllic village life stops when they spot Al, the boy giving them a small smile, but he can already feel his eyes slowly drop shut.

Ah, he was really hoping to be able to stay awake a bit longer today.

He manages to keep his eyes from closing for a while longer as some of the villagers greet them, Nord carrying him through the streets, unbroken and filled with people, but eventually the sleep takes him, the last things he sees being the loving expressions of his family.

____________

It's Al's mother who brings it up first, even if everyone has been holding back on asking it out loud towards the boy in question who was very aware of that fact. 

“Al, if It's okay to ask, can you tell us what kind of spell you were using to fight that thing? I only heard some descriptions, but it doesn't match up to any kind of magic I have ever heard. Especially not with these consequences.” She says calmly, trying her best to not seem forceful.

All the eyes of the people in the living room instantly snap to him as they hold their breath, which currently includes his entire family, Mina and Torr.

Al avoids their gazes for a moment, gathering his thoughts. How should he try to explain this? It's not like he really feels uncomfortable talking about it, but he can't really just say it's the magic he got when he was reborn.

Erna seems to identify his silence as hesitance, gently laying her hand on his head. “You don't have to tell us now, if ever.”

“No, it's okay. I have to tell you eventually. I just don't know where to start.” He says with a small sigh, leaning against Torr sitting beside him.

“It's … Space magic. I don't know how, but I somehow knew it as long as I can remember. It was just always there, to some extent.” He tells them, uncomfortable that he had to lie about some of the parts, but he thinks it's the right thing. 

He doesn't know how they would react about him meeting god, let alone the fact this is his second life.

Would they hate him for hiding it? Would they be disgusted by him? Throw him out, or something worse?

Al doesnt think he would be able to endure that. Even if the circumstances are unusual, he thinks of them as his family. His only family since he never had anything like this in his previous life. His parents, siblings and friends mean the world to him, and losing them would be worse than anything else.

“I have been training it for a while, but mostly in secret since I didn't know what you would say. To be honest, it's probably why I’m so good at magic. I usually use it for creating small pocket spaces that can transport huge amounts of items or for teleporting myself. I just started experimenting how to use it in combat.” He explains.

He doesn't look up at his family yet, unsure of how they are reacting. Being born with an abnormal magic is not something he has ever heard about in this world. Granted, his resources are limited, but he had asked his father if he knew anything along those lines, so it should be relatively certain.

“I wanted to train it so I could show you that I have proper control over it so you would allow me to use it during training.” He tells his father, moving his head in the man’s direction a bit, but still not looking up from the ground.

To his side he feels Torr move close to him, pressing his warm shoulder against Al’s while setting his hand down on his friend's leg to offer his support. 

Honestly, it helps more than it has any reason to be. Torr was always running hot like a furnace, and right now it's not any different, and it helps Al keep himself grounded and calm  like nothing else.

“When I used it during that fight, and it still wasn't enough to kill that monster, I just kept pushing more energy into the spells, and the spells helped me pull out more than I probably should be able to. I don't think I would be able to do it again, though. Not with how I am now.” 

The last part is the truth. Even if God would respond to his call for a second, no, a third time, Al doubts that his body would be able to hold it for more than a handful of seconds before crumbling completely.

It's something a human neither can hold nor should hold, after all.

To be honest, looking back at it, he got a pretty good deal, considering how much power he got at that moment. If he had been more capable at controlling it, things might have gone far better.

“And you won't be in a situation where you will have to ever have to.” Comes his fathers voice from the side, bringing his son out of his thoughts.

He walks up to his child, catching him in a warm hug as his mother does the same to his other side.

“I’m so sorry we made you feel like you couldn't trust us with that secret earlier.” His father says with that calm and kind voice of it that always makes Al weak, and it doesn't take more than some seconds until he can feel his tears begin to flow again.

“N-Not your fault…” He mumbles between tears into the neck of his father.

“Thank you for telling us.” His mother says, and it just makes more tears flow out as Al slowly begins to cry himself to sleep.

He wonders when he will finally be able to stay away throughout the day for once.

____________

Despite the tiredness in Al’s body the smile on his face as his family brings a big, incredibly sweet looking cake to his bed is blinding.

It is his birthday today, even if he would have completely forgotten about it if Mina didn't accidentally let it slip that his family was preparing a surprise for him.

She didn't even seem to notice, so Al just played along, feigning ignorance, but even knowing it would happen made it just so much more sweet.

They decided on a small party, but still everyone Al cares about most is here, from his family to the servants and the families of Torr and Asmo, all bringing him some presents and wishing him to get better.

(As if they haven't been doing that anyway every time they come here. Torr has been bringing him everything from beautiful rocks to plants from the times he ran around the village to train his stamina when he wasn't training with Nord. But somehow Al treasures all of those little trinkets as if they were made from pure gold. He can just feel the sincerity radiating from all of them.)

They keep the entire party calm, nothing big and loud like the last ones, but Al still really enjoys it, being surrounded by the people like this.

The cake is incredibly delicious, everyone seems to agree to that between bites, the sweetness and mix of different jam flavors filling his entire mouth in just the most perfect of ways.

Al is pretty sure they must have plundered Bartolo’s entire sugar storage for this. To be honest, he would feel bad about it if he wasn't so distracted with how tasty it is.

His stomach fills up far too fast, in his opinion, still not back to its original capacity, but at least that ensures he will have another piece left for tomorrow unless Mina eats it when nobody's looking.

There aren't many things that can stop her from getting her sweets after all.

One time Al saw her sneak to the kitchen to get some of the leftover pancakes. They were gone so fast one could almost think she unhinged her jaw to swallow them whole.

The only reason Al doesn't believe that is because she wouldn't get to properly taste them that way.

The kids take Al out with them into the garden as they celebrate, carrying the boy though the area as they spend some time in the garden together, not really just doing much of anything but just being there for him.

Eventually the exhaustion still catches up to him, making him drift off into sleep no matter  how much he tries to resist it, only barely able to notice how his friends tightly bundle him up into a blanket as they carry him inside.

Still, he falls asleep happier than he has in a long time.

____________

A week later Al slowly walks down the hallways, carefully taking one step after another, Torr by his side till they eventually reach the stairs.

It's hard enough to walk on even ground with the combined problems of feeling half dead all the time and the missing balance from losing an arm, but if you put altitude into the mix things just start feeling impossible.

‘Maybe things will become a bit better once my leg is completely healed.’ Because the previously broken bone really isn't making it any easier. Magically supported healing is good, but it can’t do wonders, so the rest has to heal naturally. But till then walking around will be hell.

Before he can even voice the thought Torr reaches out to him, wordlessly putting an arm around the mage’s waist and supporting his weight, helping him climb down to the ground level of the building while giving his friend as much time and help as he needs.

To be honest, Al doesn’t know how to handle the fact that everyone is so patient with him. In all the years of his first life he never had a single person who cared for him that much without wanting anything in return, and here it's just readily given to him at all times without him even needing to ask.

It kind of makes him feel bad for relying on the others so much for every single small thing.

At least Al can finally move around enough that he can go to the bathroom alone, something that is a great improvement in his opinion.

He lets out an unsteady breath as he leans against his friend for support when they reach the last stair, resting for a moment before continuing outward to the front door.

To be honest, Al would have preferred to take things slow today, but with the guests arriving today he needs to make at least some kind of appearance or it might reflect badly on his father.

The boy knows that high coming from him considering how he behaved during that noble party in the capital, but considering that the giant monster appeared close to their area they will need all the support from the other nobles they can get, and making a good appearance is part of that.

‘Well, as good of an appearance as a crippeled child can make.’ He thinks, looking at the sleeve loosely dangling at his side. It pretty much ruins the dignified look of the clothes he is wearing right now. In his opinion at least.

Slowly the duo makes their way to the courtyard in front of the mansion, arriving just in time to see the noble carriages arrive.

It's quite a number of them, and if some did not plan to leave on the same day they arrived there wouldn't be enough high class rooms in the Slowlet mansion to hold all of them.

Al positions himself beside his father, the man acknowledging him with a small nod, and the child can see how his shoulder becomes a bit more stiff with attentiveness, preparing to catch his child in case he collapses again because he took things too fast.

(It was one time! Al has learned his lesson from it. Especially not since Torr has started following him around like a faithful dog all day long when he isn't training. At this point they might as well hire him as Al’s official helper.)

‘Actually, that might be a good idea. At least for a while till Torr wants to start working as an adventurer.’ 

Al recognizes the symbol of the Syford and the Eustelle family on two of the carriages, but most of them are unknown to him. He asked his dad who would be arriving, but the man insisted he just rest and not bother with it.

 It doesn't take long till the nobles step out of the carriages, Al instantly spotting Eric among the crowd, it not being a surprise his family is among those gathering here.

They are one of the most influential families in term of military might, organizing a huge amount of soldiers and weapon manufacture for the kingdom. 

To concentrate most of the executive power in a family of the kingdom that isn't the royal family itself seems to be a very bad idea in the long term if there ever was a revolution. But for some reason Al really trusts Eric, even if he can be an idiot at times, so he doesn’t think he will have to worry about that any time soon.

‘And it seems like the citizens seem to be pretty satisfied with the current leadership. For good reason. There doesn't seem to be that many things that are problematic except maybe the lack of food in specific towns after a swarm of monsters ransacks an area.’

Al watches as Eric looks around in a manner that somehow looks slightly panicked, and he looks slightly paler than Al remembers him, but that could just be his imagination.

The tanned boy looks up at his father who gives him a small nod, and as soon as he does Eric splits off from the rest of his family, sprinting over to Al.

The mage expects him to slow down, but the other nearly crashes into at nearly full force, catching him in a tight hug, his fingers digging into his clothes, but despite the force of the actions they aren't painful to Al.

They stand in silence for a moment, before Eric slowly lets go of him, an unreadable expression on the kight trainee’s face.

“I heard what happened. Or at least what they say that happened.” Eric says, looking down at his arms and over the discolored skin covering the side of his face.

The black haired boy looks like he doesn't know what to say. All the usual ‘are you okay’ stuff doesn't feel right here, because everyone can see he is not, barely able to walk, even standing like this draining him like he has been running a marathon.

Eric lifts his hand up to the ashen skin, his hand just shy of touching it. “Can I…?” He asks hesitantly, but a moment later he looks like he regrets asking in the first place, like he has spoken about a taboo topic. 

But Al gives him a small nod. It's not like touching it hurts, it no longer gives him any feeling at all, almost like the skin is already dead, but when the young fighter puts his hand on it the mage can feel the heat of his palms radiate through it, sinking into the intact skin below as a pleasant warmth.

“If there is any way I can help, tell me, okay?” Eric asks him, getting a small nod from Al in response, because how else is he supposed to react to someone telling him that, especially if Eric said it with as much sincerity as he did.

“If it is okay with Lord Nord, you three can go of on your own for a while to catch up.” suddenly comes a voice from behind Eric, and when Al looks up he can see Lord Syford standing beside his child.

“Of course they can.” Nord agrees with a nod, turning to the children. “Just don't overexert yourself, okay? Torr, you make sure that Al does not overestimate himself again, because he probably won't listen to me.” He says to the embarrassment of his son, but the blond nods with a serious expression.

As the boys slowly walk off into the garden, Torr supporting his friend by carrying his weight, they watch the nobles go inside the building, all wearing expressions with various amounts of worry in them.

Al recognizes Darius among the crowd, or Count Melnar as he should probably call him now, even if the man keeps insisting that Al just calls him Darius like when they first met, at least when they are in private.

He somehow looks very tired, which is not all that surprising considering his territory is pretty close to Nord’s and with his territory having similar amounts of unexplored land he must worry about his family and people too.

Distracted as he is, Al does not notice a small branch in front of his feet until he feels himself fall forward, but before he can hit the ground two pairs of arms protectively coil around him to stop the fall.

“Thanks guys.” Al says a bit weakly, the sudden movement having knocked the air out of him, heavily leaning against his friends to stay standing upright. He looks down to the ground in shame. ‘I can't even walk properly anymore.’

But before he can react he suddenly feels an arms slip under his legs and back, and with a sudden movement he is lifted up into the air, and a second later he feels his right side settle against Eric’s chest as he is carried by the other boy princess style.

His face instantly turns bright red, and he feels like the tips of his ears (well, ear. He can’t feel the one on the side that is ashen) burning in embarrassment. “L-Let me down! I can walk by myself!” He says, but Eric ignores him.

“No can do. You are hurt, so it's our job to take care of you.” The young knight says with a confident expression, unbothered by Al’s attempts to free himself. 

The white haired boy tries to punch the other’s chest, but it doesn't come out as more than a light pat, to his great frustration, so he instead decides on glaring at the other boys, even as he settles into Eric’s warm body to escape the cool air.

Sadly the other two just seem to be amused by his antics, just carefully carrying their friend to the back of the mansion, settling in a sunlit place protected from the wind by some dense plants.

Torr pulls out a blanket from who knows where, laying it on the ground before Eric gently sets Al down, the mage averting his head in embarrassment so the black haired boy doesn't see his tomato red face.

“You didn't have to do that. I would have managed.” Al mumbles out, an expression on his face that definitely isn't a pout no matter what his sister says.

The hurt boy suddenly feels a hand settle on his leg, and from the warmth he guesses it's Eric, before the boy speaks to him in a voice that holds a calm knowledge Al has never heard the boy talk with.

“It's okay if you need help, you know. It's nothing to be ashamed about. It's the least we can do to thank you for all you have done for us.”

Al hesitantly looks at the boy again, seeing Eric give him a look that somehow seems to peek directly into the deepest, darkest corner of Al mind.

But the white haired boy just shakes his head. “I didn't really help you, you know.” But his answer is just a small, amused huff as the dark skinned boy sits down beside him, giving Al a shoulder to lean on.

“Al, do you remember what the work of my family is?” Eric asks, his voice turning more serious.

“If you didn't kill that monster, my family would have been the one sent to deal with it. And as much as it shames me to admit, our troops would not have been ready to face something like that. I am not sure how many we would have lost.” 

The young knight moves a bit so he is facing Al, before going in a deep bow. “So please let me thank you for all the lives of my family and citizens of our territory that you saved.” He says, before looking up, reaching with his hand to ruffle the boy’s hair with a gentle smile on his face. “And finally acknowledge that you deserve the help you are getting, okay?”

On his other side Al feels Torr sit down beside him, nudging his shoulder with his own, until Al finally nods as an answer.

Eric gives him a small smile, sitting down beside Al again, the white haired boy unable to resist leaning into the warm bodies of his friends.

“Oh, right!' I nearly forgot! I have shown that ‘mayonnaise’ thing to my big brothers, and we have finally gotten my little sisters to eat her vegetables. You have no idea how much calmer you have made the dinners back at home now that there are no longer knives getting thrown around every single time.“ Eric starts before drifting off from one random topic to another with no rhyme or reason.

It's a pretty obvious distraction, but Al still listens to it happily, letting Eric’s voice wash over him as Torr throws in some questions now and then, just listening to them as he follows the steady beats of the boy’s heart while Al leans on his shoulder.

It doesn't take long till Al feels his eyes drop once more, but before he even announces it Torr and Eric move even closer to him, nestling around him to share some of their warmth.

He would probably be embarrassed about it if he wasn't so tired, so he just cuddles into the warm bodies of his friends, letting out a content sound as he feels the blanket get pulled over him.

Someone’s hand finds its way into his hair, but he can't find the energy in himself to open his eyes to find out who’s. Especially not with how pleasant it feels.

Al tries to ask them, but it only comes out as an unintelligible mumble, the two other boys letting out small laughs as they hear the sound.

As soon as he wakes up he will send Elinora after them for it. He is sure she would be up for it.

Chapter Text

Nord sits in the center of the room, around the table with all the other nobles that have gathered here today.

Most of the guests are tense, not only from the general situation but also because of Nord’s overall presence. Not that he feels particularly guilty about it, nor does he try to reel in his intimidating aura.

He might have blown up a bit on the first troop of researchers that were sent to investigate the battlefield on any clues on how such a monster could appear out of nowhere, after the baron happened to listen in on them complaining on how Al destroyed all the evidence they could work with.

As if it was his child’s choice to go this far during the fight.

The two of them didn't stay in the mansion much longer and were soon replaced by another pair of investigators, but judging from the expressions of the guest they might have spread some rumors.

Nord has not much of a problem with that. As many people as they want can know that he doesn't allow anyone to speak badly about his children behind his back.

But he can't have it influence this discussion too much. “Lets begin, we have much to talk about.” He announces into the room, getting some nods from the assembled men.

They have one of the researchers take the lead first, making them explain what they found out about the monsters, but it honestly isn't much.

They have found some highly magically charged materials in the impact crater left behind in the fight, but that could also just be from Al’s meteor spell.

They tested the carcasses of the left behind small ant corpses that stopped moving after the queen’s death, but they didn't give them much of a clue, meaning they are pretty much still at the start of their research.

Not a good thing if the kingdom’s future might depend on preventing another attack like this.

Till now the royal family has tried keeping information about this under tight hold to keep the population from panicking, but information are slowly but surely leaking and it won't be long till the people start asking questions. 

And sadly this time they can't just repeat what happened after Nord took down the dragon, proudly showing off a young and beautiful hero (not his words, but those of another noble) and his companions in a parade.

(Nord knows it was propaganda to display the kingdom's power, but he still didn't have much of a problem with it then nor now, since it managed to make the people feel calm and safe again.)

“With Alfred’s current stare, a parade might be counterproductive in raising the morale and confidence of the kingdom’s population.” One of the nobles says, sending a worried look to Nord, not trying to say the obvious things out loud. 

Not that he has to. Everyone knows what he's talking about.

His Al looks broken, permanently lost limb, a look someone would normally see on a combatant who was at war for a year, and barely able to move on his own, his shattered magic core making him collapse multiple times per day.

That's not really the image a country wants to link to their heroes.

But one of the nobles makes a thoughtful sound. “But the people will demand his presence anyway, no matter what we do, and eventually news about Alfred’s situation will leak anyway unless you will keep him locked up in the house for the rest of his life. And that would only spread the rumors that he is actually dead.”

Nord gives him a questioning look. “What are you getting at?”

“Well, we give the people what they want. It might not make them happy, but if the knowledge that a child sacrificed himself like this to protect the kingdom they live in doesn't motivate them to fight for it or at least guilts them into doing more for it, I do not know what will.” The older man says.

The red haired nobel beside him (the one sent to represent the royal family) nods in agreement. “It might cause turmoil in the population for a while, but it is probably the best in the long run.”

He turns to Nord. “Additionally, we were thinking of bringing Al to the capital anyway so the exprets of magic and medicine there could go over his condition. You probably won't find more professionals willing to help anywhere.”

Nord frowns deeply as he hears that. To be honest, he doesn't not want his child any amount of distance away from him right now, but he is also a noble who knows what cannot be avoided.

And as much as he wishes he could, Nord doesn't not know how to fix the damage done to his child’s internal magic, but he sees how much it breaks his little boy. So with a heavy heart, he nods in agreement.

But before he can answer out loud another person speaks up. “I would send my child along with him.” He says, gaining Nord’s attention, and looks over to Baron Syford giving him a small nod.

“I was planning on seeing my child over to study at the knight academy anyway, so it would be a good idea if Alfred had someone familiar around in his current state.”

“I would greatly appreciate that.” Nord says gratefully. 

“A good suggestion.” The representative of the royal family gras. “If necessary we probably can make some arrangements to open some more places in the academy in case he requires more companions alongside him.”

“Thank you for your understanding. We will see what we can do.” Nord says with a nod. A part of him would really like to send over Silvio, but the boy will need to stay in the territory as their heir, while Elinora would not be present much anyway as a higher age student at the knight academy.

And to be honest, those classes include the more dangerous activities, and the mere thought of sending one of his children into a dangerous situation doesn't not sit well with him at the moment.

‘Well, I guess I will have to have a talk with Torr and his parents then.’

“Do not mention it." The royal representative says. “Besides, having a hero without companions would be bad for his general appearance.” The man says, finishing his sentence just in time for one of the mages sent to investigate the crater where the ant queen was killed to walk through the door.

“Excuse my interruption, but our troup has found something that might give some useful information.” She tells the nobles, and after receiving a nod from them she unravels a deep blue stone stored inside of it.

“This is a stone infused with high amounts of magic that we found at the side. We do not know its relation to the monster, but they are definitely not normal. As long as they were not produced by the monster, they might be linked to its creation.” She says pushing the object further to the center of the table so the nobles cna get a better look at it.

“Additionally, our searches have finally brought us to the remains of the queen.” She proudly informs the nobles.

“I thought there was nothing left of the corpse of the queen?” One of the men asks, the women nodding in agreement.

“That is what the first wave of researchers assumed, but once we started tunneling deeper into the ground with earth magic to search for any cave systems that might have been her hive before she appeared, we found out that what we assumed to be natural ground was in reality the stone that remained from Lord Alfred’s spells, and the remains of the queen were simply buried under it.”  

She waves over to one of her subordinates, the man carrying over a bundle of cloth, uncoiling it to reveal some purple looking shards.

“There's not much left, but this is some of the corpse of the queen. It definitely isn't in a good condition, but it should be enough for our researchers in the capital to work with.” She explains.

“Those are some very good news. Tell the people they should collect as much of both of these as possible. We can’t have it lying around in the open.” The royal representative says, but there is an expression on his face that Nord can't place.

The investigator seems to notice it too, and after a moment of consideration she voices her confusion over it. “Is there anything wrong with it? Should we have done something different?”

“Ah, don't concern yourself with it. I have been in deep thoughts. It's just … I still cannot decide if Alfrid taking out the monster on his own is the best or worst possible way things could have gone.”

Nord is so confused by the statement that he doesn't even react to the fact that the man called the sacrifice of his son the best possible way things have gone, and the dragon slayer isn't the only one uncertain what the older man means.

At least the man seems to be talkative enough that he is actually willing to explain his thoughts, unlike some of the nobles Nord had the misfortune of interacting with.

“I am just thinking, that while Lord Alfried’s sacrifice put the current number of deaths to nearly zero, something that is unprecedented for an attack of an A rank monster, it might not have been the best thing in the long run.” He starts explaining.

“I mean, if he was able to face something like this on his own at this age, how strong would he have been if he first had to protect the kingdom as an adult? But with the injuries he received from this fight, I personally doubt he will ever reach that potential now.” He says, giving an apologetic nod to Nord in case he was offended by the statement.

But the dragon slayer barely notices the gesture, far too focused on what the man said.

Because he knows the royal retainer is correct. Nord always knew his child was going to be powerful the moment he first started using magic. No, maybe even before that, just that instinctual voice in the back of his mind that all good adventures have told him the first time he laid eyes on his baby boy.

And now, because he left his child to fend on his own, all of that might be taken from Al, his sweet child never being able to reach his true heights because of Nord.

The blonde suddenly feels a hand fall down on his shoulder, snapping him out of his thoughts, and when he looks to the side he can see Lord Syford give him a sympathetic but serious look.

“What has happened cannot be changed, no matter how much we wish to. There are many mistakes I made during my life that I made, sending more soldiers into avoidable deaths than I could count because I didn't know better at the time. But we cannot let that slow us down. Neither of us. Right now we have to focus on what we can do, not what we could have done. For our future, and most importantly for that of our children.”

Nord stares at the man for a moment, before giving him a determined nod. 

The dragon slayer takes in a deep breath to steady himself. “You are completely right. Let us continue.” He says to the other nobles.

The discussion still takes quite a while longer after that, and at the end Nord is getting really tired of all the nobles talking as if they weren't in just as much danger as anyone else.

These kinds of discussions would be so much easier if everyone was as down to earth as they were when Nord still was an adventurer planning for another job with his companions. But sadly this is what the dragonslayer will have to deal with.

Nord wishes he could spar with Roomba after this to blow off some steam, but the adventurer is among the many that were sent out throughout the kingdom’s less visited areas to look for anything suspicious, equipped with some magic devices that should pick up on some increased magic activity.

Sadly count Melnar also has to leave immediately to return to his territory, so he is out of question too.

Nord suspects it's partially so he doesn't have to see Al. The man always had a soft heart under his boisterous appearance, and since one of his family’s tasks includes keeping control of the monsters in the country, he probably feels guilty for this.

Because he immediately left home to his family again, Nord didn't have time to tell him that he shouldn't feel guilty for that. That monster was inside the area that Nord himself had scouted many times before. Count Melnar had no chance of finding it.

Thankfully lord Syford seemed to be in a similar need for a simple spar, the man staying for a while longer till the researcher finished their work.

Nord is happy about his presence, since that also means his son will be staying with Al a bit longer.

During the noble parties he barely got to see his son interacting with his -at that time- new friend, but the deep connection he saw in the glimpses Nord managed to take between the nobles that just didn't want to give him a moment of rest was confirmed when Eric arrived here.

Al was always a calm kid who barely interacted with other children his age, usually hanging out with people older than himself, the only exceptions being Torr and Asmo up to that point.

Nord looks out of the window as he and lord Syford make the way to the training area behind the house where nobody would interrupt them, and in the corner of his garden, nestled between some of the bushes still dense with leaves despite winter being maybe days away.

The two men stop for a moment, looking down at the two talking boy’s huddled close to the sleeping Al, protecting him from the cold wind.

Nord tightens his fist in determination, feeling it flare up in his chest like an eternal flame.

He will make sure things will be right again, for his children, no matter what.

He promises.

__________

Al looks at his parents, his father kneeling on the floor, his eyes avoiding Erna as if he was a kid who got caught stealing from the cookie jar.

The boy’s father had just told his wife about the fact that Al will be moving to the capital for a while, both for a parade and to get treatment in the capital.

His mother is very obviously not happy about it, even if Al assured her he is okay with the decision.

The white haired boy isn't happy about it, but he will handle it. He has to. Al shouldn't feel as distressed about this as he does, he was living alone in his previous world after all, but somehow this feels nothing like back then.

Here he somehow has … more. He never really realized how important a family would be to him until he finally found one that actually cared for him. Until the prospect of not having them for a while was presented to him.

Eventually Erna relents, knowing quite well that it is probably the best path of action, but she is still not happy about the fact that her husband agreed to it without asking her for her opinion first.

Al has a distinct feeling that his father might be sleeping on the couch today, if his mother’s fiery look is anything to go by, the boy thinks to himself, a small smile on his face as he leans against Torr, missing the warmth he used to get from the other side of his body over the last days.

Eric has just left with his father today, only staying at the mansion for three days while the researchers did their work in the ant crater (Al still isn't sure what to actually call it), but now the Syfords have to return to the capital with them acting as bodyguards.

The now white haired boy is already missing his friend, and Torr seems to be feeling the same.

The three boys did a two day sleepover for the days that Eric was here, barely spending any time apart from morning till night. The only bad thing about it is that Al is now very aware of the fact that Eric is very talkative during his sleep.

He is also very clingy, but with how warm his body is Al didn't really mind. He isn't the kind of person who would complain about an extra heat pillow.

Erna lets out a small huff, as she drops down on the couch beside Al, giving her husband one last look before turning to her youngest son.

“Are you sure you are alright with this? If not, I‘m sure we can find a compromise with the nobles.”

“It's okay. I want to get better, and if the capital has a chance of fixing me, then I will go there.” He says, moving a little bit closer to Torr.

After looking at her child's face for a moment she let out a deep sigh. “Okay, but to make sure everything works out okay, I will accompany you there, how does that sound?” She suggests, immediately getting a nod from her child.

She gives Al a gentle pat on his head, running her fingers through his white hair. “That shouldn’t pose a problem, right?” She says, tuning to her husband who nods intensely, but doesnt look up from the ground yet.

“O-Of course. There shouldn't be a problem with that.” He says, and on the other side of the room Al can see his siblings follow the reaction of their father with a weird mix of amusement and shock.

They are very obviously not happy about being separated from their siblings but they understand it the same way their mother does (Silvio more so than Elinora).

“W-Well, if Al will be going soon, we should make the best out of the time, r-right?” Nord tries hesitantly, looking at his wife, and when she doesn't immediately shoot him down with another angry look, his shoulders relax a bit.

“I will tell Bartolo to make something special today!” Elinora tells the others, running out of the room. She is probably planning to use this as a chance to get something sweet out of the situation.

Not that Al has a problem with that. He is in the mood for something sweet, and Torr usually is too.

The white haired boy cuddles a bit closer to Torr, laying his head on the blond’s lap, immediately feeling the boy raise his hands up to his friend's head, his fingers gently running over the tired boy’s scalp in just the right way.

Al should probably get a small rest before lunch begins so he doesn't fall face first into his soup again. Last time wasn't a pleasant experience, especially with how hot the food still was. It took a long time to convince them to not have a servant stationed behind him during every meal to prevent something like that from happening again.

‘They really worry too much.’ Al thinks to himself, relaxing into the gentle caressing of his head, as slowly the world around him drifts away.

Chapter Text

“Dear, we will be fine. I promise. We already have four times the amount of guards that would constitute a high security. Nothing will get close to Al.” Erna tells her husband in a gentle voice.

“Are you sure? I could come along and-” The man starts, but she stops him by laying her finger in his lips.

“You know the territory needs you, especially now.”

“If a monster like that would appear again, I would not manage to rescue them anyway.” The Baron says with a downcast expression, making a serious expression appear on his wife’s face.

They both know it's true, but it's probably better if the people do not know that. Living in fear of something unavoidable doesn't make it any better.

“It will be okay. I will bring Al to the capital and make sure everything is fine before coming back, okay?” She says for what feels like the hundredth time. Her husband has always been a worrywart, but this time she can understand it.

Nord lets out a deep sigh. “You are right. I just…” He gives his wife one last tight hug. “Take care, okay? Of Al and yourself, you understand?”

She gives him a small grin, the ones she hasn't been using out in the open since she started trying to act like a noble lady. “Who are you taking me for? I’m still one of the few A rank adventurers in the country.”

With one last kiss she climbs into the carriage, placing herself down beside Mina, across from Alfred and Torr.

The village boy’s parents agreed eagerly when they heard that he will get a place at the royal knight academy if he accompanies Al to the capital. It's an opportunity he could probably never get otherwise unless he gets an achievement similar to Nord.

The young swordsman himself was ecstatic as well, only pouring more energy into his training to absorb as much as possible before leaving his home territory to accompany Al.

And from the looks Nord has given the boy, he was quite successful, the young swordsman receiving his teacher's full approval.

Torr looks a bit uncomfortable in the expensive clothes he is now wearing, and his reaction when he heard how much they cost is something Al will probably laugh about for years, but they undoubtedly fit him well.

And it got even more hilarious when Torr found out he will need a full wardrobe of clothes that expensive.

It is necessary of course with how much nobles value appearance, and it certainly helps with making a good first appearance when he will accompany Al during the parade set up to commemorate his slaying of the ant queen.

Thankfully the deep marine blues and gold-yellow lining of the clothes fits very well with his minty hair, and the fact that he is as well built as a boy his age can be definitely helps to make a good look during the celebration.

(Well, not a celebration really. His father gave the boys a general rundown of it beforehand.)

The trip to the capital will take a while, just like it did last time, but with a group as big as they have right now, it's far safer than normal.

They have been sent some additional guards from the capital to make sure Alfrid is okay, because having him killed would only reflect badly on the kingdom.

Erna isn't happy that is the reasoning behind all the help they are currently getting for their son, but she can't deny that it is useful. Incredibly so.

But not all monsters are smart enough to realize when an enemy is far over the level of things they can handle, so it only takes two days till they have their first encounter with a group of them.

The travelers immediately take their weapons when one of the hunting dogs accompanying them begins to bark loudly, the other animals soon join in, growling at the edge of the forest.

“Everyone prepare for battle!” The leader of the guard shouts, the soldiers taking up their arms as a surprisingly big group of goblins appears out of the woodwork, immediately throwing themselves at the guards.

Erna looks over the battlefield as Torr pulls out his sword, his relaxed expression from before instantly hardening as he moves closer to Al.

The men protecting them are doing a great job, but right now Erna is not taking any chances, not letting them power themselves out in case more attacks will be happening, so she turns to the boys across from her.

“Torr, would you be so kind and protect Al for a moment?”

“Always.” The young swordsman says with a serious expression, his grip on his sword tightening as Erna gives him a proud nod, before slowly stepping out of the carriage.

She thought she would have long left her adventures way behind, but the recent situations have shown her that she should have never let loose on her strict training she had set for herself.

And in the time after Al got hurt, she has been doing her best to get up to top form again.

She raises her hand into the air, the magic gathering in her palm as she whispers a chant too fast for Al to understand, using barely any air to say the words so that she won't get tired in combat, as a ball of flames appears in her pals, circled by glowing ribbons of fire.

She slashes her hand in front of her as if it was a blade, the flying bands of flame shooting out towards the battlefield, making their way through the line of soldiers as if they were snakes, before colliding with the ground centered of the goblin horde.

The moment they make contact they grow in size, swirling around each other like a helix as the winds pick up around them, forming into a flaming tornado.

The goblins barely have any time to react before the spell catches them, dragging them into the flaming winds no matter how much they try to hold onto the ground, sucking them up into the flames alongside branches and leaves that only fuel the flames even more.

The soldiers look a bit dumbfounded at the spell, only taking out the handful of goblins that managed to avoid it as the tornado fades away, leaving behind a pile of ash in its place.

Erna's eyes travel over the treeline for a moment, and when she doesn't spot any more enemies she slowly walks back to Al and Torr.

“It's a shame dragons are so resistant to fire, or that fight would have been far less of a problem all those years ago. Otherwise I might have stolen your father’s spotlight.” She says with a confident grin before turning back to her nobel lady smile, glancing at the olders.

“I take it we can continue?” She asks, getting immediate nods from all of the guards before she confidently and calmly makes her way back into the carriage.

Torr just stares at her with stars in his eyes, and Al isn't far off. He knew his mother used to be an adventurer and a mage, he saw the play and read the story, but wow, the way they depicted her magic in the act does not even come close.

But his mother just acts as if nothing happened, ignoring their looks, but she still radiates pure smugness and satisfaction. Even after all these years, his mom is still an adventurer at heart, after all.

Somehow it makes Al feel much safer than before.

As they continue moving, Al feels himself nod off again, his messed up magic cyclus still straining his consciousness.

Torr seems to notice too, gently guiding his friend’s falling head down on his warm shoulder, pulling a blanket over the white haired boy’s body as he relaxes into Torr’s body.

Maybe the journey will be more pleasant than Al thought at first.

___________

The journey to the capital takes its time, but it's relatively uneventful if you count out two more encounters with monsters.

Erna shows off her skills in both of them, even taking Torr out on the battlefield with her to teach him some things in a way training in a safe environment couldn't.

He also gets his first kill on a goblin, despite Erna insisting he doesn't have to force himself to do it yet.

It went as well as one could imagine, a clean cut, without much blood or struggling, but after it the boy was quieter for a while than Al would like him to be, so the white haired boy tried his best to lift the boy’s mood with everything he could think of, ranging from giving making him some delicious food with the help of the cooks to just spending time with him and talking about every small thing he could think of to distract his friend.

Torr seems to appreciate it, a smile appearing on his face again at Al’s attempts to help him work through this slump, and by the end of the day the swordsman was shining like a warm and gentle sun again.

Like that the days passed, until they finally reached the capital.

“Al, wake up, we will be reaching the checkpoint soon.” His mother’s voice gently drags him out of his sleep, her hand shaking his shoulder, or rather its stump where the arm used to be, carefully.

The boy sits up with a small jawn from where he has been lying, what happened to be Torr’s lab, the blonde boy giving him a small smile, letting out a small laugh as he runs his hands through Alfred’s messy hair to try make it at least a bit less bird's nest.

(At this point it has been happening so often that it's turning pretty much normal to him. Al still tends to collapse about three times per day, and Torr tends to be the one taking care of him during that time.)

The carriage stops at the checkpoint just like it did last time, and when the gate guards open the door to make sure everything is in order Al finds them to be the same one that welcomed him last time.

Or at least he thinks so. The helmets are hiding a huge chunk of their faces, but the expression of the guard that flashes from recognition to shock the moment he sees Al more than confirms that it was the same one from last time.

The young man does not manage to get a word out as he stares at Al, only averting his eyes when the boy’s mother clears her throat.

“Is that everything?” Erna asks with a pointed look, the man hastily nodding.

“Y-Yes. You can go through.” He says as he steps away from the door, closing it a little bit too fast. Al wouldn't be surprised if half the lower town knows of his state by the end of the day.

Not like the nobles didn't already spread some amount of information around, but seeing something is different than hearing it.

The drive through the town is just as impressive as it was the first time, the streets full with shops and people still bringing a smile to Al’s face, especially with how infectious Torr’s enthusiasm is.

Their destination this time is further in the city this time, the Slowlets not making a stop at their grandparents house, instead going directly to the magical academy.

It's not only a place for teaching children but also for experimentation of experienced mages, so a number of different experts gather around here, doing their projects in one of the many buildings making up the campus.

The knight academy is right beside it, even sharing some of the bigger practice fields and regularly doing training exercises together, at least according to Al’s father. As far as the boy is aware, Nord only knows it from second hand sources as well since he as a former commoner never went to either.

When they arrive they are already awaited by a woman in the academy's uniform, giving them a small bow as they step out of the carriage.

“Ah, I have been waiting for you. It is a pleasure to meet you!” The woman says, not even giving the pretense to be interrested in anything but Al, already looking the boy up and down with a curious expression as if she could dissect him through his clothes.

“The pleasure is all ours.” Erna says with a polite bow, the boys doing the same. It seems the etiquette lessons they went over together during their carriage journey paid off, even if Torr looks like someone is holding a knife to his throat.

“Now, let's not waste any time and get down to business. Please follow me to my study rooms so I can take a look at the boy’s condition.” She says in a far too happy voice. Well, it's still better than if she were looking at him with that complete pity or shock everyone else seems to do.

The hallways of the school already have a number of people walking through them, even if there aren't that many since the new school year hasn't started yet, but with its beginning approaching, the teachers and other staff are already busily preparing.

The handful of students who have already arrived are probably the ones who are from the outer areas of the country or the ones who wanted to take their time to properly decorate their rooms before the school year began, because that is apparently normal when nobles start their education here.

Well, there are also the ones form non noble families, but they are usually still rich or have direct links to them like when a commoner marries into lower nobility and his commoner family get a position here to become guards for other nobles.

The windowed hallway they are walking down is long, letting the natural light flowing freely, and Al spends a moment looking out at the student dormitories.

To be honest, they look like luxury hotels, each room having a personal bathroom connected to the rooms, but what would one expect from nobles?

There are also two students already training on the open areas in front of it, both knight students from the looks of it.

A bolt of tiredness suddenly rushes through Al, staggering for a moment but Torr is already by his side, steadying him before he can stumble. The young mage gives him a thankful nod before starting to walk again, but this time closer to his friend.

The noble boy just hopes they don't have to walk too far. He doesn't want people to see Torr carry him around as their first impression. At least he shouldn't collapse that soon again since he woke up not that long ago.

Thankfully his wish is answered and the woman leads them to a door at the side, pulling out a key from her pocket and unlocking it, revealing the cluttered room behind it.

“Oh, I completely forgot to introduce myself. You can just call me Aria. Formalites will just get in the way.” She says dismissively, leading the group over to something that looks like an operation table.

“So, Alfred, take off your clothes and lie down here and we can start some of the tests right away. This one is one of my proudest inventions. It's a magic tool that essentially lets me look through someone's body without having to cut them open.” She explains proudly.

‘So basically a magical X-ray machine. Sounds useful.’ The boy thinks, giving the enthusiastic woman a small nod.

Al pulls off his clothes, getting some help from Torr with the parts that are difficult with only one arm, and the white haired boy can't help but think how serious his friend is taking his role as his personal assistant.

Still, Al hopes he won't always need Torr for simple things like this. He has been getting better at doing things with half the amount of limbs and no magic, but it's taking its time.

Aria is already inspecting his destroyed shoulder while he is undressing, giving it curious looks and thoughtful nods but not yet saying them out loud, just leading Al to the table, the boy needing some help to climb it.

The surface is cold but not uncomfortably so, and he can already feel the magic from it flow through his body in the form of a small tingle.

Aria reaches out with her hand and closes her eyes, hovering her palm over his skin for many minutes before eventually opening her eyes again.

“Okay, you can get down for a moment. I think I have a good enough idea of what is happening.”

Erna gives her a hopeful look. “So you know what it is?”

“I have seen something similar before at least. It's not exactly the same, but I had someone once whose body was flooded with a huge amount of foreign magic that was too much for him to handle and it had comparable results.” 

She walks over to her table, picking up a notebook and making a small sketch before showing it to the ones present.

“The result is pretty much that the parts of our body that transfer magic are ripped open for him. Theoretically they can heal on their own, but since unlike our physical body we can't stop our magic from flowing, so all the healing does barely do anything. It's like trying to get a bone to heal but constantly having muscle spasms in the limb.”

She stands up again and walks over to a huge contraption that looks like an alchemical distillery.

“Alfred here especially would have problems with that since he has so much magic for his age.” She explains, turning to the boy. “Seriously, even if you were a full grown man I would think you have a lot of it.” She says with a chuckle, gathering  some ingredients from all over her tables.

“But most importantly, the mixture I made for the last guy should also help you heal your damage.” She tells him, beginning to mix the herbs and ores that she collected.

Al can’t help but look at her in hope. “So I can really be fixed?” He asks, feeling Torr move closer to him as soon as he says the words. 

“How does it work?” Erna asks as Aria puts them into a small glass vial, holding it over a small flame she creates in her free hand.

“It's something that works by, well, it's hard to explain since magic isn't really physical, but imagine it as creating a coating on the inside of the veins that transport magic that function like a bandage to protect them long enough so they can heal undisturbed from your natural magic flow. While under the effect of the potion the magic lines can slowly recover. Though it will take its time till you will be able to use magic without the potions. The last guy took eight full months.”

She curiously looks at the bubbling liquid, carefully regulating the heat of her flame. “It's not going to hold long since Al has such strong magic. The last guy I tested could get along with one dose every week, but Alfred will probably need two per day to keep it working since his magic will just eat away at the coating in no time.”

Aria extinguishes the flame and looks at the now clear blue liquid, nodding at it before walking over to a shelf, opening it and taking out a small mouse from a cage holding many more.

She puts a small glass stick into the potion, pulling it out with only a single drop of liquid on it and putting it into the mouse's mouth, curiously looking at the reaction. After a handful of seconds of nothing happening she nods in satisfaction, putting the animal back into its cage.

“Does it have any negative side effects?” Torr asks the older woman, getting a head shake in response.

“Not if I do it right. That's why I will always have to test it. If I do it wrong, the result is, let's say, a bit gorey. But with how fast a wrong mixture would kill anything living that eats it the mouse would be splattered over the floor already if I did it wrong.” She says with a  far to calm smile as she hands Al the potion.

Torr and Erna look reasonably disturbed by that, but before any of them could maybe say that Al should not drink the potion he takes it and down it in one gulp.

It surprisingly doesn't taste that bad, a bit salty but otherwise fruity, almost like a weird energy or sport drink.

The reaction is as immediate as Aria said his death would be if she did it wrong, Al feeling like the potion is somehow igniting into a pleasant warmth that is spreading from his throat and stomach through the rest of his body.

Hesitantly he holds out his hand, doing a chant in his mind, and just like it did before the battle with the ant queen, and the magic responds, a small flame igniting in his palm, barely there but still full of so much life.

Al can't help the smile that appears on his face as he casts more and more spells around him, balls of all kinds of elements floating around him.

He turns to his mom and Torr with a wide smile on his face, Erna holding her hands in front of her mouth as happy tears flow down his face, Torr running up to Al and catching him in a tight hug, loudly laughing in happiness.

Al can’t help but join in, hugging the other boy while laughing in pure joy as happy tears flow down his face, casting pretty much all the minor spells he can without destroying the room, trying to make sure everything works like it did before.

When he eventually casts his flight spell he holds tightly onto Torr, the two boys slowly lifting off the ground.

The young swordsman lets out a sound of shock, his hold on Al tightening even more, but he calms down as soon as he sees Al’s happy face, relaxing a bit as they hover in the air, simply floating for a while till Al slowly lets them set down on the floor again, a bright smile still on his face as he run over to hug his mother.

“Oh boy, if this is how strong your magic is when you are actually using it you might need some more potions than two per day if you want to actually cast magic.” Aria says curiously, already standing on a table to prepare another batch. “Sadly the potions do not hold for long after they are made, so I will have to produce fresh ones every two days or so.”

“That's okay.” Erna tells him instantly. “How much would the production of them cost?” 

“Oh, don't worry about that. The materials are actually pretty cheap, some even stuff that is usually thrown away, so the only thing I pretty much use is time. And the royal family is already paying me anyway. Being able to observe Al’s development will be enough. Unless of course some of the ingredients skyrockets in price or something along those lines.” Aria tells them.

An expression appears on her face that is somewhere between mischievous and guilty as she turns to Al. “And to be honest, I also really want to see your space magic that I heard so much about.”

Al agrees to that instantly. It's not as if she would ever be able to use it anyway since he is the only one able to use it.

“Now, if you would like, you could cast some more magic so I can properly gauge how many potions you will need once you start actually casting magic until you are fully healed. Pretty much anything is fine as long as it doesn't destroy my room.” She tells him.

Actually, there is something Al has been wishing he could do before Torr starts his time at the academy.

He has already given Torr a sword, but in the knight academy there will be students who have blades of far higher quality, being nobles and all, so his current sword wont hold for long.

And with that thought, Al calls upon his space magic one more, pulling open a small portal of a little over a meter in the center of the room as he searches through the infinite expense it connects to for something he can use for his goal until he finally finds it.

Aria just watches him in pure delight, furiously scribbling down notes as she observes his spell.

The meteor Al slowly and carefully pulls out of the portal is just perfect, he knows on an instinctive level, and he begins to slowly let his magic flow into it, carefully shaping it’s form piece by piece with only miniscule changes to ensure it will be perfect.

In the end Al has to drink two more potions as he works on Torr’s sword before he has to stop because he is exhausted, but not the exhausted because his body is breaking down again, but the good exhaustion he gets after using his magic properly.

He never thought it was a feeling he would ever miss, but here he is.

The sword has barely taken shape at this point, still a lump of long black ore that glints blue in the light of the sun, almost looking like freshly broken obsidian shards.

He doesn't tell the others what it is yet, saying it will be a surprise no matter how they, especially Torr, bugger him about it.

“Well, till school starts I would like you to come here every day to make sure there aren't any complications that didn't happen with my first patient. Just in case. When the lessons start and things become more busy we will probably reduce it to every two days since you will have to get the potions that often anyway.” 

“Ah, right, there was that.” Al mumbles. One of the conditions for this stay here was to take part in the lessons of the academy, even in case he wasn't able to use spells yet, in an attempt to raise more attention to his attempts.

It's all for image, but he gets it, even if he never really wanted to go here. He just wanted to have a quiet life after all.

(To be honest, he suspected his parents would have sent him here sooner or later anyway, considering the looks his mother has given him when he cast some more impressive spells. Still, he can complain about it so he will. Repeatedly.)

At least it will make sure he doesn't get bored, and maybe he can get to learn more about magic. He is especially interested in how to build magical devices. The book he bought during his last trip to the capital gave a good introduction but didn't go much into details.

Torr takes the potion vials as Aria says her goodbyes, heading off to the main office of the school to put in a request for the materials she will need to supply Al with his medicine, leaving the remaining three behind in the hallway.

“Well, Mina should have finished organizing the luggage being brought into your dorm by now. I don't think it would take that long with the help of the guards.” Erna says. “Why not go take a look at where you will be staying for a while.”

Chapter Text

Al sits on a small bench, putting on his formal clothes for the parade with the help of Torr, somehow feeling completely out of place in them.

The swordsman himself is wearing the uniform to the royal knight academy already, the organizers of the event saying it would be the best choice.

And it first him well, very well, even if the village boy nearly had a heart attack as he saw the pricing of the cabinet filled with uniforms he received for free.

When he first put them on he stood around stiff as a rock as if he was too terrified to move in fear damaging them.

By now he has loosened up a bit, but it feels like he has just given up and tried to ignore the price of the items he has received.

Well, everyone has their coping mechanisms. He ain't going to judge.

On the side of his hip hangs the new blade Al made for him, shining brightly like an infinite galaxy filled with bright stars since the sheath is not finished yet.

The young mage managed to finish it just in time for this, and he is very proud of his work. Its blade is a deep jade color, shining like a polished gem as thousands of small stars continuously flow towards its tip, like a river made from a galaxy.

It truly is what Al would imagine a magic sword is supposed to be like, looking otherworldly and elegant while being powerful enough to withstand any force.

And that doesn't even start with the magical properties Al has infused in it, but that is a topic for when he has more time than now.

Really, he looks more like the hero Al is supposed to be, appearing like a noble young warrior wielding a magic sword just out of stories, even down to the brightly colored hair, standing proudly with a kind smile on his face.

And then there is Al. He has been doing better since he has gotten his medicine, but the damages done by his own spells are there like a painful thorn in his side.

The outfit he is wearing can only do so much, no matter how much the seamstress making it had tried, it just seems out of place to him, the noble looking, deep blue clothes with silver lining feeling wasted on him.

And even the royal looking cape with white fur lining (apparently it fits very well to his now white hair) that would make any other person appear noble doesn't do the job.

“Well, let's give the crowd the broken kid they are waiting for.” He mumbles, looking at his own image in the mirror, his posture looking powerless and defeated, trying to turn around when suddenly he feels Torr gently lay his hands on both sides of Al’s face, turning the mage’s head to him.

“Don't say that. Don’t ever tell yourself that ever again, okay?” The swordsman says, his voice soft and sad but still a warm look appears in his eyes.

“Just because you lost an arm, it doesn't make you any less amazing than you are. In all of those crowds watching us won't be a single person as brave and kind as you are.” Torr tells him, his voice and eyes so full of confidence and affection that AI can't move away from him.

“No matter what you might think, you are perfect the way you are, you understand? You are my best friend, the one who protected my life and those of everyone in our territory when no one else could, facing any enemy most would not dare to fight, and you won, despite how much the odds were stacked against you.”

“And you came home alive, not looking like a broken kid but a hero proving how far he will go for the people he cares about. As my greatest hero in the entire world.” Torr says, pulling Al into a gentle hug.

“So please, don't ever talk yourself down like that again. For me.” The young swordsman says, holding onto the shaking boy in his arms, patting his back as he feels his shoulder slowly get wet with tears.

“You will make me get your clothes dirty.” The brunette says, his voice barely above a whisper as hot tears run out of his eyes, but only hold onto Torr even tighter.

“Well, I wasn't the one who paid for them anyway.” He says with that warm smile of his face, setting his face down in Al’s hair.

It's unfair how fast his friend has been growing recently, more than a head bigger than Al by now, but it also makes his hugs so much better, feeling completely protected from the outside world every time his friend hugs him.

It takes a while till they split again, Torr reaching up to wipe away the tears from Al’s eyes, giving him another warm smile. “You okay?”

“Yeah, thanks to you.” The mage tells him gratefully, casting a small spell to draw out the tears from his friend’s clothes. 

Al takes one last glance in the mirror with a more calm and confident look, straightening his body as he sees Torr beside him, and somehow it makes all the difference in the world. 

Maybe he will trust his friend’s judgment with this after all.

_____________

Al hears the crowd of people before he can even see them, climbing up on the raised carriage with the voices of dozens of people audible behind the gate.

He got a rundown on how to act from the noble responsible for organization, and even Nord has given him some first hand experience how it went when he had his victory parade, even if his father wasn't sure how applicable the information would be.

But Al keeps his back straight and doesn't let himself drift off into nervousness or any other negative thoughts. If not for himself, at least for Torr.

The swordsman sadly cannot accompany him in the carriage itself, being one of the people assigned as direct guards, since for traditional reasons only people who actively took part in the combat are allowed on it, which in this case is only him.

But Torr is assigned as one of the guards closest to him, so he will be right beside Al in case anything happens.

Just like his mother, apparently, somehow having called in a favor with someone to be put on the guard as well, riding on a horse behind the carriage in full on mage battle robe.

He is happy to have more familiar people around him, but he would have also preferred she told him about it before and not just three minutes before he went to take his place in the carriage.

The young mage doesn't have any longer to dwell on the thought as the horns signal the start of the parade, the carriage under him beginning to move, his hand holding onto the railing to not make him fall.

Al braces himself for whatever reaction is going to get thrown his way. The nobles have planned for many possibilities, three different narratives (read propaganda campaigns) fully prepared depending on how the populace reacts.

No matter what they do, he just has to acknowledge them (not even smile) and wave. 

As the gate opens to the capital's main street, the sun shines directly into his eyes, but right now he can't break his role, so he tries to put his most confident expression onto his face and waves at the area where the crowd should be.

But to his surprise, the sound that reaches his ears aren't shocked gasps but loud cheers, casting away the uncertain murmurs from before.

As his eyes slowly adjust to the bright light he slowly gets to see the watching people lining the sites of the streets. There are of course people who look shocked, but most of them cheer, looking up at All with unreadable, but definitely positive expressions.

Al looks over to where Torr is walking beside him, getting a warm smile from the blonde that the white haired boy can't help but return.

Somehow the parade rushes by him after that, all the tension and worries from before completely flowing out of the young mage's body, and in the end, he is actually kind of enjoying it, seeing all the people who he sacrificed parts of himself for.

It only makes him so much more sure that he did the right thing.

The parade ends after a trip all around the city till it finally reaches its goal at the royal palace.

In his father’s case they then held a speech that officially announced him as a baron and gave him his territory, but since with Al its not been decided yet it just ends in a celebration.

To be honest, the boy would have preferred not to, but at least Torr and Erna are here too, his mother having changed back into her noble lady dress again. She actually looked really cool in the battle mage robes too, so she honestly could have kept wearing them too, in his opinion.

Al doesn't really get any time to take a break as he greets noble after noble, congratulating him for his victory and some with territories close to that of his father’s thanking him for his help.

They know that if he hadn't taken out the monster when he did, their lands would have most likely been destroyed too.

After only an hour Al feels like he is going to collapse on the place, and he has barely even managed to get through half of the nobles present, and according to the organizer, after them there will also be some commoners of higher influence.

Meaning, this is even worse than the first noble party Al was one. So much worse.

‘If this is a karmic punishment for making fun of dad and mom for how they are always pulled into these kinds of situations, it's pretty damn effective.’ He thinks as Torr hands him a glass of juice, the liquid making his throat sore from all the talking at least a bit more bearable.

Al gently nudges his shoulder against Torr’s as a small thank you as he sees the organizer approach him from the corner of his vision, a duke of a family that is apparently an offshoot of the Ringrande family, according to his mother.

“I’m sorry, but I will have to steal our young hero for a moment.” The host tells the guests currently talking to Al. “I have something to discuss with him. I promise it won't be long.”

The couple of course agrees, and the host of the party leads Al and his two companions off into one of the less populated hallways, the levels of nose slowly reaching a more comfortable level.

“So, what was it that you wanted to talk about?” The white haired boy asks, but the older man just lets out a small laugh.

“Oh, that was just to have a reason to get you away from the crowd. You seemed like you needed it. You are looking exactly the same as your father when I did this whole party for him. Ah, the good old times where I didn't wake up with an aching back every morning.” The man says

“Oh. Uhm, thank you for your assistance.” Al says with a small bow, but the noble just waves it off.

"Nonsense. I’m the one who has to thank you for your presence here since it brought in so many people to make potential trade deals with. As the host I should at least make it as endurable for you as necessary.” The baron says, and Al starts to like him more and more with every word he says.

The man leads him into a small reading room, a big table on the side filled with food and drinks, the host excusing himself and walking out the room, but only after telling them that they can't stay here too long or the guests will get impatient.

Al lets himself drop into the soft sofa, Torr sitting down beside him with a fond and sympathetic smile, his shoulder instantly getting used as a headrest for the smaller boy.

“Why do so many people want to talk to me?! It's not like they will get anything interesting out of it. And they are even all asking the same things!” He complains loudly, Torr patting his head with an amused smile, making sure to not ruffle Al’s hair too much.

“Well, it can't be changed. You can be glad you managed to avoid many noble parties up till now because our territory is so far out.” Erna says, a sympathetic expression on her face. “But I get it. It took me a while to get used to it too.”

She sends a look over to Torr. “You seem to be handling it pretty well, actually. Much better than Al at his first party. But to be honest, worse is kind of difficult when he started a fight using pliers twenty minutes in over a piece of meat.”

Torr rubs the back of his neck, a bit embarrassed as he receives the praise. “It's not like people are talking to me, that makes it easier. Some have been staring, but none are actually approaching me.”

“Can you just say you are me and do the talking for me instead?” Al asks his friends jokingly, getting a laugh in response. “You can be my body double!”

“I have a small suspicion that the people might notice that. You are kind of well known by now. Besides, even if they wouldn't already know your face, I look nothing like your father.”

“Neither do I, you know, and people still did not question it when I appeared at my first party.” He says. That's not exactly true, some nobles remarked on it, but no one actually disputed his relation to Nord.

Torr curiously inspecting his face stops him from that train of thought. “You know, recently you actually do. You actually look pretty similar to him. Right, Miss Erna?”

She gives him a small smile. “I told you you can leave out the ‘miss’ when no one else is around, but you are right, I have been thinking the same. Maybe it was because of your darker hair or your baby fat, but now you really look far more similar to your father than before.”

The hair color part honestly was always a bit confusing to Al. He guesses dominant genes must work differently in this world than in his previous, considering what his parents' hair colors are.

It's hardly the weirdest thing he has seen. 

Some sounds coming from outside drag Al out of his thoughts. If he wants to get through all the greetings by the time the sun rises again, he will need to hurry back soon.

Al stands up from the couches and walks over to the buffet laid out in front of him, taking some of the beautifully laid out dishes and hastily eating them, Torr doing the same even if he managed to grab some bites from the meals in the main hall unlike Al.

Judging from how much he is eating recently he is planning to get even more advantage on Al in terms of height, as if the one and a half heads he already has on the white haired boy wasn't enough.

But he is not jealous! Al will be as big as his father when he grows up. Eventually. Probably.

Al takes some more bites before heading to the door again, Erna and Torr beside him, giving the young mage sympathetic looks. He needs at least something in his stomach to go through the night.

Al takes out a potion from his pocket and downs it in one go before stepping out of the room, the loud sound of the party instantly surrounding him again.

“Let's get this over with.”

__________

Al doesnt even manage to step a single into the plot of land that his grandparents own before he is jumped by the both of them, caught in a bone crushingly tight hug.

His grandmother’s face is full of tears, her fingers digging into Al’s clothes as if he would disappear if she let go.

"Don't cry. I’m already starting to get better again.” He says, patting her back awkwardly, but that does only seem to do the opposite of help, making the woman cry out even louder.

Eventually it's Lazareth who leads the group inside, Erna comforting her still crying mother as they walk.

Al feels kind of bad for not visiting them earlier, but with everything happening, between the preparations for the parade, the tests with Aria and recovering from the exhaustion caused by all of it, time just wasn't a thing he had much left of.

Al notices Torr’s uncertain expression about the whole situation, feeling out of place, and he would probably have stayed back with the servants of the mansion if Al didn't grab his hand and dragged him along.

Even if the situation isn't ideal, Al wants his friend to meet his grandparents.

Lazareth leads them to one of their living rooms, not leaving Al out of his view for even a moment. The man looks more tired and old somehow than Al remembers, and he worries that it's his fault.

The boy sits down beside his grandmother, giving her a warm smile as he pulls Torr closer, throwing his arm around the boy’s waist. He would have done the neck, but Al isn’t able to properly reach that high.

It's so unfair how fast his friend is growing recently.

“I have someone to introduce you to!” As tells them with a wide grin, Torr blushing a bit as he lets out a nervous smile. “This is my best friend Torr!”

A small smile appears on the old couple’s (well, not really old. They are still pretty young, but they are at least a bit older by this world's standard.) faces, Elena reaching out and ruffling the blonde boy’s hair.

“It makes me happy to see my sweet little grandchild has such a good friend. It really manages to calm my heart. It's a pleasure to meet you.” She tells the boy.

“D-Don't mention it.” Torr says a bit awkwardly, the blush on his face only getting deeper. “It's the things everyone would do.”

Elena lets out another chuckle, Al brushing his shoulder against his friend's to calm him down a little, but he switches his attention to Erna when she clears her throat.

The boy listens as his mother catches them up on the more recent events that they weren't already informed of in a letter, and Al can see how some of the tension drains out of the couple’s bodies, giving their grandchild a warm look.

There is still a huge amount of sadness in their eyes, but it's a big improvement compared to the pure terror that was there when the young mage saw them some minutes ago.

They aren't happy about the fact that Al staying in the capital won't make it much easier for them to meet up more regularly, which is expected.

They just live out on the edges of the city, pretty much the furthest you can be from the academy, and since no outside people are allowed entrance to the academy for security reasons it will be a bit difficult to organize meeting up with all the stress the school will give Al.

But the boy promises his grandparents to come as often as possible, which seems to be enough for them at the moment.

The tense situation is broken by a loud rumble of Torr’s stomach, the boy averting his eyes with a mortified expression on his face as the adults let out a chuckle.

“It's good that you reminded us, or we might have forgotten till the food is cold.” Lazareth tells Torr kindly. “You boys need all the food you can get to grow, after all. Elena even made one of her favorite sweets for you.”

Al instantly sees his mother smile as she hears that, and she looks like she can barely hold herself back from licking her lips. Whatever his grandmother made, it must be good. Maybe this is where his mother’s sweet tooth came from?

And oh boy, Al’s expectations are not disappointed. If this is how his mother was fed when she grew up the boy wonders how she didn't end up as round as Asmo. ‘Or maybe she did for a while and there are some embarrassing baby pictures around here somewhere. Wait, no. You would need a camera for that.’

After the meal Al needs to lean against Torr with how full he feels, a comfortable warm feeling spreading out from his stomach as the family spends the afternoon together in the living room, just talking about everything and nothing.

His grandparents seem better now, not looking as sad and tired as before, even if their eyes still land on Al’s missing arm from time to time, especially during the meal when Torr had to jump in a handful of ties to cut what would be a bit difficult with one hand to do.

The mage has started training to help him out with magic so his friends can concentrate on his own food and isn't constantly interrupted to help Al, but it's still in its training phase and the last time he tried it he accidentally flung the knife around the room with his levitation magic instead of doing a cutting motion.

But eventually it is getting late, and the group has to say their goodbyes, no matter if they want to stay a bit longer.

Al’s grandparents give him another bone crushing hug before they let him out of their house.

The three walk out of the mansion, waving at the older couple watching them from the door till they step off their property,  approaching the carriage in front filled with suitcases.

With all the important organizational stuff in the capital taken care of Erna will make her way back to her own territory, no longer able to have many excuses for staying by her child’s side with all the work for her that is piling up at home.

Especially not with how much Al’s condition has improved, but she is still not happy about it.

She takes her son in a tight hug, before giving him a gentle smile. “Always remember, if you need any help, and I mean any, send us a letter and we will come immediately, okay?”

She turns to Torr, giving the boy a hug too. “Take care of yourself and Al, okay? You know he can be an idiot if left to his own devices. And the thing about letters applies to you too.”

“Hey!” The boy in question complains, but is ignored, getting dragged into another hug as his mother holds the two boys in her arms.

“Please be well, you two.” She says, setting a gentle kiss on each of their heads before entering the carriage, giving the boys one last wave before it begins to move.

“We will, mom!” Al calls after her, holding Torr’s hand with all his power, not letting go even after they watch his mother go out of view and the two climb into the carriage bringing them back to the academy.

And neither did he for all the way back.

Chapter Text

It's a few days before the beginning of the school year in the academy that Aria suggests a stress test for Al’s abilities under her strict supervision to see if there will be any bad effects while he is still under the influence of the potion.

So that is why the boy is currently standing on the reinforced magic training field used for the stronger students, charging up another meteor with power similar to what he had been doing when he created Torr’s sword.

Of course this time he doesn't actually have a plan what to do with it yet, so he is just pumping it full of energy with the vague idea of a weapon.

Even if he will never use it, it will be good training. It would be a good idea to make weapons like this for the rest of his family too, after all.

But this meteor he is currently working on does not fit to either of them, somehow Al just knows that, but if someone would ask him how, he wouldn't be able to articulate the feeling.

With the task of this test being to expend huge amounts of energy very quickly, he wouldn't be able to properly stabilize the weapon anyway.

The boulder is slowly thinning down into the form of a blade as All releases wave after wave of energy into it, the ground under him pulsing under the pressure, flashes of energy radiating out of it like lighting.

Al has been starting to worry it might blow up, so he has already prepared a portal under it to chuck it into in case of an explosion.

As he works, the energy drains out of his magical reserves, but he can not feel anything out of place compared to how it used to be before the fight with the ant queen.

He tells as much to Aria, but she says he should be continuing for a while longer.

When the meteor slowly begins to approach the vague shape of a sword, Al suddenly feels an uncomfortable feeling rush through his veins, and Aria flinches a bit as the device in her hands suddenly lights up.

“Al-!” She starts to shout at him, but he has already stopped the spell, downing one of the many potions he has started carrying around all the time.

“I felt it lose its effect shortly before it did.” He explains after putting the vial away again, letting the meteor fall into one of his magical storage rooms.

“That's actually very good. If you can feel it then there should not be any other problems because the rest of your magic system seems to be perfectly fine. And by perfectly fine I mean good to a point it would make a royal mage die of jealousy.” Aria tells him, furiously scribbling down notes.

“You have no idea how glad I am to be the one taking care of your recovery. Like that I can take a perfect look at your magic system. This is probably one of the most interesting projects I had in a long time. Especially since my other one got shut down for ‘public danger’.” She says, accompanying her words with air quotes.

“Like I said before, I think it's mostly because of the mix of my inborn magic combined with the fact that I started training so early and consistently.”

To be honest, he is starting to think his god given magic played a bit more influence into it than he first thought, since now that he actually can use magic again he noticed some pretty big improvements in his magical power after he overcharged his body with space magic.

Maybe close to a 50% power increase, but it's hard to say exactly. Or it could just be something like broken bones, sometimes regrowing stronger after injury, just for magic.

“So you did, but I suspect there might be ways to artificially reproduce a lesser effect of it. Because to be honest, a tenth of what you achieved in growth would be invaluable to our kingdom's safety from future monster attacks.” She explains, letting her notes levitate over to the table with a gust of wind.

Al smiles at the action. “You started following my idea on training your magic?”

“Of course. It makes sense after all. Physical muscles are trained through everyday actions in a way that benefits knights too, so why shouldn't mages do the same? Looking back at it, it is really a simple thought process.” She tells him with a nod.

“Your friend Torr has been training by the same method, right?” She asks, getting a nod from Al.

Apparently during their journey to the capital, whenever Al was knocked out from his condition, Erna taught his friend some basics about magic, and the two of them have kept it a secret from Al up till this point.

Torr can't do much yet, and with him focusing his attention on sword fighting he probably never will, but he still managed to get down some basic techniques that he has been training in secret for now until Al accidently walked in on him igniting a candle with a small shock of lighting.

Torr planned to tell him about it once he had gotten better at using it before showing it off.

Al was very surprised when he heard that his friend worked best with lighting magic, while failing at some simpler ones like fire, it being among the rarer types of magic to have as a primary attribute, but somehow it fits Torr perfectly.

The swordsman has started training it regularly, and by now he can use some very basic body buffs with it and do some small tricks like use it as a light or ignite burnable material.

Still, it's very impressive. The third princess was welcomed into the royal family after having awoken that kind of magic despite how much they shunned her before.

But lighting magic is not very well understood in these lands, since it's not a concept easily understood or observed, so Al is planning to give his friend some lessons about the scientific processes behind lighting so his better understanding of it will make his spells stronger.

He knows that if he asks him to, Torr won't demand an explanation on how Al got the facts. He can trust his friend, after all.

If Torr understands the lessons, of course. It always feels like a coin toss if he will be either extremely good at understanding it or fail miserably, and never anything in between. The village boy can probably be glad that most of the grades in the knight academy come from combat lessons.

Since Al’s examinations for the day are gone he goes back to the dorm.

Aria hasn't found any potential problems with her patient's body yet, the potion doing its work properly, even if it will take some time till Al’s injuries are truly healed.

Al opens the door to his room (well, flat really, since this the size of each of the noble dorm rooms is about the same as an entire flat) to find Torr posing in front of the big mirror, seemingly unaware of the mage’s presence.

The young swordsman is wearing his new school uniform, a wide smile on his face as he does various poses with his sword.

Al won't deny that his friend looks good like that. Torr really fits into the outfit incredibly well, and the sword of course too, since Al made it specifically for him.

The mage is still happy every time he sees his friend look at the weapon with that soft smile of his, holding it in careful hands like it's the most precious thing in the world, following the constellations of stars on it with his fingers.

One of the poses Torr takes makes him turn his head to the side enough that he can spot Al standing on the door, and instantly his face turns as red as a tomato, waving  with his hands to hide his face as if that would change anything.

Torr clears his throat, putting his sword back into its sheath before turning to Al, trying to project an aura of calmness as if nothing happened even if the tips of his ears are still burning in a pure red. “So, did everything work out fine?” 

Al gives him a small nod, sitting down on the sofa beside Torr and lying down over his legs like an oversized cat. “Yeah, it did, but I’m tired. Using that much magic is always so exhausting.” He complains a bit, but his body instantly relaxes when he feels Torr reach up to run his fingers through Al’s hair.

“Do you still have the energy to go to the cafeteria or should I carry you over?” He asks, a pleasant smile on his face.

“Nah, I can do that much. Just give me some minutes first.” Al says, relaxing into his friend's touch.

They sit in silence for a moment, the only thing Al hears being his friend's steady breaths as he simply enjoys the homely and safe atmosphere, letting his eyes drift shut as he lets Torr caress his hair, each movement so gentle one would think them to be impossible for the energetic swordsman.

“Did I tell you yet that you look amazing in the uniform?” Al asks, breaking the silence, the hands in his hair stutter for a moment but immediately return to their steady rhythm. 

“Really? You think so?” Torr asks hesitantly. “I’m not that sure, to be honest. I worry I will be out of place among all the rich kids and nobles.”

“Yeah, really. It fits you very well. I’m sure you will make the others jealous with your good looks. And don't worry about that, you will do great. I know you will.” The mage tells the mint haired boy confidently, giving him a small smile.

He stretches his arm and legs, letting out a loud groan. “Are you up for food already? I’m starving after using all that magic.” He says, getting a nod from his friend.

“Same here. I feel like I could devour an entire boar right now.” He says, and considering how much Al has seen him eat recently, he doesn't think that to be impossible.

“Then let's grab something before the others start taking the best parts of meat.” Al says with a small grin, reaching out with his hand to help his friend up, Torr taking it immediately before hurrying out of the room with all, holding open the door for him before they sprint down the hallway together.

Al lets out a happy huff as they run, his body buzzing with warmth.

Yeah, he really couldn’t have asked for a better friend.

___________

After the success of the parade, far better received by the citizens than the royal family ever expected, discussions for how to reward Alfred for his actions have been getting more prominent again.

It's just how the kingdom handles their heroes, after all.

Normally they might have given Al the same treatment as his father, aka ranking him up in the noble ladder and giving him a territory to control, but not only is he too young to properly make use of that, but there is also the fact that there is no available territory in the kingdom not already owned by another noble.

The fact that his father got one to begin with was a big coincidence, the noble originally in control of the territory being found out to be planning to act against the royal family shortly before the dragon attack that made Nord so famous.

And after that things just fell into place perfectly. They had an open territory and a person perfect to fill the role of its leader.

The only other way they would get a new territory would be going to war with a neighboring country, but all their relations with the other kingdoms are on a friendly basis, so that is unlikely.

And Al wouldn’t like to be instigated as the ruler of a conquered territory anyway. That just sounds like an excessive amount of work on so many levels that he would really like to avoid.

There was also some talk of marrying Al into a high ranking noble family as a reward, but he managed to politely decline that proposition. He is definitely not old enough for something like that yet.

(Well, technically he is if you count his previous life he is, but mental age gets a bit messy when memories of that time fade and hormones definitely don't act according to those of an adult mind.)

So for now, the rewards given to the ‘Starlight Savior’ are just talks about a higher noble title for now.

And god, now he understands how his father felt every time when Al called him Dragon Slayer. It's just so embarrassing! And people actually adresse him like that with serious expressions! 

He just knows his father will bother him with his nickname as soon as they see each other the next time.

It might even not be that far away, according to the letter his family sent him. There has been another noble party announced that will take place in the capital in a month from now that will be linked with some more negotiations concerning the danger of giant monsters appearing out of nowhere, and Nord was invited to it.

Silvio and mom seem to be coming along too, but Elinora wasn't invited after the thing she did last time.

Al himself also got an invitation, his open fight with Eric during his first noble party being ignored in favor of Al’s current achievements.

Speaking of Eric, he should be arriving here very soon too, maybe even today if things work out as intended during his travels. But you can never know how things will turn out with the underdeveloped roads and frequent monster attacks.

His room in the dormitory is the one directly beside that of Al and Torr, the royal family made sure of that since Eric was sent here to be able to help Al recover.

Not that it's that important anymore since Aria pretty much fixed the biggest problems moments after meeting Al.

Well, not fixed yet, but on the way too, making great progress already even if it will take quite a while till he will be able to live without a constant supply of potions. 

Potions he now has seen how dangerous they can be if Aria does something wrong.

When Al was getting a new supply of potions from her he might have distracted her a bit with a discussion on the deeper principles of magic, and the mouse used for testing the medicine suffered for it.

It took the two of them quite a while to scrape its remains from the walls even if they both used magic to help. 

“So, should this be enough for a test?” Al asks, getting a nod from Aria in response.

“Yeah, it seems you don't have any problems even with high output until the potion runs out. So as long as you don't have any more questions, you are free to go.” She tells him.

Al really doesn't have anything else to ask her for now. She usually explains everything pretty well, so he says his goodbyes and makes his way back to the dorms.

Torr should be training on his own at the moment, trying to implement the lessons on basic electrical science into his spells after Al tried to teach him yesterday.

It's not really anything that complicated, just something he thinks children could understand, but his friend's head still steamed after the lessons like it was about to start burning.

It was prettys similar to when Al first started teaching him math and letters all that time ago.

Torr didn't really get it until Al tried to implement some practical methods for the physical processes, like comparing lighting strikes to lifting a stone off the floor and dropping to release the energy you spend lifting it in one hit to symbolize imbalance of charges.

Looking back at it Al should have started with that. His best friend was always more of a practical type, something that also applied to math problems. But that could also just be that when Al started teaching him fractions he usually brought some small pies to visualize it and if Torr calculated it right, he got to eat them.

Anyway, eventually the lighting user managed to get a good overview and has been training his magic since, finding good ways to implement it into his swordsmanship.

There is that one especially vicious move Torr created that is very simple on the first look, charging his blade with electricity, but since all armor and weapons around her are made from metal, it had some very good results against the person he was sparring with.

It makes every attack or even block he gets a hit, especially when he manages to crank the power up high enough that it makes his enemies stunned or flinched.

As if Torr wasn't already hard enough to block.

The combination of Nord’s swordsmanship with Al’s sword and Torr’s stamina makes a great combination, the galaxy blade, as Torr has started calling it, having quite some useful effects implemented into it.

Not only is it incredibly sharp and far harder than metal, it also is lighter for Torr (and Al as its creator) than for anyone else, since it's made from a full magical meteorite.

Hitting with it has the equivalent weight of hitting someone with a greatsword, if not even two, despite it having the shape a normal (if a bit big for Torr’s age) longsword.

And Al also made him a sheath for Torr’s blade, a mix of jade and gold just like his sword, fitting perfectly with the swordsman's eyes since the ring around his pupil has that exact color shooting out over the remaining green of his iris like a star, and maybe even with his hair in the future, since it's gotten darker and more blue over the years, getting closer to the blue his sister has.

(Even back in Al’s original world hair colors of children often tended to get darker with age, so he isn't surprised by it, even if the gradual color change came as a surprise at first.)

For some reason Aria had a weird grin on her face when Al told her that, but she didn't answer when he demanded an explanation.

Al is just walking out of the main entrance to the academy when he sees a carriage drive into the entrance bearing a very familiar family sigil.

A wide smile instantly appears on the boy’s face as he runs up to the loading station where they always unpack the luggage before they bring it into the dorms.

The carriage door slowly opens to reveal a familiar face, eyes still turned inside and talking to someone out of Al’s view. The mage uses that opportunity to sneak up on his friends, and before Eric can react Al throws his arm around the other boy’s neck.

The black haired child lets out a startled scream, a flinch going through his body before freezing up as he turns his head around enough to see his friend's face.

“Al!” He calls happily, freeing himself from the hold easily (why do all of his friends have to be into physical training?) and grabs him in a tight hug, giving him a wide smile. “You are looking better!”

“Yeah, the specialist they got to help me is really doing her job, but I drink enough potions every day that you could open a medicine shop with them.” He says, showing his pocket filled with vials.

He is actually starting to drink six potions a day now since he has been training his magic more regularly again. The boy really hopes the amount won't rise even further in the month he will continue taking them.

Eric gives him a wry smile as he hears that. “As long as you are better.” He looks around the area as if searching for something. “Is Torr around here too?”

“He is on the training field right now. Do you want me to show you where it is?”

Eric looks back into the carriage towards an older man who looks like a combat instructor, getting a nod from him. “You get familiar with the academy while I take care of this here. You would only be standing around anyway. Do you remember where your room is?”

When Eric doesn't look certain Al jumps in. “I know where it is. It's right beside mine unless there were some sudden changes I wasn't told about.”

Judging from the other two’s expressions that is not the case, so Al doesn't waste any time to pull Eric with him, showing off the areas he already knows.

Distracted as he is he doesn't notice the happy smile Eric gives him, letting himself be pulled along by the mage’s newfound energy like the swordsman remembers him having when they first met.

“Torr! Over here!” Al calls over the mostly empty training field, just a handful of students using it right now.

Eric thinks they might be preparing for the entrance exam, if you can even call it that. It's pretty much just a test if they have the base requirements, so there really isn't much of a challenge to it. He went through it with his father beforehand, and it's easier than his usual training, so it can't be much of a problem for anyone.

(Or at least that's what he thinks, not aware of the fact that many others would disagree with that.)

The two had trained together during the time Eric stayed in Nord’s territory as his father took care of the inspection of the ant battlefield. It took them a while since there wasn't much left after Al’s spells, so they got to spend a while as a trio.

He is just happy that his best friends are getting along well, and it looks like they will even end up in the same class.

Torr runs over to his other two with a wide smile, tackling Eric into a tight hug as a greeting, but the black haired boy’s eyes instantly snap down to the weapon in the swordsman's hand.

“Whoa! What is that sword?! I have never seen anything like this!” Eric calls out as he sees the blade Torr his holding, the still slightly panting boy showing the blade with a wide grin.

“Al made it just for me!” The blonde says proudly. “It's the most amazing sword in the world!” He says, swinging it in the air skillfully.

Eric looks at it with stars in his eyes, slowly reaching out to it with his hands.

“Can- can I hold it?” He asks with so much hope in his voice that it almost makes the two feel bad, and Torr offers it to the other boy.

“You can try, but it won't exactly work.” He says a bit guilty, rubbing the back of his neck.

Eric gives him a confused look but reaches out for the blade anyway, trying to lift it into the air only to find it so heavy he can't move it. Even if he grabs the hilt with both of his hands he can only just lift it into the air, but definitely not swing it, so he drops it back into Torr’s waiting hands.

“There is no way you are able to lift something this heavy on your own that easily. What's the trick.” He demands from Toor and Al.

“Al made it in a way only he and I can lift it, for others it's super heavy since the magic isn't designed specifically for them.” Torr explains. “So sorry, you won't be able to use it at all.”

Eric’s expression turns so sad it almost shocks the other two boys, eyes cast to the ground, and Al can almost see ears on top of his head that look like those of a sad dog, shrouded in a cloud of misery.

Al helplessly looks over to Torr, but the boy just has a similar expression, guiltily trying and failing to come up with something to appease the boy.

“Maybe I can try making one for you too? It should be possible to do, maybe even before the lessons start.” Al tries to tell the black haired boy, desperately hoping to make Eric feel better.

He has never seen the other boy like this. But it shouldn't really be a surprise to him that someone from a knight family would love swords so much.

“Yeah! We can have them as a symbol of our group!” Torr suggests happily.

Al was kind of worried the blonde would be bothered by the fact that he won't be the only one with a magical blade made specifically for him, but of course he should not have worried about that. Someone like Torr would never be jealous about stuff like that.

“You would do that for me?” the Syford boy says with hope in his voice, looking up at Al.

“Yeah! I did it once, I can probably do it again!” Al tells him, already beginning to lay out plans in his head.

The meteor he has already started working on during the stress test won't be the right one to use. It doesn't fit Eric, so he will have to search for another one. The mage just hopes he finds one that fits his friends as well as Torr’s did for him.

As he starts planning he is suddenly grabbed in a tight hug by the young knight alongside Torr. “Thank you so much! I already can't wait for it!” He says with such a happy smile that Al mentally promises himself that he won't fail in making him a sword no matter what.

This bright smile is something he feels honor bound to protect. And he doesn't even want to become a knight.

Torr’s expression tells Al that the boy might be thinking something along the same lines.

The village boy points to some racks of training swords at the side of the battlefield. “Hey, let's have a small match! I want to show you how much better I have gotten!” He says, immediately getting an eager nod from Eric.

Al watches them get their weapons with a smile on his face, feeling himself get caught up in their enthusiasm.

‘I might as well start on Eric’s sword right now.’ He thinks to himself as he studies his friends jumping into combat, beginning to cast his own spell ripping open a small portal in front of himself.

Like last time he begins by searching for a fitting material, dismissing one after another (but this time saving potentially good ones for later) till he finally finds something that will work well.

At first he just puts it into storage since it doesn't feel as perfect of a fit as Torr’s blade, but after searching for many times longer than he did then compared to the time it took him to find the one for Torr, he gives up and accepts it the best he can get.

‘I shouldn't have expected to find such a perfect fit again. If I ever find something better, I could just make another one.’ Al thinks, drinking one of his potions.

He is about to start filling it with energy when he hears a familiar incantation from Torr between hurried breaths, barely having enough air for it between strikes.

“Oh lighting, grant me the strength of a thundering storm!” The call as his body begins to humm with static energy, giving off a slight glow, before slamming his training sword towards Eric again.

The black haired boy tries to block the strike, but there is far too much force behind it, throwing Erick backwards, rolling over the ground before skillfully standing up again, not leaving himself defenseless for longer than necessary.

To be honest, Al is always kind of impressed how good fighters his friends have actually become despite their young age.

“Since when were you able to use magic?!” Eric calls over to his opponent, a shocked expression on his face.

“Not that long. I only know three spells, but they are pretty useful!” Torr tells him. “Now, here is the second one! Oh lightning, give me the speed of surging electricity!” He calls, lighting flashing around his body like an armor, leaning forward for a charge.

Eric raises his sword, but it's already too late, Torr rushing towards him at an incredible speed, and with the power enhancement of his previous spell still flowing through him he knocks the training sword out of Eric's hand, flinging it through the air and making it slide over the ground.

The black haired boy raises his hands in defeat. “You got me. I really didn't expect that.” He says with a small smile.

Torr gives him a small smile before dropping down on his knees, the lighting around him dissipating as he lets out a loud groan, swaying dangerously like he would collapse any second.

“Are you okay?” Eric asks, instantly dropping down to his knees and stopping the boy from falling on his face by holding him by his shoulder.

“Yeah, I’m okay. Casting those spells is still taking quite a bit out of me, but I don't think I could have won otherwise. I’ll be okay in a minute.” He says tiredly.

“Well, it was still very impressive. Maybe I should try learning some magic too.” Eric says, sitting down beside Torr so the boy has someone to lean against.

The village boy gratefully takes the support, leaning his head on the young knight’s shoulder. 

“Sounds like a good idea. If you want, you can probably ask Al. He is very good at teaching you those kinds of things.” Torr says tiredly, but his breathing is slowly returning to normal again.

“Al probably has enough to do already. And he is working on a sword for me now. I don't want to bother him even more.” Eric says, a hand suddenly falling down on his shoulder, making him flinch in shock.

The young mage in question has sneaked up to him without either of the fighters noticing, giving them a fond look. “Don't worry, I would be glad to help you. It's really not a problem. It's not like I can work on the sword the entire day. Only until my magic is getting low.”

Eric looks a bit embarrassed, but eventually nods. “As far as I know my primary magic attribute is earth, but I never really used it so I’m not sure.”

“Well, I haven't actually tried it out yet, but my mom told me how to test someone’s nature. I can give it a try if you want.” Al asks, and when Eric doesn't say anything against it, the mage takes his friend's hand in his own.

The white haired closes his eyes, taking a deep breath as he blocks out everything except the hand lying on his own, concentrating on how it feels, the warm energy rushing inside of it and trying to identify it.

It doesn't take him long till he finds the cool feeling of earth, just like Eric says, but beside him is something else, more solid and cold, but not like ice, and when Al gently pushes against it with his own magic, it hums under his touch like a bell. 

The sturdy and sharp feeling of metal.

Slowly the boy opens his eyes again looking at his friends who seem to silently stare at him, taking a deep breath as his senses come to the surface again.

That somehow did not feel how he imagined it after his mother's explanation, but he has the feeling it worked out very well.

When he tells Eric about his other attribute, the knight seems to be excited about it.

To be honest, Al doesn’t know too much about metal magic himself, so he will research it in the library a bit, but when it comes to earth magic he is somewhat of an expert since it's one of the first categories of spells he focused on.

By now Torr has recovered from his exhaustion, urging Eric for another round, even if he probably won't be able to cast another spell as straining as an enhancement spell.

Eric of course agrees, Al watching them with a fond expression as he starts working on the sword again.

He is really glad he has his friends with him here.

Chapter Text

Al is walking through the hallways of the academy in an outfit that he thinks is too fancy but is the best one he has because his mom took away all the plainer looking outfits when she left, saying they don't fit his looks anymore.

(She went on a shopping spree in the city again, and since the medicine made by Aria worked so well he didn't have any reason he could excuse himself with. So  so many hours of shopping. It's just like what she had been doing with dad. It's still flashing in front of his eyes.)

At least Torr and Eric think the clothes suit him well.

It's the day of the entrance exams now, a bit short to the beginning of the actual school year, but he isn't going to complain. He could probably fail miserably and would somehow still get a place in the school because of his unique position.

Same for Eric and Torr, so this is mostly just a formality.

And even if it wasn't, Al has gotten to see the previous tests, or more specifically how incredibly easy they are.

The ones for the knight students are fully practically exercises all around combat capabilities, while the mage courses that Al is entering are split between a small theoretical part and a practical one.

Torr and Eric have already gone to theirs, leaving All alone for now.

He really wishes they could have gone together, because without any of them around the amount of looks he gets from everyone just seems to increase dramatically. The boy feels kind of bad for making fun of his father for how he disliked the constant attention.

‘Maybe I should ask him for tips on how to handle it next time we see each other.’

Al looks down on the piece of paper he has been given, assigning him to a group of students who are trying to take the exam.

Finding the room doesn't take him long, it being one he already passes every day when he goes to meet Aria for their daily checkups.

Al is actually really enjoying the company of the woman. She might definitely fall into the category of a mad scientist, that part of her personality becoming more and more apparent the longer the boy gets to know her, but she has some interesting ideas concerning magic that give him some amazing ideas on his own.

Additionally she is amazing when it comes to constructing magical devices and is willing to share her expansive knowledge with him.

Right now he doesn't have the resources to try to build any of the devices he has constructed on paper, but as soon as the school year begins he will get access to some of the institution's materials.

He honestly can't wait for it.

The now white haired boy sits down on the seat assigned to him, taking the writing feather prepared there into his hand and twirling it around a bit.

Getting used to writing with his non dominant hand after the incident took him a while, and his writing is still pretty ugly, all things considered, but despite all that it's still better looking than everything Eric and Torr produce.

‘Better than Elinora’s handwriting too, now that I think about it. Muscle brains, every single one of them.’

Like always when he is in crowds recently, the attention of everyone is on him, but for now no one is approaching him. He wonders how long it will stay that way.

It would be amazing to have Eric or Torr around as his personal shields, but the knight students and magic students don't share many lessons, only the basic education ones like math, history and etiquette.

It doesn't take long till the teacher walks into the room, an older lady with a confidence in her step that immediately reminds Alfred of Seria back at home, so he decides it's better not to make her angry in any way.

She sets the heavy stack of papers down on the front table with a loud bang as more and more children walk in, one specifically running in just as the bell rings.

The teacher waves her hand as she does a small chant, slamming the door shut with a spell. “Everyone to their seats! Then we'll begin the test!” She announced, the kid who nearly missed the test hurried to his seat as fast as he could .

The teacher uses a small spell as the stacks of paper fly over to the student, one neatly setting down on each student's desk.

“Does anyone have any questions?” She asks, into the room, but does not actually wait long enough that anyone could try to make them before continuing. “Then begin. You have an hour to finish as much of the material as you can.”

Al instantly turns his attention to the papers in front of him, taking the writing feather.

The first page is filled with some history questions about the kingdom, then some very simple math, before finally coming to the biggest part of the written test, magic theory.

But all of it is pretty simple for Al, mostly demanding some chants for specific elements, some problem solving  questions where you are given a situation and have to give a spell that would solve it, magic construction theory and the likes.

It barely takes him half the designated time to finish all the pages, even if he includes going over it for any mistakes. He did graduate college once after all, so math and other memorization of facts is not that hard to him.

‘And magic is kind of my specialty.’ The hardest thing was actually history, but even that is interesting because it reads like a fantasy novel to him. The only hard parts are remembering the unnecessarily long names of all the people.

Why does he even need to remember the fourth middle name of the king who conquered the south eastern mountain range from a goblin horde three hundred years ago? It all seems a bit unnecessary.

But all the nobles really care for every single of their names and titles, so it's inevitable. He is glad he himself has a simple name since both his parents were born as commoners.

With nothing better to do Al looks around the room at the other children who still scribble on their papers with various looks of panic and worry, only a handful actually looking any amount of confident.

There are all kinds of people here since the academy theoretically allows every kind of person to enter as long as they can pay the tuition fee, so some not as influential families either save up or get financed by some richer ones in return for future cooperation.

Having a capable mage indebted to you is very useful after all.

‘Torr can be glad that the knight academy barely does anything related to theoretical tasks, or he would probably despair.’ He thinks with a small giggle.

The young mage spends the remaining time watching his maybe classmates till eventually the bell rings again, to the great panic of most of the children, only a handful having finished writing up till now.

The teacher walks around the room to collect the papers as another person walks into the door, a young man with wild looking Marine blue hair, a wide smile on his face.

“Now everyone! To the training fields to show us what you can really do, not just boring paperwork!” He announces, punching his hand into the air before promptly getting a wet sponge thrown against his face by the old lady still collecting the tests.

But he doesn't seem to mind, casting a small spell to get the dirt out of his uniform as he leads the students through the hallways.

A look through the windows shows Al some of the other children applying to enter the school already out on the test field alongside the knight trainees, throwing various spells at some training dummies.

“So! Let me start by explaining what you have to do while we are walking!” The teachers say, turning toward the students so he is walking backwards.

“For the next test you will have to show us three different spells. One for a single target, one for use at range and one for covering a bigger area. Just do the best that you can with the spells you know, even if you don't have a perfect spell for it.” He says with a smile manages to calm some of the more nervous students down.

The open training field gives the group enough space to wait as the first one is called up to take the test, starting with how they have been sitting in the classroom, the kid who sat on the left most seat on the first row going first. (Al really didn't have much to do in that last half hour during the written test.)

On the testing field two other teachers are already waiting for them, both carrying wooden note boards, one of them casting a spell to raise some stones training dummies from the ground.

The young boy steps up to the marked ring on the ground, the nervousness flowing out of him in waves, but after a deep breath the shaking in his hands disappears, and he begins to speak a small incantation.

It's a simple fire spell, but well executed, the ball of flames flying through the air and crashing against the closer training dummies chest.

The only teacher who gives any signs of what he thinks is the man who leads the children here, giving the boy an approving thumbs up.

With another spell, a bigger fireball spell, the boy throws it at the group of targets, the ball of flames exploding in a small blaze as it hits the center target.

It doesn't destroy most of the dummies, but at least most of them are at least scorched. The boy looks a bit nervous at that, but does not panic until he completely misses the ranged target with his next spell.

He asks if he can get another try, but with an apologetic look the teacher tells him that everyone only gets one shot, but that he has done a pretty good job, so he shouldn't worry too much.

At first Al just thinks that the teacher is just trying to calm him down, because it might be a bit mean to think, but the boy’s spells were not that impressive.

Even Elinora could do this with a bit of training. Okay, a lot of training, but still, it's possible for her to achieve. And his sister is pathetic at magic!

But that opinion changes very soon as more and more potential students begin to take the test. 

Barely any of them manage to hit the targets three times, and those that do usually have so little power behind their spells that they don't even manage to crack the targets. 

But the standards for magic can't be that low, can they? 

That thought immediately brings him back to one that he had a while ago. 

He knows his sister is considered an incredibly good swordsman, not even for her age, just in general. 

And as much as Al would deny it as a start, his own obsession with magic is not that different from her obsession with sword fighting. Maybe even more so since he started training literally the night he was born. 

So maybe his perspective is a bit screwed? But no, Roomba and Count Melnar both managed to win against her, and she did never manage to win against dad. 

But dad is one of the kingdom's most famous swordsmen and the only reason Roomba isn't a higher ranking adventurer is (according to mom) because he is too reckless and prefers just exploring over actually completing missions. 

And the only other mage he has regular contact with is his mom, a former A rank adventurer. 

He doesn't finish the thought as the teacher's voice breaks his inner discussion. 

"Alfried Slowlet, you are next." The teacher says, and only after saying the name out loud does some recognition appear in his eyes. 

Up till now no one seems to have really noticed Al, everyone too distracted with either doing their work or panicking, but the moment his name was called the kids started looking around the area, one of those standing directly beside Al flinching in surprise as he spots the boy. 

Well, his anonymity was nice while it lasted. 

Al steps out of the crowd as the children murmur under themselves, turning to the teachers after taking another look at the targets.

"Should I hold back a bit, or…?" Al asks the teachers, making a vague hand motion. 

The teachers share a small number of looks, ranging from worry to excitement, before the one who has led the students here speaks up. 

"It's all reinforced with magic so it should hold, but please don't do anything too big. Just keep it simple." He tells Al, looking a bit excited. 

'Well, the higher ups probably want me to make a good impression, so let's do that.' 

He steps into the designated space and casts one of his space spells, doing the chant in his mind like always, moving his hand through the air and ripping open a portal. 

Immediately a handful of shooting stars fly out of it at an incredible speed, homing in on the stone dummy and melting it completely as they fly through it, only leaving behind a pile of molten stone. 

But he doesn't wait for a reaction from the teachers, already preparing the next spell, opening a portal over his head, aimed at the group of trying dummies, a meteor shouting out of it and crushing them under the boulder before it detonates in a wave of energy.

That leaves only the last target, standing on the other side of the training field.

The boy could use the same shooting star spell from before, but that would be boring, so what else could he do? Oh yeah, he still has that one.

Another portal appears, but this one is shining in a bright light, a beam of pure white energy shooting towards the last target while burning the ground under it, shattering it into smoldering pieces.

Al nods proudly at his work. This spell is based on a solar eruption of a blue star, but if anyone asks what it is called he will say it's a moon beam since no one really seems to understand planetary systems very well anyway, and it looks like one.

But it's still not strong enough.

He has been experimenting with his spells again trying to find one that might be strong enough to kill a monster on the level of the ant queen in case it appears again, but was unsuccessful till now.

His first thought on what could be strong enough has been creating a spell based around black holes, but he hasn't been able to construct a working one yet. Maybe it's because a black hole is a concept too complicated to properly understand with his knowledge, or simply because it is too strong or energy draining. 

Whatever the reason, he will need more time for that.

‘Maybe I should start with some smaller gravity based spells first. Maybe they will help me build a good basis I can later improve on.’

The young mage turns to the teachers who are frozen in place, staring at the craters, one having his mouth hang open before he closes it as he spots Al looking at him.

"Th-Thank you. You can go for now.” He says, one of his colleagues rebuilding the area with an earth spell while the other furiously scribbles down notes, but not on the papers where all the student information is kept.

Al can barely contain snort. ‘They are just like Aria when she saw my magic for the first time. Are all researchers in this school like this?’

As he asks himself that he realizes he doesn't even know if Aria is a teacher or just one of the independent or state mages doing their research here. He will have to ask her when he meets her this afternoon.

The white haired boy walks back to the rest of the students who watch him with a wide array of emotions, but pretty much all of them are positive.

It's one thing he really has to give to this kingdom. If back in his home dimension a child had as much power as he does, many people would look at him in fear, but thanks to whatever propaganda they are doing around here there is none of that.

The boy is really grateful for that, since it makes his life quite a bit easier.

As soon as he reaches the crowd of children again they flood him from all sides, many of them beginning to talk to him about all kinds of topics.

One wants to know about his fight with the monster (he is definitely not yet ready for that), one wants some tips about magic (he could, but he won't teach anyone until he is sure they are good people), and one wants to know if he is already engaged to anyone (which is just, wow).

Thankfully he doesn't have to answer any of them as the teachers break up the crowd. “Hey, come on kids. If you want to talk to him, give it your all during the test, and maybe you will end up in the same class as him. Then you can talk as much as you want!” 

That seems to be enough for most of them at the moment, and the ones who still want to continue talking right now won’t do it either in risk if making the teachers grading them angry, so they stay quiet for now, even if that doesn't stop any of them from staring at Al the whole time.

There are some outliers among the students that Al actually hopes make it into the school. A boy with some very strong wind magic that sadly has very bad control at this moment, but that is something easily fixed since it mostly looks like it's because of inexperience.

And a girl using water magic with so much control that every single bit of the spell seems to be executed with absolute perfection, but is simply lacking in power.

All in all, it doesn't take that long, the prospect of studying with Al seems to motivate the potential students even more than before.

‘Dad can really be happy he got his own territory as a reward so he has somewhere to escape to and wasn't dropped directly into this lion’s den of rabid fans.’

Thankfully the remaining tests don't take that long, even if one noble kid complains that he doesn't get a second try takes up some time, and soon the test comes to an end.

“The results will be out by tomorrow evening, so come back to the school during that time and search for your names on the notice boards. If you pass you can get your school uniforms and books from the main office of the school. And don't worry, we always put up direction signs so you can't miss it.” The teacher announces.

Al doesn't really need to listen. He already has his uniform and knows his class (a hooray for special treatment!) so he sneaks off while nobody is watching him, needing to use some spells to distract some of the more attentive students before teleporting away.

He already made up a meeting place where he will wait for Eric and Torr so they can go into town together in celebration, eagerly waiting for their arrival.

Torr was already so excited for finally exploring the city, not yet having a proper chance to between all the preparing for school and helping Al. The swordsman really deserves a good break, so Al even got some coins so they can have some fun together.

Al just hopes this doesn't turn into another shopping trip.

___________

It does turn into a shopping trip, but this time it's completely Al’s fault.

It all started when the young mage found Torr staring at an (admittedly very cool looking) outfit in one of the windows lining the side of the shopping street. The swordsman of course denied that, adding that he had already gotten so much stuff recently anyway, but Al was having none of that.

And after Eric helped him pressure Torr into putting it on, they found out that it did indeed fit the boy very well. At this point one could just throw Torr into a noble party and no one would suspect him to be a commoner. Especially since he has been making some good work in catching up in his etiquette lessons that are demanded in this school.

But since they already had Torr put on one outfit, with so many others hanging all around them, made from the same cut at the first that really suited him, Eric and Al just couldn’t resist bringing more for him to try on.

It's a good thing that Al currently isn’t short on finances.

With him killing the ant queen, all of its fallen brood were considered his property, and his parents have taken care of selling off the hundreds of corpses littering their land for their child.

Apparently they can make some very good, lightweight armor or weapons, and while their flesh isn’t edible for humans, it can be used as a very high quality fertilizer and medicine can be made from their poison glands.

‘And mom said I will probably get even more money once they make my reward for killing it official, just like they did for dad.’

So money really shouldn't be a problem for quite a while.

Of course after a while Torr insisted that the other two try out some stuff too, and after successfully convincing Eric to model for a bit (who also looked like the clothes were made for him. Every single one of his friends looks like they will grow up to be models) before the two unite their energy to make Al the one who has to try out all different kinds of clothes.

Maybe it was just his imagination, but he has the distinct feeling his modeling round took quite a bit longer than that of the other two.

And they keep bringing him outfits that look far too cool to fit someone like him, all noble uniforms lined with white fur because ‘it fits your hair amazingly’ (the shopkeeper seemed to agree to that).

Al almost didn’t want to buy them, but then Torr did his puppy eyes thing on him, and he couldn't say no, so they ended up walking out of the shop with bags filled with outfits.

At least the shop owner was kind enough to give them a discount since they bought so much, under the condition that they wear one of the outfits they just bought for the rest of the day as some kind of marketing, and seeing how much agreeing to that deal brought down the price, the three couldn't refuse.

Not that the other two were paying anyway, no matter how they insisted they had enough money with them. Al has the money to buy stuff for his friends now, so he is going to do that.

Torr especially was insisting that he could pay, maybe because of the hefty salary he is now getting, officially being employed as Al’s personal servant, since the mage needed to have someone according to the other nobles because of his unique circumstances, and if he had to hire someone anyway, he would do it with someone he can trust completely.

And Al is making sure Torr is paid very well, even if the swordsman tried to insist he didn't need that much money and would be glad to help him for free.

But that is a big no for the reincarnated boy. Everyone is getting good pay around here as long as he lives.

He will not exploit anyone for work under no conditions.

After Torr was convinced enough not to complain that Al was paying for everything, the trio continued exploring the streets again in their new outfits.

It has been a while Al felt so overdressed, the last time being when he was on that parrade and the following party.

And god, people are staring! But that could just be because they recognize Al, since they already did that before they had the change of clothes. He is trying his best to just ignore that fact, since he can't exactly change it at this point.

But that's not nearly the end of the shopping trip, because by some wink of fate that Al is very grateful for, they happened upon a shop that seems to be trading artifacts of noble families that no longer have interest in them.

And one of its most recents deliveries seems to have been the personal magic item collection of a newly dead nobleman.

Al is pretty sure the family didn't have much of an idea how valuable some of these items are.

Producing modern artifacts is relatively easy, but mages tend to be very secretive with their magic object building processes, specifically the ways they construct the magic circle powering them.

Many usually take their secrets to their graves or keep it contained as a family secret, so the only way to find out about their methods is finding their work and reconstructing the unique magic circles they have hidden under the bulk of normal ones, hiding the true gems produced by some genius minds.

And thanks to his time spent learning about them with Aria Al at least has a basic overview of the common magic circles that are publicly known, or at least most of them, so when he spots one he cannot identify it is probably a special one.

Of course special doesn't always mean better, but usually they have at least some interesting starting points for their magic circle, and if it works at all it is already impressive enough with how complicated building unique spell matrixes is.

It's like writing a computer program with geometry as a language, if Al had to compare it to something from his home world, but even that feels like it's a very superficial explanation.

Walking through the rows of magical objects Al checks every single of devices’ magic circles with great care, buying every single one that he doesn't recognize, humming happily as he dumps another object into his friends’ arms before moving on to test the next.

He doesn't even notice the half dead expressions on his friends faces as they get dragged along to the next magical device.

“Hm, I think those are all unique ones.” Al eventually says after inspecting the least machine, hearing a sigh of relief from his two companions.

He turns around to complain about that reaction, but as soon as he sees his friends carrying so much stuff in their arms that Al can barely see their faces, his comment dies in his throat.

“Sorry guys.” The mage says awkwardly, rubbing the back as his neck as he feels his ears burn with embarrassment. “Let's get home.”

The items are, just like Al thought, really cheap for what they are worth (or at least he thinks are worth) even if to both Torr and Al as an average worker in his previous life it still hurts to use up this much money at once.

Eric doesn't seem to be particularly bothered by it, just complaining about all the stuff he has to carry as his arms are loaded with bags.

Torr opens the door for his two friends, being the only one of them that has a free hand among all of them, when Eric’s stomach lets out a loud growl that sounds very close to that of a hungry lion. (Are there lions in this world? Al has never heard of one.)

“We can get something to eat as soon as we get back.” He tells his black haired friends with a small laugh, but as if to respond to that his stomach makes another growl that is even louder than the first, Eric giving him a suffering look.

Al looks around the street, his face turning into a smile as he sees a food stall at the side. “How about we pick up something small for you on the way?” He asks, immediately getting a nod from the boy in response.

The stall sells something that looks similar to a mix between crepes and waffles from his home world, bound around fresh fruit and cream that probably won't contain as much sugar as Al would like, but it definitely still smells very delicious.

‘This world seems to really be sparse on sugar. Maybe I can do something about that. Grandpa was asking me if I had another idea for making money anyway.’

He has been exchanging some letters with his grandparents over the last days, doing his best to calm them down a bit. Seeing them as worried as they were during his visit at their house is something he still isn't able to get out of his mind.

‘I’m pretty sure I still remember the basis of how sugar extraction from beets works. It isn't really that difficult, after all. I just hope they have a good equivalent to the Sugar beet.’

He looks over when Torr comes back from the stall, three warm waffles in his hand that steam slightly in the cold air, about to reach out and hand them over to his friends when he realizes that they don't have the free hands for it.

He looks unsure about what to do, but before he can say anything Al bends down and takes a bite from one of the waffles, sighting a bit in content. He didn't realize how hungry he was up to now, completely distracted by their shopping trip, but as soon as they started talking about food it all came rushing back to him.

The mage hears something sounding like a happy outcry somewhere down the street that somehow catches his attention through the sound of the townsfolk, but when he looks in that direction he doesn't see anything, so he just ignores it.

Besides them Eric lets out a sound that can only be described as miserable, looking over to the blonde with pleading eyes.

Torr doesn't hesitate to hold it out to the black haired boy with a welcoming expression, the knight greedily taking a bite maybe three times the size of Al’s, the waffle brought for him nearly halfway gone already.

Torr chuckles a bit as he takes a bite from his own before holding it out to Al again who takes another one too, humming as the wonderful flavor fills his mouth. The guy who made these really knows what he is doing. Erna would love these.

Al looks over to Eric when he hears a sad sound from him, and it becomes pretty obvious why when he spots that his waffle is already completely gone, looking down on the empty space like a kicked puppy.

“You can eat the rest of mine.” Al offers without even thinking about it. God, why is he so weak to both of his friends' puppy eyes? But it's definitely worth giving up his meal when Eric gives him a wide smile before he takes a big bite from Al’s waffle.

Torr chuckles a bit in amusement, taking a bite from his own waffle before offering it to Al, the mage taking a grateful bite as the three huddle closer together as they pass through the crowd, leaning into each other’s warmth.

Like this, the cold wind of the winter does not bother him at all.

___________

“Do you have anything? Your books? Your sword? Your writing materials?” Al asks Torr, making the mint haired boy groan loudly.

“Yes, for the hundredth time, I have. We already went through this yesterday!”

To be honest, Al isn't sure why he is so nervous about entering school again. For him it's not even the first time!

Maybe it's because he doesn't want to make a bad impression of his family? But that was already decided by his actions during the noble party and him killing the ant queen, so that can't be it.

‘So maybe it's because I’m entering a magic school? Yeah, that's probably it.’ It's something like a childhood dream after all. 

Weirdly enough, the more nervous Al got the calmer it seems to make Torr, the boy watching his friend pacing around the room in panic with an amused and fond expression.

“You know that even if you do something wrong the royal family will make sure to clean it up to save their image, right?” Torr tells him, leaning against the door with his backpack in hand.

“I know, it's just-” Al starts but is interrupted by a knocking on the door, Torr wasting no time in opening it to reveal Eric behind it, wearing his knight uniform just like Torr does, his new sword proudly hanging at his side.

In the sheath like it is now the blade isn't visible, but Al knows the blade inside perfectly, black like the infinite void of the stars but the edge glowing with the brilliant red light of a shooting star burning in the atmosphere, the hilt gleaming with a platinum like color.

He called it the Asteroid blade, fitting with the magic Eric has started learning, and the black haired boy seems to absolutely love it. 

Seeing his best friends be so happy about the presents Al has given them has his stomach flutter with warm happiness he can't really describe.

Eric gives Al a small wave as a welcome, bumping his shoulder against Torr’s as he points out of the door. “We should be going now or we will be too late for the ceremony. We don't want to be late on our first day.” He tells the two, leaning against the door frame just like Torr.

To be honest, it's unfair how well the uniforms fit the two of them.

With how flashy and noble it looks these two could be idols preparing for a stage performance. The uniform for the mage school in comparison feels a bit plain, mostly focused on functionality.

Don't get me wrong, it's not bad, but it could look cooler in his opinion. It's a magic school after all! It has every right to be flashy!

Anyway, Eric is right, so Al takes his bag (he would prefer a backpack but those are harder to use with only one proper shoulder left) walking out of the door with one of his friends at each of his sides.

The hallways of the dorm are filled with other students, all hurrying in the same direction of the trio, towards the main halls of the school.

The opening ceremony is apparently shared between both schools, symbolizing the unity between both the magical and martial specialty of the country, so Al can stay with his friends pretty much till the last moment.

Torr gives him a small wave as they split off, disappearing into the crowd of other knight recruits, Al sitting down on a free chair in the mage section at random.

Seats aren't assigned here, so he just takes a seat on the left most side of the front line so that the students won't immediately see him when they enter and he only has to sit beside one stranger. He is just happy that he managed to talk the nobles out of making him hold a speech at the start of the ceremony.

Not that it's working at all. After the parade his face is pretty well known, at least from pictures, so eyes just keep finding their way to him from all sides of the cramped hall.

‘Maybe I should try to design some magic that can disguise me. But what would I even base that on? Should I try to distort the light around me? Make people not see me as what I am with mental manipulation? Or should I just do a physical mask?’

By now the halls have become more packed, a small horde of children gathering at the side not far from him, whispering to each other as they watch Al.

If they are trying to be discreet, they aren't doing a very good job.

Among the crowd Al spots some of the kids that were in his testing group, including the wind mage boy and the water mage girl that caught his attention before. He is glad they made it. They seem to be very talented.   

On a small impulsive decision he waves over to them, because if Al has to have someone sitting beside him he doesn't want it to be some arrogant or asshole noble, and these two seemed to be of the good kind.

The two look surprised, but hurry over to him, even if they just stand beside Al like a pair of deer caught in the headlights.

“You two were in the same group as me when we were taking the entrance test, right?” Al asks with a friendly smile, even if he already knows the answer. “The spells you used were really well executed.”

“T-Thank you.” The boy stammers as both of them bow.

“Sorry, I don't think I remember your names.” He says a bit awkwardly, gesturing for them to sit down, which they thankfully do. Al had his doubts with how stiff they looked.

“I’m Laila Evergrand and this is my friend Mark.” She introduces herself, politely bowing her head, the boy doing the same after spotting her do the gesture. “I’m surprised you remembered us.”

She barely manages to finish her sentence when a magical light ignites on the stage in front, a group of people stepping out on it, a mix of some teachers, an older lady he knows to be the principal, and some students who probably are the student representatives.

To Al’s surprise he spots Shelika among them, bringing a small smile to his face. He knew she was talented, but this is a surprise even to him. To be honest, with her personality he would have expected her to boast that position.

Maybe he had a wrong first impression of her? The circumstances under which they first met wasn't really ideal.

(But then again she also chased him and Eric through the city while shooting fireballs at them.)

The principal steps up to the new students with a dignified and controlled smile on her face as the crowd quiets down, her eyes moving over the rows for a moment before she starts speaking.

“I happily welcome all of you here in our great academy. As the principal of this school I’m happy to welcome all of you as our newest students.”

Al feels a bit bad for it, but he feels himself block out the speech after a while. He heard his fair share of speeches in his life, and this one isn't much different. If the lights weren't created by magic and the uniforms were less special, he could have almost thought this was an entrance ceremony from his own world.

And he had that before, so not really interested.

It only really gets interesting when they are talking about the institutions of the school and some of the things concerning how the lessons will start, but Al already knows most of that already.

“Now, I won't stop you any longer. I hope you are able to learn to your heart's content.” The principal finishes, the audience beginning to clap, and Al realizes very awkwardly that he really doesn't know how he should do it.

How do people with one hand clap?! Do they just pat themselves on the leg to make a similar sound? He has no idea!

Al just awkwardly sits in silence till they stop, trying his best to not attract any attention to himself while wallowing in awkwardness before turning to Laila and Mark.

“So, which classes are you in? I’m in class one.” He asks the other two. There are four classes this year and an equal amount of knight classes.   

“We are too! Do you want to go together?” The brown haired boy asks, looking a little bit less nervous than before as they begin to walk out of the audience hall.

“Sure.” Al says, and leads them to the room. It's not that far away after all, and he has a pretty good idea how the school is laid out after the time he has already spent around here, but the more he explores the giant building the more he feels like he will never truly understand it.

As they walk Al speaks with Laila and Mark, the two introducing themselves properly.

They seem to be the daughter and one of the servants (read sponsored talents) of a Viscount family of one of the inner territories, placed west from Nord’s territory.

To be honest, Al hasn't really heard of them before, even if he got very close to their territory when he travels to the capital, so they can’t be anything special, because otherwise his mother would have told him about it.

Considering the family's rank of the girl Al should probably have talked kinder to her than he did, but she doesn't seem to have much of a problem with his informal approach. And seeing how she interacts with the commoner boy at her side, she seems to be more on the lax side.

It doesn't take long till they reach the classroom, among the first ones to find it, so they have all the seats to choose from.

After a bit of consideration Al places himself down on the first row, since being closer to the teacher might mean getting bothered less by other students. Or at least he hopes so. 

The other two sit down beside him, Laila giving him a hesitant look as more students flow in. “I wanted to ask you since I saw it at the entrance test, what kind of magic are you using? I have never seen anyone use spells like that before. Only if it's okay, of course.”

Mark nods in agreement, some of the other students also stopping in their movements to listen in.

Well, Al would have to explain it sooner or later anyway, so he can at least give them a small rundown. If their teacher will turn out even somewhat close to Aria, he will have to explain it again anyway.

"It's not a surprise that you don't recognize it. As far as I’m aware, I’m the only one who has been able to use this kind of magic. I have always known it as far as I remember. Up to this point I have been calling it space magic up till now.” He explains, the other children just staring at him.

‘I guess the nobles have not published that certain information yet.’

“It's a pretty strong magic, but it's also very difficult to find out how to properly use it if you have to find out from scratch since I have nothing to reference it, so I’m not sure I’m actually using it to its full potential.” He says a bit awkwardly.

“What can you do with it?” A voice comes from the window behind Al’s back and the boy turns around in shock to see a young man climb in through the now open window, a curious look on his face.

“Oh, right, hello everyone! I’m your teacher for this year. You can call me Keira. But most importantly, what about your magic?” He asks as he puts a stack of documents on the table before hurrying closer to the boy.

Al blinks at him for a moment, before letting out an amused huff. Aria reacted not that differently when it came to explaining his magic. Might as well properly explain it now and get it over with.

“At this point I have found out two main functions. The first one is spatial manipulation, like opening storage pockets and teleportation.” He starts explaining, opening up a portal and taking out a rock he had stored in it, before teleporting it to the teachers table.

“And the other one is the one I used during the training exercise, based on things coming from space. Like magic based on stars, meteors and the moon.” He tells them as he opens a small portal that releases a handful of small shooting stars that circle around his palm before evaporating when he closes it.

The only thing breaking the silence after he finishes is the furious scribbling of his teacher trying to write down everything he just heard.

The red haired man looks about to say something when the bell rings, and while he looks a bit disappointed to stop here, he turns to the rest of the class, clapping his hands to get their attention.

“Everyone take a seat, then we can start our lessons.” He says, walking up to the blackboard in front, shoving the notes he took on space magic into his pocket.

Al takes out his books from his pocket dimension, laying them out on the table in front of him with a small smile on his face. He wonders how school will be in this world.

_______

Al teleports to the main entrance of the school with a wide smile on his face after having said his goodbyes to Mark and Laila, leaning against a tree beside the main walkway where he agreed to meet up with Torr and Eric after the lessons ended.

He casts a small ball of light using his space magic that floats around him like a miniature sun to cast away some of the cold winter air.

Nothing really important happened today, but that's to be expected from the first day. Still, the anticipation of what is to come was more than enough to keep Al’s attention.

They talked a bit about planning, how the lessons will be organized, including the fact that by the end of the week Al will finally be able to start working on his first magic tools. He can't wait for it.

When the boy hears a group of steps approach down the path he looks up to spot the knight students walking out of their training field, so the young mage pushes some magic into his eyes to search the crowd for his friends.

It doesn't take long till he spots them, the two of them walking side by side, probably discussing battle strategies because they both have serious expressions on their faces and Al really hasn't seen them look like that any other time.

(The two can get really stubborn when it comes to that. It's actually quite funny to watch when they try to stare each other down like big puppies.)

“Torr! Eric!” Al calls over to his friends, waving his hand to get their attention, the two looking to his direction and the serious expressions on their faces disappearing instantly, the boys running over to their friend.

Some of the other students look between them in surprise, so the white haired boy assumes the two didn't tell their classmates about their link to him yet.

“So, how was the first day?” He asks his friends, Torr giving him a wide smile.

“It was fun. Our teacher is amazing! We already got to spar a bit with the other students. And he even said we are allowed to use our spells in combat.” Torr tells him, Eric nodding in agreement.

Eric has been working hard on his magic too, concentrating on mastering a small number of useful spells just like Torr, and with some support from Al he has made some great progress already.

The mage let out a small laugh, bumping his shoulder against those of his friends as they placed themselves on each of his sides. “Of course you would like it when you get to fight on your first day. Your teacher sounds like someone Elinora would get along with very well.” 

Torr lets out an amused huff of agreement before his stomach lets out a loud growl.

“Let's grab something to eat. I heard some of the others fawning about a meal in the cafeteria that I don't think we have tried out yet.” Eric tells them, the others agreeing instantly.

Al watches them theories about the food like a mage would about a breakthrough in their projects, all serious in a way that makes him unable to hold back his giggles for long, the two swordsmen looking over to him with annoyed expressions that don't reach their eyes, and soon they start laughing alongside him.

Maybe Al should try to replicate another dish from his world for them again.

Chapter Text

Al lets out a deep breath, watching as it condensates in the cold air in front of him to form a small white cloud.

The winter has really started now, having taken longer than it did last year. Far longer actually, considering they should be closer to spring break at this point than the beginning of winter.

Maybe the temperatures won't even fall enough for it to snow this time around, which is good considering it still can pose a danger to some of the poorer families in this medieval world.

Al would really like to do something against that sooner rather than later, maybe with some widely available heating magic tools, but a cheap production of them would be far above his or even the country's capabilities at the moment.

‘And it would probably destroy the firewood industry if there is an immediate change like that. It would be bad to rip apart an entire business branch without giving them time to adapt.’

He looks around to the other students before another cold gust of wind rushes around him, making him retreat further into the warm and fluffy clothes he is wearing.

The white haired mage really wishes he had his personal heaters called Torr and Eric with him right now. At least the outfit they had picked out for him during one of their shopping trips is just as warm as it looks, the white fur it's adorned with holding away much of the cold.

With a small frown Al rolls his shoulder, or rather not-shoulder where his arm is missing.

It has been hurting since the rapid weather shift, just like the boy has read old injuries do. Torr and Eric (worrywarts that they are) tried to convince him to take a break, but Al doesn’t want to waste any time over a bit of pain when he could be learning more about magic tools.

It's not like it will just stop hurting every time it gets colder, so he better get used to it fast.

Al has really questioned why they would start a school year around this time till Eric gave him some explanation.

During the winter most people cannot do their usual work anyway, even most monsters being less active to avoid freezing, so they have quite a number of free mages able to work as teachers. And with such a surplus of teachers all the students can be taught on a more individual level.

Once the students know the basics it will be easier and they will require less attention, which will overlap with the time when the teachers are needed outside the school again.

And keeping those giant halls of the academy warm certainly isn't that difficult with so many mages around that are capable of using fire magic.

Today is finally the day they will start working on creating magic devices. Al really hopes he can start building his own right away, but all things considered he will probably be stuck with going over the basics again.

‘Maybe I can convince the teacher to let me start working immediately by showing them the projects I have been working on.’

Because if there was one thing that all the mages here seem to have in common, it's their thirst for knowledge, and Al’s current project is mostly based around his space magic, aka something new. There is a good chance that his teachers won't let the chance to see his work first hand slip through their fingers.

Al enters the room they are learning in today with a happy hop in his steps, already feeling the impatience swell up at him as his eyes travel over the walls filled with tools and the shelves loaded with materials of all kinds, reaching up all the way to the high ceilings.

Laila and Mark seem to already be here, waving Al over to their usual seats impatiently, and the white haired boy has just enough time to sit down when the door to the room is slammed open.

“Hellooo everyone!” Comes a voice from the entrance of the room as a familiar figure strides in, her arms filled with boxes, letting them heavily drop down on the teachers table in front as if it wasn't already cluttered with all kinds of tools and materials.

“Aria? Wait, are you the teacher?” Al asks in confusion, getting a wide grin from the woman.

“It was supposed to be a surprise, and judging from your expression a good one.” She says as she begins to take out the tools Al has seen in her lab many times out of the boxes.

Mark and Laila give their friends a questioning look, but aren't surprised at their teacher's demeanor. Aria isn't much weirder than the other teachers they have met up to this point.

All of them are either crazy or the most stuck up people Al has ever met. No in between.

The young mage turns to his friends, pointing towards their teacher. “This is Aria. She is the mage who has been taking care of treating the injuries I got from my fight with the ant empress.”

That's the official name that has been given to the oversized version of the regular ant queen monster. Simple but effective, but Al has to admit it kind of feels underwhelming compared to how dangerous that monster was.

Aria gives her two new students a smile as the bell rings, the woman turning her attention to the entirety of the class.

“I see everyone is present. Good! Because today you will have the pleasure to find out about the wonderful invention that is magical devices!” She says happily, pulling out one of her more recent devices from one of the boxes that she had recently told Al about.

Aria’s lesson is just as enthusiastic in her teachings as she is in privat, and Al feels himself get dragged along by her enthusiasm.

He doesn't get to start on any of his projects yet, but he finds that he doesn't particularly mind when he gets the chance to explain some of the other projects he has been working on and get to show off the magical devices he got to buy not that long ago.

One of the other students seems to share the same interest about magic tools with Al and Aria, and has a similarly good understanding of the concept. She even explained one of the concepts of the construction in a way that made Al have a better understanding of that area in a way Aria wasn't able to before.

Her name is Dia, and she is actually one of the students that is in one of the smaller training groups that the students were divided in.

During the start of the year the class will be divided into smaller groups to get some more individual care from the teachers while they have the personal to do so until spring begins, so students that already know the basics don't have to repeat them.

When the magic tool creation lessons eventually ends, Al feels like barely any time has passed at all, but his stomach and the bell tells him that it is already lunchtime by now.

Al looks around the cafeteria for Torr and Eric, but he doesn't spot them among the crowds, so the teacher is probably taking them on a longer excursion again.

It's something he has done yesterday too, ordering some food from the cafeteria beforehand and then just doing an endurance exercise with all the students for as long as he can and then eating somewhere down in the forests with the students till they continue training.

Even Eric and Torr dropped into their beds from exhaustion after that first evening, Al warming their aching muscles with some of his spells to help them relax, but according to them most of the other students were off much worse.

Still, not having them around is kind of disappointing. They have been getting along very well with Mark and Laila too.

Dia eats with them too, the meal filled with her and Al’s comments about the projects they are working on at the moment, Mark and Laila listening to them in amusement till they eventually finish their meals to hurry to the next lesson, even if Al would much rather avoid the cold air outside.

The group of four students steps out into their designated training field, on the way joined by the last member of their group (a noble kid that Al honestly don't know much about because he always seems to stay in the background) and already from the distance they can spot the familiar red hair of their homeroom teacher.

As soon as the man spots the approaching students he punches his fist into the air like a gesture of victory, a wide smile on his face.

“Yes! I got the Starlight Savior!” He cheers loudly before realizing that the students are watching him, his ears getting a bit red in embarrassment as he clears his throat.

“I’m sorry for that. I’m happy to teach all of you of course, but getting to first hand see a new type of magic is a chance not many ever have the pleasure of experiencing.” He says in an almost professional voice that would be far more convincing if Al had not seen him climb though the window every second day instead of taking the door like a normal person.

To the white haired boy’s surprise the other students nod in agreement to his statement, not offended in the slightest. All of them are acting like real mages already.

“So everyone! You are one of the groups that already has some more advanced education concerning magic. So, first I would like to test all of your primary attributes, even if they are tested already just to make sure.” He says, casting a small fire spell that acts like a dome around them to cast away some of the cold air.

“Should I help? I have tested the attribute of one of my friends before.” Al offers, getting a thoughtful look from his teacher.

“Hm, you can if you want to train it, but I would have to do it again anyway to make sure you are correct. Still, if everyone is okay with it both Al and I can go over it so we have two opinions on it. Testing someone’s affinity is more art than science after all. There aren't exact borders that help us categorize it.” The teacher explains.

“So, who wants to go first?” He asks into the round, and after a moment of silence Mark steps forward.

“So, what do I have to do?” The student asks a bit hesitantly.

“Just hold out your hand and stay calm. We will do the rest. It won't take long.” Keira says, kneeling down to the kid before taking the smaller hand in his own, closing his eyes and becoming silent as ice, just like Erna did when she tested Al.

It's actually a bit surprising to see their teacher look so serious and concentrated with how he usually is always smiling and runs around full of energy.

After a while he opens his eyes again, his usual relaxed expression making its way to his face again, before turning to Al. “I think I have found something, but I’ll let you test first to make sure I don't influence your opinion.”

The white haired boy gives his teacher a nod, taking his friend's hand and closes his eyes, just like last time blacking out everything around him to concentrate on the boy in front of him, slowly letting himself sink into his energy.

It doesn't take him long to find the core of his friend's magic, glowing with a welcoming energy as if it was expecting Al.

And yeah, it is definitely a wind attribute like his friend has told Al over the last day, but being right beside it like this, it somehow feels more complicated than that.

There are streams of flowing air, but protected in their center is a ball of, well … it feels like a steady emptiness, sustained by the wind.

Al would like to get closer to take a better look (or rather feeling), but something tells him that it won't be a good idea, so he keeps his distance from it to observe it, but after not finding anything to grasp on he slowly pulls back into his own body.

Resurfacing is like opening his eyes after a long fall, taking in a deep breath as he steadies himself for a moment as he looks over to his teacher, who somehow looks a bit shocked.

“Uhm, Al, where have you learned how to test someone’s magic attribute?” Keira asks, his shoulders tense.

“I tried to copy it after seeing my mom do it. Did I do something wrong?” The white haired boy asks in a worried voice. He hopes he didn't accidentally hurt Mark.

His teacher seems to contemplate for a moment before answering, but even then he seems unsure.

“Well, technically no. The method you used differently is able to determine someone’s nature, very clearly so, but it's kind of risky for the user since they normally get hurt by the fact that they let their own magic insert the foreign magic of another body unprotected. But seeing as you seem to be fine, it doesn't appear to be a problem to you. Are you feeling okay?”

Al searches his body and magic for a moment before nodding. “Nothing out of the ordinary. I honestly can't understand why it should have an injury from something like this.”

“Um, if I can throw in a comment, Al’s magic felt very different to yours even before he reaches deeper.” Mark tells his teacher. “When he touched my magic felt like it was getting drained away, or more like flowing over into an empty space. It was a bit exhausting, but nothing else.”

Keira notes that down, tapping his writing feather against his lips as he lets out a curious hum.

“Hm. On the top of my head I would theorize that it is linked to your space magic then. It does give off that feeling of an infinite space that could just swallow magic.” He says as he scribbles down some notes. “This requires further testing, but first, what did you think his magic is?”

“Wind. Definitely wind. But there is something more to it that I can't really place. Like there is an empty vortex in its center. What is that?” Al asks curiously.

To his surprise, his teacher shrugs. “I agree with the wind apart, but for the second, I have no clue. You definitely reached deeper than me, so I will just say that you probably trust your judgment on this one. From your explanation I sadly don't have an area of magic that immediately comes to mind. Do any of you have an idea of an advanced magic that could fit the description?” He asks all the other students.

They all shake their heads after a moment of consideration, but Al isn't so fast.

‘Air magic but not actually air. A feeling of nothingness. Could that be something like vacuum? It usually is attributed to wind in games that include it.’ But he has never heard of that kind of magic in this world before, and how high is the chance that he just happened to stumble on the person who will originate it? Except this is some of god’s doings.

‘Well, no point in theorizing. Let's try to make a spell and see if it's easier for Mark to use.’

He opens a portal and pulls out an apple as a training dummy, the others watching him curiously as he activates his magic.

‘Nothing big or complicated. Just a simple test. Like a candle flame. Or a gust of cool air. You can do that even without it being your main affinity.’

The incantation is very short in his head, and moments later he feels the wind around the apple respond, pulling away from the fruit, and immediately it explodes outwards under the missing pressure.

‘So air magic definitely can make a vacuum.’ He thinks as he turns to the others who look at him in a mix of surprise and confusion.

He gives them a very short rundown of what he did, until Rex, the usually silent noble kid interrupts him.

“Wait, so let me get this straight, you just invented a spell out of nothing?” He questions, a disbelieving look on his face.

“Technically? Yes, but this is pretty much just the equivalence to making a new candle light spell. They aren't exactly hard to make. There are so many variants of those it's ridiculous.” Al tells him, the other nodding in agreement after he hears that.

His teacher watches the exchange with a big smile on his face, turning to Mark again. “So, wanna try it out?” Keira asks, the boy immediately nodding in response.

Al takes out another apple and places it on the ground as he tells Mark the incantation, fishing out that apparently the word vacuum is not something any of them know, but Al manages to convince them that he knows it the same way he does his space magic, because they are related after all.

Still, the young wind mage seems to get it, and immediately begins his cast.

The startup takes a bit longer than it did for Al, the air taking a while longer to flow away, but the result is nearly the same, even if A’s magic power should be far higher than that of his friend.

The apple breaks open with a loud crunching sound, definitely more intense than it did when Al cast the spell, scattering over the ground around it.

“I did it!” Mark cheers, jumping in the air a bit before turning to Al. “You are definitely correct. This spell just feels so right. No other spell has felt so good to me before.” He says, impatiently hopping in place. “Do you have any other spells like this one?”

Luckily Al does not have to answer as Keira does it for him.

“Now, don't pressure your fellow student like this. You can ask him about this later, for now I would like to test out something. Al, do you think you could test another person too?” The red haired man asks, getting a nod from the space mage.

“Good, then moving on to the next one.” Keira says as he takes Elein’s hand, once again concentrating to find out her nature before letting Al do the same.

He lets himself sink into her magic, even if he has to admit he is a bit nervous knowing that what he has been doing would hurt another person, but the worries are instantly washed away as he is surrounded by the calming feeling of her water magic.

It somehow reminds Al more of a deep ocean than a river or lake that he usually associates with water magic. It's definitely water, but still different enough to be notable, but not as unique as ice.

It's somehow cold, heavy but also calmingly silent and serene at the same time, it's hard to describe. But for the prickling feeling that he can feel in his mouth he definitely knows its saltwater that is surrounding him right now.

Returning feels like breaking the surface after a deep dive, his eyes adjusting to the bright light again as he takes in a deep breath.

“Water?” He asks Keira, getting a nod from his teacher. “But deeper somehow. Maybe deep ocean? I’m not sure. But definitely not just normal water.”

“Okay, yeah, there is no chance that so many unusual magic types just happen to be here. This definitely is linked to you being able to dig deeper to find out more. It's likely you are picking up on the details the others miss because they can't get close enough.” His teacher says. 

Rex seems to go along with the idea, silently nodding beside them as rubs his chin, deep in thoughts as Al remembers something. “That reminds me, when my mother tested me for my magic attributes she didn't manage to spot my space affinity either, only earth and water.” Al thinks out loud.

“I will definitely have to report this to the higher ups, but till then, if it would be okay I would like you to test all the others here to find out if they all have some unique attributes too.” He says, before averting his eyes in an embarrassed fashion. “And, well, if it's okay for you, I would like you to test me too.” 

The students can't help but laugh out as they see their teacher blush down to his neck, but Al agrees instantly. It's just a feeling, but he thinks everyone here ain't the kind of person that would abuse their magic, even Rex how Al barely knows.

The white haired boy takes a sip from one of his potions, stretching his arms before turning to the others present.

“Well then let's get to work. Who wants to go first?”

_________

Al leans his shoulder against Torr’s, the mint haired boy barely acknowledging his friend as the mage lets his eyes travel over the knight’s homework. “You made a small mistake.”

“Which part?” Torr asks, frowning at the numbers in front of him like they are the greatest evil in the entire world.

“This one.” Al says, pointing at one of the lines, taking his hand out from under the blankets to do so, immediately pulling it back under as soon as he can to avoid the cold air. “Do you see the mistake?” he asks, setting his head on his friend's shoulder who is under the same blanket with him.

Torr frowns at the line for a moment before his face shifts into a small smile of recognition. “It has to be a four at the end instead of an eight, right?” He asks, getting a proud nod from Al.

‘Ah, how much he has grown.’

From his other side comes a rustle of fabric, followed by a tired sounding grown. “Aaaal! Please help me with this one!” Eric complains loudly, shoving his math homework over at his friend.

Al looks at it for a moment before finding what he is complaining about, lying over to the black haired boy to explain the problem to him again.

The three boys have decided to do a small sleepover today, just spending some time together under the softest and biggest blankets they could find, the only lights illuminating the room being some star like lights created by Al’s spells floating around the boys.

It was Torr’s idea, saying that his family did it sometimes during the colder winters when they were trying to save up on firewood, so to keep up with the tradition Al didn't use a fire spell to heat the room, instead letting the cold winter air flow in.

Plus, they definitely didn't have enough time to relax recently with school taking up so much of their time. Al would probably complain about it quite a bit if it wasn't for the fact that he is learning about magic most of the time.

The white haired mage is cuddling closer to his mint haired friend again, gently placing his arm around his friend's waist and drawing him a bit closer.

Torr might try his best to hide it, but he is missing his family, even with the letters they have been exchanging as regularly as possible.

And Al definitely won't let his friend feel lonely in any way if he can help it, so he moves over to the boy and drapes himself over his friends like a living blanket, even if it's a bit hard considering Torr is bigger than him, and begins to comb his fingers through his friend's hair.

Torr can act like a big puppy sometimes, down to the way he just constantly snuggles up to Al whenever the mage grooms his hair or scratches the emerald haired boy behind his ears, but Al would lie if he said he didn't find it adorable. 

But what could he do to make Torr a bit more happy at least? Is there something he would definitely enjoy?

As soon as Al thinks that light lights up in his head, a wide smile appearing on his face.

Well, he was waiting for a good opportunity to introduce the wonderful invention of the pizza to this world, and this seems like the perfect opportunity.

The boy promises himself to get them ready as soon as he enters the school tomorrow, even if he has to bribe some of the cooks to get Torr his new food. 

Al is pretty sure Keira will allow him to skip a bit of the lessons to get things into motion, or maybe the teacher will even come along to find out what his student is preparing. He seems like the type.

Anyway, he will do this tomorrow, no matter what. He tells himself, looking down at Torr as the mint haired boy’s eyes drop shut, a small smile appearing on Al’s face.

‘The things you do for your friends.’

Chapter Text

Al stands in front of his father who just stepped out of his carriage, immediately recognizing that mischievous glint in his eyes as he walks up to his son.

"Don't." Al threatens with the most intimidating expression that he can muster, but even if he has gotten better at that now that his baby fat is gone, his still is barely taller than his father's hip.

“It is good to find you well, Starlight Savior.” The man says, his voice filled with gleeful amusement, ruffling his boy’s hair.

“Right back at you, Dragon Slayer.” Al says.

Both very obviously cringe where they stand, Silvio and Erna beside them doing their best to hold back their laughter with moderate success at best.

And with that Al means they look like they are about to burst from laughter, the only reason they aren't is that they are still in the open with people watching, and both of them are trying their best to appear as noble as possible.

If Elinora was here Al has no doubt she wouldn't have this kind of control.

The young mage is dragged out of his thoughts again when his father kneels down to his level, catching his son in a tight hug. “It's good to see you are doing better again.”

“Yeah. It's great, but I missed you guys.” Al tells his father. He didn't even realize how much being around his family meant for him until his mother left the capital to go back home.

Torr is here, and he is amazing and Al thinks he would not have been able to manage without his constant calming presence, but he can't help but want more.

He knows it's selfish, especially with how busy everyone is recently, but still.

At least now he finally has a bit of time to spend with his family, but with all the nobles already advancing towards them Al has a distinct feeling they won't get much privacy.

“Dad, if I were to ask you about tips on managing these kinds of situations, do you think you would be able to give me a rundown before it is too late?” Al asks, and the pained expression he gets from his father is more than enough of an answer.

They don't have much time before the family gets rushed by the other guests, their mother getting dragged away by the crowd of noble ladies.

Al honestly doesn't know why his mother isn't included in the fanfare, because she is true beauty too, just like any member of his family (and apparently him too now, according to Eric and Torr. He still can feel his ears get hot when he thinks back to him when the two just out of the blue told him he is beautiful.).

‘Maybe it's because they are kind of afraid of her.’ He has seen how she was portrayed in the dragonslayer theater after all. ‘And she is far stronger in reality than depicted in the play too, so maybe that treatment is actually reasonable.’

Or it could just be this cultural thing that it's more acceptable to flirt with men in the open like this, because that is what half the crowd seems to be doing at the moment. Al isn't sure how many people he has heard asking his father if he is planning to change or take on another life partner. Maybe he should keep a list.

Not like him and Silvio are doing any better. His brother has gotten marriage proposals since the first time he was shown to  high society, and now Al isn't doing any better. Probably worse, now that he thinks about it.

He can count himself lucky that the academy does not allow any random person to send letters to him or the nobles stationed in the capital would no doubt take advantage of him being here without his parents.

The young mage turns to Silvio, seeing that fake smile in place that his bro always uses when he would much rather be anywhere else right now. Al has seen that face many times when the older boy was dragged into some neverending training with Elinora.

Al manages to take a glimpse to where his mother is standing, spotting Torr right beside her and dutifully giving her some company while she leisurely talks with some other noble ladies, but Al can see the angry looks she sends the crowd surrounding her husband.

It takes ages till the first wave of people passes, and probably only because the buffet is opened as the noble taking care of this celebration is holding a short speech.

The males of the Slowlet family try to avoid as much attention as possible as they take some dishes from the long tables lining the room, one meal looking more delicious then the next, and Al only gets more frustrated with the crowd of people that will stop him from enjoying every single one of them.

His mother and Torr join up with them as they eat, listening to the wonderful musical performance taking part on the stage as they give Nord, Al and Silvio sympathetic looks.

The music piece is far too short for Al’s liking, and as soon as it ends the nobles come rushing in again like a horde of sharks smelling fresh blood, but thankfully before they can reach their target lord Syford and Eric step up to say their welcome.

It seems like the two friends' fathers have built quite a link over the recent time through a regular exchange of letters and have made a number of trade deals between their territories.

But Nord can only use the Syford family as shield for so long till the crowd moves in again, and the things go just like when they first stepped into the ballroom.

By the time Al and Nord are called away for the discussions concerning the potential of more A rank monster attacks, Al has received a total twelve different marriage proposals, some from fathers or mothers searching for a partner for their child, and some from said children directly.

Silvo was faring even worse, probably because he is older already, but thankfully Nord took care of rejecting them all in the politest way possible. It's actually pretty impressive in how many ways he could say ‘no’ without offending the other party.

Al sends his brother a sympathetic look as they leave him behind in the rows of nobles that surround him like raid dogs just waiting for a chance to jump their prey.

But he knows Silvio can do it. His brother is strong. Hopefully.

The two Slowlets are led to a room away from all the noise of the festivities, taking their seats beside each other on a big, long table with the other nobles.

As the one with the most experience concerning the newest A rank monster (and no matter how much he says that he really doesn't know much, they won't listen) Al was included in the discussion too, with Torr acting as his assistant/servant since according to his father this is kind of a thing to bring one along for. 

Nord himself brought along Mel, the handmaid of their manor.

The two won't have to do much, mostly just stand around and look pretty and dignified (something that Torr can definitely do. He is capturing the image of a young knight perfectly) and carry any documents for Al in case someone gives them out, because apparently not carrying your own stuff is part of being a noble.

Al still feels a bit bad about dragging his friend into this boring discussion, but having Torr with him, standing behind Al's back with his calming presence, at least makes it all far more bearable. 

The council mostly concerns the defense against potential attacks of monsters like that, asking Al what his opinions are on different defense mechanisms.

Al's suggestion concerning the idea of employing earth mages for the work is agreed on pretty much instantly, since it will not only make the walls more safe but also cut down the building time. 

And without magic it would be near impossible to get stone smooth enough that insect like monsters wouldn't be able to climb them.

One noble also suggests that it might be a good investment for the future to try to teach some of the builders some earth magic too, which is generally well received, but kind of drifts out of focus as the discussion goes on. 

Al really hopes they won't permanently forget that idea since it would be amazing for more than one reason. For example having more people know magic causes more people to experiment around with it, meaning some of them might invent new uses.

And maybe Al just likes the idea of more people knowing magic because that's just how a fantasy world should be in his opinion. And not using magic when you could just feels like a waste.

As the nobles discuss some things under themselves Al feels Torr hesitantly tap against his shoulder, unsure if he is allowed to speak, but after Al gives him a small nod he leans down and whispers in his friend's ear.

“I think there should also be something to do in case flying monsters attack. It didn't manage to do any damage because you took out the queen fast enough, but one of the winged ants just flew over the wall and into the village. We wouldn't have any way to defend ourselves against it if you didn't kill the queen in time.” 

Al was not aware of that, but yeah, there were definitely a number of flying ants too. They definitely need some protection against that too, but they can't exactly build a giant cage over every town and city to keep out flying monsters.

‘Wait, we can just do what they did against planes in my original world. The situation is different, but it should still work.’

After that Al tries to explain the concept of an air-raid shelter to some nobles without it seeming too much of a crazy idea, which is definitely not how he expected to spend nearly half an hour of his day when he woke up this morning.

At least the men present seem to think it's a good idea.

It's just that as continue discussing the concepts and ideas they have for implementing them, makes them sound less and less like the sophisticated relatively simple structures Al thought of, and more like-

‘Dungeons. They are thinking of building fantasy dungeons.’

The worst part is they make sense. Air-raid shelters aren't built for enemies who actually land in the city, only against bombardement, so the confusing layouts that are difficult to find their way thoght when breaking in do make sense, but still!

They even have started talking about the typical riddle doors that you see in so many fantasy games that are far too easy to crack with even a bit of intelligence. But here they actually made sense, because the things they are made to keep out aren’t intelligent humans, but monsters that are basically just dumb animals.

‘God, if this is the reason that in some hundred years there are old dungeons under every random town and city, I will not live that down even after my third death.’

At least constructing them should be easy with the help of an earth mage, and they will need quite a bit of stone anyway if they want to construct big walls around every town, so why not mine them directly under the town so they don't have to transport them far. 

To be honest, after hearing the nobles talk about it like this Al really wants to design his own dungeon. 

The rest of the discussion mostly centers around making contracts to share supplies in case of another monster attack, and some more talk concerning trades from the ant carcasses Al owns to turn them into armor since they are more effective than metal.

Al of course agrees to trade them for a reasonable price, since they will help the population safer, but with every minute he spends in this room he is so much more happy that he wont have a territory to take care of unlike his father.

By the time they finally finish it is deep into the night and the party outside is slowly getting quieter as the first guests with younger children begin to leave.

The nobles slowly say their goodbyes to each other as they walk out of the room, Al walking with his father to meet up with his family, only just able to hold back his loud yawn till they are out of hearing range for the other people.

His father lets out a small chuckle, pulling his kid closer to him so the boy has somewhere to lean at.

“You handled that amazingly. I’m so proud of you.” Nord tells him with a warm smile, fulfilling his son's hair. “My little boy, already talking with all the other nobles. How fast time passes.”

“I’m not that small anymore.” Al complains, but there is no bite in it. 

Nord lets out another small chuckle, looking up and down the long hallway leading them back to the celebration hall, and after he doesnt spot anybody he picks up his son into his arms.

“You don't have to carry me. I’m not that tired yet. I can walk on my own.” Al says, but still cuddles closer to his father, grabbing onto his clothes with his hand as he simply enjoys the warmth of the gentle hands holding him.

He really missed his family.

The two are silent till they reach the celebration hall, Nord setting his son down on the ground again who gives his father a warm and grateful smile.

Their family is already waiting for them, Silvio still surrounded by all kinds of nobles (Torr who walked ahead right behind him and giving him some moral support) until Nord arrives to take some of the attention away from his oldest son.

The two brothers watch their father with relief in their eyes as he holds off the nobles as if they are wild animals with his perfect smile, making both men and women blush every time that it lands on them.

Al wonders how many marriage proposals their family will be getting over letters in the next weeks.

________

The time Al’s family spends in the capital is far too short, even if they stay as long as they can, and before the boy knows he is already saying goodby to them.

The morning air around them is cold, but since spring has just begun it's not biting like that of the winter. On the sides of the road he can already see fresh sprouts make their way out of the ground.

It hasn't snowed this year, the winter being a very mild one overall, which is very welcome. Less cold means less people dying because of it. Al still hasn't found an efficient way to build heating magic tools yet, but he is working on it step by step so freezing to death won't be a danger for anyone in this kingdom anymore.

Al cuddles a bit closer to his father as the man holds him in a tight hug, enjoying the familiar warmth and smell while he can.

“Take care of yourself.” Nord says in a soft voice. “Don't overwork yourself, okay? Take all the time you need to recover, no matter how long. And most importantly, try to have some fun. You only are a child once, after all.” He says with a smile, unaware that that is not really true for Al.

But considering how his first childhood went, he takes the advice to heart more than most people would.

Right beside Al saying goodbye to his family Torr is doing the same to his own, his parents having been taken along by Nord to visit their son.

Torr looks lighter and happier now that he finally got to see them again, and Al thinks he himself is the same.

With spring being a busy time for everyone they probably won't be able to visit again anytime soon, so the parting is bittersweet, but the two boys will handle it. They have each other after all.

And they will be busy with school anyway, or in Torr’s case, the approaching fighting tournament.

It seems that there is a tradition for the students of the knight academy to take part in a small tournament in the spring, one small tournament for every age group.

It's repeated every year to show how their skills have improved over the years they are learning in the academy.

With some last hugs the two families say goodby to their children, climbing in the carriagers with tearful looks, Torr and Al holding each other's hands as they watch the other disappear down the streets.

The white haired boy bumps his shoulder against that of his friend, sharing some of their warmth in the cool air of the morning.

“Let's find Eric. His father should have just left too.” Al says, getting a silent nod from his friend.

After all, with all that happened, the three of them are family to each other too.

__________

When Al walks into the classroom his eyes immediately fall Laila and Dia excitedly talking with each other in the first row, the two boys who used to take up the seats there suspiciously quietly sitting in the places that used to belong to Rex and Dia, avoiding eye contact with Laila like they would die if they didn't.

Al shakes his head in amusement, letting out a small huff of laughter. His usually sweet hearted friend can be surprisingly terrifying if she wants to.

Rex is sitting beside them too, pretending to do his own thing, but definitely listening in on the girls' talk. That's just the way he is, after all.

(Al still hasn't found out who the red haired boy actually is, always keeping all personal information to himself. The only reason they know he is a noble is because Al listened in on some teachers.)

“Oh, hey Al.” Dia greets him. “I have been going over the magic device design you have given me, and they seem to all make sense to me, but you know I can't say anything about the parts that include your space magic.”

“Thanks! I think I will start working on them a bit more during the next lesson with Aria, then you can look at the ones that use space magic again so you can see how they work.” Al says as he takes back his notes, letting his eyes fly over the small comments Dia has scribbled on the sides of the pages.

“But some of the materials you need for that, I don't think you can just take them from the storage without asking. We will have to send a request to the office first.” She says, pointing at a small section on the material list attached to the stack of papers that is the construction plan.

Mark just watches them with utter contempt in his eyes, staring down on the papers in disgust. “I still cannot believe you guys have fun doing this kind of stuff. It's all so boring! Especially when you can just use magic by hand and make it so much easier to use!” he says as he creates a small air vortex over his palm.

“Oh, by the way, have you had any more ideas for spells?” The wind mage asks Al. “I have some general ideas I want you to go over, but the incantations for them are not stable yet.” He says.

Rex sits a bit straighter as he hears that, Laila doing the same. If there is one thing all mages like, it is the prospect of getting more spells.

In addition to Mark’s vacuum magic and Laila’s ocean magic, Al also tested his teacher, who had something that they ended up calling laser magic (it's more heat than light, but it's close enough) and Rex, whose magic still confuses Al.

The boy’s primary attributes are air and earth, but the unique thing is the attribute that they are coming into. After some comments from Dia, they ended up calling it force magic, but they could also call it something like pressure.

(Al tried to convince them to call it something else, because he always has to think of The Force back from home, but he couldn't exactly tell them that and got outvoted.)

It's almost like kinetic or potential energy in its pure form. Coming up for spells with that was a nightmare.

But funnily enough, it is able to replicate a darth vader’s  force choke, which almost made him laugh out loud. His friends looked at him weirdly for the rest of the day.

Dia doesn't have any special kind of magic, or at least none that Al could find yet, but she isn't really bothered by it. She prefers the construction of magical devices anyway, so it doesn't make much of a difference to her.

Keira (Al still feels a bit weird to address his teacher so casually but that man insists) told Al that today some of the other teachers will approach him considering what huge implications this might have for all mages.

It honestly took them longer than expected, but that might be because all of the  leaders of the school wanted to be present and Al was busy with the noble party.

Anyway, his friends will be there too (except Torr and Eric of course) because they know as much about this topic as Al.

‘But they probably won't get Rex to tell them anything unless they promise him extra credit.’ As if he would even need them. He reads a book once and remembers all that's written in it. Al is so jealous of that every time he learns for a history lesson.

The familiar ring of the bell echoes through the hallways the moment Aria walks in, announcing to the class that today they will work on their personal projects before squatting behind the big machine lying on the floor and getting to work herself.

The students let out amused sounds. It seems their teacher has once again found something that she thinks requires all her attention.

“Hey, how about we prepare for the device I was working on. If the school does not finance the materials, I could just buy them out of my pocket anyway.” Al suggests after thinking about all the things he has to do to request the materials he needs from the school.

Not only would it take ages to get through all of the paperwork, there would also be a chance of his request being denied and all the work being for nothing. And it's not like he doesn't have the money.

“You rich kid. But I guess being a hero pays well. But yeah, I’m in. I want to see if this thing actually works. But after that you have to help me with my projects. The metalwork is so much easier if you have someone who can use even a bit of metal magic.” Dia says

“More like having an army worth of ant armor pays.” He says with an amused mile. “I still haven't gotten my reward for killing the Ant Empress.” By now he is wondering if there is some problem why he didn't. If he doesn't hear anything from them soon, he might start listening around for some information.

“I think they are still looking for a good opportunity to reward you with something that will keep you close to the capital so you are here to defend the royal family in case of another attack.” Rex says, moving close to the others.

Laila nods in agreement. “I think that too. I bet all the nobles close to the capital who are aware of that are extra careful to not do anything that could be punished by getting their territory taken away.”

Rex taps his chin curiously. “I will try to listen around to make sure. Give me some days. But under one condition.” He says, pointing at Al with a serious expression. “You make more toppings for the pizzas. I have nearly tried my way through all the versions they sell in the cafeteria.”

Al lets out a loud laugh. “Sure! You have a deal.”

The school cafeteria has started selling pizza after Al made some for Torr there to distract him from his homesickness, and the cooks liked it enough to implement it into the menu. Eric was a big fan of it too.

But that is a thought for later. Right now he has a magic device that needs to be built.

“Then let's get this thing going.”

Chapter Text

Al moves circles in his room, a thoughtful expression on his face as Eric walks in, clothes still drenched in sweat since he just came back from his training.

The black haired boy has started hogging Al and Torr’s bathroom since the moment Al installed a magical tool that lets him adjust the temperature of the water in real time.

The young mage essentially just wanted to have a showerhead like back in his original world, and making it was surprisingly easy, so he immediately installed it as soon as he got the chance.

And it's not like Eric hanging out in their room is anything new. By now he barely spends any time on his own except for sleeping, and even that is not a constant since he often just falls asleep together with Torr and Al anyway.

“Uh, what are you doing?” The black haired boy asks as he pulls off his training clothes, letting them drop on the floor.

“Torr’s birthday is getting closer, and I have no idea what to give him.” Al says with a small sigh. 

The things that immediately come to mind would be a sword or food, but Torr already has the sword All made him, and Al just recently brought the concept of a pizza to this world when the mint haired boy was feeling homesick, so he is kind of out of ideas.

He does still have a bit of time to get a present, since Torr’s birthday is only after the fighting tournament, but Al would much rather have something prepared as soon as possible.

Eric freezes where he stands. “Ah, fuck. I also don't have anything yet. With everything happening at the moment I completely forgot.” 

“And you don't by chance immediately have an idea what we could give him?” Al asks hopefully, but gets a head shake in response. “Thought as much.” The mage says as he walks over to his desk where a stack of documents lies.

“I am working on a magical device right now, but it's still in the planning phase. And unlike the one I’m building with Dia right now, I can't exactly start this on before I get all the materials, so I have no idea if I can finish it in time.”

Eric walks up to him, giving him a small smile. “You know, if you are a bit late, Torr won't mind. You know he won't.”

The white haired boy lets out a deep breath. “I know, but he deserves it to get something in time.”

Al isn’t sure when the materials for it will arrive, since the stuff he ordered includes some more unique materials that can only be obtained from some specific monsters.

He lets out a deep sigh. “Well, I just have to hope, but I will still keep my eyes open for something else just in case.” The mage tells his friend.

Eric sets his arm down around the smaller boy’s shoulders. “Don't worry. I’m sure it will turn out fine. But if you do have an idea you are willing to share with me, it would be very welcome.”

Al gives him a small smile before wrinkling his nose. “Uhg. You smell. Go take a shower before the whole room stinks like sweat.” He complains, showing away his friend's face who lets out a small giggle before hurrying off into the bathroom so he is finished before Torr arrives.

Eric doesn't take long, never does, pulling on some more simple clothes before dragging Al to one of the beds, pulling him down to the soft mattress to stop him from pacing around the room any longer.

“Tomorrow you have to show your unique way of testing magic to the principal and other higher ups, right?” Eric asks, rubbing his hair with a towel to get the water out of his hair.

“Yeah. They will probably have me test their magic. You know what all the mages around here are like.” He complains, sitting up and taking the towel out of his friend's hands.

He runs his hands through his friend's dark hair as he casts a small mix between fire and wind spells, carefully letting it rush over Eric’s head to dry his hair, slowly getting out the many knots that always form after his training.

His friend’s hair always used to be a bit difficult, getting tangled very easily and staying wet for ages unless someone took care of them. Al still finds it hard to hold back his laughs when he thinks back to the last time he saw Eric the morning after he went to bed with wet hair.

The two just silently enjoy each other’s presence when they hear a click from the door, Torr throwing it open with a wide smile.

“Hey guys, I’m back!” He calls out to them, his hair sticking to his body form all the sweat, his body buzzing with energy in a way that tell Al he has been training his magic again.

Torr has been steadily improving, and by now he can use his boosting spells multiple times before his energy runs out.

The mint haired boy walks up to his friends lying on the bed together, dropping his sword off beside them, bumping his forehead against Eric’s as a greeting before reaching down to ruffle Al’s hair before hurrying off to the bathroom, wanting to get his sweat drenched clothes off his skin as soon as possible.

(Al really understands that. In this world they haven't invented more advanced clothing fibers yet, and the feeling of sweaty clothes sticking to your skin is even worse than what he experienced in sport lessons back in his world.)

Torr doesn't take long in the bathroom, soon joining the other two again, his training outfit exchanged with softer and looser clothes.

The white haired boy gives him a small smile as Torr lies down, not beside but on Al, running his cold, wet hair over his friend's neck with a gleeful chuckle.

“Ah, stop that!” Al calls out, but he isn't able to hold back his laugh as he wiggles his way out of his friend's grasp which is getting harder by the day as the other boys get more fit through their lessons. “I get it! I will do your hair too!”

That seems to placate the taller boy for now, closing his eyes and offering his head to Al who runs his fingers through it with the same care as he did for Eric.

‘I guess we won't be going out to eat later.’ Al thinks to himself in amusement. Wouldn't be the first time either, but he can just teleport over to the cafeteria and get some food for all of them anyway.

But not yet. Not while the bed is so perfectly warm and soft with his friends in it.

_________

Al and his friends are walking through the hallways of the school, the other students that also just have finished their lessons walking opposite of them as they walk deeper into the building.

They are going to meet the principal and some other higher up members of the school to talk about Al’s method of testing one’s magic, his friends coming along to show their own abilities as examples.

The white haired boy can't help but be a bit nervous, but with all of his friends from Eric to Rex being here it is easier.

Torr’s and Mark’s relaxed talk behind him fills the air. The two have gotten along very well recently, bonding over the fact that they are both commoners surrounded by nobles around here, exchanging some tips on how they handle things from time to time.

There aren't many commoners in the classes since the tuition costs are so high that most can't enter. 

In Al’s class there are a total of three children who aren't somehow related to any noble families, Mark already included, with the other three classes holding four, three and five respectively, which is not much considering all the classes hold 25 students.

At least there doesn't seem to be any discrimination against them, which is very good.

The kingdom might value their nobility highly, but strength and talent are valued just as much, so if a commoner manages to enter this school that only proves that they are worthy of being taught here.

(Still, considering how many commoners never have the chance to learn here because they lack the finances, Al can only imagine how many talented people just never have the chance to find out about their talent in the first place.)

This general mindset seems to be very old, being deeply ingrained in the traditions of the country. According to his history lessons the original members of noble families were people who gained their position through strength and created this country, after all.

It's probably the reason Nord was able to gain a noble title in the first place. In most of the other medieval and fantasy stories Al read back in his world that would be unheard of unless someone marries into nobility.

Which means, at least on a theoretical level, a commoner can rise in the ranks of this country no problem if they are capable enough. Torr for some reason was very motivated when he heard that during their history lessons. Maybe he is planning to make it big someday.

After having been told by Keira that his way of testing is a way to find out more unique aspects of one’s magic, Al tested Torr’s magic for himself, just to make sure his mother didn't miss anything.

And while she definitely was right with identifying his primary talent to be lighting, there was something else surrounding it that resembled static fields or something along those lines that she missed.

Al nearly did too, even with his technique, but in the end he managed to catch on the small details around the core of crackling lighting that almost disappeared in the background noise.

Torr isn't as good at it as he is with lighting magic yet, but he is able to create small magnetic fields around himself. At this point he can barely lift a spoon into the air, but it is something.

(Al suspect that a great part of it is that Torr doesn't really get the concept of magnetic and static fields yet. The white haired boy will have to prepare some lessons for his friend later.)

The rest of the group is talking about their usual topic, what they are going to do once they finish with the academy.

None of them are anywhere close to being the heir, the closest one being Al, and with the recent events he won't get out of having some kind of administrative position sooner or later, even if he would much prefer just quietly settling down somewhere.

As they talk it doesn't take the children long till they reach the room they were told to, the design of the door telling them that it is some researcher's private lab, Al reaching out to it and confidently knocking on it.

“Come in.” A voice answers, so they open the door and step into the room, their eyes falling on the group of five higher ups waiting inside, including the principal.

“Excuse the interruption.” The white haired boy announces, looking around the lab. It's bigger than the ones he has seen before, equipped with a bunch of expensive equipment, so this might be the principal’s personal laboratory.

Keira is there too, giving his students a small wave.

“Ah, we have been waiting for you. Let's get to the topic right away so as not to waste any time.” The principal tells them with a small welcoming smile.

Al hasn't interacted with her personally yet, so this is the first time they actually talked face to face, but he has heard quite a bit about her achievements.

She actually used to be a commoner who gained her position by making great advancements in magic, studying at this academy before becoming a teacher and eventually gaining enough recognition and influence to become its principal.

Multiple of the books they are using in their lesson are actually written and researched by her, and man, you see that she is an expert in what she is doing in every word. Al would like to have some time alone with her to get to know how she thinks. Too bad she is always busy.

The older images start their test of Al’s magic analysis by testing all of the students around here again in case they manage to pick up on anything that resembles Al’s description.

The principal actually managed to catch the feeling of saltiness in Laila’s magic that Al felt too, but she says she would have missed it if she didn't know it was there.

They made sure to test Al too, but just like his mother they didn't find his space magic, which seems to greatly frustrate them. One of the researchers in particular complained that when it's like this, he doesn't know how many people had unique magic and just never found out about them.

After that the students show off some of their spells before things come to the most important part.

“I would like you to test Sir Eldron’s magic, Al, if that is okay for you.” The principal tells him. “But if you feel even the slightest problem, I would like you to stop immediately.”

Al just gives her a small nod. It's not like he hasn't done this before. By now he has a pretty good idea what he's doing.

Just like always he extends his hand out to the man, closing his eyes and reaching out with his mind, letting himself sink into the other mage’s energy.

But this time something is different. Unlike before when he tested someone’s nature, a feeling of uncomfortable energy rushing over him that is somewhere between hot flames and electricity.

Al pulls back before it can get stronger. Better being safe than sorry when it comes to magic, especially considering he isn't fully recovered yet. He is making good progress according to Aria, but it will still take a long time till he will be healthy again.

“Just as we suspected.” Sir Eldron says with a small sigh. “It is a technique only usable as long as you have a big enough advantage over the one you are testing in terms of magic power.”

“After Keira’s explanation we suspected that you can only use this way of testing if the person you are reaching into does not have too much magic, so stronger mages won't be possible. You can be lucky your teacher specializes in control and not power so you didn't end up hurting yourself.” The principle explains, pointing at Keira.

“For now, we would like you to keep your finding to your own till either you or someone of us perfects it, because if we were to publish it to the public like this, there would be many who tried to replicate it and got hurt in the process.” She explains.

Al nods in agreement. He honestly preferred to not have his discovery in too many hands to begin with, rather keeping it to his friends and family, even if that thinking is selfish.

Things end pretty fast after that. Both the principal and one of the other mages have to leave to attend another meeting.

The children leave the room with them, saying their goodbyes as they make their way out of the building, their shoulders relaxing now that they no longer are surrounded by all those influential people.

“Hey, how about we go to the town and have some fun? I heard some of the girls talking about a new street stall that opened up close to the school that supposedly makes some amazing stuff.” Rex suggests, the other ones agreeing instantly.

No one here would say no to some sweets.

A small smile appears on Al’s face as they walk down the hallways together, the air filled with happy chatter.

Maybe he will make Elinora jealous by talking about the sweets the next time he sends a letter.

__________

Al lets his eyes travel over the crowd of students around him, taking in the various expressions of nervousness and excitement, the former mostly coming from the mage students present.

They are doing their first proper joint training exercise today, the mage course and knight course going into one of the nearby forests for two days to hunt some monsters to get used to actual combat in a way training can't.

It's not really a dangerous area, even if the monsters are pretty disgusting around here.

There are a number of spider enemies in these woods, but apparently that is a good thing because they don't immediately kill their prey and instead poison it and weave it into cocoons, so even if the students were to lose to them, they would still be able to be rescued by the teachers.

Not that that will most likely be the case. By now everyone in the year has learned some good spells, and the knight students are capable too, so there shouldn't be any problems.

Still, Al isn’t a big fan of it. Taking lives of things, no matter if they are monsters, just doesn’t lay right with him, even if they are also hunting the spiders for materials so their deaths aren't going to waste.

(Apparently the uniforms they are wearing are made from these kinds of spider’s silk.)

At least he has Eric and Torr with him today, so that makes it far more endurable.

They are divided into groups of two knight students per mage student to simulate that usually there will be less mages on a battlefield than martials, if there are any mages at all.

Al’s eyes fall on the teacher in front again. He should probably be paying attention to her. 

“So, that means use this time to train wisely and don't get overconfident.” She finished whatever speech she was holding. “Any more questions?” 

When no one in the crowd seems to move she gives them a satisfied nod. “Very well. Then see you all back here tomorrow evening. And remember, if you need help, use the magic tools we have given you and we will come support you. Now into the forest with you!” She calls out stepping to the side so the students can pass through.

Shelika is there too, taking part in the organization of the event, currently talking with one of the teachers as they begin to set up a camp on the side of the forest.

Al is somehow both glad and disappointed that he didn't get to talk to her yet, their classes neither taking place in the same part of the building nor interacting much otherwise. And she is probably very busy being a student representative.

‘Maybe I will have a chance to talk to her when the expedition is finished. We will probably have some time on the way back.’

As they walk into the forest, the three boy’s give some last waves to their friends as they head off into the forest with their own groups. Their partners are people Torr and Eric picked out knowing they are capable, so Al doesn't worry much.

Both of them also had their first kill already, Torr not that long ago, but Eric had his for years. It shouldn't really be a surprise  considering his family is mostly made of fighters.

His father took him out for it when Eric was only eight. It thankfully wasn't a humanoid monster, but Al still doesn't like the idea of making a kid do something like that. Especially not his friend.

The boy in question turning to him drags Al out of his thoughts, giving the fighter a questioning look. “So, what are we going to do? Go in deep or linger around the outskirts?” 

Al lets out a thoughtful hum. “Well, if we are already here we should at least try going a bit deeper. The outer monsters won't be strong enough that they will actually be a challenge, and closer to the core of the forest magical materials are more common anyway.”

He has looked up some of the stuff that can be harvested around here, and some of it seems to be potentially usable for his projects, so this might be a good chance to grab it.

“And if we ever feel like we are in over our heads, I can just teleport us out of here anyway.” 

The other two seem to be satisfied with that, both giving him motivated looks, Torr especially so. “Then don't waste any more time! Let's go adventuring!”  

Torr and Eric take the front line with Al shortly behind him, casting a small spell to search the area for any traces of magic.

It's not able to pick up on non magical monsters, but the spiders need magic to create their threads. And the only non magical monsters in this forest that could actually hurt them are horned rabbits and crystal deers (a type of deer that has antlers made from blade-like crystals).

It doesn't take long till Al senses something enter the radius of his perception, snapping his fingers to inform his team members without raising his voice in a way that would make any monsters recognize them as humans.

From this distance Al can't make out what kind of monster it is, but the current season and size of the monsters they can only really be the spider monsters they are searching for.

The air is still cold, even if the winter has passed to spring now, but at least it makes the monsters less strong and active during this time of the year.

The three boys slowly get closer to their target, hiding behind a bush not far away, and from this distance Al can say for sure it's one of the spiders they are hunting.

Or rather a group of the spiders they are searching for. They tend to stay in small swarms of about a handful of creatures, unlike the spiders Al knew from his world. This one seems to be a rather large group, maybe twelve specimens, but it doesn't include any spiders bigger than a dog, so it should be okay.

Al signals it to Eric and Torr, the two silently moving closer as Al prepares his spell, releasing it when his two friends are in position.

The monsters don't have any time to react as suddenly a wave of ice rushes over the floor, creeping up their spindly legs and freezing them in place.

The creatures let out distressed calls, trying to free themselves, but Torr and Eric are already striking, their blades decapitating two of them before they can even notice the boys.

One of the spiders spits out a string at Eric, but the knight just dodges under it without slowing down, one powerful strike of his sword cutting through its carcass without any resistance.

The two fighters take out the crowd of monsters before they can free themselves, Al picking off the ones too deep into the frozen ground to have any good foothold for the close combat fighters with some ice spells.

This fight would have been faster if Al was able to use his space magic, but it's a little bit too destructive to be able to harvest all of the materials that they want.

His two companions give each other a high five before walking over to the white haired boy with wide smiles, Torr swinging his sword to get rid of some of the monster's blood. (It's not like these magic swords could rust from it, but it is still dirty after all so it is better to get rid of.)

“That worked perfectly! They didn't stand a chance!” Al says happily, letting his eyes travel over the battlefield.

“Yeah, to be honest, I thought this would be a bit harder.” Eric agrees. “But I feel a big part of it is how good our swords are. Normal ones wouldn't be able to cut through their armor that easily.” He says, inspecting his weapon.

Al can only agree. The two didn't even use any of their boosting spells yet and it was still no challenge for them to handle. “How about going deeper into the forest? The bigger ones should be there.”

And it will be easier to find that special tree sap he wants for one of his projects there.

The other two agree instantly, still filled with impatient energy, but first they have to harvest the materials from the monsters.

Torr is surprisingly good at it, explaining to the others that he convinced one of the hunters in the village to let him help so he can learn this for when he planned to start becoming an adventurer.

Thanks to his help it doesn't take them long, all of the corpses fully dissected so Al can store them away in his dimensional storage, not leaving behind a single piece. Maybe he will eventually find a use for something like a spider carapace. It's not like his storage room seems to have a limit.

“Wait, can't you just store them and we will take them apart later?” Eric asks, but Torr shakes his head.

“If we let them sit the poison will eat through their body because their magic disappears as soon as they die, so you have to harvest it as soon as possible.” He explains, cutting out another of the poison glands with an ease that makes it look like he has been doing that for a long time.

Al didn't know that. He only knew that they had to be harvested fast, but not why. 

“It would make things much easier if we could just collect their corpses and dissect them during the night when we can travel anyway, but sadly that won't be possible since Al’s storage doesn't stop time.” Torr says offhandedly, but the moment he says that a hesitant silence settles over the boys, the young swordsman turns to Al. “Does it?”

That comment makes the white haired boy freeze up. To be honest, he hasn't tested that before. The food that he stored inside was always either stuff that stays edible for a long time or was used up very fast.

‘How have I not tested that out yet?!’

He opens a small portal, reaching inside to search for whatever object has been stored there the longest, but after a moment of not finding anything good he just grabs a small branch off the ground and sets it aflame, throwing it into the portal and closing it.

The others seem to realize what he is doing, standing around him silently for a minute, enough time that a small branch like that would have long burned up, but when Al opens another portal and lets it drop down on the wet forest floor, the flames have not eaten away on it at all.

“Oh my god how did you not notice that?!” Eric calls out to him loudly, geturing between the flames flickering on the ground and Al. “You could do something like this all along and didn't tell us?!”

“I didn't realize! The situation just never came up!” Al tells him, waving his arms to emphasize the point, but neither of his companions seem to really agree with him, Torr letting out a loud groan, hiding his face behind his hands.

“You know, considering it's Al we are talking about, I should really not be surprised by this.” The mint haired boy says, Eric nodding in agreement.

“Hey! What is that supposed to mean?” Al complains, but his friends ignore him, already beginning to pile up the remaining spider corpses so Al can store them away into his portals.

As they walk deeper into the forest they find more spider monsters, but they are the same size as the ones they fought before and in similar numbers, so they don't pose much of a challenge to the boys.

Thankfully now they don't have to spend as much time harvesting the materials from them since Al just throws them into his storage space so they can dissect them after they set up their camp once it gets too dark.

But till now they are just traveling deeper and deeper into the woods, only stopping to harvest some ores Al might need in the future (read simply throw them into his storage and worry about them later) till eventually something different enters his area of magic perception.

“Wait. I sense a big one.” The young mage whispers, feeling his body tense up.

It's maybe as big as a horse, but since it's a spider it's much wider, with a number of smaller specimens crawling around it.

“I sense some magic on the floor and over the bushes, so they are probably covered with threads. Be careful of them. Torr, you can burn them away with your magic, but Eric, shout to me in case you get stuck.

The two others nod, their faces serious as they draw their weapons, but Al can still feel the excitement flowing off them in waves.

Unlike before a surprise attack won't be possible. The moment they enter the area filled with threads the spiders would notice, and the leaves are too dense to fly over them with magic. So it will be a direct battle.

Al is nervous, but by now he is getting swept along with his friend's enthusiasm.

He downs one of his potions, making sure they won't lose effect during combat as the other two draw their blades, giving them a small smile. “Ready?” But judging from their expressions he doesn't need to listen to their answers.

The mage begins to charge up his spell as the boys run towards their targets, the agitated cries of the monsters audible through the foliage as they notice the attackers.

But they won't have much time to prepare, Al throwing in a bolt of ice between his friends and shredding the plants blocking their way before exploding into sharp shards right as it reaches the big spider.

They shoot through the air and pierce into the monster’s hard armor, forcing them to protect their fragile eyes, but that moment of defending gives Eric and Torr just enough time to strike.

The monsters closest to them are instantly shredded to bits by them, but the big one that seems to be leading the group lets out a loud shriek that makes the smaller ones regain their composure, rushing at the swordsmen.

Al opens a small portal in front of his fingers, releasing a volley at a group of spiders trying to surround them. Right now he doesn't have the pleasure of only using spells that don't damage the materials too badly.

With an enormous speed the shooting stars fly at the monsters, taking out the ones that have circled around his friends in an attempt to cut off their path to retreat as the two boys take out another group of arachnids with some powerful swings.

“Torr! Eric! Fall back!” Al calls out, and the two respond immediately, disengaging from their targets and rushing to Al as he materializes a protective barrier around them just in time for the spider to release a cloud of poison.

It rushes towards them as the grass in its way instantly melts and withers, but the dome around the boys doesnt let it through, repelling it easily.

But with it still lingering in the air, the other two won't be able to fight. Luckily Al has read up on these monsters before, gathering his magic as he does a quick chant in his head, a ball of flames surrounded by glowing red ribbons of fire levitating in his palm.

‘I will borrow this one for a moment, mom.’

He throws it at the spiders, passing through his barrier without any resistance, exploding into a vortex of fire.

Just like when his mother cast the spell the air rushes towards the swirling flame, making it grow in size and heat as it rises high above the tops of the trees, pulling in the poisonous fog and branches to fuel itself even more.

It's not as strong as when his mother used it, the lack of control and practice making the flow less stable causing it to weaken a bit, but it's power is still more than enough.

Some of the smaller spiders get dragged into it, most able to hold onto the ground with their many legs, but most importantly all the poison in the air burns away from the heat as it is destroyed by the swirling flames.

Al drops the barrier around them as he creates small ones around his friend's heads to make sure they're not affected by any lingering poison and the burning heat in the air left from his spell, the two immediately rushing at their targets again.

Torr sprints forward first, engaging the swarm of smaller spiders gathering in front of their leader to protect it as the swordsman positions his weapon like a foothold for Eric to jump over the living wall.

The monsters try to grab the jumping boy with their sharp fangs, but a wave of electricity flows over the ground and paralyzes their muscles, rushing out over the wet ground created from Al’s molten ice.

“Oh relentless earth, give me the force of tectonic plates!” Eric chantes as he jumps towards the big spider, the arachnid lifting its many legs to protect itself, but it won't help.

The black haired boy’s meteor blade begins to glow in a burning orange aura, just like his body does from the buffing spell as he slams the weapon down in the monster, cleaving through its armored legs as if they were nothing, the ground under it shattering with a loud crash, throwing up stones that smash into the surrounding monsters with enough force they pierce their shells.

Al doubts the big spider even realized what happened before it died, its entire body cut through the middle, the place where Eric sliced reaching deep into the earth.

After that, cleaning up the remaining monsters is easy, all of them disoriented by the loss of their leader and by the shockwave from Eric’s strike, and soon they are beginning to pile the corpses into Al’s storage.

“That was amazing!” Torr cheers happily, and the other two can't help but agree.

It's nothing like the combat Al has been in yet, with actual friends by his side against an enemy that challenges them in new ways, and most importantly not fighting for their lives.

(Well, technically they did, but only if they stood around and did nothing while they let themselves be attacked. Al’s teleportation makes getting away incredibly easy after all. It's almost unfair for the monsters.)

They gather up the corpses into Al’s storage space, but once they have finished collecting all their spoils, the forest around them has already dimmed considerably under the passage of time.

“Hm, it probably would be best if we end it here for today.” Al says, inspecting the position of the sun and the light level around them. “We should start setting up our camp before visibility gets too low.”

“Probably a good idea. The spiders were hard enough to spot when we still had proper daylight. Fighting them in the dark would be difficult.” Eric agrees. “Should I gather some firewood while you secure the area?”

But Al shakes his head. “Don't worry, I prepared everything already.” He says with a proud grin as he opens a large portal to one of his storage spaces over the ground, and with a loud thud an entire small house falls out of it onto the forest floor.

It's not big, barely even a shed in Al’s opinion, but it's a house nonetheless, its walls made from very sturdy wood, and at its side even a chimney made from stone.

Al gives his companions a smug look as their mouths hang open in shock “So? What do you think? That's what I would call camping with style.”

“You can't call that camping anymore!” Torr exclaims loudly, gesturing to the structure in front of him. “And since when did you start to carry around a house in your storage space?! This thing is at least half as big as my house back at home!”

“Oh come on, now you are exaggerating.” Al says, before looking over to his building, trying to remember how Torr’s house looked. 

‘Okay, maybe he has a point. His house was pretty small. I think constantly living in a mansion is messing with my perspective.’

“Anyway, you don't have to get any firewood. I already have everything prepared.” He says, opening the heavy door leading inside, leaning against it with his whole body to move it. It needs to be sturdy enough to keep monsters out, after all.

Every part of it is made to be as sturdy as possible, even the windows consisting of a crystalline material he created with magic instead of glass.

He creates a small ball of light to illuminate the insides, his friends gaping in amazement as they see the insides, containing everything from a small medical corner to bunk beds at the side, a shelf filled with food, medicine and weapons.

Al pretty much included everything he could think of, even if this is only the first version of it. Once he has more time, he will build an even better mobile shelter like this.

As they ignite the furnace in the corner, beginning to prepare some food, the boys dissect the monster remains, even if the big spider only properly fits into the room because Eric cleaved it in half.

The food only tastes better after the long day of hard combat, the boys filling their stomachs to the brim to prepare for tomorrow, but eventually the exhaustion catches up with them, and they make their way to their soft beds.

Al cuddles into the warm blankets of his beds as he already hears Eric’s breathing even out, the familiar sound slowly lulling him to sleep with a small smile on his face.

He already can't wait for tomorrow.

Chapter Text

When Al walks into the classroom and Laila and Mark immediately pull something off the table to hide it behind their back, Rex letting out an amused giggle, the white haired boy knows something is up.

The two might do their best at trying to hide it, but their expression would give them away even if they did manage to hide the object before Al could see it.

He approaches the group with a suspicious look, not letting his eyes move from where he knows Mark is hiding the object.

To be honest, he has no idea what they are hiding. It's not his birthday, and as far as he is aware there is nothing else that would be good to hide from him, so he decides it's better if he finds out what they want to keep a secret before it is too late. It's always good to be safe with those two troublemakers.

With a small grin Al teleports behind his friends and grabs the object before teleporting back in front of them again, Laila letting out a surprised gasp, blushing a bit as the white haired boy looks down on what he now realizes is a book, but the moment he sees the cover he immediately freezes up.

The painting is definitely stylized, but the people on the cover are definitely recognizable to him as Eric, Torr and himself, specifically himself sitting on the laps of the two of them, one of each of their arms around his waist and one lovingly caressing his face.

He immediately feels his face erupt in a burning blush, looking up from the book in his hands in shock.

Laila seems to be in a similar state of embarrassment while Mark just mostly looks amused at his reaction.

“Oh come on. It's actually a very good book even if you aren't into all the romance stuff. And they captured that time where Torr and Eric fought to defend your honor very well.” He says, but the moment he finishes it Dia thrusts her elbow into his gut.

“What was that fo-” Mark starts, but suddenly turns a bit pale, averting his eyes from Dia who is sending him a death glare.

“Defending my honor?” Al questions, as the brown haired boy looks around to the others in panic, but they seem to ignore him.

“Mark, do what you want. You brought this onto yourself.” Rex says offhandedly, returning his attention to the book in his hands, but he definitely isn't as distracted by it as he pretends to be. 

The brown haired boy sends a panicked look over to Dia, the inventor letting out an annoyed sigh. “You already spilled it anyway. No use of hiding it anymore. Once he knows something is there he will somehow find it out anyway, so you might as well spill the beans.”

The boy turns to Al, seeing the mage’s demanding look. “B-But Torr and Eric don't want you to know. They said it would just unnecessarily worry you.”

That only makes Al want to know about it even more. There is no way he would just let this lie low if his friends are caught in some potential trouble.

Mark seems to realize that too, letting out a defeated sigh. “Okay, but promise me you will protect me when Eric and Torr find out that I spilled, okay?” He asks hopefully, but Al does not answer, just staring the boy down with crossed arms and an angry expression.

“So, this is all what I heard from second hand sources, since I wasn't there when it happened, but it took place during the first day of school. It was the topic everyone talked about for weeks, so I’m not sure how you didn't catch wind of it. But everyone was probably avoiding talking about it when you were around.”

He shakes his head, focusing on Al again. “I’m getting off topic. Anyway, a noble kid was loudly saying stuff about your current physical condition that was… let's say not nice, so Torr and Eric beat him and his posse up in an honor duel to the point they had to get medical attention.” He explains to Al’s shock.

He gives the white haired boy a small shrug. “They deserved it. After that no one dared to say anything along those lines again, especially not after people saw that you are still incredibly strong.” Mark finishes.

Al can’t help but stare at his friend. That was not what he expected to hear, at all, but somehow it doesn't surprise him. He knew Torr and Eric would always have his back, after all, just like the rest of his family. 

That fact always makes him feel safe and warm in a way that is hard to describe. It helped him get through the times where the injuries were at their worst.

“I … will need a moment to think about that.” He says, even if he knows a moment is putting it lightly. But he knows for sure that he shouldn't tell Eric and Torr that he is aware of the events. He kind of gets why Mark didn't want to tell him.

He looks down on the book in his hands in frustration and embarrassment, before turning to Laila. “Can I borrow this for a while? I think it would be … a good idea to know what people write about me.” Because this time they didn't even use a fake name like last time they wrote something about him.

“Oh, sure. I already finished it last night.” She mentioned offhandedly as she pulls out the books she needs for the next lesson.

Al stares at her a bit, taking notice of the dark rings under her eyes that even makeup can't hide completely. “Uhm, when exactly did this get released again?”

“Yesterday. I got mine right after school.” Laila says with a small smile.

Al looks up and down between her and the thick book in his hands and up at her face again, before just shaking his head. Considering it's Laila he is speaking too, he really shouldn't be surprised.

“But please don't take too long. I want to give it another read. And Mark hasn't finished it yet either.” She rubs her chin in thought. “Or I could just buy another one. I’m sure they will eventually turn into collectors items.”

Al just stares at her for a moment before shaking his head to get that information out of his brain. He is not going to respond to that or let the thought settle in.

He takes another look at the book in his hands, already feeling his ears heat up again as he takes another look at the cover, so he goes to his seat, putting it upside down so he doesn't have to look at the picture and turns to the other side of the classroom so he doesn't even have to look in its direction.

But his plan immediately backfires as he sees not only one, but two groups of mostly girls but also some boys holding two more of the exact book lying in front of him, that by now familiar picture of himself in his friend's labs mockingly staring in his direction.

“Why!? Isn't it enough already to write one story like this about me?” He complains, his ears red with shame.

“What do you mean? I’m sure this is the first book about you.” Laila says curiously. Al is not going to question why she said that with so much certainty.

“Yeah, but they made a character before that was based on me, but they didn't use my real name for that one.”

She nods curiously, urging him to continue, and while he suspects that it is a bad idea to tell anyone about this, he really wants to rant about it to someone.

‘And Shelika started hanging out with us anyway, so it's only a question of time til she hears about it.’

“I think they called the character based on me Freed or something. And they paired me with a character based on my own brother of all people!” He says, Rex beside him no longer able to hold back his amusement and bursting out loud with laughter.

It's the first time Al has ever heard him laugh that loudly.

“Wait, you are Freed? Oh god, I can actually see it!” He giggles almost uncontrollably, not bothered in the slightest by the glare Al sends him.

“Just you wait. Eventually they will write stories like this about you and then we will look how you feel.” Al says as he points accusingly at his friend, planning in his mind to even help out with that stuff if necessary.

At least he stops laughing as loudly when the teacher walks in, shushing the class to begin her lessons.

Concentrating throughout the day is kind of hard with all the things going through Al’s mind, and for once he is thankful that Torr and Eric aren't here today since they are having a short training expedition again today.

At least Al’s friends don't bring the book up during the day, so that makes the awkward situation a bit more bearable.

Still, as soon as the lessons are over the white haired boy hurries back to his room, trying to avoid the looks the other students send him.

When he finally reaches the safety of his dorm room Al immediately lets out a relieved sigh, feeling far more tired than he has any reason to.

It was like the book was following him. From the corner of his vision he just kept seeing all kinds of people carrying it, trying and failing to hide it whenever he turned his head in their direction.

He knew this kind of stuff was popular in the kingdom, but not this much!

Some girls also very loudly discussed who of them is the top or tops, which just- No. They are far too young for that!

Well, for him specifically (if you were to only consider his mental age) would be old enough, but even during all the years of his previous life, he stayed a virgin.

He had a girlfriend for a while, but he later found out she had been doing the same thing with three other guys to finance her heavy spending habits. Still, despite later knowing that she was just using him, it was probably still the most happy he has ever been during his first life, and despite everything he is still thankful to her because of that.

But that is all in the past. He has some things to take care of before Eric and Torr finish their lessons.

The white haired boy throws his bag to his table before lying down on the bed, already feeling his ears heat up as he stares at the cover, trying to figure out why it just makes his insides feel so weird.

His first thought probably shouldn't be ‘I would really like them to hold me like that’, but no matter how he might try to deny it the seconds after it rushes through his mind it was definitely there.

No no no. He doesn't see Torr and Eric in that way. They are just friends!

Yes, he does like to keep physical contact with them, but that's just a habit that he developed when he still didn't have his magic and constantly felt cold, and the two are like furnaces with how hot they run all the time.

And what if the mere thought of them getting hurt or not seeing them for a long time makes him incredibly sad? It's just because he is thinking of them as family!

That doesn't mean anything, right?

Al lets his head drop on the soft mattress of the bed, releasing a loud groan. He really doesn't have any idea how you feel in these kinds of situations. The best he has to go on are all the romance stories he has read and everyone knows using those as actual information is a bad idea.

He knows how to plan good dates thanks to his ex-girlfriend, but the feeling of it all? That's above him.

Still, Al takes the book into his hands again and starts reading. He doesn't have much time after all.

The young mage soon finds himself getting dragged into the flow of the story, at least when he forgets that it's supposed to be about him. Sometimes that's not hard since things are so far from reality that it's actually hilarious, but then there are those moments that are so on point that it makes him sure that someone from Nord’s territory must have helped write it.

The chapter where Al first met Torr is so detailed that there is no other explanation for it. It got down every single little thing, even the small stuff like that their sisters are friends (well, if you ignore the very obviously added on parts like the fact that Al and Torr danced together during the village celebration on thad day. That never happened).

Before he even realizes it Al is in the flow, absorbing word after word until he suddenly hears the familiar sound of the door open, the voice of his friends flowing in through the open crack.

Faster than eyes can perceive he opens a portal and throws the book inside, closing it just in time as Torr and Eric step into the room, looking as tired as one would expect after the day of exercise.

‘God, it's only a question of time till they find out about that book.’ Or maybe they won't, considering they sometimes miss the simplest things. Or he could just be telling himself that.

“H-Hey! How did things go?” Al asks the two boys as they let out tired groans, not even forming any words as they just wordlessly let themselves drop on the bed on both sides of the mage.

He lets out a small laugh, comfortingly patting his friend's head. “Go take a shower and go to bed. You deserve it. We already did all the homework for tomorrow already after all.” He tells them, and while they let out another tired sound they do as they are told.

Al gives them a small laugh as he watches them do, standing up himself to get a bit of food from the cafeteria for them so they at least get something in their stomachs before they collapse into bed, because god knows they won't be able to walk to the cafeteria after this day.

Maybe Al will continue reading the book when they are asleep. Considering how tired they are, it won't take long.  

_________

Al and his friends are standing in front of the big announcement board that officially reveals the day that the knight student’s fighting tournament will take place, and also the brackets the students will take.

“I guess we will meet each other in the half finals.” Torr says to Eric, turning to his friend with a battle ready grin that is mirrored on the black haired boy’s face.

Mark beside them is almost buzzing in place with excitement. “I can't wait for it! Last year Laila and I visited the tournament of the second year students. Oh, this is so exciting!” 

“That's only because you don't have to help organize it.” Comes a voice from behind the group, and they turn around to see Shelika  walk up to them, carrying a box filled with documents with two more floating behind, held in the air through her magic.

“Shelika! How have things been going?” Al asks.

“Well, as good as they reasonably can be. Organizing the tournaments is always a huge load of work for the entire academy, but it brings in quite an amount of funds every single time, so it's worth it in the end.” She explains, giving Al a thankful nod when he levitates the papers she is carrying over to himself.

“I’m on the way to the office right now, if you want to come along.” She suggests, the others nodding in agreement. They have their next lesson in that direction anyway. It's history again, the bane of Al’s existence, but admittedly, he still handels it better than Torr.

The young mage doesn't know how many times he had to wake up the swordsman because he fell asleep during the lessons. Not that Al can blame him. Their teacher isn't the best in bringing the information over in an interesting way.

At least they have Rex who can help them out with it in case they missed something. The boy is terrifyingly good at memorization after all. Al is pretty sure he is able to recount the words of their teacher one-to-one.

“So, how is Ranna? Is she still annoyed that she can't go to school yet?” Al asks Shilka, who gives him a tired nod.

“Yeah, and it's only getting worse. And with how fast she is improving in magic out of pure spite our parents won't be able to hold her back much longer. I wouldn't be surprised if she somehow managed to get in the next year despite her age.”

Al and Shelika managed to catch up in things after the expedition into the spider forest, and while at first she was constantly sending him that pitying look that Al has started to despise, it has slowly disappeared.

The white haired boy is managing to come around without his second arm very well by now, after all. His levitation magic has become precise enough that even tasks that would require two hands aren't much of a problem anymore.

He can even tie knots with his levitation magic alone now! Things like levitating some cutlery during meals is something he doesn't even have to think about anymore with how easy it has become.

“This year the tournament will be a big one. You guys can be lucky that all the students have guaranteed seats or I doubt you would manage to get one.” Shelika says. “The interest in the tournament seems to be far higher this year than it was the last one.”

“Huh. Any idea why?” Al asks, getting a huff from the student representative.

“Most likely because of you, all things considered.” Shelika says with a small sigh, pointing towards Al in an almost accusing fashion.

“Me? But I’m not even taking part in the knight tournament. People are aware of that, right?”

She just shrugs. “They should be. If not, that is their own fault. But what I mean is that with the recent events all things related to heroics are a big topic again, be it books or actual weapons, and the tournament fits in right with that.”

She let one of the documents she is carrying float over to the other children so they can get a look at it.

“See this? That's the nobles that have already reserved seats from the moment they were able to. Double the amount of last year. I suspect many of them are trying to hire some of the young talents to make the people of their territory feel more secure during these times of uncertainty.”

Al reads with his friends over the list of names, recognizing a handful of them from the lessons with his father, but isn't able to properly place them. He might have to freshen up his memory on the other noble families again.

Rex nods as he reads too, a thoughtful expression on his face. “It would make sense. I heard that many nobles are looking for a way to protect their territories in case another attack of that scale takes place.”

As they walk through the hallways Al sees a number of other officials transporting the same number of documents, all showing the stamp that identifies them as being about the tournament.

It will definitely be a busy few weeks coming ahead.

First the tournament of the first years will take place, up to the fifth week after week. There are also classes above that, but most of them are already working half of the time or are away from the capital for training, so organizing a tournament for them would be hard.

The fights will take place divided over six days of the week, the last one holding the finals with one day being free before the tournament of the next class begins.

Thankfully the stadium is big enough to hold multiple fights at the same time, so they will manage to get through all the required battles.

It's quite big, situated on the outer area of the city, apparently built by the academy years ago on an area that used to be a very old, open air theater plaza that was in ruins anyway since the noble who originally built it died and the family didn't want to finance it anymore.

Well, it's still sometimes used for that, since only using it for the knight tournament during spring and mage student tournament during autumn would be a waste.

Sometimes it's also used for rank evaluation tests for adventurers or military training, so it's pretty well used, since the battlefield in it gives more than enough space for most situations.

To be honest, it's so big that Al has some worries that if a duel takes place on the other end of the area you won't even be able to properly see it, especially during the earlier rounds where many smaller fights will take place there simultaneously.

It's all one-on-one knockout battles, so the tournament will be quite unforgiving. One loss and you are out, but at least the audience will have quite some tense fights to follow.

“Oh I can't wait for it!” Torr cheers. “I can finally show all that I have learned! And I can finally use my sword against proper opponents!”

Eric nods in agreement, looking down at his own blade. According to them it's just not the same if it's simple training duels.

Al has made some improvements on the blades recently, just small things here and there, but sometimes small details can make a big difference.

Some of the changes aren't outwardly visible, like for example the fact that Al made some adjustments to the material so that the swords can multi function as a magic staff. (That part was surprisingly easy to do, all things considered.)

Mages don't need them to cast magic, but they make it easier to use more complicated spells and lessen the magic used by a small amount.

Al is working on some designs for himself, but he hasn't really been that successful at it yet. It will take him quite a while of research till he can actually build something that fits himself in particular, especially with the strong unique magic he has.

Because apparently not every mage can effectively use every staff, something that he was not aware of until recently. He kind of assumed it was as  easy to choose a staff as it was to use a sword, but he couldn't have been more wrong about that.

‘I’m lucky I didn't just pick up a staff and try to use it, or it could have literally blown up in my face.’

But right now that project has not taken priority over anything else, so it's nothing more than a small note in the back of his mind, especially with everything else going on right now.

Thankfully after all this mess is finished he will have his first big school vacation. But until the tournament begins Al will work on his projects while he can before all kinds of organization goes down the drain.

Because he doubts school will be functional in any way during the tournament time.

‘Fun times.’

_________

“Okay. That's it. The two of you will be taking a break today or you will die before the tournament even begins.” Al tells his two friends, crossing his arms with an annoyed expression on his face, the two other boy’s standing in front of him on the training field, sweat drenched clothes sticking to their bodies as they share an unreadable look.

“Not now Al. Just let me go through this first.” Torr says, his eyes sharpened in contraction, seemingly unaware how his muscles are already shaking from exhaustion without even a moment of relief, his skin pale and red at the same time in a way that makes Al worry.

Eric beside him isn't much better, even if his darker skin tone makes it harder to see on first look. Torr is already pale to begin with after all.

Don't get him wrong, Al isn’t an expert when it comes to how far you can push your body without it being bad for you, but this feels like so much over what's okay that even he knows he has to stop it.

But even as he continues to try to talk his friends out of it, they both don’t seem to listen to him no matter what he tries.

Honestly, he didn't think they would care for the tournament this much. They did seem interested in it, but not to this self destructive degree up till recently.

But even if they are suddenly so invested in winning, Al won’t let them destroy their bodies to do so.

Al points his hand at his friends, and while they try to dodge the two aren't fast enough and they feel their bodies lift off the ground, caught by Al’s levitation magic, helplessly floating in mid air behind Al as he moves them off the training field.

“Okay, we get it. Just let us down again.” Eric says, but Al just shakes his head.

“No. You two clearly don't listen to reason right now, and I’m sure you would continue training as soon as I let you down.” The mage says, doing his best to transmiss his disappointment with his eyes

“But Al! We have to train for the tournament. Everyone else does too!” Torr complains.

“Yes, and the other ones have been taking regular breaks, unlike you.” He says as he gestures to the other students. “You know what, I see you're not going to listen to me unless I do this.” 

“Come one Al, let us down. We will take a break!” Eric says, his face red in embarrassment as he sees the other students watch them in amusement.

“Nope. You brought this on yourself. Be happy I don't plan to drag you through the town like this.”

“Through the town?”

“We are going to visit my grandparents. It's a bit sudden, but I’m sure they won't mind. I was planning to visit them much earlier anyway but things always came up that took up too much time.” To be honest, it still kind of is busy.

Al was planning to continue working on the birthday present for Torr today since he finally has the first materials for it, but this takes priority.

The boys behind him hover in the air silently as Al levitates them into their room. “Shower and we can go. If you try to run away I will just grab you as you are, sweaty clothes or not.” He says, crossing his arms.

Eric and Torr hurry off into the bathroom immediately, Al watches them till they shut the door behind themselves, hearing them mumble to each other too low for him to understand.

While they get ready he continues to work on the magic tool that he is working on for Torr, or at least the new construction plan after the last, since his original design literally exploded into his face.

But that was expected, to be honest. The construction of magical devices is not easier, even if it is just to replicate a single spell like the project he is currently doing with Dia, and this one is even more complicated since it includes multiple complex spells.

Before he can properly get into the flow of it again Torr and Eric are already finished preparing, standing a bit awkwardly in the middle of the room as Al leaves behind his papers to join them.

The white haired boy doesn't even bother hiding this from them. It's not like they would understand it anyway. Even some of the other mage students wouldn't.

They look a bit overdressed, to be honest, but maybe they just wanted to put on some of their fancy clothes after always wearing their school uniforms.

‘Or maybe not. The school uniforms the knights have look pretty cool already.’

“So, how are we getting to your grandparents?” Eric asks, a wide smile appearing on the white haired kid’s face as he downs one of his potions as the other two feel the magic gather around him.

“Wait-” Torr starts, but Al is already throwing his arm around the necks of the two, and after a moment of vertigo the area around them suddenly shifts as Al’s magic flows around them like a maelstrom.

From one moment to another the boys are no longer in their room, but instead far above the city, the cold wind rushing around their bodies.

Eric can’t even get out a single sound of shock before he feels his body freezes up, his stomach squirming as he feels his body begin to fall down towards the city below.

Torr doesn't do much better, but he definitely lets his shock of the situation be known, releasing a cry of shock that Al can hear even over the loud wind.

Beside them Eric can see the smug expression on Al’s face before the boy reaches out with his hand and the black haired boy begins to feel his body slow down till they eventually come to a standstill, floating quite a distance above ground.

The young mage instantly feels Eric’s hand grab his body with all his force, to the point where the muscles are shaking a bit, making him look towards the black haired sword man's face in surprise.

Al internally winces as he sees the boy’s terrified expression, his chest swelling with guilt as he grabs the boy to steady him. “Sorry. I went too far with this. I won't do it again.” The mage  apologizes as he creates a barrier below their feet to at least give them the illusion of solid ground as he slowly flies down to the streets below, landing in one of the side streets without people in it.

But it's not like he teleported them this high without reason.

Pinpoint transport of multiple separate objects is still difficult for him, so to make sure he doesn't accidentally teleport someone into a wall or gods forbid another person, he transported them high enough that  they would be away from any danger and would fall long enough that Al could cast levitation spells on everybody.

They safely land on the ground in front of the area to the surprise of some onlookers, watching into the alley from the main street, Al dismissing the spells before turning to Eric again, the black haired boy still looking shaken but not straight up panicked anymore.

“Again, I’m sorry. I totally forgot you have problems with height. I should have wanted you.”

“It's okay. I have to get used to this kind of stuff sooner or later anyway. Especially considering if you want to get around like that in the future again.” Eric acknowledges, taking a deep breath as he puts a hand on his chest, slowing down his rachign heart.

Torr and Al exchange uncertain glances, but accept it as an answer, even if they will probably keep an eye on the other boy for a while, staying close to him as the trio makes their way down the small road leading to Al’s grandparent’s estate.

“S-So! Let's go inside! Torr already met them once before you arrived in the capital and it all worked out fine, so you shouldn't worry about anything if they were okay with him.” The mage says teasingly.

“Hey! What is that supposed to mean!” Torr complains, a pout on his face, but he is clearly trying to hold back a laugh as they walk inside.

The gardener taking care of the plants around the entrance looks up from his work and gives Al a wide smile as soon as he recognizes him, the three boys waving back.

As they reach the door one of the manshion’s servants greets them as they reach the door, giving them a welcoming smile. “Ah, it's good to see you, Alfrid-sama. But I have to say, it's a bit sudden.

“Yeah, sorry about that. It was a spontaneous decision. Are my grandparents home?”

“Yes, they are. They should be in the garden right now. I’m sure they are more than happy you are visiting, even if it is without notifying them first.” The older man says, gesturing down the path to the left.

“Thanks!” Al thanks him as he takes his friends' hands and pulls them towards the well kept garden area, the air already filled with the pleasant smell of the flowers that started growing now that the winter has passed.

The foliage isn't dense yet, the leaves are only just sprouting for most plants, but judging by how fast it has been getting warmer it won't take long till all of it will be basked in a fresh spring green, the flowers in full bloom.

It doesn't take long till they find who they are searching for, Al’s grandparents sitting on a small bench beside a fish pond, simply enjoying the warm sun now that the cold winter air has subsided.

“Al? Oh hello my little boy! What a pleasant surprise!” Elena says happily, immediately walking up to the child and catching him in a tight hug, Lazareth joining soon after.

“Yeah. It was a spontaneous idea. Is it okay for me to stay or aren't you too busy?” 

“Of course it is okay for you to stay. You are always welcome to visit us. Don't worry about not telling us beforehand.” Elena  says with that welcoming smile of hers that always helps Al calm down.

“So! What brings you here? I can't imagine you coming here so suddenly without a reason, considering how busy you are.” Lazareth asks, already glancing over to Torr and Eric a look as he ruffles Al’s hair.

The white haired boy leans into the touch, nodding a bit as he turns to his friends. “These two didn't want to stop training for the knight student tournament even if they really should take a break now and then, so right now I’m forcing them to take one.”

His grandfather immediately laughs out loud as he hears that, heavily patting Al on his back, nearly strong enough to throw him over. “Ah youth. That brings me back to the time I was your age. Never wanting to stop no matter what even if it would have been for my best.”

Elena lets out a small laugh that is just like this of her daughter, politely covering her mouth with her hand. “Ah, this reminds me. Your mother did the same for your fathwr too, including dragging him here to get him away from any training field or sparring partners. You really take after her sometimes, Al.”

Torr and Eric look at each other in surprise, but Al honestly can see that. His sister has to get her enthusiasm from training somewhere after all.

“Nord-sama did?” Eric asks curiously. “He really doesn't seem like the type.”

“I know, right?” She says, taking another sip of her tea with a smile on her face. “He always comes off as calm and polite, but sometimes he gets so into training or work he forgets everything around him. There was that one time he was training so much that it even got too much for Roomba to keep up with for long.”

Al can’t help but agree. His dad is a completely different person when it comes to training sometimes. 

To be honest, the fact that his grandmother knows Roomba is a surprise, but it does make sense that she knows the party her daughter was part of. And Roomba is not the kind of person you could forget.

“Oh, I don't think I have introduced you yet. You already know Torr, but this is Eric.” Al says, finally remembering to do this. At least his grandparents just seem amused by it.

“It's nice to meet you!” The black haired boy says nervously, going into a deep bow.

“Oh, you are the boy Al fought with over a single piece of meat during his first noble party, am I right?” Elena asks, a kind expression on her face, but Al can see the way the edge of her mouth lifts up in that mischievous way the mage knows from his mother.

Eric turns a bright red as he hears that, awkwardly averting his eyes. “Uhm, yes. That's me.” he says as his friends giggle in amusement, getting an angry glare from him in return.

From the corner of the garden All can see the servant from before walking over to them, pushing a small cart filled with food.

The moment it comes into smelling distance Torr and Eric’s stomach let out loud grows, because among the many things they have been neglecting was properly eating, and it seems that their body is more than willing to complain about that fact.

The two fighters blush furiously, but even if they try to hide the way their eyes follow the food it is more than obvious to the amusement of everyone present.

“Come on boys. Eat all you want. You will need all you can get to grow properly.” Lazaret tells them as the servant piles up the food on the table, as if Eric and Torr aren't already far taller than Al. 

The man turns to his grandson as the swordsmen begin to dig into their food greedily, only barely able to keep to their etiquette. “Ah, Al, before I forget it, the things you asked to prepare are finished. Attaching your name to it made it go very smoothly.”

“Great! Now we only have to wait for them to grow.” The white haired boy says happily. “You said they won't take that long, right?”

Lazareth gives him a small nod. “It's a fast growing plant after all, and since it doesn't really care much about the temperature it's already starting to sprout.”

Torr gives him a questioning look, but Al just shakes his head. “It's a surprise. I don't want to get your hopes up in case it doesn't turn out as expected.”

He has made some tests beforehand, but that's not the same as a grand scale project, so he can't really be sure all works out fine. His grandfather said it should, but still.

The mint haired boy seems to accept it at that. All of Al’s friends are used to his personal projects after all. If it would help them, Al would tell them about it sooner or later anyway.

(Or them not pushing him for it might be related to the fact that he once put up a magical trap in front of his experimentation room after the others bothered him about what he was working on. And it turned out stacking two portals on top of each other to make everyone caught in it fall infinitely is quite effective.)

As the group continues to talk Al can see the tension slowly drain out of his friend's bodies, their shoulders relaxing bit by bit till they once again wear the easy smiles the white haired boy knows them for.

They excitedly talk about what they learned in their lessons when Al’s grandparents ask, though Al isn't sure if they are genuinely interested or just want to help Torr and Eric calm down. Either way, he is glad he brought his friends here.

Later the talk evolves into them talking about Al’s inventions, specifically the swords, and the white haired boy can't help getting red in embarrassment as he is showered with compliments. But his grandma seems to notice and carefully diverts the topic away from that without anyone else seeming to notice.

The time passes surprisingly fast, and before Al even notices the sun is beginning to fall under the horizon, basking the garden in a warm orange light that sadly isn't enough to keep away the cold air of the approaching night.

“You kids better start heading back to your dorms before it gets any later. Growing boys like you need to get plenty of sleep.” Elena says, a slightly sad expression on her face. She would have liked it if the children were able to stay a bit longer, but some things can't be helped.

“Yeah, we really should. Thanks for taking the time, even if it was so sudden.” Al says, his grandfather laughing warmly as he ruffled his grandchild's hair.

“Of course. And all of you are welcome to drop by whenever you like. Our doors are always open for you boys.” He says in a warm voice.

They wave to their children as they walk out of the garden, telling them to visit again soon.

Al turns to his friends, a small smile on his face. “So, do you want to walk back all the way to the academy or should I teleport us again?” 

The mage can barely contain his smile at the other’s resigned expressions.

Chapter Text

“Start test number one. Activating magic circuits.” Dia announces seriously, gesturing for Al to pour his magic into the device in front of him.

The white haired boy gives her a nod, slowly letting his magic flow into the big, disk shaped device lying in front of him, following the magic as it runs along the complicated magic circles both on the surface and inside of it.

He can't help but swallow to try and get rid of the lumb in his throat, feeling his hands shake slightly.

This is his first big project that wasn't based on something existing after all, and even if a genius like Dia did it together with him Al can’t help but be nervous.

“That's enough. Stop the magic supply.” The black haired girl announces, so Al draws his hand back and takes some steps away from the contraption and towards his friend.

“It all works like this supposed to, right?” He asks her as he follows the flow of the energy with his senses, her nod confirming his finding.

“Yes. Till now everything seems functional. We can start actually activating the magic.” She says and reaches her hand out towards it, letting her own magic flow out towards it.

The disk lets out a deep humming sound for a moment before slowly rising off the ground, levitating about two meters away from the floor.

A pair of big smiles appear on the friend's faces, Al punching into the air as he lets out a cheerful cry. “We did it! It's actually working!”

“Don't celebrate too fast. We haven't actually tested how much it can carry yet.” Dia tells him but she is smiling just as much as him.

Al lifts a small boulder into the air with his magic, carefully setting it down on the plattform. It doesn't even shake as the extra weight is added, showing no sign of strain.

“Seems to be working fine. No complication in the magic circle even with the added weight.” Dia confirms happily. “But this is making the places where the magic circle is ineffective very obvious.” She tells her find pointing towards a part of the device.

Al nods in agreement, a small frown on his face, looking down on the magical engraving she was pointing to. That part gave him some problems while constructing, but he thought he managed to find a working solution. Guess it wasn't as good as he thought.

‘Well, it is working, but not as well as it should. At least knowing where the problems lie means I know what to fix, even if I already know that those will be dreadful.’

Still, the fact that it's working is more than enough already for a first trial.

Al uses his magic to mold the boulder into the form of a large bowl, letting sand created from the ground flow into it at a steady pace.

He needs to increase the size of the bowl two times before the floating device reaches its limit, the magic flowing through it flying out of it like sparks as it crashes to the ground.

Thankfully it is undamaged since Dia made sure it could withstand some impacts of moderate strength at least. It's something she insisted on when she was helping Al construct it.

“Hm, the fact that it didn't show any signs before surpassing its maximum load is kind of worrying. I would have preferred for it to slowly drift down to the ground instead of dropping like someone cut a rope holding it.” She says, but overall she seems stratified.

What is even better is that the device is still functional after they refill it with a new load of magic. Some constructs can't survive frying their magic circuits, after all.

“So, how did the progress with that thing you are making for Torr go?” Dia asks, getting a loud groan from Al that pretty much answers her question.

“Not good. I just can't get it to stay stable. I manage the form changing aspects, but keeping it in either transformation state without the danger of transforming with the smallest stimulus feels impossible.”

She sits down beside him, giving him a comforting look. “If you need any help, I will see what I can do. But I can't promise I will be of much help.”

But he shakes his head. “This is my gift to him. It would feel disingenuous to get someone’s help, even if I know he won't mind. This is just something I have to do myself.”

Dia just shrugs, accepting his reasoning. “Okay. But if you change your mind, tell me. He is my friend too, after all. I would be happy to help.”

“Thanks Dia, but I think I’m already taking up enough of your time with this one.” Al says as he points to the levitation device in front of them, still hovering in the air without problems.

“Stop feeling guilty about that, you worrywart. How many times do I have to tell you to not apologize about getting help for this? I’m doing this because I want to, not because I have to. Besides, this is just bursting with potential. I won't let such a chance slip through my fingers.”

“Sorry.” Al says, but the moment the word leaves his mother she is holding her pencil at his throat as if it was a knife. “Uhm, thank you, I mean.” He corrects himself, and she accepts it with a satisfied nod, drawing away her weapon.

“At least remember it this time. Now, let's go though the rest of the tests before it gets dark.”

Al nods in agreement, standing up from the ground with a smile on his face.

He already can't wait to make some improvements to the device.

___________

The cheer of the audience is almost deafening around Al as he sits among the crowd of students, shouting loudly as the two students clash their blades on the center of the stage, sparks flying around them as their blades crash against each other with every magic enhanced strike.

“Torr’s fight should be coming up after this one, right?” Mark asks, looking over to the big magical notice board at the side that is basically just a digital screen created through spells.

Honestly, Al is surprised every time what kind of stuff the academy produces, and especially that it hasn't spread through the country.

Well, he knows why it hasn't. All of the devices are hand made from expensive materials, so mass production is impossible. Nobles sometimes commission to have magic items produced specifically for them, but most inventions just never become publicly known and fade away into obscurity.

It's quite a shame, in his opinion.

“Yeah, Torr should be up in a minute max with how fast the fights are going. But it will still take a while till Eric comes up.” Al confirms, having to raise his voice to be audible over the cheers of the onlookers as one of the fighters is knocked out.

To be honest, he didn't expect the first year tournament to attract this much attention, filling up easily over half of the ranks of the big arena despite it not even getting close to the finals.

“And that's a flawless victory for Erdwin Delbar!” The announcer calls over the arena as the boy wins against his opponent, knocking the weapon out of their enemies hand with practiced ease.

He waves to the audience with a confident expression as he walks off the righting space he was on, walking sound the other three as his opponent slouches away with a depressed look on his face.

But Al does not really follow them as he spots a familiar figure step out of the darkened  tunnels that lead into the arena, passing Erdwin as the two boys give each other a small nod.

“And here comes the next challenger,” The announcer starts. “one of the companions of the Starlight Savior! Torr from the Slowlet territory!”

Al feels himself blush as he hears that nickname, but Torr seems to be unaffected by it, proud even if the satisfied smile on his face is anything to go by. Somehow that makes Al feel even more embarrassed.

Torr walks up to the training field as the audience cheers, wearing a confident grin as he waves to the onlookers that seem to give him all their attention, even the other students who should be fighting.

‘I didn't know Torr was this well known, or maybe even popular? I mean, I get it. He is a pretty amazing guy, I feel like I should have heard about this somehow. I guess I should try to find a way to properly know what is happening around school.’

Torr’s opponent is already standing on the small platform where their fight will take place, looking positively miserable. He makes such a pathetic appearance that one cant help but feel bad for him.

But the instructor who is acting as the referee for the fight doesn't leave the boy enough time to dwell in his misery. 

“Combatants draw your swords.” She orders, and both of the boys pull out their blades, but the moment Torr does a murmur goes through the crowd as the blade glitters in the light of the sun like a gem.

“And there it is! The rumored Galaxy Blade created by the Starlight Savior himself! Even I only got to see it in action once, so this is a rare treat!” The announcer says happily.

Al can barely suppress a laugh as the fighters scattered around the area stare at the weapon with a mix of amazement and jealousy.

But the young mage can't judge them. It's a magic sword after all. There is nothing cooler than that. (Not that he is bragging or anything.)

“Get ready!” The referee continues, raising her hand before letting it fall with one last shout. “Begin!”

Torr immediately rushes forwards at the incredible speed Al has seen many times before, his playful smile gone and replaced with a serious and concentrated expression on his face that Al can't help but find really cool (hot).

His opponent tries to block, raising his sword to deflect the blow, but either he doesn't know the enchantment of the blade or doesn't know anything else to do as the surprising weight crashes into him like a bolder.

The metal lets out a loud screech as the blades collide, throwing Torr’s opponent out of the ring with a single strike, knocking the sword out of his hands and making it bounce over the ground.

Torr calmly slides his sword back into its sheath as the crowd cheers loudly, confidently walking out of the ring as the referee announces his victory, the mint haired boy sending a blinding smile to Al.

“And it ended as fast as it started!” The announcer's voice echoes through the arena. “It seems that is all we will see from this knight today, but there is still much to come today!”

“Huh. Torr is actually very well known, isn't he?” Al asks, turning to his friends, getting a shrug from Rex.

“Well, yeah. He is a good fighter and is determined enough to reach his full potential. And with him knowing some magic on top of it he is a step ahead from most people in his year to begin with. And his link to you only makes him even more interesting to onlookers.” The noble explains, looking over the crowd.

It doesn't take long till Al can see Torr walk up to them, a serious expression on his face until he spots his friends, replacing it with that brilliant smile of it that always seems to light up the air around him.

To the side Al can see a group of noble girls mutter under themselves, small blushes on their faces that the white haired mage would have missed if it wasn't for the fact that he used magic to support his eyes.

He didn't even notice how often he was using this trick until he couldn't anymore because of his injuries. He is still so grateful to Aria for helping him.

“Good fight. Your opponent didn't stand a chance.” Al tells his friend with an inviting smile, opening his storage space and giving Torr the crepe he had prepared for after the fight. His friend's sweet tooth always gets bigger after exercise, though it's doubtful if it should even count as that with how little of a challenge his opponent was.

Torr takes it happily anyway, digging into it as he bumps his shoulder into Al’s, leaning their heads together as they watch the fighting in front of them together.

“Eugene -the boy I fought against- isn't actually a bad knight, but he is better when he can use his environment for the fight. This really isn't a setup where he can show his full potential. It's a shame.” Torr explains, taking a bite as he rests his body  against his friend.

Al can feel how some eyes fall on them as they do, but he honestly does not care. And people spread rumors about them anyway. It can't get much worse.

And most importantly, Al enjoys it. After thinking about it for a long time after reading that book written about it, the white haired noble thinks he might like (definitely likes) the idea of the relationship with his friends evolving into something more if one of them is interested in it.

Not now! Definitely not now!

The only reason why he is probably already interested in that is because he has the memories of his previous life.

He knows it is probably a bit weird to be interested in young people, but the opposite, aka going out with people his combined mental age, sends a disgusted shower down his back. He is not going to date people as old as his parents!

Eric and Torr or previously Emma is definitely the area his body agrees with. He guesses it's the hormones. In his previous life he reads that those actually make up a huge amount of one’s thoughts, and his are definitely the ones of a child.

But he doesn't know if one of his friends would be interested in men to begin with. He knows that both Torr and Eric have girls they had crushes on, but Al himself had a crush on Emma for a while, so that doesn't have to mean anything.

Well, Al is going to enjoy all the physical contact while he can, especially if his friends offer it so willingly.

The cheers of the crowd erupting catches Al’s attention again and he soon finds himself cheering along with the crowd until finally Eric steps onto the stage.

Torr and Al cheer loudly for their friend, and Eric seems to catch their voices in the crowd, instantly turning to them and giving them a warm smile, waving towards them enthusiastically.

“And there is another one of our star students! Eric Syford, the Starlight Savior’s other companion is facing his opponent!” The announcer declares loudly. From how motivated he sounds Al suspects he is a fan of Eric and Torr himself.

(But mostly it really feels like they are trying to milk this situation for all the attention they can get to attract more people.)

Just like last time, the opponent doesn't stand a chance, the fight over as soon as it even started.

Eric rushes at his opponent with his sword raised over his head, the blonde he is facing rushing backwards to just avoid the strike, but as the heavy blade crashes into the ground the tiles immediately shatter, deep cracks running through it and throwing his opponent to the ground.

The blonde opponent hurries to stand up and pick up the blade he lost, but before he even has time to move Eric holds his sword to his opponent's throat, the red glow threateningly illuminating his face.

The defeated boy lets out a sad sigh and raises his hand to acknowledge his loss as the crowd erupts into cheers.

Eric swings his sword around one to get rid of the dust covering it before sliding it back into its sheath again before walking out of the fighting area and disappearing into one of the tunnels, giving off the perfect image of a dignified knight.

‘That should count as fraud. Al these people totally think that is how he always is.’ But they didn't have to literally pull this boy out of bed and directly into the bathtub on the days he refused to wash himself after training.

Al expects his friend to arrive here very soon, just like Torr, and his instinct isn't wrong as he soon sees the familiar face approach him from the side.

Just like before Al pulls out some food for him out of his storage, but this time it's closer to a meal for three people since feeding Eric is like filling a sinkhole.

But well, the black haired boy always looks so happy when eating, so Al really can't help himself when feeding his friend.

(If it wasn't for the fact that the knight is constantly training Al suspects that he would have long reached triple his current weight.)

After that it doesn't take long till the tournament begins to end after that, the last handful of fights taking place before the announcer declares the end of today’s battles.

Down in the ring Al can see Shelika discussing something with a teacher, a tired look on her face as she scribbles something down on a sheet of paper in front of her.

Al can’t help but send her a sympathetic look. Maybe he will search for her after this and ask if he can help with anything.

As the group begins to exit the building they hear a voice call out behind them, and when they turn they see an older noble walk up to them. “Starlight Savior! Please wait a moment!”

Al tries to not make it too obvious how he cringes as he hears the name, his friends doing their best to hold back laughs as they watch his expression, but by the time the noble gets close the children have their faces under control again.

“Ah, thank you for your time. I promise I won't bother you for any longer than necessary.”

“It's no problem.” Al says with a polite smile that according to his friends is a ladykiller a the boy tries to remember where he knows the noble from. “What did you need to talk about?”

The young mage spent a lot of time memorizing the different important nobles, but he still hasn't finished all the work, and this particular face seems to evade his attempts to recognize it right now.

“Ah yes. I will get straight to the point. Would it be possible to create swords like that of your companions for some members of the royal family too?” He asks hopefully, but his expression drops when Al shakes his head.

“I’m sorry, but that won't be possible. These blades are specifically designed to fit these two down to the smallest detail of their magic, which I am only able to do because I know them so well. I cannot create such blades for anyone unless I have an exact understanding of them.”

It's not a lie, but to be honest he also doesn't want random people to have his weapons without him having control over it. It might be a bit selfish, considering that these weapons could save lives, but they could just as easily take them, which is not something he supports.

“And then he also has to find a fitting piece of material that can be molded in that way on top of it all.” Mark says with a depressed look. The brunette has been trying to get a weapon for himself too, but Al has yet to find some ore that fits him.

Al agrees to the comment with a nod. “I haven't found any that fits me either. Discovering the ones for these two must have been a wink of fate.” He says as he gestures to Eric and Torr who proudly show off their blades to the noble.

Torr lets the man attempt to lift it, and when he isn't able to move it at all it doesn't even seem to be disappointed by it, instead overflowing with interest in a way that reminds Al of many of his teachers.

It somehow makes Al sure that if the man had higher magical aptitude he would be a researcher at the academy too.

“Well, it is a shame. As the one responsible for supplying the royal armies with their equipment it would have been amazing to give them a blade of this quality. Too bad that it's not possible.” The noble says with a sad sigh, but he doesn't actually look that downhearted.

“Wait, that means you lord Bernhofer, right? The man who is responsible for the ore and metal supply of the capital and its troops, right?” Al asks, a bit impatient.

“Oh, it seems I completely forgot to introduce myself in the hurry, but yes, you are correct. I’m happy you recognize me.” He says with a smile. “From your expression there seems to be something you want to ask?”

“Yes. My friends here and I are currently working on developing a magical device and have just finished the first testing phase, so we are in need of quite an amount of high purity metals. With the masses that we require it would be hard to obtain it from stores, so getting it directly from the source would be preferable.”

The man gives him a happy nod, a wide smile on his face. “But of course!" I would be happy  to support the endeavors of our country’s youngest hero! But to discuss it in more detail it would be preferable to have this conversation in my office. You can just come visit at any time. I will inform my secretary of your arrival.”

“Thank you. I will be seeing you there soon then. If possible tomorrow after the next tournament day already.” He says, shaking the older man’s hand as they say their goodbys.

When he turns to his friends all of them except Dia wear mischievous smiles (the inventor excluded because she has the same happy and slightly obsessed expression as Al).

“What’s wrong?” He asks, crossing his arms and making an expression that is definitely not a pout no matter how often Eric says it is.

“It's just, you always get like that when it comes to inventing something new.” Torr says with a grin. “You look happy like a little child. Your sister used to tell me you are like that as long as she could remember.”

He blushes a bit as he schools his expression into something more noble, trying to not show his embarrassment but failing miserably.

“Well, you will be looking the same once you see the finished product.” He tells them, Dia nodding in agreement, noting down something on the notebook she seems to always carry around.

“With this we only need to find a reliable way to hire workers that can do the more simple tasks so we finish it earlier than in ten years.” Dia says, which should really not be something the white haired noble isn't excited about, but with the goal in sight, it's at least definitely worth it.

Maybe Al should ask his grandfather. He always knows stuff like this.

Chapter Text

Al loudly cheers as Eric’s sword crashes with that of his opponent, his adversary using all his power and is still barely able to resist the strike even while she is using some basic strengthening magic.

Neither of his two friends has been forced to use magic yet, which they actually seem a bit bummed about. They have been training hard after all and want to show off the progress they made, but up till this point they were just carried by their equipment.

The two have specifically avoided showing all how far they have come to surprise Al, apparently, and slowly the white haired mage is also getting eager to see it.

Watching them fight is always an amazing feeling. Despite their young age you can just see that they know what they are doing and that they worked hard to get that far. It makes his heart warm with pride every time he sees them.

And not to forget they look very cool. 

On the other side of the arena a group of girls and some boys cheer as Eric perfectly disarms his opponent, hitting the blade out of her hand and making it price into the ground, holding the tip of his sword to her throat.

“And that's the match! Let's give the two combatants a cheer!” The announcer calls through the arena, and the crowd doesn't hesitate to follow the task.

Today is the last day of the tournament, only the last handful of battles remaining now. Both Torr and Eric have one more battle now before they will face off against each other in the half finals.

Al can’t help but be a bit nervous. He knows his two best friends aren’t sore losers and will take the loss against the other with stride, but they definitely will be down because of it.

He knows it's not something he can avoid, that's just how tournaments are, but still.

The fights continue to pass one by one, and while Al cheers along with the overly full audience he mostly just cares for those involving his friends.

Thankfully he doesn't have to wait long, the number of battles being far less now that the amount of fighters has shrunken down to a fraction of what it used to be, only a handful remaining.

Right now Torr is having his quarter finals match, his opponent giving him a serious look as she angles her rapier towards him, he body tense but still seeming flexible in a way that scarily enough reminds Al of his sister.

As soon as the referee drops her hand the girl rushes forward, cutting through the air like an arrow as her body sparks with the energy of a simple fire boosting spell as she skillfully pierces her sword towards Torr.

The boy throws up his sword to deflect the attack, sparks flying from the clashing blades as she is deflected past him from her momentum.

Torr uses the momentum of her strike to turn around himself, swinging his sword in a wide arc, but with one boosted step she easily moves out of range of the strike, tensing in a way that shows she is preparing another charge.

But Torr won't make it that easy for her, diverting the path of his strike towards the ground, the blade crashing into it at full speed and throwing up a cloud of shards and dust towards her.

The girl frowns, angling her stance to the side to avoid getting hit, but losing her charged up energy for it, and she abandons it to instead swing out with her sword towards Torr with a magic boosted step.

She might be able to use the spell, but she doesn't have much practice, Al is sure of that from how she handles the speed, and Torr knows it too.

When she charges again he follows the moment of her rapier with his eyes, watching how it arcs towards his body before slamming his own sword against hers with full force with surprising speed as he pushes all of his body into the motion.

She obviously didn't expect that, a shocked expression clouding her eyes, and while she has all the speed she needs, the enchantment on the galaxy blade makes it as if she swung against a wall with all her force.

Even from this distance Al can see how her face twists in pain as the shock of the impact vibrates through her wrist, her grip softening just long enough for Torr to use the moment of weakness.

With a practiced move he lines his sword with hers, their handguards entangeling with each other before he twists his weapon, ripping her sword out of her hands and throwing it into the air.

But his opponent doesn't give up that easily, using her healthy hand to jab out towards his face, still supported by her boosting magic and barely giving him time to evade, grazing the boy’s cheek, leaving behind a pitiful looking gash from her metal glove.

But the move left her wide open, and before she can grab her fallen weapon Torr slams the flat side of his sword directly into her body with all the force he can muster, throwing up shards of rock as he does.

She gets tossed backwards from the force, rolling over the ground for multiple meters before slowly coming to a halt, gasping for breath to recover from the impact against her lungs. Torr hits like a bolder, after all.

“And that's it! The winner is Torr!” The anconcer shouts to the cheers of the audience. “That was a close battle! One good hit on either side and the results could have been much different! She really had the companion of the Starlight Savior on the ropes here!”

But the girl just shakes her head, taking a deep breath as her lung begins to recover thanks to the medic currently taking care of her.

“That's only because he didn't use any boosting magic!” She loudly calls into the audience. “He didn't even use his magic to save it up for the next fight.”

Torr gives her an awkward look, rubbing the back of his neck. “Sorry.”

But she waves his apology away, not looking particularly bothered by the situation. “It's a logical decision. Injuries and exhaustion can be recovered faster than magic if you have this many medics around. I just don't want any praise for something I didn't really deserve.” 

Al can’t help but smile as he hears that. A true knight then. Thankfully it looks like even if she didn't win this fight, she still earned the approval of many of the nobles present.

But what she said about saving up magic is true.

And Eric seems to be going for the same strategy, saving up everything he has for the fight against Torr, because both know they will need it, with how similar they are in terms of battle prowess.

Still, he and his opponent deliver a good fight that the audience seems to greatly enjoy.

When it comes to pure technique Eric is still ahead of Torr, having far more experience fighting with a blade, and the way he dances around his opponents strikes makes it almost look like he is a leaf flying in the wind.

Which Al finds hilarious because when it comes to actual dancing Eric is the biggest mess he has ever seen, even worse the Torr and Dia who are already less than stellar. It's hilarious every time they have dancing training in their etiquette lessons.

The white haired mage had hoped he would be allowed to meet up with his friends during the time between the matches, but that sadly isn't the case as Shelika had informed him. He would have asked her for the reason, but she already seemed stressed enough as it was without him taking up more of her time.

And while Al and his friends have offered to help with some of the paperwork, she had to refuse, saying that they don't have the clearance for it, but she seemed to appreciate the offer.

(Al made sure to at least bring her some sweets to help her get through the day. She definitely appreciated that.)

The other two fights pass relatively fast, blades clashing in a way that displays their fighters skills, but honestly Al doesn’t think the two victors of those matches will be able to win against Torr and Eric unless they have been hiding some aces.

They might be better than Torr when it comes to pure experience, but they don't seem to be especially capable of magic, and also in terms of equipment nothing is equal to their magic swords.

After all the quarter final battles have finished the school’s principal steps onto the stage, the older woman giving off a dignified aura that makes the entire audience quiet down without even needing to be prompted.

Following her are all the students that have made it to the quarter finals, and Al can't help the happy feeling as the crowd cheers for Tor and Eric in the way they do, because he knows his friends deserve it.

The two of them worked hard to get this far, working themselves to the bones day after day with endless endurance, always searching for new ways to improve.

“I’m happy to see so many people decided to enter our yearly tournament. I hope the fights of our talented students up till now have been to your liking. And now we finally are nearing the finale of the first year’s tournament!” She declares proudly to the audience, getting loud cheers in return.

Down on the stage Torr and Eric exchange a look as the speech of the principal continues, and even if Al should probably listen to her, the way his best friends look at each other somehow makes all of the young mage’s hair stand up.

Turning to the friends sitting around him only confirms his suspicion, all of them carefully avoiding his gaze, some more obviously than others.

“Okay, I know that face.” Al says, crossing his arms. “You are hiding something again because of my two idiots.”

The others don’t answer verbally, but the way they are averting their eyes says more than words ever could.

But right now Al is having none of that. “Tell me what's going on. Last time it was the right decision, and it will be now too.” Or at least he hopes so. Mostly he just absolutely hates being out of the loop.

And the fact that he doesn't know important things about his friends and thus is unable to help them with it just sits wrong in his stomach. Since his injury they have sometimes treated him like he is made from glass, as if he would break at the slightest pressure.

His friends exchange some looks, Rex shrugging before bumping Mark by his shoulder and shoving him at Al.

“Wha- Why me!? I did it last time already!”

But Rex just nods in agreement. “Exactly. You did it so well last time, you can do it again.” He says and the girls nod in agreement.

Mark just lets out a sad sob, letting his head hang in defeat. “If the two found out I told you about the first part it would already be enough for them to chase me through the city. So you have to promise to protect me once they find out I told you.”

Al just huffs in amusement, but nods in agreement, which seems to calm Mark a bit.

“Okay, and don't get angry at me either.” He takes a deep breath. “They have decided that whoever wins their fight get to ask you out first.”

Al instantly chokes on his own spit, feeling his face burning with heat, coughing loudly as he feels the heat spread all the way down his neck. “Wh-What?!”

“Yeah, well, they were actually pretty serious about it.” Laila says. “It's actually pretty cute, but kind of idiotic. Not that that's new for them.”

“So they are…” Al asks awkwardly, not able to keep eye contact with his friends as they give him dumbfounded looks.

Rex just gives him a glance somewhere between disbelief and resignation. “You know, with you usually being so mature I sometimes forget what an idiot you are when it comes to social interactions.”

“Eric and Torr have been flirting with you for a while now. Or well, tried to, so I can see why you didn't notice. But with how touchy you three are with each other I kind of assumed you noticed to some degree.” Laila says, looking slightly amused.

Al is still staring at her in shock, but he is ripped out of his thoughts when a loud sound echoes through the arena, calming down the noisy crowd.

“Then let's start the half finals you all have been waiting for!” The principal announces as some more magical fireworks explode above her, the organizers not holding back for today's event.

Al curses internally. Torr and Eric’s match is the first, which means he won't be able to talk to them now, so he has to watch his friends step onto the battlefield with stiff faces because they are idiots who can't just talk things out like normal people.

“If anything happens to these two because you didn't tell me earlier I will make you regret it.” Al mutters to the others, making their faces shift to worry as Torr and Eric step up on the fighting stage with serious expression.

They don't move their eyes away from each other even a moment, their shoulders tense as their hands already rest on the hilts of their swords.

On the side Al can see some mages begin casting a barrier spell around the arena, protecting the audience with a thin but sturdy bubble of energy that only the mages will even notice being there.

It's a good decision, Al thinks. This is going to be messy after all.

“Then if anyone is ready … Begin!” The referee shouts, jumping back the moment she does, and for good reason.

Torr doesn't hesitate to release his magic, lightning cracking over his skin and illuminating the ground around him before the dust explodes up as the green haired boy rushes towards his opponent.

His blade glows with energy as he slams it down on Eric with thundering force, a loud crash booming through the arena, throwing up clouds of dirt around the combatants, but Eric doesn't falter, reinforcing his body with his own magic to resist the power.

With a practiced motion Eric lets Torr’s blade glide off his own, making it crash into the ground as the brunette swings his sword upwards towards Torr, slicing through the dust filled air at an incredible speed.

The green haired boy releases a pulse of energy from his body, pushing himself away from Eric to avoid the strike, feeling the wind created by the blade rush over his face as he flips through the air.

Torr doesn't hold back energy in the slightest, not planning for this to be a long fight when he knows Eric’s stamina is better than his own, releasing every bit of the magic stored up in his galaxy blade over the last weeks.

The lightning erupting from his body rushes through the air like sparks as he sprints around Eric fast like lightning, trying to find an opening while shooting out sparks of electricity to break his opponents concentration.

Eric follows the other swordsman's movements with a tense expression, letting his own magic flow over him to block the sparks that are too fast to dodge, even if it greatly drains his own resources, standing in the center of the arena like a fortress, ready to block any strike.

From the stands Al can see a frustrated expression appear on Torr’s face, not finding any opening in his opponents defense large enough to use, and if he continues like this his stamina will run out first.

Torr gathers a bolt of lighting in his blade, flashes of light erupting all over his sword before the weapon sends out a beam of concentrated electricity towards Eric.

The brunette turns around and raises his blade to block the spell, but instead it suddenly curves toward  the ground, shattering the knight’s foothold while throwing up a cloud of dust.

Eric barely has time to react when suddenly a storm of slashes reaches him from the cover of the cloud, breaking the last of his balance and throwing him backwards, another barrage of electrified slashes flying at him before he even hits the ground that manages to hurt even through his defensive spells.

But the strikes have thrown the two out of the dust and away from the shattered ground, so with lighting quick speed Eric stomps down on the earth, muttering an incantation under his breath as he swings his sword toward the shocked Torr, a pillar of stone erupting from the ground towards the lighting user at the same time from the opposite side.

Torr instantly pulls up his sword to block the attack, withdraws his lighting to reinforce his own body, but he can't block the two attacks at the same time.

The shortened incantation weakens Eric’s spell’s power, but it still does the job, slamming into the green haired boy’s back  with all its force, throwing him up high into the air.

The referee looks like she is about to say something, but before she can get a word out Torr erupts into lighting, pulling out all the lightning that he used to reinforce his defense and sending it to his blade, draining the last drop of energy form his reserves and funneling into this last strike.

Eric instantly realizes what his friend is doing, and with a pulse of energy he does the same, his meteor blade beginning to glow in a molten red as his magic layers around him like an armor.

With a loud shout Torr’s blade erupts in a bright light as he shoots towards Eric like a living lightning bolt, the swords meeting in a clash of magical energy that shakes the barrier around them, many of the mages in the audience flinching at the violent sensation.

The two fighters’ attacks collide in a bright flash of magical and physical energy, Al having to cover his eyes from the intensity, before suddenly only the sound of falling debris is heard in the arena, no longer any sign of Eric’s humming metal and Torr’s crackling electricity.

Al doesn’t hesitate to jump down into the arena as the smoke clears, breaking through the already damaged barrier and running towards his unconscious friends with a concerned expression in just the same ways a group of medics does.

“It … It is a draw!” The referee announces loudly, breaking the silence that has settled over the arena as the group of healers kneel down beside Torr and Eric.

Al reaches the medics just as the crowd erupts in cheers, breaking themselves out of their state of shock and wonder, so loud that Al almost wants to cover his ears. But he can't exactly do that right now.

“Please let us do our job, Starlight Savior.” The woman leading the group tells him as she splashes a potion over one of Torr’s wounds, ripping Al's attention away from his friends. “If you appear to not trust our capabilities it will reflect badly on both parties.” She says with a dangerous edge to her voice.

It's not exactly a threat, but definitely close to it. And the dangerous sound in her voice is close enough to that of his sister that Al finds himself nodding before he can even form a coherent thought, the medics using this chance to put Eric and Torr on stretchers and carrying them off into one of the tunnels leading deeper into the arena.

Al lets out a deep sigh as he watches them go, forcing his erratic magic flowing through his veins to calm down.

He knows he can't help his two idiot friends right now. Healing is not something that seems to be possible with the spells of this world, completely restricted to potions and related stuff that Al is so bad with that any attempt to help would only cause further problems.

But after this Al sure as hell will try to find a way to heal people with his spells. With his idiot friends he will need it.

The white haired mage teleports off the stage as the principal tries to gather the attention of the crowd again, using his magic to jump towards the main entrance hall where he is sure not to teleport into something by accident.

The boy appears floating in the air with a flash of light, and thankfully no one is around to see him, so he doesn't have to waste any time talking to people.

Al runs towards the direction he knows the infirmary to be, looking into the rooms he passes to try and locate his friends, and even if he shouldn't be here since he isn't a knight student or one of the event organizers, but no one seems interested to stop him.

It's not hard to find Torr and Eric, just having to follow the medical personnel carrying fresh equipment through that hallway, carts filled with all kinds of bandages and medical concoctions.

There are a bunch of potions they use in this world for healing, but all in all it's honestly not that well developed yet. They can help recover from some basic injuries, but it's not instant like they would have been in all the fantasy stories he used to read.

Of course he had tried to read up on how they work in an attempt to improve them just like he did with spells, but that was the day he found out that potion brewing is an art far above him and hasn't touched the concept since.

(Experiencing that had only made him respect Aria even more. And she is an expert in potion brewing and alchemy on top of being amazing in magical device construction.)

‘And there isn't a known magic that can just heal injuries. That would probably have been the easiest for me personally.’

But that means that Torr and Eric most likely won't be able to take part in the finals even if they somehow were to decide a winner between them.

The door to his two frind’s room is open, and the healers just give Al a nod as he steps inside, finishing treating the wounds before leaving the three boys alone. Sometimes he is really glad for the influence being famous gives him.

Torr and Eric look a bit awkward. Okay, more than a bit, but most importantly they don't seem to be seriously hurt, mostly just drained from using too much magic at once. Al knows that feeling all to well from all his training sessions.

It's like having sore muscles but instead it's your veins that radiate the pain and stiffness.

Al gives the two of them a small smile, releasing a fond huff. “You two are some pretty big idiots, you know that?”

He waves his hand to cast a small spell, shoving the two beds they are in together to create one big one, crawling on it so he can sit between his two friend’s legs.

“You know, you could have just asked me instead of throwing deadly attacks at each other.” He tells them, but he can't quite keep the fondness out of his voice as shocked expressions appear on his friend's faces. They might be idiots, but they are his idiots, after all.

The two avert their bandage-covered heads even more, trying to avoid looking at the white haired boy, but Al just moves closer to them, laying his hand on the leg of one while placing his hip against that of the other.

Al feels his face heat up, because he can't believe he is saying this out loud, but…. “You know, if it's okay with the both of you, I would have enough space for both of you in my heart.” He says, averting his eyes to the floor as he flushes in embarrassment.

The room is silent for a moment, but before Al can say anything else he feels the bed under him shift a bit, and he finds himself caught in two pairs of arms that crush the air out of him.

He looks up from the ground, his ears still burning with heat, but all the nervousness instantly melts away as he sees the bright smiles on his friends faces.

Seeing them so happy makes a comfortable warmth settle in his chest, and he can't help but let out a small laugh as he leans into the touch of the other two, feeling some happy tears gather in his eyes just as it does for the other two.

‘Yeah, this was definitely the right thing to do.’

Chapter Text

Al can’t help but smile to himself as he reads the new letter in his hands that he has just gotten from his grandparents, or mostly from his grandfather to be specific.

It seems that the general plan Al has made for a more stable and widely usable sugar production in this country is a general success till now. Good news considering Al only has a very basic understanding on how sugar was produced industrially in his old world.

They are still in the testing phase, with only one field and one building where they extract the sugar, but the magic tool Al and Dia built for the purpose seem to be doing their job and that plants are growing well.

The sugar isn't exactly the clean white he had hoped for, more brown and less uniform crystally, but the taste is near  perfect, and that's the most important thing, after all. (Or maybe that's just him missing sugar. It's far too rare in this world after all.)

Lazareth seems to already have put all things in motion to turn it into a large scale business, buying more plots of land, hiring workers and contacting some of his merchant friends, even if according to the contents of the letter Lazareth and Al probably will have more than enough work on their hands by just supplying the near area now that the sugar will be more affordable to everyone, so large distance trading won't be a problem this fast.

Al has also sent the instructions on the production back home to his father alongside some of the devices used for sugar extractions after consulting with his grandfather.

He doesn't have the resources anyway to supply the entire country and so Nord can take care of producing sugar for the eastern side of the kingdom while Lazareth takes care of the west.

And the project will probably work even better than Al’s first expectations because the closest thing in this world to a sugar beet is a plant that actually doesn't take nearly as long to grow and can be planted all year long, enabling two harvests a year.

From his initial tests it has a slightly lower sugar content than the ones he knows back from his world, but that can probably be solved with good breeding of the plants.

(But first he has to look up if that is a concept already existing in this world. It would be weird if he just pulled that out of nowhere, and with the production of sugar alone he is already acting suspicious enough. It probably won't be a good idea to make people look at his actions even more closely than they already are.)

He folds the letter in his hands back up and puts it into one of his storage spaces. The boy should probably just throw it away, but having what seems like an infinite storage space really does not help his tendency to just collect things.

The boy opens the door to his room to spot Eric and Toor spread out over the bed, scribbling on some pieces of paper.

They got some tasks from one of their teachers to analyze the matches of the upperclassmen going on this week as some kind of homework. To say that they weren't happy about it would be an understatement.

Right now the last class is holding their tournament, and it is attracting the expected attention, filling the stadium to the brim every single day. Well, the first two days that have taken place till now.

“How much progress did you make?” Al asks the other two, approaching the bed. Torr grabs him by his hand and pulls him into his arms as soon as he is in range, Eric rolling over so his body is draped over the mage like a sack of potatoes.

‘And also about as heavy as one.’ His friends do not seem to plan to stop growing both their bodies and their muscles, which is a great source of frustration for Al who barely grew over the last year.

(Aria suggested it's because his body is busy fixing his magic veins when Al complained about it to her, so he might start to catch up with them once they finish healing. He desperately hopes she is right.)

“It's hell! This is so boring!” Eric complains loudly, one of his hands covering his eyes while the other is stretched out in an overly dramatic fashion that would not be out of place in a stage play.

Torr lets out a laugh but nods in agreement, playing a small kiss down on Al’s cheek that makes the white haired boy blush a bit.

Al still finds himself to be a bit hesitant to show affection that easily, but he certainly enjoys the amount Torr showers him with, who doesn't seem to have any restraint about such things.

“Can you make curry today again?” The mint haired boy asks hopefully, turning to the mage beside him as he lets his homework drop to the side.

“Sure. We should have enough time.” Al says, leaning his head on Torr’s chest, just letting himself relax for a while. 

In the end he didn't manage to finish the magical equipment he wanted to give the young swordsman’s birthday in time, it still is not finished in fact, so he had to find something else that would make a good gift.

The fact that he stumbled on some important ingredients for curry was by complete accident.

Al was doing his first discussion with Lord Bernhofer concerning the metal delivery in the trading guild when a familiar smell reached his nose, leading him through the building till he eventually reached a merchant of exotic medicines.

The white haired boy doesn't have any idea if Curry actually has the medical benefits the man claimed, but that doesn't really matter, because now finally could make the dish he had been missing for so long.

And it also was a good birthday present for Torr. Well, after Al threw in some extra training equipment and a bunch of other stuff he found on a shopping trip as additional presents.

The fact that Torr and Eric are officially his boyfriends now certainly did not lessen his desire to buy things for them.

Al giggles to himself a bit at the thought. Calling Eric and Torr that still makes him feel all giddy. He can't even judge himself for being childish like that.

He lets himself slide down Torr’s body so his head is in the mint haired boy’s lab, maneuvering Eric’s head so he can run his fingers through the brunette’s hair as he reads what his friends have already written down, which is honestly not much. Both of them are more of the practical type than theoretical.

“Want me to help?” He offers, getting an immediate nod from his boyfriends in return.

He leans down to the text, reading over the lines as he feels the other boy’s move closer to him, surrounding him in a comfortable warmth as he explains the solution to his friends. Who knew that the sword fighting theory he learned from his dad would come in handy like this.

Al takes the writing feather from Torr, beginning to scribble down some of the answers, because at this point he has read the school books of the two about as much as them with how often he assists them in their homework.

But this time he gets why they need some assistance. He doubts any of the students will have an easy time with this considering how theoretically advanced this topic is. 

Even for Al it's pretty difficult and most of the students in the knight classes aren't exactly the type to be good in kind of stuff, so the teacher must have really wanted to keep the students busy. 

But well, it's not really a bother if Al can cuddle his new boyfriends like this while working on it.

____________

“So, just to make sure, you really need such huge amounts of all of these materials?” The trader asks Al for what feels like the dozenth time, only for the boy to nod just like he did every previous time.

“Yes. The project me and a friend are working on needs quite a bit of materials to complete. The numbers are all correct.” 

To be honest, they would have been even bigger had it not been for a fact that Al asked around for some parts among the teachers, students and other mages in the school beforehand.

But he understands the man’s uncertainty. The amounts of materials he requested are enormous, and despite all the money Al has amassed thanks to his fight and various other things, it will take up quite an amount of his earnings, but it will be worth it in the end.

Hopefully. It should work out like he intended to. Dia and him are working on it together after all, and she is an absolute genius when it comes to magic item construction. (And if even that isn't enough, Aria could help out too.) 

And if it does work as intended, Al will finally receive something that was somewhat of a childhood dream for him during his first life.

A flying castle.

Their work on a floating device was a huge success, advancing in leaps after their first big breakthrough, so now they are working on increasing the scale of the project. Literally.

The size of the magic device itself is big enough that Al already hired some mages as workers for when the materials arrive, because otherwise he would never manage to finish it in anything close to an acceptable time.

Funnily enough, the building of a castle to lift into the air with it should actually be less difficult, considering how much Al has improved his earth magic. He managed to build a house in minutes years ago, so a castle won't be that different.

‘I hope the lord manages to gather the materials soon.’ Al muses as he signs the contract, the man smiling happily at him. It's not usual to get this big of a deal after all, especially not from someone hailed as a hero in this country.

That has to be good publicity for him.

Now Al only has to find more competent people to work on the device itself, because doing it with Dia’s help alone, it would take years, no matter how talented the girl is, there is only so much she can do while the two of them are still busy in school.

The people Al has hired up till this point won't be enough after all.

Thankfully Aria seems to be generally interested and also offered to ask some of her friends and research partners if they were available, for the right price of course.

And while the boy’s finances might have shrunk a bit, he still has more than enough to pay for a couple of people to help him with this, especially when they won't put the prince too high since they are interested in the project.

‘And I have been out hunting monsters with Torr and Eric a handful of times by now, since doing it with the two of them actually makes it kind of fun, I have a stable supply of income.’

Ideally he would like the crafting to be put into motion before he heads home over the spring vacation, so the time he is away won't be wasted.

The time they have their bigger school vacations is different here than in his previous world, falling onto the spring and autumn where many people are required for agriculture, freeing up some extra workers since it can make things far easier to do large scale projects.

During winter some fields tend to be destroyed by the weather and monster activity after all, and the mages can fix that pretty easily.

The boy says his goodbyes to the trader with a polite bow and teleports out of the room. By now people have found out about that skill of his anyway, and it is quite amusing to see their reactions to it.

He probably has more fun with it than he reasonably should.

The boy appears in the sky over the academy with a small flash of light, materializing in the center of a small magic shield.

After some comments from Rex about how unsafe Al’s teleportation is and some suggestions on how to improve it, the white haired mage started teleporting a small sphere ahead of him to prevent any accidents.

It's been working pretty well, not taking up much energy or concentration, so Al would count it as a great success.

The mage levitates himself down towards the school, floating through the window to step in one of the many hallways, the eyes of some of the students that happen to walk by following him.

Al doesn't even bother to knock on the door he landed in front of, not hesitating as he opens the unlocked door with his magic.

“Aria, do you have time to test the stuff you made me keep in my storage space?” Al asks as he walks into the room, stopping when he sees a strongly glowing device standing on her table, radiating very ominous waves of magic that makes every hair on his body stand up.

“Uhm, should I maybe teleport that away?” He asks a bit nervously, already creating a shield around himself as he gets a very quick nod from the teacher.

With a quick swipe of his hand the device is teleported away, into the sky high above the academy surrounded by multiple layers of shield just to be sure.

That turns out to have been the right choice as only moments later Al feels most of the shields shatter, followed by a muted boom that makes its way though even the protective barrier.

“Aria, don't you already have a warning from the principal about not doing dangerous stuff in your lab anymore?” The white haired boy asks while he casts another spell to levitate whatever remains of the device back into the office.

Levitating stuff from this distance is quite hard, difficult enough that he has to constantly keep chanting in his head, but all his time using this spell to replace his missing arm has made Al quite proficient in it.

Aria looks a bit embarrassed, awkwardly avoiding the boy’s judgemental gaze. (Al would like to cross his arms to convey his disappointment, but that's not something he can do anymore with one arm, so he instead decided to put it on his hip. It will hopefully give off a similar look.)

“I know I know. I really should be more careful, but I had an idea that I just couldn't wait to try out!” She explains as whatevers is left from her invention is levitated through the window. “Though I should probably have made some better preparations.” 

She looks over her destroyed invention for a moment before letting out a small sigh. “Well, that is something for later. You wanted to bring me the stuff I asked you to keep in your storage?”

Al gives her a small nod, pulling out the shelf full of different objects she made him store. “Yup, here it is. Is it really necessary to store this much different stuff?”

“Of course it is! Until we test your storage space on all kinds of magical influence and pollution we can’t be sure if it is safe to store the magic potions in there without them decaying and losing effect.” Aria tells him, but her attention is already on the samples in front of her.

Al just lets out a fond huff. Once she gets like this he won't get an answer out of her for some hours, so trying to hold a conversation like this would be a fruitless endeavor.

With one last look at his teacher Al walks out of the door again, leaving behind one prepared meal he pulled out of his storage. She probably won't notice until her hunger nearly kills her, but when it makes her snap out of her concentration she will at least have something at hand right away.

“I should probably get back to Torr and Eric to make sure those idiots don't try to move out of their sickbeds for training again and agitate their wounds like they did yesterday.” He mumbles.

There is always something to do around here, and Al kind of suspects he won't get another day of rest till they make their way back to their home territory.

But to tell the truth, for once he really can’t find it in himself to dislike it.

_________

Al and his friends sit in the audience of the third year student tournament, interestedly watching the fights taking place down on the stage.

Honestly, it is not as impressive as the fight between Torr and Eric. The two of them used all their abilities and sword’s capabilities to their fullest, and what Al has seen from the third year students nothing has yet reached that level of impressiveness.

(Well, looking at it from a point of pure sword technique they are more advanced than Eric and especially Torr, but Al is a mage before all, so he doesn't find it as interesting as the magic swords and flashy effects.)

‘But we haven't reached the upper parts of the tournament yet, so that might change later on.’

Well, everyone is still enjoying it, so it's not a problem. Even if the fights aren't as flashy, they still really display the skill of the fighters.

It's only the second day for the students of this age, so most of the fights honestly aren't that interesting.

Well, to Al at least. He is used to the sword fights between his father and sister after all. Some regular students don't really match up to those battlemaniacs. But to the audience the fights seem to be amusing enough, if their cheers are anything to go by.

What catches Al’s attention the most is that unlike most of the first and second year students, now all of them have proper fighting equipment during the combat.

It's probably the same armor and weapons they use when they go to expeditions or hunts through their lessons, obvious signs of use from top to bottom in a way that shows how many fights they have taken part in up till this point.

“We should really get some equipment for ourselves.” Al thinks out loud, getting the attention from his friends.

He had kind of avoided talking about this topic before, since it would intersect with the gift he had planned for Torr’s birthday.

The small project he was working on as a gift for his friend functioned like a storable piece of  armor. Something that can just be a normal piece of jewelry until the wielder needs it and it turns into a full suit of armor.

But he wasn't successful up till now, and Eric and Torr need to get used to fighting with armor sooner or later.

The two have of course already fought with some proper plate on, but only with equipment borrowed from the academy during their lessons and not something permanent they own and can make adjustments to fit their needs perfectly.

And to be honest, Al has been planning to search for a magic wand for a while, since none of those the school just gave out to students his grade worked for him.

His friends all seem to think it is a great idea and Al’s suggestion to go right this afternoon is welcomed with open arms.

“I know a good place that isn't that far away that sells for a good price for its quality. Its somewhere many high ranking adventures go to get their equipment.” Rex tells them, and everyone agrees to check it out pretty fast.

It's not like they have a reason to refuse. The noble is pretty reliable with this kind of stuff after all.

It doesn't take long till the tournament begins to die down for today, and as soon as it is finished the seven students rush out of the stadium towards the place Rex told them about, or at least try to since they have to fight their way through all the other people who also want to leave the stadium.

“You know, if you guys weren't such wimps I could just teleport us there.” Al tells them, getting stinky eyes from all his friends.

“I am never going to allow you to cast that hellish spell on me ever again unless absolutely necessary.” Dia tells him with a serious look, Laila and Mark intensely nodding in agreement.

“Spoilsports.” Al complains, but he has a small smile on his face as he does so. He gets why they are uncomfortable with it after all. It's quite a weird feeling for him too, and to him the magic doesn't even feel foreign like it does to his friends.

It takes the friends a while to reach the shop, located in one of the outer areas of the town in a small alley just off the main street.

To be honest, the storefront doesn't look that impressive, but you shouldn't judge a book by its cover (even if technically that's exactly what a cover is for) and they step inside after Rex who confidently opens the door.

As soon as Al enters he knows this was the perfect place to go, and he has to concisely keep himself from freezing in pace so the others can enter the shop too.

The big room is lined with shelves filled with all kinds of stuff any adventurer could ever need, ranging from armor to weapons to potions in just the area Al can see right now, and every single piece lining the shelves just gives off the look of something made by a master.

‘Do they have a master blacksmith employed here?’

He is pretty sure if he would look into a mirror right now he would see the same wide smile he can spot on his boyfriends’ faces. Actually with how sharp and polished the equipment is Al could just look at his reflection in those.

“Welcome customers! Is this the first time in our shop, am I right?” A voice comes from further in this shop, a young man leaning around the corner of the shelves.

“Y-Yes, this is our first time.” Eric answers, looking away from the armor that he has been staring at.

“I thought so! I probably would have recognized you otherwise. And most importantly you don't wear any of our equipment.” The shop clerk says, walking closer to them, looking them up and down for a moment.

“Do you want some recommendations or do you just want to browse for a bit?”

“I would like to, you guys too?” Al asks his friends, getting a nod from everyone but Eric. He has quite a bit of experience with armor and other weaponry after all.

The clerk leads Al towards their assortment of staves first, giving him a tool that is supposed to help him find a staff that fits his magic, looking like a small orb and not that dissimilar to the ones they used in the school for the same thing.

As the white haired mage infuses a bit of his energy into the magical device, Dia and Mark doing the same since the two are also looking for some staves that fit their unique magic better, the rest of the group is led off to some other sections of the shop.

Apparently it leads deeper into the earth, and just from some basic magic sensing Al can tell that it is going down more than two levels.

Building underground structures like that isn't exactly cheap in this world, even for mages (though mostly because of the paperwork), so the shop must rake in quite an amount of money to afford such a commodity. Al makes sure to check the other levels out after he finishes this.

The three mages pool their mana into the orbs, Al finishing first and the other two soon after, but unlike the two of them who find staves reacting to their energy orbs reasonably well, Al only gets the slightest reaction from two of the earth oriented magic staves.

He lets out a deep sigh, looking at the orb in his hand with a dejected look. “You know, somehow this is not a surprise.”

Finding a staff perfectly fitting his unique attribute was a shot in the dark anyway, but he at least hoped for something he could use till he is able to craft his own without the risk of it blowing up in his face.

Dia gives him a sympathetic look, already holding her new staff in her hand, its polished copper texture already radiating her magic as she feeds it into the weapon before she can try it out.

“Don't worry, I will help you make one of your own. Maybe they even sell some materials here to make your own staves with. I’m pretty sure I saw some staff catalysts when we walked through the shop.”

Al gives her a thankful smile. “Thanks, but I don’t think I’m good enough at constructing staves to even know where to start.”

Mark comfortingly pats the white haired boy on the shoulder. “Don't worry, we will help as much as we can. Besides, once you will be able to craft staves, you probably will create staffs better than anything they can build here for us too. And you kind of built some already when you crafted Torr and Eric’s swords.”

Al looks over to Dia, the earth mage looking a bit guilty, so Mark hit the nail right on the head with suspicion that she wanted a staff of her own out of this. Though Al can’t judge her for it. He would do the same.

“Well, if you two are satisfied with what you got, let's go down to the cellar where the others are and look what they found.” Al suggests, not wanting to stand beside all the staves that all don't work for him. It's kind of depressing.

Them standing all around here almost feels like a taunt.

He just hopes his other friends found something good or Torr will be all pouty for the rest of the day.

Chapter Text

Al takes in a deep breath as the fresh land air flows around him, spreading his arm to catch all the warm spring sun that he can as the many trees around him sway in the gentle wind, their leaves rustling calmingly.

Ah, he missed this. The only time when he got to enjoy a real forest was when his class did some expeditions into monster infested forests for training exercises, and that just wasn't the same, especially not with it being cold winter.

Torr seems to think the same, if not more so, lying down on the soft grass with a satisfied expression on his face.

“You two are ridiculous.” Eric tells them with an amused expression, going through some training swings with his sword a bit to warm up his muscles.

“Oh, you wouldn’t understand, city boy.” Al says as he lies down on the ground too, using Torr’s chest as a pillow.

Apparently Eric’s family lives in a relatively big city, the biggest one in the territory in fact. The small town Al and Torr come from can't compare to it in the slightest.

Unlike the Slowlet’s small idyllic collection of villages, the Syford govern over one of the country's bigger trading ports that is built around the military training facilities they are responsible for.

Apparently the security has attracted more and more traders to the area so the city has been growing over the years with no sign of stopping.

“Come one you guys, we still have our work to do.” The brunette says impatiently, but there is that fond look on his face that makes it really clear he doesn't mind waiting.

But sadly he is right, they sadly aren't here just to spend the day relaxing.

Al stands up with a small sigh, holding his hand out to Torr to help him up before turning towards the edge of the forest spanning out in front of them, looking to the sides to see a handful of other groups just like his own in the distance.

There has been a sighting of some trolls reported a day ago, and that is a problem better taken care of as soon as possible before they attack any civilian or start building a nest.

And with the tournament still going on, specifically the third part that attracts the most visitors, the city guards are a bit busy at the moment.

Some adventurers were also hired to hunt for the monsters, but the royal family wanted to make sure the problem gets solved fast and used its authority to push the academy into motion.

So even if Al is a bit annoyed at having to do this today, both for his still not fully recovered friends (even if they don't seem to be bothered by it, the battlemaniacs) and because he could work on his magical devices. 

Well, at least Al at least knows that he is helping protect people.

Normally first class students wouldn't be involved in stuff like this, but since Al and his friends are quite strong already the higher ups included them in this hunt too, whenever they want it or not.

Rex was also forced to take part in this, and he was about as happy about it as Al.

And he can't even spend the day with his fellow mage since they have to travel in groups of three so they can effectively span the width of the entire forest to make sure nothing escapes their notice.

In the distance the sound of a horn echoes over the plains, signaling the beginning of the search.

The groups will all stay in close enough proximity so their magical detection doesn't leave any gaps for the trolls to slip though, gradually scanning the entire forest.

Normally it wouldn't be easy to search for monsters like that, but trolls actually have a quite high amount of natural magic in their bodies, that being the reason they can recover as fast as they do, but they are also very stupid and constantly let it run wild, basically functioning like a beacon that makes the detection spell incredibly effective.

They are still supposed to hunt for other monsters they happen to find, taking them out now that they have just awoken from their winter hibernation and are still weaker, so it will probably be quite a busy day.

Luckily Al’s magic reserves are big enough to hold the spell up for the entire search without any problems (as long as he has his potions at least), for some other mages it won't be that easy.

The three boys keep their attentions sharp as they travel, Al in particular to be able to react fast enough in case his still recovering friends are targeted by any monsters.

He still doesn't have a staff, and his research into that direction hasn't been very successful, even with getting access to the advanced library of the academy thanks to some of the teachers. (Sometimes it pays to be a model student.)

All magic staves are a bit different, the principle behind their function not yet fully understood, so most are constructed by just combining random materials that have worked before till a functional one is found.

There are some rules that have been found already, but mostly just discovered by process of elimination and not because the crafter actually knows why.

(Apparently it is not good to use wyvern and dragon bones in the same staff, no matter how similar they appear, if you want to keep your hands in one piece. Al has read that particular advice so many times that he is starting to wonder how bad the results must be.)

The young mage has gathered all the information about the staves that had even the slightest reaction to him, but till now it doesn't seem to be enough. His space magic is simply too complicated.

From the distance the young noble can hear the sounds of combat, his magic enhanced senses picking up on the familiar sound of swords striking other weapons made from wood, metal and stone.

After that it doesn't take much longer till Al picks up something entering the range of his search spell, but the creature runs out of range before it could come near any of the three boys, probably running into one of the other search parties.

In the end, Al’s group doesn’t get caught up in any combat, and while he is thankful for that, it makes the already boring day feel pretty useless.

And on top of it Eric and Torr are annoyed by it too, even if they really should be happy about it considering how much they complain about their injuries still hurting every evening.

Al had to help them out of the bathtub three times over the last days because their muscles sometimes still stiffen up (getting hit by strong lighting magic is not good for you, apparently. What a surprise.), and the two are heavy, growing like weeds by the day.

He lets out a small sigh. ‘Well, then it's time to distract the two for a while.’

As the different groups step out of the forest, mud and various other stuff staging their boots after the long hike through the forest that is definitely not as dry as it first looked, Al walks over to his two grumpy boyfriends.

The white haired mage pulls the two of them lower with a small spell and places some small kisses on their cheeks, instantly feeling his face heat up. A part of him thinks he will never get truly used to being able to show affection this openly.

(He still has to stand on his toes to reach that high which he finds incredibly unfair.)

“So, since we have the time, how about we grab something to eat in the city? I heard of another good restaurant from Aria recently. It seems to sell some very exotic food.” Al tells them as he tries to keep the blush he most definitely has on his face to a minimum.

Aria actually talked more about buying some of the monster remains that they didn’t use for cooking from the restaurant, but the other two don't need to know that.

“Sure! I’m starving!” Torr agrees instantly, moving down to catch Al in a tight hug, Eric nodding in agreement too as he shakes off some of the mud from his boots.

Thankfully the post expedition report doesn't take long, the three playfully leaning against each other as they discuss what they think the restaurant will be selling, so distracted by their conversation that they barely notice the time that passes till they reach the capital.

Though that doesn't mean Al misses the thumbs up and wink Rex gives him from the distance as the white haired boy walks off towards the city.

____________

Al can barely hold himself back from sending a nervous glance towards the servant sent by the royal family, keeping up that noble look he learned from his father being far more difficult than it has any reason to be.

The young mage doesn't know why he is suddenly brought away from the school like this without any previous warning. He didn't even have time to inform Eric and Torr.

What is even more worrying is the fact that he isn't being brought to the palace, the carriage they are in instead slowly making their way out of the city, the only sound being the the cluttering of the wood as they drive over the cobbled street.

‘Did I do something wrong?! I don't remember anything illegal! Are they bringing me out of the city to get rid of me?’

The nervous bounce in his leg is only barely suppressed, but he can't keep his eyes from anxiousky darting out the window again and again, following their route through the capital.

The first thing Al thought about was that someone might be pretending to be sent by the royal family when he was ordered like this without a warning, but Al recognized both the messenger and banner of the carriage.

It doesn't stop him from getting ready to defend himself though. In case someone is successfully blaming him for something the white haired boy isn't going to take it lying down.

The boy takes a sip of his healing potions before secretly preparing a cast of his teleport spells, keeping the feelable magic to an absolute minimum as he chants in his mind so that any potential onlookers won't notice.

Tough Al nearly drops his control over the teleport spell when the carriage comes to a sudden halt just outside of the city gates after only following the outer wall for a moment.

The boy sends another glance at the noble as the older man steps out of the chariot, revealing his back to the mage without hesitation, Al following him out into the plains as his eyes snap to an older man and a group of other attendants giving him a happy smile.

“Ah, Starlight Savor! It is good to see you. I don't think we have met since after the parade before you even entered the school.” He says as he holds his hand out to Al.

Al takes it with the best smile he can, desperately hoping he doesn't actually demand Al to say his name because the boy can't remember a name to the face he is currently standing across. “The pleasure is all mine. Could I ask why I was brought out here so suddenly?”

“Oh, I thought you would have been informed of it beforehand.” The noble muses, sending a look over to the man that had escorted Al here, who shakes his head without saying a word. (Actually, Al is starting to wonder why he doesn't speak, but it feels like it would be potentially very impolite to ask.)

“Then I apologize for the sudden excursion, somehow informing you must have been forgotten somewhere along the line. But let us not wait any further. I hereby, in the name of the royal family, officially allow Alfred Slowlet to use the surrounding area for the temporary use of his magical project construction.” He says gesturing over the large plains surrounding the group.

“The Royal family has heard about your bigger project in the field of magic, and the academy clearly doesn't have enough space for some of your more ambitious projects, so this should be of help till you eventually own enough space for these kinds of things on your own.”

Al doesn’t know if he should be nervous about how the royal family is spying on him to the point that they know his project would take a big building space (it's definitely the flying castle project, because what else would this be about?), but he isn't really surprised by the fact. His father warned him of this.

‘But they must be getting really impatient finding some kind of reward on the way so the populace is kept calm if they suddenly throw something like this my way. Or they are planning to butter me up for the future. That's equally possible.’

Though from what Rex (who Al is starting to suspect is some kind of information broker with all the information he somehow keeps getting) has told him, the kingdom's nobles still aren't agreeing on what to do with him, so something like this was inevitable.

Almost any of the parties wants to keep someone capable of killing the giant monsters on their side no matter what, but the king is more or less forbidding any excessive actions that could sway Al to moving away from the capital where he helps keep the royal family safe.

The young mage is really glad he has been able to avoid most of the meeting for now, but he isn't delusional enough to think that it will be the case for much longer.

“The royal family is aware that it isn't much, but it would be proud to further the growth of a young mage of your talent, so it would like to support your endeavors with this small present.” The noble says with a proud ring in his voice that makes Al cringe internally a bit.

The young mage gives the older man a small, polite bow. “I am grateful for their kindness. I promise I won't waste their gift.” 

The noble gives the boy another happy nod and directs him towards one of his posse while excusing himself, saying he still has some business to take care of today so will have to excuse himself earlier.

The assistant Al was directed to give the boy a better rundown on how large exactly the area is, revealing that it reaches nearly all the way to the edge of the fields surrounding the capital.

“Till now the royal family hasn't given an exact date on when you will have to clear the land again, but you probably shouldn't stretch it out more than necessary.” She tells him almost offhandedly, but Al is barely listening.

He never thought getting stalked by the royals like this would turn out to be so helpful to him. Now the last problem he was still working on concerning the construction disappeared all on its own.

‘That means now I pretty much have everything prepared! Now the things I already bought have to be delivered and the project can finally start! Wait, I can just do the delivery myself once they arrive in the capital with my space magic.’ He can barely suppress the childish giggle at the thought as he feels himself shake with anticipation.

But the area is still a little bit too open to be constructing things in, so as soon as the royal’s servants make their way off the property Al immediately starts setting up some stone walls with his spells around the perimeter.

He can’t have random people wander in and get hurt, or worse, steal some of the materials or construction plans.

Thankfully the young noble is quite proficient at earth magic, so as the time passes he slowly raises walls of rock around the building site similar to that of the city, and he doesn't miss how some guards gather on top of the city wall to watch the spectacle.

Maybe he will try to somehow convince Dia to help him build the walls so he doesn't have all the attention on himself.

____________

“Are you sure I can borrow all these books over the spring vacations? Won’t you need them for anything else?” Al asks his teacher, getting a warm smile from the old lady in return.

“Oh don't worry about it. I wouldn't have offered it if I needed them at the moment.” She tells him, just waving off his worry as she piles even more books on the table in front of him.

She is Al’s teacher on the topic of naturally occurring magic, a pretty broad subject from magical ores to animals and many things more, though that is understandable since it's just an introduction to those topics that is later split off into different specializations that the students can choose in higher classes.

Tough Al might actually try to enter all of those advanced courses, even if he would just be required to take two of them.

Most of his friends gave him confused or maybe concerned looks as Al told them that. So he guesses it's just his fascination for the topic he still carries from his previous life, and not really that interesting to most people who grew up with it.

“Thank you. I will return the books as soon as I can.” Al tells her with a small bow as he stores the heavy books in his storage space. Each of them is big enough that you could kill someone with them.

“Just take your time. If you rush yourself, you will never reach your best. Just make sure to write everything down that you find out so we can add it to the archives.” She tells the boy before excusing herself, saying that she still has some staff commissions to take care of.

Teaching is only her side job, but she says that she sometimes just needs breaks from tinkering and likes the change of scenery.

With one last goodbye she hurries back deeper into the library, trying to search the documents for a special material she can use for a staff she is currently working on, wishing Al a fun vacation as she disappears between the tall shelves.

The library is more empty than it usually is, the normal crowds it usually holds thinning out now that the spring vacation is about to begin as the fighting tournament is finally over.

According to Shelika it was a great success, attracting more people than it did over the last years. Great news for Al since that money flows directly into the bank that sometimes sponsors the more expensive materials he uses in class.

As the boy leaves the library, making sure to be as quiet as possible now that he isn’t accompanied by professor Marigold any longer because the librarian is honestly terrifying and doesn't react kindly to anything he recognizes as ‘trouble’. 

When Al leaves the library he  comes across a bunch of servants carrying stacks of suitcases, piled up onto each other into small mountains.

The white haired mage already has most of his things packed, stored in his storage space together with Torr’s luggage, so he thankfully doesn't need to bother anybody else with them. 

“I should probably go visit grandma and grandpa before I leave. The vacation is pretty long after all.” He mumbles as he raises his hand to gather some magic, and from one moment to the other he pops up floating above his grandparents mansion, even if this might be one of the last chances he would have to go buy stuff in the city.

Since the others are busy at the moment he would have to go alone, and Al honestly doesn't want to walk through the town without any of his friends. He tried that once, and people immediately started flooding him from all sides.

The boy casts a small spell to stop himself from falling, gently floating down towards the entrance when he spots his grandmother in the small pavilion of the rose garden.

With a small smile Al flies down to her, landing beside the parlor on the cobbled walkway, the old lady jolting a bit in surprise, but immediately giving the young mage a smile once she sees his face.

“Oh Al! How kind of you to come by. Did you already finish all the packing for your way home?” Sha asks, tanning up and walking over to the boy catching him in a warm hug.

“Yeah. It doesn't take long with my magic after all.” He says, letting himself relax into her. She really gives off a feeling similar to his mom, but more soft around the edges. Still, it's close enough that it helps lessen Al’s homesickness.

But soon he won't have to deal with a substitute anymore, finally able to meet his family again. The thought alone is enough to make his chest feel all warm and fuzzy.

“Did you already have tea? I have some wonderful cake from the bakery down the road that you have to try.” His grandmother tells him, gently shoving the boy towards the table in the pavilion, but somehow the motion seems weird to Al, making him feel a bit hesitant.

‘Did I do anything that could make her angry or was I just imagining it?’ Al panics internally as he is led. ‘But I can't remember why she would-’ He says when she looks over to him with the exact same look his mother gave him when she saw him hang out with Eric after their initial meeting, the one that is very similar to all the girls who carry around THOSE kinds of books about Al.

‘Oh no she wants to talk about relationships!’ He realizes with a shock, but he is already pushed down on the seat beside the table before he can stop the motion, his grandmother sitting down across from him with a smile that isn't nearly as calming as the young noble would hope.

He is considering just standing up and running away, because this is not something he is ready for, and might never be. But before he can so much as twitch a muscle his grandmother sends him a look that immediately freezes him in place.

‘And here I was wondering how mom got it from.’ His brain just has a bit of trouble comprehending that she got it from his always kind and mellow grandmother.

Elena takes a sip from her cup of tea before setting it down with a small click that somehow seems to drown out all sounds around them, Al nervously averting his eyes, feeling like he is on court right now.

Suddenly he hears a small sound, making him look up to his grandmother who is visibly trying to hold in a laugh, only to burst out laughing seconds later.

“Oh don't be so nervous. I'm not going to bite your head off my little star.” She says, reaching over to pat his head in a comforting way that only makes him blush in embarrassment. “I’m happy for you. I was wondering how long you would take to realize.”

“Was it that obvious?” He asks, this entire conversation not doing his pride any good at the moment, and he is pretty sure he is as red as tomato if the heat in his face is anything to go by.

“Oh positively! You were just like your mother when she first met your father. Hmm, young love.” She says wistfully

Elena gives her grandson a warm smile. “I’m happy for you. Not many people have the pleasure of finding their special someone at such a young age, let alone two people who are able to fill that place in your heart.”

Al looks up to the older woman with big eyes. “You really think so?” He was a bit nervous if his family would be against this relationship, them somehow finding a problem with it despite how open they normally are. He knows from his first life that people often aren't very accepting.

“Of course I am. You should treasure your bond with those two. I know they do it for you.” She tells him with a small smirk, wiggling her eyebrow. “I already heard quite a lot about you three from some of my friends. I wish I had two pretty knights fight for my hand in my youth. Did you give them a kiss for their troubles when you visited them after their fight in the arena?” 

“Grandma! Don't say that!” Al cries out, hiding his face behind his hands. “How did you even hear about that?!”

“Oh this old lady does have her connections, and I’m not above using them, especially if it's concerning my dear  grandson’s happiness. Even more so since my other two grandchildren don't seem like the type to go fishing for someone any time soon.” She jokes, taking a small bite from the cake in front of her.

Trying to calm himself down he does the same, and while it in fact tastes as good as his grandma claimed it doesn't change how Al feels like he is going to burst into flame from how hot his face feels.

“But truly Al, I’m glad you have Torr and Eric by your side like this. I know your life will be one filled with obstacles, but no matter what happens, I know those two will be at your side all the way. I just know. Call it women's intuition.”

Al gives her a small smile, feeling warmth grown in his chest. “Yeah, I know.”

“But I won't bother you with this topic any longer. I think this is enough for today.” She says with another polite laugh as she turns towards the entrance of the garden where Lazareth is approaching the duo, Al incredibly grateful for this chance to end his suffering.

But well, he has to admit, the talk wasn't that bad.

Chapter Text

Torr and Al hold Eric in a tight embrace, simply hugging the black haired boy for a long, long time before splitting, and even then it feels far too soon.

“Do you really have to go? Can't you just come with us into Lord Nord’s territory?” Torr asks, but he gets a head shake in return.

“No, my family is expecting me to come home. I’m going to miss you guys, but it has to be this way. And I miss them too. I haven't seen my siblings in such a long time.” He says, a sad look on his face.

“We are going to miss you too.” Al says, hugging his swordsman once more, a frown on his face as he stares at the carriage about to take his friend away as if the vehicle was actually at fault for it.

“Here, something for on the way.” Al says, opening a portal and taking out a big box, handing it to the brunette that is filled with all kinds of food that he knows Eric likes. 

The noble boy lets out a small laugh as he takes the box, a grateful expression on his face. “You know, If I didn't know better I would think you are trying to fatten me up.” He says, with a  small grin.

“Oh, we all know you will eat these things in a single day and burn all the calories just as fast.” Al says, and the burning part might as well be literal with how hot Eric usually runs, he is practically a walking furnace.

“Take care of yourself, okay?” Torr tells him, getting a small nod in return. “And you can always write us a letter if something goes wrong, okay?”

Eric gives them a grateful smile, leaning in for one last hug. “Yeah, I promise.”

After a bit more exchanged goodbyes the noble climbs into his carriage, Torr and Al waving after him until he is out of view, disappearing among the other carriages of students heading home now that the summer vacation begins.

Because of that it is quite busy on the school’s main plaza right now, filled with the carriages of all kinds of noble families, only a handful of students not heading home during the vacation.

The carriage for Torr and Eric should arrive not far from now, their luggage prepared already. 

It's not really visible since Al has stored everything in his storage, the boys only have a small backpack each so they don't have to open the mage’s storage for every small thing.

Al has packaged everything he needs, from his clothes to his magical devices to all kinds to potions Aria prepared in advance. Thanks to his storage space they don’t go bad after all, and right now he probably has enough stored up to reach him till the end of his recovery if he wouldn't use any magic at all.

All their other friends have already left, every single one of them heading home already. Laila and Mark will probably arrive first. Their families aren't far from the capital after all, so it will take them under a week.

It takes a while till the carriage arrives, but it's not really much of a bother since Al and Torr can just peacefully spend some time together. It's something Al can never get enough of.

The boys sit down under one of the trees lining the schoolyard, finding a comfortable space on the soft grass that is warmed by the gentle spring sun, Al lying over the other boy’s lap, reading a book as Torr runs his fingers through his hair.

Of course people are watching them, especially the girls, but it's not something they can really avoid at this point, so why does it matter. At least like this they won't imagine other things to put into their books.

And just because people are watching that won't stop Al from being affectionate with either of his boyfriends. It's not like the looks they are getting are negative or judgey ones, though the amount of support they seem to be getting from most of the female students can be quite overwhelming at times.

Once their carriage finally arrives the crowd has started to clear up a bit. Al had hoped that some of his family or the servants had enough time to get them personally, but this time of the year is always busy, so it sadly wasn't possible.

And their entourage waiting till everyone else is gone is a good decision, since once again the royal family insisted on some proper protection during their travels, despite Al probably being stronger than them now that he can use his magic again.

But well, it's always good to have assistance since he can't always stay awake and stand guard.

The two boys greet the guards and coachmen with a polite bow, the young mage taking a moment to explain their missing luggage after spotting their confusion.

“That makes traveling so much easier.” One of the guards muses after he hears the explanation, and now that Al looks at him he looks more like an adventurer compared to the other guards. Maybe he is an ex adventurer who decided to settle down? He looks about the age.

Nord has told his son a bit about the life of most adventures, and this seems to match up with what he had been taught. Many of them eventually settle down once their endurance for long adventures goes down.

“Well, if we don't have to pack up, let's not waste any more time.” The leader of the group says, getting a nod from all the others.

Al had already said his goodbyes to his grandparents yesterday, promising to visit them as soon as he returned back to the capital for the second half of the school year, same with Aria, so he doesn't have to say any more goodbyes to anyone.

Lazareth promised him to watch over the sugar production while he is gone, so Al knows it will be taken care of very well. His grandfather doesn't joke around when it comes to business, after all.

The two boys sit down on the soft cushions of the carriage, a small shake announcing the start of their journey as they begin to make their way through the city, the cart hobbling over the cobblestone road.

Al is kind of used to it by now, even if he knows his ass is going to hurt like hell by the end of the day, because they have not invented suspension for chariots yet.

They drive over one particularly bad crack in the road that makes a small frown appear on Al’s face, while Torr beside him just appears amused by the emotions on the mage’s face, not looking bothered in the slightest.

‘You know what, I’m going to bring vehicle suspension into this world. I definitely have enough time during the journey.’ He thinks to himself, because no matter how soft the cushions are, nothing is going to save his ass if he has to continue traveling like this.

He pulls out a sheet of paper from a portal before releasing his magic to analyze how the carriage is constructed under him, noting it down on the paper in front of him before he starts making sketches on how to implement his desired changes.

The young mage definitely has all the materials and tools that he will need on hand, storing everything so he can face all that comes his way. And no, it's not because he has a hoarding problem, no matter what Eric says.

Al might not be as talented in metal magic as Eric, but he has far more magical energy to spend on it so the result will be good enough.

He does some sketches when they drive over another big bump, causing his pencil to scratch all over the page, leaving behind a deep dark line.

“This would be so much easier if I could just teleport the entire way back home.” He complains, letting himself dramatically drop on Torr’s lap, the knight letting out an amused laugh.

Once he has completely recovered it should be possible, probably, but with the high amount of energy the teleport requires, especially since he would have to take Torr with him. Aria suspected it would be a bad idea, even with the potions.

And while she is definitely crazy, she is also highly competent in her field of study, so it is a good idea to follow her reasoning on this one.

‘Well, at least I get to spend some more time with Torr.’ He thinks to himself, taking his boyfriend’s hand and placing a small kiss on it, giving him what he hopes is a charming look.

The swordsman gives him a smile in response, a slight blush dusting his cheeks. “You know, you really got your father’s charm. And no one else gets to see you like this.” He says with the most satisfied expression on his face, leaning in so his forehead rests against Al’s.

“Well, except Eric, but seeing him be all cute unlike when he is outside makes it more than worth it.” The knight says, making a weird gesture with his hands.

Al lets out a small laugh, nodding in agreement. Eric does get really cuddly when it's just the three of them. 

The two of them continue to just fool around to pass the time, eventually reaching the current design Al has made for the magical armor he is designing for Torr.

Since it's not really a birthday surprise anymore Al told Torr about the magic item he was working on for him, and the two have come up with plans together since then, adding all kinds of design ideas and functions.

Torr can't really help with the theory behind it, but he throws in good design choices and most importantly gives some good ideas that help Al for some plans on how to solve the points he is stuck on. The blond boy was always good at just spitballing random thoughts that end up pushing him in just the right direction.

It doesn't take long until the sun begins to set and the group makes their first stop, starting to set up camp on the edge of a small thicket of trees that will give them a bit of protection on these sprawling plains.

They haven't encountered any monsters yet, but that's not really a surprise since they are still close to the capital, at least while they are on the main road.

There aren't as many monsters around the area, the frequent amount of travelers and traders with guards causing them to avoid these areas, and if anything is dumb enough to actually attack it is taken care of pretty fast.

‘And on top of it all the knight and mage academy does their hunting and training in the area. That really keeps the monster population down.’

Still, just to be sure Al begins to create a defensive stone wall around their camp with his magic. One can never be safe enough after all. Though it gets him some surprised looks from the entourage.

“Lord Slowlet, you don't have to work like that. Our guards will be more than enough for such a short stay.” The leader of the guards says, looking a bit nervous as he sees Al and Torr take part in securing the area, but the white haired mages just waves his concerns off.

“Don't worry, it's not any work. And please don't call me lord, I don't have that kind of title.” The ‘yet’ goes unsaid, but everybody hears it. By now everybody is more than aware that the only reason he hadn't yet is the lack of an empty seat.

And the talks of his possible reward have not slowed down in the slightest. Rex has told him that the royal family seems to be up to something but has yet to find out the details. And since usually the force mage is pretty exact with his information, Al is kind of worried what might happen in the future.

‘At least the open marriage talk is off the table now that I’m in a relationship with Eric and Torr.’ But don't believe that stopped people from sending him marriage proposals in private. The only change there is that people now also send them for their sons and not only daughters.

Apparently the fact that he has two boyfriends made people believe he intends to add even more to the group, which they could not be more wrong with.

Because no matter what some people seem to believe and really like to write books about apparently (seriously, how do those people write so fast? There are already three more books out about him!), he does not intend to build a harem for himself.

“Well, if you are sure.” The guard captain says a bit nervously. “If it's really not a bother, your help is greatly appreciated.”

To be honest, Al is holding himself back with this to not shock them. He could have dropped his traveling hut out of his storage or just straight up built a defensive fortification for them. Earth magic is his specialty after all.

And all mages always have a thing for the extravagant. Mage towers are a thing for a reason after all.

But he will have to control himself a bit. Leaving behind a fortified structure on the side of a traveling path without active living occupants will only cause monsters or bandits to settle in it.

Once Al is finished with his wall he joins the others back around the campfire set up in the center, ignited with the help of Torr magic to the amazement of the rest.

His boyfriend has made quite the name for himself after the spectacle he and Eric made during the tournament, showing a fight that the onlookers won't forget any time soon. 

Quite a number of nobles tried to hire him, more so than the knight student who actually won the tournament, but if Rex information is anything to go by a big part of that is that the nobles want to build a connection to Al.

Still, his and Eric’s fighting power definitely played the biggest part.

The fact that the fight also brought a huge amount of attention to Al as he was the one to craft their swords was a bit annoying, but he just gave them the same reason as he did Lord Bernhofer on why he can’t make them any swords.

Despite that, the white haired boy is sure that there will be people trying to get closer to him just so they have a chance to receive a weapon like this.

Al sits down on a log beside Torr not far from the campfire, giving the other boy a small smile, cuddling closer to him to escape some of the still cold spring night air that the fire does not protect them from.

The mage mostly just stays quiet while Torr enthusiastically talks with the guards, asking them for tips and combat, his attention especially focused on the retired adventures in the group.

And while the guards give them some looks, they aren't negative, and from the other side of the camp Al can hear someone gush about ‘young love’. 

The two excuse themselves soon after they had some food, helped out a bit by Al providing ingredients from his storage, retreating into the tent set up for them.

Torr seems excited by it, always happy to do things adventures would do, and Al will not let the free time during their travels, when he finally doesn't have to do any work to do, go to waste.

It has been far too long since he didn't have any schoolwork or other stuff piling up on desk, and you can believe he will not let this chance pass by him, especially if no one in his family is around yet to drag him out of bed.

He crawls into his sleeping bag with a satisfied look, cuddling into the extra soft fur on the inside.

It doesn't take him long to fall asleep, Torr’s body leaning into his side in a comforting way.

Ah, the pleasures of being able to sleep in.

__________________

Al sends Torr an angry look, but the blonde boy just looks away from his friends with an amused look in his eyes, seemingly trying to hold back a laugh as the mage pouts at him.

The boy knows that waking up at sunrise so that they can travel the entire time the sun is up is reasonable, but it doesn't make him any less annoyed by it.

At least he can rest in the carriage a bit, but it's not the same as sleeping, and unlike the cars back in his original world the ride is far too bumpy to actually relax properly.

‘And traveling the entire day also doesn't give me enough time to build some suspension into the carriage unless I skip some sleep. Guess I will have to endure it till we reach home.’ He is mostly used to making his way over the uneven roads, but it isn't exactly comfortable.

At least his very obvious annoyance convinces Torr to comfort him a bit, gently running his hand through the resting boy’s white hair while he reads through one of the magic tool books Aria lent him.

That is until suddenly the carriage comes to an abrupt halt, making both the boys tense up. 

Torr’s hand immediately rushes to his sword as Al spreads out his magic, and even if it is faint since they do not have much mana, he can still feel the small horde of goblins surrounding the carriages.

The two boys step out of the carriage, watching the guards already prepared for combat, their eyes scanning the surroundings, though combat has not started yet.

“Sir Alfred, please stay inside and let us take care of this.” One of the men asks him, but the noble in question just doesn't turn his eyes away from the forest edge he knows the goblins are hiding in.

“No, this is quite a big group of monsters. We will need everyone here so we can stop them from escaping and attacking any other travelers.” Al tells them with a serious expression.

Not everyone can afford good guards, and this amount of monsters might overrun a small groups of adventures with pure numbers, especially if they manage to pull off a surprise attack.

Torr steps up beside him, drawing his blade and going into a combat stance, though Al sends him a dubious look.

“You really want to fight yet? You know the doctor will strangle you if she ever finds out. Plus you haven't even recharged your sword's magic storage yet.”

That will probably take another week at least. With how much energy Torr and Eric used during their match Al suspects it will take them over a month to completely restore it back to maximum capacity.

The two aren't mages after all, and while their magic swords allow them to ignore their smaller magic sources, it is not omnipotent. All the magic stored inside has to be produced by their own bodies, making the high output mode a rare commodity.

“But I want to fight! I will go insane if I don't get to move!”

“I definitely remember us going into the forest to hunt monsters with the upperclassmen not that long ago. And I also really clearly remember how you and Eric complained that evening that your entire body hurt again.” Al teases, raising one eyebrow with a smirk dancing over his lips.

“But I didn't even get to fight that time! All the monsters ran away before we got close enough! And by now I’m far more healed than then.” Torr claims.

Al doubts that a fight against some goblin will be much different from a small jog for his friend, but he just gives the other boy a small nod. “Just don't overdo it, okay? Why they even let you take part in that battle a handful of day ago is still a mystery to me.”

Granted, it wasn't really a fight, just a chase, and walks are often advisable after injuries. And internally Al has to admit that his friends would probably have gone insane if they were restricted from exercise for another day.

The crack of a branch snaps the boys out of their playful banter, their eyes sharpening as they focus on the monsters in front of them.

“Well, let's take care of this first. I’ll cut of their escape.” Al says as he erupts in a bright light as he teleports upwards, appearing floating right over where he sensed the monsters to be. 

With a wave of his hands Al releases a burst of cold energy, the freezing energy flying towards the ground at an incredible speed, colliding with the forest floor just behind the group of monsters before it erupts into thick spires of solid ice.

The crystals grow into each other to form a wall of frozen spikes sharp as spears, towering over the trees as clouds of frost flow off it.

Immediately Al can hear the angry and surprised shouts of the monsters below, but they don't seem to have spotted him through the thick foliage, and even if they did, they wouldn't be able to hurt him from that far away.

They could throw stones, or shoot an arrow if they happen to have them, but even then they wouldn't be able to penetrate his defensive barrier.

Over at the traveling path Al can see Torr and the guards run into combat, the former leading the crowd as he fuels his strength with support spells.

The mage mostly stays floating above them, taking out a goblin here and there when it gets too close without anyone noticing as he keeps an eye out for Torr.

The mint haired boy can take care of himself, but Al just wants to make sure. 

He follows the young knight’s movements over the battlefield, each swing of his blade taking out another monster before it even has time to react. It's slower than how Torr would be if he was healthy, but still more than enough for this situation.

(When Torr and Al spar nowadays the mage has some real problems to keep up with his friend's speed.)

Taking out humanoid monsters still isn't something Al likes, just fighting against animal based monsters like giant spiders being easier on his stomach, but he knows this is necessary.

As more and more of the goblins run out of the woodwork the young mage really is sure that taking them out was the right decision. He is actually surprised such a big swarm could have built up around here.

‘Maybe its two swarms that have combined recently. They couldn't have kept up with such a big population for a long time. The necessary food supplies would be too hard to get for them. Or maybe they managed to raid a food trader?’

Well, Al probably isn't going to find out, but it doesn't really matter in the long run. 

‘I think this was enough fun for Torr.’ The white haired boy thinks to himself as he takes another sip from one of his potions. He is starting to need less and less of them, but for some more complicated spells he wants to be sure.

Especially if he is also casting a levitation and shield spell at the same time.

He gathers his energy in his palm and raises it above his head, creating a portal and pulling out a small cloud of meteor shards, circling around his body as it grows larger and larger, their movement only speeding up as they do.

When Al has amassed enough of them, he casts a tracking spell so he can perfectly target every goblin in the area, the close range making it easy despite how hard this species is usually to locate, and releases his meteors.

The shards shoot out with a loud whistle-like sound as they cut through the air, leaving behind glowing lines as they rush towards their targets and exploding into blazing flames on impact.

The soldiers jump back in shock, but Torr doesn't seem surprised at all. He has seen that specific spell before after all, just calmly sliding his sword back in its sheath, sending up a grin up to Al as the last goblins around him drop to the ground, nothing left but charred corpses.

‘Four active spells are still kind of hard to do. I really have to train for that.’ He probably doesn't need that many more, but it's always good to be able to do in case it ever comes up.

He levitates down to land at Torr’s side, but before he can set down on the ground the young knight picks him out of the air, twirling him in the air for a bit with a smile as warm as sunshine.

“That was so cool! You finally managed to get that move down properly?” He asks, getting a small nod from the other boy.

“Yeah. I was waiting for a good moment to show it off.” Al blushes a bit as he rests his head on top of his boyfriend's hair, letting his eyes sway over the soldiers, thankfully not finding any major injuries on any of them.

‘Well, goblins aren't exactly the strongest monsters. They are only really dangerous because they tend to prefer surprise attacks and are hard to track.’

Though the moment he says that, the sadly familiar smell of human blood reaches his nose, nothing like that of the monsters surrounding him, and when he looks down on the arms holding him he can spot a small scratch on the pale skin.

“Did you seriously get a scratch from this? From a handful of goblins?”

“I was just a bit careless because I didn't get to fight for so long.” Torr tells him awkwardly, avoiding his boyfriend’s eyes. “It really doesn't matter.”

“Nope, that's it. Normally ten times more than this wouldn't have been able to put a single scratch on you. You are banned from fighting till you are completely fit again.” Al tells him, giving his boyfriend an accusing look and this time he won't give in no matter how warm the blonde boy’s hug is and how cute his puppy eyes are.

“What?! You can't do this to me!” Torr tries, but Al just gives him a defiant look, freeing himself from the swordsman's arms and pulling him back into the carriage while trying to ignore the amused looks form the guards as they clean the monster corpses off the road.

“I can and I will. Give me your hand.”

“W-What what are you planning?” Torr asks a bit nervously. He has gotten pretty good at figuring out when the other is planning to do something weird again. Not that it has ever helped him escape from Al anyway.

“Oh, well I know you won't learn to tell the truth about your injuries, so I at least have to try out some way to fix you up anyway. So how about you will be the test dummy for that spell for a moment?”

Well, he says that, but would never do anything like this on his friend without actually having done some preparations. He is certain it should not cause any problems. 

But scaring Torr a bit is always amusing. 

Al even told his theory to his potion teacher beforehand to ask if his theory should work before he tried it out on one of the mice Aria keeps in her office for testing purposes.

(Al kind of felt bad to try out his spell on the little fluff ball, but his worry was for nothing since it didn't cause any injuries on the animal.)

The young mage gently takes his boyfriend's hand in his own, slowly gathering some of his magical energy in his other palm as he gently sets it down on the small scratch still oozing fresh drops of blood.

Torr lets out a curious sound as Al’s fingers begin to glow in a gentle, warm light, covering the wound with it, and in front of their eyes the skin of the wound begins to very slowly mend itself together, closing up bit by bit as the carriage continues its journey.

In the end, what Al does with the spell right now is exceedingly simple, basically just replicating some of the magical effects of a potion.

He of course can’t replicate all the small things of a properly crafted alchemic mix, but the part of it that infuses the cells around the wound with mana to help them recover through their own means at an accelerated speed he can, even if to a lesser degree. 

Though as he continues his treatment, taking longer than a potion would, he sees an uncomfortable expression on Torr’s face that makes him instantly drop the spell.

“Everything okay? Does it hurt?” Al asks in a worried voice, fearing he did something wrong, even if by now the wound is mostly closed, so he isn’t worried about it opening up again.

“Well, not exactly hurt, but it kind of feels like there are bugs crawling under my skin.” Torr admits, looking like he is really trying to control himself to not scratch his skin around the wounded area.

“Sorry. I didn't know it would do that.” Al apologizes, using some cold magic to cool the area, instantly seeing his boyfriend's face relax.

‘I have heard healing tends to feel bad, and at this speed the feeling is probably multiplied by many times. The question is why doesn't that sensation appear when using a potion. Do the herbs hold some natural anesthesia?’

He would have to do that manually if he wanted to heal people without the uncomfortable feeling. Maybe a bit of illusion magic to mislead the senses could do the trick? He will have to write that down for later.

Al inspects the small remains of the wound, mostly closed for now, but not completely healed yet. Though he can't exactly continue if it feels that disgusting, can he now.

With a small sigh Al pulls out a small healing potion form his storage space and hands it Torr to drink, the swordsman chugging it without hesitation.

They don't exactly taste good either, but the young knight has pretty much gotten used to the taste with how often they are consumed in both training and expeditions.

Al on the other hand can't help but cringe in disgust by only being close to the small bottle, thankfully having been able to mostly avoid the horrible smelling mixture thanks to being a mage and away from direct monster contact and physical exercises.

‘I probably better not mention that to sis. She would probably force me to make up for all the physical trying I missed over the last half year.’

“Does it still feel disgusting?” Al asks his boyfriend as he takes out a small notebook, a pencil already in his hand as he prepares to take notes.

“Well, it still feels a bit tingly, but it's fading pretty fast. Except that nothing out of the ordinary really.” He says, flexing his hand a bit while inspecting the remains of the injury. “It seems to have closed properly, but I should probably not not strain the skin yet like usual.”

Thankfully he doesn't have to, as the rest of the day is rather uneventful, the group only following the planned route without any problems.

The guards sent with the two boys have thankfully loosened up a bit too, not nearly as tense and formal as they have been at first.

Personally Al suspects it's because unlike most of the time the men travel for long distances they aren’t supplied with fresh food by the ones they are protecting directly from Al’s storage dimension.

‘Food always lifts the spirit.’ The young mage thinks to himself as he chills another beer for some of the adventurers with a small ice spell, getting a thankful pat on his back from the large man that is nearly enough to push the boy over.

Though what most of the others are happy about is mostly the fresh fruit and not dried meat. And Al probably has enough stored up that he could supply this unit for another three years with it. 

Some of the nights are still very cold, but it doesn't really bother Al since it also means Torr will be extra clingy in that cute way of his when he tries to escape the cool air. And since the party has the young mage in their party, they don't have to fear freezing in these temperatures.

Fire Magic for the win. Without it, it would be impossible to keep the enormous buildings of the school warm during the winter.

Despite the unexpected cold wave the group makes great progress in their journey, steadily traveling towards the Slowlet territory in the east.

(Well, with the exception of one particular mountain path that Al insisted he would fix first before the party crossed it because that one looked like it was just asking for a disaster to happen. Not like it took long to fix with earth magic.)

Though that particular part of the road seems to be even rougher than the previous ones for some reason, more potholes than actual road, to the point that even the horses have problems.

The winter certainly hasn't done them well, and while Al isn’t sure that they are always this bad, right now it was unacceptable. He is pretty sure merchants would not risk traveling this path because this rough of a road would probably damage their wares.

And after a handful of days Al is starting to really sympathize with every single item that broke because of bad roads.

“You know what? My ass isn’t going to survive this any longer if the roads are still all cracked and half frozen messes like this one. I’m going to upgrade the carriage right now.” Al complains loudly, opening a small portal and letting some iron bars drop out.

He begins to cast a small spell on the metal, always keeping a protective barrier around the spring in case it breaks and explodes outwards. The last time he use metal shaping magic without any protective measures Dia looked like she was about to have an aneurysm.

Slowly he reshapes the bar into the shape of a spring using his magic, the metal creaking loudly as it does. It honestly feels a bit big but it should be appropriate for a wagon of this size.

‘I don't know if this is the optimal metal for this, but it should at least be better than before.’

Al immediately turns to implement the changes when the traveling party takes their rest for the day, even if that means giving up on some hours of sleep.

The guards are obviously a bit worried when Al starts to disassemble the carriage, but they can't exactly say no to the young noble, so they just do their best to help him out while he works.

“I wonder what he is going to do.” Al hears them mutter between each other, one of the adventurers curiously inspecting the springs as the young mage attaches the first one to the underside of the carriage.

“No idea, but I suspect I will want it.” One of the others says, and Al honestly feels a bit of pressure to impress them after he hears that, especially because he didn't really plan this out completely. 

‘Maybe I got a bit too much into showing off the stuff I made.’ The white haired boy thinks to himself, but at least everyone seems to be happy about the stuff he has created (or rather recreated from his original world), be it useful stuff, food or just  basic toys to pass some times during the more boring parts of the journey.

Working with only a basic understanding of stuff from his old world makes reproducing them hard at times, but with the admittedly very low standards of this world even a bad copy seems to be received very well.

‘I mean, they went insane about some simple board games after all.’ Al honestly still can't believe how popular it got. He should really think about it deeply the next time he releases anything even close to the entertainment sector.

Time passes fast as the general happy atmosphere of the guards and adventures fills the air of the camp, and barely after sundown Al has finished his work, a bit sweaty but satisfied, the upgraded wagon standing in front of him.

“That should do the job.” Al says, inspecting his construction as he stretches his arm. Constantly keeping the spells running for such a long time is always tiering. 

“So, you finished it?” Torr says, walking up to his boyfriend, handing him his freshly made dinner, the boy taking it with a small yawn.

“You know, with how much time we have spent sitting around all day you would think I wouldn't get tired as quickly.” Al complains, but his increased tiredness is something he still hasn't completely shaken even this long after the injury.

Aria said it probably is related to the constant strain on his still healing magic veins, so it will still take a while since he is as energetic as before. Not that he was the most energy filled child in either of his lives anyway.

His entire family can attest to that.

Torr lets out a small laugh as he leads Al over to the fire, sitting down on a log together and making the young mage lean against him.

Their escort seems to be holding some kind of contest, the adventurer among them spurring on the others to a game that Al is pretty sure no one of them understands properly.

It does involve arm wrestling and throwing daggers at pints of ale, but that's everything Al can figure out in his tired state.

He can barely keep his meal in his mouth when he lets out a loud yawn, the sound drowned out by the happy commotion around the two boys.

Al leans against Torr to leech off a bit of warmth, telling himself to just watch the spectacle in front of him for a little while longer before going to bed, but very soon his eyes begin to drift shut. 

Al is a bit embarrassed when he wakes up in his bed, no idea how he got there, because while this isn't the first time Torr had to carry him to bed because he strained himself with magic a bit too much  it's still embarrassing.

(Metalworking can be surprisingly hard, okay? He is far better when it comes to stuff like his meteorites, even if parts of them end up looking kind of like metal instead of the gems they actually are.)

At least no one is commenting on it. He knows his sister would if she was here, and his mom probably too.

This afternoon, when the sun is slowly starting to sink under the treeline again, they make a stop at a city that is situated on the road. 

It actually is the first city they are making a stop at, as weird as that is to Al. 

Apparently, unlike how it is and was in his old world, towns are rarely built beside roads, since they are such a double edged sword. 

Because not only humans are using them, but also monsters. 

Which means that unless you have enough money or resources for some good defenses you would much rather be cut off from the rest of the world. Some guards all day long would be the bare minimum if you want to keep the citizens safe.

And even if no monsters would take the roads, bandits would, and in a world where one sufficiently powerful mage can burn down your entire village on their own, you often would rather stay hidden and safe, even if it hinders trade. 

So it's rare to find any larger towns unless you specifically target them and have someone good enough at navigating to actually find them.

Al’s own hometown is already in a pretty calm area, but even they need to employ guards, and now and then they need to exterminate some monsters in the forests before they can turn into a problem.

The boy leans out of the window, seeing the walls of the city down the road, peeking between the dense trees of the forest.

“Torr, did we pass this town when we went to the capital? I can't remember, but maybe I was just asleep.” He asks his companion, getting a head shake in response.

“I don't think so. I'm pretty sure we went a different way last time. Maybe we didn't need to because we had already stocked up in a village a bit earlier?" The blonde questions, only getting an uncertain shrug from the mage. 

"Well, we won't stay long either. Just stocking up on some food before continuing." One of the adventurers guarding them says, resting here for the night would take too much time, and in this territory staying the night in a town would require a permission."

Al looks at him a bit questioning. He didn't know that was needed in some territories. None of the ones he has friends in do. At least he is pretty sure of that. 

'Maybe I need to read up on the laws of the different territories close to our’s a bit before I accidentally commit a crime.’ 

It doesn't take long till they reach the front gate leading into the city, the large gate flanked by one very serious and one very tired looking guard. 

The former one takes one look at the coat of arms on the carriage before addressing Al who stepped out of it. 

"How long of a stay?" The guard asks Al, taking out a small wooden sheet and a piece of coal formed into a pencil. 

"Only passing through. We will be out by sundown." He answers for the group since he is the only noble of the group. It kind of feels stupid since he isn't even the one responsible for organizing the journey let alone navigating. But etiquette requires it. 

"OK. Here are your passes. Everybody gets one. Don't lose them or stay any longer. If you do, you will have to pay a fine when you leave the city." 

All of the members of their small group take one as they enter the main gate, Al waiting to be out of earshot before addressing one of his adventures. “Is this normal? I haven't seen any towns which were this strict with travelers."

The woman frowns a bit. "Yeah, this is one of the more bothersome places. Didn't always used to be like it, only started when the new lord took over and wanted more money." She explains. "Didn't work of course, since that only discouraged any merchants from coming here, but that guy doesn't seem to realize it." 

Al frowns along with her as he notes that information. He always wondered why his father never had any trading deals with this territory, but that would certainly explain it. 

A look down the street only confirms his building worry. 

The food stalls are all stocked with basically the same things and no carts like those of merchants are seen anywhere down the road. 

The people don't look poor exactly, but they absolutely don't look wealthy either. Well, except for a handful of individuals walking the streets with their guards that stick out like a sore thumb.

It's almost too cliche in many ways, but Al knows from his original world that it isn't anything new. The memories from his previous life are slowly starting to fade, but he can still remember some of those photos of slums right beside luxury hotels separated by a single wall barely higher than a person.

Al’s group simply makes their way through the city since the only road leads through it, passing by a large storage house that they originally planned to buy supplies from, but that isn't really necessary with Al’s storage.

And to be honest, Al isn't that sure he would have liked getting food here. It somehow gives him the creeps, but honestly that might be because it is the only food shop of this size and it seems to be hanging the coat of arms of the baron ruling this area.

The main food supply being in the hands of a monopoly is always a bad sign.

But sadly, Al is pretty sure all of this is perfectly legal as long as it is within limits, which it seems to be from all he has seen. He is sure his father would have done something if that wasn't the case, since not only he wouldn't let people suffer like this so close to his territory, but also it becomes pretty clear to the boy that this is one of the reasons so few merchants come to the Slowlet territory.

It's basically the direct way from his territory to the capital. The south is also blocked off by the mountain range that is near uninhabitable because of its dangerous terrain and high amount of monsters compared to the rest of the kingdom.

That only leaves the path towards the north, the one Triela usually uses when he visits the Slowlet territory.

Once that realization settles Al has to stop himself from glaring at every single rich looking person they pass. Trading isn't horribly difficult to maintain trade thanks to Nord’s reputation, luring in a lot of people, but there are some problems with it that could turn out really bad one day, like the fact that the delivery of medicine takes quite a while.

Thankfully Al doesn't have to hold himself back long, as soon the party leaves from the other side of the town, the whole settlement not that big, and after one more short moment its gates disappear down the road.

Still, he will absolutely have to ask his father about this.

_______________

It takes them a while of traveling, but eventually Al and Torr get closer and closer to their home territory, and the woods around them start looking more and more familiar.

Slowly the thick, light colored trunks of the central continent become less and less frequent, giving space to the darker colored mix of leaves and needle trees Al is used to from the forests of his home.

He never thought he would ever feel sentimental over the vegetation, but here he is. Though he definitely shouldnt tell anybody about it unless he wants to give them a reason to make fun of him.

By the time their home town finally appears on the horizon, the large wall Al had constructed around the village still standing proudly, as the midday sun is gently shining down on them, they are almost about to burst from impatience.

It has been far too long since they were home, and when they drive through the main gate of the village, Al is already bouncing in place, his eyes jumping around all the villagers on the sides of the street.

The people, recognizing him immediately, send him loud welcomes as they rush towards him, and very soon it seems the entire street is picking up on his return, the villagers erupting in cheers, something that Al hasn't really managed to get used to, no matter how often it happens.

Torr isn't doing much better, quite the opposite in fact, even Al’s impatience seems calm in comparison to the young knight, even if he has gotten better at patience and handling attention.

“Go, you know I can take care of myself. You don't have to guard me when we have practically already reached our goal. Don't make your family wait any longer because of me.” Al tells his friend, bumping his shoulder into the other’s.

Torr gives him a wide smile, setting one last small kiss on his forehead before jumping out of the chariot, sprinting down the street with magic enhanced speed to the surprise of the other villagers.

Al watches after his friend as he leaves behind a cloud of dust on the road as he sprints towards the house of his family, the sound of his lightning crackling through the streets.

"Didn't he say he didn't want to use magic so he could charge up his sword as soon as possible?” Al asks himself fondly, some of the guards accompanying him letting out a small laugh.

The white haired mage looks after the other boy for a while, but he can't really make fun of him for how impatient he is when the mage himself doesn't feel much different.

Al can't help the way his leg is starting to bounce impatiently, his fingers drumming against his seat of the carriage as he looks out of the window, knowing that his family’s home is still quite a way off.

Maybe he should just teleport ahead? It wouldn't be hard for him, being this close now, and it gets more and more tempting with every moment he has to wait.

He is about to look out of the window again, even if he is aware that there is no way they have made any notable progress, when his ears pick up on a familiar sounding voice.

At first it's barely audible over the crowd and loud sound of the carriage, even if Al’s improvement to the vehicle made it at least a bit better.

At first he thinks he just imagined it, but then he pushes some magic into his ears he can pick up on the details, a wide smile appearing on his face.

He immediately throws open the door of the carriage and jumps outside, running down the road as fast as he can. “Mom! Dad! Nee-san! Nii-san!” He shouts as he spots his family rush through the crowd towards him.

“Al!” His siblings call out to him, running a bit faster than their parents, and they practically throw themselves at their little brother, enveloping him a tight, almost bone crushing hug, especially Elinora, but for once Al can’t find himself bothered by it.

Al feels some tears start to gather in his eyes, soaking into Silvio’s cloak, and when he feels another pair of arms surround him, he doesn't even need to look up to know its his parents, the feeling something he could probably never forget.

The boy doesn't really remember how he gets home, but once he manages to separate himself from hugging his family and his tears have dried enough to let him see again, he is already there, now getting greeted by all the servants. 

To be honest, it brings him close to crying again, and while he thinks he might be supposed to get embarrassed about that, but right now he really can't bring himself to be. He is just too happy to see all of them again. 

Bartolo seems to have prepared an entire feast for his return, and the entire household comes together to celebrate his arrival. 

Mina actually starts crying too when she hugs them, and maybe that also makes Al cry a little bit more too. 

When things are starting to calm down a bit, everyone so filled with food that they can barely move, Al sits down between his family members, cuddling between their bodies to protect himself from the chilly air of the breaking night. 

He cranes his head up to his family sleeping around him, a warm smile on his face as his chest radiates warmth and happiness.

Al slowly lets his eyes drift shut as he buries his head against his father's neck, listening to the familiar breaths and heartbeats surrounding him from all sides. 

‘Yeah, I'm finally home.’