Lance and Aria’s classmates approached them after the demonstration.

“That was pretty cool…!”

“How are you related to Miss Rose?” One of my classmates asked.

“She’s my elder sister.”

All sorts of things were said. I tried to respond to them as best as I could.

I wonder how Silverhart’s faring- Ah.

It seems that she’s exuding an aura of “Don’t talk to me.” Lily who was currently approaching her didn’t notice it though.

No, rather than not notice, it seems she’s approaching while fully aware of it.

Lance tried to listen in, but his classmates took his attention away from the two. 

After he managed to excuse himself, he found Aria to be in a noticeably sour mood.

“I don’t like that twin tailed girl…”

“Silverhart, what happened?” I asked. “Belladonna didn’t seem like a bad person.”

“I just don’t like her.”

Seeing as Aria didn’t want to elaborate, Lance looked for Lily, but found that she’s surrounded by their classmates, so he gave up on asking her.

I don’t believe that the Belladonna and Silverhart houses are at odds with each other, so it might have been a personal disagreement while the two were talking to each other earlier.

After that, they returned to the classroom the same way we got to the field, discussed a few theories, and then the bell rang. After the class, there was free time for the rest of the day for students to explore the academy.

“If you have any other questions, you can either come see me or consult the book ‘Introduction to Magic’ that you were all given beforehand.”

He waited for any student to raise their hand. 

“If there is nothing else, then you are now all dismissed,” Professor Archaman said after he saw that no student raised their hand.

Everyone else slowly left the classroom, which included Lily, who he exchanged a few words with before she left with their classmates.

A pity that Belladonna already left. I wanted to discuss a few more things with her, Lance thought. Might as well do what sis told me to do, but first…

Lance turned to Aria.

“Were you trying to kill me?”

“I was not. I figured you can handle it considering you are the master's younger brother.” 

Lance was about to let it go but...

“Considering you’re still alive, I was right….” she muttered under her breath.

“I heard that!” Lance yelled as picked up his stuff. “And we were only supposed to do a demonstration on how the two spells interact with each other! You even used Rain of Fire against me!” 

Once we got out of the classroom, they started to walk side by side in the hallway.

“That was not Rain of Fire, I was just casting Fireball in rapid succession,” she said.

Lance stopped walking for a bit, trying to comprehend what she just said.

Aria continued walking.

Shortly after, Lance rushed to her side and said, “You do know that’s not an easy feat, right?”

“Master told me after she saw me doing it the first time,” she replied nonchalantly

Lance was puzzled. “She didn’t teach you that?

“That was how we met.”

“How did you know how to cast Fireball beforehand?” 

“I found a magic scroll that tells you how in my home.”

I guess that makes sense, considering her family, Lance thought.

“How long ago was this?”

“Three months before I became Master’s disciple.”

Rose told me that she took on a student two years ago… 

Lance thought before saying, “So you were self-taught for three months and in that time you learned how to rapidly cast the same spell...That’s actually pretty impressive.”

“I actually fell unconscious a few times during those three months.”

“Isn’t that Mana deprivation?! That’s dangerous!”

“Master also told me that. She said that at the rate I was going, I was going to kill myself in another week or so.”

....I can see why she took you in as her student and why she asked me to look after you... 

Lance was worried for this girl’s well-being.

“Wait! That still doesn’t explain why you bombarded me with the same spell over and over again!”

“I wanted to see if I could knock out Master’s younger brother. She told me you were good.”

Lance stopped walking again. Aria also stopped this time and looked at him

She’s really competitive, isn’t she… He thought before asking, “Where exactly are we going?”

“Library. I don’t need to go to the cafeteria since I have food in my magic bag,” she answered.

“Library huh…”

“Do you know where it is?” He asked

“Master said that It’s on the floor above us.” She said as she walked to the nearby stairs.

“I see.”

Rose wasn’t able to inform me of the specifics of her job, so maybe…

As they were climbing the stairs, Lance remembered her speech.

“By the way, what was up with your speech earlier today? The tone of your speech was like you’re asking for a fight.”

She stopped walking and said, “That’s right. I was.”

“You….” Lance started, before relenting and just sighed. “Considering you seemed eager to get into a duel earlier...Oh well, just don’t drag me into it. I want to spend my time here in peace.”

She turned her body a bit to look at me, before facing forward and started walking, “With your skill and talent, I find it disappointing.”

“Did Rose never tell you that I want to be a Magic Researcher?” He asked as they arrived on the third floor.

“She did.” 

She also muttered something else under her breath.

“Hmmm? I didn’t quite catch that.”

“Nothing of importance,” Aria said as they stood in front of a large door. “We’re here.”

“Is that so? Well, then, let’s open the door.” 

Lance grabbed one of the door knobs while she held the other one. We turned the knobs and pushed the door open.

They saw a black haired woman, standing behind the desk with her back facing us as she was sorting through something. 

As they approached the desk, the black haired woman said, “I see you two get along with each other just fine.” 

“Rose?” “Master?” Lance and Aria said at the same time.

The woman turned around—

“Yep! It’s the one and only Rose Einfelt!” and replied playfully.

Lance observed where she’s sitting before saying “So the position you were offered was a Librarian.”

“That’s right!” She answered.

“Not as a teacher, master?” Silverhart asked.

“Nope!” she said with a mischievous tone. “To be honest, I was glad that the job offered to me was a librarian. I also don’t think I’ll be able to teach a class properly considering I often explore ruins.”

She gestured to them to sit on a nearby table.

After they have all taken their seat…

“You seem to be in a good mood,” Lance said.

Rose beamed a smile and said, “I finally got to see the two of you engage in a duel, after all.”

“That was not a duel!”

“Only because you didn’t accept my offer when I asked,” Aria commented on the side.

“I’m not going to get into a duel on the very first day..! It’s not even allowed!”

“You’re not exactly a stickler for rules now, are you, Lance?” Rose said teasingly.

“Guh…”

They kept talking for quite a while after that. During the conversation, Lance came to realize that beneath Aria’s cold exterior is a battle maniac always looking for a challenge.

...And Rose kept talking to Aria about Lance the entire time she’s been her apprentice...

Sometimes, it’s hard to be her younger brother. Lance smiled as he looked at Rose, who noticed and returned the gesture.

It’s all worth it though.