It was past midnight. She was still at the same spot, lying on the floor on her side, with the verso of the book held 90 degrees from the recto, for her to read without lifting her head. She refused dinner and stayed put, sometimes dozing off. Lucilius was pretty much done with his work for the day so he approached her and sat at the armrest of the sofa just right beside her.

‘Healer,’ he spoke.

‘Mm?’ she replied without moving or looking at him.

‘Close the book.’

She did as she was told and looked at him. ‘Can I go to sleep now?’ she asked.

‘No,’ he replied. ‘What is the main ability of a Healer?’

‘Is it quiz time?’ she sighed and sat up straight. ‘Healing.’

‘What are the accompanying abilities of a Healer?’

‘A source of magic mana to enhance the magic abilities of a magician, able to conjure a basic shield, and…’

‘And?’

She frowned, thinking. ‘And psychotic…’

‘Psychokinesis,’ he corrected.

Luna nodded. ‘I forgot the term,’ she said in defence. 

Lucilius glanced at the thickness of pages that she had read. ‘You must have gone through the fifth chapter. You should be able to demonstrate psychokinesis now,’ he said.

Her eyes went wide and she shook her head quickly.

‘What did it say?’ he asked.

Luna flipped the pages violently, searching for the instructions on how to perform psychokinesis. 

‘Uhh, to concentrate and move things with your mind. Project your thoughts onto the objects and…’ she trailed off. ‘You will also be able to change the physical state of the object, even living matter with no magic mana, such as animals, as well.’

‘I don’t expect you to be able to do the latter,’ said Lucilius. ‘Try moving things around without touching them.’

Luna looked troubled but she closed her eyes and concentrated. In her mind, she repeatedly imagined books falling out of the bookshelf.

But a minute passed and nothing happened. 

‘Okay, stop,’ Lucilius said. ‘Your face became so red. Are you sure you’re concentrating? Or are you trying to shit?’

Luna pouted in dissatisfaction. ‘I’m learning from a book. Give me a break,’ she said.

‘You could at least put up a barrier,’ he said. ‘Try it.’

Slowly, she flipped the pages again and read. After digesting the information, Luna stood, closed her eyes to concentrate and held her palm outwards towards the bookshelf. Surprisingly, a translucent bluish wide barrier appeared. She had her mouth wide open in shock.

‘Look!!!’ she yelled and stared at the shield in amazement. 

But Lucilius wasn’t impressed. ‘Somebody can creep behind you and get you killed. You’re not fighting against a mosquito. Widen the barrier to a hemisphere to cover all angles,’ he said.

Luna scratched her head with her free hand and concentrated again. 

‘A barrier is the easiest and most basic thing that even a Faux Magician can do,’ Lucilius added. ‘Rid your mind of unnecessary thoughts and focus.’

She frowned hard. Finally, the barrier began to widen its area and formed a hemisphere around her. 

‘There you go.’ Lucilius smiled proudly.

Luna grinned widely, so wide it hurt her cheeks.

‘Now—’ Lucilius stood and held his hand out. Luna’s smile disappeared as he watched his sword materialising in his hand. 

‘Lucilius,’ she whispered and began to back away. ‘Wait, NO—!’

Lucilius slashed his sword and she barely avoided it. 

‘You can’t dodge forever, put up a barrier,’ he said with a smile. He seemed to enjoy active learning.

‘Wait I need to prepare!’ Luna yelled, running away. 

Lucilius chased after her. ‘There’s no “preparing” when fighting outside, Healer,’ he beamed and from a distance, he cut the air with his sword. And it reached her. 

Luna went sideways and the attack hit the window, breaking the glass into pieces. She hid behind the study table.

He never stopped attacking; lunging forward and slashing, and Luna kept running away but not without trying to put up a barrier, which she failed every time.

‘Come on, Healer,’ Lucilius said mockingly. ‘You could take down my whole palace in a split second. Why are you struggling with a simple sword?’

Luna stopped running and stood facing him. Lucilius smiled and went for a strike. She closed her eyes tightly and held up her hands. 

Pzzt!

Luna looked and gasped. 

Between her and Lucilius was a translucent shield, exactly like how it appeared earlier. Lucilius was standing a bit further, probably due to the impact when he hit the barrier. His sword disappeared and he clapped his hands.

‘That was fun,’ he commented. ‘Now let’s go eat.’

‘Yeah, I’m starving,’ she said and they headed for the door.

‘You can undo the barrier now.’

‘Oh, I don’t know how. I got too excited.’

‘...’

‘Will it disappear?’

‘Yes. It’s just uncomfortable that you’re shielding yourself while walking beside me.’

‘I wonder what’s for dinner…’

‘You can call it breakfast now.’

***

[The next day when Archer entered Lucilius’ library]

‘What happened here, Your Majesty!!!??’