TYWS Chapter 38
AN: Oh man. Here's the chapter lol! (The chapter for patreon was a sexy one, which is hard to freaking write when you're sick lol, and that's why I was so late! ^^;)
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Feeling as if she were on some kind of a rollercoaster, Siffia could only quietly nod and turn around. It was a torturous thing, feeling as if she’d lost some possible amazing moment by not speaking there, and yet not knowing at all what she should have even said.
However, it was a feeling that Siffia had often felt throughout her life.
And so, she quietly moved on, just as she always did.
This time her hands raised themselves palm up, moving upwards at a snail’s pace. All the while her thumbs took turns, touching themselves to one finger, and then the next, each in sequence. As this repeated again and again, vines began to grow themselves out of the ground, slithering straight upwards like wriggling snakes, each one covered in thorns. And when they grew to the desired height, Siffia’s fingers stopped their movements, her hands overturning, signalling the beginning of the assault. The room began to fill with whipping noises, the vines unleashing a wicked onslaught upon the dummies, eliciting bright repeated glows from them, signaling how deadly it all was.
However, when the magic ended, and Siffia took a tentative peek at Eris, the way that Eris’s expression was twisted up looked as if she were displeased with something.
“...I thought you were meant to do this in the order of your proficiency.”
“Oh!”
Grasping the problem, Siffia made an embarrassed face, squirming slightly as she clasped her hands together against her thighs.
“Um, well… Although this chlorokinesis spell might be a bit more, erm… d-deadly than my cryokinesis is, it’s… I’m not… very good at it. The casting is still far too slow, and my control over it is almost nonexistent. If anything, by the time I began casting it, my opponent would already probably have moved out of range of where I’m growing the vines… and any allies caught in their range would easily suffer from it as well. I certainly wouldn’t be able to use it in any real combat…”
“Ah… I see.”
Eris’s expression relaxed, becoming thoughtful for a moment, before nodding and signaling for Siffia to continue. Siffia also nodded, but was reluctant to turn around, her mouth squirming at the idea of showcasing the next magic in her arsenal.
“...U-um… Lady Eris…”
“Yes?”
“... … … …This next magic is… Er, I’m not very, um… very-”
“I don’t need excuses, Lady Siffia.”
Eris’s head tilted back commandingly. Though she was still sitting down, Siffia couldn’t help but feel as if Eris’s slightly squinted eyes were somehow looking down at her from above.
“All I’ve asked is for you to show me the magic that you’re capable of, not to be awed by it. It’s not as if this were some kind of interview or the like; Though I understand the desire to, you don’t have to impress me. I, with absolutely no aptitude for magic, have no right to scoff at anything that you perform for me.”
Though her words were technically encouraging, Siffia couldn’t help but still feel as if she were being scolded, pursing her lips and obediently nodding along. Still, bright as she was, she was able to see the truth in Eris’s words, even if her heart couldn’t quite agree with them.
“...Yes. You’re right, Lady Eris. Excuse me, then.”
Turning around quickly, so as not to let Eris see the worry that was attempting to spread itself over her countenance, Siffia once more raised her hands. They came together tightly, palms against each other as if praying, with her firmly pressing fingertips pointed away from her. She held the position for a few breaths, readying herself, before suddenly pulling her hands apart and clapping them together again.
The moment the sound of the clap rang through the room, Siffia had teleported a short distance away.
Siffia looked worriedly from the floor to the nearest dummy, and then back to the spot that she’d started from. It had gone about as she had expected; The distance of her teleport was barely any longer than Eris’s greatsword. She traced the distance again and again with her eyes, feeling more and more embarrassed each time, until she finally turned to Eris with a sheepish expression.
“Um… … …Tadaa~?”
The way Eris’s already flummoxed expression turned all the more bemused by her silly answer to the situation only served to make Siffia’s bashful and awkward smile turn into a real one. Giggle after giggle began to leak from her mouth, growing into greater and greater laughter at the silliness of it all, to the point that even the typically serious Eris was even infected with it and began laughing along with her. The pair’s giddy laughter echoed around the space, filling it with a pleasant and warm atmosphere, until Siffia abruptly fell to the ground, her legs having finally given out on her.
“-Lady Siffia!”
Thankfully Eris was kind enough to immediately spring up and come to her rescue, bringing her back to the couch in a now all too familiar princess carry. Though her butt now stung from the fall, Siffia still couldn’t quite get over her delirious giggles, happily wrapping her arms around Eris’s strong shoulders and leaning against her as she attempted to calm down and explain herself.
“Hee~, ah… You, ha, you see, um… So, spatiokinesis magic. It takes a lot of mana to… Ahem, to actually perform it, since it’s such an advanced and difficult discipline. And it becomes even more costly when you’re particularly untrained in it, like, heh, like I am. Which is why I only went such a short distance! And why my legs have turned into jelly like this!”
As Eris gently placed her down on the couch, Siffia wiggled her unwilling legs with a big goofy smile plastered across her face. Though she hadn’t burned through all of her mana, it was certainly taxing enough over a quick enough period of time that her body was struggling to adjust for the moment. Although Eris nodded along in understanding, her expression still held a large amount of worry, not looking at all reassured. She hurriedly reached for the pitcher of water that had been resting on the side table, pouring Siffia a glass and offering it to her.
“...Are you sure you’ll be fine? Is there anything I can retrieve for you that might help you recover more quickly?”
“Ah no, this is a perfectly normal phenomenon for a mage in training! All I need is to rest a moment and let my body adjust and my mana recover- Oh!”
Siffia, who was just about to bring the glass of water to her lips, suddenly jumped, looking surprised by something.
“I forgot! Here, before I rest-”
Her free hand rose up, and with a flourish of her fingers and a quick snap, a small orb of light shimmered into existence, floating in place where it had been summoned.
“I also have to show you my photokinesis magic!”
Siffia locked eyes with Eris, making a manic and goofy expression at Eris’s face full of incredulity.
And when the spottily created orb abruptly fizzled and winked out of existence a moment later, the pair both fell over each other with laughter once again.
~~~
Siffia, now out of commission, was given the comfy job of sitting on the couch and eating refreshments while watching Eris as she continued to train. At first she had insisted that eating wouldn’t have any affect on her recovery rate, but Eris had only doubtfully looked Siffia’s thin legs over before dashing off to fetch a maid. And when the food finally arrived as asked, Eris had seemed fully ready to hand-feed it to Siffia as if she were some wounded baby bird, unable to even lift her own arms. It was only through a great deal of persuasion that Siffia was eventually able to convince Eris that she didn’t need any additional looking after or coddling, and that Eris should continue her training, which was the entire point of them coming there in the first place.
By the time she finally won the argument, Siffia almost felt so worn out that she wouldn’t have even wanted to eat the tasty morsels that were awaiting her.
…If she weren’t perfectly aware of how delicious they would be, that is.
Reasoning that she was simply doing it to put Eris’s mind at ease, Siffia ate one bite after the other. Perhaps she would have even cleared the tray of all of its offerings in the blink of an eye, if not for the way that Eris continually kept distracting her. Her beautiful form, graceful movements, and amazing skill were each individually enough to attract one’s gaze, but when combined together they made an irrefutably hypnotizing display.
If it weren’t for a second pitcher of cool water having been brought along with food, perhaps Siffia would have already thoughtlessly drained it all away due to the ever growing thirst that Eris was causing.
Yes, it was truly an unforgettably blissful moment for Siffia.
-Until an unexpected visitor broke in to ruin it all.