The next day, Iseria and Al came to an empty place located near the sword training field. Since it was a private training, Iseria did not want anyone to see them. In addition, if they were alone, she might be able to investigate more from him. As for Al, he did not suspect anything.
After Al had placed several wooden swords on the ground, Iseria started, "Let's start with some theories first. What do you know about mana?"
Jogging his memory, Al responded, "It is the… uhm…" he stuttered. Al was not good at remembering words, he often learned how to use his ability instead. Seeing Iseria's serious eyes, he tried his best to answer, "It is… a type of energy that flows inside our bodies. They are seen as a life force energy. By controlling them, we will be able to create magic. Depend on each person, they will have different potential energy."
"Close, but it would be enough," Iseria smiled satisfyingly. "So, in order to chant or cast magic, we have to control the mana. However, do you know that we can transfer that energy into other things?"
"Like… casting magic on a sword?" Al struggled.
"It is casting, not transferring. Say it is a type of sharing our mana to them," Iseria explained.
The more she said, the more question Al had, "How is it possible?"
"It's possible if you train hard enough," Iseria said and pointed her hand to a wooden sword. It floated on the air and she let it fly around for a few seconds. "See? This is how you transfer your mana to a weapon. You have to focus, let your mana flow out and transfer it to the thing you want. But remember, the hardest part is you have to control the amount of mana you let out, or your mana will be wasted unnecessarily," she continued.
As Iseria's instruction, Al tried to follow as she taught. However, despite that, he was unable to control his mana and he exhausted himself. Iseria was surprised when she felt the amount of mana he let out. Al's first lesson was to transfer small mana to a wooden sword. He tried again and again but he could not even let it float a little. At the end of the day, he lied on the grasses and breathed heavily.
"It would be enough for today," Iseria stopped the training. She was very pleased about how hard Al trained. Before they parted away, she did not forget to encourage him, "Don't worry. It was hard for me on the first day. As long as you don't give up easily, I believe you will be succeeded one day."
Two weeks later, Al had no improvement but Iseria had to admire how hard and serious effort he put into the training. Slowly, she gained sympathy towards the young Suin. Instead of suspicion, she had trust and built a friendship with him. Whenever they took a break, they often shared their stories about what they had been through. Iseria felt sorry for Al's parents and she really admired their sacrifice for their adopted son and the Suin village. As for Al, he felt respect for Iseria after losing so many friends and loved ones, and her effort to keep peace of all over Ritania.
After one month of training, Al finally was able to float one sword but it was not good enough. He could only let it float for a few seconds before the sword fell on the ground. Despite his pessimistic, Iseria kept encourage him and it was why he could not give up easily. After another hard training day, Iseria suggested they should take a walk outside the Reingar university.
"Wow…"
Although he had been here for half a year, it was the first time Al had a view of Reingar city. The buildings and the houses were built with the combinations of medieval, gothic and modern styles. There were a lot of people, more than any city he had visited. There were some stores that sold some products as he saw back in Aakhen but they were even more varied in Reingar. He kept running around from places to places and Iseria had a hard time following him. At that moment, she realized Yuna was right about that curious cat.
"Come on, I'll show you something."
When Al started feeling hungry, Iseria suggested. After a short walk, they approached to a noodle stall. The stall owner was a male elf who had his wife and children to support him. Seeing the familiar face, the elf greeted, "Oh! It's been a while."
"I see you are still doing good," Iseria said back. Despite the small stall and few tables and chairs placed nearby, there were many people who were attracted to this stall.
"And who is this young man?" the male elf saw Al and asked.
"A friend of mine," Iseria answered and they found a place afterward.
After settling, Al and Iseria were given a menu that had photos and each one had a name nearby. For Al, it was the first time he saw a menu that had photos of each name of foods. When he saw a photo of a bowl of fish and noodles, he immediately picked it and Iseria had no surprise at all.
"So good," Al was very enjoying the food.
"I'm glad you like it," Iseria said while holding her bowl. She asked, "Is this your first time eating noodles?"
"Not really, Reingar's canteen has them as well, but it isn't as good as this place," he explained. He looked at Iseria's bowl and asked, "What are you eating?"
"It's an herb and vegetable noodle," Iseria answered and she could not hold her smile when she looked at his curious eyes. She then said, "Do you want to take a bite?"
Realizing he was being impolite, Al leaned back, "Uh… no… thanks." But Iseria offered him and he tried it after all. "It's… kind of cold, but really cool and tasty."
Later, Al tried three different types of noodles and it made him full. But he lost his words when he looked at Iseria. It was like a dozen empty bowls placed next to her and she was still eating. Iseria felt weird but fun with his look.
The next day, when Iseria was teaching Al, from a high floor of building in Reingar university, Iseria's subordinate, named Alexa, was looking down on them. Seeing how they were getting closer, Alexa felt very sad and jealous towards the young Suin. She put her hand on the glass window and mumbled, "I wish… I can be closed with you… like him."
"Are you okay, Lady Alexa?" Tamarinne asked worryingly when she was passing by.
Alexa startled and tried to hold herself together, "Uh… no… Thank you." After that, Alexa looked down again and Tamarinne was curious about what she was looking for. Suddenly, Alexa questioned, "Can I ask you something, Miss Tamarinne?"
"Please, go on," the young singer nodded.
"What will you do…" Alexa paused. She was not sure what she was thinking.
Seeing the young girl kept silent, Tamarinne wondered what was happening. Then she remembered something. Whenever Alexa and Iseria were together, she always looked at the female elf with her admirable eyes and she always cared to her.
Trying to hold her sadness, Alexa determined to finish her question, whether she had the answer or not, "Do you think… they will be a couple?"
"You mean… Al and Lady Iseria?" Tamarinne asked for confirmation and Alexa did not react at all. She then smiled and said, "Al has someone in his heart. It is because of her that he decided to leave his home and stay away from her."
Hearing that, Alexa struggled, "But… why?"
"Because… that person only sees him as a friend," Tamarinne felt a bit sorry for Al because Yuna did tell her what happened. "No matter what and how he tries, he cannot see her as a friend. And it makes him scare that one day, he will let his selfishness control him and he will hurt her so he decided to run away."
I see…" Alexa started feeling something familiar between him and her. They both had someone they had feelings for but they could not stay by their side. Alexa was not sure if she could do what he did. She still tried to get close to Iseria and hoped for one day, Iseria would answer her. But she knew that that day would never happen because she clearly knew why. Surprisingly, she said, "I wish… I was born as a man rather than a woman. Maybe it would be easier."
When Tamarinne heard that, she quickly understood and they did not say anything.
Trying to change the subject, Alexa said, "Sorry, please just forget what I said."
"I hope one day you will find happiness," Tamarinne smiled.
"Can I ask you one more thing?" Alexa asked and Tamarinne nodded, "What about you and him?"
"Even if we want, it will never be going to happen," Tamarinne squeezed her dress secretly while keeping her smile.
"May I ask why?" Alexa struggled.
"Let's say there is a wall between us. An idol is never supposed to be in love with anyone. It is something prohibited in my world." Tamarinne answered.
The day when Al was reading the newspaper, Tamarinne was inside the library as well. When she saw him, she wanted to greet him and seeing he was focusing on reading a newspaper, she did not want to bother him. But she was curious about what he was reading and stealthily sneaked to him. Al was so focusing on the newspaper that he did not realize Tamarinne was behind him. And it was when Tamarinne remembered the wall between them.
Alexa had not understood what Tamarinne just said but she could feel the sadness in her eyes. She then asked, "Do you feel regret?"
"If I had felt regret, then I wouldn't have chosen to be an idol as the beginning. And Al will be very sad if I give up, too. All I can do is to keep moving forward," Tamarinne excused but deep inside, she respected Al's love for Elena and she did not want to interfere in. After that, they looked down at Iseria and Al before they left. Fortunately, Tamarinne and Alexa started building their friendship as well.