The Magic Twins Ch. 8: Bonds and Blessings
Next Location: Outside the doorstep of the von Claude's estate, by the garden…
Everyone in the study group immediately starts their training sessions after a warm welcome and good night's rest. For now, Merlin keeps a close eye on everyone as they learn on how to efficiently control and contain mana from within and from the environment—the same exercise that gave Shin and Chin the capacity to bear a monstrous amount of magic power.
"Thor, you're a bit choppy there," Merlin warns.
"Yes!" Thor replied as he steadied his grasp for mana.
"Sizilien, try raising your magic a little bit," Merlin advises.
"Y-yes!" Sizilien responds as she controls more magic power.
"Good good...hm?" Merlin wonders from the trickling noise of erratic lightning and turns around to see Lyn and her uncontrollable use of magic power, frightening those that are next to her in their exercise. "You are building up too much! You're losing control!"
"Ah huh? I made a mistake? Okay…" Lyn responded and paused from doing the exercise, leaving everyone at ease.
"Geez, you almost got my hair messy again thanks to you!" Maria retorts, making Chin hide his laughter, distracting him in the middle of the exercise while unconsciously getting flustered from remembering last night's fateful event.
"Something at mind, Chin?" Shin asks as he disperses his mana.
"N-nothing, nothing at mind," Chin responded as he halts from doing the exercise before leaving to sit and read an interesting pamphlet on ancient magic that he borrowed from the library back at the Magic Academy, leaving Shin confused and Melida disappointed in his obliviousness.
Next Location: In a huge room inside the von Claude mansion...
Not very long after Merlin's Magic Control exercises, the study group commenced in learning about enchanting items in Melida's Magic Gear Enchanting discussion.
'Thanks to Grandpa and Granny helping us, this camp is turning out better than expected,' Shin thought to himself.
'Well I'll say,' Chin replied in his thoughts, using "Telepathic Voice," startling Shin so suddenly by accident. 'Hehe, sorry 'bout that. No hard feelings?'
"No, just don't even think about doing it again or I'm telling Granny," Shin responded.
"Thanks and sorry again. And by the way, you better tell Sizilien how you really feel sooner or later if you want those "dreams" of yours coming true," Chin nudges and teases Shin, all the while giving Sizilien chilling sensations running down her spine, which momentarily distracted her from practicing and learning in Melida's discussion.
"W-wh-what!?" Shin embarrassingly stuttered. "Wh-what are you saying—"
"Oi, you boys come here and show them how things are done! Remember what I taught you, but don't dare to be reckless under my watch," Melida called and ordered the twins to assist in teaching.
Next Location: On the outskirts of the wilderness where Shin and Chin practice their magic…
There, the study group start learning under Shin in trying out offensive magic as they use the rocks nearby for their target practice to try casting offensive spells without chanting , all the while under Chin's careful watch for him to clean up any possible collateral damage to the environment.
"They're belting them right out without any chanting," Melida thought out loud. "They're going to put the magic division out of business."
"Well, they still have to learn how to defeat demonoids, so that may give them a tough time," Shin rebutted.
"Hmmm, yes you're right," Merlin agrees.
"Ah, good grief, this is certainly a worldwide crisis," Melida sighed.
"Yeah, the demonoids have run amok on the other kingdoms, so I doubt they won't run amok elsewhere," Chin predicts. "We're gonna need all the help we can get and do if we are to avert that sort of a calamity. But of course, us two should start getting stronger ourselves as well."
Shin nods in response, thinking of a period of time to start training with Chin to improve both of their abilities.
"Yeah, we should plan on getting stronger," Shin replied to Chin.
"WHAT!?"
The twins turn to their classmates, who're painted pale out of their fear for their monstrous magical power and upon hearing their need of getting stronger with them.
"Uhmmm…?" The twins are dazed from their hysterical reaction as they raise their shields in front of them.
"Everyone, listen up! Raise a magic barrier with everything you got!" Maria rallies as she deploys her magic barrier.
"No no, I think it'll probably be okay," Shin assures.
"You think? I remember the last time you used to show your flashy display of incinerating a pair of mountains single-handedly, so it's all the more reason why they're scared," Chin deadpans, internally stabbing Shin with his sharp remarks.
"Say what!?" Alice yelped out of fear, deploying her shield in response, letting others follow suit from that same fear.
"Everyone! Take Messina's advice and don't let your guard down!" August orders everyone to focus their magic on their shields, shaming Shin and Chin with their display.
"I've already been telling you that it's going to be alright," Shin assures, getting tapped by Chin.
"I have a suggestion: try having me as your target," Chin suggests, shocking everyone, especially Maria.
"C-c-c-Chin!? What do you mean!?" Maria sternly asks as she quickly goes over to grab Chin by his collar and shakes him hard with worry and concern.
"I, just, wan-, -na, try, my, ma-gic," Chin replied while being shaken until Maria quickly calms down. "Look, I also wish to train my magic that it'd be on par with the caliber of Shin's, in hopes of being able to at least do what he could do, or probably even better than him."
"B-b-b-better?!" Maria screams as she keeps her distance out of fear of Chin's statement.
"If that is the case, then by all means, try it. But if things get rough, you must keep your life at any cost, understand?" August approves.
"B-b-b-but Your Highness—"
"It's going to be fine, Maria. Trust me on this one," Chin assertively assures, softening Maria's heart until she turns her gaze away out of embarrassment.
"F-fine you blockhead, just go do what you want," Maria nervously replied as she stayed with the study group at a certain distance while Shin and Chin kept a long distance between them that's almost as wide as a mountain's base.
'You ready Chin?' Shin replied through "Telepathic Voice."
'Ready when you are,' Chin replies back.
"Okay, let's try out this new trick I've been thinking about: first, visualize some combustible gas," Shin thought out loud as he ignites and summons a pair of blue-flamed spheres, making everyone nervous whereas Maria worries for Chin.
"Let's see, let's first make the atmosphere temperature drop down fast," Chin thought out loud as the air around him condenses into flaky hail, the ground in a wide radius that is as wide as a mountain's base beneath him gets swiftly covered in what appears to be permafrost, all the while creating a mountain-wide magic circle.
Shin then combines the two fireballs into something like a nuclear explosion in his palms. "Here comes the tricky part…!"
He then projects his spell toward Chin.
"Now visualize: instead of the impact of a widespread area, let's try narrowing it to a single blast…! Then release!" Shin thought out loud as the blast was condensed into a single beam aimed toward Chin at a speedy rate like a railgun.
"Chin! No!" Maria screams loudly out of fear.
"Now, arise!" Chin quickly casts his newly made original spell called "Tundra's Wrath," which summons a large mountain of ice, consisting of permafrost and making the air suddenly into flaky hail and snow, and partially altering the landscape in a matter of seconds, only to block Shin's nuclear beam.
"Hwooooooogh!" The twins tried to fight off each other's spells as they held their ground, scaring the study group and their own grandparents.
Shin's atomic blast gradually chips away at the never-ending sudden growth of Chin's icy mountain, putting both of them at a stalemate.
"Let's go!" The twins roar as they continue to battle it out with their mental strengths and magic powers, further scaring the Wise Man and the Guru.
"Hey you two! This is getting out of hand! I order both of you to stop this instant!" Melida repeatedly calls out because of the strong gusts of air thanks to Shin's blast.
By a sheer stroke of luck, Shin heard Melida's scolding and dissipated his laser-like spell, halting the battle. Merlin then uses "Blink" to instantly teleport Chin from his faraway position and back to their current location, startling him in the process.
"Hey hey whoa, what happened? Is it over?" Chin asks in confusion, getting Merlin's nod in response.
"You little brats!" Melida scolded both Shin and as she slaps both of them overhead in one swift swoop.
"Hehehe, am I dreaming? Or Shin just really did that…?!" Alice nervously deadpans upon seeing a trail of smashed impacted rock, leading towards a massive cinched hole Shin's blast made to Chin's summoned icy mountain that appears to be taller than the Earlshied royal palace.
"No, it's real," Maria joked nervously.
"Exactly! What is with you using that much amount of force!? Did you really intend to incinerate your brother to ashes, you, you!?" Melida scolds loudly towards Shin.
"Hey hey, it's alright Granny, I allowed him to, otherwise, I wouldn't know how powerful I—"
"And as for you…" Melida strictly glares at Chin, striking a chill down his spine upon sight. "I was expecting you to be a little less reckless than your brother, but you just have to be so carried away huh!?"
"S-sorry Granny!" Chin apologizes out of fear.
"But wait, even with that much amount of force, there wasn't any shock at all," Thor notices.
"It must be by channeling the blast into a single direction, he boosted its force," August answers.
"Most likely," Merlin adds.
"Oh my, such a huge mountain of ice. I don't think my power could even reach that level ever," Yuri looks in awe of Chin's tall icy mountain as it stood firm emanating a frosty aura that altered the atmosphere and ground of the environment.
"No worries, it is a special kind of ice that is harder to break and melt. Not like the ordinary ice magic that dissipates easily and it is versatile," Chin assures. "If you like, later, I can teach it later to everyone in learning some support magic."
"Oh really!? Oh what a joy! Thank you!" Yuri gratefully hugs Chin tightly without restraint, soliciting a jealous Maria internally raging if not for Chin quickly releasing his hold on her from the moment she glared daggers at him.
"Seriously, if something like that is pointed at me," Mark fidgeted from the thought. "I'd shudder to think."
"W-well! Guys! Hey, we got Chin here with us," Maria assures pulling Chin's arm to her side. "With him around, he might be able to take on whatever Shin has with what he's got, right?" Maria then pinches Chin's side as hard as turning a key in a lock.
"Ah ow ow, ow yes!" Chin screams painfully, making everyone excluding Shin, laugh loudly whereas his brother's left embarrassed.
"Shin, I hate to trouble you, but would you mind if you "gate" me through to the castle?" August requests.
"The castle?" Shin wonders.
Meanwhile, Chin is enduring a great lashing by Maria and Melida for the crazy training stunt he and his brother pulled right in front of them.
"Good grief Chin, for the last time, please don't do something scary like that," Maria sighs.
"It must be the fault of that old fool, so I'll let you off for now," Melida sighs. "However! If you insist on doing that one more time." Melida's eyes burned like ignited candles.
"We won't, we won't!" Chin answers fervently before feeling a tap from Shin with a notice.
"Chin, Aug and I will be away for a bit, so you are gonna have to handle the rest of the session on your own, okay?" Shin slyly leaves with Aug through using his "Gate."
"Okay then, guess I'm doing this solo," Chin sighs.
"Moving on...come now everyone, let's continue on with training in Chin's discussion on support magic," Melida announces.
Now, everyone is in preparation for Chin's discussion on support magic, with him aiming that everyone gets a grasp of being able to use support magic in future battles as another way to coordinate each other's abilities.
"Okay guys, based on my experience, there are two kinds of support magic, namely: passive and active," Chin briefly explains.
"Active support magic is more on assisting your allies by inflicting disabilities or debuffs against your enemies in any sort that gives our friends a greater advantage," Chin explains.
"Disabilities?" Yuri wonders.
"Debuffs?" Thor wonders.
"For example," Chin attempts to use one of his simple ice spells, "Icy Floor," wherein he turns the floor beneath him into slippery ice and freezes around a wide area.
"Now, just to obviously point out, this can slow down enemies as they may get in close to attack you. This spell also has a chance to freeze enemies from their tracks if they happen to be in the vicinity range of this spell, which can make them target practice like these rocks out here," Chin explained.
"Whoa! So cool!" Yuri exclaims while touching the dissipating frozen ground, making Maria jealous.
"Now, about passive support magic, it is simply magic that can assist allies by casting buffs and powering spells onto them to make them stronger," Chin explains. "The most common passive support magic is healing magic, to help anyone last longer in a fight."
Sizielien looks in awe of his brief knowledge of how she can be a great asset in the team.
"Another way passive support magic is manifested by this," Chin takes out a simple iron sword and a piece of paper. He then casts a support spell called "Fire Branding," wherein he puts a temporary fire elemental enchantment on the sword and uses it to cut a paper, causing it to burn into ash with the temporary elemental enchantment.
"Whoa, wait, what did you just do…?!" Maria asks without barely freaking out.
"It's a fire enchantment spell that can temporarily give any weapon a burning effect to inflict fire magic on enemies," Chin explains. "Something similarly done with how Shin enchanted his sword, but this enchantment spell is only a temporary asset for dire situations. However, it is quite useful when you don't have any space for enchanting your weapon, so it is easy to abuse."
His lesson left his classmates speechless, disappointing him in the process.
"This is going to take a while," Chin sighs in defeat. "Shin brother, where in the world are you…!?"
Next Location: Somewhere in the hotspring district of the Claude estate…
In a small resto, Shin and August, along with his fiancee, Elisabet von Koralle, and his younger sister, May, stay to dine for the day while holding a short conversation of sorts.
"Urg!? Aug! What are you talking about?!" Shin hysterically asks.
"It's true, is it not?" August deflects back, catching Shin off guard. "Shin, now may be the time. Like your denseless brother, you should make things clear as he does."
"Make what clear exactly? And wait, what happened with Chin?" Shin curiously wonders, making August hold his face in disappointment, even though it's already predicted that Shin would also fail to notice Chin's affairs.
"Where you stand. I can tell that the two of you share affection with one another," August deadpans. "Chin beat you to it."
'For each other? Sure, Sizilien is nice to me, but that's probably just because she is just nice,' Shin debated internally. "How do you know that she has affection for me?"
"I, well, Chin too, can tell from just watching," August straightforwardly answered.
"How can you say that for sure? What am I supposed to do if you're wrong?" Shin anxiously replied.
"Then, are you fine to keep going with the way things are?" August sternly questioned. "Of course you don't know how she feels. Or would you rather let her come out and say it from the get-go while telling yourself that you still lack the courage?"
"Well, I…" Shin was left speechless.
"Ellie and I have been together since we were little kids, and now we are engaged, but we still have misunderstandings every now and then, don't we?" August replies.
"Would you mind not using me as an example?" Elisabet embarrassingly shrugs.
"Shin, now would be a good time to head back home please," Chin unexpectedly shows up using "Gate" in the restaurant, scaring nearby bystanders and also startling Shin, August, Elisabet, and May in the process.
Next location: In the wide corridors of the Claude residences…
Most of the study group meet with August and Shin for Elisabet and May to be introduced to the camp and groupmates while being able to mingle with them for the meantime as given permission from the King Diseum himself.
"What? You two will be joining us in the camp?" Sizilien asks for clarification.
"As events would have it, yes. Sorry to bother you, Ms. Claude, but could you put up with them?" August requests.
"Of course I don't mind," Sizilien gently welcomes.
"The more the merrier, as they say," Chin interjects. "It is nice to meet more cousins."
"Likewise, um, Chin, correct?" Elisabet curtsies.
"Ah yeah, have you heard about me from August perhaps?" Chin sheepishly inquires.
"Oh I have heard quite a lot about you and your brother from his Highness. Quite a lot I'd say," Elisabet replied with a hint of animosity toward Chin.
"Ummmm, oook?" Chin wonders in confusion.
"No need to worry however, we won't get in your way during training," Elisabet assures.
"Thanks, but feel free to spectate whenever you get weary of boredom. It's going to be enjoyable," Chin assures, with Maria noticing before swiftly appearing behind him stealthily and pinches his hind sides again, making him groan internally in pain while trying to keep his composure, making August and May laugh while leaving Elisabet confused from his pained reaction.
"Thank you," Sizilien replied before smiling at Shin, making him blush in response after his conversation a while ago concerning their feelings for each other. "Is something the matter, Shin?"
"Huh!? O-oh! Anything!? Yeah! Everything is fine!?" Shin embarrassingly stammered.
"O-oh, is that so...?" Sizilien responded cluelessly.
"Why are you stuttering?" Chin teasingly deadpans, making Maria lightly chuckle in response.
"Ah, so all of that talk earlier was about you, Sizilien," Elisabet realizes.
"Whoa, Shin and Sizilien, you make a cute couple!" May praises, catching Shin off guard and surprising Sizilien upon hearing May's remark.
"Wha—it's nothing!" Shin screamed before running down to a corridor to spare himself from the embarrassment.
Next Location: At the front entrance in the von Claude's residences…
Everyone was told to meet up at the entrance to be introduced to two new members in their study camp.
"My name is Elisabet von Koralle," Elisabet introduced.
"U-uhm, I-I'm Big Brother August's little sister, May!" May nervously introduced.
"You see, May is a big fan of yours," Shin replied, embarrassing May further.
"My oh my," Melida sighs with joy before walking towards May. "You must be disappointed that I'm such an old woman."
"N-no not at all! You're very pretty!" May replied. "U-um, if you don't mind, can I shake your hand?"
"Oh of course," Melida chuckles as she gratefully holds May's tiny hands.
"Looks like you have quite a promising fan, Granny," Chin comments teasingly.
"You should keep quiet, otherwise—"
"I'm sorry Granny, I'm sealing my mouth right now," Chin retracts, making Maria beside laugh in response.
"Hmph, you see, this is why girls are so adorable. Not at all like my grandsons," Melida sighs, making Merlin laugh and the twins deeply embarrassed from her remark.
"But Granny, what about those countless times that you've held our hands?" Chin deadpans.
"Yeah, you held our hands quite often," Shin adds.
"That's because there's no telling what might happen when I'm not watching, especially you Shin," Melida smirked to the twins, catching them off guard. "It was to keep the two of you under my thumb, but now I don't need to do that quite often to you Chin."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Chin asks in confusion, unable to notice Maria beside him with flustered cheeks.
"W-well, I can understand what Melida feels," Maria nervously answered, conscious of Chin who is beside her.
"Well, she must've been worriedly anxious handling two boys like you in your house," Alice adds, shaming the twins.
"Very efficient," Kids are quite hard to raise," Yuri and Lyn added, verbally backstabbing both Shin and Chin.
"I just pray that my children are normal," Olivia comments, making Mark feel embarrassed.
'Seriously, we're that abnormal?' both Shin and Chin depressingly thought to themselves.
"U-um, I—"
"It's alright Sizilien. You don't have to spare my feelings," Shin dejectedly assures.
"N-no! I don't think like that at all, Shin! I think our children will be adorable, and I would gladly hold their hands!" Sizilien joyfully and cluelessly assured and embarrassed Shin from her statement, making all the men shocked whereas the women joyed and excited from her bold statement.
"H-huh? Wh-what did I just say?" Sizilien stuttered in embarrassment upon realization.
"Sizilien, my goodness," Maria deadpans, followed by Alice cheering for her.
"So bold!" Yuri cheered.
"An impressive implosion," Lyn adds.
That moment, Sizilien storms out of the mansion, leaving the study group in awe and Shin dazed and flustered from her open feelings.
"Shin, you get it right?" August taps onto Shin's shoulder.
"It's time to make a decision, whether you like it or not," Chin adds, getting Maria's supporting nod.
"Yes, when she puts it that way, I'm not that dense," Shin confessed.
"Then what are you waiting for, hm? Are you gonna keep an embarrassed maiden that loves you so dearly on hold?" Chin questions with his arms crossed.
"No, I will give her my answer sooner or later tonight," Shin answered plainly.
"Just make sure you don't rattle yourself. Either way, she understands you," August smirks, catching Shin off guard. "Good luck to you."
Next Location: At the garden outside of the von Claude residence…
Shin looks up, staring at the clusters of stars in the night sky as he recollects his thoughts after what happened earlier. Then, he spots Sizilien, sulking on a lone patio bench, sheltered under a tiled roof that's well lit between two lamped poles. Despite being fearful and hesitant of what may be to come, he walks up to her and catches her attention.
"Ah—Shin! What's the matter?" Sizilien asks.
"O-oh, I just got out of the hot springs and just wanted to cool down for a bit," Shin quickly replied. "How about you?"
"A-ah I see! I got out of the hot springs to cool down out here as well!" Sizilien replied.
"I-is that so…?" Shin turns away awkwardly, followed by Sizilien who did the same, making the two of them laugh loudly at their similarly mutual reactions.
"Um, please listen," Sizilien pleaded. "I apologize for what happened earlier."
"Oh...it didn't really bother me. If anything, I'm honestly flattered," Shin answered, shocking Sizilien. "Tell me, Sizilien...do you remember the first time you and Maria met me and Chin?"
"Why yes, I do remember. Me and Maria were cornered by those evil men," Sizilien answered.
"And then I asked if those men were bothering you," Shin nostalgically replies.
"And Maria said 'They're ultra-bothering us!'" Sizilien excitedly remembers as they laugh out from those moments. "Ever since then, you and your brother, who came in to assist, you've done nothing but help me and Maria out."
"Listen," Shin requests as he clutches his fist tightly. "The first time I saw you, it was like lightning struck my head."
"Huh?" Sizilien looks up to Shin with a shock.
"I thought 'what a cute girl she is,'" Shin confessed with a smile.
"Um, I also thought that...what a handsome man he is," Sizilien answered with an embarrassed smile.
"R-really!?" Shin looks at Sizilien, surprised from her confession.
"Yes," Sizilien answered sheepishly, terribly embarrassed from her confession.
"Sizilien," Shin asks in a serious tone, making her respond by standing and looking into his eyes. "I love you."
From those three words, Sizilien, who was taken aback, shed tears of joy with a smile from Shin's heartfelt confession.
"I'm so happy. You're a nice guy, so nice that...that I thought...you were just being so nice to me, too…" Sizilien stutters while bursting in tears.
"That's the way I led you to think?" Shin looks with sincerity, shocked by the current turn of events.
"But...but...you told me that that isn't the case!" Sizilien calms down and wipes a few of her tears away with a bright smile. "I love you! I love you too, Shin!"
"Sizilien...would you...like to be my girlfriend?" Shin asks sincerely.
"Yes!" Sizilien immediately answers before being almost pulled into an affectionate kiss until…
"Whoa!" "Wah!"
Suddenly, a loud crashing sound was heard from the shadows beside and behind them, where their classmates, along with Elisabet and May, were found secretly eavesdropping successfully, if not for the carelessness of several members, startling the new couple from their sides.
"Maaan," Chin facepalms in embarrassment and disappointment, after having set up a "Sound Barrier," which was instantly disrupted by the sudden crash that went over the field's range and killed it.
"Ehehehe, oops," Maria scratches her head embarrassingly, standing behind Chin.
"Wh-wha-wha—"
"Were you guys eavesdropping over everything we said!?" Shin shields Sizilien from their eavesdropping classmates.
"There is no way we're going to miss out on a big event like this, okay!?" Both Maria and Alice retorted.
"Don't turn around that around on me!" Shin answered back.
"Well, congratulations brother, you finally did it. I was about to break the ice if you actually chickened out on this momentous night," Chin teases, making Sizilien gasp with cheeks as bright as tomatoes and catching Shin off his guard.
"To begin with, I was the one who lit the fire under you, so I am obligated to see this through to the end," August bluntly answered.
"I share that same responsibility," Elisabet adds.
"W-what an adultlike situation!" May replies excitedly.
"Way to go Shin! Nicely done!" Melida praised beside a joyed Merlin.
"Well, does this mean I get to call you sister?" Chin teases, making Sizilien embarrassed from the thought.
"B-b-b-brother!?" Sizilien stuttered before being tackled into a hug by Maria.
"Yeah! Now we get to be called sisters! Yes!" Maria aggressively and excitedly hugs her potential sister-in-law.
"H-hu-huh!?" Sizilien yelped excitedly.
After the rowdy and exciting atmosphere dies down, the study group confronts the new couple.
"Well, there you have it. We are now boyfriend and girlfriend," Shin plainly states, receiving the applause of everyone.
"Why, we are going to have a celebration tomorrow!" The head butler of the von Claude family, excitedly plans, scaring Shin and Sizilien from behind.
"Shin, let me first again say congratulations," August interrupts before crossing his arms. "But, we are still in the middle of a crisis, so be sure that you won't be so caught up in your relationship that you neglect your training."
He then turns to Chin. "I am also referring to you, Chin. Try to maintain focus with your training."
"I can assure you, I have self-restraint. If anything, she is the worrywort here," Chin teasingly refers to Maria, who embarrassingly responded with a swift kick to his abdomen, causing him to fall on his knees groaning and hold his sore belly.
"Hmph," Maria huffed, intimidating Shin and Sizilien, along with August, Elisabet, and May.
"Wait, if that's the case, why'd you even get me started?" Shin wondered.
August chuckles before reciting a cheesy romantic cliched line.
"I'm going to declare my love for her once the battle is over," he finishes. "Well, if this were a story, anyone who said that is doomed to die."
'So you were defusing a death flag cliche?' the twins thought to themselves.
Next Location: In a beach area found at the von Claude's estate…
The following morning, everyone starts another day of training, but this time under the beating sun in the sandy shores of the von Claudes' beach area.
"Alright guys, listen up. We're going to start some new magic training now," Shin says.
"Huh? Training?" Alice responded with a shocked expression.
"After coming all this way in our bathing suits," Yuri sighs.
"Wait, speaking of coming, isn't Chin supposed to be here by now?" Maria asks in wonder.
"Maybe something is bothering him?" Sizilien predicts.
"I'm here!"
Coming out and down from the steepy grass of the mansion garden and to the beach, Chin stops right in front of the group, catching his breath from the sudden sprinting.
"I'm sorry for delaying training guys!" Chin huffed, wearing some sort of thin, long-sleeved, and dark-colored shirt that appears to be foreign in any fantasy world.
"Hey Chin, what are you wearing?" Maria asks curiously. 'Oh my stars, that looks tight on him…!'
"Oh this? It's a shirt that I just enjoy wearing as my bathing suit called rash guards," Chin shows his dark-colored rash guards to the study group. "To be honest, I am embarrassed wearing something like this while the rest of the guys just wear trunks. Makes me look less masculine, somehow."
"W-what are you saying!?" Maria protests with a drool before wiping it off. "It does not make any difference either way. On the contrary, you look great in that. Quite fitting, actually."
"Th-thank you," Chin turns away as he and Maria look away to hide their flushed faces until Shin interrupts the mood and startles them.
"Ahem! Anyways, now that Chin is back, we get to begin our training, and we'll start off with this specially-made ball and this small court," Shin planned as he brings out a volleyball and leads everyone to a makeshift beach volleyball court.
"Really? Volleyball? You can't be serious," Chin jokes around, remembering the old times in their past lives as high school students.
"Oh yes, we could use this to help everyone use their magic through this session. Trust me, I even enchanted the ball for this event," Shin assures, letting Chin examine the enchantments written around the volleyball.
"So you used the same enchantments that I wrote on my staves, I like the way you're thinking, you're fast at learning," Chin praised as he returned the volleyball back to Shin.
"Oh please, you're the bookworm between us," Shin answered back.
From afar, August's fiancee and sister are merely watching over from afar, along with Merlin and Melida watching from the sidelines.
"What are they about to do?" Elisabet thought out loud while staying refreshed with May by her side.
"I don't have any idea about this," Melida bluntly answered.
At this moment, Shin and Chin were done discussing the rules of their training session using the concept of volleyball.
"And those are the rules of volleyball," Shin finishes.
"Anyone having questions?" Chin asks before noticing Lyn raising her hand. "Yes Lyn?"
"We're free to use our magic right?" Lyn asks.
"Yes, but only on the ball. Other than doing that is considered illegal," Chin answered.
From there, the teams are made for the first training session, or volleyball match to be exact. On one side is August, Maria, Lyn, and Alice. On the other side was Yuri, Thor, Tony, and Olivia. Standing next to the net as the inner referee was Chin, and standing outside around the court was Shin as the outside referee and supervising coach.
"Don't do anything crazy that you might hurt yourselves!" Shin orders.
"If things do get rough, I assure you guys that I will use force by any means to prevent severe injuries before patching you guys later on afterwards," Chin sternly assures with an intimidating strict face. "Without further ado, shall we start!"
"Alright! Here we go!" Alice cries out as she throws the volleyball high up in the air.
"Huh!?" "What?!" the twins responded with dumbfounded expressions.
There, Alice immediately launches herself up high in the air with the assistance of physical enhancement magic that was carefully instructed during lessons in class and Chin's support magic training
"Wait, so high! But okay…!?" Shin thought out loud.
"You have got to be kidding me," Chin thought out loud in fear that his spectacles tilted from his slight jitter.
'Oh yeah, physical enhancement...!' Shin thought to himself, observing Alice's attempt to slam the volleyball.
'Oh man,' Chin looks in awe of her swift chantless casting of physical enhancement magic.
Alice then strikes the volleyball straight down on the enemy team's side of the court.
"I got this!" Olivia calls as she rushes over and manages to hit the ball high up, just inches away from the sand.
"Nice one, Olivia!" Thor calls out before launching the volleyball high enough for Tony to lunge beside it. He then casts "Wind Vision" to throttle and hurls the volleyball back to Alice's court.
"Oh no you don't!" August answers back with a swift chantless casting of "Wind Barrier" and hurls it near Maria.
"Lyn!" Maria calls out as she launches the ball high up for Lyn to serve. She then swiftly casts "Flame Attack" and hurls a fiery volleyball towards Yuri.
'Hey hey hey, this is messed up,' Chin thought to himself as he watches the whole thing going on.
'Were there enchantments that I may have forgotten to put on or did I overdo it…?' Shin thought to himself with an astounded expression.
As the fiery ball is hurled toward Yuri, she desperately casts a "Water Barrier" to shield herself, only to be blown away from the great amount of fire magic power inputted into the durable volleyball.
"Aw fiddlesticks!" Yuri swears.
"Not bad you guys," Tony huffed.
"Point goes to August's side!" Chin calls out as he realigns his glasses with sweat on his face.
"Nice one Lyn!" Alice compliments.
"Ughg," Shin slightly groaned from the flashy and violent display of magic usage.
"Everyone's just amazing!" Sizilien stood in awe, along with Mark and Julius.
"Who knew you could use magic like this," Julius thought out loud.
'Please refrain from doing that,' the twins thought to themselves.
"Just incredible! Leave it to Wolford and Bowen for this amazingly unique training!" Mark exclaimed with excitement, embarrassing Shin and Chin for the unlikely experiences that occurred in this training session.
'Shin,' Chin whispered using "Telepathic Voice."
'Yes?' Shin groaned in his thoughts as he looked at Chin from afar.
'Let's take note to scratch this out of our choices of training sessions in future camps, can we?' Chin pleads while using "Telepathic Voice."
'You don't need to tell me twice,' Shin answered back.
"Mmmhp! I also wanna try playing that!" May groaned.
"Give it up while you still can, it is risky to get yourself mixed in with them," Elisabet warns.
"Ah! Heads up!" Maria warns Elisabet and May as a fiery volleyball is heading towards them, causing Elisabet to quickly protect May with her body.
"Gotcha!" Chin swiftly casts "Frost Dragon Bite," summoning a giant chain whip made of ice with a dragon-shaped tip and uses it to catch the fiery ball and kill its flames with its huge freezing mouth before retracting it back to the volleyball court. "Whew!"
"We're sorry about that!" Alice apologizes.
"My footing slipped!" Lyn apologized.
"That was dangerous you know!" Elisabet screams, not noticing how she is suffocating May with his plump bosom.
"Hoho, a shame. I could've caught that easily," Merlin lamented as he sips on cold tea.
"Forget about it, while both of those boys are around, there's almost nothing to worry about. I would've scolded them already if Chin had not intervened," Melida answered, making Merlin stutter and quietly cry over his helplessness.
"Be careful with your aiming. Those two are not even your enemies," Chin scolded jokingly as he holds the volleyball.
"We're sorry about that," Alice and Lyn apologized again.
"Well anyways, take this mistake as another lesson: this is not just all about being able to control and use great magic power, but also to yield its usage when necessary," Chin advises.
"Anyways, let's get back to training," Shin announced.
After the small mishap, the study group immediately continued their competitive training sessions while vocally chanting out their erratic spells.
"And here we thought we could get them to not recite their spells," Chin thought out loud while being a referee, watching the whole session going on again.
"Talk about deluded magic recitals," Shin depressingly deadpanned.
Next Location: In the large dormitory-like guestroom…
After another long day of training, the study group decides to huddle up for a night meeting and casually talk in their bedwear to get to know further with one another as a huge team.
"I've been wondering, when did all of you know about Aug and Ellie?" Shin asks curiously.
"When we were five," Sizilien quickly answered.
"Royals and nobles have a coming-out party when we turn five," Maria continues.
"Really? Fascinating, so almost all nobles are like childhood friends since kindergarten in that case, right?" Chin wonders in realization.
"At that age, Thor was quite often mistaken as a girl," Julius straightforwardly points out.
"Could you please not bring up my dark past?" Thor angrily pleaded.
"Hey, I have been through that kind of problem myself back then in my younger days. I am glad I wasn't the only one suffering," Chin laughs. "Even Granny thought I was a girl with my previous appearance."
"Really? That's unfortunate for boys like us. Well, mostly me, with my height accompanied by my appearance," Thor laughed.
"I'm sure there's more to it than just height and appearance, Thor. I know that, and you know that," Chin assures.
"You're a very good friend Chin," Thor replied.
"Likewise, Thor, likewise," Chin answered back.
"Man, we're jealous of you guys, being able to go to parties and stuff at the age of five," Shin sighs out of amazement. "At the age of five, Chin and I had to either go hunting, do chores, or just do training with our grandparents and Uncle Michel."
"Th-that sounds pretty amazing in its own way," Thor replied.
"Oh, coming-out parties, takes me way back!" Maria sighs in nostalgia. "There were sure a lot of girls surrounding Prince August."
'K-kinda predictable though,' the twins thought to themselves amusingly.
"Ugh, it was a bad experience," August groaned. "All those young noble maidens trying to make good first impressions."
"You're royalty after all," Shin bluntly answered.
"But wait, when does Ellie come into the picture?" Chin asks curiously.
"Actually, I didn't even get close to August," Elisabet admits.
"Say what?" Chin wonders in confusion from her admission.
"Ellie was the only one among them who didn't try to butter me up. That's how I became interested in her," August continued, catching Elisabet's attention. "I was struck by the cold look that she gives to the other young misses clamoring around."
"A-August, everybody can hear you," Elisabet sheepishly complains.
"Man, I wish something like that romantic sort would happen to me sooner. Sounds like a blissful experience," Chin sighs in a playfully jealous tone, all the while oblivious to Maria beside him, hiding her flustered face.
"H-hey! I'm right here you know!" Maria screamed right beside him, startling him off his guard.
"Ehehehe, sorry sorry," Chin apologizes in a playful manner with a content and embarrassed smile. "I do look forward to making memories with you, together. I may not have been around when we're younger, but this can be my chance to get to truly know you properly as you will with me."
Maria's face suddenly bursts into a brighter shade of red and steams out of embarrassment from Chin's innocent-looking heartfelt commitment towards her.
"W-wh-wha-what are you saying out of the blue, Chin!?" Maria screams right at him in front of the study group before silencing herself to be safe from the embarrassing cheers of their classmates.
"Geez, we envy you so much Maria. We've never gotten any chance yet," Alice sighed.
"Well, I'm only in live with my magic," Lyn plainly states.
"What about you Yuri? Surely you must've had a boyfriend or two," Maria asked curiously.
"That is something that...I...can't...tell," Yuri seductively replied.
"Yuri, that's so unfair," Alice sighs.
The whole study group were then cheerfully laughing about everyone's joys and shortcomings, only until Shin and Chin heard footsteps coming to their room from the outside.
"Sh!" Shin tells everyone to keep quiet and listen to the footsteps coming near to their doorstep.
"I think that's Granny coming, everyone hide!" Chin whispered out in a commanding tone before closing the lights. "Now I have to—whoa!"
All of a sudden, the door was quickly opened, revealing a stern Melida by the door.
"Quiet down now all of you! Tomorrow's another—" Melida yells over by the opened door, only to notice the dark room full of beds covered under their sheets. "Huh? I thought I heard voices in here. Maybe it's just my imagination."
At the moment Melida entered the room, everyone swiftly hid and scrambled quietly for a place out of her sight, some of whom may be having it much more difficult compared to the rest.
'S-Sh-Shin...a-are you fine?' Chin stuttered while using "Telepathic Voice."
'Yeah, Sizilien and I are alright. How about your end?' Shin replied using "Telepathic Voice" while embracing Sizilien tightly
'I-I-I don't exactly know how to p-put it into words…' Chin stuttered.
'Come again?' Shin wonders in confusion.
Little did the rest know, except for Alice and Lyn, Chin found himself in an uncomfortable position that would have risked them getting caught.
"Hyagh! Chin! Don't squirm please!" Maria whispered angrily, despite knowing full well why he's nervously fidgeting.
"I-I can't help it!" Chin whispered back, laying on top of Maria, who embraced his head gently yet tightly close to her bosom as they hid from Melida.
Chin's face is burning from embarrassment and the feeling of Maria's soft bosom right into his face, feeling it more as Maria embraces him tighter out of embarrassment and fear of getting caught. But as his face heats up, Maria gets affected by his embarrassment and is close to passing out, getting all flustered while embracing his head and keeping his face on her chest.
"Hyagh!" Maria moans, but not too loud to be heard. "P-please, Chin, just, guh, don't move or talk….Chin?"
Chin didn't respond, which worried Maria that she slightly moved to look over, only to find him passed out with his tomato-red face resting on her bosom and his glasses falling over to the mattress beside Alice, who carefully kept her distance along with Lyn at Maria's right.
"Huaaagh!?"
Suddenly over at the spot where Shin and Sizilien were hiding, Shin screamed and sat up to detach himself from a beet-red faced Sizilien for some unknown reason, exposing their hiding spot to an angry Melida, who closely heard them and stood at their bed.
"Shin! What do you think you're doing!?" Melida scolds with a cold gaze, sending a shiver down his spine, upon looking at the heated scene that's unintentionally ongoing in his hiding spot. "You just started dating and you're already taking it to the next level?!"
"N-no! I uh—"
"Don't you dare make excuses," Melida scolded coldly. "Chin! I know you are here! Show yourself!"
Without wasting a single thought, she glares over the bed where Maria, Alice, Lyn and Chin are located then walks over menacingly before uncovering the bedsheet and blankly finds the three girls and her passed out grandson, embraced tightly to a flustered Maria's chest with a soulless fainted expression.
Upon the unsightly find of her grandson, Melida burns in a frightful maternal fury.
"All of you! Get up and come sit over here!" Melida angrily scolds the whole study group, causing everyone to pop out of their hiding places before the angry guru.
"We're truly sorry!" The class apologized deeply and regretfully as they're about to receive one of Shin and Chin's never-before-seen scolding from the angry guru for the rest of the night.
-To be continued-
A/N: Icy Floor is an ice spell that can immediately freeze the floor over an area however wide the caster wants it to be.
Fire Branding is a fire spell that is casted onto the casted's weapon and imbues a fire attribute in the appearance of a burning flame that can inflict fire magic damage.
Tundra's Wrath is a high-level ice spell that summons a gigantic mountain of ice and permafrost can continuously grow taller and thicker however the caster wants it to be.
*Sorry for the delay guys, and just so you know, I might try to publish this elsewhere (like Wattpad or stuff) with the same title and everything. Thank you again for reading, all you readers, lovers, and haters. God bless and take care in this year!