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That boy will never be able to use magic again…..
As I lie in bed, staring at the ceiling, I can’t help thinking about him.
I wonder if he’s still alive? If he’s about the same age as Grandpa Will, then there’s a decent chance that he is. And if that’s the case, I’d really like to meet him. The only problem is figuring out how to find him.
Albert-Oniisama….. probably wouldn’t know. Plus, he’ll be at school tomorrow so I wouldn’t get the chance to ask him ’til later in the day anyway. Besides, this all probably happened a while ago so Father would be more likely to know something about him.
But even if Father has heard something, will he really divulge that information so easily? No matter how much he dotes on me, I have a feeling that getting to that information isn’t going to be a simple matter.
….Well, it doesn’t hurt to ask I suppose. I’ll go find him first thing tomorrow morning.
With my decision made, I instantly fall fast asleep.
“Alicia, wake up.”
After suddenly hearing Father’s voice, my eyes fly open, all traces of sleep gone.
For Father to have come wake me up himself, what in the world is going on?
I jump out of bed and change my clothes as fast as I can before heading out of my room.
“What’s wrong? Did something happen?”
“Alicia, I need to talk to you,” Father tells me seriously.
What could it be? I honestly have no clue.
He turns around and starts walking away so without saying anything I just follow behind him.
Where could he be taking me? Wait, more importantly… Did I do something wrong….? Have my nightly excursions to the impoverished village finally been discovered!?
Before I have the chance to come up with other misdeeds that might have been found out, Father stops. Apparently he’s taking me to a place that I haven’t gone to even once so far: his own rooms.
For him to bring me here, maybe I really have done something wrong?
I follow behind Father as he enters.
……Really? The king again?
Granted, I have raised a couple of flags for just such a visit lately but…..
Even the heads of the five great noble houses are all gathered here together…..
Seriously? Did I really do something to warrant this?
Or maybe they’ve come to discuss removing darkness magic from being one of the five main elements on the grounds of it being primarily cosmetic?
But if that was the case, I would have thought my brothers would be here as well…
“It’s been a while, Alicia.”
“Indeed, Your Majesty. I trust you’ve been well,” I say, sliding into a deep curtsy.
What is this? A stress interview?1
“Alicia, can you use magic?”
“Yes.”
So this is about me being able to use magic. They found out about that literally yesterday. Just how fast is the king’s information network?
“Would you demonstrate it for us?”
By way of reply, I lightly snap my fingers.
With the object gathering magic that I just learned, I have all the books in the room gather into one spot. One after another, each of the volumes float into the air and start to form a single stack.
Although this room is rather large, the space has not been used appropriately as papers and books are strewn about everywhere. When the king asked me to use magic, I was actually somewhat glad. From the moment I walked in, I couldn’t stand the mess.
Once all the books had been stacked neatly, next the massive amount of papers lying around begin to gather. I have them join the books on the tower, increasing its already impressive height by another couple inches. Finally, just to be safe, I make sure that each item is stacked perfectly in line to improve the stability.
Alright, it’s perfect!
“Everything was placed so precisely.”
“Exactly. The sides are completely smooth. Nothing is sticking out.”
“When you first start out, you shouldn’t be able to gather everything together so neatly!”
Johan-Sama, Neville-Sama, and Derek-Sama remark one after another like judges evaluating my work.
Was this supposed to be a test?
“This…..”
While staring at my newly built tower, it seems that even the king is finding himself at a loss for words.
“Thank you, Alicia,” Father says, smiling.
The expression is the spitting image of Albert-Oniisama’s usual smile. It’s an expression devoid of joy and filled with hidden meaning. And in this case, it’s urging me to leave the room, so without saying anything further, I walk out the door.
Somehow, even though the day has barely begun, I already feel emotionally drained. I guess that makes it a good time to move around a bit and get some sword practice in.
I head over to the garden where Alan-Oniisama and Henry-Oniisama have already started practicing their dry swings.
All of my thoughts of asking about the boy who was no longer able to use magic have been completely forgotten.
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T/N: Lol, looks like most of you guys were thinking what I was thinking last chapter! If we’re right, poor Will! I’m bummed that Alicia forgot to ask about him, though with a sudden visit from the king, I guess that’s inevitable. What do you think? Are they going to debate letting her attend the academy early?
1I didn’t realize this had a name. A stress interview is an interview where the interviewer has the intension of making the person undergoing the interview uncomfortable. They will purposely negate everything that you say, act uninterested as you talk, and/or say and do other things to put pressure on you. Apparently this is a somewhat standard practice for job interviews in Japan. The goal seems to be to see how the interviewee handles themselves while in a stressful situation.
For anyone looking to participate in the JET Program in Japan (where you work as an assistant English language teacher) you will have a decent chance of experiencing this custom for yourself.↩
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