Unlike other races, the Elf Race did not reproduce by coupling between males and females, then giving birth after pregnancy.
Their race's continuation depended entirely on the Tree of Life at the center of the Forest of Forest.
Every elf had once been a fruit on the Tree of Life.
When the fruit ripened and fell, it transformed into a young elf.
Elves that fell from the same branch were considered siblings, with their order determined by who fell first.
The Elf Race's Saintesses were elves transformed from fruits that fell from the Tree of Life's trunk. They were few in number, but not unique; a few appeared every year.
Edith and Ilya were Saintesses born from the Tree of Life's trunk more than twenty years ago.
Since Ilya had fallen a little earlier, she was the older sister.
In their everyday lives, though, Edith was more like the older sister, often worrying over the little details of Ilya's life.
Class had ended, but the students below weren't in any hurry to leave. Instead, they eagerly crowded around Ilya at the lectern, "earnestly" asking her about magic arrays.
Ilya had no idea these brats were just captivated by her beauty. She simply answered each of their questions with great care.
It was almost time for the next class before the apprentices finally left, reluctant to go, and headed to their next classroom.
Unlike when they'd seen Ilya, the students all changed their tune the moment they left the room and ran into Edith. They didn't even dare sneak a second glance at her before fleeing in every direction, leaving Ron torn between laughter and tears.
Edith folded her arms and sneered, tapping her fingers against them again and again. Only after everyone had gone did she rub her forehead and walk inside with a helpless sigh.
Ron stayed outside instead of following her in. He could hear only Edith's voice.
"How many times have I told you? Since you're a teacher, you need to show some authority. Those little brats aren't here to listen to your lessons at all. They're only interested in your looks!"
"Fine, fine, I'll stop. Anyway, you should give up on that dream of making magic arrays accessible to everyone. It's simply impossible..."
"I already bought your dinner. It's on the table in your room, so remember to eat! Don't get so wrapped up in studying magic arrays that you forget to have dinner!"
Edith went on and on until she walked out of the classroom with Ilya. Only then did she stop her "daily lecture" to her sister.
"Oh, right, Ilya. This is Ron Andre, the Seventh Prince of the Human Empire," Edith introduced them. "Your Highness, this is my older sister, Ilya."
"Your Highness." Ilya had returned to her usual demure self. She greeted Ron in a gentle voice and performed a graceful bow unique to the Elf Race.
"Saintess Ilya." Ron returned the greeting with a simple bow, then looked her over.
It was only when he met Ilya up close that Ron realized she was a full head taller than Edith and only a few centimeters shorter than him.
Looking carefully, he saw that Ilya had long, well-proportioned legs. They were hidden beneath her long skirt, making them hard to notice from a distance.
So that's where Ilya's specialty lies... Ron thought silently.
Ilya seemed uninterested in anything besides magic arrays. After exchanging a few words with Ron, she offered him a polite, faint smile, nodded, and took her leave.
Ron clearly noticed that her gaze had no particular focus. She looked entirely absorbed in thought.
After Ilya left, Edith said apologetically, "I'm sorry, Your Highness. My sister is just like that. When she's discussing magic arrays, she's a completely different person from how she is normally. She wasn't deliberately slighting you."
Ron smiled and shook his head, showing that he didn't mind.
His soul came from another world that valued equality, so he wasn't constrained by this world's strict hierarchy. Even being a prince hadn't given him the illusion that he was above others.
Besides, she was a beautiful elf, after all.
Edith breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. "Shall we head to the training ground and learn how to use magic?"
"Sure. Sorry for the trouble."
At the Magic Academy's outdoor training ground, Mason was teaching more than a dozen First-Order Mages how to cast the Soil Tilling Technique.
These students had just left behind their status as magic apprentices, condensed a Magic Seed, and officially become mages.
Thanks to the Magic Tower's newly opened Nether Orchid meditation room, the number of people advancing at the academy had noticeably increased over the past few days.
Many magic apprentices had been held back by their limited talent and poor meditation efficiency, leaving them unable to condense a Magic Seed and wasting their time at the academy.
With the Nether Orchid's help, a large group of "old" magic apprentices had finally broken through. It was a welcome bit of good news for the academy.
As a result, the teaching assistants' daily workload had grown heavier, too.
After all, teaching magic apprentices only required explaining theory in the classroom. But once they advanced to First-Order Mages, practical magic lessons inevitably had to be added to the schedule.
At first, though, almost nobody could successfully cast a spell.
No matter how well they'd learned the theory, controlling magic power as it coursed through their body's meridians was still extremely difficult.
Mason's students were trying to cast the Soil Tilling Technique for the first time that day. He'd already emphasized every key point in class, but once they were out on the training ground, they still had to practice and find their own rhythm.
So far, even the best they'd managed was to kick up a little dust.
Mason stood off to the side, bored out of his mind. Every now and then, he answered a student's question, but mostly he wondered when class would end so he could find Edith and Harper, then go to the Barbecue Shop with them to grill skewers and play cards.
After advancing to Tier Four, he didn't have much left to strive for.
With his magical talent, even the help of the Nether Orchid wouldn't be enough to make him a High-Order Mage.
So aside from asking Professor Hicks to teach him intermediate spells he hadn't learned yet, he didn't have much in the way of ambitions.
Playing Elemental Cards, on the other hand, was surprisingly fun and fulfilling.
I really am getting old... Mason shook his head.
Then he heard the students whispering among themselves.
"Hey, is that Edith?"
"Wow, I haven't seen her in days."
"Is this the kind you like? I think Ilya's the ideal!"
"You leg fetishist! Edith is every man's ultimate dream!"
"Tch! Then why don't you go for it?"
"Uh... ahem... look! There's a man with Edith!"
"They seem to be chatting and laughing together. Damn, could something be going on?"
"Hey... that man looks kind of... pretty..."
Mason heard them gossiping and first shook his head helplessly. Then he followed their gaze toward the training ground entrance, where he saw Edith and Ron walking in together.
Author's Scribbles: The book reached 100,000 words yesterday, so I manually applied for a contract through the author's dashboard... I hope it gets approved...
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