Levy and Novels

"Cana?"

"Levy!"

Snuggle~ʕ·͡·̫͖ʕ⁎̯͡⁎ʔ

[Inspiration +66]

Watching cute girls snuggle really was such a treat.

Before he could sigh any further, Cana pulled Aibo in front of her.

"Look, Levy, this is my little brother Aibo! What do you think? I told you he's adorable, didn't I?"

"Haha~ He sure is. Hello, little brother. I'm Levy McGarden, Cana's good friend."

Levy was a pretty girl with blue hair and a quiet, refined air about her. At a glance, she looked like a literary girl, and she was probably around Cana's age.

Well, she was my type. Definitely worth raising, Aibo thought as he flashed his trademark smile.

"Hello, pretty lady. Big Sister Levy is so beautiful~"

"Eh!? Little Aibo has never complimented me! How awful, Big Sister is going to get jealous!!"

"Hahaha~ Little brother is adorable too!"

Hehehe! Could he be a naturally innocent little boy? That's amazing! Too bad, when it comes to younger boys, I prefer them a little more black-bellied. Still, cuteness is justice! ≧▽≦

"..."

Were literary girls all two-faced? This little girl seemed to know a bit too much...

Aibo said nothing and simply smiled.

After the two girls fooled around for a while, Levy led them upstairs to a room.

This bookstore belonged to Levy's family. Apparently, her father was a retired wizard, and growing up surrounded by piles of books had given her that ladylike temperament.

"Levy, when are you joining our guild? Have you learned magic yet?"

"If it's just Script Magic, I learned that ages ago. What I'm studying now is Solid Script Magic. My dad said that once my magic power grows a little more, I'll be able to use it properly soon~"

"That's great! Um, wait, what's the difference between the two? And... since you can use magic already, can't you join the guild now?"

"Oh, whether I join early or late makes no difference. Besides, with my current strength, I can't take on many requests anyway..."

Levy brought over some sweets and poured tea for the two of them, looking particularly excited.

"As for Script Magic, strictly speaking, every wizard knows it. After all, words themselves possess power. The runes we use when constructing magic circles are also a form of writing.

"Solid Script Magic, meanwhile, is magic that can materialize words. It gives words physical form and realizes their meanings. It's an extremely versatile and practical kind of magic~"

This little girl was actually an academic-style wizard. Aibo had seen too many bold, rough-and-tumble guild wizards, so seeing such a "traditional" wizard felt strangely novel.

And Solid Script Magic? It sounded pretty interesting...

"Stop, stop, stop. My head's spinning just listening to that. I'm not interested in Script Magic. Actually, it's my little brother who wants to learn magic, but he can't understand some of the magical writing in books. Levy, could you teach him?"

"Of course I can. But does little brother like reading too?"

Levy's eyes lit up.

"Yeah, I do. Reading helps calm me down."

That was the truth. When he focused on reading, the influence of Mind Reading Magic weakened as well. Besides, there was not much entertaining stuff in this world, so Aibo genuinely liked reading.

"Haha, then Big Sister has lots of books here! Not just magic books—there are books of every genre! Want me to recommend some to you?"

Aibo looked toward the bookshelf in Levy's room. It held many novels. Inspiration struck, and Aibo froze for a moment as though he had discovered something.

Right! Novels! I could write books to make money!

"Big Sister Levy, can I read those novels?"

Tap tap tap!

Levy darted in front of the bookshelf in an instant. Her face faintly flushed as she forced a smile.

"Ahem, some of the novels here aren't suitable for children. Let me recommend a few for you instead."

"Pfft, Levy, don't tell me you've been reading some very naughty books~~"

"I have not! A-Anyway, just listen to me!"

That was close! Those books absolutely can't be seen by children.

In a fluster, Levy took out several books and placed them up high before handing Aibo two picture books.

"You should like this one, little brother."

One look at the cover—Legend of the Holy Stone? After flipping through it, Aibo found it was just a children's book, completely useless as reference material.

"Big Sister Levy, I don't want to read picture books like this. Do you have any popular novels right now?"

"Huh? Well... I do."

Levy was a little surprised. It seemed Little Aibo was more mature than she had imagined. Then she took out another book.

"This one, The Legend of the Magic Hero, is the hottest novel around right now. It's about a powerful dragon-slaying hero from hundreds of years ago who defeated an evil dark wizard. I like it too..."

"Wait, Little Aibo, didn't we come here to learn magic?"

"No need to rush. Didn't Big Sister Cana say she brought me out to have fun?"

"I guess that's true... Then Levy, recommend a novel for me too! Do you have an adventure story with an older protagonist?"

"Huh? Let me look..."

Aibo took the novel and sat down to read. It was a fairly traditional hero story. The author's writing was good, and the plot had plenty of twists and turns.

But to Aibo, who had been bombarded by the information age, it was just so-so. The people of this world were still lacking a bit of imagination.

It seemed his plan to become a copycat author could work. It was just for making money, after all. No need to worry about so much.

Cana and Levy sat nearby, reading and chatting at the same time.

"Levy, you read so many books unrelated to magic. Doesn't that leave you with very little time to practice magic? If this keeps up, it'll affect your strength in the future."

"Hehe~ That's why I chose to study Script Magic. Reading itself improves my understanding of Script Magic. Usually, I practice by copying magic books, so it kills two birds with one stone!"

Aibo suddenly had an idea.

"Then wouldn't writing also count as practicing magic?"

"That's right! Many wizards have the habit of writing books. There are even plenty of books that are magic themselves. The power of words is very strong!"

"Please teach me Script Magic! I'm begging you, Big Sister Levy."

Aibo had never been so serious before.

If writing itself could train magic, then he could write books while grinding experience. More importantly, he could make money too. This suited him perfectly.

"Huh? Little Aibo, aren't you reading anymore?"

"I finished it. It was boring. I think I can write better than him. Let's learn magic instead."

"Hahahaha, little brother has some nerve. Big Sister likes confident boys."

"Hey, hey, Levy, you're not allowed to set your sights on my little brother! Little Aibo is mine!"

"Hehehe, I'm stealing the adorable little brother away!"

The two girls wrestled into a ball, while the innocent Aibo was tugged back and forth like a doll. The room was filled with children's laughter.

The whole room was fragrant with... something. Not really.

From then on, Aibo had another place in Magnolia to drink afternoon tea.

Levy's bedroom became the secret base of the three little ones.

Gray knew nothing about this.