"Hmm…what thought message should I send her?" (Mizuki)
As I ponder the question aloud, an idea occurs to me, then I smile diabolically.
I focus on locating Alto with magic sense by searching for elven signatures. There's just one. I let the rest of my magic sense fall away until there's just one 'line' of magic connecting me to her signature. Then, I focus on her presence intently as I prepare the thoughts that I want her to hear.
[Hey, Alto, remember when Nina used her lie detection ability to confirm that you think I'm funnier than you? I just wanted to remind you of that. Anyway, see you soon!] (Mizuki)
I teleport back to the training clearing. When I arrive, Alto notices me immediately and I'm greeted with an annoyed expression.
Oh yeah, she totally heard me. I break out into a huge grin.
"So, Alto, could you hear my thought message? Of course, to ensure that our research was properly rigorous, I'll need you to verbally confirm what I said." (Mizuki)
"Tch…I believe you were reminiscing about how weird it was that Nina's lie detection skill failed one time." (Alto)
"Hmm…no, that doesn't sound quite right. I guess we'll have to mark this trial as a failure. Zara is going to be so disappointed that I won't be able to just teleport all the wolf-kin out of the Ralzen Empire. You'll help me break the news to her, right?" (Mizuki)
I smirk at her as I give my sarcastic retort, and she glares back at me with an annoyed expression.
"Ehem…I think we should move on to the next phase of the experiment before concluding that. It's possible that your technique may be more compatible with teleportation than it was with telepathy." (Alto)
I can't help but crack a smile and shake my head in amusement.
"Very well, I guess you've got a point. Well, in that case, how about we use you as the test subject again? I'll go back to Nina's nest without you, then try and teleport you to me. Don't worry, I'll do my best to not accidentally teleport you underground or leave any of your limbs behind." (Mizuki)
Alto's face goes a little pale.
"M-Mizuki…that's not a real possibility, right?" (Alto)
I'll be able to see her teleport destination right in front of me, so I doubt I'll miss the mark like that. However, gauging how much space around her to teleport to that location using only magic sense…that's not as risk-free. Hmm…
"Well, just to be safe, let me test it on something else first." (Mizuki)
Alto's eyes go wide in shock and fear, but I ignore it. I reach into my item box and grab one of Percivil's marbles that I first used to train my magic sense. Then, I toss it way off into the forest.
I use my magic sense to search for it, and I get one signature for the marble. As with Alto before, I home in on the marble signature. Then, I begin probing the boundaries of it with magic sense.
After, I 'flow' magic along my magic sense connection to the marble and will my magic to fill the space I believe it occupies.
I hold my hand out in front of me, palm up, and focus on the space just above my palm. Then, I imagine my magic dragging the spacetime my marble occupies to that spot above my hand.
I feel the familiar sensations of a teleportation spell, then the marble appears and falls into my hand. I inspect it closely to see if I accidentally left a part of it behind. As far as I can tell, it's in good condition still.
I look up from the marble and smile at Alto.
"Okay Alto…looks like it worked! You ready to try it yourself?" (Mizuki)
Alto gives me a nervous look, walks over to grab the marble, and begins inspecting it herself suspiciously. Eventually, she sighs deeply and nods.
"Yeah, I guess that's as sure as we can be. I'll trust you to test this whenever you're ready." (Alto)
I flash a confident grin at Alto.
"Cool! I'll be right back. Don't worry, I wouldn't do this if I wasn't fairly confident Alto!" (Mizuki)
Alto shakes her head in exasperation, but she doesn't seem to be changing her mind.
I teleport back to Nina's old nest, then home in on Alto's presence with magic sense. Once I'm confident that I have her safely targeted, I focus on teleporting her a couple of meters in front of me.
Alto suddenly appears and her face twists in fear.
"Ahhh!" (Alto)
As Alto shrieks in surprise, she begins patting around her body – checking that she's in one piece, I guess. I suppress my urge to laugh at the sight.
Alto turns to glare at me angrily.
"What the hell, Mizuki! You should have warned me before just teleporting me here!" (Alto)
Oh…yeah, she's right. That was not very considerate of me. On the other hand…
"How was I supposed to do that, Alto? You said my long-distance thought message experiment failed." (Mizuki)
I try and maintain an innocent expression as I respond, but Alto just stares back at me without a trace of amusement. After a few moments, she responds with a cold tone.
"You know…Nina told me that your proposal to Ilina was accidental. On top of that, Ilina was the very last person to get a spell ring, right? I wonder how the Princess would react if she knew all that. What do you think?" (Alto)
I feel the color drain from my face, and Alto gives me a menacing glare. Yup…no choice now but to grovel.
"U-Uhm…I think…m-maybe I should be more considerate towards all the women in my life." (Mizuki)
Alto flashes me a terrifying smile.
"Hmm…I think that's a good idea, Mizuki. Any ideas how to do that?" (Alto)
Shit. A free flight over the ocean…that's got to calm her down, right?
"Ah, I guess I should think about it carefully. Uhm…how about I fly us back to the mansion, using a scenic oceanside route, instead of teleporting? That should give me plenty of time to reflect on my shortcomings later, right?" (Mizuki)
Alto smirks and walks over to wrap me in a vaguely threatening hug.
"What a smart boy you are, Mizuki. That'd be a great start. Now, let's go…I don't want you delaying this personal reflection of yours." (Alto)
Whelp…I guess this magic research session is over. I'm glad I skirted her threats, though.
I sigh deeply, then nod to Alto and prepare to fly us home.
¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬
It's later the same day, after nightfall, and I'm sitting in a bath alone with Nina. She's just returned from her day of exploring.
"So, did you find anything interesting?" (Mizuki)
Nina shrugs nonchalantly as she rests against me, then turns to give me a dazzling smile.
"Not really, but I had fun flying around the mountains. Fufufu…I even found a beautiful beach on the coast!" (Nina)
Oh? I'll have to keep that in mind. It might be useful later if I build another train. The beach could be a destination resort for elves, or the kingdom could set up a ship port there. Either way, Alara could make a killing off train fares and beach or port fees.
"Well, that might actually be quite useful if the beach is as nice as you say!" (Mizuki)
Nina quickly gives me a pouty face.
"Mizuki, you're not going to crowd the nice beach I found with people, like you did the hot spring, are you?" (Nina)
Uh oh, busted. I wave my hands reassuringly to Nina.
"I mean…I did automatically think of a way for Alara to use it to her advantage. However, that's only because you didn't seem that attached to it! If you want me to keep the beach a secret, I will." (Mizuki)
Nina looks surprised, then seems to think it over for several moments. Eventually, she smiles and shakes her head.
"No, that's fine. You can tell Alara about it if you want. Speaking of how we spent our day…how did your meeting with the others go?" (Nina)
"It went well enough. Cara now knows that we are lovers, and how strong I am. It seemed like she was starting to get suspicious, so I thought it best to just come clean to strengthen her trust in me. I hope that's okay with you." (Mizuki)
"Fufufu…of course. I am surprised you've kept her in the dark this long. Did anything else interesting happen?" (Nina)
I flash Nina a huge grin.
"Well, Alto and I did some more magic research, and I learned a new trick. Want me to show you?" (Mizuki)
Nina raises her eyebrows curiously.
"Fufufu…I am intrigued, please do!" (Nina)
I flash a smug grin at her.
"Sure thing, just give me a few minutes." (Mizuki)
I focus on locating Ilina's magic signature in Avalon with magic sense, then home in on it.
[Hey, Ilina, it's Mizuki! I finally learned how to send long-distance thought messages to people other than Nina. Also, I can now teleport you straight to me from anywhere! I'd like to do that shortly, so find somewhere to be alone soon. If you want me to send you back right after, I can.] (Mizuki)
After waiting a while, I target Ilina's signature with magic sense and teleport her to the bathing room with Nina and me – outside the bath, of course.
Upon seeing Ilina suddenly appear, Nina's eyes go wide in shock. Ilina is also staring at me dumbfounded. However, she doesn't seem startled, so I guess my message got through.
"Mizuki, this is incredible! I heard you talking in my head, too! When did you learn how to do this!?" (Ilina)
Nina turns to me in surprise.
"Mizuki, teleporting her to you was strange enough, but you learned how to send her thought messages from that far away!?" (Nina)
Ilina and Nina are both staring at me with bewildered expressions.
"To answer both of you, today I learned how to combine my normal spells with my ability to track people. So, I think I can use any spell or ability I want on someone within my tracking range. That includes teleportation and thought communication." (Mizuki)
Nina looks surprised and then amused, but Ilina goes pale.
"M-Mizuki…when you say any spell…does that mean you could just crush or burn someone to death on the other side of the country right now if you wanted?" (Ilina)
My eyes widen in surprise. I hadn't thought of that yet, but she's right – that's one dark take on the ability. The only reason I can imagine casting offensive magic remotely would be if it was a magic nuke. I have no intention of ever doing that.
After I recover, I give Ilina a placating gesture and try to smile reassuringly.
"Yes, I suppose that's true. Though, I promise, I have no intention of doing that. There's no good reason for it." (Mizuki)
Ilina shakes her head in exasperation but seems to accept my answer. Good, because I have my own nagging question.
"Now, Ilina...what the hell are you holding?" (Mizuki)
I stare at the small duffel-looking bag she's holding, then glance back to her questioningly. Instead of answering me, Ilina just smirks and turns to Nina.
"Nina, now that Mizuki and I are engaged, would you be okay with us sharing a bed at night? I always have to sleep by myself after he leaves…it's very lonely, you know? I brought some clothes to spend the night here, and Mizuki can send me back in the morning." (Ilina)
Nina purses her lips thoughtfully, and I sense a brief rush of frustration followed by sympathy.
"Hmm…I don't want to sleep alone either Ilina. Fufufu…very well, why don't you just join us in our bed on the nights you want? It's large enough for three people." (Nina)
Uhm…excuse me?