"Whoa! You can finally hear me now?"
She stopped right in front of him, flying in small circles.
"You're really slow at storing mana, you know that? But then again, you can't expect much from dumb humans..."
'This fairy again? What does she want with me?'
Kaen closed his eyes again, trying to ignore her presence.
'I'll pretend I don't see her.'
"Trying to ignore me again? Last time you were super rude, you know? You left me talking to myself."
She flew around him angrily and, without asking for permission, sat on his head.
"You're not bad at storing mana, but you're still far from ideal, you know?"
"If you want, I can teach you how to store mana properly. But only if you beg, of course—"
Before she could finish the sentence, Kaen let out a light sound with his mouth.
"shhft..."
He made a lazy hand gesture, like shooing away a stubborn mosquito.
"Get off me... I'm busy here, you know?"
"Hey! I'm not an insect, you jerk!"
Seris crossed her little arms and puffed her cheeks in anger, flying aggressively above him, releasing small sparks of irritated mana into the air.
"Why don't you stop bothering me and go play somewhere else?"
She stopped mid-air, huffing.
"What?! Play?! Do you even know who I am and how old I am?!"
"Don't care."
"I've lived longer than you and all these idiots who passed through this academy!"
She pointed at the symbol on his shirt, her face flushed with anger.
"Not my problem."
Seris spun sharply in the air, flapping her wings hard like she was about to throw a tantrum at any moment.
"You're... you're so arrogant."
"Haaah..."
Kaen let out a heavy sigh and, seeing he couldn't concentrate anymore, lay down on the grass, using his hands as a pillow.
'This fairy is really a nuisance. Should I just try to store mana back in my room from now on?'
"Hey, I'm the great fairy Seris! What family are you from?"
Family?
It was a simple question on Earth, but in Chronos Realms, if someone asked about your family, they were probably asking about your noble lineage. However, for Kaen, that meant nothing.
In his old life, he didn't see himself as part of anything grand. Family? Titles? None of that. And now, even in another world, that tradition still felt distant and empty.
"I don't have a family."
"So you're a filthy commoner?"
"I guess so."
"Guess?"
"...Wait. I'm not filthy, you damned fairy!"
Having played Chronos Realms for years, he knew his character's backstory. 'Kaen' was a street kid, no noble blood, no noteworthy past... but he wasn't filthy either.
"Well, all humans are the same, but I thought you might be from some important family since you're studying at this dumb academy."
"Alright... if you already know I'm a commoner, you can leave. Stop bothering me."
"I'M NOT BOTHERING YOU!!!"
She shouted, making a cute angry face and puffing again, with a tiny spark of mana escaping her wings.
Kaen looked up at the clouds, feeling the environment around him.
'...my senses are definitely sharper than before.'
The more mana he gathered, the more his senses expanded. But of course, there was a limit to how much he could store in his core.
"Hey, you never answered me last time. How can you store mana? Humans aren't supposed to be able to do that."
She wasn't wrong. But that was a question even Kaen couldn't explain.
When they released the character in the game, the only thing he discovered was that Kain had a mana core where he could store large amounts of energy to fuel his abilities.
Kaen let out a small sigh.
"haaah..."
He opened one eye slowly, giving Seris a lazy look.
"No idea... what do you think?"
Seris paused mid-air for a second, surprised by his casual answer.
"You..."
She opened her mouth, ready to call him an idiot, but held back.
She clenched her tiny fists, puffed quietly, and crossed her arms, turning her face slightly, trying not to look irritated.
'Calm down, Seris... don't make it worse. He can actually see you...'
She then floated closer, flying more slowly.
"Can you use spells?"
It was a direct and simple question, but it made Kaen furrow his brow slightly.
'I can't use normal spells... but I use mana to create repulsion vectors. Does that count as a spell?'
"Yes..."
Seris widened her eyes and pointed an accusing little finger at him.
"Stop lying!"
"If you already know the answer, then why are you asking?!"
She crossed her arms again, puffing her cheeks and letting out an indignant sigh.
"If I had to guess, I'd say your body is so messed up that mana gets trapped because it doesn't know where to go."
Kaen let out a muffled laugh and sat up on the grass.
"That's a good theory."
Seeing the slight spark of interest in his eyes, Seris perked up, flying a bit closer.
"I don't think it's just a theory! And seeing how you come here to store mana, I'm guessing you're releasing it somehow even if you can't use spells."
'She's actually pretty smart.'
Kaen knew that fairies were mystical beings who lived for millennia. She probably carried a lot of accumulated knowledge.
'Maybe she's not as useless as she acts.'
He watched her, a lazy smile creeping onto his lips.
Seris narrowed her eyes suspiciously.
"I can see through that greedy smile of yours, you know, you..."
She almost swore at him but closed her eyes instead, puffing her cheeks even more and trying to look threatening. Of course, her attempt was completely ineffective.
Kaen was having fun internally. He didn't say anything, but it was easy to tell she was struggling to maintain her composure, even though he had been teasing her nonstop since she arrived.
Fairies, being creatures tied to pure mana, existed in different planes from humans. Only people with a naturally high mana flow could see them.
And the worst part.
Fairies couldn't stray far from where they were born.
Seris had probably been there for over a thousand years.
How many people had actually talked to her? How many had come back? Judging by her personality... probably none.
Kaen could act dumb, but he wasn't stupid. He knew that his current heightened senses were rare. He knew that, for Seris, meeting someone like him was almost an event.
Probably, the ones who had seen her before were arrogant mages, with no time or patience to deal with a playful fairy.
Kaen looked at her again, smiling with a teasing touch.
"You don't want me to leave, do you?"
Her cheeks instantly turned red.
"W-what?! What are you talking about?!"
She spun quickly in the air, as if trying to hide her own reaction.
"Haha... relax. I plan to come back here more often anyway."
"Really?"
She said, trying to hide the excitement in her voice.
Kaen raised an eyebrow, his smile widening.
"Ahem... I mean, if you want to come back more often... I can teach you how to store mana properly..."
He then stood up, letting out a yawn.
"As long as you can help me store more mana and make it flow better, I don't mind."
Seris, still flying in small circles above him, let slip a sincere smile before quickly masking it, turning her face and crossing her arms.
"F-fine! Come back again and next time I'll make you less dumb... I mean, you'll learn something if I'm the one teaching!"
She said while pointing proudly at herself, puffing her chest and putting her tiny hands on her waist like she was declaring herself the most important master in the world.
Seris was tiny, no bigger than a hand, with short blonde hair that floated lightly in the air and bright green eyes. Her transparent wings shimmered with a soft glow, like fragments of light dancing around her.
The way she spoke and acted, Kaen could only think she was... adorable.
"Ahh. And how did you even get into this academy without being able to use spells... You're a swordsma—"
Her voice faded as Seris began to disappear into particles of light, along with her vibrant little body.
'Looks like that was the time limit.'
Kaen finished stretching, ready to head back to the academy.
"Just hope that dwarf doesn't come nag me again."