The first voice to respond to Keith's words was Naya's. When Keith looked up, he saw Naya rushing over from beside her father.
Naya crouched down and tightly grasped Keith's hand.
"I'm so glad! I was worried about what would happen if I was turned down! I'm really relieved. I'm so glad I asked Father!"
"Uh, uh..."
"Will I be able to use magic? What do you think, Master Magician?"
As Naya innocently asked, Keith's jaded heart could only think,
(Ah, I'm just this child's toy...)
"Naya! That's inappropriate!"
"…I'm sorry."
"Hahaha, she's just a child, after all."
Such a cheerful scene only served to further agitate Keith's heart.
§§§
The magic instruction for Naya began promptly the next day.
He was led by a guard from his assigned room within the palace to Naya's chamber.
Upon entering the room, he found Naya, who was having her hair brushed by a maid, spotting him and joyfully rushing over.
"Master Magician! I've been waiting for you!!"
With a smile as bright as a sunflower, Naya grasped his hand, but she suddenly froze at the sound of a voice saying, "You insolent wretch!!" That voice was not directed at Naya.
"It is filthy for a mere magician to touch Lady Naya's hand."
Well, it was this girl who had grasped my hand... Keith thought as he turned to see a brown-skinned elf standing there.
(A Desert Elf?)
They belonged to a clan of elves living in the eastern desert regions.
Characterized by their brown skin and silver hair, they had once been persecuted and referred to as Dark Elves due to their unique religious practices, but such things had become rare in recent times.
However, it was quite unusual to see one in this region.
"Aisha."
Naya made a pouty face and admonished the Desert Elf—Aisha.
"That's rude! Apologize to Master Magician!"
At those words, Aisha frowned in apparent annoyance.
"B-but!"
"Apologize!"
Aisha stared at Keith with a gaze that clearly lacked any intention of apology.
"Sorry."
Was that an apology? Keith couldn't help but think. However, there was no point in worrying about such things in this country. So, he decided to take the mature route.
"No, please don't worry about it."
"…Are you sure you're not offended?"
"Not at all."
"That's a relief!"
Seeing Naya's demeanor, Aisha continued to glare at Keith with a face that looked like she had bitten into a bitter bug.
"By the way, I haven't introduced you yet. Master Magician, this is my bodyguard knight, Aisha. Aisha, this is Master Magician Keith."
As he was introduced, Keith bowed slightly and said, "Nice to meet you," but Aisha merely huffed in response.
Though he couldn't tell her actual age, being looked down upon by a girl who appeared to be a mere child made him a bit irritated.
"Come on, Aisha!"
The conversation wasn't progressing, and to be honest, he wanted to wrap it up quickly.
"It's fine. More importantly, let's get started."
"Y-yes!"
Nervously, Naya puffed out her cheeks and took a deep breath to psych herself up.
As Keith opened a simple magic book, the maid excused herself and left the room, but Aisha remained.
"…Are you going to stay here the whole time?"
"Of course! I can't trust what kind of rudeness you might inflict on Lady Naya!!"
Honestly, it was a hassle. When teaching someone, there would inevitably be moments of reprimand, and there might even be some rude behavior. That was part of teaching and learning.
It was unbearable to be monitored and scolded for every little thing.
"What? Do you have a complaint?"
"No… not a complaint, but…"
After thinking it over, Keith felt that if he continued to worry about the knight, something inside him would wear down, so he decided to stop being considerate—at least towards Aisha.
"Could you leave? You're a distraction."
"Wha—! What did you say!!!"
"It's hard to concentrate with you here. I can't teach properly."
"Y-you!!"
Aisha placed her hand on the rapier at her waist.
However, after being chased around by ten burly members of the Holy Knights, who shouted, "You bastard! I'll kill you, heretic!!!" while wielding claymores and halberds, a single girl didn't frighten Keith at all.
"You can cut me if you want, but if you do, you'll have to teach the princess magic yourself."
"You little—!"
"Stop it!!"
At Naya's words, Aisha froze.
"N-Naya-sama."
"Master Magician is right. Aisha, you should leave."
"B-but!"
"Leave now!"
Like a discarded old dog, Aisha looked back at Naya several times, then left the room with a voice that seemed to fade away, saying, "Excuse me."
Letting out a sigh of relief, Keith turned to Naya and said,
"Well then, shall we begin?"
With that, he started to mimic a tutor.
§§§
What he learned while teaching was that Naya had no basic knowledge of magic whatsoever.
Perhaps it was because she perceived it instinctively? He didn't know if all elves were like that, but it was somewhat troublesome.
After all, Keith was a former archmage. In academic terms, he was equivalent to a university student.
This was like trying to teach mathematics to a kindergarten child, and honestly, he had no idea where to start.
Noticing the troubled expression on Keith's face, Naya said,
"I knew it… I really can't do this, can I…"
The disappointment seemed to weigh heavily on her, and she looked utterly dejected.
"No, um…"
Keith desperately thought. Then he recalled an experiment conducted by some magical society where monkeys were taught magic through repetitive learning.
If monkeys could do it, there was no reason elves couldn't. He decided to start from the very basics, patiently explaining that this was fundamental.
"It's okay. Let's take it slow."
That's right, let's take it slow. After all, she was an elf. They had lifespans that could last for ages.
Moreover, the longer it took, the longer Keith could work in this palace, so it was a win-win situation. With that thought, he smiled at her.
"…I'm so happy that you're such a kind Master Magician…"
Naya smiled at him from close range, causing Keith to feel a little flustered.
To distract himself, he said,
"F-for now, let's try using magic to levitate an object. I'll assist you, so anyone can do this as long as they have magic power."
"Y-yes!"
Keith placed a piece of paper cut into the shape of a butterfly on Naya's palm and placed his hand beneath hers.
He slowly drew out her magical power, trying to make the paper float. The goal was to help her physically learn the act of gradually drawing out magic power.
"..."
But it didn't float. Not even a twitch.
"..."
This was ridiculous. If it were a mere human, it might be understandable, but there was no way an elf couldn't make it float. After all, they were a magical race, a walking mass of magic power.
This was strange—while he thought that, Naya finally began to cry, unable to do what was said to be possible for anyone.
"I-I really can't do it… I can't do it at all… ugh…"
"Please don't cry!"
Suddenly faced with her tears, Keith stood up, trying to figure out the cause as he stared intently at Naya.
From any angle, she was an elf. A perfect elf. She wasn't a human in disguise.
That's why he found it puzzling and asked,
"Excuse me, may I touch your head?"
"Huh? …Y-yes. Sniff… that's fine."
After receiving permission, he placed his hand on the top of her head. Closing his eyes, he began to visualize her body internally. It was like a CT scan through magic. However, instead of looking at organs, he was examining the configuration and flow of her internal magical pathways.
And soon, Keith murmured, "Ah…"
He finally understood the cause.
§§§
"An abnormal formation of magical pathways…?"
Keith nodded, saying, "Yes."
"What does that mean…?"
"Every living being has pathways through which magic circulates within their body. Magic flows through these pathways, and by refining that magic, one can use spells and such. However… Lady Naya's pathways are not properly formed within her body."
"Th-that's impossible…"
"This is something she was born with, and it doesn't affect her normal life at all. However, when it comes to using magic or spells…"
"Then… does that mean I can never use magic for my entire life?"
Faced with this sudden reality, Naya's white skin turned even paler from despair.
However, Keith replied nonchalantly, "No, it's fine."
"Huh?"
"If they are abnormally formed, we just need to correct them properly."
"Is that really possible!?"
"Yes, actually, I specialize in that area."
In fact, what Keith had majored in at the magical society was the amplification of magic power within the body and the application of spiritual healing.
Though he was said to be the worst in offensive magic throughout history, when it came to using minor spells, no one surpassed him. He was the one known as "Little Man Keith."
"I… I'm so lucky… to meet someone like you, Master Magician…"
If she were truly lucky, she wouldn't have been born an elf with an abnormal formation of magical pathways—but Keith didn't voice that thought.
"Then, let's start that treatment right away!"
"No, it requires preparation and will take time, so let's do it tomorrow."
"Okay… yes."
"Well then, that's it for today…"
As he said this and began to pack his things to leave the room, Naya called out to him from behind.
"Master Magician!"
"Yes?"
"Um… may I call you Keith-sama?"
"Huh? …Y-yes, that's fine, but…"
At Keith's words, Naya turned bright red and beamed with joy.
"Then, Keith-sama, see you tomorrow!"
As he watched her, he left the room and walked down the palace corridor when Aisha suddenly emerged from behind a pillar.
"Whoa!!"
Startled, Keith stopped in his tracks, and Aisha glared at him with a deadly gaze.
"Don't get cocky, you human scum…"
"Ugh…"
"If you dare to take advantage of Lady Naya's kindness and do something unseemly… I'll skin you alive and use your hide as a rug."
With that, Keith watched Aisha's retreating figure as she headed towards Naya's room.
"That's terrifying!!!"
He felt goosebumps all over and hurried back to his own room.
In his room, Lou was curled up on the bed with a shiny coat.
"…Oh, welcome back, Master."
"…Nice coat, you lazy cat."
"I've been brushed by the maids from morning until now… it's heavenly here."
"While your master is being threatened with skinning, you're just getting groomed, huh… Hahaha, one day I'll turn you into a string instrument."
With a firm resolve, Keith lay back on the bed.
***
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