Elesya's anger lasted two days.
On the morning of the third day, I heard a knock on the door, and when I opened it, Elesya was standing there. She had heavy dark circles under her eyes from lack of sleep, and it was clear she had cried a lot. Her hair was disheveled, as if she had just gotten out of bed.
"Can we talk?" she asked, gently pushing me inside. "Please!"
I invited her to sit down and waited.
"I've thought it over," she began cautiously, "about the heated discussion we had a few days ago, and… I came to the conclusion that I judged things wrongly."
She bit her lip and looked at me carefully to see my reaction.
"Go on, Elesya," I said without changing my expression. "I'm listening."
"Technically speaking," she continued, "a mage is anyone capable of using spells. Nowhere does it say that someone must be born a mage, and nothing forbids becoming one, even if you didn't have the abilities at the start. Therefore, it's no lie when you say that you are a mage in the full sense of the word."
She stole a quick glance at me, then pressed on with more conviction.
"The only difference is that instead of being born one, you became a mage through your own effort. But that's an irrelevant distinction, and you shouldn't be treated unfairly because of it. It's not your fault that you were born without… magical abilities. What matters is that you acquired them. So…"
"Yes, Elesya?" I asked, not understanding where she was going.
"…I thought maybe we could make things between us the same as before," she said quickly.
She cast me a fleeting look, then lowered her eyes, waiting for my reaction.
I tried hard not to burst into laughter. So, our previous argument had become just "a heated discussion," and now she wanted things to be "the same as before." Diplomatically, Elesya was trying to restore our good relationship.
"Perfect, Elesya. I agree."
She brightened when I said that. It was my turn to use diplomacy to strengthen the freshly signed peace treaty between us.
"I admit that I was wrong when I hid certain things from you—and I'm truly sorry for that. I was overly cautious and didn't appreciate the trust you gave me. Elesya, I apologize for hurting your feelings. From now on, no more secrets. Whether I am a mage or not—I don't think that matters anymore. What matters is that you're my only ally in a hostile school. And, luckily for me, you're a highly capable ally."
Elesya smiled, pleasantly surprised by my sweet words, and the tension between us vanished completely. At last, we had the chance to move forward together, without secrets and without quarrels. Honestly, I was glad that Elesya was back on my side. Of course, with some compromises on both sides: she had adjusted her definition of mages so it would include people like me, and I had promised not to keep secrets from her anymore. It was a good agreement if we wanted to cooperate in the future.
"And now," I said, "let's get to the practical part. We have a tournament to win."