Alice was about to show her practical tutor how she manipulated her mana in the air around her body and what she could actually do with it. She did not want to annihilate any matter, so she maintained a strong focus on what she was doing.

"Alright. I'm manipulating my mana in my surroundings now. You can't feel it though, so I'll make something with it."
"Oh, but I see it. I can see a ball of mana on your right moving toward a blob of mana just in front of you."
"Eh? Can you? But you do not have that artifact Viktor was using..."

"I can see mana thanks to my magic. Didn't I tell you before that making mana potions required you to pay attention to the mana flow in the solution? Well, I can see it, so that’s easier."
"Oh… What kind of magic can achieve that?"

As she was asked this question, Serena looked proud. Most likely, she was always bragging about that.

"Maybe some other magic types could make someone see mana like me, but I'm using refraction magic. I love watching people and things to analyze what I see, so I guess this element is perfect for me."
"And what is refraction magic exactly?"
"I essentially create mana lenses to boost my vision. You see, I've been nearsighted since I was young but I never liked wearing glasses. So, when I awakened this magnificent magic type, I threw those away and started to just use my magic to create concave lenses perfectly adapted to my eyes when I was looking at something far away."
“But... how come these lenses let you actually see mana?"
"Well, they're mana lenses, so of course they would let me see mana when I look through them…"

Serena said this as if it was obvious, but Alice was unsure about this.

"Huh... If you say so. Then you saw what I did, right? As such, I do not need to do anything else with my mana. We are done."
"Ah?! Now that you mention it, I cannot seem to see your mana that well... It appears very blurry... So, do something with it, okay?"

(She's shameless...)

Alice sighed and focused her mind on what she would do next with her mana. She decided to mix the mana ball with the mana blob in order to get all the surrounding mana in one place.
One could sense their own mana, just like they could identify the origin of a sound with their ears. However localizing another person’s mana was extremely difficult, and this probably had something to do with the mana having a unique signature for each individual.
One might get alarmed when another mage’s mana was about to turn into magic at point-blank range, but that was about it. That was why Serena’s ability to see others’ mana with her eyes was incredibly valuable. It was probably the main reason why everyone considered her to be Viktor’s best disciple.

“By the way, I’m sure you must have realized it, but you’ve been radiating mana since I first saw you. Are you trying to cast some big magic or something?”
“Ah… Since I cannot see it, I tend to forget about it…”

Alice moved this mana that had been accumulating and added it to the big blob of mana in front of her. Since a certain incident a few months prior, the only times she was using this mana manipulation technique had been to retrieve this lost mana.

“This always happens whether I want it or not, even in my sleep. Since you told me this, I gather that it is not normal then?”
“This is definitively unusual… I’ve never seen or heard of it, at least. It might be a psychological issue since it is unconscious. For now, try at least to not let it take all the space. If you impose your mana everywhere in your mansion, this will surely annoy everyone.”

This was not as easy as it sounded. Alice was always trying to remember to get rid of the mana in her surroundings as much as she could, but it was hard when her days were so busy. Also, she was probably the most annoyed person by this issue in the mansion. She did not know why she still could not stop this flow of mana even after trying for several months. She couldn’t help but have a bad feeling about it.
Uneasy as she was, Alice was still in the middle of a practical lesson, something she had been yearning for months now. As she was controlling the big cloud of mana in front of her, she converted everything into a bright flash of light.

"Haaaaaaaa! My eyes!!"
"O-oh sorry, was it too bright?!"
"Don't suddenly emit this much light when I focus everything with a convex mana lens!!"
"I am so sorry! I will call a doctor!"
“I will do it, my Lady!”

Alice nodded and gave some more instructions to Mia, her maid, who then ran with all her might towards the mansion. Surely, she could get there way faster than her master. Unfortunately, the Ravendalls did not have a healing mage among their attendants, so none would come this day.
For that reason, Alice decided that the day after she would instead just go to the Vallmont’s manor with Serena to get her treated by Lucius while she would attend the usual theoretical lessons with Maximilian. Since Serena apparently knew Lucius, it was probably appropriate to take her there.

As Mia passed by the kitchen, she asked an ice mage to freeze some water into ice cubes in order to make some cool packs. Just like Alice asked, she also brought with her a piece of cloth as she returned to the training ground with a doctor.

Even though the doctor was out of breath, he still did not waste any time checking the eye of the instructor who was sitting on the ground. She was pressing her hand on her left eye, but could apparently see them with her right.

"From what I can see, no tissue seems permanently burned. However, I would still advise you to go see a healing mage as soon as possible. How do you feel, ma'am?"
"Well, it hurts. My right eye is good because I didn't use magic on it. I have a big black spot in the center of my vision with my left eye, however."
"It should go away soon enough, I presume. Do not try to use your left eye for the time being. It is a good thing that Lady Alice thought of a cooling pack. I will also make you an eye patch with this cloth."

Serena put the ice on top of her new eye patch and it seemed to mitigate the pain. She sighed in relief and thanked the doctor.

"So, how about we continue the lesson, Alice?"
"W-what are you talking about? Do you not need some rest?"
"In the worst case, I still have my right eye. For now, there is something more important!"
"More important than your eye?! Are you really a magic junkie?!"
"J-junkie? Isn't that rude to say to a lady?"
"Then act like a lady and take care of yourself!"
"If you say so. Anyway, what you did with your mana was definitely different from before!"
"You are not listening at all, are you?!"

This exchange lasted for several minutes until they compromised. Since her dress was all messed up after sitting on the dirty ground, she was changed into the Countess' old clothes and then sat at a table with Alice while being served the same tea as earlier.

"Fine, what do you want to know? Did you not see the process with your magical eyes?"
"Well, I did. That is, before you burned my left eye."
"A-alright, I am sorry again for not warning you of what I would do..."
"You even protected your own eyes with your arm... I can't believe it..."
"I-I apologize, okay?!"
"Whatever. You turned your mana into light, correct? That had nothing to do with what you did before."
"This is what I did, indeed."
"But you’re not a light mage..."
"Uh… Let us say that light and this power I put into objects are similar in nature. Just like heat."
"Don't act like it's obvious! This makes no sense!"
"Well… It is true though, they are essentially just different forms of the same thing so... A-anyway, we should stop here as you need to rest."
"I need answers much more than rest!"
"Please do not move like that. You will end up spilling your tea."
"To hell with that tea, it tastes bad anyway!"

Alice glared at Mia for making her drink tea she disliked for nothing, but the maid turned her head away as if she did not understand the message.

(Now you’ve done it!! Well, what shall I answer now?)

“It… it is quite a cloudy day, is it not? I sure hope spring comes soon…”
“Do… do you really think you will get away from this interrogation with such lame small talk?”

(Gaaaah!! I knew it was lame but I still said it!!)

Serena looked sincerely shocked by Alice’s attempt to evade her questions. She almost sympathized with this young girl who was trying her best to hide the nature of her magic despite doing it so badly.
Still, her desire to get an actual answer was way stronger than her pity for Alice so she still forced her to explain her magic in detail. And Alice did it.