Today, unlike the other days, Vinz and I will go alone to meet Lia. And since it will be the first time we’ll meet up and walk around together in the capital, she said she’d be our guide.

 We agreed, of course. After all, Vinz and I don’t know a lot about the city. And Vinz recently got better, and I’m new around here.

—though, I’ll be going back to the Shellheart estate soon…

 As I was in deep thought, I noticed that Vinz had a concerned look, and he said, “Leon…you seem out of it,”  

 “Does it look that way?”

 He affirmed with a nod and said, “Yeah.”

 The more I’ve gotten to know Vinz, the less shy he become. He used to stutter a lot when we first spoke. And now that he’d gotten used to socialising…he’s quite the extrovert, now that I think about it.

 “In any case… I was just thinking a little, don’t worry about it.”

 “Hmm, about what?”

 “…well, about Lottie?”

 “Is that…so? You usually look more happy when talking about her, though?” Vinz casually replied while grinning.

—is that…how he sees it?

 “I usually look happy?”

—talking about Lottie?

 “Yeah! You have this soft look compared to your usual still expression!” he excitedly exclaimed.

 “…..”

 “Or…are you thinking about Lia?”

—am I perhaps easy to read…? 

 “…you’ll leave soon, and we still haven’t told her…”

 “I know,” I replied. “I want to tell her, but—”

 “You’re afraid she’ll hate you…? I don’t think so. If anything…”

Vinz didn’t finish his sentence as he had a somewhat conflicted look. He shook his head and continued.

 “Anyways,” he said while grinning, “It’s Lia we’re talking about! She’s more mature than Rachel! Hence, she’ll likely understand!”

 “…you’re right?”

 

— :::: —

 

 After our little conversation, Vinz and I arrived at the meeting place. Lia noticed us and waved. Her smile was that of a sweet blooming flower. And with the thing Rachel mentioned a little earlier, I saw Vinz flinch as I glanced his way—he’d clutched his chest and blushed.

—so it was true…? How come she figured it out when she hadn’t even met Lia? I knew she was a genius based on her original character, but…it’s surprising nonetheless.

 “Leon! Vinz!” Lia said while running toward us.

 As a result, she stumbled and was about to fall. I was about to use Spark to make sure she did not hurt herself. But Vinz reacted before me, and with a strong gust of wind, he passed me and caught Lia, preventing her from landing flat on her face.  

—though…

 Due to the magic Vinz used, objects and debris were carried along with the wind and were about to collide with surrounding people—them included. In that instance, I used Spark and Superconductive Discharge to disintegrate the harmful objects.

—but…

 “Keh…” I groaned.

 The side effect of suddenly using Spark is quite severe. My legs felt weak, and I almost fell down on my knees but somehow got it together and walked up to Vinz and Lia.

 “…are you…two okay?” I asked.

 I was a little out of breath, and the two of them looked at me. They hadn’t grasped the situation, and all that had occurred to them was a strong gust of wind.

—but I’m fine with that.

 Then, Vinz seemed to notice something. Well, he’s sharp, so he probably noticed the small electrical sparks and the dust of disintegrated debris. He had a guilty look on his face, but I wouldn’t let him apologise, so before he spoke, I decided to tease them.

 “My, you two are making quite the scene,” I softly said. “Holding one another that close under the watchful gaze of the public, how lovely.”

 Immediately, the two jolted out of one another’s embrace. Both of them looked quite embarrassed, and Lia was the first to speak up.

 “I-It isn’t like that! V-Vinz saved me from falling, a-and we somehow ended up that way, s-so… don’t misunderstand, okay, Leon!?”

 Vinz pouted and glanced to the side, uttering, “C’mon…Leon, you meanie…” under his breath. 

 The crowd giggled while quietly observing the two of them, saying, “Aww, what a cute pair~” and, “Mm-hmm, that young lad’s quite impressive at that age, isn’t he?”

 Naturally, I wasn’t the only one that heard what the crowd was on about. Vinz was red as a tomato, and Lia blushed while fidgeting.

 “L-Listen, Lia, um—”

 “V-Vinz…! U-Umm…thank you…” Lia sheepishly said while peering into Vinz’s eyes. 

 ”H-Huh…oh, um…don’t worry about it.”

 …I wish I could leave them alone so that they’d be able to stroll around together. Unfortunately, I’m Vinz’s bodyguard as well, and that’s the only reason he was allowed to come here alone.

 Though I might be sore the few days to come, after all, Spak is a pretty hefty ability. Although…this was the first time I’d used Superconductive Discharge outside of practice…

—it sure is nifty knowing how magic somehow works…  

 Although Spark is my original ability, it did help by sort of knowing what could be accomplished.

 …no wonder the things I tried worked…it was due to having some of his memories, but I didn’t connect the dots until I knew of Vinz’s existence. Rather, I found it very strange that I didn’t realise sooner…

 Anyhow, Superconductive Discharge is a spell from the book, though it was briefly mentioned when a Princess bragged about her fiancé…

 Actually, now that I think about it, I don’t know much about the intricate things when it comes to magic theory… I would’ve known, but the book wasn’t focused on that.

 Albeit simple, a spell requires magic power, an attribute, and, lastly, visualisation. Those are the three I’ve been taught. Although…there is one more. And that is flow control. Magic flow is natural. Hence, this isn’t really seen as a requirement. But since the memory wasn’t weak enough to be vague to me, I figured it was something to practise.

—well, I wouldn’t know the difference… 

 I stared at Lia and Vinz, who still seemed to be slightly awkward around one another.

 “Vinz, Lia, shall we get going—”

 As I was about to make it less awkward between the two, I saw pickpocketing done by an old man walking past the crowd.

 Our eyes met, and he flinched and dropped the things he stole and ran away at full speed.

 “L-Leon…you’re quite scary… So…could you stop the scary lightning magic?” Vinz suddenly said.  

 “Huh…?”

 I snapped out of it. The crowd stood there frozen—so did Lia. Her eyes were locked onto my face, and she had a slightly frightened look.

 “…my bad,” I said and began walking.

 The two walked behind me, and the mood got more awkward in another way—all thanks to me, of course.

—I’m at least that self-aware…