Within the borders of the Kingdom of Magicians, there was a Sea of Waving Grasslands, lush and green like an endless ocean.
“Ah, I can’t ride a broomstick at all…”
A young girl with long orange-white hair, an expression tinged with melancholy, and a delicate angelic appearance was crouched on the ground, her tone full of wistfulness.
“Ah-la, it’s actually very simple, Hilxi-san. I’ll teach you.”
Elaina, her gray hair shining under the sunlight and swaying in the wind, wore a Triangle Hat and a long robe as she spoke.
So gentle… Hilxi was moved.
“Yes, it’s really simple! Look, even I can ride!”
Saya, with short black hair and a cute smile, mischievously mounted her broomstick and circled around Hilxi.
But Hilxi only rolled her eyes and said irritably, “Yeah, so simple. But who was it that crashed into Elaina-san yesterday, I wonder.”
“Ah… that, that was an accident, haha!”
Elaina also smiled helplessly, then came over to squat beside Hilxi, raising her hand and letting the broomstick float in the air.
“Hilxi-san, the first step to learning to ride a broomstick is to make it float.”
“Ah, how do I do that?”
Though she doubted she could learn, Hilxi still held a glimmer of hope.
After all, flying on a broomstick was far too fantastical for someone who didn’t belong to the world of Magic.
“You need to infuse Mana into the broomstick first~”
“Mm… let me try.”
Hilxi gave it a try, but being her first attempt and unfamiliar with the process, the broomstick dropped straight to the ground.
“Ah, sorry.”
“Ah, it’s fine. It’s not like you’re supposed to succeed in one go anyway.”
Elaina replied without a care.
Though she herself had succeeded in learning Broomstick Flying Magic in just one try.
But if she said that aloud, it would probably discourage Hilxi-san.
Shaking her head, Elaina’s smile didn’t fade as she said, “Keep going. You failed just now because you used too little Mana. Try using a bit more this time.”
“Oh, is that so?”
The broomstick wobbled and floated about half a meter above the ground.
Seeing this, Hilxi’s cheeks broke into a smile.
She didn’t really understand how it worked, but this didn’t seem too hard!
She used to think she could only replicate Magic through innate talent, but maybe she just wasn’t opening the right doors for herself.
“The broomstick is too wobbly. You need to keep the Mana flow steady.”
“Yeah, with it shaking like that, if Hilxi-san tries to sit on it, she’ll definitely fall off!”
Not bothering to argue with Saya-san, Hilxi took a deep breath.
She channeled Mana again. This time, the broomstick was still shaking, but not as much.
After Elaina’s repeated corrections, it took only ten minutes before Hilxi could stably float the broomstick in the air!
Looking at the broomstick, still as if frozen by some invisible force, Hilxi beamed, tilting her head toward the smiling Elaina nearby.
“Elaina-san, I did it!”
“Oh~ amazing, Hilxi-san! You learned it in just this little bit of time.”
Elaina made a face of admiration, and Hilxi, pleased, couldn’t help but let her lips curl up.
Though it was all just for show.
“I guess there’s no helping it. Maybe I’m just the legendary Magic genius!”
“Shameless.” Saya said bluntly.
“Hmph, are you jealous, Saya-san? Is that it, is that it?”
“Hmph, not at all. By the way, Elaina-san~ weren’t you supposed to be guiding my training~?”
“Ah, I forgot.”
“How could you…” Saya pouted pitifully.
“Haha, just kidding! So, Hilxi-san, do you want to join us?”
“Ah-la, can I?”
“Of course you can!”
“Elaina-san…” Hilxi was deeply moved, a mist gathering in her bright blue eyes.
“Hmm? What’s wrong? Your face doesn’t look too good.” Elaina was puzzled. Why did Hilxi look… like she was about to cry? Was it something I did?
“Uuu, I’m so touched… Elaina-san, you’re the first person willing to teach me Magic. Uu… you’re so kind. I almost feel like I see holy light radiating from you, Elaina-san! That light! So dazzling! It chases away all the darkness within me and brings me back to life, uu uu!”
“So dramatic.” Nearby, Saya, still straddling her broomstick, covered her face, unable to bear it.
Elaina kept up a polite yet slightly awkward smile, watching Hilxi quietly sob, her eyes all but saying: That’s enough.
“Well, I’ll go buy a broomstick first, then we can start practicing, okay?”
Wiping away the tears lingering at the corners of her eyes, Hilxi stood up, her orange-white hair swaying with the motion.
“We’ll just wait for you here then, Hilxi-san.”
“Hurry back, don’t waste my precious training time!”
“Right away, I won’t be long!”
Just as Hilxi was about to head off to buy a broomstick, a thought suddenly struck her and she paused.
“Um…”
“What is it?” Elaina tilted her head.
“If I run all the way back, it’ll be way too slow. Elaina-san, can you take me there?”
“Ah, well…”
“Hmm?”
Saya grew alert, her gaze toward Hilxi turning hostile.
Trying to spirit away Elaina-san? I won’t allow it!
While Elaina hesitated, Saya slapped her own chest with a serious look—producing a soft thump.
So flat.
“No need to trouble Elaina-san, I’ll take you!”
Hilxi pouted, looking at her suspiciously.
“Saya-san, if you ride the broomstick… are you sure you won’t crash into a wall?”
“!! Are you insulting my Magician credentials?!”
“Oh~ Saya-san is actually a Magician, how impressive, how impressive.” Hilxi clapped mockingly, her tone exaggerated.
“##! Are you getting on or not!” Saya-san shouted, embarrassed and angry, pointing at her.
“I’m not. Why don’t you just buy it for me, so I don’t have to go at all?” Hilxi waved dismissively.
“In your dreams!” Saya instantly shot her down.
“I can pay a delivery fee.” Hilxi added, ah… I kind of regret saying that, it hurts to spend money.
“No way!” Saya crossed her arms in an X to show refusal. Money was nothing compared to Elaina-san, after all.
“Hmph, can you really bear to let such a frail girl like me go alone? I can’t even use Magic, what if something dangerous happens? Can you live with yourself?” Hilxi pulled out the classic moral blackmail technique.
“I can totally live with it!” Saya ignored her.
“…Guess our friendship is over.” Hilxi lowered her head slightly.
“Long live the end of friendship!” Saya was unusually thrilled. Now no one would compete with her for Elaina-san!
“……”
How are we supposed to train like this…
A warm breeze brushed through their hair.
Watching the two bicker (and vie for Elaina’s attention), Elaina couldn’t help but sigh, her head starting to ache.
In the end, all three of them went to buy it together.
By the time they returned, more than ten minutes had passed.
After that, Hilxi dedicated herself to learning how to control and summon her broomstick.
At first, it was tough, but after countless close encounters with Mother Earth…
—She finally managed to ride the broomstick and fly!
The Blue Sky seemed within reach, wind whistling past her ears, the warm sunlight shining on her body.
Hilxi opened her sapphire eyes wide—her earlier frustrations from falling off the broomstick again and again instantly vanished, her heart soaring!
The freedom of flying through the sky—how wonderful it was!
The distant Forest came into view, the grasslands below transformed into a vast Green Ocean, the boundless world making her feel small and insignificant.
“So beautiful…”
“Hilxi-san, flying feels great, doesn’t it!”
Elaina sat sideways on her broomstick, smiling as she flew alongside Hilxi, holding her Triangle Hat down with one hand to keep the wind from blowing it away, her gray hair streaming behind her.
“So beautiful…”
Hilxi couldn’t help but murmur, her pupils shimmering with light.
But whether she was marveling at the scenery, or at the adorable Elaina-san, no one could say for sure.
“Yes, the view here really is wonderful.”
Elaina lifted her chin to gaze into the distance, a heartfelt smile on her face.
“Hey!! Wait for me!”
Saya’s loud voice came from behind.
Hilxi turned to look and saw Saya trailing far behind. With a proud expression, she called back just as loudly,
“Saya-san! You’re way too slow!!”
Hearing Hilxi’s taunt, Saya in the distance clenched her fists in frustration.
“You’ve got some nerve! I let you fly ahead for several minutes!”
Earlier, she and Elaina had watched Hilxi flying overhead from the ground, only for her to keep going farther and farther.
Worried something might happen, Elaina-san had flown up after her.
Saya had tried to keep up, but how could her speed match a witch’s? She was quickly left behind and could only follow from afar.
“Ugh! We came here to train, so how did this turn into a marathon?!”
Saya just couldn’t figure it out.