The first day of working as a private tutor had finally arrived. I went to the guild master’s office after finishing my daily routine at the guild. Guldo accompanied me as a farewell.

“All right, Lark, watch out.”

“Yes, Guldo-san, thank you.”

After exchanging greetings, Fia’s teleportation magic whisked me away to the castle. As soon as Fia placed her hand on my shoulder, the scene in front of me changed from the guild master’s office to the castle gate. The gatekeeper had been informed in advance of our arrival during this time period, so he wasn’t surprised when we appeared out of nowhere.

Fia only said, “Do your best,” before disappearing. As I entered the castle, my nerves increased, but the maid quickly led me to Roselia’s room. The maid came to a halt in front of a door with cute-looking ornaments and knocked quietly.

“I’ve brought the tutor with me.”

“…. Please come in.”

Together with the maid, I entered the room where a lovely girl was sitting in front of a desk. She looked surprised when she saw me.

“Who are you…? “Have you been here before?” the girl inquired, perplexed.

‘Did Ars-san fail to inform her about me?’

“My name is Lark,” I said as I introduced myself. “It’s a pleasure to meet you today.”

“My name is Roselia A. Recommetys. My closest friends call me Lia, so please address me as such, Lark-sama.”

After exchanging greetings, the maid exited the room. Following that, both of us became nervous, and an awkward silence fell between us.

‘We really need to discuss something…’

“S-Should we begin the lesson right now?” I stated firmly.

“Y-Yes. “Please look after me,” she said nervously.

Despite my forceful start to the lesson, we didn’t make much progress on the first day due to our awkwardness.

◈◈◈

In contrast to the first day’s progress, the second day of private tutoring went surprisingly well. Reflecting on the previous day, I decided to start with small talk on the second day to ease the tension. To create a more friendly atmosphere, I also stopped using honorific language and changed my way of addressing to “Lia-chan,” as suggested on the first day. As a result, I felt we got along slightly better than the first day.

On the third day, Lia gradually began talking to me and became more active in asking questions about things she didn’t understand. Lia informed me that she was particularly weak in arithmetic, so I used my prior knowledge to explain by creating visual aids and creating sample problems with familiar things. Once she understood how to solve the problems, Lia was able to solve applied problems quickly.

After only one week of private tutoring, Ars was ecstatic to see Lia’s test scores rise after every session. One day in class, Lia, who had initially addressed me as “Lark-sama,” asked me a question while working on an arithmetic problem, saying, “Oh, Lark-kun, how do I solve this problem?”

The class went off without a hitch, and after leaving Lia’s room, I went to Ars’s office to study magic. Ars was sitting at a desk piled high with documents when I walked in, smiling. He did, however, appear tired.

“Oh, Lark-kun, is the class already over?”

“Yes, but it appears that you still have work to do, Ars-san.”

“I’m sorry about that. Do you mind hanging around the training ground until I get there? I have some pressing matters to attend to.”

“Understood.”

I went to the training ground by myself, concerned about Ars’s tired appearance. After practicing magic alone for a while, Ars appeared about thirty minutes later.

“I apologize for being late.”

“It’s fine. Is my training causing you to fall behind on your work?”

“No, that could never happen. “Don’t worry about it,” Ars said, smiling.

I thanked Ars and resumed my training. Today’s training consisted of conjuring magic to hit targets thrown by Ars one after the other. You could apparently increase your skill level by improving the accuracy of your magical attacks. With this in mind, I used various attribute magic to hit the targets that appeared innumerable times as accurately as possible. Ars stopped throwing the targets after about an hour.

“Phew, should we call it quits for the day?”

“Haa… haa… haa… Yes, Ars-san, thank you very much.”

“I also get good exercise, so it’s all right.”

I gathered the scattered targets and placed them in a wooden box in the corner of the room. Then, Ars used his teleportation magic to transport us to the inn’s backyard. The moment I walked into the inn, I ran into Amelda.

“Welcome back, Lark-kun. Dinner is ready, so come to the dining hall.”

“I appreciate it.”

I went to the dining hall and took our usual window seat while waiting for dinner. At the same time, Anna entered the dining hall and sat in the chair opposite me.

She then spread her study materials out on the table. “Hey, Lark-kun. “Can you teach me how to solve this problem?”

“Of course, no problem.”

After assisting her once with homework, I began tutoring Anna every night before dinner. It’s not a big deal for me because I’m used to being a private tutor. We had dinner together after Anna completed her homework. As soon as I got back to my room, I changed into my night clothes, said my prayers, and went to sleep.

◈◈◈

In contrast to the first day’s progress, the second day of private tutoring went surprisingly well. Reflecting on the previous day, I decided to start with small talk on the second day to ease the tension. To create a more friendly atmosphere, I also stopped using honorific language and changed my way of addressing to “Lia-chan,” as suggested on the first day. As a result, I felt we got along slightly better than the first day.

On the third day, Lia gradually began talking to me and became more active in asking questions about things she didn’t understand. Lia informed me that she was particularly weak in arithmetic, so I used my prior knowledge to explain by creating visual aids and creating sample problems with familiar things. Once she understood how to solve the problems, Lia was able to solve applied problems quickly.

After only one week of private tutoring, Ars was ecstatic to see Lia’s test scores rise after every session. One day in class, Lia, who had initially addressed me as “Lark-sama,” asked me a question while working on an arithmetic problem, saying, “Oh, Lark-kun, how do I solve this problem?”

The class went off without a hitch, and after leaving Lia’s room, I went to Ars’s office to study magic. Ars was sitting at a desk piled high with documents when I walked in, smiling. He did, however, appear tired.

“Oh, Lark-kun, is the class already over?”

“Yes, but it appears that you still have work to do, Ars.” “I’m sorry about that. Do you mind hanging around the training ground until I get there? I have some pressing matters to attend to.”

“Understood.”

I went to the training ground by myself, concerned about Ars’s tired appearance. After practicing magic alone for a while, Ars appeared about thirty minutes later.

“I apologize for being late.”

“It’s fine. Is my training causing you to fall behind on your work?”

“No, that could never happen. “Don’t worry about it,” Ars said, smiling.

I thanked Ars and resumed my training. Today’s training consisted of conjuring magic to hit targets thrown by Ars one after the other. You could apparently increase your skill level by improving the accuracy of your magical attacks. With this in mind, I used various attribute magic to hit the targets that appeared innumerable times as accurately as possible. Ars stopped throwing the targets after about an hour.

“Phew, should we call it quits for the day?”

“Haa… haa… haa… Yes, Ars-san, thank you very much.”

“I also get good exercise, so it’s all right.”

I gathered the scattered targets and placed them in a wooden box in the corner of the room. Then, Ars used his teleportation magic to transport us to the inn’s backyard. The moment I walked into the inn, I ran into Amelda.

“Welcome back, Lark-kun. Dinner is ready, so come to the dining hall.”

“I appreciate it.”

I went to the dining hall and took our usual window seat while waiting for dinner. At the same time, Anna entered the dining hall and sat in the chair opposite me.

She then spread her study materials out on the table. “Hey, Lark-kun. “Can you teach me how to solve this problem?”

“Of course, no problem.”

After assisting her once with homework, I began tutoring Anna every night before dinner. It’s not a big deal for me because I’m used to being a private tutor. We had dinner together after Anna completed her homework. As soon as I got back to my room, I changed into my night clothes, said my prayers, and went to sleep.

◈◈◈

The next morning, I was awakened by the sunrise. After some light stretching, I went to the well behind the inn to take a bath. I took the bucket that was leaning against the inn’s wall and placed it at my feet. I summoned my water attribute magic and filled the bucket. Before I started training my magic, I used to bathe in the water as it was, but recently, things have been a little different.

I activated my fire attribute magic while holding my right hand over the bucket of water. Soon after the fireball I conjured with my magic landed in the water, steam began to billow from the bucket. In my recent magic classes, I learned a technique that combines the attributes of water and fire. This combination magic of creating hot water had been extremely useful. Previously, I had to endure cold water during my morning bath, but now I can easily make hot water, so bathing is no longer a chore, even on chilly mornings.

“It’s just like taking a shower…” I murmured to myself as I washed the dirt off my skin.

‘The temperature of the hot water can also be freely adjusted by adjusting its output, which is convenient.’

Feeling revitalized, I dried off in the shower before wrapping myself in warm air and blowing the water droplets off with a combination of wind and fire magic, as if using a hair dryer. Then I toweled myself off and changed into clean clothes.

“Lark, the usual please,” Datz called out from the back door as I was washing my old clothes.

The “usual” here referred to the hot water I create with combination magic. Datz had been coming to me on chilly days to request a hot water bath ever since he saw me taking one. ‘Well, it’s also beneficial to my magic training, so I’m grateful.’

“Of course, no problem.”

I poured hot water into the bucket Datz had brought with him.

“Thank you, Lark.”

“Oh no, it’s just my way of saying thank you for always being there for me,” I explained as I hung the washed clothes to dry with warm air.

After that, Datz and I went to the dining hall for breakfast before heading to the guild.

‘I’m going to give it my all today, too.’

I was sent to the castle earlier than usual because my business at the guild finished early. When I went to Lia’s room, she seemed to be absent. When I inquired about her whereabouts, a nearby maid informed me that Emma and Lia were having tea in the backyard. As instructed, I went to the backyard and found Emma and Lia chatting on the terrace.

Lia noticed me and put her hand over her mouth. “I’m sorry, Lark-kun. “Are you already here for class?”

“No, I just arrived a little early, so it’s fine,” After Lia’s expression of relief, Emma, who had been quietly observing the conversation, finally spoke up: “Then, why don’t we have tea together until class time, Lark-kun?”

I readily agreed, and the three of us sat down to some delicious tea. When it came time for class, I went back to Lia’s room. Somewhere along the way, I met a young boy. He was Ars’s son, whom I met with Rio and Lia on my first day at the castle.

Lia looked surprised and said to the boy, “Ara, Wallis-niisama. It’s unusual to see you here at this hour.”

“Father has summoned me.” The boy, called Wallis, answered Lia before turning to me, “Come to think of it, I haven’t introduced myself to you yet. My name is Wallis. “Nice to meet you.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you. My name is Lark.”

“You don’t have to be so formal when you’re talking to me. You can simply omit the honorifics, as my siblings do. By the way, are you teaching Lia arithmetic? I tried to teach her once, but I couldn’t do it very well. You’re incredible.”

“Oh no, thank you so much.”

“I guess I’d better get going then. Please take care of Lia,” Wallis said before leaving.

‘He’s a strange kid…’

I then asked Lia about him, “I’ve visited this castle several times, but this is the first time we’ve spoken. Where does Wallis-kun usually hang out?”

“My older brother spends most of his time in the library. Unlike my older brother Riolas, he hates moving around and just reads books all day long.”

“Are you sure? Then we might have something in common.”

“Wallis-niisama doesn’t interact with other people often, so please talk to him if you don’t mind.”

‘The library, you say… I don’t get to go there very often, but I wonder if I’ll run into him if I go sometime?’…

That’s what I was thinking, but I ran into Wallis much sooner than expected. I went to Ars’s office after class and found Wallis there with him. Ars’ eyes twinkled as he motioned me over.

“There he is. Can I speak with you for a moment, Lark-kun? This is Wallis, my son. He usually hangs out in the annexed building’s library, so you’ve probably never seen him before—”

“I’m not really cooped up. I just pick up whatever books catch my eye, and before I know it, the day was over. Lark-kun, do you like books?” Wallis asked me, looking into my eyes, in the middle of Ars’ introduction.

“I do. There are things in books that I have yet to learn.”

For some reason, Ars seemed pleased with my response. “See? Like I said, Lark-kun is similar to Wallis.”

“Please, Father, be quiet…”

“Can I ask what book you’ve recently read, Lark-kun?”

“Recently? Apart from the books we use in class, it’s most likely a history book about elves.”

“What!? What type of book is that?!?” Wallis’ face lit up with excitement as he demanded an explanation.

“Um, it’s a book I borrowed from the guild master of the adventurers’ guild,” I explained, feeling a little overwhelmed. “It describes long-ago events that even some elves are unaware of.”

“Really…! That’s fascinating…!” Wallis’ eyes sparkled brightly. His personality had completely undergone a transformation.

Seeing Wallis like this, Ars said with a smile, “Well, I guess you two are kindred spirits after all. Then, Wallis, you’ll go out for magic training with me and Lark from now on, won’t you?”

“….Okay, I understand. But only as long as Lark is around,” Wallis said.

“All right, that’ll do. Let’s go right away then,” Ars said, grabbing my shoulder and teleporting both of us to the training grounds without waiting for our response.

“What is this all about?” I asked Ars as we approached the training grounds.

“Well, Wallis has the potential for magic, but he’s been reading books all this time and hasn’t been practicing. That’s why I went and asked if he wanted to join our training.” Ars then confidently exclaimed, “Of course, it’s not a bad thing for Lark-kun either, to have a rival to improve your skills.

“I see. Well, I’m grateful for the opportunity, but what if Wallis refuses?” I questioned.

“It’s fine. Wallis has always wanted a friend, even if he doesn’t express it. I’m sure he’ll be happy to train with Lark-kun,” he replied.

Ars was surprisingly a doting parent, not only with regard to Wallis but also concerning Lia. As Ars had promised, magic training with Wallis began. Wallis, as Ars predicted, possessed a talent for magic, and he proved to be more adept at manipulating its effects than I was. Following the training session, I found myself taking a bath with Wallis in the castle. We were discussing our favorite books with one another.

“I can’t believe there’s someone my age who can talk like this,” Wallis exclaimed after a while. I’m surprised!”

“I was also surprised by your level of knowledge. You remember everything so well,” I responded.

I found myself speaking without honorifics after only a few hours together. Wallis genuinely surprised me. Although I could remember everything with my “Enhanced Memory Capacity” skill, Wallis didn’t have that ability. Instead, he was just a child with a superb memory.

“I’ve read the same books multiple times, so I remember them well,” Wallis admitted shyly. “The first time is about the new book’s interest, the second time is about remembering interesting scenes, and the third time is about analyzing how the book was written… I read them over and over until I remember everything. I’m glad I was born a prince because the castle has so many books.”

“That’s so Wallis-kun,” I chuckled, and Wallis laughed along with me.

I wished I could stay a little longer, but I needed to get home before it was too late. I said goodbye to the reluctant Wallis and returned to the inn using Ars’ teleportation magic after getting out of the bath.