("These past few days were annoying. I'm not sure what the king is trying to figure out, but it sure isn't the right way. Either way, I just wish he would stop soon,") Ivy talked to herself while falling behind Ruby on their walk. They were currently in the flower garden, passing through many beautiful flowers.
Seeing Ivy fall behind, Ruby stopped as she could tell that Ivy was talking to herself. She huffed before walking towards Ivy and pinching her cheeks. Ruby giggled, seeing Ivy's sudden flinch as she backed away was too cute.
Ivy rubbed her cheeks as she said, "What was that for?"
Ruby smiled but didn't reply as she grabbed Ivy's hand and pulled her up over the hill to show her something special. Knowing that Ivy wasn't resisting, Ruby got giddy and made her way over the hill, revealing the mass amount of colorful flowers.
Although Ivy didn't show many emotions, Ruby could tell that Ivy was impressed by how beautiful these flowers were. She turned to face Ivy only to see something bothering her. Ruby was about to approach her when Ivy started to rush down the path.
Ruby followed behind Ivy before stopping to hearing stifles of cries. She saw Ivy kneeling down with her eyes covered up. Ruby stood beside Ivy and help comfort her. She didn't really know what Ivy must have recognized, but Ruby knew that she saw something significant.
"You okay? Want to go back now?" Ruby asked in a gentle tone. Seeing Ivy nod her head, Ruby helped her back on her feet only to feel Ivy hug her body.
Ruby didn't mind the hugging, but it felt weird, and considering their odd situation, it just felt awkward. She helped calm down Ivy as they slowly made their way back to the palace.
During the walk, Ivy was in a constant shaking mood. She wanted to say something, but at the same time, she didn't. What Ivy saw was so weird yet familiar. Ivy appreciated Ruby and her acceptance, but she had to say something to the girl as Ivy doubts she could stay here anymore.
As Ivy was about to open her mouth, Ruby asked her something, "Have you ever been to a school Ivy? I know it seems odd for me to ask, but when I was looking through your files. It didn't say anything about being in a school. Along with a bunch of other things like your Semblance, Aura color, experience with combat, your birth, and a lot more."
Ivy stopped hugging Ruby and looked around before standing directly face-to-face with Ruby, barely any personal space. Ivy made another quick check if anyone was watching before whispering, "I don't know any of those, I mean like what they are for me."
Ivy quickly pulled away before walking away. She didn't really want to talk about why or how she didn't know. It was also something that bugged Ivy. Ivy looked back as she saw Ruby with a scary expression.
"You're gonna follow me," Ruby demanded as she practically dragged Ivy. (A/N: Such strength Ruby-sama.)
--------------------------------------------------
Ivy was seated in a small room with multiple tables and chairs with a chalkboard at the front with Ruby standing next to it. The room was nicely polished with a desk a couple of inches from the chalkboard. Ivy already knew this was a classroom, but she didn't understand why she was in here.
Ruby started to write on the chalkboard a couple of words. Mainly Semblance, Mana, and Aura. She had Ivy sit in the very front as she was gonna teach Ivy these things. Ruby knew that Ivy already had a grasp of those concepts, but she wanted to expand her ideas of the concepts.
"Alright, starting with Semblance. Every human is unique to themselves. In most cases, nobody will have the same Semblance unless they are very closely related to their parents," Ruby explained. She drew stick figures along with arrows and words to help visualize her words.
Ivy had Omega record Ruby's lesson for future needs. She was very interested in Ruby's teaching. It was her first time Ivy was ever taught anything majorly important.
As Ruby explained more about Semblance, she came upon Aura. "Aura and Semblance are deeply rooted to each other. Your Aura's color is different and, in most cases, won't matter. However, Semblance absorbs your Aura's energy. It's a trade-off, really. So, in most schools, they mostly focus on increasing your Aura's energy capability," Ruby finished with the lesson for Semblance and Aura before erasing those two. She looked over to see Ivy paying attention along with the gray sphere of Omega.
Nodding her head, Ruby drew an arrow on Mana. "This concept is a bit complex. From a couple of records before the New Change, there was only Semblance and Aura. After the Change, well, let's say that a new difficulty appeared. Mana is mostly unknown to us. Many scientists have tried to figure out the properties and usefulness of it, but every time they need Mana, it doesn't come to them. Many blacksmiths and engineers were able to work together and create small circuits of Mana. About to circulate flowing Mana and use it to create beautiful things."
"So, you're saying that we know nothing about Mana is what you're saying," Ivy said before standing up and walking up to the desk.
Ruby nodded her head as she had a feeling that Ivy was about to counter something. She placed the chalk down, she smiled at Ivy before crossing her arms.
Seeing that Ruby was giving the floor to Ivy, she took the chalk and started to draw. "About everything you said is right except the fact that Mana isn't something we don't know. You see, Mana is like magical energy, right? So that means that there is something in this new world that creating this Mana flow. It's like saying Semblances and Auras came out of nowhere, well, kinda true, but that isn't the point. Everything happens for a reason, and something has caused that reason."
Ruby tilted her head as she saw Ivy's drawing, she wouldn't say that they were terrible but more like they were so complicated that she couldn't understand. She tried to open her mouth, but everything didn't make sense to her.
"Here, let me explain it a blunt way," Ivy said as she could see Ruby's visible confusion. "Mana was created, but it isn't anything new. Just another word for Aura energy."
Hearing those words, Ruby's perception of Mana was utterly shattered. She contemplated what she knew before having to take a seat. Ruby thought she knew what Mana was, or at least the up to date version, yet Ivy was able to break that in just two sentences.
Then one question appeared in Ruby's mind, and so she asked, "How do you know so much about Mana? I mean, the other kingdoms and places may have their theories, but none of them proven those theories."
Ivy rubbed her temples, not because she was annoyed but because she could feel a headache hitting her. She cleared her mind before explaining, "I couldn't really go into the other kingdoms, but I did see what theories were right and what were false. And one of them just so happened to be accurate. It was about how the Earth's crust was so dense and no very Mana conduction that it prevented Mana from leaving. Mana started to flow out of the cracks that were left in the crust about two years before the New Change. After the Change, the Mana that was trapped was then had a sudden outburst. Since not many people survived the sudden Change, most people didn't see the light show from the Mana. Not saying that I saw one, but those who actually survived the New Change saw the most incredible light show for about a week before it disappeared. Do you--"
Seeing Ruby's excited expression, Ivy was a bit confused. Still, she guesses that the idea of a light show lasting for a week was cool. Ruby smiled before ending her recording with Alpha, she got up and patted Ivy's head.
Ivy squirmed underneath Ruby's touch before closing her eyes. She couldn't control her cat instincts as her tail and ears popped out and surprised Ruby.
("She's a catgirl! YES! My dream has finally been fulfilled! I must pamper her every day!") Ruby internal screamed as she watched Ivy squirmed a little bit more under her touch.
After a couple of minutes of pampering Ivy, Ruby finally let go of the flustered Ivy and smiled. Ruby poked Ivy's tail once as she saw Ivy's cat glare that made her pray she would see the next day.