A few days passed and now it was time for their elemental examination. Alexis managed to convince their parents to postpone it till now. Just before they entered the church doors, Alexis pulled them to the side, whispering, "If you get another element that isn't your house's element, don't tell anyone about it okay?"
The two nodded without hesitation but Alexis felt a little conflicted at how easily they agreed. "Wait." He tugged their sleeves, "Aren't you guys a little too trusting towards me?" Although typically the firstborn would inherit the family's symbolic element, he still felt like they shouldn't blindly place their faith in him.
They looked at each other before Lucius spoke up, "It's because it's you, that we trust you." Lucius interlocked his hand with Alexis's right hand. "And we trust that you care for us too. Just like how we do." Darcel grabbed his other hand, pulling the two of them through the church doors and into the chapel.
"Thank you Lu, Darc." Alexis gave them his sincere smile, rushing to hug both of them. Although he had both Alexis's and Shin's memories, he was truly thankful for Darcel and Lucius; he had missed the warmth that friendship created. His life as Fujisaki Shin wasn't lonely but he only had a few people he could confide in. "Why are you thanking us? Isn't it natural for us to trust you?" Darcel hugged Alexis even tighter, "After all, we're going to be together forever." Lucius patted Alexis on his head.
Ah, he truly was glad he got another chance to live.
"Lex? Why are you crying?" Lucius started to panic, hurriedly wiping away the tears.
"I'm crying?" Alexis didn't even notice until he touched his cheek. "Lex..." Darcel began dabbing his sleeve on his cheek to soak up his tears. "I'm alright you two." He gave a smile to convince them but instead, they ruffled his hair to console him. Regaining his bright smile, Alexis announced, "Let's get our elemental examination!"
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"Lex! How did you know about our dual elements?" It was the afternoon after their examination, they snuck out of the royal castle to the garden to hide from their parents. Lucius was amazed at Alexis's predictions. Darcel looked at him hopeful after discovering the same thing as Lucius.
"Well, I just thought it might happen so I just told you guys." It turned out that even after he had been reborn, the world still continued in the same direction as the game, except this time, no one else knew about their second element. "I still can't believe that I have ice and water." Lucius formed a snowflake and water droplet from his palm.
"At least you have matching elements," Darcel grumbled, summoning a small fire and tornado. "But Lex, how are you going to work around your elements?"
Alexis created a small thundercloud and surrounded it with his dark magic. "I'm sure I can find something that'll work out." Although they haven't been taught magic, the[game Alexis]was a magic genius, quickly mastering it. So when they finished their examination, Alexis had taught them how to use elementary magic.
It was simple to cast magic but it relied heavily on the caster's concentration and visual imagery. The clearer and detailed the image, the stronger and more powerful it was. This world consisted of eight elements: fire, ice, water, lightning, earth, wind, light and dark. There was also a special category for neutral magic; anyone could learn neutral magic but elemental magic was assigned at birth.
Each magic has different levels in skills and spells, with the higher levelled ones being difficult to master and control. Everyone in the Athrina Kingdom could use lifestyle magic and the basic level of their elemental magic. Further studies were required in order to be able to cast spells that were intermediate and higher. The kingdom provided education for children from ten-year-old to fifteen-year-old. After that, most nobles send their children to academies for further education, finishing when they were eighteen years old.
People who had afflictions with light and dark magic were rare, so when it was announced that the three of them were dual elements and that [Alexis] was a dark bearer, it boosted their importance to the kingdom and placed large amounts of pressure upon them.
The reason why Shin had told them to hide their second element was to allow them the choice of freedom. He knew that in the future, the three of them would be burdened with the task of defending and leading the Athrina Kingdom. Shin felt that it was a shame if they had to bear such heavy expectations without being able to explore the world and go on adventures like young adults.
He thought it would be fun to spend time with them, considering that in the game, the three of them manage to stay really close even after several years. And considering the world's unique history, it was a mystery why the writers didn't choose to explore it further. It functioned differently compared to the modern society in his previous life.
Aside from magic being part of everyday life, childbirth was different too. Here, anyone is able to give birth regardless of sex. In the kingdom's history, the first king had a male lover and begged God to grant his lover a child. God heard their pleas, granting their wishes. Thus creating a new generation of humans.
Although same-sex couples were accepted, heterosexual couples were still seen as the norm. Shin just thought it was a missed opportunity for the writers. Then again, the game was aimed towards a female audience. But aren't most females rotten anyways? So wouldn't that bring in a higher rating?
Shin: "..." Let's not think about that.
Before being reborn, Shin was wavering. He couldn't exactly pinpoint where his sexuality fell under but he knew that he was okay with both sexes. But he never got to explore it, turning to romance visual novels as a way to cope with his non-existent social skills. Now that he was living as Alexis and he had memories of the future, his only goals were to save his sister from having her engagement broken and to enjoy a relaxing and carefree life.
And the first step in this plan is to hide his second element and to prevent people from knowing, which has already been achieved.