"Maya, you didn't tell me he was finally here!"
"Aunt Windy, please let him go!"
Maya pulled Michaelis away from Windy's embrace. He took a deep breath to comprehend the situation he was in just now.
"Are you okay, Your Highness? Your face is so red. This is your fault, Aunt Windy."
Maya fanned him with her hands. Windy chuckled.
"Excitement gets into me. I don't know if he would be embarrassed just by me hugging him."
'It would be better if you hugged me appropriately! Or I would even be more than happy if you did not hug me at all!'
Maya shook her head. She is pitying him again. Of all the creatures in the Forest of Miracles, Michaelis had met some annoying people. Yes, Maya admitted that Terenis and Windy could be annoying.
Michaelis let out a sigh. Just a day, but Michaelis has met some annoying people here. How does he want to live here for a month?
"Haha, he is such a cute boy. Hey, let him stay with me for today."
"No, I can't do it. We'll need to practice right away because he'll just be staying here for a month."
"Aww, too bad."
"Just come for the dinner celebration."
"Yes yes. Go practice whatever you need to do. Let's meet again, cute boy."
Windy sent him a flying kiss before disappearing into the room. Michaelis let out a relieved sigh again.
"I apologize again for everything, Your Highness. They were just too excited when they knew that you'd be coming here today and staying for a month."
Excited? Why would they? From what that Windy woman said just now, she knew Asteric. Maybe Asteric also came here to practice aura before, along with Sir Raihan and Celix. It would make sense that he was sent here at the recommendation of his father or his sword instructor.
But why would these citizens in the Forest of Miracles become excited to meet him? They've never met before, right? Or did this kid come here when he was younger?
"It has actually been so long for us to get another imperial member or any humans to come here. The emperor is the only one who keeps visiting, but he is also busy and sometimes just sends his secretary to make sure our condition here is being taken care of. Then, when we know it is the current crown prince whom we have never met before who comes here to practice aura, the elders become excited to meet and train you."
Maya helped him stand up.
The elders? So Tereni was not the only one of the high-ranking people here that he would meet? He could feel the dread of meeting more elders like Tereni. He just hopes they are not acting eccentric like Tereni is.
"The training from Chief Tereni is harsh, but she didn't have any ill intention; she just can't control her excitement and forgets that humans are much more fragile. She once told me that only three humans came here to practice aura, including the emperor at one time. But that was years ago. That's why."
Michaelis nodded in understanding. Those three humans must be Asteric, Raihan, and Celix. He felt shivers thinking about what he would be doing here in training if he thought the chasing he did was just a starter. By the way, how long did he fall unconscious?
"May I ask, how long did I fall unconscious?"
"A few hours."
Just a few hours. At least not for a day or more. His muscles are still stiff. He hopes they won't do too much practice for a while.
"Did the chief train you as well?"
They began walking. Michaelis just followed Maya.
"Yes. We were also restricted from learning aura, just like humans do. I was just the special one, I guess because I was born with it."
"You were born with an aura?"
Maya smiled and nodded.
"Yes, I was born with an aura because I can't use magic. I was a special case. I can use aura naturally, but for that, I can't use magic at all. I have no traces of magic in my body, and my parents detected this anomaly, and they began my aura control earlier when I was four."
Ho. He had read that in the book. It is a rare occurrence. Someone can be born without any magic traces in their body; they can also be born without the ability to use aura at all.
That may be a disadvantage or an advantage. But today, not being able to use magic is like a curse. People like that were not allowed to learn other things that may be compatible with their bodies. Their affinity with aura is better than magic. They just don't know that.
Just like Maya said, she is a special case, along with people like her.
But why would they not allow humans who can't use magic to learn aura? Why are other creatures like elves and fairies easily permitted to use aura when they know they can't use magic?
Or is there actually no record of a human who has not been born with magic yet? Well, that could be it because he never encountered any record of anyone like that. Maybe this special case was not exactly for humans. Maybe the other species are the only ones who could be born like this.
The prejudice should not have happened. Those people who have no magic might be good at something else, like being a technologist, a smith, or an alchemist. That's true; alchemists should exist in this period, right?
"My parents ask Chief Tereni to teach me aura. At that time, she was teaching me alongside her secretary. So my training was not that harsh at that time. But her secretary was out of town at the moment. I should have known that your training would start as a disaster when I heard about how the emperor got his training. The previous three humans were also sent here by their teacher to be trained by Chief Tereni. I think that is why the emperor, your father sent you here too."
They finally got out of the building. The sky was already orange. It looks like it's almost night.
"What I want to say is that Chief Tereni is a good teacher. So, you don't need to worry; she was just a bit too harsh with her training sometimes."
Maya turned to him.
"So, for today, let's get to know your aura compatibility first and start your training tomorrow."
They walked again into a hut under a tree. Some fairies and elves greet him along the way. But Maya told them to give them time to do something first. The others felt disappointed but made him promise to come to the dinner celebration later.
It looks like they will be arranging a celebration for him. Why would they be this enthusiastic for his arrival? Maybe he is a crown prince, but is that really a big thing? Is it a normal occurrence for people to throw a party or celebration for the higher-ups in this world?
"Please get inside, Your Highness."
Maya slid the curtain up and motioned for him to go inside the hut. When he went inside, the interior design looked simple. It was just like a small room. A small round table with a glass-like ball on the table. Just that.
He thought he would encounter such complicated technologies here.
"Please pick the aura detector."
Oh, this ball is actually an aura detector. Michaelis just came forward and picked up the ball, which was just his palm size. He held it in one hand.
"Channel your aura towards the detector while clearing your mind from any thoughts."
He did as told, but it was quite difficult for him to not think about something at a moment like this. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Clearing one's mind is more difficult than expected. His mind keeps thinking about something.
"Relax. Just think of your aura flowing."
Okay, he got it. He opened his aura and felt it flow all over his body. Like water running through his body, he feels the water leaving his fingertips and wrapping around the ball.
He finally became one with the ball. This feeling will always come when he uses his aura to envelop any object. The objects will become one with him.
But this time, he felt different when his aura enveloped the detector. Not like the other objects he had used to envelop with aura. He felt like the detector was sucking out his aura.
His brows furrowed when it did not stop. Sweat began to drip down his forehead. He felt cold and hot at the same time. He felt like he was standing on a mountain with a strong wind. It was hard to breathe.
"Your Highness!"
Buk!
He gasped and opened his eyes immediately. He was standing with the same posture, but the ball detector was nowhere in his hand. He saw it rolling on the floor. He also looked around the hut; some of the walls were torn apart like there had been a typhoon in here just a moment ago.
"Your Highness, are you okay?"
Maya's hair looked all over the place. Uh, what happened to her?
"Are you okay?"
Maya blinked, then glared at him.
"You should be the one answering me, Your Highness. Did you not hear me calling for you many times just now?"
She called? He just heard her once, though.
"I didn't."
Maya sighed. She almost got thrown out of this hut if Michaelis continued to hold the aura detector. She didn't expect something like this to happen. She didn't expect Michaelis' aura to be this strong and unique.
'He is a special one.' She thought.
"What.. happened?"
And he didn't even notice what he'd done. Maya calmed her heart after the sudden outburst just now. Michaelis could blow away this hut. That would make things more troublesome.
Michaelis' aura is something she didn't know. She needs to report this to Chief Tereni for further assessment. They will need to make Michaelis' training more complex.
"Your Highness, you are something else."
Maya smiled. Michaelis dumbfounded.