In order to have a happy wedding with Isis-san, I was doing my best again to increase the amount of magic power I had... but I was now facing a very troubling situation.
No, rather than troubling... It was more of a scary situation...
[...So, what do you have to say for yourself? Kaito-kun.]
[Yesshh!?]
Sitting on the floor in a seiza, I twitched when Kuro called out to me, her eyes were focused on me and her arms were folded in front of her chest.
Kuro's entire body was filled with an aura of anger, and the room was slightly shaking under its influence... No, it's shaking as if there was an earthquake. It's really scary.
[...How many days did you stay up all night this time?]
[...F- Four days...]
[Four days?]
[...I- I got some sleep for one night... and I had been continuously training for four days...]
When I timidly told her this, a vein popped out of her forehead.
[...Why is it that you won't think about moderation at all!!!?]
[Hyyiiiihh!?]
[Moreover, what's that plastered on your face!? Are you trying to cover those dark circles under your eyes!?]
[I- I'm sorry!]
Yes, Kuro had found out that I had been up all night training and was firmly scolding me right now.
I had even borrowed some foundation to cover up my eyebags, so that Kuro wouldn't find out... but it just made Kuro even more angry.
[You've always been so extreme about things, Kaito-kun! I understand that you want to hurry things up, but it would be useless if that destroyed your body!!!]
[...Yes.]
[In the first place, Kaito-kun is...]
I knew it was completely my fault, but Kuro's scolding lasted nearly two hours.
"...I see, something like that happened huh..."
[I don't really mind if he's a hard worker but...]
After training to increase the amount of magic power Kaito had, they moved on to getting him to acquire precise control of his magic power. Kaito was currently focusing on a small magic ball floating in between his palms.
Watching him from a distance was Kuromueina... and Lillywood, who had come to resupply them with Fruits of the World Tree.
"However, even with the special training he did, he seemed to be doing better than I thought... Kaito-san's magic power has grown quite a lot."
[Unnn... To be honest, the speed of which his magic power increased was much faster than I expected. I expected that it would take him 10 years... At this rate, he might reach his required magic power in a little over a year.]
"How unusual. For you to misjudge, I mean..."
[Well, it's not like I'm perfect after all~~]
What Lillywood and Kuromueina were talking about was the magic power of Kaito, who was undergoing special training. Although he was still far from his goal, Kaito's magic power had already grown to the point where it could even be said to be the highest among the humans.
Kuromueina had thought it would take him more than half a year for Kaito to reach his current amount of magic power... But contrary to her expectations, Kaito's magic power rose rapidly.
[...Hmmm. I thought he didn't have any talent for magic... but he may actually have some talent for it.]
"I guess so. If he's growing so well, he might just be able to become a mage if he trains hard enough."
In fact, Kaito's unexpected growth in magic power was because Shallow Vernal secretly made it easier for Kaito's magic power to grow, but the two of them... No, including Kaito, the three of them had no way of knowing that.
After I completed my training to keep a small magic ball intact, I took a break. As I ate a Fruit of the World Tree to recover my magic power, Kuro... and Lillywood-san, who had arrived before I knew it, approached with a complicated expression on their faces.
[...Hey, Kaito-kun?]
[Unnn?]
[I taught you the Fireball magic before... didn't I?]
[Eh? Ahh, unnn.]
It's true that when I consulted Kuro about my desire to use Offensive Magic, she taught me the most basic of the basic Offensive Magics, Fireball. However, I didn't have any talent for Offensive Magic, so I couldn't activate it properly...
[Can you try shooting it my way?]
[Eh? The Fireball?]
[Unnn. Kaito-kun's magic power has considerably risen, so I thought that you should give it a try.]
[A- Alright.]
[Let's do it with full power!]
[Got it!]
It's true that my magic power had increased to the point where I could even see it. There's a good chance that I'll be able to use Offensive Magic now.
No, on the contrary... I feel like my magic talent could blossom here and I could become a powerful mage!
Well, it's not that I wanted to fight someone, but I was just thinking that it's a bit shameful as an elder to be weaker than Aoi-chan, Hina-chan and Seigi-kun.
Alright, let's do this... This is the day where being called Monster Tamer or the weakest by my kouhais end!
A magic circle appeared in my right hand, I put all the magic power I could into it. The amount of magic power I had had overwhelmingly increased, and even I'm afraid of the amount of magic power gathering in my right hand.
Drawing my right hand back for , I filled my heart with conviction and held out my right hand.
[...Fireball!!!]
In response to my words, a ball of blazing hell fire was released from the magic circle on my right hand... It was "around the size of a pingpong ball"...
The mini-fireball slowly flew towards Kuro, but as if she just swatted a mosquito away, the fireball disappeared with Kuro's slap.
[.....]
[...I'm glad. You're still the same old Kaito-kun.]
[Did you think I would feel comfortable with you comprehending something like that!?]
I don't really know why, but Kuro looked satisfied with my shabby fireball with that relieved smile of hers... This was incomprehensible.
"...That much magic power placed into it, a- and for the fireball to become like this... Ah, no, please excuse my rudeness."
[...….]
Even the kind Lillywood-san was unintentionally saying words like that... Hey, where did my magic talent go!?
No, I guess this is a big improvement compared to the me when I couldn't shoot a Fireball at all. But the effect was too weak for the amount of magic power I put into it. Where the heck did all the magic power I put in go?
"W- Well, it's also possible that he just isn't good with Fire-Attribute Magic..."
[I guess so. Kaito-kun, can you try using the ball-type magic for other attributes?]
[...Unnn.]
T- That's right... It might just be as Lillywood-san said, and Fire-Attribute Magic might not just be my thing. B- But if it's other attributes...
Thereupon, I decided to follow Kuro's words. After eating a Fruit of the World Tree, I unleashed other types of Elementary-level Magic.
[Ice Edge!]
[...It didn't reach me.]
"It melted along the way."
Water-Attribute Magic...
[Wind Cutter!]
[...It kind of makes me feel a bit cooler?]
"It was a gentle breeze."
Wind-Attribute Magic...
[Stone Blast!]
[...It's small.]
"That's what she said."
Earth-Attribute Magic...
[Lightning Bolt!]
[...Hmmm.]
"That was static electricity, right?"
Lightning-Attribute Magic...
[Holy Light!]
[...Did you glow for a moment?]
"Yes, for a moment."
Light-Attribute Magic...
[Darkness Shot!]
[Ohh, that came out a bit better.]
"Well, it's still too weak compared to the amount of magic power he put into it..."
Dark-Attribute Magic...
[Plesion!]
[Ohh, that's great! I could feel a little pressure!]
"...Indeed, this showed greater power than the amount of magic power he put into it."
And finally, ending it with Non-Attribute Magic... a spell that puts pressure on your target.
As I finished casting the eight kinds of magic, I asked Kuro a question to which I somehow know the answer.
[K- Kuro? What's your verdict?]
[...Unnn. Kaito-kun, you are fairly good at Dark-Attribute Magic... and you're quite talented at "Mind Interference Magic". Thought Disruption and Hallucination seem to be your specialty.]
...Fairly good in Dark-Attribute Magic, Mind Interference Magic being my specialty... No matter how I think about it, those are totally the traits of a villain. I guess you could say that I'm like those Mid-Boss in RPGs who for some reason, really likes spamming debuffs. ...This is kind of bringing tears to my eyes.
I guess I really can't become the protagonist with cheats huh. I mean, why the heck am I being humiliated like this?
[Hey, Kuro? Why am I doing something like this in the first place?]
[Ah~~ Errr, well, I noticed that Kaito-kun's magic power had grown more than I imagined, so I was wondering if Kaito-kun had a talent for magic.]
[...And, the result is?]
[I'm relieved to see that Kaito-kun is the same as always!]
[...…..]
Why can't I use Offensive Magic at all? My three kouhais can use cool Offensive Magic, so why is it that I can only deal mental damage to people!?
...W- Well, nevermind. It's not like I'm training so that I can use Offensive Magic. My only goal is to suppress Isis-san's magic power of death... S- So, it's not like I'm frustrated or anything like that.
However, that one incident brought unnecessary trouble from someone I never expected.
The next day, Megiddo-san came in, carrying a pile of barbells or dumbbells.
[Ohh, Kaito!!! I heard about it! About how your Offensive Magic was terrible!]
[M- Megiddo-san? What's with the sudden visit?]
[I know you're vexed about it, but don't worry about it! There's no need for you to learn Offensive Magic in the first place. You'll just have to punch them before they hit you with their magic! You can count on me!]
[...W- What are you saying?]
I had a bad feeling about what he was saying, so I timidly asked... and Megiddo-san spoke, with an odiously bright smile on his lips.
[What you need right now... is "muscles" like this!]
[...No, you're misunderstanding something here.]
[Leave it to me! Aren't we close buddies!? I'm going to make you "a martial artist" with a body that you won't be ashamed to show anywhere, Kaito!]
[No, no, I'm not asking for anything like that, okay!? Why are you happily swinging that barbell around... Or rather, i- isn't that too big... There's no way I can lift something like that! Wait, gyaaaaaahhhh!?]
Because of a misunderstanding of a musclehead, I was submerged in a sea of barbells.
Well, the misunderstanding was safely cleared up when Kuro appeared shortly after and punched Megiddo-san away... But needless to say, a new trauma had been etched in my mind.