"Okay, kids, I made you a plate of vegetables today."
I stared at the burnt broccoli in the corner of the plate with a disgusted face.
'This woman still hasn't accepted her lack of talent in this area?'
I find it strange that even after dismissing Nanny, she still doesn't hire a chef. Does she think her cooking is actually good?
Aldous, trying to hide his disgust towards Mom's food, said with a forced smile,
"Mom, you promised me we were getting takeout today..."
"Oh, haha! Well, about that... the restaurant I always order from was closed."
'Liar!' I'm sure even Aldous said that in his head. I could tell from his face. But apart from that.
"Arina, if you want more, just say so."
"No, thanks..."
'How did she even agree to come here?'
Considering she rejected my request, I didn't expect to see her at the table. What changed her mind?
'Wait a second, could it be...'
Now that I think about it, I see that Arina was captivated by Mom's single sentence and was completely stunned. I discreetly glanced at her. Of course, the fact that she decided to get out of that room is enough for me. But the fact that she didn't pay attention to me at all made me a little sad.
'I'm also a side character in Arina's eyes.'
"Angela, is something wrong?" Mom asked with concern.
"No, nothing is wrong..."
"Then why aren't you eating anything?"
Aldous, separating the fine parts of the potatoes from the burnt ones with a fork and spoon, continued Mom's question,
"She's not appreciative of food since she's been eating at school. Tch tch tch!"
"Is the food they cook at school better than mine?"
"Of course!"
"What?"
"Of course... not!"
Arina started to giggle. Aldous and Mom looked at each other first, and then started laughing along with Arina. I stared at Arina's laughter.
'How radiant. Like a star's smile.'
I don't know what this world is or what its story is. But whatever it is, in my opinion, Arina is the main character. When their laughter subsided, my mother took my plate away from me and started separating the burnt parts from the fine ones.
"Before I met your father, I had never done any housework. When I got married, the house with all its servants didn't need my care. But now I'm enjoying every moment of taking care of the memories your father left behind..."
She gave a sad smile and continued,
"I wish your dad was alive and I could cook for him for once."
"Did you want to poison him?"
"Aldous!!!"
Their laughter erupted again. Arina's laughter was the loudest in the room.
'What cheesy things they laugh about...'
I gave a faint smile and lowered my head. After seeing Arina's laughter, I realized that it didn't matter to me if she listened to my words or not. As long as she's happy, that's enough for me.
'You are my shining star, Arina. I won't let anyone take your shine away...'
After that day, Arina locked herself in her room again. But she was responding to Mom's speaches; every now and then she would come out of her room and talk to us. Overall, although it was very little, I could feel improvement in her behavior. She was almost out of her boredom and depression, and we rarely saw her break things in her room or insult herself and everything else.
'Arina's breakdown cost her dearly. But I know she can handle it...'
"Ms. Brown, please pay attention to the lesson."
The chubby woman in front of us was our magic teacher. She had black Egyptian hair and tanned skin. Her dull brown eyes were focused on Diana. She looked like a fat, adventurous Dora. Diana twitched and turned her face away from the person behind her towards the board.
"This basic stuff is known by everyone." She said under her breath with annoyance.
I looked around. It seemed like her field was quite basic and simple, and everyone was busy with other things. Even Nuka, who was always busy taking notes, was drawing in the corner of his notebook.
'Of course, most of what she was saying was completely new to me. I don't know if it's because I wasn't following the system here and had been focusing more on my physical training. Or maybe my low IQ helped my incomprehension.'
"Well, today I'm going to teach you about the types of magic, how to use magic, and understanding the type of mana within you..."
'Well, I better take notes. Because I'm going to avoid my previous mistakes in this world and get an education. I need to find a high-paying job so I can take care of Arina and protect her.'
"...As you know, we are made up of a fusion between good and evil. So each of us has a special ability from one of them. In other words, we are the result of their magic, so in our blood, in addition to white and red blood cells, platelets, and everything else, there is a large amount of magical energy called mana. This mana circulates in all of our bodies, and we are unaware of it until we are 12 years old, which is your age."
She began to point at the writing on the board with the wand in her hand and continued,
"Well, now what do we call good and evil? The good ones include gods, angels, and spirits of the earth's elements. As their names suggest, the good ones are creatures that embody good qualities. They are the defenders of the world and stand against evil. Evil is evil creatures like demons, devils, jinn, and... evil is destructive, savage, and always acts against good. We have a part of our being that encompasses good. Conscience, empathy and compassion, selflessness and sacrifice. And at the same time, the other part of us is taken over by evil. Envy and greed, fear and hatred, helplessness and despair..."
She turned her face from the board towards us.
"Now I want to talk about sponsors. As you know, good and evil are still fighting after the last war. But now their type of battle is no longer physical. They compete with each other by gathering tribes , which are us and other creatures of the world..."
'Hmm, so each good and evil has a fandom page...'
"Our destiny is written by the Supreme Creator before we are born, and our soul is created. After that, one of good and evil reacts to our soul and destiny and, under their influence, they take us under their protection. The more worthy you are in their eyes, the more they are encouraged to support you, and vice versa.
The way to use magic, which you all surely know, and I am obligated to tell you because one of you might be unaware of it. Since this year you are going to see which good or evil your mana belongs to, you need to know a few things..."
My gaze fell on those around me. Almost everyone except me had their heads on the table and were taking a nap. I rolled my eyes furiously.
'It seems like I'm the only one who needs to know this...'
"After you find out who your protector is, you become an intermediary for their powers. You need two things to use their power.