And so, I started by introducing Olivia-san to Luke-niisan.
"Let me introduce you, Luke-niisan. This is my master, Olivia-san. She's a Platinum Rank adventurer and a mage."
"A Platinum Rank adventurer is your master, Erik? Wait, that name... Huh?!"
Upon realizing the true identity of the woman waiting at the training ground, Luke-niisan looked completely flabbergasted.
"Does this count as a little payback?"
"...Quite an outrageous one, if you ask me."
With a wry remark, Luke-niisan took the initiative to tell Olivia-san that he was a user of [Space Magic].
Hearing this, Olivia-san was equally stunned as she looked at him.
"To think someone as rare as a [Space Magic] user is your brother, Erik-kun... But why did you bring him all the way to the training ground?"
"I figured I wouldn't often get the chance to meet someone with such a rare skill, so I wanted to see how it's actually used in practice."
Hearing my explanation, Olivia-san caught on to the fact that I was keeping [Fixed EXP] under wraps.
"I see. It certainly isn't every day you meet a [Space Magic] user. Would you mind if I watched alongside him?"
"Sure. You're Erik's master, and there's no harm in you watching, so by all means."
"Oh, really? Wonderful."
With that, Olivia-san was able to observe the demonstration with me.
Luke-niisan then demonstrated his method of training [Space Magic] right before our eyes.
"When practicing without actually activating the [Space Magic] skill, I find it's best to cloak yourself in mana like this. In my experience, this gets you the closest to the real thing."
"...I see. A method to perceive the surrounding space through mana, is it?"
"Well, pretty much, but..."
Luke-niisan trailed off, staring intently at me.
As he continued walking me through the ins and outs of [Space Magic], Ryan-san showed up at the training ground.
"Ah, there you are."
Stepping inside, Ryan-san glanced over at Luke-niisan.
"Luke, was it? A request just came in from a noble who knows you're in town."
"How does a noble know I'm here...? Ah, it must be them. They did mention they'd be visiting the royal capital around this time."
Luke-niisan seemed to know exactly who had submitted the job.
"Well then, Erik. Sorry about this, but I've got to get going."
"Okay. Are you leaving the royal capital once the request is done?"
"Yeah, that's the plan. If you ever want to see me, just leave word with the Adventurer's Guild. As soon as the message reaches me, I'll come find you."
"...I wonder if that day will ever come."
At my muttered response, Luke-niisan's face fell slightly.
"...Take care of yourself out there."
"Oh! Yeah! See you around, Erik!"
Hearing my parting words, Luke-niisan broke into a bright, happy smile before leaving the training ground with Ryan-san.
"Showing concern for someone you resented—something big must have happened between you two."
"Things certainly happened, though it's true I still haven't fully sorted through my feelings. Even so, hearing his story made me realize that Luke-niisan is just an awkward person."
Clumsy in the way he showed love.
That was the impression I had come away with.
He had resolved to protect me when he was only six years old, but seeing how the rest of the household treated me, he made sure I would hate him as well.
He feared that if he didn't, I might never bring myself to leave because of him.
"Luke-niisan simply doesn't know how to rely on others."
"Is that so? Though couldn't the exact same thing be said about you, Erik-kun? You hold back from accepting kindness from others until the bitter end, don't you?"
"Ugh... W-Well, I guess we might take after each other in that regard."
I mumbled a halfhearted excuse in response to Olivia-san's teasing.
I still didn't entirely understand my own feelings toward Luke-niisan, but sorting through them was going to take time.
Setting those thoughts aside, I turned my focus toward acquiring [Space Magic].
"Olivia-san, these are the notes I took on [Space Magic] from Luke-niisan earlier. What do you think?"
"...Huh. I knew the range and scale scaled with level, but I had no idea it could be applied as a practical technique right from Level 1. That's news to me."
Taking his advice, I tried cloaking myself in mana and manipulating the space around me, just as Luke-niisan had demonstrated.
"...Wait, I can actually do this?"
"Could it be because of your high [Mana Control]? If I recall, your skill is already at Level 5, right? When it comes to manipulating mana, you're operating at quite an advanced level."
With Olivia-san's encouragement, I pressed on with the training exactly as Luke-niisan had instructed.
◇
You have trained in [Space Magic].
Earned 1 EXP.
1/100 until skill acquisition.
◇
After keeping at it for a few minutes, I checked my status screen and confirmed that I had indeed gained EXP toward [Space Magic].