The first week at the magic academy had come to an end on Saturday.
Since it was a day off, I had planned to sleep in.
However, as usual, I woke up at 4 a.m. and thought about going back to sleep, but ended up fully awake by 6 a.m.
“Grandfather, or maybe it’s me…”
Sighing at myself, I got out of bed and opened the curtains.
Sunlight streamed in through the windows.
“Should I go running…”
Although I had running as a daily routine, I had never run in the morning.
“I’ll do it.”
I changed from my pajamas into workout gear, left my room, and descended the stairs.
In the living room, I noticed that someone was already there and peeked in.
My mother was watching TV.
“Oh, Tsukasa, what’s wrong? It’s rare for you to get up at this time.”
“My school schedule woke me up. I’ll go for a run.”
“What about your bedhead? Fix it, it looks sloppy.”
“It’ll straighten out during the run. Besides, I’ll take a shower when I get back.”
Two birds with one stone with the sweat worked out too.
“Alright… breakfast will be ready around then.”
“Got it. Thanks.”
I left the house and began running.
Being Saturday at 6 a.m., there were hardly any people around, and the cool air felt great.
I reached my usual turnaround point, the park, and sat on the bench.
“Ah, what a great day…”
The sky was perfectly clear.
There was no one in the park, making it extremely peaceful.
I stared absentmindedly at the sky, pondering what to do today, when I noticed someone else running nearby.
Recognizing a fellow runner, I looked closer and saw a woman in running gear approaching me. Even from a distance, her excellent figure stood out, and her long platinum blonde hair swayed in a ponytail.
“Ho…”
Before I knew it, I blurted out a sound, staring at her. Our eyes met, and she ran past me.
However, a few meters later, she abruptly stopped.
“Hmm?”
She slowly turned around and looked at me.
“Good morning.”
“Good morning…”
I greeted her, and she returned the greeting.
“What are you doing?”
“Running… Can’t you tell?”
“Sorry. Why are you here? This is Japan after all.”
The woman was Sharl, who I had been in the same curse magic class with yesterday.
“Uh, well, Tsukasa… or rather, isn’t it obvious that a Japanese person would be in Japan?”
Yeah, that’s true.
“Want to sit down?”
“Sure.”
Sharl nodded and came over, so I scooted over a bit.
“This is quite a coincidence, running into you here. Do you live around here?”
Sharl asked while taking a seat.
“Well, I guess if you call this area ‘around here.’ I was running too.”
“Really… Do you like running? I always run at this time, but I’ve never seen you before.”
You wake up early.
“I like it, I guess. But running at this time is a coincidence. There’s a three-hour time difference between Japan and Astral, so I woke up early today too.”
“I see. Still, it’s a good thing. Jet lag can be quite harsh, so it’s better to adapt your schedule accordingly. I wake up early on weekends too.”
“I…?”
“What? Does Sharl live in Japan?”
“Sort of”.
Sharl averted her gaze.
It’s probably better not to ask why.
“Never thought I’d run into you here in this world,” I said.
Well, I shouldn’t be talking…
“I didn’t think so either. I knew Tsukasa was Japanese, but this place is vast too.”
And there are a lot of people too.
“Why are you running, Sharl? Do you like it?”
“No, I don’t. Actually, I’m not great with exercise in general. I’m more of an indoor person.”
Not how it appears though…
“Is it for weight loss or something, then?”
“Kind of… But it’s more about maintenance. It’s tough being a girl.”
Come to think of it, Toko also does stretching.
And my siblings and I have been practicing martial arts since we were kids, so we’re active.
“Really…?”
“Sharl, why did you decide to become a wizard recently?”
Sharl asked while facing forward.
Her profile was genuinely beautiful.
“Yeah,” I said.
“Why didn’t you try becoming a wizard sooner when you have such immense magical potential? Were your family members against it?”
“No, actually, they encouraged it. But even though I have the potential, I’m not very good at using it.”
If I could, I would have aimed to be a wizard much earlier, probably.
“You mentioned that before… but how is it after one week of magic school? Can you use it yet?”
“Not at all. I tried using the spells from the textbook, but it didn’t work at all. I guess I’m just poor at projecting magic externally. Or maybe it’s just my constitution. Though, I can do enhancement magic at least.”
“Enhancement magic? Are you the combat type wizard?”
“I knocked down an Asian black bear with a single strike during Golden Week, on my grandfather’s mountain,” I proudly mentioned.
“Black bear… wait, you mean a real bear?”
Sharl looked at me in shock.
“Yup, an Asian black bear, though I could probably take down a brown bear too.”
I guess I could. Definitely.
“That’s impressive… well, if you have that much power, then it’s feasible. But me? No way, I’m no good at any physical activity.”
She said she’s not into physical activity before.
“Isn’t Sharl the combat type?”
“Come on, would an alchemy-loving girl be the combat type? Secretly, I don’t have much magic talent.”
No talent?
“Is that so?”
“My magical power isn’t particularly high either, and my skills are average. And worst of all, my physical coordination is nearly nonexistent. Everyone thinks I’m capable since I’m the student council president of the famous Iver family, but I’m actually pretty bad.”
She seems elite, but…
“Yeah, you’re right. You definitely have less magical power than me. Probably not even half as much”.
“Don’t be so blunt!”
Sharl laughed and gave me a tap on the shoulder.
Ah, damn.
She’s super cute.
Thank you very much for reading.
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