Wish Upon a Sin

Arc 2 - Chapter 12

In, and out. In, and out.

Subaru breathed slowly, trying to keep his mind almost entirely clear. The only thing he allowed himself to focus on was the little light in his chest, the new sense that he had only recently acquired.

"Wow, you're doing really average! It's quite amazing!" A high pitched voice sundered the void, startling Subaru out of his meditation.

He blinked, then scowled at the grey cat, who floated unrepentant in front of him. "Oi, I almost had it! Why did you distract me?"

"'Almost'?" Puck tilted his cute little head, then shrugged and let out an exaggerated sigh. "That just goes to show how right I was to interrupt you. You didn't even realise that you had started to overextend your gate."

"Eh? But I didn't—" Subaru started to protest, focusing inside himself, feeling at his gate. It ached slightly, or at least, Subaru thought it did. It was difficult to tell, since it was such a new experience for him. It hadn't changed significantly since the strain of the shamak Puck had helped him cast the previous day.

It was his second day at the manor, and while Emilia was studying, it fell to Puck to help with his magic lessons. They had been going over the simplest exercise to strengthen his gate, 'magical breathing'.

By absorbing and releasing minute amounts of mana, one could build up strength in the gate, somewhat like pushups. It was apparently a technique that remained useful throughout the entirety of a mage's career, since quickly replenishing mana was vital during prolonged fights.

Not that it would be useful for Subaru. No amount of training would fix the fact that his gate simply didn't have the throughput to suck mana in quickly.

"You were doing very well for a while," Puck continued, "but then you started pushing out too much, and your gate was spluttering. You need to pay more attention, otherwise you won't have the strength for your lessons with Lia."

His eyes narrowed, his face taking on a surprisingly sinister look. "If you make Lia upset, I might have to make you take... remedial classes."

"Uwah!" Subaru shuddered, crossing his arms over himself. "You're seriously overprotective! You should relax more! In fact," he spread his arms wide, as to gather the grey cat's praise, "you should be giving me tips on how to win Emilia over!"

"Hm-hm, but I think that would be bad," Puck said, placing a paw on his chin. "Such nasty eyes wouldn't be able to help looking at my daughter with bad intentions."

"Argh! I feel like I can't really deny anything you're saying, but I will anyway! I'll just have to take you captive!" Subaru lunged, and tried to grab the spirit in a bear hug, but Puck managed to slip out between his arms.

"Now, now. I don't give out the opportunity to pet my fur to just anyone. You'll have to do better if you want to experience this feeling!"

A loud knock echoed through the room, and the two of them paused their hijinks to look over to the door.

A blue-haired maid stood in the doorway, carrying a tray in her hands, two steaming cups wafting steam in front of her face.

"Great Spirit, honoured guest," the maid said, curtsying while holding the tray steady. "I've brought you tea."

"Ah, thank you, ■■■," Subaru said, stepping over to take the tray from her.

Her expression hardened, but she made no moves to try and keep it.

"You know, you don't have to be so distant," Subaru said, bringing the tray over to the desk. "You can take it easier if you like."

"Ah, already flirting with other girls," Puck shook his head in disappointment, flying down to sniff at his tea. "I really can't let such a bug come near Lia. I'll have to cancel the evening lesson. I'll tell Emilia that you got swatted."