"Eat up. You woke up late, so you must be hungry." She handed the small bowl of porridge to Sean...
It was still warm, and clearly had just been reheated not long ago.
"Did you make this this morning?" Sean asked, taking a sip himself.
A faint salty taste, with plenty of vegetables and egg flavor...
At the Sky-Covering Wings headquarters, it was all girls, and they were very particular about meals, rarely having anything greasy. During dinner yesterday, Sean had hardly seen any meat.
It was tough, like training.
Even this bowl of morning porridge had no minced meat!
"Yeah, I just used some leftover ingredients in the kitchen. Does it suit your taste?" Her face wore an expression of [Expectation!].
"Pretty good." To be fair, though Sean felt his stomach had gone bland these past two days and needed some grease, the porridge still tasted nice.
"That's great!"
Ailie smiled, and above her head appeared [Excited!].
It left Sean a bit bewildered...
They'd only known each other for a day, right? Even if he was handsome and charismatic, wasn't this too fast? Only a day and she was already making him breakfast?
Was he really that popular?
Sean had some self-awareness. Though he was an imperial noble, growing up in a mountain village made him different from the city nobles—at least in looks and attire, he wasn't as dashing as those in the city.
Otherwise, most passersby wouldn't just be [Neutral] toward him. If he were a bit more handsome, a few words might turn them [Friendly]. He couldn't deny that.
Though it was all about looks, a handsome face was indeed pleasing to the eye.
But for now, her favorability toward him was still [Friendly], like most of the girls at headquarters. Maybe Ailie was just the nurturing type, which explained it.
"Sean, where do you want to go later?" Ailie suddenly asked again.
He couldn't see any ulterior motives in her at the moment, since her displayed state was perfectly normal. He could only perceive people's current emotional shifts, and so far, she meant no harm.
"Later, I'd like to wander around headquarters and see what you all do daily," Sean said after thinking.
"Sure, sure... How about I come with you? I finished all my coursework for today yesterday anyway." She smiled, another proactive invitation.
Hmm~
Could it be that he was really the one she'd taken a liking to at first sight?
Was it really that coincidental?
But this level of favorability made Sean feel that linking the two together was a stretch.
…………………………
After a simple meal, Sean followed Ailie's lead to learn more about the Sky-Covering Wings headquarters.
He heard that Freya had gotten up very early today, because whenever she returned, there was a lot to handle—many things left behind from her previous outings needed her review.
From Ailie, Sean learned that the daily coursework for Sky-Covering Wings members included theoretical and practical classes. Theory covered not only magic knowledge but also common sense about many places, like geography, culture, and doctrines.
Karyana's map-drawing skills had come from such classes. Practical classes, as the name implied, were targeted magic exercises.
Once they achieved certain results, members would go out on various missions...
Some tasks came from the mercenary guild, while more capable members were dispatched to places like the outpost at Cliff Peak City. There were also those currently investigating the southeast.
In short, after looking around, Sean felt the Sky-Covering Wings organization was like a big guild from the novels he'd read, one with official connections. Freya was the leader straddling two different social tiers—no wonder she'd worn that helpless expression yesterday.
Sean himself was a local lord, understanding that dragging along a group of people who trusted you sometimes meant making decisions against your will.
Brotherhood and guild interests...
You always had to weigh them.
And that was exactly why Sean decided to stay with Sky-Covering Wings for a while. If he could use this time to hone his magic proficiency, he could walk out of here later and call himself a wizard.
"Ailie, can you take me to where you practice magic?"
"Huh? Why do you want to see that?" Ailie turned her head, looking at him with [Curiosity!].
"Just want to take a look," he replied with a smile.
He wanted to see how wizards in this world practiced magic.
From Lucille's description, he knew wizard organizations trained new wizards themselves. Back then, he'd used candles as practice targets—he wondered how other wizards did it.
"This way, then." Ailie nodded and led the way behind the cathedral building.
Behind it was a garden, and beyond that, an area as wide as a football field.
Sky-Covering Wings headquarters had just over three hundred people. Even counting some servants and maids cleaning the yard, it was at most four hundred. This space was more than enough.
Right now, only about thirty people were practicing, with a mentor at Orderer Level 7 guiding them.
When they saw Sean and Ailie appear, some of the girls practicing magic convergence looked over...
"Don't get distracted! Continue!" the mentor said sternly.
Most of the thirty or so were Level 2 to Level 3, and the magic they were shaping showed as [Compressed Air~]
What kind of magic was that?!
A gas bomb?
"What's that?" Sean suddenly pointed at wooden posts standing like signposts at the edge of the field, topped with metal pieces resembling iron blocks.
"Those are for practicing magic precision. We usually run and try to hit the targets."
No wonder Sean noticed dents on those iron blocks.
"Can anyone practice?" he asked again.
"Of course... Sean, are you thinking of—" Ailie looked at him with [Astonishment!].
In her view, nobles rarely learned magic, and here he was saying he wanted to practice.
But just then, Sean unbuckled the belt at his waist and pulled out two exquisite pistols.
These were the handguns Claude had specially crafted for him before he left Koga City...
He raised both guns, assuming an aiming stance.
This drew the attention of the dozens of girls still practicing.
Meanwhile, atop a nearby pavilion...
"Chief, take a look at this." Sohana handed over a newly received document, but the other raised a hand to stop her.
"Wait a moment, Sohana."
Freya was looking toward the training ground.
"Isn't that Sean? What's he doing?" To Sohana, who had never seen Sean use magic, it just looked like he was pulling out guns.
"Practicing. That's his way of magical combat."