Li had shown her natural knack for pulling lucky outcomes but overall the first dungeon training session ended without incident.

Today was a day off from the Academy.

Since morning, Li had been leaning against Obsidian while holding Chrysoberyl in her arms.

She was thoroughly enjoying the fluffy cuddles.

“Big sister.”

Her younger brother entered the salon.

“What is it, Mertezio?”

The boy had blond hair inherited from their father and deep lapis-blue eyes and he was fidgeting shyly.

If anything, his facial features also resembled their father.

In other words, he was handsome.

Having had no siblings in her previous life, Li had doted on her little brother since he was a baby.

Because of that, their relationship as sister and brother was not bad.

If anything, it could be said he had grown up with a bit of a siscon tendency, meaning he was overly attached to his older sister.

Recently though, their little sister had been clinging to her big sister a lot, so it had been hard for him to bring things up to Li.

He might also have been feeling embarrassed at his age.

But today, their mother and little sister were out.

For him, it was the perfect chance.

“Big sister, today’s a day off, right? I want you to teach me magic.”

He spoke in a slightly uncertain voice without meeting Li’s eyes.

He was so adorable that Li could not help smiling.

“Magic? Then shall we go to the training grounds?”

Still holding the completely limp Chrysoberyl, Li stood up.

Her slightly bluish silver hair swayed softly and glittered in the sunlight.

Seeing his sister like that only made her brother fidget even more.

The Karasebed Ducal House’s townhouse also had training grounds attached.

Their escort knights needed a place to train.

Of course, it was not only the knights who used it and the ducal family and even the maids used it too.

Li took her brother’s hand and walked him to the training grounds.

She had been worried that she had not been able to do much skinship, (casual physical affection like holding hands or hugging).

Recently, her brother’s studies had become more serious, so it was not uncommon for schedules to not line up.

As a result, she had inevitably ended up spending more time with her little sister instead.

“May I borrow this for a moment.”

When they reached the training grounds, she called out to a nearby knight.

She stopped the knight who was about to snap into a formal salute and spoke to her brother instead.

“Mertezio, can you show me how much magic you’ve learned so far?”

“Yes!” her brother replied energetically and began chanting toward the target.

A moment later, a small fireball flew toward the target and flames burst up.

Her brother was ten years old.

For that age, he was doing quite well.

Li had no intention of nitpicking.

She understood perfectly well that she herself was abnormal.

“You’ve improved a lot.”

Li patted her brother’s head.

His blond hair was still soft and silky and it felt nice under her hand.

“Hold both hands out in front of you.”

Looking a little confused, her brother timidly held his hands out.

Li took those small hands and laced her fingers through his.

“I’m going to circulate your mana.”

Manipulating mana was Li’s specialty.

She had honed that ability thoroughly since childhood.

What she realized was that the core of magic was mana circulation.

Mana circulation was the most basic of basics.

If you neglected it, you would not improve.

Of course, even her brother was good enough to rank within the top few percent among his age group.

But from what Li could see, he still had plenty of room to grow.

So using her own mana as a medium, she interfered with the mana inside his body.

She looked into her brother’s eyes as he let out a small “ngh.”

“Bear with it just a little.”

Li circulated his mana without allowing any objections.

A thick, high-speed bundle of mana surged through his body.

It was only natural that it would feel unpleasant.

Even so, her brother clenched his teeth and endured it.

He might be small but he was still a boy.

He did not want to show weakness.

With each circuit, then a second, the strain on his body increased.

Li still did not hold back.

She wanted him to learn this sensation.

If he did, he could rise one more step, then another.

“You did very well.”

The moment she stopped circulating his mana, her brother collapsed from the knees.

Li caught his body securely.

“Big sister, that just now…”

“You understood, didn’t you? Don’t forget that feeling and then Mertezio will become even better at magic.”

Burying himself against his sister’s body, her brother answered with a small, “Yeah.”