We were, unusually, in class that day.

'So today's topic will be this one!

Then the teacher began to write on the chalkboard in large letters.

-- "On the relationship between magic and emotions."

I see........you mean that one.

I looked into the faces of the other students.
Apparently, the majority of the students don't seem to understand.
Sufilia can't understand what she's thinking from her expression.
Nem is out of the question in the first place.
As for Toa...................apparently he understands.

Aside from that, magic and emotions or.......
I had asked the old black dragon once.
The point is that emotional upheaval affects magic....

Listen up, people!　Magic and emotion. That is, 'thoughts'!　This is a very close relationship!

The teacher said this in a voice loud enough to reach the back of the room.
Then one of the students raised his hand.

'Yes, Maria!'

Are the thoughts about, you know, affection?

Then Maria asked shyly.

'Exactly!　Love is one of my thoughts!

Then Nem stood up suddenly and climbed up onto the desk with his feet of clay.

'Hey Nem, what are you--'

I tried to tell him to get off in a small voice but...

"If you love your master!　Nem is second to none!

What are you going to say?

Hey, hey, sit down...

I urged him again to get off the desk.
But--

'What?　I can't help but hear that. I'm not losing my love for Nitosama, either.

Now it's Sufilia.


''Number 4 is silent, but that's okay!

Then Nem looks down at Sufilia from the top of the desk and proudly points at her.

''Four ba........''

Sufilia choked on her words.

'Nem is my first wife!　Sierra is number two!　Toa is number three!　And Sufilia is the fourth!

I pulled on Nem's body, holding back my embarrassment.
Thankfully, the students around me were laughing at me.

'Nito is mine ... Masamune is mine ... Nito is mine ... Masamune is ...' ...

Then I heard something that sounded like scripture coming from my right side.

Hmm? .....

I look and see Toa mumbling something while staring at her thigh area.

''T........Toa?''

When I called his name, Toa's left eye caught me in a guillotine for a moment.

'Hiiiii!'

I couldn't help but shake my head.

'I don't want to be called number four by you, who didn't even receive your last name from Nito-sama!

'Number four is number four!　Nem is the best!

The argument between the two men was still going on.
Nem's rattling of his chair in excitement wakes Patrick, who has been dozing in the back seat.

The teacher chuckles at the podium and gives him a warning.
I was too sorry, I didn't know what to look like.

'Hey ... shut up?'

Patrick said to Nem and Sufilia as he rubbed his eyes.
And from the looks of it, you understood the situation?
As soon as he looked at me, he grinned deliberately and showed his teeth and went straight to sleep again.

'I'm the best!

That's when I heard a loud voice from next to me, along with the sound of tapping on my desk.
I didn't need to turn around.
--Toa.

'What's next?'

I turned to Toa in a powerless voice.
They're just one messy bastard after another.

"I'm the best at what I do.

A chill ran down my spine.

There was Toa, her pupils flaring and her expression twisted with a jerk.

'I'm the best?!'

What's up, Tor?　I don't remember you making that face. .........
Toa says that with a look of crisis, as if to appeal to me.
I naturally contorted my face from fear.

'Nem is the best!

'It doesn't matter the order!　I'm the first wife!

I told you I'm the best!

What is this?
How did that happen?

Hey, hey!　Guys, sit down for now.

Shut up!

You shut up, too!

Then two angry shouts went off.
Then the classroom went silent.

I urged him to sit down.
Then Patrick, whose sleep was interrupted, snapped at me to cover my voice.
At this point, the three of us were aghast at Patrick, who is not usually angry.
Then, the teacher shouted more angrily, covering his voice with more words.
The still air became even quieter and froze.

'All five of you!　Stand in the hallway!

I don't know why I was made to stand outside.

I had to stand outside with my parents.
So I was the guardian.
And at times like this, there's usually no excuse.

It's inexcusable - the uncomfortable eyes of the people around me, the anger of the teacher, and the fact that I'm being pissed off, which isn't bad. I can't get rid of at least three of these stresses at the same time.

We left the big classroom in silence.



We were forced to stand outside the classroom.
A corridor facing the open air.
There was only a roof on top, the rest was vaulted.

　"Why do I have to be on my feet?　You guys are the ones with the noise, aren't you?

I say that to myself, Patrick.
Even if you were, you were just as loud as you were for a change, right?
But I don't say anything.

'Nem is ... remorseful.

Nem grabbed my clothes sleeve adorably while scrabbling next to me.

'You were a little ... too excited ...'

Toa returned to his composure.
What was that?
But I have a feeling that Toa was like this the first time we met, too.
I don't know why he was hitting me so hard at that time, too?

'I don't care about the lessons. More importantly, I'm the best, you know?　That's right!　In any case, let's already take Nito-sama's surname and get the spirit while we're at it!

Sufilia said something even more ludicrous in addition to what she had just said.
I didn't think this guy was this much of a perverted lascivious b*tc*.
While Sufilia's lascivious speech continued for a while, I covered Nem's ears.

Then Nem jerked in surprise and looked up to meet his eyes.
I smiled at him, and he smiled reassuringly.

For a moment, I saw Toa's face as she looked at it from the side.
I don't know why, but after that, I think he was in a bad mood.
His expression was puffy.

''Well but there are days like this, aren't there?

Patrick yawns and looks up at the blue sky.

Then Sarah and Yui appear.

'Hmm?　Where have you two been?

When I asked him about it, he said he had been eating breakfast in the school cafeteria.
Surprisingly, it seems that spirits also eat mundane food.
No, did I mention that they don't have to eat it?
At any rate, that's what it seems to be like to be a genie.

''Well, I'm going to the training grounds then.

Then, with another big yawn, Patrick and the two spirits disappear somewhere else.

Hey....

Then suddenly, Toa calls out to him.

'Hmm?'

I ask with a question mark on my face.

'I knew you were ... mad at me?'

What?　Are you mad at me? ...Me?

Why did he think I was mad at him?
It seemed to be the Toa who was rather angry, though.

'No, I'm not angry at all, but?'

'Shit, yeah...'

Toa chokes on his words, as if in a panic.

Come to think of it, why was Toa going crazy earlier?
I still do.
Why would he be angry at me for touching Nem's ear?
He is a curious fellow.

Magic and emotion go hand in hand or....

Do I understand the Toa's ... feelings?
How could I be so unsure of this guy....

What is Toa thinking right now?
I want to know, but I can't ask...

Tor?

Then the Toa looked at me.
At that moment, her pale pink hair was blowing in the wind, and I felt as if I could see the "Toa of that time" there for a moment.
I don't know why I told Toa his real name... that time.

What's the matter with you? .....

I often stared into Toa's eyes.
Then Toa's cheeks seemed to get redder and redder.

'No ... it's nothing.

I looked away.
Then, for a moment, I felt as if Sufilia was staring at me.
It was only for a moment.
But when she realized that her eyes met mine, she was back to her usual "smile".
Was it my imagination?


Lately, I've been able to feel more of people's emotions.
Mostly hatred and murderous intent.
Negative emotions, but...
What does that mean?
I don't know, but something's starting to change in me again.

'You're kind of hungry, aren't you? .....

So do you want to go to the cafeteria?

Then Toa asks.
So now we're standing in the hallway as punishment....

Yeah. Shall we go?　I don't have time to be here, do I?

We stepped lazily toward the diner without a word.

As I walked behind Toa, I looked at her pale pink hair, which was flowing slightly in the wind.
It's always a beautiful hair.

Suddenly, I realize something strange.
I'm a student now, right? .........
A beautiful girl like this is right in front of me, and I'm not being bullied by anyone.
It's no longer the normal life I had hoped for, and I'm living a rosy student life.

But every now and then, anxiety surges through you.
And then depression kicks in.
But I don't doubt it, I accept it.
It's just that I'm not happy, and I try to put the fear out of my head.

I wish this day would last forever...

A gentle breeze abruptly stopped me in my tracks.
The trees and flowers swayed and Toa's hair fluttered again.

'What's wrong?'

Then Toa looks back at him.

'No it's nothing.'

Ready?

Then Toa reaches out his hand.

'....Oh.

In return, Toa smiles gently at him and starts walking again.

How long will this time last?
No I can't be a student forever.
Time keeps moving forward, just as Nem was growing up.
And someday the Toa will too.

Lately, the voice in my head that says I've been [cured] and the voice that says I've [developed] the [other world syndrome] over and over again.
And in the end, it settles down to [complete cure].

What on earth does that mean?

The reverberations reverberate in my head and get further and further away from me.
It's like a ringing in my ears.

Emotions are.....

What is it?

I was looking up at a different sky.

--The gray sky.