A human with demons or demon blood would lose control of their magic.
　Perse said so.

　Indeed, there is such a lore.
　They have a nature close to the demon race in nature, and if they use strong magic, it will resonate with their natural nature and cause them to lose control of their power.

　It's a plausible story, but I never believed in such rumors.

It's a superstition that demons and demon-human hybrids can cause magic to run amok.

''But the Imperial Church officially teaches that, and the Imperial School of Magic does not accept demon admissions.

　Perse countered without changing his face.
　I see.
　The authoritative institutions of the Empire do not like to teach magic to demons and half-breeds.

　Perhaps the Empire is afraid of them.
　That their slaves, the demons and the half-breeds of the poorest classes, will use magic to rebel against them.
　Many of the demons and their half-breeds have a high aptitude for magic, so if they learn magic, they will gain considerable power.

　That's why the Empire has deprived them of the opportunity to use magic.
　The imperial frontier, where I come from, is a region with little animosity towards demons, so this kind of superstition isn't believed in much either.
　But in the imperial capital, it's different.

　I looked back at the Imperial Princess Filia.
　Filia stares back at me anxiously.

　I accidentally taught Filia magic once, four years ago, by accident.
　Why didn't anyone try to teach Filia magic after that?

　It's because Filia is the daughter of the devil.
　Everyone believed the lore and avoided teaching Filia, the daughter of the devil, magic.

　I smiled at Perse.

'There is no rational basis for this. I've never once seen a demon or half-breed let their magic run amok. And there have been no well-documented studies to back it up. It's not even customary in our neighboring Alemanian Farren Republic to avoid teaching magic to demons and demonic half-breeds.

Oh, you're very good, Mr. Solon. You're very knowledgeable.

You know that kind of perse, don't you?

　Perse is a well-informed merchant, and also a demon himself.
　He must know that the lore that demons make magic run amok is a superstition.

　I wondered why Perse would bring up such an old superstition and object to me teaching magic to Filia.

　In the first place, Professor Lucy from the Imperial School of Magic is in favor of teaching magic to Filia, and there couldn't have been a problem.

　Perse nodded.

'I suppose so. I think it's a superstition, too. But the crux of the matter isn't whether demons and half-breeds can actually make magic run amok.

What do you mean?

'A lot of people in the Empire believe in superstition. What do you think they would look at if a 'dirty blood' half-breed became a sorcerer?

　I see Perse's point.

　Originally, demons and those who are a mixture of demon and human, called 'unclean blood', have been the target of discrimination and scorn.
　If you add to that the prejudice that they might let magic run amok, then they will become an object of increasingly intense persecution.

''Mr. Solon, you're going to put this child through such a thorny path.

　Perse said in a beautiful voice, tinged with melancholy.
　It is true that Perse is right.

　Perse turned to Filia and said admonishingly.

'You said your name was Leah. I do not know if this is your real name. However, I do know that you and I are the same kind, despite the difference between a pure-blood demon and a half-blood. Have you ever seen a demon, Leah?

　Filia gave a small nod and murmured, "That was scary.
　Not long ago, Filia saw her first demon tribe in the basement of my house.

　The demon I defeated was a six-legged deformity.
　The huge spider-like demon tribe had an ugly, translucent appearance with a cloudy black center and was preying on people to kill them.

　Perse says.

'You and I are of the same ilk as those monsters, and we have the same blood in our veins. Frankly, don't you think we deserve to be discriminated against?

It's not... I don't know.

　Filia looked depressed and shook her head.

　I'm a normal person myself.
　That's why I don't understand all of their problems.
　But I do think it's a horrible thing that I have the same blood as a deformed demon race.

Therefore, I don't think you should choose to walk down such a thorny path of persecution any longer. There is more than one way. Becoming a sorcerer is not the only way to live.

　When Perse finished, silence reigned over the place.
　Indeed, Perse has a point.
　After being told by Filia and Lucy, I was going to give Filia an education to become a sorcerer.
　But I don't know if that's the best path for Filia.

　After a while, Filia looked up and said in a beautifully clear voice.

It is my own wish for Solon to teach me magic," she said. It is my own wish that Solon would teach me his magic, so I will not regret what I did to myself because of it.

It's not always the happy path that leads to that wish. Regrets always come later.

You can't go anywhere if you're afraid. I don't want to be a helpless girl who trembles, I want to be a swordsman like Solon, who can create his own path by himself. I want to be a magician like Solon, a swordsman who can create his own path by himself. And...

And?

As difficult as my path may be, I have Solon as my teacher to guide me. It will be all right.

　Filia said once and for all, and looked me up and down.
　I nodded.
　Filia was right.

　You don't have to give up your own path because of superstition.
　If she's unreasonable, I'll be there to protect her.
　That's my job.

　Perse looked at me and Filia in turn, and then sighed.

''You seem determined.''

'As such, please take care of the selection of the wand now. I want you to adjust the details for her as you see her aptitude for it.

　And I told Perse to prepare a first-class staff without worrying about the price.
　This is because the use of high quality tools can enhance Filia's qualities as a magician more quickly.
　However, Filia, who was listening beside him, looked surprised.

''Solon.......I can't buy a wand that expensive.

　Since Princess Filia has left the Imperial Palace, the Imperial budget for Filia has been cut down considerably.
　I've managed to secure just enough money to pay for Filia's own living expenses, but there's hardly any money to spare to buy anything expensive.

　I smiled.

This is a gift from me, my master. It's a bit of an early birthday present. I'll buy it for you, so don't worry about it.

'That's bad for Solon. I can barely even pay Solon's salary...

That's not a problem. Master, you see, is most happy when his students grow up.

　Then I stroked Filia's head gently.
　Filia's face turned red, and she gave a small nod and did as she was told.