Hajime stood in the center of the training grounds, eyes wide with anticipation, fists clenched at his sides.
I really get to learn magic! How does it even work? Is it chants? Is it willpower? Can I shoot fireballs today?
His thoughts bouncing around.
"Hajime," Rin called gently, her tone both kind and firm, "are you ready to begin?"
Without hesitation, Hajime snapped to attention.
"Of course!" he blurted—his voice cracking slightly mid-sentence.
He cleared his throat, face turning a bit red, but his eyes still sparkled with eagerness.
"Alright then do you how magic works?"
"No"
"Well, you use magic with mana, the more mana you have the more variety of spells you can cast, so first we're going to see how much mana you have."
With a sharp snap of her fingers, Rin signaled without a word.
Coming out of nowhere, Bradly appeared, walking across the training yard with a thick book cradled in his arms. Its cover was pitch black—matte and featureless, with no title, no markings, not even a clasp.
Bradly walked with silent steps, stopping just short of Rin. Without a word, he extended the book. Rin took it carefully, nodding once. With practiced ease, she opened it, splitting the pages perfectly down the center. Then, holding it out toward Hajime, she spoke.
"Place your hand on the book."
Hajime blinked. What is that book? Is it going to measure how much mana I have?
He pushed the thought aside.
"Okay," he said.
Raising his hand, he gently pressed his palm against the center of the open book.
At first, nothing happened.
Then, slowly, a faint light began to pulse beneath his hand. It grew brighter—then brighter still—until it flared with such intensity that Hajime had to squint and turn his head. The light surrounded him, engulfing his entire body in its glow.
Concern creeping into his chest, Hajime began to panic.
"Mother, should this really be glowing?" he asked, trying to peer through the blinding radiance.
Rin's voice remained steady and unwavering, even as the book continued to shine in her hands.
"Yes," she said calmly. "It will go away soon. Just hang in there."
After a few more seconds, the blinding light slowly began to fade. The training grounds came back into view, along with the calm figure of Rin. In her hands, the pitch-black book remained open, glowing letters now illuminated on the page where Hajime's hand had once rested.
Hajime took a deep breath and stared at Rin, who was already examining the book in her hands. One hand rested on her chin, her eyes locked on a single page. Slowly, her expression began to pale as her gaze darted across the glowing runes and symbols.
She muttered under her breath, almost too quiet for Hajime to hear:
"No way… this can't be. He can't have this much magic at his age… right?"
Hajime, still waiting, began to grow worried seeing Rin's expression pale.
Do I… not have any magic? No, what If I can't use magic… what will I do?
"Mothe—"
"Hajime," Rin interrupted firmly, sending a serious gaze his way.
"Listen carefully, you have an extraordinary amount of mana, Hajime."
"What?" Hajime's eyes widened. No way… I have too much mana? That's amazing!
A small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth as he licked his dry lips.
"Is there a problem with having too much mana?"
Rin sighed deeply.
"Yes and no. Your mana is showing up as… infinity, which means you could become an Arch mage one day. But the problem is, no one in history has ever had infinite mana—that's just absurd. Because of your extraordinary mana, the kingdom or even rival kingdoms might try to kidnap you—or worse."
Hajime's smile quickly faded.
If I have infinite magic, that means I can cast any spell I want and never run out of mana. That's amazing…
But being the golden sheep means I'm in danger… and worse, I might be putting Rin and Kazuma in danger, too.
Before Hajime could think further, Rin interrupted his thoughts.
"Hajime, I'll train you to use magic. However, you must promise never to tell anyone how much mana you actually have. If word gets out that you possess infinite mana… there could be a war over you."
Without hesitation, Hajime replied, "I won't tell anyone, Mother. I promise."
I can't believe me having infinite mana is that much of a threat.
Rin finally relaxing with Hajime's response took a deep breath and sighed. She snapped her fingers again and Bradly appeared once more. Rin handed Bradly the pitch-black book, and Bradly disappeared once more. Looking back at Hajime Rin began to speak
"Alright Hajime were going to begin magic training."
Without any hesitation Hajime quickly responded
"Ok" with his voice cracking
"Alright Hajime, you maybe already know but you need mana to cast spells, but there's three ways to cast spells first is the most common by saying incantations, second is silent casting but it's really rare for someone to be able to silent cast, lastly is magic circles which is the strongest way to cast magic but it's very unpractical. The first incantation I will show you is one to create a small fire ball."
Putting her hand up Rin began to chant.
"Ash that burns everything Ignite Fireball"
Right as Rin finished her chant a fire ball appeared out of thin hair levitating a few inches away from her hand. Hajime watching Rin use magic left him speechless.
No way… there really is magic in this world! Hajime thought, eyes wide with wonder. This is so cool—I can already imagine the other spells I might be able to cast!
With the fireball still hovering in her hand, Rin flicked her wrist. The blazing orb shot high into the sky and exploded in a brilliant burst of flame, radiating light that outshone even the sun for a moment. Hajime stared in awe as golden embers drifted down like fireflies.
Turning quickly to Rin, he asked, "Mother, can I try casting that now?"
Rin smiled warmly. "Of course. But be careful—I don't want my little pumpkin getting hurt."
Hajime looked down at his hand, then clenched it into a fist. He focused on the words Rin had spoken just moments ago, determination gleaming in his eyes.
Okay, I got this.
With a steady breath, he raised his hand and began the chant.
"Ash that burns everything—ignite, Fireball."
As he finished the incantation, Hajime felt something rush through him—a warm, flowing energy, gathering rapidly in his palm. A small orange light sparked to life, but it didn't stop growing.
"No way, this is awesome!" he gasped. "But… wait, why does it keep getting bigger?"
The fireball swelled rapidly, pulsing with power. Hajime's excitement turned to panic.
It won't stop growing! By the time he realized it, the fireball had grown larger than he was.
Despite the chaos, Rin remained calm, her voice sharp but composed.
"Hajime—shoot your fireball now, or it'll explode!"
Hajime's mind raced. Wait… in that anime, the guy imagined the spell being released. Maybe I can do the same.
He lifted his hand toward the sky, closed his eyes, and pictured the fireball soaring upward.
When he opened them, the blazing sphere launched from his palm and streaked into the sky. Moments later, it detonated with a thunderous roar, far more powerful than Rin's had been. The sky lit up in fiery brilliance.
Wow… magic is so cool. That was epic… but also kind of terrifying.
Rin hurried over and wrapped Hajime in a warm embrace. "Are you okay?" she asked gently.
"Yeah, I'm fine," he said, hugging her back. "But that was a little scary."
"You did great," Rin said with a smile. "But that's enough training for today. Go wash up—dinner will be ready soon."
A slight frown tugged at Hajime's lips as he pulled away from her warmth, but he nodded and made his way back toward the mansion, the memory of that blazing fireball still burning in his mind.
Later that evening, after dinner had ended and Hajime had gone to his room to rest, Rin and Kazuma remained at the table, their expressions unreadable.
A heavy silence hung in the air until Rin finally spoke.
"Umm… Kazuma, there's something I need to talk to you about."
Kazuma glanced at her. "What is it?"
"Well… today I taught Hajime some magic. And I used the mana reading book on him."
Kazuma raised an eyebrow. "Okay, but you sound worried. Did something go wrong?"
Rin's expression grew gloomier. She looked away from him, staring at the floor as if searching for the right words.
"Actually… Hajime has infinite mana."
Kazuma froze.
The wine glass slipped in his hand as he choked and spit out a mouthful, coughing violently.
"You're serious? Did you just say our boy has infinite mana?"
"Yes," Rin said firmly. "And I'm absolutely sure of it."
Kazuma leaned back in his chair, face pale. He rubbed his eyes with one hand and let out a long sigh.
"Well… I guess that might be a problem," he muttered. "But it's too late to deal with this tonight. We'll figure it out tomorrow, alright?"
Rin nodded quietly. "Okay."