In the blink of an eye, several weeks had passed from the peaceful conclusion of the wind magic class.

“Lithia! Did you finish your supplementary lessons for the day?”

“…Geo. Yes, I just did.”

One day, after school…

The sky had become dark by the time Lithia finished her supplementary classes.  As she was getting ready to leave the academy, she ran into Geo who stepped out across from her.

Somehow, looking at him rejuvenated her. For some time now, Lithia’s dark and melancholic days had begun to shine.

“Did something happen, Geo?”

“No, not really? I just got summoned.”

Even though they didn’t make any promises to meet, they stumbled into each other…

‘Today’s my lucky day.’

Such were the words that bubbled in her chest. She’d almost spoke them out loud but decided against it. After all, wouldn’t hearing such a line from someone you weren’t in a relationship with be strange?

“Even though we didn’t make any promises to meet, we still met like this. Today’s my lucky day.”

“Hyaaa—!”

“Lithia!?”

Upon hearing that, Lithia missed her footing and almost fell down the stone stairs.

“Are you okay? I’m sorry, I didn’t manage to catch you in time…”

“I’m fine, it’s just a sprain…”

Who’d have thought he’d say the exact same words? Did he read her mind or something?

“If it’s only a sprain, then it can be healed quickly. May I touch it?”

“Eh, oh, of course…”

With a worried look on his face, Geo knelt right beside her. The moment he touched her red, discolored ankle, the throbbing pain dissipated.

…No, if anything, her chest started to throb in pain.

“How’s the pain?”

“U-uh, it’s gone! It’s completely gone! How amazing! I feel like I can run anywhere!”

In order to conceal her heartbeat, she gave a strange high-pitched response.

Hopefully, he doesn’t think that I’m weird…

“It’s truly amazing. Is this that healing magic boasted of by light element?”

Still, when she praised him, she was being sincere. Moreover, it was the biggest reason why people with light element were given preferential treatment by the country.

When it came to the spell that Geo casted to boost the growth of that tree, it was less effective and also somewhat similar to earth magic. However, no other elements could cast healing spells. Even into the present, many researchers continued trying to discover whether or not other elements could use healing magic, but nothing had come of it so far.

“Healing…? I can see why you’d say that, but that’s not entirely correct.”

“What?”

‘—To activate cells and boost the patient’s healing rate.’ She learned in class that was how healing spells worked. Thus, the studies went on—hoping that other elements could somehow play a role in activating those cells.

“In truth, I had just rewound the time to before the injury.”

“What???”

“Hence why, it isn’t exactly ‘healing.’ By the way, do you remember the flower tree in the courtyard? I didn’t make it grow. Instead, I rewound the time to when the tree was still flowering. Sure, I could’ve just advance time until the next flowering season, but since the future is uncertain, I rewound it instead.”

“W-whaaaaaat!?”

Because only a meager few could wield light element, few samples and research on it were available. As such, when compared to the studies of other elements, progress was relatively slow. However, if what he said was true, then the research was fundamentally wrong—!

“How can you be so casual when speaking about the greatest discovery of the century…!?”

“Every time they asked me, I always gave the same answer, yet no one believes me. Come to think of it, it’s said that the Spirit of Light prefers a good-natured person that embraces nature—but that’s not true either.”

“Is that so—!?”

Magic was only possible with the aid of spirits. Therefore, a person’s element depended on the spirit intrigued by them. The Spirit of Fire favored passion; the Spirit of Water beauty; the Spirit of Wind freedom; the Spirit of Earth wisdom.

As for the Spirit of Light, it embraced and loved everything in the universe, didn’t ask for anything in return, and loved those with compassionate and a selfless heart.

Until now, the long-standing theory was that compared to other spirits, the standard of the Spirit of Light was too high, hence why light-element users were rare.

“—It’s actually much simpler than that. The Spirit of Light prefers honesty. I haven’t lied in my life.”

Every single word he spoke overturned conventional belief to the point that it was unbelievable.

“After all, it’s a magic that controls time. To lie would mean denying the flow of time; be it the past, present, or future. I don’t think the Spirit of Light will lends its power to those who deny their domain.”

…However, it was strangely convincing?

In addition, after all the exchanges they had up until that point, Lithia no longer thought that Geo was lying.

“So… Geo never lies, ever?”

“Kind of like the chicken or the egg theory, but it is what it is.”

If anything, now she understood why Geo was so honest. Perhaps, that was why the Spirit of Light was fond of him. Or did he remain truthful for the sake of the Spirit of Light? Maybe, it was both…

“By the way, does Lithia always go home around this time? How many supplementary lessons do you have in a week?”

“This is embarrassing, but I have supplementary lessons every day. Even though I make sure to pay attention, the teacher says that if I don’t strive to learn more than everyone else, I won’t be able to do well in the future.”

“Every day…? That must be difficult.”

In the dark, the two treaded on the path that led to the dormitory. It was like the night when she first met Geo.

“Starting from tomorrow, what if I do some self-study as I wait for you? I want to go home with Lithia.”

“—!? S-sure, if that’s alright with you?”

She unintentionally averted her gaze.

To not be able to honestly express how happy she was, perhaps she wouldn’t be able to use light magic for the rest of her life.

“Come to think of it, you mentioned being summoned. By whom?”

When she was with Geo, she no longer cared about whether or not she was ugly. Tugging at her white hair with one hand, she pretended like nothing happened and asked.

In truth, she was concerned about him from the beginning.

After all, if he was summoned by a teacher, he’d have said that from the start. So, who called for him? Could it be, a female classmate!? Or, a female senior? No, it might even be a female junior…

“By His Highness, Prince Lafizard.”

“Eh!?”

Lithia, who pictured the female classmates she knew one by one, was taken aback by the unexpected answer.

“He told me to stay away from Lithia. Oh, and he also added, ‘You know what’ll happen if you don’t, right?’”

“T-then, how did Geo answer…?”

“I said, ‘Why would I?’”

“Why did you say that—!?”

Geo was being his usual self. He was neither lying nor making a joke—

—He was just being upfront.

“…I’m sure he was just being considerate of you, Geo. After all, what if your reputation as one of the few light mages were to take a hit? Also, if you disobey him, he might do something detrimental to your future.”

“I see… Well, no matter how bad my reputation or the adversity may be, I still want to remain by Lithia’s side. Therefore, I can’t abide by his words.”

“Think about what you’re saying! What if he hinders your career path!? In the future, you may not get any promotions—or worse, be sent to a rural area!”

“As long as it doesn’t overwhelm me, I don’t care about what kind of job I have. I’m also not that interested in getting ahead in life. I can live anywhere. Ah, but if it’s too far from the royal capital, it’d be troublesome. How am I supposed to visit Lithia? However, if I agreed to stay away from Lithia just for that reason, it’d be putting the cart before the horse.”

“U-uuh…”

She already knew from the start that Geo didn’t lie. But after learning the reason why, the destructive power of his words had only increased!

…Instead of mere flattery or consolation, Geo truly wanted to see Lithia regardless of the repercussions.

“…Then, will you stay by my side from now on?”

“Of course.”

“Will you be my dance partner for the upcoming class?”

“Done and dusted.”

“T-then, if I work harder in dance class and improved…”

If such was the case, then Lithia should strive to be more honest with herself.

“…Would you escort me to the next dance party?”

It was an iron-clad rule for men to offer to escort women to the dance party. Even if a woman were to approach a man, at most, she’d only hint at it. “You may invite me.”

As such, her act would be mindboggling to some.

“…With pleasure.”

However, Geo beamed and accepted Lithia’s hand with utmost pleasure, seemingly delighted from the bottom of his heart.

---

***T/N: He never tell lies HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE OMW EVEN HIS GOO-GOO-GAA-GAA WAS FULL OF BRUTAL TRUTH.

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