When Arik returned to the dinner table after being scolded by Father and Mother, his eyes were red, and faint tears were still visible.
Well… he must have been scolded with a terrifying expression from Father. We could hear his shouts all the way in the dining room where the family eats together.
I hope he learns his lesson and stops bothering me… but that’s probably a bit much to hope for. Even now, when our eyes meet, he glares at me with an expression that’s not scary at all.
He’s probably thinking to himself, “Why did you have to say something unnecessary?” But really, even if I hadn’t said anything, he would have slipped up sooner or later, and they’d have found out anyway.
As we finished dinner and I was about to leave my seat, Father called out to me.
“Lagas, could you wait for me in my room for a bit? I’ll be there shortly.”
“Understood. Please take your time finishing dinner without worrying about me.”
Hearing my response, Father nodded, his expression softening slightly, and then he muttered quietly, almost to himself, “Why is Arik so irresponsible…” so that only those nearby could hear.
Well, I don’t think it’s entirely Arik’s fault, but most of it does lie with him. Claire and Clona, our older sisters, and our brother Lodu all study diligently… so why does he think he doesn’t have to?
If his personality doesn’t change… he might end up breaking down someday.
After waiting in Father’s office for about fifteen minutes, he finally entered.
“Sorry to keep you waiting.”
“Ten or twenty minutes is no problem.”
Father sat across from me on the sofa, and rather than a serious expression, he looked at me with a slightly curious gaze and asked,
“So, what kind of magic aptitude did you have?”
“Well… first, I found that I have an aptitude for something called sound magic.”
I chose not to mention all three types of magic right away and started with the last one I discovered.
“Sound magic, huh… I haven’t heard of that type before.”
“Is that so? I hadn’t seen it in any books either, so I thought there might be a chance I’m the only one with this magic aptitude.”
After confirming my aptitude in sound magic, I’d returned to my room and searched through books my parents had bought for me, but I couldn’t find any mention of it.
“That possibility is quite likely. Knowing you, I bet you’ve already tried to learn it and have some understanding of how it works.”
Well, yes, I do understand most of it now. Though generally, even after discovering an aptitude, it takes some time to master it… Still, I’m genuinely glad he thinks I have talent.
“Yes. For example, I can amplify my voice to become louder just by using magic. The volume seems to correspond to the magic power I put into it.”
“Amplifying your voice… Can you control the range it affects?”
“I’m not sure yet since I’ve only just learned it, but it should be possible. However, the sound might resonate around me as a side effect.”
Since I’ve just learned it, I can’t control it fully yet, but when I tried it, Meryl, who was standing behind me, said my voice sounded much louder.
“I see. It could be useful in combat to disrupt an enemy’s concentration.”
“That’s true.”
It certainly could be used that way. But I think it could be more effective as an attack. Sound is vibration, and an attack transmitted inward can’t be dodged. If it penetrates the body, the damage would be internal rather than external.
If I can master it, it might become a valuable trump card. Plus, there could be uses for it beyond just attacking.
After finishing the explanation about sound magic, I began to talk about the main three types of magic I’d discovered.
