Return the piece of obsidian?

  Chara was immediately taken with the idea, swirling delightedly. Yet, when she sidered that to perform an invocation, she would have to recite a literal poem, she instantly felt flustered and began having sed thoughts.

  When she agreed to the curiosity spirit’s offer to learn magic, she had expected many things—studying, training, hard work—the usual training arc regime. Never once did she imagihat the greatest obstacle between her and magic would be embarrassment!

  Uuhuhu, noooo! I ’t do it, I really ’t do it!

  The little spirit mented.

  heless, the prospeagic was extremely alluring, and she quickly found her reservations gradually eroding, uo resist. As, the moment she accepted her fate, she faced another issue: she didn’t know the first thing about poetry. Furthermore, she couldn’t recall the curiosity spirit’s poem either!

  Chara shivered. If she had to pose her own poem and thee it, she would surely die of embarrassment!

  Flustered, she urgently sought the teacher’s help. “Um, Miss Curiosity… Your poem was truly wonderful. Could you repeat it so I hear it again?”

  Listening to her request, the curiosity spirit scrutinized Baby before immediately dedug her iions.

  “Mm… no,” she giggled.

  Chara had the urge to grab the piece of obsidian and unch it at the swirling teacher. However, since she didn’t follow this up with an invocation, there was no spell struct.

  “Little Spirit, an invocatio o be something fancy like a poem or even in intation. As long as your performance articute the principal of your spell, it be anything you wish,” expihe greater spirit.

  “But what if I don’t know what to do?” Chara couldn’t help but feel disced. Despite her excellent grades in school and an intellect that put her above her peers, she wasn’t all that creative.

  “That’s perfectly fine. Even if you fail, you just try again ter. Just do your best,” Curiosity answered in an encing voice.

  Feeling the weight of her teacher’s expectations, Chara relutly started brainst.

  In the end, despite her strong aversion toward recitation, she was ultimately uo escape the fate of sm poetry. Due to buoyancy’s highly abstraature, she couldn’t think of a single way to express its principles using a method other than vocalization.

  Hence, she begrudgingly posed her own poem. It wasn't as long or elegant as the greater spirit’s poem, and it didn’t rhyme either. However, it described buoyancy, and it was hers.

  “You got this Little Spirit! Shoiece of obsidian whose boss~!” cheered Curiosity.

  Shut up! I’m trying to trate!!

  Feeling embarrassed, the little spirit repeatedly visualized the piece of obsidian floating across the and nding atop the teacher’s desk. Once she was satisfied with her mental image, she repeated this process again, only with i.

  Okay, envisioning is done. Now for the hardest part…

  She carefully reviewed her lines o time before starting…

  “H-heavy ships and tiny boats,“All afloat the water’s surface.“Dispced fluid, weight unknown,“Lift the volume of this stone.”

  As the little spirit tinued her recitation, her voice took on an increasingly otherworldly quality. In cert, she could feel ahereal weight ma over her mind. Intuitively, she took hold of this weight, and pushed on it. In response, a stream of mana rushed out of her body and iself into the piece of obsidian.

  Instantly, the rock lifted off the table, rose into the air, and floated toward the teacher’s desk.

  I—I did it!

  The little spirit swished iement. As, the moment the rock left her perception, its floating grew increasingly unsteady, as if it could fall at any moment.

  Uwaaa!

  The little spirit trembled in horror.

  Unaware of her plight, the floating obsidian advanced unsteadily, its altitude decreasing over time. Just as it was about to reach its destination and make it onto the desk, it hit the er! Uo clear the edge, the rock desded sorrowfully, like a hammer plunging into the depths of a ke.

  Nooooooo—!

  Upon finishing its dest, the rock produced a soft cck, as if mog her for her failure.

  Uuhuhuhu… This ’t be happening. How could I put in so much effort, and endure so much humiliation, only to fail? Was my sacrifice all for nothing?!

  Chara was devastated. Uo accept the result, her swirling decelerated dramatically, like she could dissolve at any instant.

  “Aww… You don’t have to look so sad. Actually, I already khat you would fail from the start,” Curiosity fessed with her usual childish voice.

  In response, her little student’s slow and lifeless swirling rapidly accelerated and she could feel a flustered gre ing from her dire.

  “Of course, I didn’t set you up for failure because of how cute you look when you’re angry. Rather, aren’t you super capable? You uood all my expnations, followed a long diligently, and even got the spell to activate,” plimehe swirling teacher.

  Chara maintained her gre, even as she quivered in embarrassment.

  “Ahe spell did not ma in the way you envisioned… Aren’t you curious about the reason why~?” inquired Curiosity, her voice strangely mesmerizing.

  Little by little, the little spirit’s anger slowly dissipated, until it was repced by an overwhelming sense of curiosity. Before she k, the spirit in front of her was no longer ao be feared, but a treasure trove full of answers.

  Realizing the abrupt ge in her emotions, the little spirit made a scious effort to look to the side and inwardly pouted. heless, due to her i in the swirling teacher’s information, she soon found her gaze right ba the curiosity spirit, uo look away.

  Curiosity giggled slyly. “It looks like you are eager to learn, an excellent attitude for an excellent spirit~! Sadly, while I wish I could offer you a simple solution, the factors tributing toward your failure are both numerous and varied.”

  …Are you saying that my execution was so bad, that you don’t even know where to begin?

  The little spirit swirled in dissatisfa.

  Curiosity tinued, “Regardless, learning too many things at once be overwhelming, especially if they are unfamiliar. So, for the remainder of this lesson, I’ll be fog specifically on one, mana~.”

  At that moment, a thin stream of mana flowed from the greater spirit ah her desk, linking to the fallen obsidian. Without a word, she lifted it into the air and pced it against the whiteboard.

  Chara had already seen Curiosity do this once earlier, but upon seeing it again, with her newfound knowledge of casting, she noticed an importaail.

  Wha—! Wait a sed! She didn’t perform an invocation!

  maury