Chapter 216

Hidden Skills (2)
"Alright then, now that you two are friends, let's talk about your hidden skill. Umm, Miura, yours is Aqua. Joan has it too, so you can ask her how to use it."

"What kind of skill is it?"

"It lets you produce water. Aqua."

She produced water into a cup she took out of her bag.

"It’s kind of like the Water attribute..."

"Right. But unlike Water, it doesn’t have offensive power. We'll start practicing in the next lesson."

"Okay."

The next student to enter the classroom was Kosshi.

“(Show hidden skills too) Search Open.”

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From Mujika Territory

Age
10

Attribute
Null

Condition
Healthy

Skills
Repair, Gravity Reduction

Note
Tends to go along with stronger personalities.

————————————————————

"Ah, I see."

"Wait, what's this note about?"

Kosshi seemed unconvinced by the note, but to Joan, it made perfect sense.

"Kosshi, your hidden skill is Gravity Reduction."

"Sorry, what kind of skill is that?"

"Hmm, simply put, it lets you lift heavy things more easily. Does that help?"

"Huh!? I got such an amazing skill?! With this, I can help out my dad now that his back’s been getting worse!"

"That’s great, Kosshi."

"Yeah. Thanks, Joan."

That was Kosshi’s brightest smile of the day.

The last one was Manuel.

“Please.”

“Okay. (Show hidden skills too) Search Open.”

————————————————————

From Baris Territory

Age
10

Attribute
Null

Condition
Healthy, but sleep-deprived.

Skills
Read, Memory, Mixing, Synthesis.

Note
Sleep deprivation is due to staying up late reading.
Wears glasses from reading in dim lighting.

————————————————————

“Yes! I got hidden skills too!!”

“Mixing and Synthesis—those are amazing.”

Both of them were excited about the skills, but Joan had something she had to say!

“Staying up late reading... You really should sleep. Sleep deprivation slows your brain down, you know.”

“R-Really? But there’s so much I want to read...”

“Then sleep early and read in the morning before class. It’s better for your health that way. You don’t want your eyesight getting worse from reading in the dark, right?”

“I mean, glasses don’t really bother me.”

“Eh~ Then try taking them off for a sec?”

“Sure, but... What is it?”

“Just a moment.”

She lifted the bangs that messily covered his eyes.

To her surprise, Manuel had a very well-balanced face. Big double-lidded eyes with beautiful emerald green irises. The closer she looked into them, the more she felt like she was being pulled in.

Embarrassed, Joan quickly let go of his bangs and brushed them back down.

“S-So like... you should cut your hair. Isn’t it in the way?”

“No, I’d rather use that time to read…”

“But if you cut it and let people see those pretty eyes, you’d look really cool.”

“C-C-Cool!?”

“Yup. Right, Auntie?”

“Yes, I think you’d look much better with a little grooming.”

“But… I don’t know how.”

“Alright! Then I’ll do it for you later.”

“Huh!?”

“We’ll worry about appearances later, but your skills really are impressive. You said you wanted to be a scholar—because you like reading?”

“Yes. I want to try different experiments and things I’ve read about, but I don’t have any attribute…”

“Well, you do now. These hidden skills will be super useful for experiments and research.”

“Really?”

“Yes. But first, let’s practice using them properly.”

“Okay!!”

With everyone's hidden skills revealed, the special class came to an end. These special lessons would be held once a week, every Thunder Day—what used to be called Friday in Joan's previous life. On other days, during the attribute classes, the five of them would work on assignments given by Aunt Julietta.

After class, everyone gathered at the school cafeteria terrace.

For the record, Belle wasn’t there—she’d been called away by Young Master Eric.

“Man, I’m just so grateful to Joan. I had no idea I even had other skills.”

Souya said, hands behind his head.

“Yeah, yeah! I’m going straight home to tell my dad.”

Kosshi had originally planned not to go home, but now he’d decided to return. He said goodbye to everyone and quickly headed back to the dorms to pack.

“I’m staying here to check out the bookstores in the capital. Gotta find some books that’ll help me make the most of my skills.”

Looks like Manuel would be turning into a bookworm again this weekend.

I should give him some dried plueberries later—might help his eyesight a little, right?

“I think I’ll look into what I can do with Clean, Dry, and Aqua.”

Miura was looking for ways to use her skills.

Clean-Dry-Aqua... A laundry business maybe? But would she be comfortable washing other people’s clothes?

Or maybe... oh! A hairstylist? She could wash with Aqua and Clean, dry with Dry, and if she could learn to cut hair...

“Miu, do you like styling hair in different ways?”

“Eh? Yeah, I do. I even cut my parents’ hair sometimes.”

“That’s it!!”

“Eh!?”

“A hairstylist! You can cut hair, wash with Aqua and Clean, then dry it with Dry.”

“You mean like a barber?”

Souya chimed in.

“Barbers usually just cut, right? But when they don’t wash your hair, the cut hairs get itchy. Wouldn’t it be better if they washed and dried your hair too?”

“““Totally!!”””

“And for women, getting your hair styled in ways you can’t do on your own—like fancy braids—is super nice.”

“That’s true… That might be really good. Especially for commoners—we don’t usually worry about styling. Maybe a braid at most? But I don’t know many styles myself.”

“If you don’t know, you can learn.”

“But from who...?”

“Let’s ask my maid.”

“Eh? Would that really be okay?”

“Of course!!”

If I tell Sarah, I’m sure she’ll be happy to teach. I could even be her practice model.

As for cutting... maybe not. Can’t imagine any noble girls with short hair. It’d be way easier though.

Someone... oh!

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