Chapter 64

Language and Magic Classes
In the language class, we continued from last time and worked on making karuta cards.
All the words were already chosen in the previous class, so this time, we were actually going to write the words and draw the pictures on the wooden cards.
The three sheep sisters were going to write the reading cards, so Kathe, Tony, Ron, and Nachi were in charge of drawing the picture cards.
Ren, Hachi, and I were assigned to write a single character on each of the picture cards.

“First, let’s practice writing the characters on your mini blackboards before you write on the wooden cards.”

“You should start by choosing a character that’s part of your name.”

“Got it.”

“Okay, I’ll do my best!”

While the four of them were sketching their drawings in their notebooks, the three of us were practicing the characters we’d be adding.
Teacher Paul had written all forty-five basic characters on the blackboard, so we could just erase the ones we chose.
After getting the teacher’s approval, we wrote the chosen characters in the upper left corner of the wooden cards.

“It’s better if the characters are in the same place — that way, they won’t get in the way of the picture. Let’s write them about this size, right here.”

“Got it.”

“Okay, I understand.”

They were so obedient it was almost too much. For the first few cards, the teacher paid close attention to size and placement, but once he decided we were doing fine, he started handing out finished cards to the ones drawing.
And so, that period turned into a quiet, concentrated time where everyone focused on writing and drawing.
There were a lot of cards, so we couldn’t finish them all, but the teacher said we’d continue next time — and that wrapped up our language class.

“All right, today we’ll be making the boards for the karuta and playing cards.

Of course, those of you still practicing attack magic will also have targets prepared, so you can continue your training instead.

Today, it won’t just be me teaching — the wood-magic instructors will be joining us. Please, come in!”

As the teacher said, the second half of the day — the magic class — became the time for making the karuta boards, just as she’d mentioned last time.
At her call, three adults entered the classroom — one of them was my dad — each carrying a basket filled with different kinds of wood branches.

“Dad???”

I couldn’t help but shout in surprise, but he only smiled back at me.

“Heh, since we learned that these karuta and playing cards aren’t just useful for the kids’ studies but also help adventurers and even grown-ups, we figured the village oughta make a few sets of our own. One set each just isn’t enough for the school, you see~

So, we got three folks who’re good with wood magic to lend a hand, and they’re gonna show you how to do some fine, detailed work today.”

All the kids stared at the adults with sparkling eyes.
Maybe because they weren’t used to being looked at like that, the adults looked a little bashful as they set down their baskets and introduced themselves.

"Howdy there! Name’s Alke, and I’m a big ol’ bear beastman. Reckon you could call me Vio’s pa, huh? I’ve whittled up a few o’ these wooden cards before, so I’ll be showin’ y’all how to polish ‘em up smooth as a fresh-picked apple!"

“I’m Sand, a furniture craftsman — also a bear beastman. I’ll be showing you how to cut the wood pieces into card-sized shapes.”

“Ah, and I’m Alan, a weaponsmith. I’ll handle the first step — cutting raw wood into smaller pieces. Don’t worry, I brought plenty of materials in case of mistakes.”

So each person had their own area to teach.
Sand, like Dad, was a bear beastman — though his hair was gray and his eyes were black. Just that color difference made him look completely different.
Alan, on the other hand, was a muscular, brawny guy… but judging by his tail, he was probably a squirrel beastman. He had a soft, fluffy tail with a few black stripes running through it — though, since his body was so huge, you couldn’t even see the tail unless he turned around.
Well… cute equals squirrel might just be my bias. There’s nothing wrong with a squirrel being buff. Really, there isn’t.
Still, I couldn’t help thinking how hard it was to shake that image as I listened to the teacher’s explanations.

In the end, even the six-and-older kids wanted to try wood magic practice, so we were split into groups by task.
Dad’s part — the finishing — was the same Polish spell we’d done before, so the sheep sisters took that role. It needed delicate magic control, making it perfect practice for them.

Cutting the wooden planks to size and rounding the corners went to the six-and-older group — it required precision and steady hands.
Us five-year-olds, myself included, were assigned the task of turning logs and branches into workable wood blocks. It didn’t have to be perfect — as long as it wasn’t too small, the teachers could fix it later.

The training hall was divided into three large areas, and each group prepared their materials.
Our group was under the supervision of Mr. Muscle-Squirrel and Ms. Ariana.

“All right, kiddos! You lot’ll be makin’ this wood easier to work with. I’ll show you a sample first, so watch close.

… Hey, teach, are these little ones startin’ from the chant?”

“Ah, yes, please. That would help a lot.”

“Gotcha. It’s been a while since I’ve said one out loud. All right—here goes: Wind, slice through with your blade! Wind Cutter!”

With his chant, a greenish boomerang-like blade shot out from his hand, cleanly slicing one edge of a branch.

““Whoa!!””

Ren and Hachi clapped in amazement, but Ariana-sensei tilted her head. “Isn’t that chant a bit short?” she asked.
True, the Vice-Guildmaster’s chant was short too, but this one was even shorter. He was probably used to casting with just a trigger word.

“The proper chant’s so old I can’t even remember it.”

“Well, since this is your first time using it, let me teach you the full version.

Now everyone, let’s try saying it together!”

Teacher Ariana was awfully enthusiastic about it, but… do we really have to say that cringe of a chant? It was painfully embarrassing.

She stretched out a hand, and the two boys copied her posture.

“First, remember Mr. Alan’s spell earlier. Picture how the magic should look and focus as you chant.”

““O wind gathered in my hand—””

“Good! Can you feel the magic gathering at your fingertips? Keep that feeling and continue.”

““—become a spinning blade and slice through all before me!””

“Excellent! You remembered the long chant in one go — that’s impressive! Did you feel the magic gathering at your hand?”

“Hmm, something tickled from my arm to my palm. Was that it?”

“Felt weird, kinda tingly.”

“That’s right, that’s how it should feel. Think of your mana as being stored around your lower belly. When you chant, it flows through your body and out your hands.”

… Huh, so that’s how they teach it.
But if you explain it like that, won’t the kids get stuck thinking they have to put their hand out before chanting every time?
I guess it’s fine for beginners, but yeah… not for me.
And come to think of it, if the wind “spins strongly,” shouldn’t it look like a circular saw instead of a boomerang?
Plus, “slice through everything”? He’s clearly aiming precisely, not slashing everything around.
Are mismatched chants just normal?
While I was mulling over that, someone tapped my shoulder — I’d been so deep in thought I didn’t notice. It was Mr. Muscle-Squirrel.

“Hey, kiddo, aren’t you gonna practice the chant too?”

“I know you can use short chants too, right? Dad taught me that chanting isn’t always necessary, so I’m practicing doing it without words.”

“‘Muscle-Squirrel’…?”

Oh no. I said it out loud. My mouth moved before I realized, and I clapped both hands over it, but it was too late.

“Pfft—don’t tell me that’s what you’ve been callin’ me?”

“U-uh, I’m sorry…”

“Ha! You’re funny, kid. No one’s ever called me that before. Guess you really are Alke’s daughter, huh? Hey, Alke! Your kid’s a riot!”

"Heh heh, ain’t she just the sweetest thing? My precious little gal—but don’t you go gettin’ any ideas, now!"

I flailed and apologized, but he just laughed it off, joking with Dad instead of getting angry.
The two boys were still focused on practicing their chants, not paying any attention to us, which honestly was a relief.

“Well, I don’t use chants for simple spells like this either. All right, lemme see what you can do.”

He set a branch upright for me.
“Show me” — he meant for me to demonstrate my magic, right?
I nodded and focused. Rather than manipulating the wind directly, I thought of spreading my magic like radar and wrapping wind around it.

“Air Cutter.”

“Wind Cutter” sounds too strong — more like a buzzsaw chopping heads off.
Since this was for delicate, close-up work, I decided to adjust the image.
Instead of slicing through with force, the wind followed the motion of my finger.
I traced straight down the branch, and the thin line of wind followed neatly, shaving off the bark.
Yeah — last time, all I could imagine was something dangerous, but now it felt controlled and safe.

“Hm… yeahhh, that’s different from mine, but it ain’t bad.

The kiddos are workin’ with thicker logs, so they won’t get to mess up much. You should be fine with this thinner stuff, huh? I gotta go help those two over there — you good on your own?”

“I’m fine. Can I use all of this?”

Didn’t sound like a full approval, but close enough. There wasn’t exactly a “textbook” here anyway.
Taking that as a pass, he handed me a bundle of slimmer branches. These would become the wooden tiles later.
He’d even marked the cutting lines for me — super helpful. I followed the lines with my Air Cutter, slicing neatly through.

Mr. Gray Bear had brought already-shaped wooden blanks, and Dad had brought ones already cut to card size.
The adults must’ve done a lot of prep beforehand.
I felt a bit bad, knowing it was probably because I’d been the one who’d asked to let us practice magic like this in the first place.

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