Seiya and others returned home from the academy and immediately confirmed with their reliable mothers.
“I thought it was unusual for Tobi to bring someone, but is that what you wanted to ask?”
“No, it’s not like that…”
Seiya replied to Colette’s remark, appearing somewhat taken aback.
“Sorry, sorry. It’s not that Tobi is worried about trivial things. It’s about why you’re asking us.”
“Let’s see~”
As Colette nodded, Peach then tilted her head.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, we’re not specialists in magic circles, and we never even went to an academy, so we don’t have anything to teach you,” Colette said.
Seiya, Shia, and Miku all made a “Oh” expression at Colette’s statement.
Meanwhile, Tobi, thinking it was no use, slumped his shoulders, but Seiya frantically waved his hand.
“No, no, Tobi. Mother isn’t telling you to give up.”
“Huh?”
“That’s right. In this case, they’re telling you to ask an expert, not us.”
Shia said the same thing as Seiya, but Tobi remained looking puzzled.
Ignoring Tobi, Miku looked at Colette and Peach and said, “Well then, we’ll be going now.”
“Yes, yes. We’ll prepare dinner as usual, so please tell them for us.”
“Also, I’ll contact the castle, so feel free to take your time there,” Peach added.
As Peach finished speaking, Seiya and the others bowed their heads to thank her.
Then, Seiya pulled Tobi, who still looked bewildered, by the arm and headed towards a certain room in their house.
Peach, who had seen them off, tilted her head and then suddenly remembered something, looking at Colette.
“Mr. Kousuke, didn’t you say he was busy today~?”
“Ah.”
Prompted by Peach, Colette made a face as if she had finally remembered.
“D-don’t worry, don’t worry. He should be in the management layer, so someone will bring him. If not, Floria is here!”
“R-right~”
Colette and Peach were completely relying on others, but unfortunately (?), not a single person was there to point it out.
***
Meanwhile, Seiya and the others, completely unaware of the conversation Colette and Peach were having, passed through the Teleport Gate in their house and headed for the management layer.
At the Teleport Gate on the management layer side, there was a Maid Golem, but of course, Seiya and the others were registered, so they passed through without issue.
When everyone headed to the Lounge Space, Kousuke was not there; instead, Floria was relaxing.
“Hmm? What’s wrong? This is an unusual combination.”
Floria tilted her head, finding it unusual that her grandson was with Seiya and the others.
To Floria, Seiya explained again what he had explained at home.
“—And so, I thought Father might be here… but…”
“I see. However, Kousuke is probably too busy to spare any time right now?”
“Eh…”
Tobi, who had hoped to get an answer from Kousuke, looked at Floria with a somewhat bewildered expression.
Seeing Tobi’s face, Floria gave a wry smile.
“Well, wait. Don’t get discouraged. The person you talk to doesn’t have to be Kousuke, does it? The point is, Tobi’s problem should be solved.”
“Well, that’s true.”
Miku nodded on behalf of everyone at Floria’s words.
After all, Tobi had initially come to Seiya and the others to talk about it.
There was no particular need to insist on Kousuke.
Floria said to Tobi, who was looking at her with hopeful eyes, as if to caution him slightly, “Ideally, given the Crown Prince’s intentions, you should solve it yourself… but…”
At Floria’s words, Tobi looked down once, but then he raised his face firmly and said, “It may be true, but I was also taught that in the end, you should rely on those around you.”
Hearing Tobi say that directly, Floria chuckled.
What she had said was correct, but what Tobi said was also not wrong.
Having his own answer was the right thing.
Floria nodded once towards Tobi and said, “Well, that’s fine. —So, your grades in magic circles aren’t improving, was it?”
“Yes. Everything else is fine, but I have no idea why…”
As Shia said, Floria shook her head and replied, “It’s not absolute, but I probably know the reason?”
Seiya and the others exclaimed in surprise, “Eh,” at Floria’s casual answer.
Floria shrugged, looking at everyone’s faces.
“Since you’re doing well in other subjects, Tobi, you’re not bad at memorization, are you?”
“Eh, ah. Yes.”
Tobi honestly nodded at Floria’s question.
In fact, Tobi wasn’t bad at remembering things, including people’s names.
Nodding at Tobi’s answer, Floria continued, “That means you shouldn’t be bad at memorization for magic circles either. For example, memorizing basic symbols.”
As Floria said this, Seiya, Shia, and Miku looked at Tobi with slightly surprised expressions.
They themselves had thought that was where he was stumbling.
“Yes. I’ve memorized all the symbols that appear in the current grade.”
“In that case, Tobi is probably having trouble with the intuitive aspect of magic circles.”
As Floria continued, Tobi looked bewildered and tilted his head.
Magic circles are, after all, combinations of various symbols.
Each of these symbols has its own meaning, and if the combination is wrong, the magic will not activate at all.
Even if you remember the shape and meaning of the symbols perfectly, if their combination is incorrect, the magic circle will be meaningless.
The problem is that there isn’t just one correct combination; various combinations are possible.
This makes it a very difficult subject for someone like Tobi, who seeks only one answer.
Seiya and the others looked convinced after hearing Floria’s explanation.
Amidst this, Tobi’s face contorted slightly as he said, “B-but, if that’s the case, then I’ll still be bad at it…”
“Well, wait. Don’t jump to conclusions so quickly. I wouldn’t explain this far if there wasn’t a study method for Tobi, would I?”
Floria said this and then looked at the Maid Golem that had somehow come near.
The Maid Golem was holding a magic tool in its hand.
Taking the magic tool from the Maid Golem, Floria handed it to Tobi.
“You should try training with this. It’s not guaranteed to work, but it’s much better than proceeding blindly as you are now.”
As Floria said this, Tobi hesitantly took the magic tool.
“Seiya and the others should know how to use it well, so listen carefully when you get home.”
Floria said this while looking at Seiya and the others, and they nodded honestly.
For them, this magic tool was a familiar object.
This magic tool, created to learn the construction of magic circles, was the same one that Luca, now a first-class magic tool craftsman, had played with countless times as a child.
Floria had brought it out to help Tobi develop his intuition.
To our readers, it is a nostalgic tool.
