"Tch! Why do I have to be with you?" Chester clicked his tongue in disgust.
Right now, the two of us are in the spacious yard of his home.
It was only yesterday when Fin and Chester visited my party in our inn room. It was then when Soap and I decided to challenge each other. We're going to swap students, and see which of them is the better mage.
And we're going to decide that by teaching them chantless magic.
In a way, it was not in actuality a competition between the two of us, but was instead between our boy toys—I mean, between Fin and Chester.
It would be better for us to teach our familiar students, but Soap reasoned that it would be more interesting if we do a swap. I can think of many reasons why she would prefer we do it in such a way, but I frankly don't care. I just want her to realize how much better of a mage Fin is than Chester.
With that said, it's not like I'm going to slack off on Chester. I have my bias on Fin, but I'm going to mentor him properly still. I'm not going to seize victory by underhandedly doing things. I'm sure Soap would do the same.
"So, we'll start with the basics," crossing my arms, I said. "For now, I want you to shoot a fireball at the target."
"Hmph," Chester grunted, but he followed my instruction nonetheless. "Flame magic: Fireball!"
He cast a powerful fireball at the straw dummy, and it bursted out in flames as it was hit.
"G-Good! That's more than I expected."
It's true, his fireball was surprisingly strong. It was in fact stronger than Fin's. I underestimated him.
"You seem to be accustomed to fireball, so we won't use another spell. We'll make it so you can cast it without a chant."
"Is that really possible? Frankly, the only people I know who're capable of it are Sophia and the Royal mage," Chester doubtfully said.
"Don't worry, you've already passed the conditions for it. Fin as well. Soap and I have acknowledged that. We wouldn't start this match otherwise."
"Conditions? And those are?"
"The first is you need to have a deep enough mana pool, and second, you need to be capable of casting spells without the help of a tool."
"H-Huh!? That's all!?"
"If you pass those two conditions, then your next step in progression is chantless magic."
"I can't believe it's that simple..."
"It's not. Just attempting it would force you to endlessly leak mana, and it would normally take many months or years for anyone to barely master it. That's where Soap and I come in."
Just like the training I did with Fin, I would have to constantly resupply Chester with mana, so he can continue on casting.
"And so, I'm going to apply barrier magic to our surroundings."
I snapped my fingers, and an almost transparent barrier covered the entire area around us. Any stray away spells would now be contained. Casting chantless for the first time, there's a real chance his magic will go haywire.
With that, he should be able to freely cast without worrying about the large mansion behind us.
"Kuku! Barrier magic of this level... And casting it without a chant is..."
Unbelievable.
In his perspective, what I just did surely seems unbelievable.
"Let's begin. Fufu! Now don't slack off, or you'll be beaten by my Fin."
Even if I constantly provide him with Mana, his body and mind still might not be able to keep up. The most important factor of this challenge still relies on none other than Chester himself. His endurance would surely be tested.
"Fuhaa... Haa...!"
A while later, Chester is laying on the floor, evidently defeated. As his shirt became drenched in sweat, he had no choice but to take them off. His frail body, typical of a mage, is now exposed to the sun.
Attempting to cast chantless fireball, the mana in his body just constantly leaks. He couldn't even produce a match's flame. And the only time he, by chance, managed to fire off a fist-sized blaze, it flew by a random target.
All of his failed attempts prove to be a heavy strain on his body, and he now seems to barely have the functions of his legs.
"I-Is that enough?"
"That's good. You can rest now."
It's not like he didn't make any progress. Be it small, the fact that he was able to lit a chantless blaze proves he's actually a genius. Now that he got a grasp of how chantless magic feels, what comes next should be relatively easier.
I nodded at the two worried maids who were waiting to take care of him.
"We'll have another session later. I want you to eat and rest before that," I calmly said.
"H-Huh!? That quick!? Can't we just continue tomorrow!?" he screamed as he was lifted up by the two maids.
"No, we'll push your limits now, and then you can fully rest tomorrow. We'll transition the days and repeat the cycle afterwards."
"Tch! I understand."
He's really acting meek. However, that's not exactly surprising. After all, Soap had told him to follow my every order.
With one closed eye, I looked at Chester once again. He's all battered up as he's getting taken away by the maids. Now that he's far away from his captor, I cannot sense the aura of affection on him anymore.
So the effect of her charm stays dormant from afar?
Soap would really be troublesome as a villain...
I couldn't help but sigh as I think so.
Is there a way for her charm to be permanently removed? Come to think of it, I never asked her about it before. I was never wary of it—I can never be affected by it after all.
"Hm..." I moan and lick my lips as I stare at Chester's back.
Is it possible to steal the affection of someone who's been deeply affected by her?
"Urk... I should stop thinking of doing such a thing..."
I shook my head left and right, trying to get the idea out of my mind. But I couldn't help it. It's the fault of the competitive nature of my womanly side.