"H-Hey... Hello"(I)

Ignavus inwardly cringed at the awkward greeting. Introducing himself while bearing in mind he was Navy, was a new challenge.

'Relax, it's okay. I haven't completely messed up'

After swiftly calming himself and suppressing the nerves that had accumulated, Ignavus compelled himself to proceed.

"W-What are you doing? Is... Is that magic?"(I)

It was a familiar feeling.

The feeling of magic.

Ever since he could remember, Ignavus always had a light sensitivity to the flow of mana. Granted, it was not great or any form of accurate, but he could at least tell when someone was using magic...most of the time. Ignavus' sensitivity to the flow of mana had forever remained constant. Never really improving despite his attempts to train it. It was something he long had accepted.

Keeping this in mind made the current situation odd though. The mana he was detecting felt different today. It felt clearer.

It was almost like he could... like he could-

'I can see it'

There was a light grey mist surrounding the boy. It appeared contained yet felt like it was about to burst.

'Wow'

Ignavus whipped his head back and looked at Marie.

She still looked the same.

It was one thing to see the effects of mana; it was another to see the mana itself.

"Yes! It is magic, princess"

The brown-haired boy suddenly spoke up, refocusing Ignavus' attention.

"Let me show you what I can do"

The boy lightly smiled while beckoning Ignavus forth with inviting eyes.

Ignavus scooched over closer to the boy, his eyes quickly scanning the other kids after the movement. Despite them all looking away, Ignavus could sense their curiosity. It was only a natural reaction though. After all, most kids their age haven't yet awakened their own power.

The boy's mana flowed from his cupped hands up to his arms. It appeared he was drawing back a spell.

"Watch closely"

The boy opened his cupped hands revealing a short glass. One of the many provided on the table. Ignavus watched with interest as the mana reversed its flow. It travelled down the boy's arms and into the palm of his hands where it proceeded to surround the glass.

"I-It disappeared!"

Without his notice, Ignavus found him, and the boy surrounded. It appeared the children's curiosity was greater than imagined.

Ignavus gazed at the empty hand. He could still see mana surrounding the glass. While it had physically disappeared, he could still very much see it. It was like a soft layer.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

"What do you think princess?"

The voice of the boy, whose name Ignavus couldn't remember, sounded earnest and pleased.

'Crap! Why did he have to ask me that so suddenly!?'

All gathered heads turned to Ignavus.

It felt like they were looking for his approval.

'I just need to say something simple, right?! A short praise or something!'

The magic the boy displayed was interesting. Almost as interesting as watching the flow of his mana. It felt comfortably familiar in a strange way.

'I can't praise him for that! None of them would even understand that...'

Praising someone because their mana felt comfortable... might give the wrong impression. Ignavus had, by now, at least learned the consequences that such an action could incur. He would need to focus on something else.

The ability to make things disappear from the naked eye. Yes, that was it. The ability had many applications and was somewhat rare. As far as Ignavus knew, it was something only one particular family possessed. If he had to describe it in one word, it would be useful.

'Got the praise, now it's just the delivery'

Right now, Ignavus was Princess Navy. The kids would be expecting an answer that reflected that.

With the most charming smile Ignavus could muster, he stood on his toes and petted the head of the boy.

"Very useful, mortal boy"(I)

When... when it came to etiquette expected from a princess, Ignavus knew more than most. His dear mother and aunt wouldn't let him forget. With every lesson he had learnt more and more of what was expected of him. He had practiced for hours over basic greetings and proper conduct. So much so, that the knowledge had become almost second nature. It was a shame then, that despite all that knowledge, whenever he had to actually practically use it. He would mess up.

Hence, the awkward words. Hearing them leave his mouth made him want to curl up in a corner. To make matters worse... they... they were even starting to sound like his mother's.

"Let me show you something as well"(I)

Ignavus grabbed the now visible glass from the boy's hand. Closing his eyes, he focused. He needed a distraction from this situation. The kids had returned to their creepy staring ways after his words.

He couldn't blame them.

"S-sure..."

Holding the glass, Ignavus debated on what to do. If he wanted the kids to forget what he just said, he would need to do something really special. Something magical and quite appealing.

'Much easier said than done...'

Ignavus was currently spotting a long trail of failures in that regard. His magical abilities have largely fallen into disrepair.

'No, I can do this. Things have changed... I have changed'

It was not long ago since Ignavus talked with Navy. It had been a talk that meant a lot. That changed a lot. This attempt was going to be different. It had to be.

Feeling a familiar excitement grow within his body, Ignavus pushed forward. It was time for team Navy.

The golden power flowed from Ignavus towards the glass. The moment it made contact, Ignavus knew a real challenge was ahead.

This was their first time trying to re-make an already existing object. And, for some reason, it felt much harder than creating something out of nothing.

Ignavus had one simple goal. To create something kids would find magical and appealing. Maybe, it was for that reason, he found himself thinking of that dumb bird. For all his goofiness, he was still quite the magical and appealing creature.

'This... this is too hard!'

The task was quickly proving to be impossible. A Yalery's power was determined by two factors from what Ignavus could piece together. Their pure will and quantity of mana. The former was learnt through being directly told by his mother while the latter was just pure experience. Ignavus didn't feel like he was being held back by his will but by his mana.

For, as much as he hated it, he was still very much a child Yalery. He just didn't have it in him.

The glass had flattened into a plate like structure. Two strands of glass rose up from the plate and broke out into split ends at the top of the strands.

'We need to quit!'

Ignavus was already starting to burn his remaining quarter. It was past time to call a quits. Opening his eyes and looking at the result... was a little heartbreaking. The abomination looked nothing like a bird.

"W-wow, amazing trees princess!"

'Trees?'

If one were to look at the glass work without reference, then legs of the bird could certainly be viewed as the trunks while the unfinished scattered body would look like branches.

Ignavus failed to conceal the mirthless smile making way to his face.

"Thank you so, so very much"(I)

The brown-haired boy smiled lightly at Ignavus. At that, the other kids chimed in singing their praises.

"Great work, princess!"(S.S)

"Truly a unique craft!"(L.T)

Ignavus just kept smiling as the praises flew in.

"Okay, kids! Hope you're ready for the first activity!"(M)

A light clap sounded gaining everyone's attention.

It was time to move on from this failure.