Lord Feraos's Gift

"And, in case you hadn't pieced it together, she's his sister."

"Siblings?"

Kael blinked.

"Yes."

"The two don't seem to like each other very much,"

Kael commented, noticing how both their mouths were twitching without stopping as they confronted each other.

Althea just stared at him and shook her head.

"You are mistaken,"

She spoke.

"Despite how they look, the two of them would give their life away for the other. A man once chased after Court Mage Elira and created trouble for her. The moment Commander Arlan found out, the man disappeared."

"D-Disappeared…?"

"Commander Arlan is much more dangerous than he looks,"

Althea replied emotionlessly.

"He is overprotective,"

She commented.

Soon, however, she shrugged.

"I guess that's the same for both of them."

"Both of them?"

Kael tilted his head in confusion.

"It is said that Lord Alden's wife had to spend 15 months convincing Court Mage Elira before she finally accepted her. Before her, the Court Mage had rejected more than thirty women."

"T-Thirty…?"

Kael stuttered.

"As I said, the two are too overprotective."

Althea then stared at Kael and,

"So be careful."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

Kael frowned.

"I saw Lord Kael staring at her when she entered; you looked infatuated."

"Huh? What do yo—"

Kael tried to deny, but Althea didn't care and continued.

"While other women wouldn't mind being subjected to the Hero's depraved and sinful lust, and might look forward to it instead.

You should keep your hands off Court Mage Elira, or you might disappear as well. Hero or not, Commander Arlan won't care when it comes to his sister he deeply cares for."

"…"

Kael turned silent.

He had no clue why he was suddenly being portrayed as some sort of deviant monster.

By now, however, he had become somewhat used to Althea's antics.

"Anyways, such matters are of less concern right now. What you need to know is Court Mage Elira is one of the most powerful mages in the kingdom, known for her mastery over elements. Her intellect is second to none. Despite her young age, only a few can rival her knowledge of magic."

Kael stared at Elira, who was now smirking triumphantly as Arlan crossed his arms, clearly trying to come up with a rebuttal.

Suddenly,

"Enough of this nonsense. You can leave now. I need to start the Hero's training,"

Elira said, dismissing Arlan with a wave of her hand.

"I'll stay,"

Arlan replied, staring daggers at Kael.

He seemed to have heard what Althea said before.

Kael gulped. However, before he could say anything,

"Just go away. Don't you have things to do? Or does the King not trust brutes like you with too much work?"

Arlan, however, completely ignored his sister's taunt and walked towards the corner of the hall, making it clear that he wasn't leaving.

Already used to it, Elira just sighed. Then she turned towards Kael and smiled,

"It's time for proper training.

While your physical conditioning is important, without mastery of magic, you'll never realize your full potential.

Now, Hero Kael,"

She said with a light smirk on her face.

"It's time we see what kind of magic talent you possess. Sit."

Kael obeyed, sitting on a chair in the center of the hall as Elira reached into her crimson robe and retrieved a small, polished crystal ball.

It looked similar to the Orb of Resonance, just… a lot smaller.

"This is an Affinity Crystal,"

Elira explained.

"It detects which elements resonate with your mana. Every mage has one or sometimes more than one element.

The degree of affinity varies from person to person as well. The Affinity Crystal will reveal yours."

Kael nodded in understanding, a little tense.

He had no clue if he would have an affinity with any element or how high his affinity would be. After all, his talent was related to Dragons, not Magic.

"It is similar to how the Orb of Resonance tests your potential. Just place your hand on the crystal, and it will do the rest,"

Elira instructed.

Kael nodded, placing his hand on the Crystal.

Its surface was cool, almost soothing. Kael took a deep breath and closed his eyes. For a moment, nothing happened.

But then, the crystal began to glow.

It started as a faint reddish flicker of light within the sphere.

"Fire…"

Elira noted.

Soon, however, her expression changed.

Bzzz

The Affinity Crystal started trembling, and the flame inside the crystal grew stronger and much more vibrant.

Its light spread all over the hall, blinding everyone present. The ball looked like it contained a miniature sun.

And then,

BOOM

It exploded. Its particles, which should have dispersed all over the place, hurting everyone present, turned to ash because of excessive heat.

Yes, the heat was that strong.

Other than Kael, both Elira and Althea needed to use magic to be able to bear the heat.

Kael, on the other hand, only felt a comforting warmth washing over his body, healing the fatigue that even Althea's magic couldn't. To Kael, it was like he was embraced by the most comforting entity in the entire world.

A feeling he had never experienced before.

"W-What is this…?"

Elira's eyes widened in horror.

"That's… not normal."

Arlan narrowed his eyes, even the normally expressionless Althea was dumbfounded.

"Is his affinity with fire that strong…?"

The Almoner of Services questioned out loud, which was quite out of character for her. Since the start, she had never once spoken or interrupted Kael's training.

"I-It must be related to his Talent! It is Lord Feraos's gift! There is no other explanation!

A Human cannot have such a high affinity with any element, even she didn't—"

Elira, overwhelmed by her emotions, couldn't stop herself. But suddenly,

"Ahem."

Althea coughed.

For a slight second, Elira's face showed a series of complex emotions before she turned towards Kael again and praised excitedly.

"Your fire affinity is too high! It has to be related to Lord Feraos!"

Of course, Kael didn't fail to notice the brief exchange between the Court Mage and the Almoner of Services. He, however, decided not to react to it. It was his first day here, so his goal for now was to just observe and take mental notes.

Not to mention that right now, his focus was on an entirely different thing.

'My Magic Affinity is that high…?'

He was confused.

'But my talent is Dragon Genesis…'

Lord Feraos's 'gift' for him wasn't a high affinity with fire but his connection with Dragons in—

'Wait…'

Suddenly, Kael realized something.

'Is it because of Igni?'