The princess

The girl looked at the cloaked figure who claimed they would teach her about magic.

"How can I do it like the Plant Wizard? He channels Roh and can send rocks, sand, and small things flying toward the bad people!"

"I'm here to teach you magic formulas and how to control Roh."

"Does that mean I can be the Plant Wizard too?"

"I'm sure you can, if this Plant Wizard can control Roh."

"You do not know the Plant Wizard? My dad said he's very famous."

"No, unfortunately, I'm not aware of any sorcerer with that name."

"He said his storybooks are sold all over the world."

"I'm quite the reader myself, young student. What does the cover of this book look like?"

"It is empty, there is no cover on the book!"

"That is quite the mystery. What can this Plant Wizard do in your stories?"

"He can do all sorts of things! He channels Roh to make the earth shake and sends stuff flying at the enemy."

"I haven't heard of such an application of Roh before. But if you learn from me and can imagine it, I'm sure you can become the Plant Witch."

The strange person said in a tone that made me excited for their lessons.

"First, you can call me Teacher."

"Teacher will make me the Plant Witch!"

He continued abruptly, 

"Yes. Second, I've made a deal with your grandfather to keep these lessons a secret between us. That way, you can surprise your father when you can cast magic."

The little girl shivered when the word "grandfather" came out of their mouth.

"I do like surprises, but why would you talk to Grandpa instead of Dad? He rarely speaks to me."

"Young student, I'm sure your grandfather loves you, or he wouldn't have hired me to teach you. But each person shows love differently."

"I can not talk in front of Grandpa. He scares me, and he always sends Dad away."

she said in a hushed voice.

"That I can't help you with. But if you become confident in using formulas and channeling Roh, you might understand your grandfather better. Now, let's get back to the lesson so you can surprise your father."

She looked up and said, still in a somewhat low voice,

"Yes."

"Good. Tell me what you know about magic."

"I know that you channel what is called Roh into something called a formula, and then you think of the effect you want to happen."

"That's almost a perfect answer for a starter. How did you know that?"

"It is one of the first chapters of the book! It's when the Plant Wizard meets his master, the Rising Blade!"

The teacher stood still for a moment after hearing that name.

"The Plant Wizard meets the Rising Blade?"

"Yes, that is his master's name!"

"I know the Rising Blade, but I don't recall any of his students being named the Plant Wizard."

The little girl's face lit up.

"You know the Rising Blade?! Please, let me meet him! I want to ask him about the Plant Wizard."

The figure nodded shakily and said

"Sure, if the opportunity arises, we can meet him together.

Now, take this formula and start trying to channel your Roh through it."

The girl took the formula and began trying to understand how Roh moved as her teacher demonstrated how to analyze the formula. But not a single drop of Roh emerged for the entire day...

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As the sun set and the moon cast its glow,

Nina opened the door she had closed the night before.

Her face told a story of anguish and unrest.

Upon seeing her expression, the man locked inside stepped forward and asked.

"Nina, what happened? Has something happened to Melanie?"

Nina shook her head intensely to deny that possibility.

"Then is it Shayla?"

Nina hesitated but shook her head again, gesturing that Shayla was just on vacation.

"Oh, so you're sad that the boss isn't around to banter with you?"

Relieved that he misunderstood, Nina nodded in agreement.

They began walking out of the tower toward the main building.

"So, how was young Mel today?"

Nina responded with a thumbs-up.

"Have you met Liam? since the boss isn't around to scold you?"

Nina's face blushed a little, and she shook her head.

"How boring. Want me to call him over tomorrow?"

Nina started walking ahead to avoid responding to his teasing.

Soon, they reached the same door where he had met Nina and Shayla the night before. He knocked and said

"Sweetie, your Pa is here."

"Dad, you can come in."

Melanie said in a happy voice.

He entered the room, and she jumped to hug him. He hugged her back, placed her on the bed, and asked,

"What would you like me to read for you today?"

She replied with less energy than usual

"I want you to continue the Plant Wizard."

"Someone's classes seem to have gotten tougher. What happened to your voice?"

"Today's class was about balancing a book on my head so I can always stay focused. It tired me out."

That was the excuse she had come up with her teacher in case her father asked about it. Since she always took classes on general knowledge and how to act as the heir of a large merchant group, it shouldn't seem strange.

"That's good. Learning to stay focused on a task is important. Then keeping up with your lessons were you focusing last night? At what part did you fall asleep?"

"When Melissa appeared."

"That's not far from where I stopped. Let's keep going, then."

He stood up, picked up the same book again, and sat on the old wooden chair. He began reading from where Melissa appeared, acting out the parts once more...

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Melissa stood up.

"We'll see about that. I should go see how Gerald is doing."

And with that, she started to walk away.