Reborn in Type-Moon: Starting by Adopting Sakura - Chapter 18

The next morning brought bright sunshine streaming through the maze of rooftops outside. Birds were making their usual racket in the trees, and the whole world felt alive in that particular way mornings do.

In her room by the window, Manaka sat on the edge of her bed with a pair of white stockings in her hands. The sunlight made her skin look even paler as she stretched her legs out, wiggling her toes before carefully working one foot into the fabric. She pulled the stocking up slowly, smoothing it over her ankle and up her calf until it reached just above her knee, where she let it settle with a soft snap of elastic.

She did the same with the other leg, taking her time with it. When she was done, she stood up and did a little spin in front of her mirror, checking herself from different angles with the kind of satisfied smile that meant she liked what she saw.

She headed out of her room and up the wooden stairs that connected the second floor where they lived to the third floor where Yuu kept his workshop. The old boards creaked under her feet.

"Master, I'm coming in," she called out.

There weren't any locks or bounded fields—just an ordinary door with an ordinary handle. She turned it and stepped inside without waiting for an answer.

Yuu was just coming out of his meditation, blinking slowly as he adjusted to being back in the regular world. His dark eyes took a moment to focus on her standing in the doorway.

"Good morning, Master."

"Morning, Manaka."

She'd gone all out today—white stockings that came up past her knees and a black and white maid outfit that looked like something straight out of a costume shop. She stood there in front of him, hands clasped behind her back, trying to look casual but clearly fishing for compliments. "So, how do I look?"

"You look beautiful," Yuu said.

The compliment hit its mark. Manaka's cheeks went pink and she ducked her head, though she couldn't quite hide her pleased smile. "I knew it," she said, her voice taking on a teasing tone. "You totally have a thing for stockings."

Yuu blinked at her. "I really don't."

And he meant it. Stockings were just stockings—pieces of fabric, nothing more. They weren't inherently attractive or special. It was only when someone like Manaka wore them that they became part of something appealing. The logic seemed pretty straightforward to him.

"Sure you don't," she said with a laugh, clearly not buying it for a second. Her eyes were sparkling with mischief as she looked up at him. "Well, I guess I'll just have to wear them every day from now on. You know, just in case."

Yuu shrugged. "Whatever makes you happy."

"Perfect!" She spun around once, her skirt flaring out slightly, then headed toward the door with obvious satisfaction. "I'll go start breakfast then."

As she left the workshop, Yuu could hear her humming to herself. She was clearly proud of what she'd probably been thinking of as some kind of strategic victory.

…

The first rays of sunlight filtered through the workshop windows as Yuu began Sakura's lessons in magecraft.

He'd done something to the third-floor room—changed it somehow. Sakura felt the difference immediately, like standing too close to a speaker when the bass drops. The air itself seemed to pulse around her, creating patterns she couldn't see but definitely felt. Her brother moved his hands in what looked like random gestures, but she could tell he was doing something deliberate, something that made the space around them feel heavy and strange.

Whatever he was manipulating, it was real. Prana, he'd called it before—magical energy. The foundation of everything she was about to learn.

The vibrations grew stronger, bouncing back and forth between invisible walls until the air felt foreign against her skin. Nothing looked different, but Sakura knew they weren't in the same room anymore. It was like being inside a bubble that had separated them from the rest of the world.

"Today we're starting with one of the fundamentals," Yuu said, dropping his hands and turning toward her. "Incantations."

The sun had barely cleared the horizon when Yuu decided it was time to start Sakura's magecraft lessons.

He'd spent the better part of an hour preparing the third-floor workshop, weaving layers of bounded fields until the room felt completely cut off from the rest of the house. Sakura noticed it immediately when she stepped inside—that subtle shift in the air, like the moment before a thunderstorm when everything goes unnaturally quiet. The room looked exactly the same, but something fundamental had changed. It was as if they'd stepped through an invisible doorway into someplace that only resembled the workshop she knew.

"You can feel it, can't you?" Yuu watched her expression carefully. "The space around us is saturated with magical energy now. What you're sensing is prana—concentrated and contained within these walls."

Sakura nodded slowly, still trying to process the strange sensation. The air itself seemed heavier somehow, alive in a way that made her skin prickle.

"Today we're starting with something every magus needs to understand—incantations." Yuu settled into a chair across from her, his manner more relaxed than she'd expected for such a formal lesson. "Most people think spells are like recipes. Follow the exact words, get the exact result. But it's more complicated than that."

He gestured loosely, and Sakura felt another subtle shift in the room's atmosphere.

"Think of an incantation as a key that unlocks something already inside you. The magic circuits in your body contain patterns—blueprints for different spells—but you need the right words to access them. The thing is, those words don't have to be identical for everyone."

"So different people can cast the same spell using completely different incantations?" Sakura asked.

"Exactly. As long as you hit the essential components—the core concepts that define the spell—you can customize the rest however you want." Yuu's expression turned slightly amused. "Some magi get really carried away with this. I knew a guy named Cornelius Alba who turned every simple spell into a full theatrical performance. His fire spells sounded like epic poetry. Completely unnecessary, but he seemed to enjoy himself."

"Alba?" The name didn't mean anything to her, but something in Yuu's tone suggested there was more to that story.

"Nobody important. Just an example of how personal style can influence magecraft." He waved dismissively. "The point is, incantations are tools for focusing your mind and accessing your circuits. Once you understand that, you can start developing your own approach."

As he spoke, Yuu mimicked Alba's dramatic gestures, raising one hand theatrically.

"『Vanish, illusion. I shall turn form into formlessness. Forget, darkness. The intangible shall remain untouched. There is no doubt. The answer is obvious. My left hand holds light, my right hand holds truth—therefore I am the truth of all things.———!』"

The change was immediate and overwhelming. Fire bloomed throughout the room, not just flames but waves of heat that made the air itself seem to ripple and dance. Sakura felt the sudden rush of magical energy like a physical weight pressing against her chest. Without thinking, she grabbed onto Yuu's coat, her body instinctively seeking something solid to anchor her as the room transformed around them.

The fire wasn't just hot—it was alive, crackling up the walls and spreading across the ceiling in patterns that seemed almost too perfect to be natural. She could feel her heart hammering as the fire surged, like a storm she had no hope of stopping.

"Keep watching," he said. "Don't look away."

Even though every instinct told her to shut her eyes, Sakura forced herself to keep them open. The magical energy felt like it was trying to squeeze the air from her lungs, but she held on.

Then, as suddenly as it had begun, everything went quiet. The fire vanished, leaving behind only the faint scent of heated air. Sakura found herself breathing deeply, her body relaxing as the pressure lifted. It was like stepping out of a sauna into cool evening air.

Yuu looked pleased with her reaction. "Good. You're more sensitive to magical energy than most people. That's going to be useful."

He paused, then raised a single finger. "Here's the thing about that spell—all of Alba's dramatic posturing was completely pointless. Watch."

The air grew heavy again, that same expectant feeling building.

"『Fire』"

The flames returned instantly, just as intense as before. Sakura stared in amazement as the room filled with the same powerful fire, identical in every way to the elaborate version.

"How is that possible?" she asked, still catching her breath as the fire faded again.