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原稿（第5页）

Kagami’seyeswidenedassheturolookatthegirlfromKageyama.

“...Rin...”

awhisperescapedbetweenherlips.

ChapterThree

Nostalgia（Natsukashiikoto）　懐かしいこと

“ThegeniusofKageyama?”

“ArashitheprodigyisapersonalinvitationtoKagami...”

Kagamiheardthecrowdwhisper.

（“Clearly，Rinhasmadeanameforherselfhere，thoughuhenameArashi.”

）Kagamipondered.（“ButIotbeahundredpertcertainthatthisisRin.ShelookslikeRininherchildhoodphotos，aoherhand，Ididn’tfeellikesheknewme.Hervoicewasrathercold.SoeitherRindidn’treizeme，ormaybethat’sactuallyanotherpersoirely.Iwillprobewithsomeharmlessquestionslateron.”

）

“ThankyouforinvitioKageyama.Iwillgladlyaccepttheoffer.I’mKagami，pleasetakecareofme.”

Kagamisaidwithaslightbow.

“I’mArashi.Gladtomeetyou.”

Shegaveashortreply，andturoresumewatgtherestofthechildrentaketheirtest.

KagamisawthatArashiwasalittlebitaloof.Notwantingtomakeapoorimpression，shewalkedtothesideandaskedtheotherrepresentativefromKageyamaforsomeinformationfirst，beforedegonhowtoiwithArashi.

“Excuseme，I’mKagami.IheardthatArashiisquitefamous，beingcalledagenius.Couldyoupleasetellmesomestoriesofhers，ifthat’sacceptable?”

“Withpleasure.EventhoughArashiistheyoubyage，weallcallheroldersisterinrade，forshewasthefirstoneinmanyways.”

“AtKageyama，studentsspecializeinswordsmanship，alchemy，icmatrixandspells.I’lljustcallthat‘magic’forshort.Studeertheacademywithoutspecialization，andtakegeneralinstru.Everyoolearnsomeintroductorybasithethreesubjects.”

Thegirltinued.

“Howyoudesignateaspecializationisby‘resonatingwithit’.Someyearsafteryoustartstudying，usuallytwoorthree，youwillfeelyourheartbeingdrawnbyohearts.Soyouwillknowbytheodirectyourefforts.Uponwatgdemonstrationsfrominstructors，yourspiritwillbemovedandyouwilleverynowandthenfallintoabrieftrance.Reallybrief，liketwoorthreeseds.That’swhenyouaskyourinstructorformorelessonsonthesubject.”

“Eventually，yourheartandspiritcallstotheart，anditresponds.Asword，acrystal，oramatrix，willresonateasyourwholebeinglongsforit.That’swhenyouarereadytotakeonaspecialization，usuallyaroundtheagefifteen.”

“Arashimadeaswforjoythemomentshegotoneinherhand，atagesix.Soshe’sthefirstoneinthisgeiontohaveaspecialization，andsheenteredadvaudiesafterspeedingpastgeneralcourses.She’snoweleven.Shehasalreadyhadmoreadvancedcoursesthananyoneelseattendingtheacademy，andthat’swhywestudentsallcallher‘oldersister’.Withoutadoubt，shewillbeinthehistorybooksiure.”

“I’mAkishi，bytheway，”

thegirlsmiledwarmly，“Ijustgotmyspecializationinmagiclastyear，atagefourteen.”

“gratulations.Akishi.”

Kagamismiledback，“Youmustalsobequitetalented.Iamonlysix，soI’llneedyourhelpalotwhenIarriveinKageyama.”

（“Hmm...”

）thoughtKagami，（“beingelevenyearsold，she’sstillfiveyearsolderthanme，soitispossiblethatsheisRin.Iwillgetclosertoherwhentheseletesthascluded，andaskhersomequestions.”

）

Kagamisawthatthe“gradeoranceexam”

ofthisworldwasjustabouthalfwaythrough.Allthesixyearoldchildrenhadpletedtheirturns，withfourofthemsucceeding，outofatotalofteoversfrompreviousyearshadbeentryingtheirluck，andthenolderteenslineduptogivetheirlastbestshotatlivingoutside.

MostchildrenavoidedchoosingKageyama.Swordsmanship，alchemyandmagic，thoughmagnifitinname，weredifficultsubjects.Academiesthattaughtmetalwork，carpentry，plasswork，agriculture，stru，nursing，bookkeeping，businessma，maeryrepair...wereinfinitelymorepopularthanKageyama.

Intheend，Kagamiwastheonlyonewhojoined.

（“Iguesstherewon’tbeacrowdaroundArashiwhenItrytotalktoher”

）KagamimadeherwaytowardArashiasthetestsdrewtotheirclusion，“OldersisterArashi，mayIholdyourhand，please?”