Sitting down in front of Miko Yotsuya, Ranni looked at her calmly and said,
"When practicing magic, you must not be impatient. Only by calming your mind can you better sense magic and control it. In addition, imagination is extremely important. Do not rely solely on your eyes—use your imagination. Visualize the effect you want to achieve."
She paused briefly before continuing.
"As the King likes to put it, magic is a power shaped by the mind. Do not cling too tightly to magic itself. Act naturally, as if it were an extension of your own will. After all, magic is already a part of you."
Miko Yotsuya nodded, half understanding and half confused.
"So… it's like talking or drinking water? Something natural like that?"
"More or less," Ranni replied. "But these things take time to accumulate. There is no need to rush. With your current progress, you are already doing quite well. There is no reason to push yourself too hard."
After hearing that, Miko Yotsuya fell into thought. Looking back, she realized that when she had been casting spells earlier, she had indeed been too impatient—forcing the magic rather than guiding it naturally, which had actually made things harder.
Watching her deep in thought, Ranni considered something for a moment before speaking again.
"Miko, may I call you that?"
"Ah!" Miko Yotsuya was startled, then quickly nodded. "Y-Yes, of course, Miss Ranni!"
"In that case, you don't need to call me Miss Ranni either," Ranni said with a gentle smile. "If you don't mind, you may call me 'big sister.' Considering my age, that would actually be quite appropriate."
"Huh?"
Miko Yotsuya blinked in surprise. Looking at Ranni—who clearly appeared younger than her—she hesitated.
Seeing her expression, Ranni smiled faintly.
"Do you think I am joking? Let me tell you the truth. This body I am using now was created by the King only a few days ago. Before that… I resided inside this."
As she spoke, Ranni took out the small doll she had previously used.
Looking at the tiny puppet in Ranni's hand, Miko Yotsuya's mind filled with question marks.
Ranni continued,
"When I introduced myself before, I mentioned that we came from the Lands Between, correct? You must have wondered where that place is."
She paused slightly before revealing the truth.
"The truth is… the Lands Between is not part of this world. The King and I came here from another world."
As she listened, Miko Yotsuya slowly held her breath.
Although she had already formed some guesses, hearing the truth directly from Ranni still shocked her deeply.
"In order to escape the control of an Outer God and the fate that had been imposed upon me, I abandoned my original demigod body and placed my soul within a puppet. I carried out a plan whose success was far from certain."
Her voice softened slightly.
"Then I met the King. He helped me achieve my goal in the end—freeing both myself and the entire Lands Between from the shackles of the Golden Order. After that… we unexpectedly arrived in this world."
She glanced down at her current form.
"To move more conveniently here, the King created this body for me. As for truly restoring my physical body… that will still take some time."
"So… your body now is actually a puppet?"
Miko Yotsuya was completely stunned. In her eyes, Ranni looked no different from a normal human. She could move freely, speak naturally, and even eat.
And yet she was now being told that this body was a puppet?
Ranni smiled proudly.
"What do you think? The King is amazing, isn't he? Almost no one can tell the difference. Moreover, I can still use my magic freely without any hindrance."
Then she looked directly at Miko Yotsuya.
"Do you know why I am telling you all this?"
After thinking for a moment, Miko Yotsuya answered hesitantly.
"B-Because I joined the Carian Magic Academy?"
Ranni nodded.
"That is part of the reason. More importantly, over the past few days I have observed your character. Talent is not what matters most to me—character is. Even if someone possessed extraordinary talent, if their personality were poor, I would not bother helping them."
Is she… praising me?
Miko Yotsuya scratched her cheek shyly.
"So the main reason I told you this," Ranni continued, "is to let you understand the situation between the King and me. Also… while we are at school, I would like you to help look after him."
"Huh? Me?" Miko Yotsuya's face instantly turned red as she waved her hands nervously. "But Luo Yu and I aren't even in the same class! And he's already so amazing—he doesn't need me to look after him!"
Ranni smiled knowingly.
"I know. But aside from the King, you are the only person I know here. And I can tell that you have a bit of affection for him, don't you?"
In an instant, Miko Yotsuya's face turned bright red, almost steaming.
"N-No! Absolutely not!"
"There is no need to be nervous," Ranni said calmly, waving a hand. "I have already told you about my situation. Because of that, I do not mind if the King forms relationships with other girls—so long as they are people I acknowledge."
She added lightly,
"After all, the King's temperament naturally attracts attention from women. So when you interact with him at school or elsewhere, there is no need to restrain yourself too much. Simply treat him naturally."
Then she clapped her hands lightly.
"That is all I wished to say. Our break is over—let us continue practicing Glintstone Arc."
"Y-Yes, Miss Ranni!"
"Hmm?"
"R-Ranni… big sister?"
Ranni nodded in satisfaction and resumed guiding Miko Yotsuya's magic training.
Unfortunately, because of Ranni's earlier words, Miko Yotsuya's progress with the spell became even slower than before.
At ten in the morning, Luo Yu temporarily paused his research on creating a body for Ranni and came upstairs, knocking on the door.
Looking inside at Miko Yotsuya still practicing Glintstone Arc while Ranni guided her, he asked,
"I'm about to start making lunch. Is there anything you two would like to eat?"
The moment Miko Yotsuya heard Luo Yu's voice, the magic she had just managed to gather at the tip of her staff instantly collapsed.
Her face flushed red as she turned her back to him, too embarrassed to speak.
After glancing at her, Ranni turned to Luo Yu and replied calmly,
"Anything is fine. You may decide, King. We are not picky."
Luo Yu nodded. After giving Miko Yotsuya a puzzled glance, he headed downstairs to start cooking.
Once he left, Ranni looked at Miko Yotsuya's expression and said with amusement,
"And you still claim you have no feelings? If that were truly the case, you would not react like this."
Miko Yotsuya covered her face in embarrassment.
"Please stop…"
Ranni shook her head slightly. With a gentle wave of the Carian Regal Scepter, a faint mist of frost drifted out and settled over Miko Yotsuya.
The sudden chill made the girl shiver.
"You've calmed down now, haven't you? It is time to continue practicing. You have already wasted quite a bit of time because of your emotions."
Miko Yotsuya rubbed her arms and glanced at Ranni with a slightly resentful expression.
"That's only because of what you said, Ranni big sister…"
Even so, she picked up her Astrologer's Staff again and resumed practicing.
At eleven-thirty, after Luo Yu reminded them, Ranni and Miko Yotsuya finally paused their morning training and went downstairs for lunch.