{ ONE WEEK LATER… }

  Oumn afternoon of April 20, 1415, the ndscape was ed in warm golden hues.

  The sun, now snting toward the horizon, cast long shadows orees, while a gentle breeze caressed the yellowing leaves, making them silently dan the air.

  Mirac sat cross-legged in the ter of his room, atop a soft red carpet.

  Anyone who might have e that moment would have thought that the young Prince was immersed in deep meditation.

  But that wasn't the case.

  "Hmmm…"

  Mirac was indeed focused, but his mind was not occupied with mere meditation.

  Something more was taking shape in his thoughts at that very moment…

  Behind him, his desk was ly covered with stacked books, and atop one of them sat a basket taining three red apples, with a knife resting beside it.

  A profound silence filled the room until, with a firm voice, Mirac pronounced in his mind:

  'Fourteen…'

  In an instant, the three apples were precisely divided into three equal slices each, as if an invisible bde had skillfully cut them.

  Without needing to turn around, Miraew exactly what had just happened.

  "Good!" he excimed enthusiastically, opening his eyes aing a satisfied smile surface. "I'd say I've figured it out…"

  He stood up calmly, walked over to the desk, and picked up a slice of apple. He bit into it slowly, letting the sweet fvor of the fruit fill his mouth, then sat down again.

  Since he had woken up seven days ago, Mirac had not attended any lessoher academior swordsmanship. This was for two reasons: a new and true teacher had yet to arrive to repce the te impostor, Professor Shirkenn, and the young Prince was still too weak to even lift a sword.

  So, with all the free time at his disposal, Mirac had read several books on the history and geography of the region and, at the same time, decided to dedicate himself to something he had hought of doing before: better uanding his mathematical powers!

  At first, he hesitated, even finding the idea absurd, but in the end, he realized that being familiar with his abilities could prove to be an invaluable on in future emergencies—precisely to avoid having to improvise at the st moment, as he had doh Krk.

  Thus, he uood that temporarily setting aside his reseoward Math and at least disc the basic ws of his abilities was the wisest choice.

  Day after day, by experimenting with his abilities on the fruits Carmen brought him each m in the basket, and analyzing the properties and characteristics of his powers, Mirac had made extraordinary discoveries:

  1. To use the four skills reted to the fual operations—addition, subtraultiplication, and division—it is necessary to solve a mathematical operation. This operation appears floating iarry sky, in a vision that is always and unditionally distinct from the surroundiy, coexisting with it without overpping or interfering.

  2. The plexity of the required calcution varies primarily based on the characteristics of the object being acted upon. Larger, more resistant, urly shaped elements require more plex operations. For example, dividing an apple into five slices is always easier than obtaining the same number of ses from a banana. This is because the former has a more or less spherical shape, while the tter is elongated and curved, making it more plex. Another factor that affects the difficulty of the calcution is the specific request made: for instance, dividing something into two parts is signifitly easier than splitting it into seven or even more.

  3. A simple physical touch is suffit to exert magi objects, regardless of whether the entire hand or just a single finger is used. However, using the hand typically allows for toug multiple elements simultaneously, making it easier to a several objects at once.

  4. Once physical tact is established and the request is made, the operation to be solved and the vision of the starry sky remain visible in the mind until an answer is provided. In fact, Mirac had often touched a fruit and, at his own pace, solved the operation on paper before saying it aloud. He could even utter or murmur random numbers during the calcution process, as long as he was not mentally vinced of their validity as the final answer.

  5. If the provided answer is incorrect, the vision of the equation and the starry sky vanish without the spell having any effe the object. However, it appears that the attempt be repeated indefinitely, with no apparent limits. There are ris on the number of mistakes or repetitions that be made on the same object.

  6. A surprising discovery was that the request does not necessarily have to be spoken aloud: a simple thought of the request, apanied by physical tact with the object, is enough. The answer also be formuted mentally, introdug the possibility of using his powers in plete secre undeniable advantage in case of emergencies.

  That day, a few minutes before sitting down to enjoy the apple slices, Mirac had decided to put his abilities to the test with a small experiment that enpassed all his ret discoveries!

  First, he had lightly touched the three apples in the basket with the tip of his tongue, mentally formuting the request as he licked them:

  'Divide by three…'

  Then, he had moved to the ter of the room, fog on the calcution that had appeared in the vision of the starry sky:

  [ 70 : 5 = ? ]

  After a few minutes of refle, he had fidently stated the answer:

  'Fourteen…'

  As soon as he thought of it, the number repced the question mark in the equation:

  [ 70 : 5 = 14 ]

  The writing and the starry sky disappeared, and that's how the apples in the basket had ly divided into three identical slices each!

  And now, sitting at his desk while sav the sweet taste of the red fruit, Mirac felt fully satisfied: his analysis of his mathematical powers was finally plete!

  "Perhaps there are other details about my powers that I will discover iure, but for now, this information is more than enough…"

  For a couple of minutes, Mirac remained silent, his gaze lost in the clear sky beyond the window as he ate his delicious apple.

  "17:36… Dinner is in about an hour, right?"

  Mirac hadn't looked at the clo the desk to know the exact time.

  Instead, he had used his "Immaterial Clock" ability.

  A few days earlier, during his experiments with fruit, Mirac had activated and adjusted his mental clock with extreme ease: he simply meditated for a few seds and wished for the activation of the ability.

  Right after, a clock with hands, white and floating, had appeared before his eyes in the vision of the starry sky.

  However, the hands were initially pletely still.

  It was then that Mirac had realized he o set the time first in order to actually activate the meism.

  And, as he had imagined, it worked.

  The hands had moved silently until they reached the time Mirac had set by reading the one indicated on the clo his room, and from that moment, they hadn't stopped, marking time tinuously until today.

  To his great satisfa, the ability did not produy mental tig, as he had initially feared. And now that he thought about it, her did his other two abilities—the ohat allowed him to instantly know the number of objects and their age—seem to have any side effects on his nervous system, despite the huge flow of information he was stantly processing.

  A great relief, because this way, Mirac was not forced to keep his eyes closed all the time or wear a blindfold like that white-haired sorcerer in a manga he had read in his previous life…

  Despite the myriad of experiments ducted that week, Mirac felt fident in himself and his memory, to the point of not deeming it necessary to write down his discoveries anywhere—not to mention that avoiding any written proof was an excellent precaution to prevent his secrets from leaking out!

  After all, for now, his abilities were only seven, and he remembered them quite well, along with their descriptions that had appeared in his visions when he had acquired them:

  [ Instant ting: You instantly know the exaumber of objects or elements in any se or situation with a single gnce ]

  [ Practical Addition: In a fi of objects, you create additional identical ohus adding them to the base set ]

  [ Practical Subtra: In a fi of objects, you make some disappear, thus subtrag them from the base set ]

  [ Multiplicative Touch: After toug an object, you multiply it by the desired number, creating identical copies ]

  [ Dividing Cut: After toug an object, you divide it by the desired number, cutting it into identical ses ]

  [ Immaterial Clock: You possess a mental clock that unditionally marks time ]

  [ Instant Knowledge of Age: You instantly know the exact age of an object or individual with a single gnce ]

  "How delicious!" he excimed as the apple broke under his bite and the sweet juice caressed his pate.

  But when he reached into the fruit basket once again, his smile faded.

  Without even realizing it, Mirac had almost finished all three apples!

  Only two slices remained in the basket.

  "Damn!" he excimed, as his stomach growled, insatiable and demanding more food.

  Mirac could have easily gone downstairs and asked Carmen for more, just as he had done in the past few days.

  But then, another idea came to him: a more ve and faster one!

  Without hesitation, he grabbed the st two pieces of apple aally formuted a simple request:

  'Plus four…'

  Suddenly, the vision of the starry sky appeared, and with it, the arithmetic operation.

  [ 90 : 6 = ? ]

  "Hmpf, too easy!" Mirac excimed, the required calcution floating.

  After solving the calcution on a sheet of paper, Mirafidently pronouhe correswer:

  "Fifteen…"

  The question mark ged, shifting from a white mist until it transformed into the spoken number.

  [ 90 : 6 = 15 ]

  At the end of the transformation, the vision vanished, and the apple slices in the basket began to tremble slightly, as if an imperceptible energy assing through them.

  Without making the slightest sound, the tle slices split like in a cell divisianizing to form two new slices, distinct but identical to the inal ohe process was quid repeated a sed time owo newly formed slices, resulting in a total of six sliow lying in the basket.

  What he had just used was the power of his "Practical Addition" ability!

  Oher hand, with "Practical Subtra," the indicated quantity of objects simply vanished into thin air, leaving no trace behind.

  "Huh!" Although it wasn't the first time, Mirac was still quite astonished. "'Nothing is created, nothing is destroyed, everything is transformed.' It's the fual w of mass servation, by Antoine-Laurent de Lavoisier. But don't my po a bit against this physical principle?"

  Indeed, at first, this tradi had uled him. Challenging and vioting the physical ws that govern the universe was certainly not something to take lightly!

  But over time, seeing how he could eat as many apples as he wanted, Mirac had decided to ignore what he now sidered a "silly ay."

  "Well, it's useless to try to apply reason in an illogical world like this…"

  Throughout the week, Mirac had ducted all his experiments only in his room, keeping the key in the lock to cover the crack. The reason behind this was fairly simple: he stantly feared being spied on!

  Perhaps the person who had given him the sword to face Krk had simply been skilled and fast enough not to be seen.

  But if that wasn't the case, Mirac didn't rule out the possibility that this person might actually have a power ical tool that allowed them to teleport!

  It was unlikely, of course, but NOT IMPOSSIBLE!

  Whatever the case, such a person was certainly not to be uimated!

  Furthermore, thinking about the fact that this person had probably followed him to the woods the day of the i with Krk, a shiver ran down Mirac's spine.

  When he realized that someone—whether good or bad—might be secretly spying on him, he not only unicated it to Carmen but also suddenly remembered another detail: the math book that had "fallen on its own" from the shelf!

  "ELEMENTARY MATHEMATICS: Disc Numbers"

  "Dave Arangot"

  Even after more than a year, Mirac still had that book with him, in one of the drawers of his desk.

  During the week of experiments, Mirac had immersed himself in reading that book—for pure curiosity, certainly not because it was a math book!—trying not to be distracted by the fact that the author had the same name as his father from his previous life.

  And it recisely on this occasioween the pages and numbers, that Mirac had retly discovered somethiremely iing.

  In fact, one of the chapters of the book taught the method of using the abacus with fingers: Chisanbop!

  This teique allows those who learn it not only to perform calcutions involving the four basic mathematical operations with two-digit numbers, but also to do so at incredible speed as they refine and practice it! Moreover, it is retively easy to learn, sidering that this teique was included in the first of the seven volumes, the one dedicated to children.

  Therefore, by pure ce, Mirac had found a method to quickly perform calcutions without having to write them down on paper and solve them step by step.

  All of this, of course, was solely aimed at his desire to learn how to solve the calcutions required by the visions more quickly and, sequently, to use his mathematical powers iure with greater speed and efficy!

  However, having only one hand, Mirac had to reinterpret the method to suit his physical dition, gradually learning to mentally visualize the abacus and apply the necessary steps to perform all calcutions in his mind.

  This recisely why he often sat in the ter of his room to "meditate"—it was to perfect the visualization of the mental abacus, as well as to practice.

  For now, though, this skill was still in an initial, raw stage.

  However, with perseverand training, Mirac was vihat, by the age of fifteen, he would be able to easily solve two-digit calcutions, allowing him to fully exploit his multiplication and division skills—those he believed could be the most powerful and useful in a hypothetical battle—even e objects!

  Determined, he had decided—albeit with some reluce, si undeniably meaing more involved with Math!—to practice with the mental abacus every day to improve!

  However, ohing was certain: he could not, and did not want to, rely entirely on his Sintony with Math!

  His true strength, in fact, the one he could use in any circumstahout risking exposing his anomalous powers, y i of swordsmanship.

  However, by now, Mirac had uood that skill with the sword alone was not enough. The battle between Carmen and Krk had taught him a fual lesson: he needed power, speed, strength!

  For now, he could still justify his weakness with the excuse of being just a child. But iure, he no longer wao rely on su excuse!

  Mirated—and o bee stronger!

  So, with this goal clearly in mind, Mirac had decided that he would dedicate a good part of the week to physical training.

  However, to achieve a level of muscur strength far beyond what he would gain by simply liftis, Mirac had decided that calisthenics would be the best path to take iure!

  And having only one arm would certainly not demotivate or stop him from training!

  Fortunately, thanks to his eidetic memory of his previous life, he perfectly remembered the principles of bodyweight calisthenics described in several books. Moreover, his deep knowledge of human anatomy would allow him to optimize muscle growth, improving both speed and efficy.

  However, before starting with proper calisthenid to avoid overexerting himself given the lingering weakness from his wounds—Mirac had decided to begi week with basic exercises for strength and endurance: 100 push-ups, 100 sit-ups, 100 squats, and a 10 km run every day.

  Of course, with this training, he only hoped not to end up bald…

  Beyond physical training, the mystery surrounding the math book kept eg in his mind, especially how it had fallen that day right when he was he shelf!

  Had it been just a ce? Or was the same person who had mysteriously given him the sword to face Krk behind that event as well?

  But the fact that it was a math book… was that also just a mere ce? Or did that mysterious figure know something about Mirac's Sintony with Math?

  And, even more uling… assuming once again that the author of the book was truly Vector's father, could the person who presumably made the book fall that day be hinting at knowing about Mirac's past life as well?

  Living in a magical and irrational world, he could her rule out nor firm any of these doubts.

  And as much as he wao fide in someoalking to Carmen was out of the question!

  In fact, Mirac still wasn't sure whether his "bodyguard" would report him if she discovered his Chaotiature.

  Perhaps not…

  Perhaps she would stay by his side and even try to help him hide his Anomalous Sintony.

  But Mirac wasn't willing to take such a risk!

  The fact that she had saved him from Krk was, without a doubt, proof of her incredible strength. But the same could not be said with absolute certainty about her loyalty…

  Disc that Mirac was a Chaotic—let alone reinated from another world—could pletely ge Carmen's attitude, along with her pns and goals!

  From "proteg the young Prince," she might shift to "eliminating the young Prince."

  'Damn it!' Mirac cursed inwardly, throwing himself onto the bed after finishing the st slices of apple. 'I'm a Prince, yet I live like a sve: without a shred of freedom, forced to stantly watch my back, afraid of being stabbed even by those I've always loved…'

  Soon, shaking his head, Mirac pushed aside that depressing thought.

  'No! Now's not the time to think about these things! As long as I move carefully, they won't discover me, and everything will be fine… Yes, I have no doubt!'

  A smile briefly touched his lips.

  But right after, ahought emerged, making his expression turn slightly more serious.

  'Anyway… I know it might be too te! Maybe you're not even listening, or maybe you 't… But in any case, I want to say it, just to put my mind at ease. Well, actually, I should have said it the very day you helped me… But better te than never, right?'

  He paused for a moment, his eyebrows furrowing in his usual, faintly frustrated expression.

  'But watch out! Don't take any of this as my way of accepting you into my life, nor as a hope for coexisteween us, aainly not as a sign of peace! You still are, and will always remain, my enemy—something I simply ot stand!'

  The tension in his forehead eased, and his eyebrows rexed as well.

  After a sigh and a small cough to return his voice to normal, Miratinued:

  'But… if I'm still alive, it's not just thanks to Carmen: it's also thanks to you! Or at least I think so… Anyway…!’

  He took a brief pause, sighed once more, and then, with a smile that cealed a hint of shyness, he whispered:

  "Thank you, Math…"

  AnnouA big timeskip is ing…

  The end of the first volume is near…