She watches him for a moment, her expression unreadable as he wipes the crumbs off his face. Then she tilts her head slightly—like a predator sizing up its prey.
"Which school did you go to?" Her voice is cool, but there's an edge of curiosity beneath it. "And are you even enrolled in any school here yet?"
Isagani takes another gulp of his coffee, wincing slightly at the taste before answering her, his tone casual. "Just a local public school," he replies with a shrug. "Nothing fancy. And I actually just enrolled this week, yeah."
He looks down at the tabletop for a moment, suddenly a bit embarrassed by the conversation topic. He takes another sip of that horrendous coffee as a distraction.
"Not a lot of magic users in my school. Mostly low-level stuff." He shrugs, trying to brush it off as nonchalantly as possible. "So I couldn't enroll in some elite academy or anything, not when I can't even use magic myself."
He continues, his voice a little less bright than before.
"We only really learned about magic... lectures, principles, history, all that stuff," he explains with a slight sigh. "Understanding the power but never actually being able to use it. So, you know, basically just dreaming about it instead of actually doing it."
The corner of her mouth twitches again—a barely-there hint of a reaction.
"Well." Iris takes another bite of lemon cake. The flavor barely even registers on her palette as she speaks. "Understanding the theory first is actually a solid foundation for future practice. Magic theory, history, and principles are the building blocks of spellcasting, so it's good that you've studied that first. Even if you can't use magic yourself."
Isagani perks up a little at her words, his expression shifting from slightly dejected to intrigued. He leans forward with renewed energy.
"Yeah... I guess gifted people just get lucky, huh?" he says with a wry grin. "They can grasp magic like it's nothing while the rest of us are stuck memorizing textbooks and dreaming about casting spells."
He shakes his head in mock frustration before taking another swig of coffee—this time trying not to grimace at how bitter it is.
Iris gaze lingers on him—sharp, assessing.
"Gifted people don't get lucky. They just have an advantage in the beginning." She takes another sip of her black coffee before continuing. "Real mastery comes from discipline, repetition, and understanding theory well enough to adapt it."
There's a pause as she studies his face—the slight disappointment still lingering there.
"...You say you can't use magic yourself," she says slowly. "But that doesn't mean you're entirely useless when it comes to handling spells or magical incidents." Her voice is flat but not unkind—just stating facts like they are written in stone somewhere above them both.
"You might not be able to cast anything... but if your knowledge is solid enough? You could at least recognize dangerous situations before they happen."
Isagani blinks, slightly taken aback by her blunt words. He considers her words for a moment before he lets out a thoughtful hum, rubbing his chin.
"...You've got a point there," he admits with a nod. "Even if I have no magic to use myself, I do know a lot about it... and can recognize a bunch of dangerous stuff before it blows up. Guess that's kinda helpful."
He hesitates for a beat before shrugging, suddenly a bit more vulnerable.
"Do you think someone without magic can ever, like... wield it? Or is that just impossible?" He asks, his tone uncertain. "I mean, I know it's probably a stupid question, but..."
"It's not a stupid question," Iris replies softly, putting her coffee cup down. The flat, factual tone is gone, replaced with something gentler.
"In a way, that's exactly what most of us are trying to do every day."
She pauses, collecting her thoughts, then continues:
"We don't truly wield magic, not like a sword we own. We borrow it. We use discipline and knowledge—the principles, the history, all that stuff you're learning—to shape our own life energy and connect it to something else, something bigger than ourselves."
She leans forward slightly, a serious look in her eyes.
"So, yes, someone without the 'gift' can absolutely learn to 'wield' it. It's a road paved with a thousand times more effort and risk for them, but the knowledge you're gaining is the first step on that path."
She gestures toward his head. "Your mind is the key. The knowledge inside is a tool you already possess. If you know how a lock works, you don't need magic to open it, you just need the right key—or to understand how to pick it."
Isagani's mouth opens slightly in surprise, his eyes widening the more she talks. He's clearly not used to people giving him serious, well-thought-out answers to his questions.
He listens raptly to her explanation, genuinely fascinated and a little mind-blown by the way she words it. His expression is one of almost child-like wonder, and he's actually sitting forward in his seat now.
"Damn. You're really smart, you know that?"
Iris actually almost smiles at the look on his face—a sort of mixture of wonder and awe and surprise. It would be almost adorable if she were someone who was prone to such things. But she quickly composes herself, her expression going back to that cool and neutral mask.
"You flatter me." Her tone is completely deadpan—almost mocking—as if to cover up the fact that her heart does a tiny little somersault in her chest.
"I'm just stating facts," she says casually, taking another sip of coffee.
Isagani snorts a little at her almost-smile, secretly pleased that he got any kind of reaction out of her—even if it was only the ghost of a smile.
When she comments about stating facts as if to deflect his compliment, he grins crookedly. "Yeah, yeah. You don't have to play coy." He gives a dismissive wave before giving her a look.
"But, uh..." He rubs the back of his neck, suddenly sheepish. "I kinda suck at studying. Or learning. I'm slow and kinda dumb, to be honest."
Iris expression shifts—just slightly. It's not quite sympathy, but something close to understanding.
"Then you study slower." Her voice is firm, matter-of-fact. "You learn what works for your brain and stick with it."
She leans forward again, her tone shifting into something almost like a teacher explaining a basic concept.
"Everyone learns at their own pace—even gifted people struggle when they push themselves too fast or skip steps in the process." She tilts her head slightly as she studies him. "But if you're willing to put in the work? There's no reason why someone 'slow' can't master magic theory just as well as anyone else."
A pause.
"...Or anything else."
Isagani blinks at her, genuinely surprised by how straightforward she is. He hadn't expected that kind of answer—no sarcasm, no dismissive brush-off. Just pure encouragement.
He leans back in his seat slightly as if physically processing the weight of what she just said to him.
"...Huh," he finally mutters after a beat too long. "That's... weirdly motivating."
Then he grins and points at her with one finger like an accusation:
"You're actually kinda nice under all that cold exterior stuff!"
Iris entire face goes pale.
For the first time since they met, Iris Clayborne looks completely and utterly flustered. Her fingers tighten around her coffee cup like she's considering throwing it at his head—or maybe just hiding behind it forever.
"T-That's not—" She cuts herself off with a sharp exhale through her nose, visibly wrestling for control over whatever reaction is trying to escape.
Then she forcibly straightens in her seat, lifts her chin high enough that he can see the exact moment his words short-circuit something in her brain—and delivers one of the most lethal deadpan lines known to man:
"...You're an idiot."
She regains her composure with visible effort, adjusting her glasses to hide the faintest dusting of pink on her cheeks.
Then she takes a deep breath and shifts slightly in her chair.
....
Iris expression hardens again—back to business.
"Why here?" Her voice is sharp, almost accusatory. "Aeon Genesis City has actual training programs specifically for people certified with low or no Esper potential." She narrows her eyes at him like this should be obvious.
"You said you wanted to learn magic," she continues, leaning forward again with that same unreadable intensity in her gaze. "So why not go somewhere that specializes in teaching non-mages? You'd have a better chance becoming an esper there than trying your luck here."
Isagani's shoulders sag slightly, like he was expecting something like this. He rubs his neck with a sigh, suddenly looking a little sheepish again.
"Yeeeeeeeah..." he says, drawing the word out like a reluctant teenager confessing to his mom. "So, funny thing about going to a place like that and learning there…"
He gives a weak shrug, avoiding her gaze.
"I've heard the stuff they do there. The 'process'. Drugs, brain wave patterns, that kinda stuff. It sounded... kinda freaky."
Iris expression doesn't change—but her eyes flicker with almost a hint of interest.
"Freaky," she repeats flatly, her voice completely deadpan. "You mean... science?"
Isagani winces a little at her tone, looking like a scolded child now. "Okay, yeah," he admits, running a hand through his hair a little awkwardly. "Science. But it still doesn't sound... I don't know. Safe? Or even ethical, really."
He looks at her with a rueful half-smile. "You think I'm being ridiculous, don't you?"
Iris exhales sharply through her nose—almost a laugh, but not quite. She leans back in her chair and studies him for a long moment, that unreadable expression flickering between exasperation and something else entirely.
"You still have so many things you don't know about these two cities..."