human
Subaru:  “Hey, Emilia-tan, what kind of magic do you use, anyway?”
gpt
Emilia:  “Err, strictly speaking, I’m not a magic user. That’s because I’m a spirit mage, including my pact with Puck here. What I use isn’t magic but spirit arts. The principles are largely the same, though…”
human
Subaru:  “So how are magic users and spirit mages different?” Subaru turned his neck and looked at Puck sitting on Emilia’s shoulder.
gpt
Puck:  The little cat, realizing the conversation had shifted in his direction, stroked the fur over his belly as he explained. “Magic users use the mana inside them when they use magic. In contrast, spirit mages use the mana in the air around them. The process is fairly different, even when the effects are the same.”
human
Subaru:  “So what kind of differences are those, sensei?” Subaru raised his hand and asked his question.
gpt
Puck:  Sitting in the lecturer’s role, grinned like a cat in a good mood. “Technically, it’s whether a gate is used or not. The size of a gate depends on the individual magic user, but that doesn’t matter much for spirit mages. That’s because you’re using external mana.”
human
Subaru:  “I see. So magic users bring in mana from around them through the gate, then send it back out the gate when they use magic, but spirit mages can cut out the middleman.” Subaru was digesting the explanation when he tilted his head halfway. “Mm? But then that makes spirit mages way too powerful. Magic users are limited to the amount of fuel they can store inside them, but spirit mages have a free pass to use as much as they want. There’s no contest.”
gpt
Puck:  “You understand quickly. But it isn’t quite that convenient. In the first place, the mana in the air isn’t infinite…” Puck’s words trailed off as he looked up at Emilia.
human
Emilia:  The girl nodded as she took over. “And the strength of the spells a spirit mage can use is dependent on the spirit you’ve formed a pact with. The predisposition needed to form pacts with spirits is rare to begin with, and powerful spirits are even rarer. It’s difficult to say which is better.”
gpt
Subaru:  “Mm-hmm…but it must feel pretty good to get a pact with a strong spirit, right? You must really be hot stuff, Emilia-tan. Seems like Puck is hot stuff himself, though…”
human
Puck:  “Well, I can’t really deny that I’m above average.”
gpt
Subaru:  “Man, you just said that with a straight face; no hesitation at all rating yourself like that?” Subaru thought his self-consciousness outclassed most, but Puck’s bluntness was a level higher. No doubt it was the age difference. A greenhorn had seen many fewer years than Mr. Great Spirit. Though, judging from the rather merry, blushy smile the Great Spirit was making, maybe he wasn’t as used to flattery as he pretended to be… “Oh, by the way, what kind of spirit is Puck, anyway?