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Originally Posted by Kanon
I'm wondering when someone is considered a mage. I understand the difference between mage and sorcerers, but is Alice considered a mage now that she has a contract with Will O Wisp? As in, you just need to befriend one of the neighbors?
The Rian being rejected because he smelled of rust makes me think he is shady. Rust -> iron -> blood.
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There's some biological component as well. Most mages we've seen, and I mean actual mages, have lifespans that range hundreds of years, while sorcerers age normally.
In addition, Mages can pull in ambient mana on their own, which is a problem for a Sleigh Beggy like Chise, as she also produces magical energy similar to how a sorcerer does. That puts so much of a strain on her body that the reason Elias first got her the bracelet was to cut that off.
There's also things like needing the Sight to see the neighbors naturally, which Chise has but a lot of other people don't. In the manga the students were surprised there were actually neighbors within the campus when Elias revealed them, indicating that they couldn't see them prior. You need to be able to see them in order to work with them unless they choose to let you see them or you pull a Chise and make some of that eye drop ointment.
In Alice's case, she has an affinity towards Blue Flame in particular. In Episode 23 of the last season, she had a reaction to Blue Flame popping up from her shadow before Renfred did, meaning she had some level of sensitivity to it. And Blue Flame asked for her magic to burn the wraiths away because he liked her scent as well, stating it came from her soul and was so appealing it. Ruth originally in the manga smelled Blue Flame within her shadow when they met in the training hall before popping out, which is when it revealed they entered into a contract after the mess with Joseph.
Now, compare that to Rian, whose rejection came from the scent of rust that she smelled on him.
So its' not just having an affinity for the neighbors, but with them you can get closer to becoming a mage. A knowledgeable sorcerer who has an affinity with a neighbor could become a mage in that aspect and gain access to magic by processing it through them, rather than using their backdoor access they use now. Alice has an affinity towards Blue Flame who is attracted to the scent of flames from her soul, and so in offering a bit of her magic Blue Flame expressed that as a flame on the candle.