episode_0153

It had been two weeks since I formed a formal contract with Sei, an intermediate wind spirit.

In the world of the game academy, the past two weeks had been eventful in various ways, but for me and Ethan, it felt like fairly ordinary days were passing by.

If there was anything special that happened during these past two weeks, it was that my level had increased by one, reaching level 12, during the practical monster subjugation class.

By teaming up with Ethan to hunt six monsters each day, it was a natural outcome.

Of course, compared to those who were dedicated to leveling up, my growth was relatively slow, but the fact that I was progressing was important in its own right.

The scene of me and Ethan attending the practical monster subjugation class usually went like this.

“Lilith, can you stall the goblins in the 3 o’clock direction?!”

“I’ve got it covered! So, Ethan, focus on the orc in front of you!”

“Got it, thanks!”

Basically, Ethan would engage in combat with strong enemies from the front while I defended the empty angles.

Or, I would distract the ranged monsters with dagger throws or magic arrows while Ethan dealt with the close-range monsters. This was the typical hunting style for me and Ethan.

In addition, I would often use protective shields or magic chains to assist Ethan in his hunting.

Having a reliable tank and dealer in front of me made the battles more stable in many ways. Since I was the protagonist at the Luminor Academy, I mostly played the role of a tank.

It was Ethan’s idea to omit formalities during combat. He thought that in urgent situations, constantly addressing each other by titles might lead to missing important information.

I had kept my mouth shut, as suggesting such a shameless proposal could have easily led to accusations of disrespect. Fortunately, Ethan seemed to understand the situation.

Since I had been harboring such thoughts in my mind for a while, it was only natural for me to agree.

Anyway, aside from being a nobleman and Ethan’s maid, Ethan was a decent partner in practical hunting.

Naturally, I couldn’t help but think that I wanted to continue working together until we graduated from the academy.

“As long as I remain Ethan’s exclusive maid, we can operate as partners during our time at the academy.”

It felt like just yesterday when I saw that kid who used to come to the restaurant begging for food, but now he had become a reliable frontliner whom I could trust without any worries.

It was inevitable that my emotions would be stirred every time I attended the practical hunting class.

And as for other special events, perhaps I had gotten a little closer to Agnes.

Well, in her desperate situation, getting closer to me was probably the best solution for her, making it essentially an unavoidable choice.

To win in the complex hierarchy of the Elizabeth family, having a spirit was not a choice but a necessity for Agnes.

It wasn’t just about having a spirit to strengthen or weaken her magic; the heir of the Elizabeth family was expected to excel in all aspects compared to others, not just in magic.

Knowledge of magic was a basic requirement, and social etiquette, affinity with spirits, and more were all factors that were evaluated when determining the heir.

Even if one possessed powerful magic and knowledge of magic, if their affinity with spirits was lacking, they would naturally fall behind in the heir’s hierarchy.

Especially if Agnes, who is even willing to try contracting with lower-level spirits, fails to make a contract even after a semester of studying spiritology, her position within the family, no matter how promising she may be, will become quite delicate.

Professor Erin’s classes were focused on getting close to spirits rather than contracting with them, so there were hardly any people who could help her in her situation, except for me.

That’s why recently, even after class ended, I stayed behind for an hour each time to help Agnes prepare for spirit contracts.

“Basically, Blaze, your obsession with spirits is too strong, causing issues. You’re too aggressive in approaching them.”

“…Why is that? If I don’t approach them aggressively, the spirits won’t come to me first, right?”

“Normally, that would be the case. However, your magical power is a bit special, isn’t it? It’s a type of magical power that is difficult for spirits to approach.”

“…I’ve been curious about this for a while. Is my magical power really that bad? Even though I have a lot of magical power, there might be someone who likes it.”

‘No, there isn’t. You smell. Strange smell.’

‘Ah~ no! One of the reasons we contract with humans in the first place is because we want to eat delicious magical power that doesn’t exist in nature! Of course, your magical power might have a taste that doesn’t exist in nature, but… there are hardly any spirits who want to eat tasteless and smelly magical power! Well, if there’s a unique guy who really finds your magical power tasty, then maybe!’

“….”

Agnes froze with a shocked expression upon hearing Sei and Sally’s scathing comments.

It’s not like I have any special affection for this kid, but even so, the evaluations of the two were too harsh.

“Wait, Sei, Sally! Don’t be too direct in your words! There are ways to say things more tactfully!”

‘Strange smell. How do you say it more tactfully? I don’t know about that.’

‘Then let Lillis try saying it differently! I just honestly said I don’t want to eat tasteless and strange-smelling magical power!’

“Tasteless and strange-smelling magical power….”

“…Blaze, your magical power isn’t necessarily wrong. It’s just that it feels a bit unfamiliar to the spirits, making it difficult for them to approach you. It’s like how humans instinctively avoid a steak that smells like rotten eggs, right? If urine smells in clear soup, you can’t help but suspect the chef, right? The feeling that spirits get from Agnes’s magical power is similar to this….”

“…You’re the worst.”

“…Me?”

Anyway, recently, I focused on helping Agnes understand the nature of her magical power.

The most fundamental solution was, of course, to increase Agnes’s charm score and raise her spirit affinity, but that wasn’t something that could be done in the short term.

Agnes’s spirit contract operation was planned to proceed in a somewhat tricky manner.

“If it’s a young spirit who can’t even feel the taste of magical power, I can easily attach it to her.”

If a spirit contracted with a human, depending on the human’s abilities, it was entirely possible to raise them into a strong spirit.

An event to hand over a spirit to Agnes would soon come to the academy on its own, so until then, I had to somehow make Agnes determined to contract with a lower-level spirit.

It meant that I would never say anything that could hurt Agnes’s feelings, keeping in mind the first impression she had of me.

After two weeks of earnestly discussing spiritology with Agnes, I became somewhat accustomed to how to handle her.

Agnes often looked at me with a disapproving gaze while asking for help with the spirit contract.

Well, even if she looks at me with disapproval, she can’t do anything until the next evaluation, right?

“Please vote for the Princess for this year’s student council president!”

“We ask for a lot of support for Princess Moonshadow!”

Even amidst all this, Seraphine’s student council election campaign was progressing steadily.

If something unexpected were to happen, I would have participated in Seraphine’s campaign as well, but since the student council election was proceeding as planned, I didn’t see the need to intervene.

After all, interfering in the campaign wouldn’t have made much of a difference.

The election of Seraphine’s student council president was almost certain, and the other candidates were more focused on participating in the election rather than actively campaigning to become president.

Well, even though the Island of Knowledge is mostly out of the reach of the nobility’s power, she was someone who had to meet nobles and their subjects outside of the academy.

Risking her life for a position as uncertain as the academy’s student council president and getting on the bad side of the nobility was something she didn’t want.

In other words, with Seraphine’s student council starting its activities in a few days, both me and Edan would be busy.

If we did student council work during the week, we would have to catch up on assignments over the weekend, making this weekend the last leisurely time for me and Edan.

…And for some reason, on this last weekend, I found myself walking through the streets of the Island of Knowledge with Edan from morning onwards.

And that too, without Isabelle who was always by my side, just the two of us.

“Lilith, is there somewhere you want to go?”

“…No, it’s okay, you don’t have to ask for my opinion, I’ll just follow wherever Edan goes…”

“We agreed not to use the term ‘Young Master’ today, Lilith.”

“…R-right. …Edan.”

Struggling to say Edan’s name that just wouldn’t come out easily, I saw Edan nod with a satisfied expression.

A bit puzzled by his seemingly incomprehensible reaction, I quietly followed Edan’s footsteps for now.

Really, how did it come to this…