Spirit Affinity Lecture (1)

What is the most important thing to spend a fulfilling semester at the Academy?

Well, opinions may vary from person to person, but I think the most important thing is course registration.

The Academy is a place one attends to learn something. If one were to return without gaining knowledge, there would be no reason to pay expensive tuition fees.

The same goes for deliberately taking classes that aren’t necessary. If it wasn’t knowledge needed to live… no, to survive, then taking it would just be a waste of time.

From course registration, which could be seen as the start of a semester, it was necessary to choose classes as carefully as possible.

What I needed was the knowledge I could learn at Luminor Academy, not the Academy’s diploma.

…Well, of course, having an Academy diploma wouldn’t hurt to live in this world.

“Lilith, have you decided on your classes for the second semester?”

“Yes. I’ve mostly decided for now.”

“…Could you perhaps tell me just a little about which classes you’re taking?”

“For now, I’ve registered for two lectures that focus on controlling the flow of mana to increase accuracy. My way of handling magic has improved a bit compared to when I first enrolled, but it seems I still need more practice.”

“Right, Lilith’s Magic Arrow is still a bit unstable.”

“……”

“W-well, of course, Lilith can use Triple Casting, so it might be okay even if it’s a bit unstable, but I was thinking it would be best to hit all three shots stably rather than just one or two.”

“…Yes, you are correct.”

I was just quietly thinking, agreeing with Ethan’s words, so why is he suddenly trying to gauge my reaction with all sorts of remarks?

Anyway, Ethan and I somewhat agreed on the point that my Magic Arrow’s accuracy needed to improve.

“Besides that, I plan to complete two required major courses in the Magic Department. Oh, and I’ll also be taking Practical Monster Hunting Training.”

“Practical Monster Hunting Training?”

“Yes. The evaluation match for the second semester is monster hunting in the Black Forest, not sparring between students. I thought it would be good to learn how to deal with monsters beforehand.”

In truth, I was just using the class as an excuse to enter the Black Forest to earn experience points.

I don’t know why they even made the rule that first-year students can’t enter the Black Forest for personal reasons. Because of this, even though I came all the way to the Academy, I couldn’t properly level up.

From now on, securing experience points was paramount, as leveling up was the fastest way to grow.

“Young Master Ethan, how about you take it too? I believe it would provide considerable practical experience for the Hunting Festival at the end of the semester.”

“S-should I?”

“Yes. Of course, the choice is yours, Young Master Ethan, so I won’t force you.”

“…No, you’re right, Lilith. I think I should register for it too. Thanks for the advice, Lilith.”

…Not bad.

As I said before, if there were classes I could take at the same time as Ethan, I planned to take them together whenever possible.

It wasn’t for some disgusting reason like wanting to be with Ethan; it was simply much more convenient for my duties as an exclusive maid.

This was preferable to coming to the Magic Department lecture hall and drawing the attention of other students, like last time.

And I could also practice our coordination for the Hunting Festival at the end of the semester.

“Lilith, just in case, I wanted to ask something.”

“Yes?”

“Are you not taking Magic Swordsmanship classes anymore?”

“…If you mean Magic Swordsmanship classes, are you referring to the Applied Magic Swordsmanship lecture that Master teaches?”

“Yeah. Of course, Lilith uses daggers, so strictly speaking, it might not be a class you absolutely need to take, but I was just wondering.”

“That one was naturally decided to be taken, so I didn’t specifically mention it. After all, Master took my course registration form before we left for the Academy.”

“…Ah, he took Lilith’s too. I thought Father only took mine.”

Well, I had expected it differently from Ethan. Seeing him advise me to register for the Applied Magic Swordsmanship lecture, it was natural that he would have told Ethan, who has a dozen times more understanding of swords than I do, to register for it as well.

Given Harold’s personality, he wouldn’t bother mentioning that Ethan and I would be taking the same class.

For me, it was a good situation, as it meant I could easily secure a spot in a competitive class.

In the first place, Magic Swordsmanship was also the most essential basic knowledge for Lilith to survive.

“So, we’re taking two subjects together this year.”

“Yes. It seems that way.”

“I’m looking forward to it, Lilith.”

“…Yes. Me too, Young Master Ethan.”

…I almost got flustered for a moment by Ethan saying he was looking forward to it.

He probably meant he was looking forward to the new semester. Surely, he wouldn’t be looking forward to the number of overlapping classes with me increasing from one to two.

“And for the last class….”

“…There’s more?”

“Yes. Since I’m attending the Academy and paying expensive tuition, wouldn’t it be better to take as many classes as possible?”

“…Right. It’s Lilith’s choice, after all.”

Ethan gave me a glance as if he was dumbfounded, but my decision wasn’t going to change just because he looked at me like that.

Still, I was only planning to take up to 21 credits out of a maximum of 22, considering my own condition.

「Communication with Spirits」

…Well, investing in this subject for about one semester should be fine.

It wasn’t a class I registered for because I particularly liked Sally.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

The reason I chose ‘Communication with Spirits’ as my last course was simple.

Considering the time I’d be spending with Sally in the future, it seemed a bit difficult with our current level of trust.

Perhaps because I had tried to back out after hearing this fellow’s story in Grainstone Village, Sally often showed a subtly arrogant attitude even while accompanying me.

As a human dealing with a spirit, I needed to at least make this fellow someone I could communicate with to some extent, even if I couldn’t fully educate its personality.

Especially, I had to somehow stop it from waking me up just because it was bored while I was sound asleep.

‘Communication with Spirits? Instead of taking a class like that, why don’t you genuinely express your respect for me every morning? Then, I might respect you in return, seeing your sincerity, you know?’

“I’ve already been tormented by you for a month; do you think I’d fall for that kind of nonsense now?”

‘Tormented?! I was just talking to you because I was bored since you wouldn’t interact with me~!’

“Don’t babble on comparing a spirit that’s awake 24 hours a day with a human who needs to sleep 8 hours a day. If you had just guaranteed my right to sleep, I wouldn’t have bothered allocating time to this class.”

‘Hmph~! I’ll prove that it’s useless whether you take this class or not!’

Babble all you want. Whether you chatter or not, I’ll just diligently attend the class.

What I believed in wasn’t the nonsense of this noisy Flame Spirit, but the clear rewards I could gain from the class.

Since it was a class that would grant ‘Spirit Affinity +10’ upon completion, it probably meant that no matter what attitude this fellow showed, I could eventually turn it into a fairly obedient one.

‘I’m a bit curious how the Spirit Affinity points from the game will apply here, though….’

Well, I’ll find that out once I complete the class.

Thinking that, as I entered the classroom for the first ‘Communication with Spirits’ lecture, a few diligent students were already seated early, preparing for class on the very first day.

Among them, I immediately spotted a rather familiar face.

‘Agnes is taking this class too.’

Agnes Elizabeth Blaze.

Not only did she break into the top spot of the Luminor Academy Magic Department upon admission, but she was also the Magic Department’s top output, showing an overwhelming gap with the second-place student.

Considering her future ascent to Red Tower Master, she was undoubtedly the character among the current Magic Department students who would grow the most.

‘There’s no harm in getting close to her.’

We were both high-ranking students in the Academy’s Magic Department, and from this semester onwards, we were side-by-side as the top and second-place students.

My rank had risen to second place due to the results of the evaluation match held at the end of the last semester being reflected in various ways.

To avoid catching the eye of this crazy bitch who ‘hunts the second-place student’ in every evaluation match event at the end of the first semester, building a friendship from now on was important in many ways.

Facing her in the final evaluation match of the first semester next year was truly something to be avoided in many senses.

Well, Lilith’s appearance itself tends to evoke people’s favor, so getting close to her shouldn’t be too difficult.

I had, after all, once ‘conquered’ her as a character in the game, so I roughly knew her preferences and personality.

“Hello, Agnes Elizabeth Blaze-yang.”

“……?”

Agnes tilted her head silently, slightly flustered by my sudden approach to the empty seat beside her and my greeting.

Given her personality, which doesn’t show much interest in people she isn’t intrigued by, I was going to introduce myself first, wondering if she didn’t recognize me.

Surprisingly, contrary to my expectations, Agnes seemed to be aware of Lilith’s existence.

…Though, judging by what she first blurted out to me, it didn’t seem like she knew me in a particularly good light.

“It’s our first time speaking directly, isn’t it? My name is Lilith Blackwood Rose…”

“…The crazy bitch who used Mana Blast in the final evaluation match.”

…Wait, who’s calling whom a crazy bitch?