Agnes-Style Spirit Contract (1)

One week had passed since that day.

The second semester of the first year at Luminor Academy was already nearing its end.

Most lectures would conclude next week, leaving only the final hunting festival-where nearly all combat department students would participate-remaining afterward.

If there were any assignments to be completed within the semester, they had to be finished this week at all costs.

…And now, I had two major problems left to solve.

The first was figuring out how to secure a victory against Harold in next week’s Magic Swordsmanship class.

The other was attaching a low-level spirit to Agnes before the Spirit Affinity lecture ended this semester.

Both were matters that could cause serious issues in my interpersonal relationships if left unresolved-one with Harold, the other with Agnes.

‘First, I should tackle what needs to be done immediately.’

The event of forcing a newly born spirit onto Agnes and making her form a contract.

Though I wasn’t specifically following Agnes’s route, I roughly knew the gist of how to achieve it.

The theory was settled. Now, it was time for the practical contract.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

After the usual Spirit Communication lecture, the empty classroom was devoid of anyone else.

As always, for the voluntary supplementary lesson, Agnes and I were diligently training to help her form a spirit contract.

“You remember today’s lesson too, right, Miss Blaze? Breathe in slowly, refine it, then exhale.”

“Huuu… Phew… Huuu… Phew…”

“How is it, Sally, Sei?”

‘Hmm~! It’s much better compared to before! I’d say it’s almost unnoticeable unless you pay close attention!’

‘…Agnes, no weird smell now.’

…Weird smell? What a way to put it.

While helping Agnes train for her spirit contract, I also worked on correcting Sei’s blunt way of speaking.

“Hold on, Sei. I told you not to use expressions like that. Saying a girl smells like corrupted mana can be hurtful…”

“…It’s fine when they say it, so just shut… I mean, don’t mind it.”

“Your concentration is slipping, Miss Blaze.”

“…Whose fault is that?”

Honestly, if only she could fix that habit of blaming others the moment things go slightly wrong.

I hope she doesn’t mess up the spirit contract by getting angry and then blame me for it later.

Still, the plan to attach a low-level spirit to her was progressing smoothly-at least for now.

To attach a newly born low-level spirit to Agnes, we first needed to suppress the foul stench emanating from her mana.

Even if these spirits were too young to have a refined sense of mana’s “taste,” they still instinctively avoided unpleasant odors.

Thus, the only way for Agnes to form a contract now was to conceal her scent and approach them.

For that, she needed to cultivate a bit more patience.

Her fiery temper-typical of flame mages-also had to be restrained for the time being.

“Didn’t I tell you? If you don’t suppress that small-dog temper for a while, in actual…”

“…Rosewood, just saying this in case.”

“Yes, Miss Blaze.”

“…The only reason I’m tolerating your shameless attitude right now is because I still need your help with the spirit contract.”

“You’re ‘tolerating’ it? Honestly, I’m more shocked that you consider your behavior during my supplementary lessons as restrained. Just how bad is your usual temper?”

“…If I don’t get a spirit contract by the end of this semester, I’ll really make you regret this.”

…Well, if that happened, I’d probably face some very unpleasant consequences.

The most likely future was Agnes calling me out in next semester’s evaluation match.

In a mage-vs-mage duel, the difference in skill between Agnes and me was overwhelming.

And given her competence, she’d quickly figure out that I was a one-trick pony relying solely on Mana Blast.

If that happened, she’d likely spend the entire match tormenting me with flame magic, turning it into something akin to torture.

For a moment, I envisioned a future where I’d beg her to kill me just to trigger the death prevention magic.

‘To avoid that future, I have to make sure this succeeds.’

Agnes was the only one left in the Spirit Communication lecture who hadn’t formed a spirit contract.

If she ended the semester without one, considering the damage to her grades and the humiliation she’d face, the retaliation I imagined would be more than justified.

…And to prevent that, I’d spent the entire semester preparing her for the “foundation” of a spirit contract.

“No need to worry, Miss Blaze.”

“About what?”

“It’s about time for you to form your spirit contract too.”

“…Huh? R-really?!”

“The night after tomorrow, come to the Black Forest north of the academy.”

“The night after tomorrow…?”

“Yes. That night will be the only day you can form a spirit contract, Miss Blaze.”

“…Can you really take responsibility for that claim?”

“Of course, Miss Blaze.”

In my past life, I’d played 『Luminor Academy』 for over 2,000 hours.

Having seen 24 endings, there was no way I’d miss the date of such a major event.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

Two days later. Entrance of the Black Forest.

Having arrived slightly later than planned due to various reasons, I found Agnes-who had apparently been waiting for a while-frowning slightly upon seeing me.

“You’re early, Miss Blaze.”

“…I’m late.”

“Being early doesn’t solve anything. What’s important is entering the forest at the right time.”

“Then tell me the exact time next time…!”

“Being prepared early isn’t a bad thing, is it?”

“Y-you…!”

I really wish she’d fix that hotheaded personality of hers.

I hope she doesn’t mess up the spirit contract by losing her temper and then blame me for it.

Anyway, since I hadn’t snuck out of the dormitory at this ungodly hour just to mess with Blaze, I was determined to ensure her spirit contract succeeded.

Partly because I feared the retaliation that would follow if things went wrong.

“By the way, I’m surprised someone like you managed to come out at this hour.”

“Pardon?”

“Your fiancé allowed you to go out alone this late? Trouble in paradise?”

“…I’m not sure what you mean, Miss Blaze. Young Master Ethan and I are currently in a relationship due to circumstances, but we’re not engaged.”

“I saw you sucking and licking by the lakeside.”

“That was part of a life-saving procedure called artificial respiration…”

“Whatever. Just tell me how to do the contract. If this fails tonight, I won’t let it slide.”

…Honestly, her personality is something else.

Ugh, whatever. Once this semester ends, I won’t have to deal with her anymore. I’ll just endure it for now.

Rather than dragging this out with pointless arguments, it’s better to focus on helping Agnes with her spirit contract.

First, I explained the principle behind why she could form a contract tonight.

“First, let me explain how you can form a spirit contract, Miss Blaze.”

“…Go on.”

“To do that, you need to understand what kind of day today is. Do you have any guesses?”

“…Guesses? How am I supposed to know?”

“Really? I thought the top student of the Magic Department would know. Well, I suppose I’ll have to explain…”

“…The night of the fullest moon. The 55th anniversary of Archmage Heinz Stein’s passing. The once-in-a-century planetary alignment. The printing date of the first edition of Biz’s ‘Fundamentals of Fireball,’ Volume 1.”

…Oh, she knew after all.

As expected of the Magic Department’s top student-she rattled off magical dates like a living encyclopedia.

“I thought you didn’t know, but you were well aware.”

“…What does Heinz Stein’s death anniversary have to do with my spirit contract…?”

“The once-in-a-century planetary alignment. That’s the condition for your contract, Miss Blaze.”

“……”

“Not the 55th anniversary of Archmage Heinz Stein’s passing.”

“…I knew that.”

Ignoring Agnes’s stubbornness, I briefly explained the flow of mana during the planetary alignment phenomenon.

The night of the fullest moon coinciding with the planetary alignment.

A day when the world’s mana surges, causing all sorts of magical phenomena.

“Right, I know that too. On nights with a full moon, strange phenomena sometimes occur due to mana fluctuations. Monsters also become more aggressive.”

“The full moon is a kind of planetary alignment too. Though technically, the moon is a satellite, not a planet, the effects are similar, so don’t worry about it.”

“…Satellite? What’s that?”

“For now, it’s better to focus on today being the planetary alignment. If you miss this, your next chance will be in about 100 years.”

“…Fine. Stop bothering me and get to the point.”

“The key is the mana phenomenon. Among the anomalies caused by the overflowing mana is the ‘birth of spirits.'”

“…How would you-never mind, continue.”

“These newly born spirits are the only ones you can contract with right now, Miss Blaze.”

“Newly born spirits… What?”

Agnes tilted her head, seemingly not fully grasping my explanation.

So, I explained the principle of spirit contracts in simpler terms.

“Noble families often hire wet nurses to care for their babies, right?”

“Yeah.”

“One reason it’s hard to fire a wet nurse once hired is that the baby remembers and grows accustomed to the ‘taste of the milk.'”

“…Yeah.”

“So, what you need to do today is make newly born spirits taste your mana first. They’ll grow accustomed to its flavor, finding it more appealing than others’ mana.”

“…Oh, oh!”

“Now you understand.”

She seemed to finally grasp why I’d brought her to the Black Forest on this dangerous night.

Now, it was time to reap the rewards of all the effort we’d put in so far.