episode_0150

Two weeks have passed since the day Agnes and the spirit bonding class became partners.

Before we knew it, it was already the third class of communication with spirits that we were taking with her.

“Alright, everyone~! Today, we will have a chance to meet a spirit in action!”

“Yes~!”

With a childlike expression, Erin Eshilda, the associate professor of spirit studies who led the students of the academy as if she were leading kindergarteners.

Perhaps it was because of her tone, but even the students listening to the class seemed to fit into her atmosphere.

She must be older than most professors at this academy, given that she is a mix of the Fuling (fairy race) and humans.

According to what I heard from Erin’s class curriculum on the first day, the way to earn grades in this class was simple.

For students who had not contracted with a spirit, the goal was to somehow contract with a lower-level spirit within the semester.

And for those who had already contracted with a spirit, the objective of this class was to increase intimacy with their existing spirit.

Judging whether the intimacy had increased or not would be at the discretion of Professor Erin.

Being half Fuling, she was a professor who could freely converse with lower-level spirits, so there was no room to dispute grades.

“Well, it doesn’t matter for me since I can communicate with Sally anyway.”

But wait, I haven’t even contracted with Sally, so how are my grades being measured?

Well, Professor Erin will take care of it. It wasn’t my place to set grading criteria.

By the way, students who have not contracted with any spirit by the end of this semester will receive the lowest grade in this ‘Communication with Spirits’ class.

Well, the name of the course is ‘Communication with Spirits,’ so it’s natural to be out of luck when you can’t find a spirit to communicate with.

“Some students are still not familiar with the existence of spirits, so today, let’s start by getting familiar with the concept of spirits!”

“Yes~!”

“Spirits usually don’t show themselves, but they are always around us! Although spirits are not easily visible in the academy due to the crowded places, there are many spirits in my secret garden, so let’s meet them and learn how to talk to spirits!”

“Professor! Can those who have not contracted with a spirit meet and contract with a spirit?”

“If the spirits agree, it’s possible! However, most of the spirits in my garden are intermediate or higher, so it won’t be easy!”

Among the 30 students currently taking this class, only about forty of them have the maximum amount of magic power to contract with an intermediate spirit.

And among them, most had already contracted with lower-level spirits, so practically, only Agnes and I were able to contract with intermediate spirits.

As I mentioned before, Sally and I were not in a contractual relationship, so it didn’t hinder us from contracting with a new spirit.

Well, my goal wasn’t to contract with a new spirit in the first place; it was to build a little more intimacy with Sally, so I didn’t even think about contracting.

“Intermediate spirits are theoretically enough. It’s better to try this side where we can communicate a little rather than lower-level spirits that don’t understand a word…”

…The problem is not me but Agnes, who seems to be obsessed with spirits.

Seeing her blabbering about being able to contract with intermediate spirits in theory, even though she is being ignored by lower-level spirits, it seemed that Agnes would face quite a challenge in contracting with spirits this semester.

If she were to struggle alone and end up that way, I wouldn’t care what Agnes did, but if that were the case, she wouldn’t have any complaints about being partnered with me and Agnes by this damn professor.

The partner’s class achievement would naturally be included in the evaluation criteria.

That also means that I can’t just leave Agnes’s grades to fall into the abyss, considering that it accounts for a significant 30% of the overall grades.

Fortunately, it wasn’t entirely impossible to obtain a spirit for Agnes before the end of the first year. It’s just that I had never done it in the game before.

“From the start, when I was targeting Agnes, I didn’t follow the conventional route.”

If I wanted to pursue the Agnes True Love Ending, I had to first enroll in the Magic Department, then defeat Agnes in the final exam of the first semester of the first year, and then engage in a competitive relationship, which was the most conventional way I knew.

So, while Agnes and her classmates might easily clear the communication lecture with the spirit, sadly, I was essentially experiencing this lecture for the first time in both my past life and this life.

As I mentioned before, I didn’t have romantic feelings for Agnes in my past life. I just happened to clear the event of a major crush on her by chance and decided to pursue all the heroine routes.

“Well, even if I don’t feel like it, it has become my destiny to pursue her.”

Since it had become my duty, I had no intention of doing it half-heartedly. In any case, before the end of the first year, I had to attach a spirit to her.

I may not know the Agnes strategy, but I was well aware of the spirit strategy. No matter how uninterested Agnes seemed, as long as she followed my instructions, there was no way she couldn’t succeed.

…Of course, starting off with a less than favorable impression on the first day, I wasn’t sure if this guy would listen to me.

“Contracting with a spirit isn’t that difficult, Blaze.”

“….”

“Just wait patiently for the spirit without getting impatient. They will naturally follow you.”

“….”

“And it’s best not to waste time imagining going for intermediate spirits from the start. It’s a waste of time for Agnes, who has a low affinity with spirits.”

“…Stop meddling and making noise.”

“…What?”

“I’ll handle the spirit contract, so don’t worry about it. Since it’s my job, you have no reason to interfere.”

…There’s no reason? Your grades affect mine.

It seemed like this girl was selfish to the core, filled with self-centered thoughts. And she didn’t even know what she was talking about.

She seemed to think she was some kind of all-around entertainer who could handle both magic and spirits.

Luckily, I had a good amount of patience. No matter how stubbornly she treated me, I had no intention of backing down easily.

“So, approaching spirits with impatience won’t work. When contracting with a spirit, it’s important to approach them calmly and with an open mind. If you openly express your desire to contract with them like Blaze does, the spirits will naturally keep their distance.”

“Even with intermediate spirits, it’s fine.”

“Even low-level spirits can sense how humans approach them. I don’t know what Blaze’s basis is for saying that even intermediate spirits are fine. Do you think the spirits will contract with you without any thought?”

“What do you mean?”

“Spirits have their own standards of beauty from their perspective. It’s not just about having a high amount of magic power to easily contract with a spirit. Of course, having a high amount of magic power makes communication easier and makes the contract easier, but you have to address the issues before that.”

“….”

“Right now, in the eyes of the spirits, Mr. Blaze’s magic will probably smell like a very unappetizing food. There may be some spirits who find it delicious after taking a bite, but even getting them to take that bite is not easy. At the very least, if we want to pique the spirits’ curiosity, we need to change our attitude from being like unsellable stock…”

-Tadak!

“Wait, Blaze! Where are you suddenly going?!”

For a moment, Agnes seemed to listen quietly to my words and concentrate, but now she suddenly turned her head and moved away from me.

Feeling perplexed by her unpredictable behavior, just as I was about to follow her, Sally urgently started calling me from the other side.

“Lilith, Lilith! Look over there, look!!”

“Why, Sally. I need to go wake Agnes up to reality right now…”

“It’s not important right now! Just look over there~!!”

“What’s over there that’s so important?”

Sally kept calling out to me like a burning flame, all while making a fuss, and when I quietly shifted my gaze, I saw a kind of spirit that I had seen a lot in games in my past life.

A small girl in a thin, translucent garment was floating slowly in the air as if surrendering her body to the flowing wind.

Upon seeing her familiar appearance, I immediately recognized her as a wind spirit.

“Sylph? No, she must be a lesser wind spirit, a Zephyr?”

Since higher-ranking wind spirits are called Sylphs, I probably won’t be wrong. The spirit seemed to have no specific proper noun name, as it appeared to be ownerless.

Well, considering that there were already several spirits wandering around in Professor Erin’s private garden, it didn’t feel particularly special to encounter a Zephyr.

“Isn’t she just a Zephyr? Why are you suddenly making such a fuss…”

“I, I want to make a contract with her, Lilith!”

“…What?”

“I just had a hunch! I felt destiny from her! Make a contract with her, Lilith! Quickly! Quickly!!”

…This crazy lolicon spirit.