episode_0175

From that day on, another week passed by.

It was already the point where there was not much time left in the second semester of the first year at Luminaire Academy.

Most of the lectures in the second semester were almost coming to an end next week, with only the final hunting festival involving almost the entire combat department remaining.

If there were any assignments that needed to be completed within the semester, it meant that they had to be finished by the end of this week one way or another.

…And at this moment, there were two biggest issues that I had to resolve.

One was to somehow win against Harold in his magic combat class next week.

The other was to attach a lower-level spirit to Agnes before the end of this semester’s spirit affinity class.

If I didn’t solve both of these issues in advance, there would be potential problems in my relationships in the future. One with Harold, and the other with Agnes.

‘First of all, I should start with what needs to be done right now.’

The event of handing a newly born spirit to Agnes and making a contract with her.

Although I didn’t specifically pursue the Agnes route, I had a rough idea of what the strategy was, so to speak.

The theory was over. It was time to move on to the practical contract.

***

After the usual communication with spirits lecture ended, the empty classroom with no one left.

As always, for the voluntary supplementary lesson, Agnes and I were diligently training her to form a bond with the spirits today.

“Do you remember what to do today, Blaze? Breathe in slowly, refine it, and then exhale.”

“S-sigh, huff… s-sigh, huff…”

“How is it, Sally, Say?”

‘Hmm~! Compared to the beginning, it’s quite good, right? If you don’t pay close attention, you might not even notice?’

‘…Agnes, I don’t smell anything strange right now.’

…A strange smell, what an interesting way to put it.

While helping Agnes with the training for the spirit contract, I also corrected Say’s habit of not easily fixing her speech.

“Just a moment, Say. Don’t use that expression. Calling a girl’s magical power a strange smell that seems to have decayed easily causes… hurt…”

“…Their words are fine, so you should just… stop worrying.”

“Your concentration has been disrupted, Blaze.”

“…Because of who?”

Anyway, it would be good to find a way to fix that habit of blaming others at the slightest mistake.

Still, well, the plan to attach a lower-level spirit to her was going smoothly. At least up to now.

In order to attach a recently born lower-level spirit to Agnes, it was necessary to first suppress the unpleasant smell emanating from her magical power.

Even if they were young spirits before the concept of the taste of magic was established, there was always a natural aversion to smells that made them not want to approach.

Approaching and contracting with such spirits while hiding the smell was currently the only way for Agnes to make a spirit contract.

For that, Agnes needed to be a little more patient.

She had to suppress her fiery temperament, which would flare up at the slightest provocation, at least for the time being, like the typical image of a fire mage.

“I’ve already told you. If you don’t suppress that puppy-like temperament for a while, it will be a problem in real combat…”

“…Rosewood, just in case.”

“Yes, Blaze.”

“…I’m only putting up with your shameless attitude because I need your help with the spirit contract.”

“You’re putting up with it? I’m amazed at what level your usual temper is at that you’re saying you put up with my attitude in my supplementary class.”

“…Just try not to fail to make a spirit contract before the end of this semester. I won’t stay quiet then.”

…Well, if that happened, there was a high possibility of facing some unpleasant consequences.

The most likely future was having my name called out by Agnes in the evaluation match of the first semester next year.

If it’s a battle between magicians, the difference in skill between Agnes and me is overwhelming.

And as a competent character, I probably would have quickly realized that I would soon be using Mana Blast One Tool once the battle started.

In that case, there was a possibility that during the entire evaluation match of the Magic Department, I would be tormented with fire magic, almost like torture.

I could already envision a future where I would beg for the activation of a death prevention spell to avoid such a fate.

“To avoid such a future, I have to succeed somehow.”

Among those who had not yet contracted with a spirit after the communication with the spirits lecture, there was only Agnes.

If I think about the consequences of not contracting and finishing this semester as it is, the revenge I imagine would be enough to come back to haunt me.

…And to prevent that, I had been preparing Agnes for a spirit contract over the past semester.

“Don’t worry, Blaze.”

“What?”

“Now, it’s time for you, Blaze, to start the spirit contract.”

“…Really?”

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

“The day after tomorrow…?”

“Yes. The day after tomorrow will be the only day for you, Blaze, to make a spirit contract.”

“…Is that a story you can take responsibility for?”

“Of course, Blaze.”

In my past life, I had played Luminoir Academy for over 2000 hours.

Having seen the ending 24 times, there was no way I would miss the date of such a major event.

***

And two days later, at the entrance of the Black Forest.

Due to several reasons, I arrived at the Black Forest a little later than originally planned.

Agnes, who seemed to have been waiting for quite some time, slightly frowned when she saw me.

“You came early, Blaze.”

“…I’m late.”

“Coming early doesn’t solve the problem. It’s most important to enter the forest at the appointed time.”

“Then tell me the appointed time properly…!”

“There’s no harm in being prepared early, is there?”

“Th-th…”

If only I could fix that quick-tempered personality of hers.

I hope she won’t get angry and yell at me when we contract with the spirit later.

Anyway, since I didn’t sneak out of the dormitory in the middle of the night just to tease Blaze, I was determined to help her with her spirit contract.

I was also afraid of the retaliation that might come from her if things went wrong.

“But, it’s quite bold of you to come at this hour for your topic.”

“My topic?”

“Does your fiancé allow you to come out alone at this late hour? Are you not on good terms?”

“I don’t understand what you’re talking about, Blaze. Ethan and I are currently in a relationship for various reasons, but we are not engaged.”

“I saw you doing everything by the lakeside.”

“That was part of the life-saving activity called artificial respiration…”

“Alright, just tell me how to contract. If we fail today, I won’t stay quiet.”

…What a temper.

Oh well, it doesn’t matter. Once this semester is over, I won’t have anything to do with her anyway, so it’s better to just go along with it rather than prolong the conversation with useless arguments.

Helping Agnes with her spirit contract as originally intended seemed like a better option.

First, I explained to her how she could contract with a spirit today.

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

“…Okay.”

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

“How would I know if you put it that way?”

“Really? I thought you, as the Chief of the Magic Department, would know. Well, I guess I have no choice but to explain…”

“…On the night of the largest full moon. The 55th anniversary of the death of the Archmage Heinz Stan. A planetary alignment that occurs once every 100 years. The first edition print date of the ‘Fundamentals of Fireball’ from Beads’ Flame Magic Grimoire.”

“…Oh, you knew well.”

It seemed like she could extract magical date knowledge like a remaining wiki page, as if afraid she wouldn’t be the Chief of the Magic Department.

“I thought you didn’t know, but you seem to know well.”

“…What does the 55th anniversary of the death of Heinz Stan have to do with my spirit contract?”

“The planetary alignment that occurs once every 100 years. That’s the condition for you to make a spirit contract, Blaze.”

“……”

“It’s not the 55th anniversary of the death of the Archmage Heinz Stan.”

“…I knew.”

Agnes’ stubborn response was brushed off appropriately, and I briefly explained to her about the flow of several magical energies that occur along with the planetary alignment phenomenon.

The day when the full moon rises and the planetary alignment coincide.

About the day when magical phenomena occur due to the boiling of magical energies worldwide.

“Yeah, I know too. On the night of the full moon, sometimes unusual phenomena occur due to the influence of magical energies. Even monsters are affected and become more violent.”

“The full moon is also a kind of planetary alignment. To be precise, the moon is not a planet but a satellite, but the effect itself is almost similar, so you don’t need to worry about it.”

“…A satellite? What’s that?”

“Right now, it’s better to focus on the fact that today is the day of the planetary alignment. If it’s not today, Blaze, the next day you can make a spirit contract will probably be about 100 years later.”

“…Got it. I won’t bother you, so just tell me the main point quickly.”

“The important thing is the magical phenomena. The birth of spirits is also included in the unusual phenomena that occur when the magical energies overflow worldwide.”

“…How do you…no, go on.”

“These spirits, born not long ago, are the only spirits that Blaze can currently make a contract with.”

“Spirits born not long ago…what?”

Agnes tilted her head, not understanding my words at once, and I explained the principle of spirit contracts to her in an easy-to-understand way.

“Noble families often hire nannies to take care of their babies, right?”

“Yeah.”

“One of the reasons why it’s difficult to easily dismiss a nanny once hired is because the baby remembers and gets used to the ‘taste of milk.’”

“……Yeah.”

So, what Blaze needs to do today is to let the spirits born not long ago taste her magical power first. Make them get used to that taste so they can feel Blaze’s magical power more deliciously than other magical powers.

“……Ah, I see!”

“Now you seem to understand a bit.”

It seemed like she understood the reason why I brought her to the Black Forest on this dangerous day.

From now on, it was time to finally reap the efforts of Agnes and me.