episode_0176

It had been about an hour since Lillis and Agnes met in front of the Black Forest.

Agnes, who had yet to make a spirit contract, could only enter the Black Forest to make the contract with the spirit when midnight came.

Although it was an entrance that was a bit different from what she had initially thought.

“Why do I have to come into this dark forest alone at this hour?”

In one hand, she held a magic-free lantern to prevent the spirits from running away by reading the magic response, and in the other hand, she held a map of the interior of the Black Forest to not get lost.

Both items were given to her by Lillis. The map was even suspected to be drawn by Lillis herself, albeit somewhat amateurishly.

She knew rationally that she shouldn’t blame her for taking care of herself until the end.

-Rustle.

“Eek?!”

…Still, Agnes, who had never imagined that she would be left alone in the Black Forest at this late hour.

“I didn’t think about going in alone….”

Although she had prepared herself to some extent since the conversation about meeting at the entrance of the Black Forest, she had never expected to actually go in alone.

Naturally, she had assumed that she would go in with Lillis. She had never shown any signs of fear, so it seemed unlikely that she was scared.

Of course, Agnes had no fear of things like large monsters or high falls.

But the darkness of midnight was an environment she didn’t particularly like.

The reason she became obsessed with fire magic in the first place was because she could shine in the darkness.

If she had an aptitude for light magic, she would have definitely majored in light magic.

“This is an oil lantern that is not affected by magic. It will probably last for about two hours, so it’s best to come in before that.”

“Okay.”

“This is a map of the Black Forest located north of the Luminaire Academy. If you follow this thin path with the lantern and turn behind the giant tree, there is a place called ‘Spirit Pond’ where spirits gather.”

“Do I just have to follow you? Why do you need to give me a map?”

“What are you talking about, Blaze? If I go into the forest with you, all the spirits’ attention will be drawn to me, how can we make a contract then?”

“…I guess you’re right. …Wait, then, you don’t think…”

“I believe that the Chief Mage Blaze would not be trembling in fear at the thought of going into the Black Forest alone.”

“…Hmph. Of course, that’s a ridiculous story. Give me the map and lantern. I’ll go in myself.”

No, in fact, it was a plausible story.

As soon as she thought that the presence she had taken for granted had disappeared, Agnes was trembling with an unknown anxiety.

Thanks to that, she was constantly releasing her magic that she had to control and hide.

Realizing belatedly that her magic was leaking out, Agnes quickly controlled the magic leaking out in the way Lillis had taught her.

“Any spirit will do. I just want to make a contract with any spirit as soon as possible…”

If she could make a contract with a spirit, it didn’t matter if it was a lesser spirit or not a fire spirit.

She just wanted to get out of this creepy forest as soon as possible.

Of course, it was better to think that she wouldn’t be attacked by dangerous monsters. At least until tonight.

After all, the Black Forest was just a training facility inside the academy designed for students.

Even as a first-year student, there was no monster in the Black Forest strong enough to defeat the current Agnes, who was stronger than most second and third-year students.

*Swoosh!*

“Ugh…!!”

…This fact did little to alleviate Agnes’ fear of being alone in the dark forest.

“I’ve only made it halfway in….”

Why was the spirit pond that Lillis spoke of located so deep in the Black Forest?

Why did she lure herself to such a dangerous place by saying that spirit contracts could only be made in such a place?

At that moment, Agnes wondered if Lillis had sent her alone to this place to deceive her.

“……Huh?”

When she saw a young spirit appear before her, Agnes could barely dismiss her suspicions.

*Woong.*

“Could it be…. really…?”

The fact that young spirits are born anew on the day of planetary alignment was indeed true.

Although it was still in the form of a small orb and not yet in the form of a spirit, Agnes could be sure from the mysterious power emanating from it that the blue orb beginning to emerge in front of her was the young spirit she had been searching for.

“I still have a little way to go to reach the pond….”

Lillis had not mentioned that she had to contract with a spirit at the pond.

She had only mentioned that there would be many spirits at the pond, making it easier for her to find a spirit that suited her taste.

In other words, if she could contract with a spirit here, she wouldn’t have to stay in this dark forest any longer.

Agnes’ steps towards the newly born spirit became a little more urgent.

*Thud! Thud!*

“Hey…!”

*Swoosh!*

“……Huh?”

However, as she approached, the young wind spirit disappeared before her eyes like a flash.

A quiet advice from Lillis during her supplementary lessons flashed through Agnes’ mind as she realized she had missed the spirit right in front of her.

“Young spirits are very cautious. If it were a more experienced spirit, Blaze Yang’s clumsy communication skills wouldn’t matter, but Blaze Yang needs to be a little more calm in front of spirits.”

“……Ah.”

…She knew.

In her haste, she had momentarily forgotten.

She had become so excited at the thought that she could quickly leave the darkness once she contracted with a spirit.

“It was a wind spirit.”

If the contract had been completed, it would have been a good partner for her fire magic.

But there was no point in regretting as the young spirit that disappeared would not return, so Agnes had to rely on her torch and map to continue walking into the Black Forest.

Fortunately, not long after, she encountered another spirit.

*Rustle.*

“…I found you.”

A earth spirit emerging from the ground, quietly writhing and rising.

Seeing that the spirit had not fully formed its body, Agnes could confirm that it was a newly born spirit.

To avoid repeating her previous failure, Agnes cautiously approached the spirit.

*Softly, softly.*

“Hey….”

‘…?!’

“You… won’t contract with me…?”

‘….’

‘….Ah!’

Surprised by her sudden appearance, the spirit did not run away and calmly began a conversation.

It was a first for Agnes that a spirit did not flee when she approached and managed to hide her magic completely.

As a young spirit who was more curious than wary, it was a time when Agnes’ awkward communication skills did not drive it away.

“Con…tract?”

“…Yes.”

‘What… is that…?’

“……”

The young spirit, who still lacked the ability to understand the world, pondered on how to explain the concept of a contract to themselves.

Persuading Agnes, who had never engaged in deep conversations with anyone to the extent of recent frequent interactions with Lillis, was no easy task.

“A contract, you say…”

‘……’

“S-so, that means…”

‘……’

“I-if we… continue to be together in the future…”

– Thud!

“W-wait…!”

Uninterested in her words, the earth spirit returned underground, leaving Agnes reaching out desperately to the spot where the spirit had just been, but it was already gone, out of her reach.

Having missed even the second chance, Agnes quietly brushed off her dress and got up from her spot.

“Let’s go to the spirit pond.”

As Lillis suggested, it was said to be the place where the most spirits were born in the dark forest tonight.

With such vague hope in mind, Agnes walked deeper into the dark forest.

About 20 minutes after she started walking again, burning half of the fuel for the torch she received from Lillis and following the map, Agnes noticed a faint light coming from behind a large tree in the dark forest.

“Huh?”

Could this be the spirit pond that Lillis mentioned?

Suppressing her excited feelings, Agnes held onto the large tree and cautiously walked towards the back.

As she turned the tree and took a few steps, the pond that had been hidden from view slowly revealed itself.

“Wow…”

Agnes could only let out a few words of admiration as she beheld the sight before her.

A beautiful surface shimmering with various colors of light in the midst of the dark forest.

Hundreds of recently born spirits emitting a dazzling iridescent light, reflecting on the surface of the pond like a grand ballroom for the spirits, dazzlingly twinkling.

For someone who had never properly encountered more than one or two spirits, it was truly a dreamlike place for Agnes.