Two weeks had passed since Agnes and I became partners in the lecture class based on Spirit Affinity.

This was already our third meeting for the Communicating with Spirits lecture class.

 

“Alright, everyone~! Today, we’re going to have a chance to meet spirits in person~!”

“Okay~!”

 

Professor Erin Esilda, the spirit studies professor, led the students of Luminor Academy with a childlike expression, as if guiding kindergarteners.

Perhaps due to her tone, some of the students even matched her vibe.

Although she looks young, she’s probably older than most professors at this academy. After all, she’s half-fairy.

According to the curriculum, which Professor Erin explained on the first day, the grading system for this class was simple.

For students who hadn’t contracted with a spirit yet, the goal was to somehow contract with a low-level spirit by the end of the semester.

For those who already had contracts, the goal was to increase intimacy with their existing spirit.

Professor Erin’s subjective judgment would determine whether intimacy had increased or not.

Since she’s half-fairy and can freely converse even with low-level spirits, there’s no way to dispute the grades. 

 

‘In my case, it doesn’t matter since I can communicate with Sally anyway.’

 

But wait, I haven’t actually contracted with Sally, so how will my grade be measured?

Well, I’m sure Professor Erin will figure it out. It’s not my place to decide the grading criteria.

By the way, any student who fails to contract with a spirit by the end of this semester will receive the lowest grade in this subject.  [Only on Galaxy Translations!/Axiomatic]

I suppose that’s only natural, given that the course is about communicating with spirits. If you can’t find a spirit to communicate with, you’re out.

 

“Since some students are still unfamiliar with spirits themselves, we’ll start our session by getting used to their presence~!”

“Okay~!”

“Spirits are always around us, even though they don’t often show themselves~! There aren’t many visible in the academy because of all the people, but there are many spirits in my secret garden. We’ll spend some time meeting them directly and learning how to talk to spirits~!”

“Professor! Can those who haven’t contracted with a spirit yet make a contract with one we meet?”

“If the spirit wants to, it’s possible~! But most of the spirits in my garden are mid-level or higher, so it won’t be easy~!”

 

Out of the 30 students in this class, only about three or four had a high enough mana capacity to contract with a mid-level spirit.

Most of the students had already contracted with low-level spirits, so realistically, only Agnes and I could potentially contract with a mid-level spirit.

As I mentioned before, Sally and I weren’t in a contract relationship, so there was nothing stopping me from contracting with a new spirit.

Well, my goal wasn’t to contract with a new spirit but to build a bit more intimacy with Sally, so I wasn’t even thinking about making a contract.

 

“A mid-level spirit…. Theoretically, it’s enough. Rather than a low-level spirit that can’t even communicate, it might be better to try one that can speak a little…”

 

…The problem wasn’t me, but Agnes, with her obsession with spirits.

Seeing her spout nonsense about being able to theoretically contract with a mid-level spirit when even low-level spirits ignored her, it seemed Agnes would face significant challenges just contracting with a spirit this semester.

If it were just her struggling alone, I wouldn’t care what Agnes did, but if that were the case, I wouldn’t have complained about this damned professor pairing us up as partners.

Of course, the partner’s class achievement is included in the evaluation criteria.

Since it accounts for a significant 30% of the final grade, I couldn’t just let Agnes’s grade plummet.

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

 

‘I didn’t even follow the standard route when I pursued Agnes in the first place.’

 

If I were to deliberately pursue Agnes’s “pure love” ending, the most orthodox method I know would be to enroll in the Magic Department, defeat Agnes in the first-year, first-semester final evaluation, and then enter into a competitive relationship with her, bickering along the way.  [Only on Galaxy Translations!/Axiomatic]

With that, this Communication with Spirits course, where we help Agnes get a spirit, would probably be easy for Agnes fans to clear. Sadly, this was essentially my first time taking this course in both my previous life and this one.

As I mentioned before, I didn’t like Agnes romantically in my previous life. I only pursued her on a whim after accidentally clearing a major affection event, thinking I might as well try conquering all the heroines.

 

‘Now, though, it’s a matter of fate that I have to pursue her even if I don’t want to.’

 

Since it had become something I had to do, I naturally had no intention of doing it halfheartedly. At this point, I had no choice but to secure a spirit for her before the end of the first year.

Even if I didn’t know how to pursue Agnes, I knew how to pursue spirits well. No matter how charmless Agnes was, if she just followed my instructions well, it shouldn’t be impossible.

…Of course, I’m not sure if she’ll listen to me well, given our rather poor impressions of each other after our first meeting.

 

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

“…”

“Just by waiting calmly for a spirit without being impatient, spirits tend to come on their own.”

“…”

“Also, it’s better not to have useless fantasies about aiming for a mid-level spirit from the start. For someone with low Spirit Affinity, it’s just a waste of time anyway…”

“You’re noisy with your chatter and meddling.”

“…Pardon?”

“I’ll handle the spirit contract on my own, so don’t worry about it. It’s my business anyway, so there’s no reason for you to interfere.”

 

…How can there be no reason? Your grades affect my grades, you know.

As expected of someone so selfish, she was full of self-centered thinking to the bone. Not to mention, she doesn’t even know her own limits.

She thinks she’s some all-rounder who can handle spirits well just because she’s good at magic.

It was fortunate that I had good patience. No matter how unpleasantly she treated me, I had no intention of backing down easily.

 

“What I’m trying to say is that approaching spirits with such impatience won’t work, they can all tell. When contracting with a spirit, it’s important to approach calmly with an open mind. If you go around openly displaying your desire to contract out of necessity, Miss Blaze, the spirits will naturally distance themselves.”

“It’s fine that I can contract with mid-level spirits at most if not high-level ones.”

“Even low-level spirits can sense how humans approach them. I don’t even know what basis you have for saying, “It’s fine that I can contract with mid-level spirits at most.” Do you think spirits will eagerly contract with you without a thought just because they have eyes, Miss Blaze?”

“…What do you mean?”

“I mean, spirits have their own standards of beauty from their perspective. You can’t easily contract with a spirit just because you have a lot of mana. Of course, having a higher maximum mana capacity makes communication relatively easier, so contracting becomes easier, but you need to solve the problem before that in the first place.”  [Only on Galaxy Translations!/Axiomatic]

“…”

“Right now, from the spirits’ perspective, Miss Blaze, your mana probably smells like some terribly stinky food. Some spirits might find it tasty if they force themselves to take a bite, but it’s not easy to get them to take that first bite. At the very least, you need to change that unsellable-product-like attitude to make spirits feel curious…”

Tap, tap, tap, tap!

“W-wait a moment, Miss Blaze! Where are you suddenly going?!”

 

Just when I thought she was quietly listening and focusing on my words for a moment, Agnes suddenly turned away and started moving away from me.

As I was about to chase after her, feeling exasperated by her unpredictable behavior, this time, Sally suddenly started calling me urgently.

 

{Lilith, Lilith! Look, look over there!!}

“What is it, Sally? I need to go knock some sense into Agnes right now…”

{That’s not important right now! Just look over there~!!}

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

 

True to her nature as a fire spirit, Sally was making a fuss like a blazing flame as she called out to me.

Giving in to her insistence, I quietly shifted my gaze to find a type of spirit I had often seen in the game in my previous life.

A small girl wearing thin, translucent clothes was slowly floating in the air as if surrendering herself to the flowing wind.

I could immediately recognize it as a wind spirit from its familiar appearance.

 

‘A sylph? No, it should still be a mid-level spirit, so is that a sylphid?’

 

Usually, high-level wind spirits are called sylphs, so I probably wasn’t wrong. It didn’t seem to have a specific name either, as it appeared to be without an owner.

Well, this was Professor Erin’s personal garden where several spirits were already roaming around, so a sylphid didn’t feel particularly special.

 

“Isn’t it just a sylphid? Why are you suddenly making such a fuss about…”

{Contract with that one, Lilith!}

“…What?”

{I just had a hunch! I feel like my meeting with that spirit is fate!}

“Ah.”

{Contract with her! Lilith! Quickly! Hurry!!}

 

…This crazy lolicon spirit.