Two weeks had passed since I formally contracted with Sei, the mid-level wind spirit.

As expected in an academy world based on a game, various events occurred over the past two weeks, but from Ethan’s and my perspective, it felt like fairly ordinary days passing by.

If there was anything special among those events, it would be that my level increased by one to Level 12 during the practical monster subjugation classes over the past two weeks.

It was a natural result, considering Ethan and I paired up to hunt five or six monsters a day.

Of course, it was an incredibly slow growth compared to focusing solely on leveling up, but the fact that I was growing at all was important in its own way for now. 

The typical scene when Ethan and I attended practical monster subjugation classes looked something like this:

“Lilith, can you buy time against the goblin at 3 o’clock?!”

“Easily! So Ethan, please focus on the orc in front of you!”

“Alright, I’m counting on you!”

Basically, while Ethan fought strong enemies at the frontline and focused on those battles, I defended the inevitably exposed blind spots.

Alternatively, our typical pair hunting style involved Ethan dealing with monsters in close combat while I kept ranged monsters in check with Dagger Throws or Magic Arrows when their numbers were few.

I also occasionally used Arcane Barriers or Mana Chains to support Ethan’s hunting.

It was reassuring in many ways to fight with a reliable tank and damage dealer in front. In Luminor Academy, I, as the protagonist, had almost exclusively played the tank role.

Dropping honorifics during battle was Ethan’s idea. He said that in urgent situations, using “young master” every time could lead to missing important information. [Only on Galaxy Translations! / Axiomatic]

As a maid, I couldn’t suggest such a brazen proposal first without risking being accused of disrespect, so I kept quiet. Fortunately, Ethan wasn’t so oblivious.

Of course, I agreed since I had been thinking about it before.

Anyway, apart from being the young master I served and a nobleman, Ethan was quite a useful partner in practical hunting.

I couldn’t help but naturally think that I wanted to continue working with him until graduation from the academy, if possible.

‘As long as I remain Ethan’s exclusive maid, I should be able to act in a partner-like position while attending the academy.’

It feels like just yesterday I saw him as a child whining for food in the kitchen, but now, he had become a reliable vanguard I could entrust myself without worry.

It was inevitable to feel a strange sense of emotion every time we attended practical hunting classes.

If there was anything else that was special, it might be that I’ve gotten a little closer to Agnes.

Well, from her desperate situation, getting closer to me was probably the best solution, so it was essentially an unavoidable choice.

For Agnes, spirits were not an option but a necessity to win in the complex battle for the successor of the Elizabeth family.

It wasn’t really a matter of her magic becoming stronger or weaker with a spirit.

The Elizabeth family had a tradition that the heir who would continue the family line must always be superior to others in every aspect, and this wasn’t limited to just magic.

Basic knowledge of magic was fundamental, but social graces and Spirit Affinity were also included in the evaluation criteria for heirs.

No matter how strong one’s magic or knowledge of magic was, if their Spirit Affinity was terribly low, they would naturally fall behind in the succession race.

Especially if Agnes, who was taking spirit studies classes to try and contract even a low-level spirit, failed to contract a spirit by the end of the semester, her position within the family would become quite precarious, no matter how promising she was. [Only on Galaxy Translations! / Axiomatic]

Professor Erin’s class focused on “becoming friends” with spirits rather than “contracting” them, so from Agnes’s position, I was almost the only one who could help her.

That’s why, recently, I intentionally stayed behind for an hour after class to help Agnes prepare for spirit contracting.

“Basically, Miss Blaze, your obsession with spirits is too strong. You approach them too aggressively.”

“…Why is that a problem? If I don’t approach them actively, there’s no way spirits will approach me first.”

“Normally, that would be true. But Miss Blaze, your mana is a bit special, isn’t it? It’s the kind of mana that spirits find difficult to approach readily.”

“…I’ve been curious about this for a while. Is my mana really that bad? Since I have a lot of it, shouldn’t there be some spirits who like it?”

[No, there aren’t. You smell. It’s a strange smell.]

{No~pe! One of the reasons we contract with humans in the first place is to eat delicious mana that doesn’t exist in nature! Of course, your mana also has a taste that probably doesn’t exist in nature… but there are hardly any spirits who want to stuff themselves with mana that tastes bad and smells! Well, there might be some unusual ones who actually find your magic delicious!}

“……”

Agnes’s expression froze in shock after hearing Sei and Sally’s scathing evaluation.

It’s not like I had developed any special affection for her, but even so, the two spirits’ assessment was too harsh.

“Wait a moment, Sei, Sally! Don’t speak so bluntly! There are ways to say things more indirectly, you know!”

[Strange smell. How to say indirectly? I don’t know such things.]

{Then why don’t you try saying it indirectly, Lilith?! I just honestly said I don’t want to eat mana that tastes bad and smells strange!}

“M-mana that tastes bad and smells strange….”

“…Miss Blaze. There’s nothing particularly wrong with your mana. It’s just that spirits find it a bit unfamiliar, so it’s hard for them to approach readily. Even if a steak looks perfectly fine, it’s human instinct to avoid it if it smells like rotten eggs, right? If clear soup smells like urine, you’d naturally suspect the chef. What spirits feel from your mana, Agnes, is similar to this….”

“…You’re the worst.”

“…Pardon?”

Anyway, recently, I’ve been focusing on helping Agnes understand the nature of her mana in this way.

The most fundamental solution was, of course, to increase Agnes’s Charm stat and, in turn, her Spirit Affinity, but that wasn’t something that could be done in a short period.

The plan for Agnes’s spirit contract was to proceed with a method closer to a trick.

‘If it’s a young spirit that can’t even sense the taste of magic, I should be able to attach one to her.’

It’s entirely possible to raise a contracted spirit into a strong one depending on the human’s capabilities.

The event to give Agnes a spirit would come to the academy on its own soon enough, so until then, I had to make her willing to contract with even a low-level spirit somehow.

This doesn’t mean I’m harboring resentment towards her from our unpleasant first meeting and saying things to upset her to her face.

After discussing spirit studies seriously with Agnes for two weeks, I became somewhat familiar with how to handle her. [Only on Galaxy Translations! / Axiomatic]

While seeking help from me regarding spirit contracts, Agnes often looked at me with eyes that suggested she didn’t like me.

Well, even if she looks at me with those yes, she can’t do anything to me until the next evaluation test anyway.

“Please vote for the princess for Student Council President!”

“We ask for your support for the Moonlight Shadow Princess!”

Meanwhile, Seraphine’s student council election campaign was steadily progressing.

If something unexpected had happened, I would have participated in helping with Seraphine’s campaign. For now, though, the student council election was proceeding as in the original story, so I didn’t intervene unnecessarily.

Besides, even if I jumped in to participate in the campaign, it wouldn’t make much of a difference

Seraphine’s election as Student Council President was already almost certain, and other candidates were essentially participating for the sake of participating, not actively campaigning with the thought of becoming president themselves.

Well, although the royal family’s power doesn’t reach much within the Island of Knowledge, they would still have to meet as royalty and subjects outside the academy.

They probably wouldn’t want to risk falling out of favor with the royal family by staking their lives on the uncertain possibility of being elected as the academy’s Student Council President.

In other words, when Seraphine’s student council starts its activities in a few days, Ethan and I will also start to get busy in earnest. [Only on Galaxy Translations! / Axiomatic]

If we do student council work on weekdays, we’ll naturally have to deal with assignments we would delay to weekends, so this weekend was essentially the last leisurely weekend Ethan and I could spend.

…And for some reason, on this last weekend, I was out walking the streets of the Island of Knowledge with Ethan from the morning, having left the academy.

Moreover, we were walking without Isabel, who was always by our side in such situations, so it was just the two of us.

“Lilith, is there anywhere you’d like to go?”

“…No, you don’t need to ask for my opinion, Young Master Ethan. I’ll follow wherever you decide to go…”

“We agreed not to use ‘young master’ today, Lilith.”

“…That’s right. ……E-Ethan.”

As I struggled to call Ethan’s name with lips that seemed reluctant to part, Ethan nodded with a satisfied expression.

Feeling a bit puzzled by his incomprehensible reaction, I quietly followed Ethan’s steps for now.

Really, how did it end up like this…