After Lilis and Agnes met at the entrance of the Black Forest, about an hour had passed.

Agnes, who had not yet formed a spirit contract, was only able to enter the Black Forest for the contract at midnight.

Although, it was a slightly different method of entry than she had initially thought.

Why, why do I have to enter this dark forest alone at this time of night…

In one hand, she held a lamp that did not use magic to read the mana reactions and keep the spirits from running away.

In the other hand, she held a map of the Black Forest to avoid getting lost inside.

Both items had been given to her by Lilis. The map, in particular, seemed amateurish and was presumed to have been drawn by Lilis herself.

Intellectually, Agnes knew she shouldn’t blame someone who had put so much care into looking out for her until the end.

-Rustle.

“Eek?!”

...Even so, Agnes had not imagined that she would be thrown into the Black Forest alone at this late hour.

I hadn’t thought about going in by myself…

From the moment they arranged to meet in front of the Black Forest, Agnes had prepared herself to some extent, but she didn’t expect she would actually be going in alone.

Of course, she had assumed that Lilis would accompany her. Lilis was always wearing an expression that seemed unfazed by anything scary.

Agnes herself wasn't particularly scared of large monsters or things like falling from heights.

But the darkness of night was an environment she particularly disliked.

The reason she became so obsessed with fire magic was because it could create light in the dark.

If she had an affinity for light magic, Agnes would have certainly majored in it instead.

"It is an oil lamp that is unaffected by mana. It should last for about two hours, so I suggest you come back before then."

"Alright."

"This is a map of the Black Forest, located north of Luminor Academy. Hold the lamp and follow the narrow path straight in. If you go around the back of the large tree, you will find a place called the 'Spirit’s Pond' where many spirits gather."

"Shouldn’t I just follow you in? Why do I need a map…"

"What are you saying, Miss Blaze? If I enter the forest with you, all the spirits will be attracted to me. How could you form a contract then?"

"…I guess you're right. Wait a minute, does that mean…"

"I trust that someone of your caliber, the top of the Magic Department, is not afraid to enter the Black Forest alone."

"…Hmph. Of course, that’s ridiculous. Hand over the map and lamp. I'll go in myself."

Well, it actually made sense.

The moment she lost Lilis’s expected presence, Agnes felt an inexplicable anxiety causing her body to tremble.

As a result, even the mana she had managed to control was now constantly leaking out.

Realizing belatedly that her mana was escaping, Agnes hurriedly controlled the leaking mana using the method Lilis had taught her.

Any spirit is fine. As long as I can make a contract quickly with any spirit…

If she could just form a contract, it didn’t matter if it was a low-level spirit or not, or even if it wasn’t a fire spirit.

She just wanted to escape this chilling forest as soon as possible.

Of course, there was little chance of her being attacked by a dangerous monster tonight.

The Black Forest was a training facility within the academy designed to match the students' current level.

Even though she was only a first-year, Agnes was already stronger than most second or third-year students, and no monsters in the Black Forest could defeat her.

-Whoosh!

“...!”

...But knowing this didn’t ease the fear Agnes felt alone in the dark forest.

I’m only halfway in…

Why did the Spirit's Pond that Lilis mentioned have to be so deep within the Black Forest?

Why was it only in such a place that she could form a spirit contract, forcing her into this dangerous area?

For a moment, she wondered if Lilis had sent her into such a place to deceive her.

“...Huh?”

Seeing a young spirit appear in front of her, Agnes finally put aside her suspicions about Lilis.

-Wooong.

“Could it be… Is that really…?”

So it was true that new spirits are born on the day of the planetary alignment.

Though it was still just a small sphere, not even in the form of a spirit yet, Agnes could tell from the mysterious energy emanating from it.

She was convinced that this blue orb, which was just beginning to emerge before her eyes, was the young spirit she had been seeking.

There’s still a bit more to go before I reach the pond…

Lilis hadn't specifically said that she needed to form the contract at the pond.

She had only mentioned that there would be a lot of spirits at the pond, making it easier to find one that suited her.

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

Agnes hurried her steps toward the newborn spirit.

-Pak! Papak!

“There, there…!”

-Whoosh!

“...Huh?”

But the young wind spirit vanished the moment she approached it.

As Agnes missed the spirit right in front of her eyes, she recalled one of the pieces of advice Lilis had given her during the supplementary lessons.

"The younger a spirit is, the more wary it is. If it were an older spirit, even Miss Blaze’s clumsy communication skills wouldn’t be an issue, but right now, Miss Blaze needs to be more composed in front of spirits."

“...Oh.”

...I knew that.

But in her impatience, she momentarily forgot.

She was so eager to escape this darkness after forming a spirit contract that she had become careless.

“...It was a wind spirit.”

If she had formed a contract, it would have made an excellent partner for her fire magic.

But lamenting over the lost spirit wouldn’t bring it back, so Agnes dusted off her uniform skirt and continued to follow the map and lamp deeper into the Black Forest.

Fortunately, it wasn’t long before she encountered another spirit.

-Rustle.

...I found it.

From the ground, a newly born earth spirit quietly stirred.

She could tell from its incomplete form that it was a newborn spirit.

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

-Step, step.

“There, there….”

...?!

“Would you like to make a contract… with me…?”

......

......Ah!

The spirit didn’t flee when she spoke to it, despite her sudden approach.

This was the first time Agnes had experienced a spirit not running away when she spoke to it.

Not only was she perfectly concealing the unpleasant mana that usually repelled spirits, but the young spirit, being newly born, was more curious than wary.

As a result, it didn’t flee from Agnes’s awkward communication skills.

Con…tract?

“...Yes.”

What’s that…?

“......”

How should she explain a contract to a young spirit that didn’t even understand the world?

For Agnes, who wasn’t used to having deep conversations, trying to persuade a young spirit wasn’t easy.

“The contract is….”

......

“So, um….”

......

“If you make a contract, you can stay with me, always….”

-Papapap!

“Wait…!”

But the earth spirit, uninterested in her stumbling words, disappeared back into the ground.

Agnes reached out hastily to the spot where the spirit had been, but of course, the vanished spirit didn’t return to her grasp.

Having let a second chance slip away, Agnes quietly dusted off her skirt and stood up again.

...I should go to the Spirit's Pond.

Lilis had said it was the place where the most spirits would be born tonight in the Black Forest.

Maybe one of those spirits would want to make a contract with her.

With that faint hope, Agnes continued her journey deeper into the Black Forest.

About 20 minutes later, after burning through half of the lamp’s oil and following the map, she noticed something.

“Huh?”

In the dark forest, she spotted a faint light emanating from behind a large tree.

“Could it be…?”

Was this the Spirit’s Pond that Lilis had mentioned?

Suppressing her growing excitement, Agnes gripped the large tree and walked around to the back.

As she walked around the tree, the pond that had been hidden from view gradually revealed itself.

“Wow…”

Seeing the scene with her own eyes, Agnes could only utter a few words of awe.

In the heart of the dark Black Forest, a beautiful water surface was illuminated with various colors.

Hundreds of newborn spirits emitted a spectrum of light, reflecting on the pond’s surface, flickering like a ballroom of spirits.

For Agnes, who had struggled to encounter even one or two spirits before, it was a dreamlike place.