Frost Spirit Merphil. A 8-star ice spirit magic beast.

It could be found in the magic beast section of the ❰Magic Knight of Märchen❱ setting book. It was a magic beast that did not appear in the game so I was seeing it for the very first time.

It too must be quite large, similar to Hilde.

It was impossible not to remember that all 8-star magic beasts, with the sole exception of Phantom Cat Cheshire, were set to be large in size.

Then, could that form be for camouflage?

[…]

Frost Spirit Merphil approached.

Seeing its unnatural movement as if it were on a moving walkway, I realized it had no feet. It was floating in the air, moving like a ghost you'd see in a horror movie.

The Frost spirit stopped in front of me and looked down at me from a height that could reach the ceiling. His long and twisted facial structure gave off a bizarre impression.

Then, the frost spirit bent its upper body as if to greet me and stretched out its skinny hand. Its four fingers were abnormally elongated.

The hand opened, and a dagger appeared.

A silver dagger.

The silver-white scabbard, engraved with beautiful patterns, sheathed a dagger with a silver handle.

"Are you giving this to me?"

Frost Spirit Merphil nodded its head.

I grasped the silver dagger. Despite it being cold it felt comfortable in my hand.

[I have been waiting... for you.]

The Frost Spirit spoke in a strange voice that seemed to echo in my head.

[Please lead us. We will respond to your call whenever...]

Whoooosh.

After saying everything it wanted to say, Frost Spirit Merphil disappeared into a cold mist, flowed out the window, and soon dissipated.

That was the Frost Spirit's unique magic, [Spiritualization]. A magic that allowed one to move by turning into a spirit after eliminating the physical body.

I walked to the window and looked outside. The faint blue powder fluttered away, effortlessly passing through the transparent barrier that enveloped the entire island. That must be how it entered the academy.

"Hilde."

Chak

After drawing the curtains,

I infused more mana into Hilde, transforming her into the form of a small white dragon. She landed on the ground and looked up at me.

"What's going on? Since the crack of dawn, some ghostly creature came and gave me something...?"

I was dumbfounded.

[Perhaps, my old comrades have noticed your existence.]

Hilde’s old comrades would mean the familiars or minions handled by the primordial ice sovereign.

[They must have faintly sensed the aura of the [Ice Sovereign] that you emitted. Especially after summoning the primordial beast.]

"Did you know this would happen?"

[I did not!]

Hilde answered confidently.

[How could I know what they were thinking?]

"Is that so."

It made sense. This must be a first for her too.

Anyway, this meant that magic beasts on the level of national destruction had noticed my existence without me knowing.

[Ugh. Even so, the most sinister one came to find you.]

Hilde flew up and landed on my shoulder. Her gaze was fixed on the silver dagger in my hand.

I drew the dagger from its sheath to inspect the blade. A chill flowed from it, giving a cool sensation.

There were three unique magic circles engraved on the blade.

I touched it with my finger but didn't feel anything special. It was just cold and hard.

[This dagger is a symbol of the ice sovereign's qualification. Its name is the Blade of Frost Flowers. It is a Dagger of Oath and a Dagger of Pacts.]

Hilde explained as if she had been waiting for me to inspect it.

[It is not something you can handle easily. Even if you are the reincarnation of the ice sovereign, you are still far too weak… unless, of course, you are fighting demons.]

So what. Whether I can handle it or not is for me to decide.

Fate crawled in on its own. My heart fluttered with this unexpected gain.

I examined the silver dagger, the Blade of Frost Flowers, from various angles. It was impressively cool.

Hilde glared at me with narrowed eyes and pressed my cheek firmly with her short forelimbs.

[Master? Can you hear me?]

"I heard you. How many times do I have to say I'm not the reincarnation of the ice sovereign?"

[Ugh, dagnamit. So stubborn.]

Hilde cursed quaintly and wore a disgruntled expression, her eyes questioning what else I could be if not the reincarnation of the ice sovereign.

I looked at her and said,

"Hilde, explain in detail what this is."

* * *

The top-ranked dorm, Charles Hall.

The killer whale familiar, Bello, and the crow-sized thunderbird, Galia, felt a surge of excitement as soon as they were summoned and stared intently at Luce.

They were curious about what had happened between her and Isaac in Hegel Magic Tower. After all, they had ended up embracing each other in the same bed the night before.

Luce sat on the bed, her cheeks flushed.

Bello and the Thunderbird approached her with pleased expressions.

[Uh, Master? Did things go well with, hehe, Isaac?]

"Hmm…"

Luce sighed in frustration and covered her face.

Bello, who had tried to tease Luce with a sly grin, immediately shut his mouth with a flustered look.

This was... a situation they realized they shouldn't have spoken about.

"Gallia, Bello. Just tidy up the stuff, briefly."

[Luce? Isn't that something you should call a maid for?]

"No. I want to be alone."

Luce lifelessly covered herself with a blanket and laid down on the bed.

Bello and the Thunderbird, sweating profusely, tidied up the shoes and clothes that Luce had carelessly taken off.

[Hey, Gallia.]

[I know...]

Separated from Luce, Bello and the Thunderbird whispered to each other up close.

[It seems it's still not the time to expect grandchildren...]

The Thunderbird's sad voice dispersed mournfully.

Last night, how eagerly it had reverse summoned itself, filled with anticipation. The greater the expectation, the greater the disappointment turned out to be.

The Thunderbird sighed deeply.

Before leaving Hegel Magic Tower, during a private meeting.

Aria had taught Luce snippets of a new world.

Armed with all sorts of knowledge and sexual curiosity from erotic novels, Aria captured Luce with her calm tone while spouting erotic stories.

She had made Luce indulge in numerous risqué fantasies involving herself and Isaac.

Had she ever so keenly realized that she was a frog in a well?

Just seeing Isaac brought Aria's risqué stories to mind, making it impossible for Luce to maintain her composure all the way to the dorm.

Aria's erotic stories were too stimulating for a girl who had barely emerged from puberty to endure. Luce had to forcefully swallow her desire to hear more.

"I need to rest today...!"

It wasn't a choice but a necessity. She needed to calm her excited state immediately.

Luce desperately tried to fall asleep with her bloodshot eyes wide open.

* * *

This should be enough.

Daytime, at a corner of the Butterfly Garden. I took a deep breath while looking at the five rock pillars I had created.

I made a gun shape with my right hand and pointed my index finger at one of the rock pillars. Then, I started the calculation to construct the magic circle for the 7-star ice spell [Icebolt].

Seven pale blue magic circles were engraved in the air, all aiming at the targets I had set.

From the direction my index finger pointed, I released [Icebolt].

Boom!!

The pale blue mana crossed the air at a lightning-fast speed. Simultaneously, as a recoil, a cold chill exploded outward.

Beams of light were engraved in the air, and [Icebolt] missed the rock pillar.

"Ah..."

As expected. Due to my lack of mastery, my accuracy was low.

I could have easily hit the target up close, but I wanted to practice hitting targets from a distance. It was better for broadening my tactical range.

Once more. I fired [Icebolt] again.

A week had passed since I returned from Hegel Magic Tower.

Through Kaya and Dorothy, I heard about what had happened while I was at Hegel Magic Tower.

The inevitable happened.

An enormous incident occurred in the Horan, the Land of the Fire Blossoms, causing an uproar across the world. The reason was the revelation of the true priestess.

the Nation of the Land of the Fire Blossoms requested the cooperation of the Zelver Imperial Family to capture Mei, who had deceived the nation.

Mei escaped from the hospital room, hid, and was eventually caught by the Imperial Knights. Due to her fierce resistance, several knights were injured.

Students nearby watched in silent agony as Mei was taken away, wailing miserably. It was the fall of the false priestess.

Now, Mei's fate was entirely up to Miya, but considering their familial bond, she would likely be spared the death penalty.

She would probably be sentenced to lifelong hard labor with a part of her body removed.

It was karma. The time had come for her to pay for her merciless and cruel deeds.

Additionally, there was a question Kaya and Dorothy both commonly asked me.

─ Sir Isaac, nothing special happened with Luce Eltania, right?

─ President, nothing happened with that stalker friend, right?

Since nothing special happened, I replied that nothing did. After all, Luce only helped me throughout our time at Hegel Magic Tower.

They looked at me with doubtful eyes, as if they were unsettled, but I had nothing more to say.

Meeting Snow White after a long time, she tightly held my hand and tearfully said, "I've missed youuu..."

Finding her absolutely adorable, I patted her head and then returned to mentoring.

The assignment I had given before leaving... I decided that the effort put into it was what mattered. The assignment she submitted showed signs of hard work but lacked completeness. It seemed to have been quite challenging to manage in two weeks.

Thanks to Amy and Mateo’s well-organized lecture notes, I had no problem catching up with the classes I missed and quickly dealt with the backlog of assignments.

Time passed by immensely.

One day, after classes ended, and the sun gradually set.

On the bridge across the lake in the Hydrangea Garden. I was leaning on the railing, holding a magic tool, training my mana mastery. Someone was waiting.

"Hey, Baby? What are you up to?"

A female student in a uniform with light gold hair popped her head out and greeted me in a playful voice.

She was the senior who had asked me out on a date.

"Ah, Senior Alice. Just doing some additional training."

"Oh, doing a bit of everything, aren't you?"

I tucked the magic tool I was holding into my chest pocket.

"Ah, sorry I'm late. Got a bit behind on some work."

"It's okay. You arrived quickly. I haven't been here long myself."

The Student Council President, Alice Carroll, leaned one arm on the railing and rested her chin on her hand, staring intently at me.

"...Baby, didn't you miss me?"

The sunset light reflected in Alice's eyes and hair.

For a moment, I looked into those eyes and then smiled as I spoke.

"I missed you. You always take care of me, so of course, I would."

It was a false smile.

"That's good to hear. I missed you too, Baby."

Alice let out her characteristically gentle smile.

Today was the day before 「Act 9, Alice Subjugation」.