“Princess Misha, forgive my rudeness, but please step aside. As a daughter of the noble Valhart family, I cannot quietly withdraw after suffering such humiliation!”
“As I said before, I understand your feelings, but I cannot allow this. As long as you’re a student of this academy, you must obey its rules.”
“And what if I refuse to comply…?”
“I’m afraid I’ll have to remove you by force.”
As Misha spoke, an enormous amount of spiritual power and light overflowed from her body.
The brightness was so intense that I instinctively closed my eyes. When the light subsided and I opened them again, a spirit – an angel – had descended next to Misha.
The angel’s appearance, with two pairs of pure white wings sprouting from its graceful back, was so beautiful it was captivating.
Its thin armor barely covered its snow-white skin, only shielding the shoulders, chest, and waist, shamelessly displaying its perfectly proportioned figure.
I wondered if it had any sense of shame, but its face was completely hidden by a mask, making it impossible to see its true visage. The golden hair that nearly touched the ground swayed gently.
I used to want to peek at that face, but after being literally half-killed in a previous battle, that desire had completely vanished.
Wait a minute. They’re both casually summoning their contracted spirits. They’re not planning to fight here, are they?
Angels are equal to, if not more powerful than, dragon-type spirits. They’re among the highest-ranking spirits. And with both spirit users being first-class, this could get seriously out of hand…
Trapped between the two of them, I noticed that everyone’s attention was focused on us.
Actually, from a bystander’s perspective, I probably looked like a guy caught two-timing. It was extremely uncomfortable.
“…I understand. You’re right, Princess Misha. I deeply apologize for my rudeness. Please forgive me.”
“No, I’m glad you understand, Miss Valhart. As long as you’re enrolled in the academy, you’ll surely have other opportunities to fight him. There’s no need to rush.”
After a brief staredown, Leia bowed her head in apology, and Misha smiled, accepting her apology.
“Thank you. I’ll take my leave now.”
“Yes, you’re coming to the evening banquet, aren’t you? We’ll be waiting for you.”
At Misha’s words, Leia bowed once more and strode past me with powerful steps.
“Next time, I’ll definitely burn you.”
As she passed by, she delivered this chilling declaration. I felt a shiver run down my spine and couldn’t help but turn to watch Leia’s small back as she disappeared towards the exit.
Maybe I should quit this academy…
“Once again, you didn’t summon your contracted spirit.”
As I trembled at the blunt death threat, Misha let out a small sigh and muttered, either to herself or to me, in a voice so quiet I couldn’t tell which.
When I turned my gaze towards Misha, her sapphire-like beautiful eyes pierced through me.
Misha herself possessed beauty that rivaled, if not surpassed, her contracted angel. A beautifully shaped nose, luscious pink lips, every feature of her face was perfectly arranged. Her white skin was as smooth as snow, making me want to reach out and touch it.
They say heaven doesn’t bestow two gifts on one person, but in her case, it seemed heaven had mistakenly given her four or five. She was perfect in every aspect – family background, appearance, talent, contracted spirit.
“That was an impressive battle. As always, it’s amazing how you can handle such advanced spirit arts without even summoning your contracted spirit.”
As I was captivated by Misha, she offered these words of praise.
“It’s an honor to hear that from the top student and princess.”
“If you summoned your contracted spirit, you wouldn’t be in this position.”
Misha responded without hesitation. She spoke with a tone of absolute certainty.
“You’re overestimating me. That’s not true.”
“In our previous match, I should have lost.”
“No, that was your victory, Princess. It was unmistakably your win.”
I told her, recalling the details of our previous match. Yes, she was the winner of that battle, and I was undoubtedly the loser. That was an undeniable fact.
However, Misha seemed unsatisfied and was about to voice her disagreement again, but then, perhaps realizing it would be pointless, she finally closed her mouth.
“I’m sorry, Princess, but I think I’ll take my leave now. That last fight really wore me out.”
The battle with a high-ranking spirit had indeed been exhausting. Moreover, even though this was supposed to be a recreational event to welcome new students, that underclassman had clearly been out to crush me.
If possible, I never want to fight her again.
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“…Why?”
“…Huh?”
I was about to turn my back on Misha and walk away, but when she asked that from behind, I turned around and froze.
“Why won’t you summon your contracted spirit?”
“…”
Her question was filled with a mix of emotions – curiosity, anger, and… sadness.
Faced with this question loaded with various feelings, I found myself at a loss for words. I tried to think of something to say, but in the end, nothing came out. I just averted my gaze and fled the scene.
Until I left the arena, I could feel her gaze on my back, never wavering.
As I walked down the long corridors of Utrea Academy after leaving the arena, I found myself unconsciously letting out a big sigh.
All the spirit users I’ve fought always ask the same thing.
Why don’t you use your contracted spirit?
Are you looking down on me?
Why do you hide your contracted spirit so much?
Why, why, why – they all voice the same question.
Why, you ask?
The answer is obvious.
It’s because I don’t have a contracted spirit!!
Let me say it again.
I don’t have a contracted spirit!!! (crying)
Yes, believe it or not, despite being ranked second in our year, I don’t have a contracted spirit. That’s why everyone keeps asking why I don’t summon it, but the truth is, there’s nothing to summon in the first place.
On the night I entered the academy, like many other students, I drew a magic circle on the ground to summon a spirit, recited the incantation, and performed the contract ritual.
But no matter how long I waited, no spirit appeared. I optimistically thought that eventually someone would respond, and before I knew it, a year had passed without me having a contracted spirit.
Look, I honestly didn’t expect things to turn out like this, okay? My parents told me I had talent and encouraged me. I worked really hard to get into this academy, but when I tried to make a contract, no one responded.
So I tried to contract directly with spirits, but they all refused.
I really don’t know what to do anymore.
But at this point, I couldn’t just drop out of the academy because I couldn’t contract with anyone. My old man had scraped together what little savings we had to pay the high entrance fee.
If it ever got out that I didn’t have a contracted spirit, which is essential for becoming a spirit user, I’d undoubtedly be labeled a dropout.
So I worked hard.
To gain enough power to fight even without relying on a contracted spirit.
Because I didn’t have a contracted spirit, I learned the technique of simple contracts to form pacts with minor spirits so I could use spirit arts. Because I didn’t have a partner, I trained my body and learned swordsmanship so I wouldn’t lose in close combat. I devoured every book I could find in the library to accumulate knowledge in hopes of somehow obtaining a contracted spirit. Sometimes I’d gaze at Misha’s or my classmates’ contracted spirits, daydreaming about what kind of spirit I’d like to contract with. I gave it my all.
And the result is my current situation.
I’ve managed to secure the second-highest rank in our year, but without realizing it, I’ve been labeled as a genius hiding my true power – a label I don’t find even remotely pleasing.
Somehow, rumors have spread that I always fight with composure, toying with my opponents, or that I’m hiding my contracted spirit for when it really matters, or that my contracted spirit is so powerful that summoning it would endanger those around me, so I’m fighting with self-imposed limitations for everyone’s sake. These rumors have snowballed, growing more and more exaggerated.
I’ve never once toyed with an opponent! I’m always fighting at full strength!
There seems to be some misunderstanding about my surrender in the match against Misha. The truth is, I only chose to surrender before being killed because I saw a vision of my actual death when Misha used her trump card at the very end.
Well, I did try my best without a contracted spirit, so I ended up making a cool surrender declaration to save face. But who would have thought it would turn out like this?
Who’s the idiot saying I surrendered on purpose because I could see Misha’s trump card?
I surrendered because I was certain I couldn’t win after she used it, you fool!
I don’t know what’s so fun about it, but thanks to my classmates interpreting all my actions favorably, I’ve been lifted up to an impossible degree. Now the atmosphere is such that I can’t even come out and say, “Actually, I don’t have any contracted spirits!”
My fellow commoner classmates call me a beacon of hope, while the nobles see me as a genius threatening their status and treat me like an enemy. I really don’t know what to do…
“Sigh, why didn’t I say it from the start…”
Lately, I’ve been thinking it might have been easier if I had come clean about not having a contracted spirit from the beginning and worked hard while being labeled as incompetent.
Actually, looking at the popular novels sold in bookstores recently, that kind of story seems to be trending.
Man, that’s nice! Because when you start at the bottom, you can only go up! The more you work hard, the more everyone acknowledges you!
In my current situation, I’m being evaluated above my actual ability, so my stock can’t go up, and it can only fall. I’m about to go bald from stress.
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