No matter how much I dislike degree battles or how anxious I am about Celia’s behavior, time cruelly marches on.
“Evil spirits, huh? You’re studying some difficult content again.”
“Master, do you have any materials about the Four Fiends that I could borrow?”
That day, I came to Master Owen’s house, where I work part-time, intending to borrow some materials for the report assignment given by Professor Albert while tidying up the room.
“Sure, take as much as you like.”
“Thank you. Where can I find the materials?”
“Let’s see, where were they? I haven’t been researching evil spirits much lately. I think they’re around here somewhere…”
“I appreciate the gesture, but could you please stop scattering things around the room just as I’m trying to tidy up?”
My master, having readily agreed to lend me the materials, started pulling out documents from the shelves and scattering them on the floor. While I was very grateful for his willingness to help me find the materials, if he kept messing up the room like this, I’d never finish my work.
“Oh, here we go!”
Just as I was about to speak up, seeing that piles of papers and books were about to accumulate on the floor, my master seemed to have successfully found the materials on the Four Fiends. He pulled out a thick stack of papers and an old book from the bookshelf.
“How about this? It mainly focuses on Apep, the Dragon of Darkness, but it should contain quite a bit of various information.”
“Thank you. This is very helpful.”
I said as I received the materials from my master.
Out of curiosity, I flipped through a few pages and found densely written text and what appeared to be illustrations of some locations. I couldn’t tell what the illustrations were about, but with this much content in just a few pages, it should be more than enough for writing the report.
“Excuse me. I’ll return these in five days if that’s alright.”
“No need to rush. You have a ranking battle coming up soon, right? I don’t need those materials urgently, so keep them as long as you like.”
“Thank you very much. In that case, I’ll borrow them for a bit longer.”
As My Master said, I need to prepare for the ranking battle in parallel, so being able to borrow them for an extended period is very helpful. As long as it doesn’t inconvenience My Master, I’ll gratefully accept his kindness.
“By the way, it seems you caused quite a stir at Luna’s ruins. It’s rare to see Sigrum so exhausted.”
“Well, there were a few unexpected occurrences. To be honest, I think I got a bit carried away since it had been a while since I’d explored ancient ruins.”
“Hahaha, that’s how students are. When I was a student, I once got scolded for destroying a shrine during a ruin exploration.”
“Eh? Was that okay?”
“It was full of problems. Some dangerous spirit that was supposed to be sealed got released, my companions were furious, it was a huge commotion. But well, everything worked out in the end.”
“I’m surprised it worked out at all…”
My Master laughed with a “Hahaha,” but from what I heard, if a spirit sealed in ruins had been released, wouldn’t it have been a disaster without someone of My Master’s caliber to handle it? Come to think of it, being able to laugh about such a dangerous incident is probably only possible because of this person’s abilities.
As I was listening to My Master’s reminiscence, I remembered something I wanted to ask him and brought up the topic.
“By the way, Master, is it alright if I ask you something about evil spirits?”
“About contracting with evil spirits?”
My Master, who seemed to have already guessed my question, hit the nail on the head, causing me to flinch in surprise. Seeing my reaction, he laughed as if to say, “I knew it.”
“…Am I that easy to read?”
“Well, considering your current situation, it’s only natural that contracting would be the first thing that comes to mind when you say you want to ask about evil spirits.”
When he puts it that way, I suppose he’s right. If I were in his position, I’d probably think of contracting first as well.
“So, about contracting with evil spirits… I don’t recommend it, obviously.”
“…”
Of course. Of course, you’d say that.
“While there’s no explicit law against it, in this country, contracting with evil spirits is essentially treated as taboo. Even if you could contract with one, it would cause a huge uproar.”
“By the way, why is it treated as taboo?”
“Probably for all the reasons you’ve heard in your lectures. spirit masters going insane after contracting, the history of wars caused by evil spirit contractors known as the Evil Spirit Conflicts, the nature of evil spirits to actively attack nearby humans and spirits, the inherent danger of the darkness attribute itself… Well, the list goes on and on.”
“…I see.”
Hearing it all laid out like that, I can understand why it’s treated as taboo. It’s all understandable reasons. I had harbored a faint hope that maybe evil spirits would be different, but… I guess it’s far beyond someone like me after all.
“…I won’t ask what Rourke is thinking, but whatever you’re planning to do, I think it’s too difficult for you as you are now.”
“…What do you mean?”
Confused by this sudden negative statement, I ask. I don’t understand at all why he suddenly said something like this.
With a slightly smug expression, My Master opened his mouth.
“I’m talking about your way of being as a spirit mage.”
“…My way of being… as a spirit mage?”
I still don’t understand. What does he mean?
I try to appeal to My Master with my gaze, asking him to explain, but he just smiles somewhat amusedly, showing no sign of answering. Why?
“I could tell you, but as a master, I think it’s better if you figure it out on your own.”
“Then please tell me.”
“It wouldn’t be fun if I told you right away, would it? Since we’re at it, you should ponder it a bit more. Besides, isn’t it almost time for the ranking battle you were talking about?”
“Huh? Oh crap!?”
Looking at the clock hanging on the wall, I see that the time for the match is indeed approaching. If I don’t hurry to the academy from here, I really won’t make it in time!
“Come on, get going. You want to watch today’s ranking battle properly, right? We’ll talk about the answer another time.”
“Ugh! You better tell me next time for sure!!”
“Hahaha! Keep pondering, young man!”
I quickly tidy up the things around me and dash out of the room, throwing out a line like some villain.
The sound of My Master’s hearty laughter from behind was incredibly frustrating.
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT LOCALIZERMEERKAT.PAGES.DEV
Degree battles are generally held after all lectures have ended for the day.
Originally, only the students participating in the battles were excused from lectures, and the battles were held at times specified by the academy. However, as more and more students tried to watch the matches, especially those involving top-performing students, and an increasing number of students started skipping lectures, now almost all battles are held after school.
So today, since I only had morning lectures, I thought I could spend the afternoon working my part-time job and return for the after-school battle. But I clearly underestimated the situation.
“Hah! Hah! Did I make it in time!?”
It’s probably about a few minutes before the match starts. Having somehow arrived at the academy, I pass through the school gates and run towards the arena.
At least from the atmosphere, it doesn’t seem like the match has started yet. Thanks to my all-out sprint, I managed to make it in time. Catching my breath, I head towards the academy’s proud arena.
As soon as I enter, I’m enveloped in a clamor. The arena is so packed with students that I might have mistaken it for a festival.
“As expected of Gareth’s match.”
Perhaps because Gareth is fighting today, even more students than usual have gathered in the arena, especially second-year students and freshmen.
In particular, almost all the first-year students are here, probably because it’s their first ranking battle. With this many students, I guess there won’t be any seats left.
I should have predicted this would happen for the first ranking battle of the new semester, especially with Gareth going first. But I got too caught up in my conversation with My Master and completely fell behind.
“Ah, Senpai Rourke!”
As I was about to give up on finding a seat and consider watching the match from the outdoor broadcast, I heard someone calling my name amidst the commotion. Wondering who it was, I turned towards the voice and saw a girl waving at me enthusiastically – it was my junior who had explored the ancient ruins with me.
Next to her, a girl with her eyes hidden by her bangs, who had been in the same group at the freshman welcome party, bowed her head slightly in my direction. If I remember correctly, her name was Meili.
Recognizing my juniors, I approached their seats to greet them.
“Leia, you came to watch the ranking battle too?”
“Yes, my friend is participating in the second round. Also, since Senpai Gareth is fighting too, I thought it would be nice if we could watch together.”
“Oh, your friend…”
Drawn by her words, I looked towards one of the three divided blocks, the first-year block, and saw a girl with long black hair leaning against the wall. I believe she was also in the same group at the freshman welcome party. I wonder if they became friends because of that event.
Thinking that perhaps those painful times weren’t in vain after all, I greeted Meili once again.
“You’re Meili, right? I’m not sure if you remember, but I’m Rourke Areas. We met at the freshman welcome party. Nice to meet you again.”
“Y-Yes! I’m Meili Norst! I’m honored that the famous Rourke-senpai remembers my name! It’s a p-pleasure to meet you too!”
“Hey, you don’t need to be so formal. Please raise your head.”
As Meili bowed her head while introducing herself, clearly nervous, I forced a smile and asked her to look up.
I noticed that we were drawing attention from those around us, and having a freshman bow to me would surely start unnecessary rumors. I wanted her to raise her face as soon as possible.
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