Chapter 3: The Contractor of the Evil Spirit
“Are you okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine. Thank you for your concern…”
After carrying the injured disciplinary committee members to the infirmary and leaving their treatment to Minnea and other medical committee members, I went to check on Leia, who was sitting on the bed after receiving treatment.
Leia had been protecting the injured while fighting until Misha and I arrived, so she had sustained some serious, though not life-threatening, injuries. However, she already seemed to have recovered enough to move around without issue.
As expected of Minnea’s healing skills.
“…Senpai, what about the spirit master who escaped?”
“Ah, don’t worry. The teachers will catch him.”
“…I see…”
I spoke in a light tone to reassure her, but Leia’s expression remained gloomy, and her voice lacked its usual vigor.
If anything, it seemed even darker than before.
“…What’s wrong? Are your wounds still hurting?”
Seeing Leia so listless, I wondered if her injuries were still bothering her. After a few seconds of silence, she muttered in a barely audible voice, “…Senpai…”
“…Am I… weak?”
“…What’s this all about?”
To contract with a high-ranking spirit, a spirit master needs considerable talent. There’s no way Leia, who has contracted with Salamander, is weak.
In fact, if it came down to pure firepower, I’d say she’s easily among the top five in the academy, even as a first-year.
“…During the new student welcoming match, Senpai, you defeated me without even summoning your contracted spirit… And this time, I couldn’t defeat the intruders… I couldn’t protect the academy’s comrades on my own…”
“…No, that’s—”
“My father sent me here to become a great spirit master… But like this… I’m…”
“…………”
Leia clenched her teeth and spoke with frustration, leaving me at a loss for words.
As for the new student welcoming match, I was fighting seriously even without a contracted spirit… but I can’t explain that.
As for this time, Leia had been protecting the injured while fighting, and the opponent was simply too strong.
“Leia, that intruder was—”
“Areas-sama, are you here?”
Just as I was about to explain, the infirmary door opened, and Sena, the student council secretary, entered.
“…What’s the matter?”
“The student council president has summoned you. She has a special request and would like you to come to the student council room immediately.”
“Smells like trouble.”
The summons came right after the attack, and with a special request on top of it, I couldn’t help but feel like I was about to be handed some troublesome task… but I couldn’t refuse.
“Got it. I’ll be there right away.”
“Thank you.”
“Wait, please!”
As I was about to follow Sena out of the infirmary, I heard a desperate voice from behind. Turning around, I saw Leia standing up from the bed.
“…Can I come with you?”
“But, Valhart-sama, you’re injured…”
“My injuries are fine. I can move around well enough.”
“But…”
“Just let her come along.”
Seeing Sena still hesitant, I let out a subtle sigh and interjected.
“Considering the request is probably related to the earlier attack, she’s not unrelated to this. Just take her along.”
Leia probably understood that and was asking Sena to let her come.
Besides, if Leia joined the request, it would undoubtedly lighten my burden.
There’s no harm in bringing her along.
“…Understood. Then, Valhart-sama, please come along.”
“…Yes!”
After a moment of hesitation, Sena seemed to agree with my reasoning and nodded.
Leia, who had been listening behind us, responded with more energy than before and followed Sena out.
From the looks of it, she had regained some of her spirit.
“Senpai, thank you.”
“Yeah.”
Truth be told, about two-thirds of it was for my own sake, but I wanted to play the part of a good senpai, so I kept that to myself and simply nodded.
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“Excuse me. I’ve brought them, Student Council President.”
“You’re here.”
Led by Sena, we entered the student council room, where Misha, the student council president, was waiting. Also present were Professor Kyle, who teaches water spirit studies, and Professor Albert, who teaches evil spirit studies.
“Professor, didn’t you go to the academic conference?”
“I’ve been busy with research, so I didn’t have the time this time… but I didn’t expect something like this to happen.”
When I asked in surprise, Professor Albert answered with a bitter smile.
“I see…”
Regardless of the reason, it was fortunate that Professor Albert had stayed at the academy.
After glancing at Professor Albert, I turned my gaze to Professor Kyle, who was sitting across from him. While Professor Albert was as impeccably dressed as usual, Professor Kyle’s shirt was even more disheveled than normal, and he had cuts on his cheeks and arms. It was obvious he had been in a fight.
Misha, noticing our arrival, seemed slightly surprised to see Leia, who hadn’t been summoned.
“Why is Valhart here?”
“That’s…”
“I suggested it. The request is about the earlier attack, right? Leia’s one of the involved parties, so I brought her along.”
I explained before Sena could. Misha didn’t object and simply nodded, saying, “That’s a fair point.”
“Then, let’s get straight to the matter at hand.”
With that, Misha placed a book on the table.
“What’s this?”
“The target of this intrusion.”
Professor Kyle answered while spinning an unlit cigarette like a pen. As a heavy smoker, he probably wanted to light it, but with the princess present, he couldn’t.
“The intruders broke into the academy to steal this book.”
“What’s inside?”
“It’s about the seal of one of the Four Fiends, the Evil Dragon Aži Dahāka.”
“Huh?”
Leia, standing next to me, gasped in shock at the name that appeared in history books.
“…………”
“That reaction tells me you expected this. Impressive.”
“No…”
As for me, I had some idea it was related to evil spirits, given the intruder and Professor Albert’s presence, but I hadn’t expected it to involve the Four Fiends. I was inwardly shocked.
So please don’t look at me with such admiration.
“There were two intruders. One caused a diversion by causing a scene, while the other tried to steal this book about the Four Fiends’ seals from the depths of the library.”
The one who explained the earlier attack was Professor Albert, who adjusted his black-rimmed glasses. It seemed that besides the spirit master we fought, there had been another intruder in the academy.
“But why would such a dangerous thing be here in the first place?”
“This academy has many researchers, myself included, studying the Four Fiends and their sealing techniques. Naturally, related materials end up here.”
“I see…”
“There was another intruder?”
While I was processing this, Leia asked about the other intruder.
“I ran into them while doing some research at the library. I managed to retrieve the book, but they got away.”
Professor Albert seemed embarrassed, but stopping the theft was already a significant achievement. If the book had been stolen, who knows what could have happened.
“By the way, Misha, what about the other intruder?”
“They got away too. My bad.”
Professor Kyle answered apologetically, and I was surprised.
“Even you, Professor?”
“Yeah, even with Lily’s help and her summoned spirits, we couldn’t catch them. It’s shameful.”
“……”
Professor Kyle is one of the more combat-oriented spirit users among the faculty. And with Lily’s support, the fact that they escaped is…
“Does that mean the request is to track down the escaped intruders?”
Honestly, after hearing all this, I’d rather not face them again…
“No, the Kingdom Spirit Corps will handle that. We need you to head to the Biblia Ruined Temple.”
“Biblia Ruined Temple?”
“Oh, Areas, you’ve attended my lectures, haven’t you?”
Confused about the mission, I asked for clarification, and Professor Albert responded with a probing tone.
Lectures… he must mean evil spirit studies…
I thought about the meaning of his words and recalled the contents of a document I had researched earlier. Finally, I understood.
“…The seal of Aži Dahāka.”
“Exactly. There’s a shrine there where Aži Dahāka is sealed.”
When I answered, Professor Albert nodded with satisfaction. Then, Leia interjected with a panicked voice.
“W-wait a minute! The seal of Aži Dahāka… you don’t mean—!”
“No, the situation you’re imagining hasn’t happened. At least not yet.”
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