“So, why am I being dragged into this?”
“Training. You’re helping.”
“Ugh.”
The next day. While I was in the library trying to research evil spirits, Lily somehow appeared behind me and dragged me to the academy’s training grounds.
“Do I have to be the one to help?”
“Since Linda is my opponent in the next rank battle, Rourke or Gareth would be the best fit.”
“Ah, I see.”
Linda is a spirit master like me and Gareth, the type who fights directly on the front lines.
In that sense, Gareth and I would make good training partners for preparing against that kind of opponent.
But considering what’s planned for later, I don’t really want to use up too much spiritual energy… Still, I owe her for the advice she gave me during the last rank battle. I can’t refuse…
“Fine, but only until Gareth gets here.”
“Thanks.”
Her tone made it hard to tell if she was actually grateful, but I took out my talisman as she thanked me.
“By the way, what exactly am I supposed to do for this training?”
“Just fight normally.”
“Oh, okay.”
“Yeah, you can summon your contracted spirit too.”
“…I won’t.”
She said it so casually that I almost blurted out that I didn’t have one. That was close.
“Tch.”
She clicked her tongue. I really can’t let my guard down around her.
“Come on, we’re short on time. Hurry up and summon your spirit.”
“…Minotaurus.”
“ROOOAR!”
Responding to its master’s call, the bull-headed spirit appeared before us. Minotaurus, a high-ranking thunder spirit, let out a mighty roar as electricity crackled across its body.
Its sharp gaze glared at me, but I didn’t flinch. In fact, I smiled and spoke to it.
“It’s been a while since we’ve met like this, hasn’t it, Minotaurus?”
“ROAR!”
Despite its fearsome appearance, Minotaurus responded with a friendly demeanor.
Surprisingly serious and kind-hearted, Minotaurus often gets dragged into Lily’s antics, so we’ve become oddly close as fellow victims.
“Have you been doing well? Has Lily been giving you a hard time?”
“Rourke, that’s rude. I treat him well.”
“Really?”
I glanced at Minotaurus for confirmation, and he shook his head—well, he tried to, but then he started nodding vigorously as if his head might fly off.
Clearly, his master was pressuring him. It seems things haven’t changed.
“Well, whatever… By the way, aren’t you going to summon spirits?”
“Nah, this is fine.”
“Alright.”
Confirming that we’d only be training with Minotaurus this time, I summoned a minor spirit from my talisman.
“Ugh… I’m exhausted.”
After finishing training with Lily, I walked through the academy grounds, feeling the weight of fatigue pressing down on me.
In the end, Lily decided to continue training after that, so I left the training grounds, leaving behind the sorrowful figure of Minotaurus sitting obediently.
“Still, I can’t help but feel envious…”
As I reflected on the training session, I realized I had muttered those words without thinking.
Watching a spirit master strategize and train alongside their contracted spirit is such a natural sight, yet it’s something I can never have.
“…But, maybe I too…”
If this attempt goes well, perhaps I can finally form a contract with a spirit… even if it’s an evil spirit.
“…Huh?”
Just as I was deep in thought, a loud cheer interrupted my train of thought. I turned my gaze toward the source, and it seemed to be coming from the direction of the coliseum.
“Ah, right. The ranking matches.”
Due to the recent attacks, the schedule for the ranking matches had been pushed back, and it seemed they were now holding the matches during the students’ free time.
“…”
It should have been class time, but it looked like many students were watching the battles.
Who could be fighting?
Since I still had some time before meeting Gareth, I decided to head to the coliseum out of curiosity. As I approached, I could hear the excited voices of the students, followed by the familiar roar of a dragon.
“That’s… Salamander.”
Inside the coliseum, a dragon with red, giant wings—Salamander—was engaged in a fierce aerial battle with a water spirit that had taken the form of a giant fish.
“Gaaaaah!”
“Giiiii!”
The two high-ranking spirits clashed repeatedly. Below them, their summoners, a fire spirit mage and a water spirit mage, were exchanging spells.
Every time the two opposing elemental spells collided, they would cancel each other out, creating steam. Eventually, the two combatants were enveloped in the steam, and just as that happened, Salamander let out another roar, followed by an explosion of fire.
“Whoa!”
The shockwave itself was absorbed by the protective barrier, but the intense blast of wind still hit me in the face, forcing me to instinctively cover it with my arm.
When the steam finally cleared, I saw the water spirit lying weakly on the ground, its summoner—a student—sitting dazed and defeated. Above them, Salamander and its summoner, Leia, stood calmly, looking down.
It seemed the match was over.
“That’s it! The winner is Leia Valhart!”
As the referee declared her victory, the crowd erupted into cheers once more.
However, Leia didn’t seem to pay any attention to the surrounding noise. She simply bowed and then walked briskly toward the exit.
“Hmm.”
Come to think of it, lately, Leia had been avoiding me for some reason. I thought I’d go and offer her some words of encouragement, so I left the spectator seats and headed toward the competitors’ exit.
“…Phew.”
Just as I arrived, Leia came out, looking exhausted from her battle.
“Leia, good job.”
“…S-Senpai!? What are you doing here?”
I thought the timing was perfect as I called out to her, but Leia looked at me with an exaggerated expression of surprise.
“I watched your match. You were amazing.”
Her opponent in the ranking match should have had an elemental advantage, but she won with ease. She dominated the entire match, and it was a truly impressive performance, befitting a top student.
“N-No, it was nothing… Compared to you, Senpai, it’s nothing special.”
“Nah, don’t say that…”
It’s not nothing. Just having a contracted spirit is already impressive.
“W-Well then… I’ll be going now.”
“Eh…? Wait, hold on!”
As she tried to leave abruptly, I grabbed her hand to stop her.
“!?”
“Did I… do something to upset you, Leia? I don’t recall doing anything, but if I did, I’m sorry… Are you listening?”
“…………”
I managed to stop her from running away, but now she was just staring at the hand I had grabbed, completely zoned out. Wait, did I just mess up?
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“Ah, sorry! My bad!”
“…It’s fine.”
I quickly let go of her hand, and Leia shook her head while still looking at her hand. She didn’t seem angry, but there was definitely something on her mind.
What did I do? I seriously have no idea…
“…………”
“…………”
We both fell silent, and an incredibly awkward atmosphere took over.
I had no idea what I had done to upset her, so I couldn’t say anything. And she, too, seemed to be lost in thought, staying silent.
What do I do about this situation? Seriously…
“W-Well, anyway, if I did something to upset you, I’m sorry. That’s all I wanted to say.”
Trying to escape the awkwardness, I quickly apologized and was about to leave.
“Upset? N-No, that’s not it! It’s a misunderstanding!!”
“Eh?”
I stopped in my tracks at Leia’s words.
“Misunderstanding?”
“It’s not that I’ve been avoiding you because I dislike you or anything like that…”
“So, that’s not it?”
So, it seems I wasn’t being avoided because she disliked me. But then, why had she been avoiding me?
“Then, what’s the reason…?”
“W-Well, it’s… it’s just…”
I really wanted to know the reason, so I pressed her, but Leia suddenly became hesitant. What could it be? Was it really that hard to say?
As I silently waited for her to explain, the bell signaling the end of class rang throughout the academy.
“I’m sorry! I have something to do, so I’ll be going now!”
“Ah, wait!?”
Before I could get an answer, Leia ran off, saying she had something to do. She was running so fast that it was clear she had enhanced her body with magic.
“What was that about…?”
In the end, I didn’t find out why she had been avoiding me, but at least I knew she didn’t dislike me. I’ll take that as a win.
“…I should get going.”
Come to think of it, it’s almost time for my meeting with Gareth. With a somewhat unsatisfied feeling, I headed toward the school gate.
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