Chapter 106
“So, what did you two do yesterday?”
The day after Daigon Village’s strawberry festival, which meant Saturday.
During lunchtime, I was eating in the Academy cafeteria with Lisa.
But while we were doing that, Layla and Jason sat next to us with grins.
“Right, right. What did you two do yesterday?”
“Lady Layla, I’m not sure what you mean…….”
“Oh, come on. You know what I’m talking about. I know you and Lisa went to Daigon Village yesterday and didn’t return.”
“…How did you know that?”
“Uh… umm……”
Layla looked slightly flustered at my question and couldn’t answer right away.
Seeing that, I let out a dry laugh and looked toward Jason.
‘Well, Jason always knew everything.’
Slightly exaggerated, but Jason was basically the guy who knew every secret in this Academy.
“Why are you looking at me?”
“You know very well, don’t you?”
“Khahahaha! True. Anyway, Gideon? Why did you wrap your neck with so many bandages today?”
“Oh, that’s……”
I felt a little embarrassed and brought my hand to my neck.
Because of what had happened last night, I had no choice but to bandage my neck heavily.
“Lady Lisa drank a bit too much of my blood yesterday, so I had a lot of fang marks left on my neck.”
“Fang marks? Oh, I don’t think that’s the only reason, though?”
“…….”
“Lisa-noona. Noona, you answer instead. Those aren’t the only marks on Gideon’s neck, right?”
At Jason’s question, Lisa didn’t answer immediately.
She looked expressionless as always, but her face was clearly reddening.
“Love bites… I guess. I did leave quite a few.”
“Oh.”
“Oooooh.”
Jason and Layla reacted dramatically at Lisa’s reply.
The two of them had eyes that were obviously excited.
“Lisa, Lisa. What happened between you and Gideon last night? Explain in detail.”
“It’s embarrassing to say, but… it’s just that Gideon called me ‘noona’… and I couldn’t hold myself…….”
“Oooooh!”
“Oh, so you two made some progress in your relationship.”
Jason and Layla seemed very interested in our story.
“So, so? When you couldn’t hold yourself, what did you do?”
“I… did to Gideon……”
“Lady Lisa, I think that’s enough.”
I quickly cut Lisa off.
Knowing her personality, she really would’ve said everything honestly.
Before getting dragged around by those two, it seemed better to change the topic as fast as I could.
“By the way, is Lady Sara not coming?”
“She’s probably still sleeping.”
“It’s lunchtime right now, isn’t it?”
“She often skips meals on weekends and sleeps until afternoon.”
I knew Sara slept a lot, but I didn’t know she slept this much.
Anyway, I tried to change the topic, but Jason wasn’t ready to let it go so easily.
“Whatever. Gideon, you seemed to have had a great time with Lisa-noona yesterday, but is that really okay for someone in the Disciplinary Committee?”
“Uh, that’s……”
I glanced at Lisa with a troubled expression.
But Lisa avoided my gaze and stayed silent.
For someone who said she would take all responsibility, she was being awfully quiet… though it was cute enough that I forgave her.
I might even tease her about this later when we were alone.
Creak—!
Anyway, as the four of us were chatting through lunch—
A strange screeching sound suddenly echoed from somewhere.
Kkiik! Kkik—!
When I looked toward the direction of the sound, a white owl flew in through the open window.
Just the owl appearing suddenly in the cafeteria would’ve drawn attention, but what was more surprising was that it flew toward me.
Kkik—!
“Uh… what are you doing here, friend?”
I tilted my head as the white owl landed naturally on my shoulder.
White owls… weren’t something you could easily see in the Arium Empire.
If my memory was right, the only time this white owl appeared in the game was… Ah.
“…Hethy?”
Kkik! Kkik! Kkiiiik—!
When I called its name, the owl nodded as if confirming it and screeched.
Seeing that, I became certain.
This owl was sent by Kara Barha, the summoner.
Kkikk!
The owl—Hethy—dropped a postcard it was holding in its claws next to me.
Then it flew back out the window.
“Gideon, what was that owl?”
“It seems to be the owl sent by the summoner I became acquainted with recently.”
I checked the postcard Hethy left behind.
Judging by the outside, it didn’t look particularly special.
“If it’s a summoner… is it Instructor Barha?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
As expected of Jason, he immediately figured out who the summoner was from just a bit of information.
“You’re close with that instructor? Since when? I heard she’s extremely hard to get close to.”
“Thanks to a certain deal I made with her.”
I replied as I opened the postcard.
Inside was a letter, and its contents were very simple.
[It’ll be May starting next week, right? We made a promise, so I’ll start teaching you magic next week. Come to the pond where we first met every Wednesday and Saturday during lunch.]
“…Lady Lisa.”
“What?”
“I think you’ll have to eat lunch without me on Wednesdays and Saturdays from now on.”
“…Until when?”
“At least until this semester ends…….”
“No.”
Lisa immediately shook her head.
“I don’t want to eat without you.”
“It’s only twice a week… can’t you allow it?”
“Yeah, I don’t want to.”
Lisa looked quite firm.
Of course, there was a way to persuade her.
It was a method I learned after spending last night with her.
Jason and Layla were right beside us so it felt a bit awkward, but this was still the most reliable method.
“L-Lisa-noona. Could you really not allow it?”
“…Let’s talk later when it’s just the two of us.”
Lisa sharply turned her head away.
But seeing that her expression had softened slightly, it seemed she would allow it afterward.
“Oh.”
“Oooooh.”
Meanwhile, Jason and Layla were letting out exaggerated reactions.
My face felt even redder, but I tried my best to ignore them.
“Hey, hey. Gideon. That, Kara Barha? Why are you meeting her separately? Isn’t she a summoner?”
“Yes, she is indeed a summoner.”
“Right? I think I’ve seen her before at the palace. But if you’re meeting her regularly… don’t tell me you’re trying to learn summoning magic too? Like summoning monsters and fighting with them?”
“Not that. I’m just thinking of learning a bit of magic.”
After replying to Layla, I glanced toward Jason.
He was smiling as usual, but judging by his eyes, he was planning to gather information again.
‘Well, he can’t do anything against Kara anyway.’
Even if her behavior looked a bit clumsy at times, Kara Barha was quite a skilled magician.
Time passed, and Wednesday of the following week arrived.
When lunchtime came, I headed to the forest behind the castle.
Inside that forest was the pond.
“You came right on time.”
“I couldn’t keep you waiting, Instructor.”
Kara Barha, the Academy’s summoning magic instructor who was standing around the pond, greeted me.
“As promised, I’ll teach you magic twice a week during lunchtime. But you need to keep your promise too, okay?”
“Yes, I will invite you to the Protected Zone for Other Races during the vacation.”
“Hehe, good. Very good. Now, let’s begin quickly. We only get around thirty minutes each time we meet, so within that time I want to teach you as much as… hmm? Wait.”
Kara briefly looked around the area and then activated a spell.
A strong wind blew toward her.
– Kkyaaaagh?!
A very familiar Spirit of Wind revealed itself.
The spirit flew straight into Kara’s hand and was caught.
– L-Let go of me, human!
“What are you doing here, little spirit? There shouldn’t be any wind spirits living around this Academy… Hmm? You’re contracted? Then… come to think of it, there was a student from the Hawkbat Family among this year’s first-years.”
“That spirit is named Monsoon, and he is contracted to Sir Jason.”
“Aha, so Monsoon is the name.”
Kara let out a small laugh as she looked down at the Spirit of Wind held in her hand.
Monsoon trembled but raised his voice.
– I-I do not have such a c-cute name! And let me go, human! A high-rank Spirit of Wind like me cannot be touched by the likes of you—kyaa?!”
“Now, now. Don’t raise your voice.”
Kara pinched Monsoon’s cheek hard.
Monsoon screamed in pain, his expression turning shocked.
– W-Wait?! How can a human who’s not even my contractor touch my body…….
“I’m not an ordinary human. I’m the Empire’s greatest summoner and a fairly skilled magician. I’ll send you back, so relay this properly to your contractor: tell him not to spy on my magic tutoring.”
– I-I will convey it properly! So hurry and let me go! My face hurts so much!
“If you show up near me again, I’ll strip your clothes off and throw you into the Spirit Realm just like that. Understood?”
– T-That kind of humiliation……
“If you understood, then return. And don’t forget to deliver my message to your contractor.”
With those words, Kara threw Monsoon far away.
Perhaps because his body was so light, Monsoon flew very far out of the forest.
“Phew. I felt some strange life force around, so I checked… and it was a spirit like that.”
“…….”
“Why are you staring at me like that?”
“Oh, I was just reminded again of how incredible you are as a summoner, Instructor.”
“Heheh, you’re good at flattery. Well, in summoning I am that incredible. Anyway, humans from the Hawkbat Family really are all the same.”
Kara let out a dry laugh while looking in the direction Monsoon had flown.
“Even if they were raised to become the Emperor’s eyes and ears, sometimes they go too far. If they keep spying like this, people in the Empire won’t be able to live comfortably.”
“I understand what you mean, but……”
“Enough. It’s a bit inappropriate for a teacher to talk politics with a student. Anyway, we chased off the spirit that was trying to spy on us, so let’s officially begin.”
“Yes, I understand.”
Magic.
I was about to learn magic in this world for the first time.
Honestly, I couldn’t help but feel excited.
“First, before we start, choose one attribute.”
“An attribute?”
“You remember when I said you could learn all six attributes of magic, right?”
“Yes, I remember vaguely.”
Fire, water, earth, wind, light, darkness.
She said I possessed the mana formation suitable for learning all six attributes.
“For now, choose just one among them. It’s better to focus on one at a time than to learn several simultaneously.”
“All right. In that case……”
Normally, I would have spent several minutes thinking about it, but this time I reached a conclusion much faster.
Because if it was an attribute I had not yet learned……
“Fire. I want to start by learning fire.”