Editor : Amethyst00



That evening.

The atmosphere in the Clocktower Dormitory was quite different from the awkwardness of the morning.

"Don't cross this line! I warned you!"

"Same to you—just try stepping over!"

First-year students from the Department of Summoning and the Department of Magic had drawn a line across the shared garden and were growling at each other.

Watching this scene from the garden, Carl clicked his tongue.

"They really became enemies in just one day."

As Carl clicked his tongue, Eliza, who was sipping tea in front of him, responded.

"Because that's what Leo Plov wanted."

"How was Professor Yura's class?"

To Carl's question, Eliza lifted the corner of her mouth in a smirk.

"Trying to use me to gauge the Summoning Department's situation?"

"Information's important. I want to keep actively interacting with students from other departments whenever I can."

"Is that so? Good luck with that."

"So? How was Professor Yura's class?"

"Huh? Just like that, for free?"

Eliza shot him a sideways glance, and Carl pulled a small bundle from his coat and placed it on the table.

Inside was a small glass bottle filled with crystal beads.

"Crystal fruit?"

Eliza looked a bit surprised.

A favorite treat of spirit beasts, crystal fruit could increase affinity with them, making it highly sought-after among summoners. However, it could only be found deep in forests where natural energy gathered, making it extremely rare—even Eliza, heir to the Hergin family, couldn't easily get her hands on it.

"I got it from Lumeria City."

"For a piece of information, that seems pretty expensive."

As Eliza gave him a suspicious look, Carl shrugged.

"I wanted to impress you."

"What?"

The sudden comment startled Eliza.

Carl chuckled at her reaction.

"My shop opens next month. You owe me a favour, remember?"

"…"

"When this is all over, you might be pissed and punch me. Just saying."

Carl's expression turned serious.

Last year, when Eliza entered her third year, she'd promised Carl she'd grant him one wish within reason.

And what Carl asked for was simple.

To work at his shop.

Specifically, he wanted Eliza to work as a clerk at the general store he was opening in Lumeria City.

Many students took short-term part-time jobs in Lumeria on weekends—after all, attending Lumene came with a lot of expenses.

The most popular job was private tutoring.

Each year, people from all over the world applied to Lumene, and there were many who wanted lessons from already-enrolled students.

Still, because Lumene's culture encouraged constant self-development and competition, not many students were willing to spend weekends teaching others.

However, the pay was good, so it remained a desirable job.

Others accepted off-campus commissions that hadn't filtered through the academy:

Knight Department students took on subjugation or escort missions.

Magic Department students helped famous mages.

Summoning Department students calmed down rampaging elementals or phantom beasts.

The work varied widely.

But working at a shop was rare.

"…"

Seeing Eliza go silent, Carl pulled out another prettily wrapped package.

"And this."

"What's that?"

"Our shop uniform. I designed it myself."

"What do you think I am, the heiresss of the Hergin family?"

"Heh. A part-time worker I'll soon be serving as your boss?"

Carl gave her a thumbs-up.

"If you work at the shop, it'll be amazing publicity."

"Isn't the fact that you're the owner enough?"

Carl was already world-famous.

"Come on. One person and two are different. And you're beautiful! That alone will make tons of customers regulars."

"…Why did I make such a stupid promise."

Eliza grumbled.

"Well, we're done here, so I'll be going."

"You're leaving?"

"If I keep talking to you during this 'department war,' others will give us weird looks."

"You called me over just to deliver one request? A letter would've sufficed. Do I look like I have that much free time?"

"Yeah."

"I don't have time to spare for you, you know? You'd better compensate me."

"How should I do that?"

Eliza pointed toward a restaurant in the center of the garden.

A top-tier place, so expensive that students rarely used it.

"Have mercy."

Carl looked like he was about to cry, but Eliza didn't bat an eye.

"I know you're rich."

With that, Carl sighed and led Eliza to the luxury restaurant.

As expected, there were no other students inside.

A server guided them to a table.

Eliza, seated by the window, looked over the menu while Carl silently stared at the garden view.

Then he suddenly seemed to realize something.

"Eliza."

"What?"

"You've been to that maze in the garden, right?"

"Yeah."

The maze formed by hedges was known among students as the "Tree Maze."

Its interior was notoriously complex, and no magic could be used inside, making escape extremely difficult.

"Why the sudden interest?"

"Have you ever reached the center?"

"I haven't."

"Anyone who says they have? I haven't heard of anyone."

"…"

Eliza stayed quiet.

Carl was known for his information network—he had his hands on all kinds of tidbits.

If he hadn't heard of anyone reaching the center, that probably meant no student had yet succeeded.

"Looks like we're thinking the same thing."

Carl grinned, and Eliza lowered her gaze to the menu.

"Tomorrow, students will be all over that maze."

"Let's conquer it before they do."

"What?"

Eliza looked up at Carl again.

"Soon, others will catch on. Let's beat them to it."

"Why should I do it with you? I could do it with students from my department."

"If many people find out, the competition will be intense. The pressure too."

Carl shrugged.

"If it becomes a madhouse, the Knight Department will notice too. Imagine the crowd. Could you really do anything then? Let's form a temporary alliance and just the two of us conquer it. What do you think?"

Eliza nodded.

"Not a bad idea."

"Then let's meet tonight at 1 a.m. under the central hall scoreboard."

"Got it."

bl

Night fell on the dormitory.

Once curfew set in, everything was silent.

Click-clack—click-clack—

Amid the quiet, footsteps echoed through the hallway.

Arriving at a door, the person took a deep breath and opened it.

Click.

"Leo. I'm here."

It was Artienne, stepping into Leo's room.

A late hour.

Artienne had come for the promised private lesson in Spirit Summoning.

"Good evening, Professor."

"Being with a student at night feels kind of new."

"Looking forward to it."

"Don't worry—I'll teach you thoroughly."

Artienne giggled and clapped her hands.

"Alright, first…"

"First?"

"Take it off."

"…"

Leo stared at her.

Artienne pointed to her own top and said,

"Your shirt, Leo."

"Why?"

"You're already familiar with Spirit Evocation theory, right? We can jump into the practical part."

Leo wondered whether removing his shirt was truly necessary, but since he didn't know much about Spirit Evocation, he complied.

As Leo removed his shirt, Artienne openly stared and, impressed, poked his abs.

"Just as I expected, you're in great shape."

"I train regularly."

"Still, I've seen plenty of male bodies, but few compare to yours."

"You've seen that many?"

"Yes. Thanks to Spirit Evocation, I have lots of experience."

She smiled and took out a brush, dagger, and dish from her bag.

"Leo, could you sit on the floor?"

He did.

Artienne sat behind him and cut her palm with the dagger, letting blood drip into the dish.

After stopping the bleeding, she dipped the brush into her blood.

"It might tickle a bit."

She began drawing a circular sigil on Leo's back.

"Before Lumene, I used to teach Evocation. Many wanted to learn Spirit Evocation."

She spoke while painting the summoning circle.

"I used the same method back then."

"I see."

After finishing the sigil on his back, she moved to other areas of his body.

With a brush on his chest, she giggled.

"Leo, were you thinking something weird?"

"Because your words were misleading."

"I've never even dated. People say I'm scary."

'You kind of are,' Leo thought, but kept quiet.

After finishing the summoning circle across his body, Artienne sat in front of him.

"Spirit Evocation is actually very simple."

"Simple?"

"Yes. You just close your eyes and summon."

'She's another Aaron type of genius,' Leo thought.

Even with talent, very few mastered their powers from the start.

The "why-can't-you-do-this?" type of genius.

Artienne smacked her lips and added, "Even with talent, most people fail. That's why I did a lot of research."

At least she understood that others weren't like her.

"Has anyone successfully learned from you?"

"Sadly, none of my students had the gift. But another summoner did succeed after using my method."

So, Artienne's training methods were at least proven effective.

"Today, I'll teach you the beginner's stage."

"Beginner's stage?"

"Initial Spirit Evocation."

Artienne met Leo's eyes.

"I'll teach you how to summon a spirit while unconscious."