BSS 79

Chapter 79

I got swallowed.

Completely sucked into a mouth, down the throat in a flash.

Feeling the water pressure as I slid through the long, narrow passage, I only regained my senses once—of course—I was underwater.

I held my breath, glancing around as my hair floated backward.

But something was strange. This wasn’t a lake.

I was in a world filled endlessly with water.

There was no sense of up or down—only water surrounded me.

“Huh?”

What kind of test is this?

At first, I didn’t understand, but soon it became clear.

This was the water ruled by Endairon.

And I instinctively knew what I had to do.

The test was to see if I could resist the water ruled by Endairon and escape—or fail.

A battle of wills.

A battle between human and spirit.

If my will was stronger than Endairon’s, I could bend the water to follow me.

A question arose: what happens if I lose here? Is the cost death—or becoming Endairon’s servant?

No wonder there are so few high-ranking spirit mages; most must have perished around here.

Of course, if I can’t leave, I’d die.

“But… this feels… comfortable.”

I actually liked being in the water.

Even plunging this deep, it felt pleasant.

Instead of forcing myself to fight, I closed my eyes and let my body sink deeper.

“Why resist?”

Water had always been my friend.

My heart.

My precious being.

Maybe I could even breathe underwater—because the water liked me.

What the…

I wasn’t dead and in heaven, was I?

When I opened my eyes, I was sprawled on bare ground.

I had clearly been sinking into the water, so how had I ended up here?

I lay there for a while, rolling my eyes as I processed it. I got up because the sun beating down was far too hot.

“…Did it work?”

The contract… seemed to have succeeded.

I could vaguely feel it.

The undines spanning my soul—and Endairon.

Was the answer to the test not to fight? Was submission the answer?

Or was it either to win or submit?

Either way, I felt it was over as I pushed myself up with my soaked body.

Most of my mana had drained, leaving my core empty.

Yet my mood was surprisingly good.

Seeing my fingertips tremble confirmed I had indeed been somewhere extraordinary.

It couldn’t have been a dream.

I wiggled my numb fingers. Slightly stiff, but they moved.

“Ah… I did it.”

I realized, clumsily, that I had actually succeeded in forming a contract with Endairon.

More than joy, a sense of daze dominated.

My mind still wasn’t completely clear, so I stared blankly at the lake.

The tranquil lake looked as peaceful as if nothing had happened.

Earlier, when Endairon appeared, it had felt like the ocean in a storm…

“Maybe I should swim.”

The sudden thought delighted me.

I already missed the water I had just been submerged in.

Vanessa Lake was a place people often swam in.

I sprang up and began peeling off my wet clothes.

The cool breeze hit my bare skin.

Splashing into the water, my mind cleared, and only then did joy fill me. My heavy body felt weightless underwater.

“I did it!”

I dove up to my neck in the water, shouting in excitement.

Then I swam straight into the lake.

I felt the cold waves ripple through my skin. As my hair soaked, I felt as though I had truly entered my world.

While freely swimming and enjoying the joy, a faint presence caught my attention.

Who could it be, coming from the far side of the lake with no path? A goblin? An orc?

Assuming it was a monster, I turned my head toward the sound, still feeling good.

“What… is that?”

No, why was that person there?

A familiar figure was standing on the spirit summoning circle where I had carelessly left my clothes.

I was swimming naked, thinking no one would come from behind the lake.

The man had been inspecting the circle and only then seemed to notice my clothes and underwear.

Good that I still had the lower part on. Otherwise, I might have had to kill him.

“Senpai.”

I called as I swam to shore. Bright turned, looking at me.

His light brown hair shimmered in the sun, and his purple eyes stared intently—he had the best skin of any man I knew. Bright Keniyan.

“J… Jini?”

“…Can you give me back my underwear?”

“Ah!”

“Before I kill you.”

Stop staring at me like that!

“Ugh! Aaaah!”

Why was he screaming? That was my scream!

I had to cover my chest, so I cupped my ears with one hand while turning my head.

Bright’s loud scream echoed across the lake.

“Who are you?”

Two people had hurried down the cliff after hearing Bright’s scream.

An older, bald male wizard, and a slightly younger female wizard than Bright.

Seeing the royal wizard robes, I assumed they were connected to that circle.

“This… is my uncle.”

“Ah.”

“And this is a junior colleague from the same department.”

When I had dressed, the two who arrived looked bewildered, not understanding why Bright had a bright red handprint on his cheek.

“B-Bright? What happened to your face?”

“Well…”

“I hit him. He was peeping while I was swimming.”

“Wha—?”

“No, that’s not it, Jini!”

“Ah, correction. Not peeping exactly, but he was staring so hard I had to slap him. Only then did he get his eyes off me.”

The female wizard gave Bright a look of utter disbelief.

“Mis… misunderstanding…”

“But why are you here, senpai? You didn’t follow me like a stalker, did you? That would be a real problem.”

Should I gouge his eyes out?

While considering that, Bright hastily explained:

“No way! No! We had ordered something from Veilan! It was arriving today, so we were on our way to meet it. Really! Ask them, they’re witnesses!”

Ah, that makes sense. If he had been secretly following, he’d be alone.

Bright tended to act overzealously because he liked me so much. I usually restrained him, but today I felt generous.

“I saw Blondie up above while passing. That’s the horse I gifted you—you wouldn’t miss it, right? It felt strange, so I lingered… there was a huge mana flow, so I came down. That’s it.”

Maybe he felt the mana flux when I summoned Endairon.

Wizards were sensitive to mana, so it was plausible.

I started feeling guilty.

The high-ranking spirit summoning circle lay plainly on the ground. If the wizards asked, I’d be in trouble.

I quickly changed the topic before Bright could ask.

“This is a crossroads. What’s coming from Veilan?”

“A magic stamp. It’s supposed to arrive today, so I came to meet it.”

Veilan made quality wizard supplies.

Kind of like eagerly welcoming a delivery man.

“Alright. I’ll believe you didn’t follow me on purpose.”

“Thanks!”

All the men around me were so obedient. Even after being slapped, he thanked me.

Normally, I wouldn’t be this lenient, but I was in a good mood today.

I unclasped my arms, and the female wizard shot me a piercing look.

Why is she staring at me like that?

“Are you… Jini Crowell?”

“Yes, I am.”

“Wow! I’ve heard about you! I’m also from Drike!”

Heard about me?

“You became an intermediate spirit mage at seventeen! They call you the witch of the annex! Your temperament is so fierce, no one can handle you… eeep.”

“Jini! Don’t kill her!”

Bright quickly covered her mouth, panicking.

If anyone saw, they’d think I was really killing someone!

“I don’t kill that easily!”

“Y-You looked like you were going to just now…”

Damn it! Who called me a witch?

Somehow, the exclusive training room the academy assigned me was deep in the forest, and I brought a snake. Sometimes the kindergarten kids come for courage tests, but…!

“By the way… did a white snake block your path while coming down here?”

“No, I didn’t see it.”

Was Lye up to something else? I clearly told him to guard Blondie.

“I saw it, miss.”

Bright’s uncle spoke up.

I kept staring at his shiny bald head—was that Bright’s future?

“Oh, I saw it too!”

“Really? Did it block your path?”

“No. It just circled the white horse, avoiding its hooves.”

Avoiding hooves?

“Yes. The horse got excited because of the snake and started thrashing, and Bright tried to calm it, but the snake interfered. A strange snake indeed.”

Ah… I hadn’t said anything about blocking anyone from entering the forest, just to guard Blondie.