BSS 12

chapter 12

[To be honest, I’m a bit upset.]

“What is?”

Oh, right. We can talk through thoughts.

[The moment you made a contract with me, you started looking at other spirits. My noble pride feels… quite wounded.]

I see.

[…Did you even listen? I said my feelings are hurt!]

That’s your feeling, not mine.

What?! How could you treat me like this! If you have me, you don’t need any other spirits!

That’s just what you think.

Did spirits not understand “the more the better”? I picked at my ear out of habit, but thinking-communication had a fatal flaw—you couldn’t pretend not to hear it.

Honestly, your only useful ability so far is being like an intercom. And possessing metal.

[I don’t know what “intercom” means, but I’m offended.]

It’s a thing. Anyway, I’m saying you’re not that useful.

[I am wrongfully accused, Master! It’s only because your power is lacking right now. If you grow stronger and lay a foundation for me to show my abilities—why, I could help you rule the human world again and again…!]

Why would I bother with something so annoying?

What would I even do with ruling the human world? I struggled just taking care of my own life.

I had never once envied presidents or kings. More often, I wondered how they survived such exhausting jobs.

My motto was always: as long as I can live quietly and peacefully, that’s enough.

“Did you wait long, Miss Jeanie? It took some time to get permission to use the space.”

While Rai was screaming to be acknowledged and I was desperately trying to figure out how to mute him, Professor E.L. returned.

He held up a giant ring of keys, and I quickly stood up and put on my good child smile.

“You’ve never been here before, have you?”

“No! The Contract Room!”

“It was completed recently, so for now it only has circles for lower spirits… but I’ve been thinking of bringing you here eventually. Getting used to the atmosphere helps.”

According to Professor E.L., the headmaster had very high expectations for the Spirit Studies Department.

He personally visited the king to request a separate budget, and he used it to build the Contract Room, insisting that nurturing talent was essential.

But this was year three…

…and I was the only student in the entire department.

Not my problem, but still tragic in its own way.

Apparently becoming a Spirit Mage required stricter qualifications than becoming a wizard—so it was hard to find suitable talent.

If a child had great physical ability, parents pushed them toward becoming swordmasters.
If they had a good mind, they became wizards.

But a spirit mage?
You couldn’t tell if someone had the talent just by looking at them. So finding talent was extremely difficult.

Maybe not only because of that, but the number of spirit mages had been rapidly decreasing.

For example: commoners might go their whole lives without ever seeing a wizard.
And nobles? Many lived their whole lives without ever seeing a spirit mage.

Considering most wizards were nobles, it was a terrible statistic.

Spirit mages were rare, precious, and so scarce that most people simply forgot they existed.

Not flashy like wizards, not respected like swordmasters—so they tended to live quietly in the shadows.
All the spirit mages I’d seen were elderly. Young ones were almost impossible to find.

Professor E.L. was one of the youngest. Even talented people capable of sensing mana clearly chose to become wizards instead.

Well… that path had a much brighter future.

“Aah! Standing in front of this door reminds me of the first time I tried a contract. I was so nervous… it feels like yesterday—”

“Got it. Can we just hurry?”

“…Miss Jeanie, for someone rushing, you don’t look excited at all.”

To me, a spirit contract wasn’t a thrilling event—it was a hurdle I wanted to get over quickly.

If I succeeded and became an official spirit mage, I’d be recognized, and then I could enter self-study mode, which really meant freedom.

I scratched my chin as I looked around the circular Contract Room.

It was small but sturdy. Above each doorway, large letters in Spirit Tongue represented fire, water, wind, and earth.

I read each rune slowly and then nodded.

“My excitement… will happen after I succeed.”

“Miss Jeanie. Did you already forget what I told you?”

“Hmm, you said not to expect too much because failure is the mother of success.”

“You remember well.”

“Then do you remember what I always say about myself?”

Professor E.L. paused, recalling. It didn’t take long.

“If you say you’ll do something… you do it.”

“Very good.”

“And if you hate something, you hate it to death.”

“Oh, you know me so well.”

It was almost always the second one.

“I have another question. Aren’t we using scrolls? I’ve always been curious about those.”

He looked around. I’d remembered something important.

There were many ways to summon spirits. Recently, scrolls were popular.

A scroll was paper engraved with a magic circle. Tearing it while chanting activated the magic.

Anyone—even non-wizards—could use them. An incredible invention.

Digging the ground, pouring mana solution, sprinkling fairy dust—all of that could be replaced with ripping one sheet of paper.

So convenient. So tempting. But I’d never used one.

“Miss Jeanie… the cost of three spirit-summoning scrolls is enough to build an entire Contract Room. Scrolls are single-use. The room is permanent…”

“Oh, come on. If you’re expecting great results, you should invest! This place feels outdated.”

“For a department with exactly one student, this is already generous. What more do you want?”

Professor E.L. usually smoothed over complaints with gentle coaxing, but occasionally he spoke very firmly.
When he did, I immediately switched back to “good girl mode.”

“I’m just curious. What are scrolls like?”

Being ten years old was the perfect age to exploit.

“…When you’re older. Not for practice, but when you’re truly prepared and summoning outside—then you can try them.

All right? Scrolls are for field use.”

“Do fire spirit mages really go to lava fields?”

“Yes.”

“And wind mages go to cliffs?”

“Earth mages go deep into forests. Performing the ritual where spirits like the energy increases the success rate.”

Spirit mages spent most of their outdoor life searching for pure natural locations where summoning was easiest, and scrolls were essential for that.

You couldn’t go digging magic circles in a scorching lava field.
Or carve one into sand on a beach just because water spirits liked the location.

For that, scrolls were indispensable.

…not like the candleholder spirit who didn’t care about any of that.

“So, Miss Jeanie. Have you decided which spirit to try forming a contract with?”

“Hmm.”

“I always told you—you must find your own attribute.”

“You always said… I need to know what I want.”

“In my case, I failed several times. At first I tried summoning earth spirits, but it didn’t work.
Then one day, while standing in the wind… I knew.
The wind was my friend.”

Fire, Water, Wind, Earth.

The four cardinal elements—pillars of the world, power of nature, the flow that keeps all things alive.

Most spirits belonged to these four.

Each had ranks: Low, Mid, High, Superior, and Spirit King.

Core elemental spirits—numerous and systematic.

Most spirit mages contracted with only one element.
Some could handle two—but they were considered shallow generalists.

“It’s time to choose. Find what calls to you.”

“What calls to me…”

Professor E.L. always told me to decide beforehand, but I never could.
Which is probably why that ancient summoning circle attracted me so strongly—and why something actually appeared.

Even though everyone said it could no longer be used, I’d been certain something would come.

And it did.

Spirit mages had strong instincts.

To handle spirits, you had to become close to nature.

“Close your eyes… and listen to your heart.”

[Look only at me!!]

…Not exactly what I was hoping to hear. I closed my eyes and groaned.

[Be quiet.]

[How horrible! I’m right here!]

[Our contract never said I had to only look at you!]

[My only master… is a cheater.]

This insane spirit—where did it learn jealousy?!