Lumina's Sudden Visit
“Question, can I?”
Lumina had shown up out of nowhere. I wanted to shoot back, 'What the hell are you doing here?' but first things first—I pulled back the mana sustaining my Clairvoyance.
Quick thinking was key. From my perspective, I had no idea why she'd come to this spot. But there was no reason to panic. I ran through my survival strategy on the fly.
Live like an extra.
Keep my powers hidden, live comfortably without drawing attention—that was the goal. If I absolutely had to get involved, I'd handle it with Concealment and sniping from afar. A fallen noble or commoner wielding this kind of strength? The rumors that'd spread would be all about "demons," and sure enough, the actual story had a few episodes touching on that. No need to flaunt my power and stir up trouble. The protagonist's path was always a rough one anyway.
So why the hell did she come here?
My train of thought shifted naturally. Lumina was directly tied to the main plot of Artina Academy. Chapter 1's start: the entrance exam. Chapter 1's end: the underground cavern.
······The protagonist gets acquainted with her on a certain forest path during the second exam round. They exchange light greetings. Then, the moment Lumina lets her guard down, a beast lunges from behind—and he dispatches it in one swift strike with his weapon, bringing them closer. From there, Lumina travels with the protagonist as an early-game ally, and by the late game, she's one of the powerhouse forces with her high-ranking spirit.
One of the main heroines.
But replaying the flow in my head, that was it. No connection to me. The original owner of this body, a fallen noble, was supposed to flunk the Artina Academy exam anyway. I'd gone and created this mess by forcing the 'Sniper' character setup into existence.
In the end, this is all because I came here.
There was only one predictable factor. The owner of the spirits in the Masa mountains? Just one girl. Lumina.
The only part that didn't add up was that she'd been communing with all those spirits in the Masa mountains even before taking the academy entrance exam.
Lumina making that possible... yeah, talent's a thing. I'll let it slide.
Putting it together: Lumina had come to take the entrance exam, communed with the spirits along the way, spotted me heading into the Masa mountains, and tracked me down. Something like that.
I had a sense of how to handle her. I flashed a smile at Lumina, whose eyes were sparkling with curiosity.
“Lost your way?”
“Ahaha, not exactly! I just saw something super weird a minute ago. Like, a house just popped up outta nowhere?”
“Must've been your imagination.”
“I saw you chanting a spell, and then it happened! Pretty sure of it~?”
So she'd caught that much. No point playing dumb now. Might as well own it shamelessly. I casually pointed at the house.
“Truth is, this is my house.”
“Oh? Really...?”
“Houses usually have locks, right?”
Lumina nodded reluctantly, a subtle smile tugging at her lips. Had she bought it...?
“But it's awfully dark here.”
“It's nighttime.”
“Even so, don't people usually light it up a bit? Unless... this isn't really a house or something—.”
“I just got home. Give me a sec.”
I brushed past Lumina and headed into the pitch-black forest. Time to build a fire. Dropped into this world, I couldn't count on lighters or torches like back home. I'd have to gather firewood and daily supplies myself from now on. Living smack in the middle of nature and all.
I wandered around, snapping off suitable branches, scooping up a bunch of tinder, and found a decent spot.
“This'll do.”
I dumped everything in the center of the house's foundation. Good spot here. Gathered some stones to make a circle. Laid branches in the middle, piled on the tinder. Bonfire complete.
I glanced at her. She looked utterly confused.
“Is it...? No...?”
“What?”
“Nothing! So you're gonna light a fire now?”
“Yep.”
“How're you gonna do it?”
Lumina perked up again, full of questions. How to light it? Simple.
“You do it.”
“?”
A question mark practically floated over her head. She looked flustered, but I wasn't bossing her around for fun.
She doesn't know magic yet...?
Even non-mages picked up basic support spells after enrolling at Artina Academy—it was the standard playstyle for other classes. Blink, basic barriers, body buffs, entry-level firepower. Handy to have the essentials.
I planned to learn basic support spells myself once I got into Artina Academy.
Once I got in. So...
“Mind lighting it for me?”
“......Sure.”
Lumina gave me a look like What kind of weirdo is this guy? and extended her hand. Basic fire elemental magic: ignition.
Whoosh— flames caught on the tinder.
“Thanks.”
It was just a tiny spark, but it'd do. I wasn't setting up a full homestead right now, and I'd figure out better fire-starting methods later.
Crackle—
I poked at the kindling with a stick. A thin trail of smoke rose, and the firelight flickered precariously on the water's surface. A warm golden glow lit up the bonfire area. Romantic, almost. From my perspective—knowing what tomorrow would bring—it felt like a brief peace.
I wanted to stay hidden as much as possible, but since Lumina had shown up, might as well get to the point.
“So, why'd you come here?”
No matter how I sliced it, something felt off. I wasn't an idiot; meetings like this that didn't happen in the game weren't just random. Guided outcomes had reasons behind them.
“......Well...”
Lumina's reason for venturing deep into the Masa forest? Chasing spirits or stumbling upon it by chance? That wouldn't fly. The exam was tomorrow. Any student should be resting at their lodging, not wandering here late at night.
“I don't know who you are......”
I fixed my gaze on Lumina. She fidgeted, twirling her hair nervously. Even her stalling was straight out of her game sprite—features and mannerisms pulled right from the illustrations. She'd been a fan favorite in the pre-release PVs for her looks; no need to spell out how stunning she was.
“So, I'm pretty confused right now... Why would a stranger show up at my house? Kinda curious about that.”
I clasped my hands, bowed my head slightly, and stared at her intently. Straight-up pressure. Spill it, Lumina!
Finally, she spoke.
“Truth is, I'm looking for someone.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. My benefactor who saved me.”
Lumina's benefactor. Nothing like that in the original story. But from context, she meant whoever saved her today. And here I was, tangled up in it. Now I got it. She must've pegged me as...
Spirit summoners had sharp instincts, huh? Lumina struck a serious pose.
“So, straight up: was it you?”
“Nah. Actually, let me ask—why do you think it was me?”
I shook my head and turned the question back on her. Getting my identity exposed would've been a problem. I wanted to keep it hidden. With that resolve, I felt bolder, like I was wearing a mask.
The power of Concealment.
“Well... um... the way you looked today was so mysterious?”
“That's your reasoning?”
“Yeah...!”
“Got it. But I haven't done anything benefactor-worthy. I was swamped heading to Artina Academy today.”
The words flowed naturally. Casually, innocently, I glanced at the stream. Recalling the day's events, lost in thought.
“You know the entrance exam registration deadline was today, right? I was busy crossing the mountains. Started a bit late—my stamina's not great......”
Mixing truth and lies skillfully, excuses poured out. Was I always this shameless? Surprising.
“......Yeah, guess it's not you then.”
“Aw...! Sorry for bothering you.”
Lumina grinned sheepishly after hearing me out. I was floored. I'd expected her to push back, maybe had some evidence. Turns out it was pure hunch? Just because my house-liberation looked mystical......
She'd basically guessed.
Whew, dodged a bullet.
No hard evidence, at least. Otherwise, words alone wouldn't have convinced her.
I pressed her one more time.
“Just to be clear, it wasn't me. Hope you find that person.”
“Yeah, me too!”
“That it, then?”
“Yep, time to head out.”
“Cool, see ya.”
Lumina stood by the bonfire, brushed back her hair, dusted off her skirt, and headed into the forest. Just as she got some distance, she froze and turned back. Moonlight lit her face aglow. Her light pink hair with the moon hairpin caught my eye.
“Oh! One more thing!”
“What?”
“We don't even know each other's names yet!”
“Is that a problem?”
“Totally!”
I replied indifferently.
“Kyle.”
“Got it, Kyle! I'm Lumina!”
“Yeah......”
Exchanging names wasn't ideal, but we'd all learn them at Artina Academy anyway. No big deal.
Just please stay away from me.
That's when—
“We're friends starting today...?!”
Lumina shouted it out, then bolted into the forest before I could respond. An echo of 'Take care~!' faded into the distance.
Nothing I could do. She'd beaten me to the punch.
Growl—
“Time to eat.”
My stomach was glued to my backbone. Too tired to go far. I grabbed my sniper rifle and stepped outside.
“Any fish in there?”
I peered into the stream. Too dark to see inside, but blue crosshairs swam in my Clairvoyance vision. Fish, no doubt. I raised the rifle and thunk! stabbed straight into the river.
A unique-grade weapon wouldn't break anyway.
“Oh, nice...!”
A few repeats, and my sniper rifle was a fish skewer. Impressive piercing power. Ended up with four fish. I threaded them onto wooden sticks one by one and set them over the fire.
For now, this'd do—but later, I'd clean them properly, put in more effort.
“Hoo.... Hoo...”
Ten minutes later, I enjoyed a pretty satisfying pre-dawn meal.
Artina Academy entrance exam.
It was one day away.