Serena Enfield #3
This might come out of nowhere, but I consider the "female protagonist as a spiritist" trope to be something of a classic in romance fantasy. There are several reasons why this setup has become so firmly established.
First of all, since spiritists are essentially backline support, even if the heroine comes from a completely ordinary background, she can pull her own weight just by snapping her fingers and summoning a spirit. It’s a huge advantage.
Even mages have to study diligently and practice to cast spells, but a spiritist? Once they summon a spirit, the spirit does all the fighting for them.
“In that sense, a spiritist is a great fit regardless of what you pair it with.”
“I suppose that’s true.”
Elizabeth, who had been listening, nodded. The synergy between a mage and a spiritist is also quite good. It’s entirely possible to have a spirit stand on the front lines to protect a mage who is busy casting from the back.
I digressed for a moment, but the point is, for a romance fantasy heroine, being a spiritist is an all-purpose role.
In that sense, Serena—who changed her class to a spiritist after contracting with Leviathan, or more accurately, its terminal—has certainly followed the textbook path of a heroine.
Though, that’s only from my perspective.
“Sir Adela, could I ask you to spar with Lady Serena?”
“Pardon? Ah, I suppose there’s no reason I can’t.”
“Hiiieee.”
Lily doesn’t seem to have any intention of going easy on Serena just because she’s a spiritist. Especially considering she even brought along Adela, Elizabeth’s personal guard.
“Why am I even here…?”
Thanks to that, even Elizabeth, who had been busy with paperwork, ended up at the training grounds, sitting right next to me.
Lily urged Serena on with a rather stern attitude.
“As someone who serves His Majesty, you must possess the bare minimum of qualifications.”
“And what exactly is that ‘bare minimum’…?”
“I would say it’s the ability to hold your own in a spar against Sir Adela.”
Lily said it so nonchalantly, but Adela is one of the few Sword Masters in the entire Empire—no, the entire continent.
Surviving for even a few minutes against someone like that? It’s a task that would be difficult for most knights, let alone anyone else.
Naturally, Serena’s face turned deathly pale.
“Is this really okay?”
Elizabeth’s voice was laced with worry.
“Are you worried?”
“Of course I am. It would have been better if she were under my direct supervision. Poor Serena.”
I don’t know about that. Considering the state Serena was in when she was called in to resolve the Leviathan incident, I suspect she would have suffered just as much under you.
Then again, professors never truly understand the plight of their graduate students.
“By the way.”
“Yes?”
“You seem to have become quite close with Serena.”
“Ah. Well, yes.”
That was a surprise. Especially when you consider their relationship in the original work. They were two people who, by all accounts, should never have clicked.
Especially since, even if we assume Serena is naturally sociable—
For Elizabeth, who has such strong likes and dislikes that she won’t even glance at someone once they’re on her "out" list, to open her heart to Serena was remarkable.
Thinking back on their relationship in the original, it’s almost moving.
“……Well, she’s so kind that you can’t help but like her, right?”
Elizabeth twirled a lock of her hair and said with a haughty air. In a world where there’s no reason to hate each other, they’ve naturally become friends. It’s a fortunate thing.
“There’s still so much she needs to be taught….”
Though, I do wonder if we should ask for Serena’s opinion on the fact that their method of bonding is essentially that of a professor and a graduate student.
“That’s enough.”
And just like that.
While I was talking with Elizabeth, the spar between Adela and Serena ended. Lily stepped in to wrap things up.
The result was surprising.
“Hmm. ……She actually held out quite well.”
“I thought she might be able to do it, but this is beyond my imagination.”
Serena had put up a good fight.
“Ugh, huff, huff….”
She was sprawled on the ground, barely able to catch her breath, but just holding her own against a Sword Master like Adela was an incredible achievement.
Well, the fact that she performed beyond expectations might be partly due to her utilizing her "future sight," but it was also because she fundamentally possessed the physical ability to keep up.
“Ho, how?”
Elizabeth’s eyes went wide. As a shut-in mage and spiritist, this result must be incomprehensible to her.
That’s understandable, because in Elizabeth’s eyes, she and Serena probably look like they’re on the same level.
If I had to explain it, it’s like this:
There are mages who can fight well. Battle mages who specialize in close-quarters combat by training their bodies alongside their magic aren’t common, but they aren’t exactly rare, either.
But there are almost no spiritists who can fight well. Spiritists themselves are rare to begin with. A spiritist who is already rare, and who also trains their body to fight directly? They don’t exist.
They might exist somewhere, but at least within the bounds of common sense, they don’t.
“As expected, Lady Serena has a talent for physical exertion as well.”
Unlike Elizabeth, who is a pure mage type.
Lily and Adela are fundamentally physical types. Naturally, they didn’t show any signs of being flustered, as if they had expected this to some degree.
They are skilled enough to gauge someone’s potential just by watching their movements, habits, and posture.
In the end, the only one who didn’t know anything was Elizabeth.
“……This is a betrayal!”
“I wouldn’t call it a betrayal.”
“I was so happy to have another fellow spiritist….”
“Hmm.”
“I thought we were comrades who both hated moving around.”
So that was the reason.
Elizabeth pouted in a sense of betrayal.
“Ugh, I, I think I’m going to die.”
But Serena isn’t exactly the type who likes moving around, either. To be precise, she’s an extrovert who likes to play but hates exercise.
It’s just that she has the natural talent for it.
“Then, shall we take a short break and resume?”
“W, wasn’t that the end?”
“We’ve only just begun.”
“Hiiieee.”
Serena’s face crumpled into a tearful expression.
***
Night fell.
“I think I’m going to die….”
Serena, having poured out all her energy, mumbled in a dying voice. The two of us were left alone in the moonlight-drenched training grounds.
Lily had stepped away for a moment, saying she had work to finish. Elizabeth had followed me while on duty, so she had returned to her office long ago.
I grabbed the shoulders of the limp Serena and sat her up. As my hands touched her, her flaccid body stiffened instantly. Was she nervous?
“Relax.”
“Y, yes, sir.”
“Are you alright?”
“……I’m fine.”
A bit of life returned to her dying voice. She is, after all, the one who contracted with Leviathan. Her recovery speed is in a league of its own.
‘Your recovery is fast.’
Of course, Lily had noticed and tried to keep her there to work her harder… but I stopped her.
“Thank you….”
Serena, who was still panting slightly, glanced at me. Then, she slowly stood up and began to edge away from me.
What is this?
“I, I’m sweating a lot.”
“So what?”
“I might smell….”
“You’ve contracted with a water spirit, yet you worry about such things.”
“Just in case….”
It didn’t matter. I sat down, maintaining a reasonable distance from Serena. When I playfully closed the distance, she fled just as quickly, as if possessed.
“About that date.”
“Ah, yes.”
Serena blushed. She was the one who asked for it, but I guess she’s embarrassed now that it’s actually happening.
I watched Serena for a moment, then came to the conclusion I had been agonizing over for a while.
“First, let me make one thing clear. I have no intention of entering into a deep relationship with anyone right now.”
“Ugh.”
“However. That is because I have work I must do, not because I am uninterested.”
Lily, and others—I can’t be unaware that they harbor affection for me.
But there existed a sort of line between Lily and me. It was partly due to the promise we had made in the past.
So, I simply maintained a subtle distance, knowing full well what was happening.
In the first place, if I had no interest in women, I wouldn’t have played a female-oriented game that wasn’t even my taste just because I saw a girl’s face.
That goes for me, and it goes for Khalid as well.
I mean, this guy was someone whose life revolved around alcohol and women, wasn’t he?
“What does that mean…?”
Serena stammered, her voice trailing off.
I knew well enough what she wanted to say. I cut her off.
“So, whatever feelings you may harbor, keep them to yourself until then.”
“……Can’t I tell you now?”
“No.”
If you make your feelings clear now, the others will likely throw away their promises and go all-in as well, and I can’t have that. Please, just hold back.
I might wake up one morning to find a silver-haired maid assassin staring down at me….
“……I’ll do that.”
Serena nodded as if she understood.
According to what I heard from Hecate, feelings aren’t just about one-way emotions; they need to be mutual. So, someday, I’ll need to face them head-on. But for now, I’ve patched things up like this.
….
“Separately, I’ll set a date for that wish you asked for soon. When would be good for you?”
“I’m fine whenever, if it’s good for Your Majesty…?”
That was a difficult answer to work with.
I thought about my schedule. Even though I had passed as much work as possible to the ministers and left most of the heavy lifting to Elizabeth, the workload was still immense.
It’s the karma for all the things I’ve set in motion, I suppose…. I really want to retire soon.
“……Then I’ll check my schedule and set a date.”
“Y, yes!”
Serena beamed.
She was beautiful, I’ll give her that….
***
“Pardon? A territorial war in the Enfield territory? Why?”
Serena was startled by the sudden news from her family.