Spirit (2)
Aren led Adelia to an empty lecture hall where no one was around. It was only after they arrived that he realized she had a class to attend.
Damn.
Mistake.
“...Don’t you have a class or something? Not that I should say this after dragging you all the way here, but if you need to go, feel free.”
“...At this point?”
She glanced at the clock on the wall. The hands pointed to 9:05.
...About five minutes before class starts.
“...You could probably make it if you hurry now.”
Adelia wore an extremely reluctant expression.
“...No, it’s fine. Aren, you must’ve brought me here for something urgent, right? I can just ask a friend to summarize the class later. No big deal.”
“Is that so?”
“Yeah. Besides, you’re the one who saved me—you’re my benefactor. Skipping a bit of class time is the least I can do.”
...Of course, attendance would still be marked?
She swallowed the rest.
“Well, that’s a relief then...”
Aren let out a sigh of relief. Circumstances being what they were, Adelia was the romance fantasy heroine, and he didn’t want to get on her bad side. She was at the center of every major incident, after all. If she held a grudge, it’d be a nightmare—not just a little hassle, but the whole world ganging up on him. Even the romance male leads like the Crown Prince, Ferris, and the others might turn hostile.
...Of course, he could crush them all and carry on like nothing happened, but there was no need to borrow trouble.
Meanwhile, Adelia blushed again as she looked at Aren.
“So... what’s this ‘thing you wanted to say’...?”
...Gulp.
Aren had no idea she’d been awake that night. The scene she’d witnessed kept flashing in Adelia’s mind, and she couldn’t control the heat rising in her body. As those naughty thoughts bubbled up in a corner of her head—
“...It’s nothing big, but could you show me the spirit you have, Adelia?”
“...The spirit?”
“Yeah.”
...She felt a twinge of disappointment without realizing it.
“I can, but... mind telling me why?”
Aren pondered how much to reveal. After a brief moment, he decided to lay it all out.
“It’s a secret from everyone else, but... I’ve got that demon from back then with me.”
“I see. So you have that demon from... wait, what?”
...Who has what now?
“...You’re saying you have the demon?”
“Yep.”
“Yep?”
“Yep.”
...?
She couldn’t believe her ears, but Aren’s answer didn’t waver. So... the monster who’d casually flattened the Crown Prince and commanded impossible summons—that vicious demon—Aren had him...?
She eyed him suspiciously, but he stood there with utter confidence.
“...”
“Anyway, I interrogated the demon, and it said the reason it targeted the Academy was because of the spirit you have.”
“...My spirit?”
“Yeah.”
It was natural she wouldn’t buy it, but it was the plain truth.
“So, what kind of spirit is it?”
“...”
She recalled her own spirit. One day, she’d contracted it in a dream, and it had appeared in reality. To her eyes, it wasn’t your typical elemental spirit—it was a conceptual one.
The Spirit of Divinity, Rashia.
That’s the spirit I have.
Meanwhile, at that very moment, while Adelia and Aren were deep in their heartfelt secret conversation...
“...What? Adelia?”
The Crown Prince caught wind of the rumor that Adelia—the woman he truly loved—was hanging out with Aren. And that wasn’t all; someone had supposedly seen him entering her dorm last week.
“...Is it true?”
“Yes.”
One of the Crown Prince’s lackeys from his faction bowed his head in reply. They hadn’t confirmed Aren entering the dorm, but the earlier report was straight from an eyewitness.
“The top student said he had something to tell Lady Berniche and took her off himself. And in the process... Lady Berniche blushed.”
“...What?”
Blushed...?
“I-It’s hard to believe, I know, but it’s true. Lots of students saw it.”
“......Hah.”
The Crown Prince clutched his head. Watching him, his lackey cautiously lifted his gaze.
“Th-This might be presumptuous, but... isn’t the top student up to no good with Lady Berniche? He’s infamous for his messy relationships with women...”
Even now, word was he was with Duke’s daughter Veronica, the stunning commoner Lydia that even nobles coveted, and—on top of that—Sara Clement, the Crown Prince’s own fiancée.
...High-ranking nobles knew the divorce with Sara was in the works, but to oblivious students, Aren might as well be forbidden fruit. Or more like a black-haired beast.
“Shouldn’t we punish him right now? He’s not satisfied with cozying up to Lady Clement, Your Highness’s fiancée—now it’s Lady Berniche. For the Academy’s reputation, we have to push for some discipline on the top student—”
“Shut your mouth.”
“...Pardon?”
“I said shut your mouth.”
“......Yes.”
The Crown Prince sighed at his blabbering underling. Sure, he was a scoundrel who’d gotten dumped (pending formal notice) for chasing a border noble’s daughter while engaged, but his political instincts were top-notch. A classic self-preservationist meritocrat—the kind whose talent ran inverse to his character.
To him, Aren was someone you didn’t touch lightly.
...No point kicking the hornet’s nest.
Why a hornet’s nest? Aren’s strength was overwhelming for his age.
No way a powerhouse like the top student popped out of thin air—there’s gotta be a backer who raised him.
And anyone with a brain could guess that backer was no ordinary figure. Plus, after the midterm assault, they were investigating Aren’s demon-slaying feat. No conclusions yet, but intel pointed to ties with the massive Eastern empire, Huayeon.
Screw up and piss off Huayeon? Forget pride—his Crown Prince seat would be in jeopardy. His sister the princess and other siblings were already circling.
And public opinion’s a problem too.
He’d survived last incident thanks to top student Aren. Push discipline now under pressure? It’d amplify cries of pettiness from the Crown Prince, the Empire, and the Academy. A blunder that’d shake his position.
Besides, he hasn’t crossed any real lines yet.
If it was rape or something, sure—but if they clicked and were just meeting up, no one could complain. Sara was a non-issue from the start; House Clement was too damn powerful.
“...Fuck.”
Stuck watching his women get snatched away in broad daylight, the Crown Prince ground his teeth in humiliated rage. Knowing full well but powerless to act... what a shitty situation.
...I’ll bite back when the chance comes.
Martial force? No dice—he’d learned that the hard way during midterms.
...Politics it is, then.
If Aren had heard that, he probably would’ve shot back:
—Fuck off.
He could just marry the girl and bail to Huayeon, after all.
The playing field had been tilted from the start.
“Should I show it here?”
Aren and Adelia had moved to a private training ground.
“Yeah. No need for anything else—just summon it once.”
She nodded. Summoning a spirit was easy enough.
Though it hadn’t worked during midterms thanks to Lucilla’s meddling, that wasn’t an issue now.
As usual, she manipulated her mana to adjust the contract—
——Whoosh!
A blinding burst of light, and the Spirit of Divinity, Rashia descended in the form of a feminine angel.
“......Whoa.”
Aren let out an admiring whistle as he took in Rashia. Impressive on every level...
Spirit of divinity, was it? Just looking at her made him feel purified.
He had no clue about the exact motive behind targeting her, but it made a certain amount of sense now.
As he stared at Rashia...
Suddenly, she relayed information to Adelia.
And Adelia, receiving it—
“Um... Aren, have you contracted a spirit by any chance?”
“Huh?”
“Rashia says you smell like one of her kin.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
Oh...
“Actually, I did contract one yesterday.”
Adelia’s eyes lit up.
“Show me!”
“Got it. So, just summon her?”
“Yes! Have you tried summoning before?”
“Nope, but... I’ll give it a shot.”
Aren closed his eyes and focused his senses. He felt the connection to Iri.
Nudge this a bit and pull it over... like this?
And then.
Pop—!
“Kyaa...! Wh-what!”
Iri, who’d been rolling around happily in her room living her best life in pajamas, got yanked into a summon.