You Could at Least Be a Maid.
You Could at Least Be a Maid.
I ground a single black cotton glove down hard under my heel.
"Agh...?!"
It wasn't an ordinary glove—it was Hera.
Hera, crushed under my shoe, let out a strange sound. In fact, she'd been making strange noises for a while now.
In my anger at her attitude, I'd tampered with various parts of her mana circuit. Anyway, the outcome of that was this mess.
I don't waste time on petty acts like venting anger. I'm not so shabby as all that.
However, a spirit artifact has to be thoroughly tamed if you want to handle it properly later. That's why I was going out of my way to endure this trouble.
"M-Master...! Please, have mercy...!"
Hera whimpered in a plaintive voice. I asked back flatly.
"Master? Who."
"You, of course, are my one true master! H-hyah?! D-Don't step there!"
I let out a deep sigh. Why was the spirit dwelling in this artifact such a piece of work?
"Aside from your inherent ability, you're worthless. Know that."
I meant exactly what I said. Had Hera's ability been a trivial one... I would have completely dismantled her and scattered her in the lake.
"It's a bit awkward to say myself, but I'm amazing! I can handle just about any magical computation, you know?"
"That's the most useless ability of all. You pathetic thing."
I pressed down on Hera a little harder with my heel.
"Hyaaah?!"
"Why would I ever need assistance with computations in the first place? Isn't that right?"
"S-So cool! Please let me serve you as my master!"
The ability to assist with magical computations wasn't much of an advantage to me. However, the other abilities she possessed were quite excellent.
"You mentioned you're a spirit of the night."
"Yes. Of course! I'm Hera, the night spirit! That's me!"
The moment I formed a contract with her and became her master, all actions utilizing mana in dark spaces would receive excellent support.
Output, speed, mana consumption ratio, number of spells... all those factors would combine with the trait of the night spirit and grow stronger.
Needless to say, it was an excellent effect.
"If we contract, you can freely use the mana I possess, too. No, please use it! I'll serve you as my master! Right?"
This part was also a major advantage.
Being able to use Hera's mana as my own essentially meant that my total mana capacity would increase.
Moreover, by their nature, heroic spirits grow alongside their master. Making a contract would also improve the efficiency of my mana capacity growth from then on.
While I was weighing these things, Hera hastily added,
"Don't you like short-range teleport? Even if it's only twice a day, it's something most heroic spirits can never do... Ugh, whatever! Please, let me serve you as my master!"
I liked Hera's abilities themselves. But for us to form a contract, there were a few conditions that needed to be set beforehand.
"There are conditions."
"Conditions? What kind? I'll follow them unconditionally!"
"First, do not question any of my actions."
"I will! I promise!"
Her reply was instantaneous—a passing mark. But the most important condition still remained.
"Second, do not open your mouth without my permission."
"If I do that, will you become my master? Right?"
"I haven't given you permission to open your mouth yet."
"......"
With that, Hera fell silent at once.
"I like that."
I nodded and picked the thing up.
Now I had a spirit artifact. It was the greatest achievement I'd obtained since taking up residence in this body.
If I used Hera and kept working hard, I could prepare for the Chejeon against the Knight Department without any trouble.
I turned and headed back to the dormitory. My business was finished.
◈
Three days later, the A-grade students finally gathered in a single lecture hall.
The week of free time granted by Violet had at last come to an end. The students, seeing each other's faces after so long, poured out the things they'd kept to themselves.
Where they'd gone... who they'd done what with... the sorts of stories students that age would normally share.
Of course, among them were stories that were strangely unsettling.
"Did you hear the rumor? Two people have gone missing."
"Of course I heard. They vanished without a trace."
"So creepy... Could it be another Evil One?"
"Probably. I'm scared to death because of that lately."
I was gradually lending my ear to that conversation when someone suddenly wrapped their arms around my left arm.
"Sir Plan! I'm so glad you're safe!"
It was Yushia. Her distinctive clean cotton scent tickled my nose, and her ample chest pressed firmly against my arm.
It wasn't that I'd failed to notice her approaching qi sense, but I myself hadn't thought to avoid the embrace. That was a strange thing.
'I'll have to study this.'
I filed away why I was so strangely lenient toward Yushia in a corner of my mind as one of the difficult problems I needed to prove.
And for the moment, I pulled my hand free. Not because I cared about onlookers—I simply disliked prolonged contact with others.
Yushia's eyes went wide as she looked me over from head to toe.
"I was so worried... I couldn't sleep properly, afraid that the missing student might be you, Sir Plan. I'm so relieved to see you're safe!"
"Students went missing?"
I knew absolutely nothing about this topic the other students were chattering about so excitedly.
That was because I'd devoted the last three days solely to training and reading.
Thanks to that, my mana had grown even purer, and my total mana capacity was smoothly increasing as well.
Meanwhile, Yushia nodded.
"Yes. Two second-year students vanished without a trace... It seems to be the work of an Evil One."
"Evil One?"
"Yes. People who sold their souls to gain power dishonestly."
I'd already heard that much from Sepia. But what I wanted was slightly more detailed information.
"How strong are these Evil Ones?"
"They're really strong! Because they offered their souls in exchange. They easily surpass the skill of ordinary mages!"
Yushia waved her arms wildly as though trying to emphasize the Evil Ones' strength.
The sight of her drawing the largest circle she could with her own arms was rather endearing in its own way.
"The problem is their infectious nature. Evil Ones are extremely good at worming their way into wounded human hearts... so if the two missing people have become Evil Ones, the likelihood of it gradually spreading to those around is high."
"The key is to find and deal with them as quickly as possible."
"Oh! Exactly! As expected of Sir Plan!"
Yushia looked at me with sparkling eyes.
Meanwhile, I was dumbfounded. More precisely, I was incensed at Sepia.
'...She compared me to punks like that.'
Wasn't she looking down on me by a considerable margin?
"Sir Plan! From now on, I shall remain at your side! I will protect Sir Plan from the Evil Ones!"
Thump, thump, Yushia beat her chest loudly.
The male students' gazes naturally shifted toward Yushia's chest. The one staring most blatantly was Martin.
"I don't need it."
I dismissed it toward Yushia. I had no need for someone else's protection.
Deflated by the clean refusal, Yushia was puffing out her cheeks and about to protest when this time, the scent of roses came from my right.
"Hey, Plan."
It was Becky. The moment I faced her, I took out Trivia and handed it over.
"What's this, all of a sudden? Oh, it's my Trivia. Right."
Becky irritably stuffed Trivia into her inner pocket, then whispered to me.
"Plan, what's your deal? Why are you flirting with another girl...?"
"What are you talking about?"
"I didn't even say hi to any other guys, you know. You shouldn't be hanging around other girls either..."
"Becky."
I called her name. We had an important separate matter to discuss.
"『Destruction and Prejudice』. Did you summarize it?"
"Huh? Ah..."
Becky's expression immediately grew sullen. She rummaged through her bag and held out a few sheets of paper to me.
"Here... But we're still going shopping for clothes, right?"
"I don't make promises I don't keep."
Just as Becky's face was about to brighten up—
"Hey."
Someone abruptly thrust a white piece of paper at me. It was Hailey.
I unconsciously narrowed my brow. In my previous world, the last time a disciple had handed me a report like that, I'd promptly hung them upside down.
The world has really gotten better. Or rather, should I say I've come to a better world?
"You two write one, too. Everyone else but you two has already written."
At Hailey's words, Becky, Yushia, and I looked over the paper.
—Louis, you can do it!
—Handsome and good at magic, what can't you do...
—Introduce me to some girls
—Do well at the Chejeon!
The paper was densely filled with the students' handwriting. Becky tilted her head and opened her lips.
"What's this? Did they write a rolling paper?"
Hailey nodded, sweeping her hair behind her ear.
"Yeah. Louis is competing as the first-year representative this time. We should give him at least this much support."
"I see... Well, since everyone else wrote one too..."
Becky agreed easily and picked up a pen. Then she asked.
"By the way, who's competing from the Knight Department?"
"Ivan."
At those two syllables, Becky's hand stopped dead.
"Ah, Ivan? Ivan is competing?"
As if doubting her own ears, Becky asked again.
"Ivan is really competing? Wait, then what's the point of cheering—we're definitely going to lose, aren't we?"
"Still, we should focus on the fact that he's competing and give him our full encouragement. Better than doing nothing, isn't it?"
"Well, that's true... Wow, Ivan is competing..."
Becky shook her head in disbelief.
"Louis had a decent shot at the combat event, but it's a shame. If it weren't for Ivan, you never know."
"Right. Of all people..."
"How could the Magic Department ever beat the Knight Department in the first place? I told Louis to just take it easy."
"That's true."
Becky clicked her tongue. Around then, I opened my mouth.
"What are you, a maid?"
At those words, Becky's hand stopped once more. The eyes of three wide-eyed women turned toward me.
Hailey asked back,
"A maid...?"
"Yes. Are you proud of a master who's already facing defeat? Why are you going out of your way to beg for this?"
"M-Master? Begging? Did you just call it begging?"
Hailey's expression crumpled. I gave her a nod.
I've had plenty of experience encouraging others in my life. However, every one of them had been a person who deserved encouragement.
I always emphasize this.
Mages are beings who live by intuition and self-confidence. Those who take failure or defeat for granted don't even deserve to be called mages.
Finding meaning in participation. You can't beat the Knight Department from the start... For someone who utters such nonsense, encouragement is too good for them. Even a curse would be wasted.
Ha, Hailey gave a scoffing laugh.
"Plan... aren't you being a little too obvious about being jealous?"
As if completely dumbfounded, Hailey fanned her face with her hand and continued.
"If Louis is better than you, just admit it. Do you really have to go that far? Fine. Don't write one."
With those final words, Hailey sharply turned her back.
"Hey, Plan...!"
"Sir Plan!"
Becky and Yushia opened their mouths toward me at the same time.
"Everyone, attention."
However, their words weren't able to reach their conclusion. It was because Violet had appeared, passing through the front door of the lecture hall.
"As a replacement for the postponed Exploration Assessment, you will be taking a pop quiz."
Sighs burst out from the students here and there.
Taking a written test is an extremely common thing, but being ambushed with one like this was enough to make anyone sigh.
"A p-p-pop quiz?"
Becky trembled. Yushia, seated beside her, was also flustered and scratching her cheek.
"Quiet, everyone. The test begins as soon as you receive the paper. Those who finish should leave the classroom as quietly as possible."
With a crisp snap of Violet's fingers, the test papers flew into the air like pigeons.
One sheet per student soon descended in front of each person. I looked over the questions.
Question 1. Assuming you perform Malleability using the materials in the choices, describe what you consider to be the best outcome.
Question 2. Describe through example the difference between strengthening through 'Support' magic and strengthening through 'Harmonization' magic.
Question 3...
There were a total of eight questions on the test paper. Given the sighs coming from all around, everyone was struggling quite a bit.
Tsk. I clicked my tongue once and rose from my seat.
As I began walking toward Violet, I started writing down my answers.
"Student Plan."
Violet's voice calling me reached my ears along the way, but I didn't stop. I walked stubbornly right up to the tip of her nose.
"Student Plan. You need to stop. What are you doing?"
With a slightly angry expression, Violet continued.
"If you have a question, you must raise your hand from your seat. Everyone else is in the middle of writing their answers—walking past them like that is no different from cheating..."
"I've completed my answer sheet."
I quietly set the test paper down.
There was no need to wait for the grading result. The answers I'd written were correct beyond a shadow of a doubt.
The very situation of having to take a test was laughable to begin with. It's not even enough for me to be the one giving the test...
"What? Completed...?"
I left the bewildered Violet behind me.
◈
After returning to the dormitory, I took a bath first thing.
Originally I would have headed straight to the training grounds, but there were a few things I had to do first.
As I was about to do them, Hera cried out.
[M-Master? Keeping me in a trash can is a bit too much, isn't it?]
"That's your home."
[A trash can is my home? No...]
"No?"
[I've never been treated like this by any mage before! So cool!]
Come to think of it, had I ever given Hera permission to open her mouth? I had no such memory.
I decided to postpone the punishment for later. It was right to handle urgent matters first.
'How could the Magic Department ever beat the Knight Department in the first place?'
Those words from Hailey kept bothering me.
If a student classified in a lower grade had muttered something like that, I wouldn't have paid it much mind. I would have simply thought, well, there's a reason they're a low grade.
But the problem was that Hailey was an A-grade student.
Even those recognized as prodigies in this academy harbored such a pathetic mindset... It was simply infuriating.
Of course, it wasn't that I couldn't understand.
These people, ever since they were born, had likely seen nothing but mages suffering defeats.
They must have grown used to watching mages lose to knights and bow to knights, taking it for granted.
'Just what sort of people select the representative, anyway?'
I needed to find out what individuals were selecting the representative, what criteria they used, and how they were preparing them.
Grasping the current situation properly came first; fixing it came after.
Fortunately, I now had something I could call an information network.
I opened Trivia and immediately sent a message to Sepia.
[▷ Let's meet for a moment.]
Perhaps because she was a reporter, the reply came quickly.
[▶ Why? I'm really busy right now.]
[▷ That's a shame, then. You'll miss an exclusive.]
No further reply came back. However, perhaps a few minutes had passed.
Bang bang bang—!
Someone began knocking on the door frantically.