Gifts from Afar and a Burning Rivalry
[This pile’s from your friends, and this one’s from the teachers. This here’s from the king.]
“Hmm.”
[And that stack over there is from Master’s parents.]
Even though Rai was a spirit and shouldn’t have been capable of such things, the little metal serpent carried out every order with the diligence of someone whose blood ran thick with servitude. I looked around the now-tidy room and gave Rai’s head a gentle pat. The small snake head fit perfectly in my palm, smooth and pleasantly cool to the touch.
“Good job.”
[Hehe.]
No matter what I asked, a single head pat was enough to make this loyal creature happy.
[And here’s the most important part! I sorted everything I want to eat over here……]
“That’s enough.”
[Just one bite!]
Gluttony remained a constant struggle. I skimmed through the gifts. The one from Iruse looked like the latest chocolates based on the packaging, while Mia’s gave off a suspicious smell that practically screamed “dangerous homemade potion.” The headmaster’s was almost certainly another book, as usual……
When I unwrapped the one from Teacher Iel, I found an elegant blue-tinted comb. How had he known I’d lost mine over a month ago?
“Oh, as expected of Teacher Iel.”
We’d known each other long enough for him to understand my tastes perfectly. Comb in hand, I began tidying my hair while examining the rest of the presents. If I didn’t sort through them soon, there wouldn’t even be space to change clothes.
The gifts I always saved for last were the ones from my parents and siblings living far away. Year after year, without fail, they sent heartfelt birthday presents to the academy, missing me all the while. Every letter ended with the same words: I love you.
Reading those lines always left me with a strange, guilty feeling. When I was younger, I’d sometimes left them unopened for years, simply collecting them. Intellectually, I knew these people were my real parents and that they loved me, but accepting that love in my heart felt impossibly awkward. It was affection any parent should give their child, yet I couldn’t bring myself to receive it freely, nor could I reject it without reason. The contradiction tormented me.
Even as I adapted to everything else in this world, the existence of parents remained difficult. It felt like betraying the parents I remembered from my previous life.
Maybe I should at least write a reply this year……
Perhaps becoming an adult had changed something.
[Would it suit you?]
“Seems like it.”
[Try it on, Master.]
“……Maybe later.”
This year’s gift from my family was a mature, elegant party dress. Delicate blue lace adorned the fabric, the kind that required months of advance ordering at a boutique. It must have been expensive, too. The Crowell family wasn’t wealthy—just minor nobles from a remote region. Still, what moved me more than the cost was the time they’d spent preparing it, waiting, and wondering if I would like it.
Even if I kept my distance for emotional reasons, family was still family.
[Why not wear it?]
“It’s embarrassing.”
[Then give it to me if you’re just going to frown at it!]
“Are you insane?”
[It’s such a waste. A terrible waste.]
The main message in this year’s letters was careful inquiries about whether I planned to return home now that I’d reached graduation age. What must it feel like for parents to keep sending birthday gifts every year to a daughter who rarely even replies? I thought I could understand a little, but I still didn’t know how to respond.
“Ugh, even if I try to write back, I don’t know what to say.”
I muttered as I slipped the letter back into its envelope, trying to recall faces I could no longer clearly remember. Both my previous-life parents and my current ones had grown hazy with time. I was never the type to be a dutiful daughter.
By the time I finished unwrapping everything, the sun had climbed high overhead.
“Let’s go, Rai.”
[Oh! We’re finally heading out!]
“Yeah. I’ve got a good feeling today.”
We rode up into the mountains. Horseback riding was one of the Royal Academy’s basic courses, so I was fairly skilled. After receiving my own horse last year, I’d even started enjoying it as a hobby.
“It’s been a while since you got some fresh air, hasn’t it, Blondie?”
Blondie was a gentle, docile white mare. Though her coat was clearly white, faint golden strands shimmered through it. Bright—my subordinate number three and magical-item shuttle—had presented her to me, claiming the color reminded him of me. Bright had graduated from Drike and now worked as an assistant mage at the royal palace. He’d been assigned to manage the warp arrays, but since those were mostly used by royalty, he spent most of his time in the communications room. From there, he occasionally brought me news from Elan—especially anything concerning Ash or Robenin.
“That bastard.”
Just thinking of Robenin made my teeth grind. Thankfully, Undine hadn’t been destroyed that day. She’d recovered in the spirit realm and returned to me three months later. We’d shared a tearful reunion, but my grudge hadn’t faded in the slightest. Whether I liked it or not, every rumor I heard about that “great man” only stoked my fighting spirit further.
When I learned Robenin Pedri had reached Sword Master at nineteen, I’d been so furious I smashed the training hall ceiling. And last year, when word spread that the twenty-four-year-old Robenin had begun traveling the continent and defeating other Sword Masters, I’d grown unbearably impatient. I still hadn’t contracted with an Upper Spirit. I was already nineteen! He’d become a Sword Master at nineteen!
“Grrr.”
[Master? You’re making that villainous face again……]
“Shut it!”
[Sigh. Who’s going to rein in that temper of yours?]
“What did you say?”
[I said it’s time to walk. Hehe, we can’t take the horse any farther.]
I dismounted, still fuming. While I’d been stuck at the academy, struggling with spirits, that guy had been steadily growing stronger. The thought alone made it impossible to sit still. Of course, I’d contracted with an Intermediate Spirit at thirteen and shocked Teacher Iel into resigning when I revealed it at seventeen…… but that wasn’t nearly enough. Only an Upper Spirit Master could stand against a Sword Master.
I knew I was being impatient. But when your lifelong rival was a once-in-a-generation genius who ignored every average, you had no choice but to set your sights accordingly.
[The path’s steep, so be careful.]
Rai and I arrived at the top of a high cliff overlooking a lake. I tied Blondie to a thick tree and looked down at Rai.
“I’ll be back. You stay here and guard Blondie.”
[What?! That’s too much! I worked so hard to make that, and now you’re telling me to just watch a horse?!]
Rai protested fiercely, but there was no helping it.
“I know that.”
[Then take me with you! I want to watch too, Master!]
“No. I can’t let Blondie become monster food.”
[In that case, if Blondie’s corpse could be used to make my body…… though I suppose that’s asking too much?]
Rai quickly shut his mouth before I could step on him for spouting nonsense.
[Have a safe trip. Don’t forget about me, Master! If you succeed, it’ll be thanks to me too!]
Leaving Rai’s desperate cries behind, I stepped into the forest.