The Outdoor Summoning Practice and the Sudden Encounter
After the summoner contract was signed, the magic class returned to its usual rhythm. Today marked the outdoor summoning practice, where students would pair up with their summoned beasts to form parties and experience real combat on the field.
Since they would actually be fighting monsters, there was bound to be some risk involved.
However, the academy had prepared for such situations by issuing students with alarm magic tools containing both the Protect spell and emergency contact protocols. If activated, these would create a 30-minute barrier around the surrounding area and immediately notify the supervising professor.
I slipped the provided magic tool into my pocket and summoned my familiar.
“Alright, let’s go, Baduk!”
“Woof~”
He sounded a little reluctant, as usual.
Now that I thought about it, even the stray dog I had once raised before my transmigration would occasionally give me a displeased look whenever I called his name.
…Could my naming sense really be that poor?
As I waited beneath the tree where I was supposed to meet Riel, I spotted her in the distance summoning her own familiar.
Emilia’s cheerful expression brightened the moment she caught sight of me. But before she could reach me, a figure stepped in front of her.
That boy was unmistakably Yohan Igrafil.
The eldest son of Baron Igrafil, the one noble family that appeared in the original story as Alan Ludwig’s closest friend.
Well, even as his “closest friend,” he hadn’t escaped the predetermined fate of the harem protagonist’s right-hand man. In the latter half of the story his presence was little more than background noise.
“Ignis young miss, may I have a word?”
“……”
Riel’s bright smile vanished in an instant.
When she glanced sideways at Yohan, he responded with a sunny grin.
“I have a request for the temporary class leader, Ignis young miss…”
This was the exact scene from the original novel.
Alan had wanted to ask Riel to join his party, but because the other female members had surrounded her, he couldn’t approach. So Yohan had used his status as class representative to lure Riel away and give Alan a chance to speak with her in private.
Clearly, in the original story, Riel had warned Yohan but still followed him obediently, eventually joining Alan’s party and forming a duo with him.
I have to stop this right now!
Thinking that, I started to step forward.
“Eh? Hold on, Ignis young miss?”
“……”
Riel ignored Yohan completely and continued walking toward me.
When our eyes met, her smile returned brighter than before.
“Sorry, I didn’t hear the boy properly.”
“N-no, it’s fine.”
…Well, that made sense.
Riel didn’t even know Yohan, and they had never exchanged a single word before. It would be strange if she had answered someone she didn’t recognize at all.
I deliberately pretended not to notice the dazed look on Yohan’s face as he stared after us from afar and rejoined Riel.
“Riel!”
“Meow~”
Baduk wagged his tail excitedly when he spotted Frey and barked happily.
Frey answered by yowling in delight.
Now that I thought about it, the two familiars had met each other yesterday and had probably exchanged friendly greetings.
I watched the two summoned beasts playfully circling each other, then my gaze drifted back to Riel.
And that was when I realized something was different about her.
“Riel, you changed your hairstyle?”
“…Did you notice?”
Her hair had always been casually brushed back with a fringe covering her forehead.
But today the ends had been gently curled into a stylish look.
“Phyllis did it!”
“Phyllis?”
“Yeah, she’s been cutting my hair since I was little.”
Riel’s exclusive maid had been sent on a short errand to another territory and, “by a fortunate coincidence,” her health had suddenly worsened, forcing her to resign.
The academy was in a rush to appoint a new permanent maid, but Riel had stubbornly refused to accept any of the standard ones sent from the ducal house.
She knew that without an exclusive maid it would be inconvenient, so she had been worried.
“Then I’ll take care of Riel young miss too.”
Because Phyllis said so, I had temporarily assigned her the role of Riel’s maid as well.
Since their dorms were close by and Phyllis had almost no duties outside of meal preparation or academy runs, I hadn’t minded.
But the moment I learned that Phyllis could move between my room and Riel’s in under a minute, I nearly spilled my drink.
How on earth had she done that…?
“It suits you even better than before,” I said.
“Right?”
Riel beamed with delight.
Every time she smiled like that, my heart tried and failed to calm down.
In the original story she rarely smiled, and all the illustrations the author posted showed her with the same gloomy expression. It was only natural that I felt this way now.
“You’ll need to use magic in real combat today, right?”
“Yes, will it be okay?”
After all, I had used it several times against Alan and had gone monster hunting in the northern territory with the princesses, so I knew it worked fine.
Riel, on the other hand, had never actually cast magic in a real fight.
…Ugh, that bad memory from the monster hunt back home still lingered a little.
“I think it’ll be fine,” she answered softly.
Riel moved her mana until a single spark of flame formed at the tip of each finger on her right hand.
The basic chantless attack spell, Flame Bullet. Once you mastered the fundamentals, you could cast fire magic without a verbal incantation.
Small in size, yet the explosive impact upon contact was more than enough to deal real damage.
“I’m here, and so are Frey and Baduk.”
“Meow~”
“Woof!”
Seeing my two summoned beasts answer so enthusiastically, Riel laughed brightly again.
She then headed toward the distant professor who was signaling for everyone to gather.
“Everyone’s here.”
Students paired off in twos filled the field, along with the familiars following their masters.
Whoa, the sight of so many summoned beasts together was actually quite impressive.
In the original story, only the summons of the main characters had ever been mentioned, so I had never imagined such a scene.
“We have a total of seventeen parties. Now, let’s begin the briefing.”
Each class normally had thirty-five students. Forming a two-person team meant one was left over.
That leftover student would team up with the professor to assist the others.
In the original story Kyou had already left the academy, so that hadn’t happened. Here, Liliana was on leave, so the same situation didn’t arise.
It was a minor detail, but summoning itself was part of the academy curriculum. Even on leave, Liliana had performed her own summoning ritual within Baron Ventus’s territory.
I remembered that her summoned beast in the original story had been a blue hawk.
“The time limit is sunset! The hunting grounds are the entire academy territory—hunt as you wish! Your score will differ depending on your performance!”
The monsters in the outdoor practice area were of a difficulty level that even ordinary academy students could handle.
Of course, emergencies could still occur.
Sometimes a powerful monster from outside the territory would intrude.
Fortunately, the alarm wards installed by the academy director were there to warn of such incidents, and the emergency magic tools had been distributed to every student.
“Parties, depart in five minutes! Begin!”
While waiting, I scanned the surroundings.
…Over there, Alan was visible.
In the original story, the Alan who had teamed up with Riel was now paired with another girl.
She was clearly the sub-heroine who had appeared in the original narrative—Emilia Silvrate.
Though her hair was a slightly darker silver, she looked almost identical. She wore a large hat that completely covered her head.
In reality she was a silver wolf beastman, hiding her true nature while attending the academy.
After entering the academy and hiding for six months, Alan discovered her secret and she began to cooperate with him, forming a connection.
That meant she still hadn’t revealed her identity yet, right?
“Um… Alan? Would it really be okay if I teamed up with someone like me? I can bring anyone else if you’d like—”
“No… it’s really fine.”
Apparently the two leftover students had simply decided to team up together.
After all, they hadn’t even become close friends yet, so it made sense.
Next to her stood a majestic wolf summoner whose silver fur shone with quiet strength.
…Without realizing it, I found myself glancing at the boy standing beside me, Baduk.
“Woof~?”
…Hmm.
It was fine. Baduk was cuter by far.
“Kyou, we should get going too,” Riel said, tugging my sleeve.
“Right.”
By the time we reached the practice area and moved out, Alan was staring blankly at the silver-haired girl who kept apologizing to him.
Alan had never really spoken to her before.
They were in the same class, but she had always kept to herself, preferring to wander alone like a lonely wolf.
But after a few conversations, he realized she was a polite and kind-hearted girl.
Just as he was lost in thought, someone approached him.
It was his friend, Yohan Igrafil.
Yohan’s face was filled with guilt.
“I’m sorry, Alan. I tried to find you a spot, but—”
“It’s fine. Just being a friend who tried is enough to thank you.”
Yohan apologized as if he felt unworthy.
He had done everything he could to create a situation where Alan and Riel could be alone, but he never imagined she would simply ignore him and walk away.
And, of course, she had ended up pairing with Kyou Ventus, the boy Alan was already so jealous of.
For Yohan, this was an utter failure.
“…Well, another chance will come eventually.”
Aloud he said it was fine, but his voice carried quiet regret as he watched the retreating figures of Riel and Kyou.
Next to her walked the black-haired boy from House Ventus.
‘That spot should have been mine…’
Alan Ludwig’s heart grew darker and darker.
Even as he stood there, the light fairy Mina, his summoned beast, stared at him with wide, sorrowful eyes.