Maydare Volume 4 Chapter 2 - The Final Exams ~The Spirit Search Game~ (Part 1)
On the morning of the last day of final exam week, I woke up feeling refreshed, probably thanks to the Makia-style herbal milk tea I drank last night.
When I left the bedroom, Lapis was already awake and giving milk to Noah, a night cat, who was her familiar.
Familiar spirits didn’t need to eat food in the first place, but they all had their own indulgences. Noah liked milk like a normal cat, and my ham-chans liked sunflower seeds like normal hamsters.
The reason why I was reviewing such an obvious thing in my brain was because today was the day of the Spirit Magic Studies exam.
“Good morning, Lapis.”
“Good morning, Makia. You seemed to have studied for the exam until late yesterday.”
“Yes, because today’s the last day of the final exams. And it's the most difficult one, Spirit Magic Studies. Lapis, did you do anything to prepare for it?”
When I asked that to Lapis, who was sitting in front of me, she looked blank and tilted her head to the side.
“I didn’t prepare anything, because I’m not taking the exam today, you know?”
“Huh!?”
“I’m an exchange student, so I have no Spirit Magic Studies Exam on my curriculum. Instead, I have to take a practical Alchemy exam on a different day. With the third-years.”
“Oh, I see. So that’s why.”
I remembered that it was like this for the first semester as well, but I had completely forgotten about it.
Lapis sometimes attended different classes and took different exams from us.
From the start, she was a year older than me and came to Lune Ruschia as an exchange student after a year of studying at the magic school in the Frezier Empire.
The team assignments were the same, but the rest of her classes and examinations were based on the curriculum that had been prepared when she came to this school as an exchange student.
But still, a practical exam on Alchemy?
She really was way ahead of us. That’s amazing~.
“So, you have the whole day off today?”
“Yes, so I'm going to my part-time job I mentioned before.”
“Again? Keep working hard!”
“Yes, but…it seems that my job will end soon.”
Lapis looked somewhat melancholic when she told me that.
Now that I thought about it, why did Lapis come to the Kingdom of Ruschia in the first place?
I wondered what was her goal in coming to a foreign country all by herself and attending Lune Ruschia Magic School.
The fifth day of the second semester final exams.
The final exam subject for the Garnet first-years was Spirit Magic Studies.
The written exam by Professor Ulysses, the teacher in charge of Spirit Magic Studies, was famous among the students for being very difficult and unpredictable.
Everyone was holding their heads in their hands as they took the written exam, and I wasn't so confident either.
“Everyone, good job. How did you feel about the written exam?”
“...”
After the written exam, Professor Ulysses looked over at the pale-faced students with a smile on his face. What a demon…
“Regardless of the written exam, there is still the practical exam for Spirit Magic Studies. Now then, I will announce the details of the practical exam.”
Professor Ulysses held up his index finger with a smile on his face.
“It is called the ‘Spirit Search Game.’”
“...Huh? Spirit Search?”
Everyone was stunned.
We had never heard of an assignment like that in the whole time we were learning Spirit Magic Studies.
“Your Highness. The students look as though they have no idea what you’re talking about and have become speechless. Hoo.”
The owl spirit Phantorome, perched on Professor Ulysses’s shoulder, spoke for us.
Professor Ulysses cleared his throat once and explained the contents of the exam to us.
“As the name Spirit Search Game implies, you are literally going to search for spirits. Lune Ruschia Magic School has many spirits assigned to each facility by the〈White Sage〉, and they have continued to protect this school for five hundred years. Headmaster Pan is the most famous one, but…there are approximately 151 spirits here.”
“One-hundred-and-fifty-one!?”
It was more than I expected. I never imagined that so many spirits worked at this school.
So, did the White Sage use that many spirits?
As expected, he was nonstandard, or rather, staggeringly impressive…
“I believe you have all woven bonds with the spirits you summoned in our first class over the course of this year. You have also come into contact with the spirits of your teammates and classmates and have seen the various aspects of spirits. This exam will test the bonds you’ve accumulated with spirits over this year and your understanding of them. I would like you to find the spirits hiding on the school island and collect their autographs.”
“A-Autographs…”
Indeed, there was a huge stack of white paper on the lectern.
The professor distributed them on each student's desk by wind magic.
“Professor Ulysses, I have a question. Basically, we will be scored according to the number of spirit autographs, is that correct?”
Beatrice Asta raised her hand and asked a question. I was wondering about that, too.
“Yes. The number is part of it, but I will also assign a score according to the difficulty level of finding the spirits, and the total score is added to the score of the written test. Let me tell you some of the spirits with a high difficulty level.”
On the blackboard behind him, Professor Ulysses wrote the names of the spirits with the highest difficulty level.
Difficulty Level SS (50 points)
1: Headmaster Pan Faunus (Great Goat Spirit, Wind)
2: Lighthouse Keeper Jean (Great Lamp Spirit, Light)
Difficulty Level S (20 points)
3: Librarian Rieracoton (Cotton flower spirit, Earth)
4: Gardener Lafox (Minstrel fox spirit, Flora)
5: Beach Keeper Scylla (Giant octopus spirit, Water)
6: Armored Knight Hollow (Iron spirit, Lightning)
These were the so-called rare spirits.
The spirits with difficulty level SS were 50 points. The spirits with difficulty level S were 20 points, and the other spirits were 2 points.
He also told us what the spirits were in charge of, so we had an idea of where to look for them, but…
“Just for today, facilities, rooms, and areas that are usually off-limits are now open to you. The school island is a big place, so please don't get lost. You can go to the underground labyrinth as far as the first labyrinth, the ‘Salt Maze.’ …Oh, yes. Some spirits will give you an autograph for free, while others will ask you for something. Some may give you hints about the whereabouts of other spirits. Spirits do as they please. They are free to make their voices heard. Do not miss their voices.”
I see. It seemed to be somewhat important to talk to the spirits and exchange words with them.
“Now then, when the bell rings, the Spirit Magic Studies exams will begin. You have three hours. Please run around the vast grounds of Lune Ruschia Magic School, find the hiding spirits, and get their autographs. You don't need a pen, but don't forget to bring your piece of pa…”
The bell rang in the middle of Professor Ulysses’s words, and everyone dashed out of the classroom.
But I remained sitting in the Spirit Magic Studies lecture room.
“Oh, what's wrong, Miss Makia? You’re not going out?”
“No, of course I’m going. Once I get the autograph of the spirit in this classroom.”
My eyes sparkling, I held out my paper to the spirit sitting on Professor Ulysses’s shoulder.
“Owl spirit Phantrome, please sign this.”
“Hoo hoo! My autograph!?”
“Since you’re the professor’s assistant, you’re definitely a spirit who works at Lune Ruschia, right? And you used to be the〈White Sage’s〉spirit. Right, Professor?”
Professor Ulysses put his hand on his chin and gave a big nod.
“Very well. I do feel a bit sad that you’re the only one who had an eye on Phantrome’s existence, though. You’re as perceptive as ever, Miss Makia.”
Phantrome thrust his beak at the paper.
Then, an owl-shaped emblem was drawn on the edge of the paper.
That must be a spirit’s autograph.
“It’s only 2 points, I’m afraid. Hoo.”
“Yes, I got 2 points!”
I pumped my fist without thinking. Anyways, the accumulation of these 2 points would lead to a high score.
“Now, Miss Makia. You must not get careless. In Lune Ruschia Magic School, there are many lurking spirits fulfilling their duties. …Because that is their promise with the〈White Sage〉five hundred years ago.”
…A promise.
“Yes, Professor! I’ll do my best!”
I rushed out of the classroom and walked down the hallway while making my own strategies.
This assignment was individual practical exam.
Unlike the team assignments, I could only rely on myself and my spirits. Basically, even Nero and Frey, my fellow teammates, were my rivals.
“Nero is smart and has a spirit with good eyes named Fugue. He’ll definitely be the toughest to beat. Frey is an【Earth】Blessed Child and can walk on walls quickly, so he might earn a lot of points by finding a lot of easy-to-find spirits.”
And what about me?
“Fufufu,I myself don't have any special skills to help find spirits, but my spirits Popoloactus and Dontanates are very good at finding things. Now, set off. It’s time to repay those people who made fun of you guys!”
“Hekera!”
I summoned my spirits, the two dwarf hamsters, and released them.
They darted about, dodging the feet of the students who were crowding around in search of spirits.
If they found any traces of spirits, they would let me know. Take care not to get trampled, okay?
“Now then.”
I couldn’t just stand there.
The students were opening doors at random, searching vases and undersides of paintings and whatnot all over school. I decided to first go and see the spirit Rieracoton, who I met once before.
——Rieracoton. She was a cotton flower spirit in the second library.
Normally, the second library is off-limits, but it was apparently open only for today.
“Eh…”
However, as soon as I arrived at the second library, I was completely taken aback.
Rieracoton was sitting in a tent in front of the second library, as if she were a celebrity at an autograph signing session, and signing autographs for students right out in the open.
There was a long line of students waiting to get her autograph, since this was 20 points without any effort.
“N-No way. She looked a quiet librarian, but I’d never thought she would open a signing session…”
While looking at that long line of students, I was wondering whether I should line up here or go somewhere else when I realized something.
Could this be a strategy to keep the students here?
I could certainly get 20 points just by standing in this long line, but it would take me a long time to get to Rieracoton.
The time limit was three hours. If I wanted to find other spirits, I couldn’t get stuck here.
“Ah, that Frey, he’s cunningly lining up.”
Well, Rieracoton was a spirit in the form of a pretty older lady, which was Frey’s type…
“Grrr. I’m going to change my strategy. I don’t want to be on the same level as Frey…!”
Biting my thumbnail, I gave up on getting the cotton flower spirit Rieracoton’s signature.
Since I was here, I might as well look for the highest ranked and greatest, Headmaster Pan.
There were many students looking for Headmaster Pan, whose difficulty level was SS. Everyone was going around the school to check the mirrors because he was always coming and going from them.
But apparently, no one had found Headmaster Pan yet.
The headmaster’s office was where Headmaster Pan was supposed to be. Its location was one of the seven mysteries of the school, and we had no idea where it was.
“Well, of course. The one who gives the most points would be the hardest to find. I feel like it’s pointless to blindly search all the mirrors at school.”
I didn’t think that Professor Ulysses, who made that extremely difficult written test, would make such a simple practical test.
It would be more complicated.
You had to follow the required steps to be able to go to the headmaster’s office, or something like that…
“Hmm?”
There was a great clamor outside.
Apparently, a heavy street rain had fallen.
I looked out of the window on the second floor of the school building and saw a large, magnificent rainbow in the sky.
I saw all the students running toward it.
“There must be a spirit hiding at the end of the rainbow!”
“Since long ago, it’s been said that there’s a spirit at the end of the rainbow.”
The students who were inside the school building also went outside because of the rainbow.
A rainbow, huh…
Certainly, that was a reasonable spot to see a spirit.
I wasn’t so naive as to run in the same direction, and I just remained where I was and pondered.
While everyone was fixated on the rainbow, could I outsmart everyone and find the most difficult spirits…?
“My lady~”
At that moment, my released scouting party, er, spirit ham-chans had returned to my feet before I knew it.
“What's the matter? Did you find something?”
They both nodded.
“There’s a weird one, dechi.” “There is, poyo.”
“A-A weird one?”
I was quite concerned, but I followed my ham-chans through the building.
They went through the school building and headed for the courtyard in the opposite direction of the rainbow.
Since it was after a rainstorm, there were puddles here and there, making it difficult to walk. Though my shoes were getting muddy, I walked through the faded garden in the middle of winter.
Then, I heard the sound of a guitar from somewhere.
And then I heard the voice of a man singing a well-known children's song.
The beasts of the snow kingdom
Their limbs broken and bound
Enslaved by the Black Demon King
The spirits of the lake
Tricked into a pot and boiled
Until they pledged allegiance to the White Sage
The beautiful maidens
Burned at the stake until they are ash
The Scarlet Witch’s jealousy was as crimson as hellfire
Ah, how terrifying
The magicians beyond the door!
I’ve known this nursery rhyme about the legend of the three great magicians since I was a child.
I liked the ironic tone of the poem, and I knew it by heart, but this was the first time I’ve heard this melody with the lyrics.
Following this singing voice, I ran through the lemon groves in winter.
I could see rain droplets covering the yellowed lemon tree leaves.
In a pavilion at the end of the well-maintained garden, a young man was sitting cross-legged and playing the guitar.
He was an orange-haired man wearing a stylish green hat with a feather tucked in it.
Was this who was singing?
“Hey there, cute little red-haired bunny. Have you come to see me? Are you a fan of mine?”
As soon as he saw me, he spat out a line that made me itch and winked. What’s with this pretentious guy?
“...It’s that fox guy, poyo. He tried to eat us, poyo.”
“...He bit the tips of our noses, dechi.”
I understood my ham-chans’ words at once. I see. This man was a spirit.
And, he was probably the minstrel fox Lafox, listed as difficulty level S.
“You’re a spirit, aren’t you?”
“You got it. I’m Lafox, a high-ranked spirit of the〈White Sage〉 and the minstrel fox famed for being handsome. I’m also Lune Ruschia’s resident gardener.”
Then, he plucked the strings of his guitar.
I have seen him tending to the school’s lemon groves as Lune Ruschia Magic School’s resident gardener.
I'd heard from other girls that he was handsome, but I didn't realize he was a spirit. As one would expect from a fox, he was good at turning into a human.
But just for today, I had need of him as a spirit.
“Please sign this.”
I immediately held out my paper.
I couldn’t let the 20 points from a difficulty level S get away from me.
“So you are my fan!”
“No. This is for the exam.”
I was very clear about that.
“If you're not my fan, then I can’t give it to you for free. Alright, then play with me, little red bunny.”
“What are we playing?”
“Tag. Foxes are hunters, you know.”
His beast’s eyes glittered. He stood up lightly, pulled out the bird feather from his hat and put it in my hair.
He then held up three fingers and held them in front of my eyes.
“Three minutes. Will you keep this from me for only three minutes? If you do, I’ll give you my autograph as a reward. If you like, I’ll even give you a hint for the locations of other spirits.”
“I’m grateful, but just three minutes, huh…”
He, a fox spirit, said that so easily.
“I'll give you 10 seconds to run. Okay, one, two…”
Lafox closed his eyes and began to count.
Naturally, I ran.
This garden could be called Lafox's territory. I should get away from here first and then enter a building somewhere.
“The nearest building, the nearest building…”
However, no matter how much I ran, I couldn’t get out of this garden.
The spirit’s miniature garden–Lafox trapped me in the lemon grove.
“Okay, I see you~~”
I felt the presence of a beast behind me and turned around quickly.
An orange fox was already there, poised to pounce on me.
So fast…! It quickly caught up with my pace.
Baring its sharp fangs and opening its large mouth, the fox leapt at me, aiming for the feather on my head and casting its shadow over me.
Thinking that I had to protect it, I crossed my arms in front of my face, and fell to the dirt in the garden with my eyes closed.
“Hot!”
I heard the fox let out a small cry.
I opened my eyes and found the fox a short distance away from me, trembling.
“There’s a flame in my hand…”
It was done unconsciously, but I seemed to have wrapped my hand in flames and guarded my head with it.
Lafox’s attribute was【Flora】—It was convention in Elemental Magic Studies and Spirit Magic Studies that Flora-attribute spirits were weak against Fire-attribute magic.
More than anything, the fact that I did it without incantations allowed me to respond to Lafox’s speed and take advantage of the opportunity.
I never thought that my training with Bishop Eska would come in handy in a situation like this.
“Fufufu…I see. If that’s the case…”
I smiled wickedly, and then lit a flame in both hands. And then...
“Offense is the best defense!”
“No way, you’re coming at me!?”
I guessed he didn't expect me to rush at him instead of running away, since I couldn't lose the feather. Laphox distanced himself even more from me.
It seemed that he really didn’t like fire, since he hurried away that quickly.
Okay, this was going to work. My hands covered in flames were more useful than I thought.
For the first time, I was thankful for my days of training with Bishop Eska!
“Just kidding. Did you think I was just going to run away from you?”
——Oh, shoot. He quickly went around me with the quickness of a fox.
Though I was more or less able to use flames in both my hands, if I was pushed forward by the movements of a beast that toyed with its prey, I wouldn’t be able to keep up with it.
“Gyah!”
But Lafox screamed again.
Something leaped out from my head and bit Lafox on the ear.
It was Donsuke, one of my familiar hamsters. The small and yellow one.
“I won’t let you lay a single finger on my lady, dechi!”
“Ow ow ow ow. This dwarf hamster’s teeth is painful. And it’s hot.”
“Tch! Don’t look down on me, dechi!”
The spot where Don-suke had bitten him was smoking black. Come to think of it, Donsuke was Fire attribute.
“Good job, Donsuke! As expected of the legend of the hamster world!”
I also mercilessly grabbed Lafox’s tail with my hand that was covered in flames. And then, I pinned him down on the ground.
I did it. Here, I was able to use the self-defense techniques I learned from Bishop Eska well. I knew all I had to do was to put them in practice.
Lafox was struggled for a while, but eventually settled down.
“Fu~. I’m beaten. You certainly are the descendant of that cruel Scarlet Witch.”
“!?”
The orange fox returned to his youthful gardener's form.
Just then, a timepiece’s bell rang to to signal that three minutes had elapsed.
“I have no interest in being pinned down by a girl. Could you please move aside?”
“Oh, right.”
I moved away from Lafox.
“Oh dear. My tail, my pride and joy, is burnt to a crisp. My ears got so bitten by rats that they have holes for piercings in them. Well, this is quite attractive in its own way, right?”
After rising to his feet, Lafox was grinning at his reflection in the puddle of water, for some reason.
As expected of a spirit, they were tough…
“Lafox, did you know my ancestor?”
“Of course I do. That witch used to try to catch and skin me to make a muffler from my fur.”
“...I-I see.”
That was also so cruel and merciless that it made my actions today seem almost cute.
“By the way, this means I passed, right?”
“Yep. You passed, so I’ll give you my autograph. It’s good that you didn’t get intimidated by me and came at me. Well, it was dirty to burn my tail without hesitation, though.”
“Thank you very much!”
I wasn’t sure if it was a compliment or not, but I got the autograph, which was the most important thing, so I thanked him honestly.
The fox emblem was fox-like and adorable.
“That reminds me, didn’t you say you’ll give me a hint about the other spirits?”
“You listen to people surprisingly well…Ah, very well. I’ll give you a hint about another spirit, little bunny.”
And then, Lafox cleared his throat.
“There was a heavy downpour just now, wasn’t there? You might want to hurry up, little bunny. That rain was caused by spirit magic. Which means, there’s a spirit lurking in the things that form after the rain.”
“Huh?”
N-No way…so there was really a great spirit at the end of the rainbow?
The students who headed in that direction at once were not to be trifled with.
I might have been overtaken by everyone else!
“I-I’ll be taking my leave now!”
“Adieu, I wish you good luck!”
I took my paper from Lafox and rush through the garden.
All the while listening to that fox playing guitar and singing behind me.
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