I Became the Maid of the Lout Prince

A week after that day…

The second semester of my first year at Luminor Academy was nearing its end.

Most of the second-semester lecture classes would end the next week, and the week after that, only the end-of-term Hunting Festival remained, in which almost all combat department students would participate.

This meant that if there were any tasks to be completed within the semester, they had to be finished within this week somehow. 

…Now, I have two major problems left to solve.

One was to somehow win a match against Harold in next week’s Magic Swordsmanship class.

The other was to attach a low-level spirit to Agnes before this semester’s Spirit Affinity lecture ended.

Both were matters that could cause problems in my relationships if not resolved in advance. One with Harold, and the other with Agnes.

‘Well, I should start with what needs to be done right now.’

The event of giving Agnes a newly born spirit and making her form a contract with it…

Although I hadn’t specifically followed Agnes’s route, I roughly knew what the strategy was.

The theory was done. Now, it was time to enter into a practical contract.

After the usual Spirit Communication lecture class ended, in an empty classroom where no one remained…

For the voluntary supplementary lesson that always followed, Agnes and I were diligently training today as well to help her form a contract with a spirit.

“You know what to do today as well, right, Miss Blaze? Slowly inhale, refine, and exhale.”

“Inhale… exhale…. Inhale… exhale….”

“How is it, Sally, Sei?”

{Hmm~! It’s quite good compared to when you started! I’d say it’s to the point where you wouldn’t notice unless you paid close attention.} [Only on Galaxy Translations! / Axiomatic]

[…Agnes, now, no strange smell.]

…Strange smell, what an expression.

While helping with Agnes’s training for spirit contracting, I also corrected Sei’s speaking habits, which weren’t easily fixed.

“Just a moment, Sei. I told you not to use such expressions. Telling a girl that her mana smells strange, like it’s rotten, can easily hurt her….”

“…It’s fine when those kids say it, so you should just shut… stop worrying about it.”

“Your concentration has wavered, Miss Blaze.”

“…And whose fault is that?”

If only I could fix her habit of blaming others at the slightest provocation, somehow…

Still, the plan to attach a low-level spirit to her was going smoothly so far.

To attach a newly born low-level spirit to Agnes, we first needed to suppress the foul smell emanating from her mana.

Even for young spirits that hadn’t yet formed the concept of the taste of mana, there were instinctively repulsive smells.

Hiding this smell and approaching to form a contract was currently the only way for Agnes to contract with a spirit.

For that, Agnes needed to cultivate a bit more patience.

She also had to suppress her temperament of getting angry at the slightest provocation, typical of a fire mage, at least for a while.

“I told you, didn’t I? If you don’t suppress that small dog-like temperament for a while, when you actually contract….”

“…Rosewood, I’m saying this just in case.”

“Yes, Miss Blaze.”

“…The only reason I’m tolerating your brazen attitude right now is because I need your help with spirit contracting.”

“Oh, you were tolerating it? I’m more surprised at what level your usual temper must be at for you to say you’re tolerating my attitude during these supplementary lessons.”

“…Just you wait if I can’t contract a spirit before this semester ends. I really won’t let you off then.”

…Well, if that happens, there’s a high possibility I’d be facing some really unpleasant consequences.

The most likely future would be me being chosen by Agnes to duel in next year’s first-semester evaluation battle.

In a mage versus mage battle, the difference in skill between Agnes and me is overwhelming.

Being such a capable character, she would probably quickly figure out that I’m a one-trick pony with Mana Blast.

If that happens, there’s a possibility she might torment me throughout the Magic Department’s evaluation battle with her fire magic, which would be no different from torture.

A future where I might end up begging her to kill me and activate the Death Prevention Magic flashed before my eyes. [Only on Galaxy Translations! / Axiomatic]

‘To avoid such a future, I need to make this succeed somehow.’

Agnes was the only person left who hadn’t contracted with a spirit in the Spirit Communication class.

If she failed to contract and ended the semester as is, considering the ruined grades and the shame that would follow, the kind of retaliation I was imagining would surely come back to me.

…To prevent that, I had been preparing Agnes for spirit contracting throughout the past semester.

“There’s no need to worry, Miss Blaze.”

“About what?”

“Now, it’s about time for you to form a spirit contract.”

“Wh-What? R-Really?!”

“Please come to the Black Forest north of the academy the night after tomorrow.”

“The night after tomorrow…?”

“Yes, Miss Blaze. The night after tomorrow will be the only day you can form a spirit contract.”

“…Can you take responsibility for those words?”

“Of course, Miss Blaze.”

I had played Luminor Academy for over 2,000 hours in my past life.

Having seen the ending 24 times, there was no way I would miss the date of such a major event.

Two days later. At the entrance of the Black Forest…

I arrived at the Black Forest a bit later than I had originally planned due to various reasons.

Agnes, who seemed to have been waiting for quite a long time, slightly frowned as soon as she saw me.

“You’re early, Miss Blaze.”

“…I’m late.”

“This isn’t a problem that can be solved by coming early. The most important thing is to enter the forest at the designated time.”

“Then you should have told me the exact time…!”

“There’s no harm in being prepared early, is there?”

“Y-You…!”

I really wish I could fix that hot-tempered personality somehow.

I hope she doesn’t get angry like that during the spirit contract and mess it up, then blame me.

Anyway, since I didn’t sneak out of the dormitory in the middle of the night just to tease her, I really intended to help her with the spirit contract. [Only on Galaxy Translations! / Axiomatic]

I was also afraid of the retaliation that might come from her if things went wrong.

“But it’s impressive that you, of all people, came out at this hour.”

“Pardon?”

“Did your fiancé allow you to come out alone this late at night? Are you not on good terms?”

“…I don’t know what you’re talking about, Miss Blaze. Young Master Ethan and I are currently just lovers due to various circumstances, not engaged.”

“I saw everything, the biting and sucking by the lake…”

“That was part of a life-saving activity called artificial respiration….”

“Enough, just tell me how to contract. If I fail today, I really won’t let you off.”

…What a temperament.

Sigh, never mind. Once this semester is over, I won’t have to deal with her anyway, so I might as well just put up with it and move on.

It seemed better to help Agnes with her spirit contract as originally intended rather than prolong the conversation with unnecessary arguments.

First, I explained to her the principle of how she could form a spirit contract today.

“First, Miss Blaze, I’ll tell you how you can form a spirit contract.”

“…Alright.”

“For that, you need to know what kind of day today is. Do you have any guesses?”

“…Guesses? How would I know if you put it like that?”

“Is that so? I thought the top student of the Magic Department would know. Well, I guess I have no choice but to explain….”

“…The night of the largest full moon. The 55th anniversary of the death of Archmage Heinz Sten. The planetary alignment that occurs once every 100 years. The first printing date of ‘Basics of Fireballs,’ the first volume of Biz’s Fire Magic Textbooks.”

…Wow, she knows well.

As expected of the top student of the Magic Department, she was rattling off dates related to magic like a wiki.

“I thought you didn’t know, but you know quite well.”

“…What does the 55th anniversary of Heinz Sten’s death have to do with my spirit contract….”

“The planetary alignment that occurs once every 100 years. This is the condition that allows Miss Blaze to form a spirit contract.”

“……”

“Not the 55th anniversary of Archmage Heinz Sten’s death.”

“…I knew that.”

Ignoring Agnes’s stubborn response, I briefly explained to her about the flow of mana that occurs along with the planetary alignment. [Only on Galaxy Translations! / Axiomatic]

Today is the day when the night of a full moon coincides with the day of the planetary alignment.

All kinds of magical phenomena occur as the world’s mana boils over.

“Yeah, I know that too. Sometimes, strange phenomena occur due to the influence of mana on full moon nights. Monsters are also affected and become even more violent.”

“The full moon is also a kind of planetary alignment. To be precise, the moon is a satellite, not a planet, but the effect is almost the same, so you don’t need to worry about that.”

“…Satellite? What’s that?”

“It’s better to focus on the fact that today is a day of planetary alignment rather than such things. Because if not today, Miss Blaze, the next day you can form a spirit contract will probably be about 100 years later.”

“…Alright. I won’t bother you, so just get to the point quickly.”

“The important thing is the magical phenomenon. The ‘birth of spirits’ is also included in the abnormal phenomena that occur when the world’s mana boils over.”

“…How do you kno… no, continue.”

“These newly born spirits are the only ones you can currently contract with, Miss Blaze.”

“Newly born spirits… what?”

Agnes tilted her head, seemingly not understanding my words at once.

I explained the principle of spirit contracting to her once again in an easy-to-understand way.

“Noble families often hire wet nurses *1 to take care of babies, right?”

“Yes.”

“One of the reasons it’s difficult to easily dismiss a hired wet nurse is because the child remembers and becomes accustomed to the taste of their milk.”

“…Yes.”

“So, Miss Blaze, what you need to do today is to make the newly-born spirits taste your mana first. That would make them accustomed to that taste, so they would find your mana more delicious than others’ mana.”

“…Ah, oh!”

“It seems you understand now.”

She seemed to understand why I had brought her to the Black Forest on this dangerous day.

It was now time to finally reap the rewards of our efforts so far.

T/N

A wet nurse is someone who breastfeeds and cares for another’s child. 

Thanks for reading, see you tomorrow!