Let’s Block the Ruined Route in Advance

It took a month to find a new Elementalism teacher. Eileen thought it was a bit long, but her mouth fell open when she was told who the teacher was.

 “Orgenhardt. He was a professor of Elementalism when I was at the Academy, but he’s retired, so I had a hard time finding him. He’s trustworthy, but don’t worry.” 

Orgenhardt.

 

He wasn’t from the original story, but he was unrecognizable.

 

‘The Savior of Rusyn Province…?’

 

A massive landslide occurred in the Rusyn region more than 40 years ago. The event, which left a scar on the Empire when part of the mountain range collapsed into a barrel, was compounded by the fact that the only land route to Rusyn was completely blocked by mud.

 

Rescuers and supplies had to be sent as quickly as possible, but the land route was completely blocked, and the sea was inaccessible because the waves were too violent. Just when everyone thought that God had abandoned Rusyn, he appeared.

 

Orgenhardt, Rusyn’s savior.

 

He was a new teacher at the Academy of Elementalism, a first-rank elemental with a pact with the supreme spirit of the land. With his small stature, he cleared away the mud that blocked the road and helped rebuild the shattered province of Rusyn.

 

With a wave of his hand, he crushed boulders the size of his hand, and with a blink of his eye, the mounds of earth that had frustrated everyone melted away.

 

It was clear that his deeds had helped make the name of Elementalism worthy.

 

His legendary appearance so impressed the people of Rusyn that the story of Orgenhardt’s anecdotes became bards’ songs and children’s tales, spreading throughout the realm.

 

Given his absence from the original story, Eileen lightly speculated that he had spent his old age in a quiet place after retiring from the Academy.

 

In short, the best munchkin of the old generation.

 

Eileen shuddered at the duke’s brilliance.

 

‘Good,’

she thought,

‘I’ll learn Elementalism from the hero himself, and Cordelia will be less likely to run amok!’

 

On the first day of class, Eileen left the room full of anticipation.

  

* * *

  

Expectations dashed.

 “Shit. I can’t believe you didn’t bring any sweets.” “I’ll bake again!” “No thanks. I’ll eat what I have today, but please make it twice as sweet tomorrow.” “Yes!” 

The maid came in with the cookies, bowed to Eileen and Cordelia, and left the room.

 

Orgenhardt, who had just turned eighty, looked to be in his early to mid-forties, thanks to the slow aging nature of Elementals.

 

He had thick green hair that looked bushy, and pale skin that looked a little pale, and he was reclining on the couch in a thick fleece cardigan despite the fact that it was still early fall. Dark circles around his eyes were as deep as a panda’s.

 “Oh, there’s my money.” “……?” 

Panda, or rather Orgen, raised an arm in greeting. She couldn’t see his hand, which was too big for his thick cardigan.

 “Yes. Hello.” “Make yourself at home. You’re my gold and silver.” 

He waved his forefinger and thumb together in front of a stunned Eileen and Cordelia.

 “Well, I was about to retire and float away penniless, but your honorable father gave me a generous sum of money to help me breathe a little easier. He has a dark view of the world, too.” 

She could see that the duke had hired him for a lot of money, but at that time she sincerely doubted that the duke had been cheated.

 

This man doesn’t look sane, to put it mildly.

 

‘The people of Rusyn must have black eyes,’

Eileen and Cordelia thought.

 

“His hair is like a forest, his skin like white pebbles, and when he stretches out his hand, the ground gives itself willingly…”

 

She remembered a bard’s song she heard one day. She wondered how many filters she would have to use to make him look like that.

 

Eileen and Cordelia’s expressions became increasingly salty.

 

After swallowing the last cookie, Orgen stood up shakily. His pale blue eyes, a shade lighter than Cordelia’s, looked like glass through half-closed lids.

 “Mmm… oh! One is a water elemental. And the other one doesn’t have a spirit yet! That’s funny.” 

Eileen’s eyes widened. It was unlike Luis to recognize her status right away.

 “How did you know? You don’t even have a spirit ball.” “It’s one of those things they use nowadays that can’t think for itself. I didn’t know that before. Eh, I just feel the mana in the air and that’s it!” 

Orgen put a finger to his lips in thought for a moment, then laughed mischievously.

 “All right, water girl, you’ll see about that later. For now, let’s find this girl’s friend.” “She’s not just “her”, her name is Eileen, and I’m Cordelia.” “I’m not deaf.” 

Chuckling, Orgen walked slowly to the window and opened it wide.

 “We’re on the third floor.” 

I looked at him questioningly as he opened the window to get out.

 “Let’s go, Ping ping.” 

The thick cardigan fluttered, and a salamander-like creature poked its head out from under it.

 

Just when she thought a salamander in a smiling top was pretty cute.

 

In a flash, the salamander stuck out its tongue, grabbed Eileen and Cordelia, and threw them out the window.

 “Aaaaaaah!” “Lynn!!!!” 

Fortunately, they landed on a cushion of water instead of the hard ground. Cordelia had called for Lynn just before they hit the ground.

 

Eileen clutched her heart, and an angry Cordelia looked up to protest to Orgen.

 “Oh, it’s not the Wind Elemental…” “What do you think you’re doing?” “Yes, it’s good to talk, my dear, even if there’s a difference of over seventy years between you and me.” 

Orgen, who had been lying in the garden when she came down, waved innocently. Eileen turned to him, barely controlling her nausea.

 “Why did you do this…?” “Oh, yes. I’m friends with a spirit that’s at least a few hundred to a few thousand years older than me, and I’m not even seventy, so one more touch and I’ll be in a coffin.” “I’m not listening!” 

The panda, or rather Orgen, muttered to himself about a subject that was not even funny. Cordelia gritted her teeth. Her wide eyes showed how angry she was.

 “I ask you, what are you doing?” 

Lynn bared her teeth, water gathering menacingly in the air. Eileen reached out to stop Cordelia as the situation escalated.

“Stop, I don’t like spoiled children.” *Kying!* “Lynn?” 

Orgen sat up and looked at Cordelia. He wasn’t angry, but his calm tone somehow made him seem more serious. Lynn lowered his tail and crept up behind Cordelia. Seeing him for the first time, Cordelia felt a little nervous.

 

Orgen slowly rose to his feet, dusted off his clothes and spoke.

 “You’ve become more emotional since you made your pact with the Elemental, haven’t you? The slightest anger makes you want to tear everything apart, and you can’t help but want to take everything you can get your hands on.” 

The ticking time bomb was nowhere to be seen, and Orgen the Savior stood.

 “This is to be expected. Making a pact with an elemental means exchanging a part of your soul for a part of its soul. It is inevitable that you two will be assimilated to some degree by its purest and therefore most impulsive soul.” 

Cordelia chewed her lip, feeling a little embarrassed, as if she had been caught in the act. Seeing this, Orgen smiled wryly. It was a reassuring, adult smile.

 “But, my dear, it’s all right! Your grandfather has come all the way here to refine your still raw elemental powers and teach you patience… Well, the travel expenses are a bit steep, but your honored father is rich.” 

Eileen shook her head.

 “So you’re doing this to provoke Cordelia?” “No. I’m doing it for you.” “What?” 

Orgen scratched his neck.

 “You, I mean Eileen, right? What does an elementalist who doesn’t have a spirit have to do to make a pact with one?” “Start by finding a spirit?” “Wrong! Spirits are everywhere. The spirit world and the human world coexist, so even if you can’t see them right now, they’re out there. You don’t have to look for them.” 

Cordelia and Eileen looked at each other in confusion.

 “But all I can see now is your mind and Cordelia’s.” “That’s normal,”

he said,

“the spirits in the world have to be willing to communicate with the mortal realm for the Elementalist to see them. My Ping Ping and your pup are visible because they have a human contract.” 

Ping Ping, the salamander that had poked its head out of the cardigan, yawned lazily and crawled back into Orgen’s clothes.

 “Okay, I get it, so what does a spirit have to do with kicking us out?” 

Orgen pointed a finger in the air.

 “Most elementals are “chosen” by the spirits. They are attracted to a human’s aura and show themselves first. But there are rare humans who are not chosen.” 

Eileen’s shoulders slumped involuntarily. The implications of the word

“unchosen”

were too heavy for her.

 “Oh, sweetheart, that’s not a bad thing, it’s just that the spirits haven’t noticed you yet. After all, I was one of the unchosen.” 

Eileen’s eyes widened. This was unexpected. Even the greatest elementalist, the one called the Savior, was not chosen immediately upon awakening. This was new information.

 “Ping Ping is a great sleeper. He was sleeping so soundly when I woke him up that he didn’t even know I was there. In that case, we need to stir up the spirits. Let’s tell the world over here that we have some hot Elementalists left!” 

Suddenly, I remembered Orgen with the back-in-stock sticker in the bin at the grocery store.

“How do you do that?”

asked Eileen, who had just blown the image out of her head.

 “You said it before. Free fall.” 

Dozens of question marks popped into Eileen and Cordelia’s heads. Orgen laughed at their stunned faces.

 “It’s easy, you just have to feel the elemental fully. Water, fire, wind, earth and lightning. These five elements are the majority of the spirits that pact with the mortal realm. Well, light or dark. There are also the Spirits of Time, but as far as I know, they haven’t had any contractors in the last few centuries.” 

Orgen drew a picture in the air with his finger and it appeared above the ground. A simple drawing of what appeared to be water, fire, wind, earth, and lightning.

 “Eileen, you just distracted the Wind Elemental. You were knocked out of the air so suddenly that you didn’t have time to think about anything else, but you felt the wind, didn’t you? The chill, the way your clothes whipped around you, the way your breath caught in your throat. You weren’t aware of it, but you were definitely in the realm of sensation. Unfortunately, there was no Wind Elemental willing to make a “pact”.” 

A life-saving aggro.

 

All it took to summon the spirits was a fantasy world’s worth of outrageous aggression. Tears welled in Eileen’s eyes. She’d gotten a rough idea of what the future held.

 “Don’t worry – this old man will help you like a pro until you find your spirit!” “Can’t we just not sign a contract…” “Come on, let’s go to the water, shall we?” 

A very happy looking Orgen grabbed Eileen’s hand and led her to the lake. Eileen looked desperately at Cordelia for help, but Cordelia narrowed her eyes and looked away.

 “Cordelia, even you!” “Sorry. It’s all for you! If you have a spirit, and no one will mess with you.” 

A calm, but somewhat large lake appeared in front of them.

 “Hya. So, the rich have a lake in their house. Good, we saved ourselves the trouble of traveling far. Now then. I’ll push, or do you want to get in?” 

When he said that, Orgen grinned.

 

Eileen thought it was a devilish smile and took off her shoes.

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