Sitting down next to Kazuki while on their way back to the Academy, Mio kept glancing at him while her cheeks were blushing a bright red, feeling shame.
“...What did I say…?”
Kazuki smiled, “Just that you love me.”
Mio gaped, “--I don’t remember it well.”
“Talking about that, what was it like? Was it like an aphrodesiac, or like being drunk?”
Kazuki couldn’t tell, because if Mio was just feeling lust -- why would she declare her love for him over and over. Could it be that she was a lovey drunk?
“Don’t remember, I don’t remember! I don’t remember anything at all!” She frantically denied, waving her hands.
“Well, a two-man party might be too difficult.” Kazuki said, thoughtfully changing the topic.
Mio, taken aback, widened her eyes, “I don’t wanna. I don’t want a strange person added to my party with Kazuki!!”
“But…With only the two of us, the breadth of our tactics is too narrow.”
At the moment, the Flame Magic of Phenex was Kazuki’s strongest -- he could use level 1 of Asmodeus, but tentacles couldn’t help against Monsters that could split and reform. If they were to encounter enemies with fire resistance and other special tricks, they would likely have trouble…just like today.
But, with a resolute expression, Mio shook her head.
“It’s fine! I…will become stronger for sure! To the extent that we won’t ever need other people!!”
Kazuki had a feeling that it wasn’t a problem that could be simply solved by growing strong -- which made him curious as to why the Academy would ever allow their students to ever hunt alone…but maybe they knew more than he did. But, as Mio grasped at his hand and stared intently at him with upturned eyes, Kazuki felt bad arguing against her.
However, if I had access to more kinds of Magic, then this problem would be settled.
If I wish to become strong and protect Mio, I will need to get another girl to reach positivity values of 65. As Leme says, I need to become the Harem King.
Subconsciously, Kazuki poured Magic Power into his Magic Armour -- Solomon’s Ring -- and a familiar graph appeared, floating in front of his eyes.
Amasaki Mio: 124
Otonashi Kaguya: 75
Hiakari Koyuki: 46
Hoshikaze Hikaru: 39
Mio was staying motionless and quiet as she leaned against Kazuki’s side and squeezed his hand.
Before long, the train arrived at the station in front of the Academy.
***
“Mio will fall to B-Rank if she keeps this up.”
When the first day of school -- after Golden Week -- ended, Kazuki was called into the staff room. There, the home-room teacher, Elizabeth told him.
You are reading story Magika no Kenshi to Shoukan Maou — Fix at novel35.com
“Huh?” Was all that came from Kazuki’s mouth.
“Losing to an E-Rank like you was already fatal. Then, after this, she failed a Quest, so her evaluation has dropped drastically. If she keeps this up, she will be demoted to B-Rank.”
“Please wait a second! Certainly she hasn’t shown any results yet, but it’s obvious that she can wield a lot of power, right?!” Kazuki couldn’t help but interject.
“There are also students who have grown by a remarkable amount, chances must be given equally.” Elizabeth explained calmly.
Normally, first-year students who were evaluated as A-Rank could stay in the Witches’ Academy, as a privilege -- there, they would receive instruction from their seniors.
Being demoted from A-Rank to B-Rank means that they would be evicted from the Witches’ Mansion.
Seeing the worry on Kazuki’s face, Elizabeth spoke again, “Mio is a special case and it is likely that I could argue for her to stay in the Witches’ Mansion.”
“Thank you,” Kazuki replied, but he knew how much A-Rank meant to Mio…if she was demoted, it would break her heart.
“Right now, with Loki acting violently, the situation is that everyone with power need to complete Quests. Even if she is A-Rank, if she is slacking off; being demoted might motivate her.”
“But, Mio isn’t slacking off at all!” Kazuki defended her.
Every morning since forming a party with Kazuki, Mio had always practiced Magic training in her spare time.
“Why is this matter being brought up to me, instead of the person herself?”
“Both of you are in a two-man party, aren’t you? If you think her evaluation is incorrect, then you have to support your teammate.” Elizabeth looked at Kazuki, as though reading his thoughts, “The quickest, and easiest, way for me to help is to add Hiakari Koyuki to your party. This will allow you a chance to become closer to her, increasing your power, while also increasing Mio’s chances in Quests.”
Elizabeth’s eyes seemed to glint. She knew about how Leme’s power worked.
Maybe that’s the real reason she called me here?
“But, neither Mio, nor Koyuki, will agree to form a party together.” Kazuki said, trying to keep the annoyance from his voice.
“It’s evident that your sense of danger isn’t enough, for you to be so particular about this…By the way, this is a completely different topic, but in the case that you ‘became friendly’ with a Summoner who has a Contract with a Spirit from outside the 72 Pillars, what would happen? Can you also use the Magic of that Spirit?”
Lemegeton materialized beside Kazuki before he could blurt anything out.
“As long as the other party desires to cooperate with me, then I can utilize that Spirit’s characteristic Magic. However, it’s quite rare for Spirits from other Mythologies to cooperate with me, though -- some mythologies run counter to each other. While the 72 Pillars have no exact enemies, a lot of the mythologies don’t trust us because of our mostly-neutral stance.” Leme said with a small frown.
“Hmm, is that so?” Elizabeth looked down, whispering “Is it worth testing this…?”
Testing?
In Japan, contracting a Spirit that wouldn’t serve the government was illegal, so there wouldn’t be much of a chance of getting a Spirit who was willing to sign a Contract in that kind of situation.
“Leme is saying this, just so you know. The reason that the 72 Pillars are willing -- to a degree -- serve the government is because our mythology is based on how we were assigned to serve Solomon. There aren’t any other mythologies like that…though some Spirits’ mythologies do have them serving humans, or working with them, for the greater good.” Leme said, “So, it may be possible…if you are lucky enough to find one like that.”
“Understood. It’s okay for you to go back now.” Elizabeth said, waving her hand like she was chasing Kazuki out.