Chapter 88

【88】87.

“Professor, is it true that a fairy was discovered at the Island of Beasts?”

Eliza raised her hand and asked seriously.

Yura, who had been grabbing Ulta by the collar like a thug, sighed and let go.

“There was a sighting story among the second-year students who were here for practice two days ago.”

At that, the students began whispering.

“Of course, it’s all nonsense! In all my years as a teacher, and even as a student, I’ve never heard of a fairy being found on the Island of Beasts…!”

Yura, who had been speaking with confidence, hesitated and looked at Leo.

‘Wait. Come to think of it, phoenixes were also originally believed to not exist on the Island of Beasts.’

Yet one day, out of nowhere, a first-year managed to make a contract.

‘With a young phoenix too.’

Yura wore a serious expression.

‘Could it be there’s really a fairy as well?’

Just then, as this thought crossed her mind,

Ulta, who had slipped away from Yura’s grip, straightened his uniform and shouted.

“Younger students! If you are summoners, you must harbor the dream of the Three Great Familiars!”

The first-years’ eyes sparkled.

Why wouldn’t they?

Every summoner dreams of it at some point — the vision of themselves making a contract with one of the Three Great Familiars!

Of course, since fairies generally form contracts with elves, there haven’t been many instances of anyone besides elves making contracts with them over the long history.

However, the chance to meet and form contracts with powerful familiars still exists!

This is a habit of summoners — they would dive into both blazing fires and the depths of the ocean for such an opportunity.

“Do you not wish to see a fairy?”

“I do!”

“Hey! Don’t incite the first-years with such uncertain rumors!”

Yura, who had been lost in thought, came back to her senses and bristled with anger.

Looking at Yura, Ulta sighed deeply.

“Professor, I’m disappointed in you. When I was a first-year, you were the Assistant Professor who was full of dreams!”

“…Try spending three years as a full professor in Lumeran. And see how you feel.”

“Aaah! Seeing your weakened adult form, compromised by reality, fills me with great sadness! Isn’t it because you’ve chosen such a dreary existence that you’ve grown increasingly irritable?”

A vein bulged on Yura’s forehead.

Pfft-!

Just as Yura was about to lunge at Ulta, Carlo stopped her and shouted.

“Professor! Calm down! Calm down!”

“Let me k*ll him… Let me k*ll that loudmouthed j*rk!”

It’s only Ulta who can speak so freely to the professor, even as a fifth-year student, in front of everyone.

The first-years shuddered at the sight of Yura’s prominent veins.

After a while, Yura, who had managed to calm down, asked.

“Well, Ulta. Since the Interdepartmental Competition is coming up, I assume you’re not thinking about a simple fairy hunt, are you?”

At that, Ulta smirked.

“Isn’t that obvious?”

Seeing Ulta smiling brightly, the female students screamed, “Eeek!”

“Students, what did I tell you was the fundamental mindset for summoners?”

“Compassion.”

“No, love.”

All the first-years turned to look at Yura.

“There’s nothing you can do but filter out what you need. Still, his skills are solid, so his advice may help you.”

The first-years nodded.

Having been through a great deal at the Lumeran Academy, the first-years accepted this attitude.

“It’s not about loving just the familiars you have contracted with. You must be capable of loving all familiars! And you must be able to work towards harmony based on trust! Yes! The unity of yourself with the familiar! Harmony with nature! That is the true love for familiars!”

The first-years looked at Yura with furrowed brows.

Despite trying to filter Yura’s words as instructed, the first-years’ level wasn’t high enough to fully understand Ulta’s words.

Yura massaged her temples.

“So… to interpret this, it means you must elevate your affinity so that you can interact with familiars you haven’t contracted with… Hey! Speak normally! Normally!”

After Yura’s explosive shout, she took a deep breath.

“I understand now. That’s what you mean, right? Though it’s a bit premature for these kids.”

Yura smirked.

Just from that smile, resembling that of a cat, the first-years felt a sudden sense of unease.

Whenever she wore such a grin, something unfortunate was bound to happen.

“The same for Ain and that arrogant guy Ren; they’re pushing the first-years too hard. So, it seems we must do the same.”

“Exactly.”

“But if we want to do that, there’s quite a bit of paperwork…”

“Already done.”

Seeing the stack of documents Ulta handed her, Yura exclaimed in admiration, “Impressive, Ulta! Excellent!”

“You flatter me.”

The first-years grew increasingly uneasy at the sight of two people, who were just talking about killing each other moments ago, now getting along so well.

After all, Yura too wasn’t exactly a person of normal thinking.

On the contrary, she might be the quirkiest professor at Lumeran.

Yura grinned.

“First-years! For the next 3 days, you’ll be at the Island of Beasts for a special class. Your senior has already arranged for you to stay out, so there won’t be any problems.”

“Huh?”

“But I made plans to meet someone in Lumeria tomorrow…”

“We need our weekends off!”

Ignoring the students’ complaints, Yura shrugged indifferently.

“Why should I care about that? You all just said you wanted to find a fairy!”

“Well, yeah, but…”

“Eliza, say something. Professor Yura listens to you, doesn’t she!”

Although the top student in the Department of Summoning is Warden, the most trusted student by the professors is Eliza because Warden shows no interest in department work, while Eliza diligently assists the department.

But Eliza’s response was nonchalant.

“As it is a suggestion by Professor and Senior Ulta, it must be for our benefit. As long as there’s a comfy bed and good food, I’m fine with it.”

The students despaired at Eliza’s words.

But Yura looked quite surprised.

“Huh? Eliza Hergin. What is this nonsense about a comfy bed and yummy food? Where on earth are you going to find that?”

“Wha—?”

Even Eliza was slightly startled this time.

“The wilderness is what you will experience.”

Yura crossed her arms and smiled with a primal intensity.

“Surviving in this ecosystem created by the great nature itself! That’s your task from today!”

“What?”

“You expect us to live in the forest for three days?”

“It’s not just staying in the forest simply.”

Ulta smirked.

“For three days, the use of summoning magic will be prohibited. Also, the use of aura or magic will be restricted. Survive solely on your own strength amidst that forest!”

“Eeek?”

“Is that even possible? The Island of Beasts is filled with all sorts of familiars and spirits.”

Familiars and spirits that aren’t contracted are very dangerous beings.

Especially if one encounters familiars and spirits that are hostile to humans, there’s a chance of losing one’s life.

So for the first-years to survive for three days on an island teeming with wild familiars and spirits was enough to make anyone apprehensive.

“A summoner must be able to handle familiars without taming them.”

“Yes, but…”

“Of course, if you don’t want to participate, you can quit.”

Yura said this with a poker face.

“But I won’t give any special training during the Interdepartmental Competition to those who quit. The gap with the students from the Departments of Knights and Magic will grow, naturally.”

The faces of the summoners hardened stiff.

“I told you on the first day of class, didn’t I? You can’t be like students from other departments.”

The students balled their fists.

“When you consider the familiars and spirits you might have to deal with in the future, this isn’t even that risky. Do you think I’d recklessly put you in danger?”

“N, no.”

“So, you understand the reason for this training, don’t you?”

With Yura’s question, the students remained silent.

Just as no one dared to hastily offer an answer,

“Isn’t it because young summoners these days lack understanding of familiars?”

All eyes turned to Leo.

Yura grinned.

“Why do you think so?”

“Because in this world, where one can easily get summoning intermediaries with money, and even through the Hero’s World to contract powerful familiars with ease.”

Leo gazed out at the lush forest.

“Many summoners have obtained powerful familiars, but in doing so, they’ve grown distant from what truly matters.”

“….”

“When the landscape changes after directly finding and contracting a familiar, that’s a natural evolution.”

“That sounds rather outdated advice, junior,” Ulta said, his eyes gleaming.

“But because of that, it’s the right answer.”

Yura smirked.

“Leo’s right. Sure, you can easily acquire a powerful familiar with an intermediary, but it’s hard to fully utilize their abilities.”

Yura looked at the students and continued.

“We summoners are humans who communicate with the special beings that use the power of nature. In that sense, we both conform to and dominate parts of nature.”

Everyone focused on Yura’s words.

“The reason Ulta talked about embracing everything is the same. How many of you summoners here have witnessed the true essence of the familiars you handle?”

Yura narrowed her eyes.

“Did you directly see their true forms and made contracts with them? Aren’t they simply the familiars your families helped you obtain or the ones you easily gained during class?”

No one answered her question.

“With such an approach, you cannot truly practice summoning. You must experience nature and understand the familiars and spirits living within it more deeply. That is one of the paths for summoners to reach a higher level.”

Yura grinned.

“Still yearn for a cozy bed and a good meal?”

“No!”

“Do you want to reach greater heights?”

“Yes!”

“Good! Let’s channel that energy!”

Yura clenched her fists.

“Alright, so here’s the small kn*fe each of you will need.”

“And here’s this butterfly net I’ll share with you.”

Ulta laughed.

“You truly think you can catch a fairy with that, don’t you?”

Yura squinted.

“Isn’t it possible?”

“I sometimes feel embarrassed that you’re the best student in the Department of Summoning.”

Though Yura said this earnestly, Ulta simply smiled.

*

The Island of Beasts was one of the largest islands in Lumeria Lake.

By size alone, it was significantly larger than the main island where the Lumeran students resided.

Thus, deep at its heart stretched a vast wilderness.

The summoning students suddenly thrown into this wilderness all wore expressions of tension.

Without the use of magic, they had to be prepared for any situation.

Meanwhile, they also carried a strange sense of anticipation.

It was because of the story about the fairies Ulta had mentioned.

As students began to set up their individual resting places for the three days,

this training was also geared towards the upcoming Interdepartmental Competition’s Battle Royale, hence it was set up as an individual fight.

‘You’re not allowed to fight each other. However, collaboration during emergency situations is possible. But each person must take care of their own bed and food.’

That’s what Yura said before sending the students into the forest.

‘This training will also serve as a practical exam, so do your best!’

‘The summoning lessons are pretty hardcore, huh.’

It was at this time, while Leo was searching for edible fruits for his meal preparation,

“Fa, fairy! Fairy!”

A frantic voice rang out in the distance.

Seeing the surrounding students move quickly in response to that shout, Leo also hastened towards the call.

However, when he arrived, one of the first-year male summoners had been caught by a flower-shaped plant with teeth and was calling out.

“It’s a fairy! A fairy!”

“…The idiot here can’t even recognize a plant-type familiar and recklessly approached it?”

“Ouch! Fool!”

A few students approached to help their embarrassed peer with disapproving looks.

“Running here without thinking makes me seem like the fool.”

Eliza frowned and turned away.

Just as the students dispersed again,

Leo looked up at the tree.

There, a mischievous fairy prince, clutching his stomach, was rolling around on a branch laughing.

‘He needs a good hit to come to his senses.’

——————==