The shimmering golden hair.
Recognizing the other party, I instinctively bowed my head.
Well, to be precise, I attempted to bow.
“Don’t bother.”
I slowly straightened my bent waist and found myself locking eyes with a golden gaze.
“It’s because you’re my senior.”
“Ahhh…”
I quickly retreated towards the wall of the staircase.
Blocking the path of the royal family—under normal circumstances, it would’ve been a severe offense.
With every movement, an oppressive aura radiated from them—not to be taken lightly.
“Excuse me, but I saw your previous bout.”
“Ah…”
So, they saw that…
“It was quite… spectacular.”
Embarrassment made it hard to settle my discomfort. The thought of the princess witnessing my fountain-like display was mortifying.
“What kind of magic was that?”
“It’s not magic—it’s a kind of curse.”
“A curse?”
I gestured towards the cursed familiar in my arms, Lily.
“My familiar, Lily, can cast various curses.”
“A curse that activates so quickly? As far as I know, curses are typically slower in nature.”
“True. Lily not only casts curses but accelerates the symptoms.”
“The acceleration of a curse, you say…”
The princess seemed lost in thought, her chin in hand.
‘Ugh, being in the presence of such high-ranking figures is making my chest feel tight…’
I wished this exchange would be over soon.
Finally, the princess spoke.
“Could your summoning familiar slow down a curse as well?”
‘Slow down a curse?’
“-Is it possible?”
“Of course, anything weaker than something capable of overwhelming me, we can slow down—or even destroy.”
Indeed, the visitor had spoken.
“It’s possible.”
“…”
At that moment, I read an emotion in the princess’s eyes that didn’t seem right coming from her.
‘What on earth is this…?’
I was flustered by the realization that it was something entirely unexpected.
As I tried to observe further, the princess suddenly turned her body away.
“Thank you for answering my question. That’s all.”
The princess’s back quickly disappeared down the stairs.
‘What exactly was the purpose of that conversation…?’
It completely escaped me.
As I tilted my head in confusion, a voice reached my ears.
“-Are we heading back to the room right away?”
“Hmm…”
Truthfully, I wanted to spend some time playing with Lily, but…
“-Can we stay until the next bout?”
“Next bout?”
“Yes, the one between Ilina and the princess.”
I’d seen Ilina fight before during a practical test. Using elegant moves, she bestowed eternal winter upon her enemies—a memory that still lingered.
Ilina versus the princess—it would surely be something not to miss.
Also, there was part of me that really wanted to witness the royal family’s magic firsthand, as I had only read about their abilities in books.
Of course, I would go back if Lily decided otherwise.
“-Alright. But tonight’s meal…”
Her gaze shifted toward my lips.
Understanding the meaning, I smiled and tightly embraced Lily.
“-Thank you for compromising, Lily.”
Indeed, she was a kind visitor.
—
When I entered the lounge, eyes turned my way.
Among them were different kinds of emotions:
Eyes filled with shock.
Eyes filled with fear.
Eyes that seemed surprised.
And…
“Senior!”
Playful violet eyes full of mischief.
“Callisa.”
“Hahaha! That was an incredible fight!”
“Yeah, thanks.”
“Ho ho ho… It was such a treat to see that arrogant face of yours twist up like that…”
An ominous smile spread across Callisa’s face.
‘Why does Leti come to mind?’
For some reason, they seemed like a good pair.
“Ah! By the way, did you see my match? I don’t think you responded earlier.”
“I saw it. It was impressive.”
“Really?”
Callisa smiled while kneeling and then turned her attention to Lily in my arms.
“I suppose she noticed as well?”
While I pondered how to respond…
Sweeeeeeep…
Lily extended her hand, or rather her paw, and pressed it against Callisa’s cheek.
“What? What’s this…”
Callisa suddenly stopped speaking and lost focus.
‘What, what is Lily doing?’
Is it dangerous?
When I grew worried…
“…Got it.”
Callisa blinked and nodded, then stood up and spoke to me cheerfully.
“Senior, are you here for the next bout?”
“Yeah, uh-huh.”
“I really want to watch it as well, but my teacher called me. See you later, Senior!”
Callisa rushed off from the lounge.
As if a storm had just passed through, I turned to Lily with a puzzled look.
“-What was that just now?”
“I contacted her telepathically, just like we’re doing now.”
“What did you say?”
“…”
After a moment of silence, Lily replied,
“-I told her I’ll find her soon.”
“Find Callisa?”
“No, the entity behind her.”
“The entity behind Callisa?”
“…”
“That wouldn’t be dangerous, right?”
“Yeah, don’t worry. Cthugha isn’t that violent. I met him once before. Oh, and… he’s family.”
Another family member?
By this point, I began suspecting that the visitors might not all derive from one bloodline.
‘If that’s the case, where does this bloodline originate?’
As I started pondering this, …
“-It’s beginning.”
The feed switched to show two figures tied up their respective silver and golden hair standing boldly.
Both their postures and auras were strikingly similar.
Had it not been for their distinctly different hair and eye colors, one might have mistaken them for sisters.
Especially their highborn grace was identical.
An official raised their hand, then dropped it.
At that sound,
Crack-crack-crack…
Starting at Ilina’s feet, frost began spreading across the stage.
Within an instant, it froze the entire arena into solid ice.
‘Absolute zero… she’s already using that…’
Judging from this, Ilina was clearly planning to give it her all.
Even as the referee slipped and fell, the princess remained perfectly balanced.
…No, slightly different.
The icy floor had one part that refused to freeze: where the princess stood.
From behind, a circle of light emerged from the princess.
A rotating ring of brilliant sunlight, it was unmistakable.
This was something I’d read about multiple times in books.
‘The Halo… so this is what it looks like in reality!’
A famous heritage spell of the royal family, the Halo was a symbol of their prestige.
There had been past friction with the holy nation due to its form, but regardless…
Another flash erupted around the princess.
A prelude to a spell, it seemed. Ilina wouldn’t let that stand still.
Around Ilina, frost began swirling violently again, this time forming ice solely in front of her, heading straight toward the princess.
Just as the ice surge neared, a flash emerged from the princess.
The ice melted instantly.
The light that pooled around the princess formed a total of three spheres.
Another heritage spell: the Helios System.
This magic mimicked the planets orbiting the solar system.
Her skills weren’t refined enough yet to form eight, but even with three, it was impressive.
If all eight spheres had manifested, Ilina wouldn’t have stood a chance.
However,
Crack-crack-crack…
An unusual noise spread from Ilina.
‘She’s not waiting any longer, it seems.’
Violent frost spread once more.
This was a heritage spell of Frostgate’s elite family. Niflheim.
The frost absorbed moisture from the air, instantly freezing it.
Huge sheets of ice emerged, forming an almost glacier-like barrier.
It extended and covered even where the princess stood.
Now enclosed inside a massive ice block, she was nowhere to be seen.
‘Trapped inside, it seems.’
‘That’s quite skilled for a human.’
Considering this praise from Lily…
Ilina definitely surpassed her peers.
‘This is over. No one could break through such an ice wall.’
“Hm? What do you mean?”
“Wha?”
“I wasn’t talking about the blue-haired one.”
“Then…”
At the moment the referee was about to announce victory, they turned their gaze back toward the icy wall.
A red dot appeared at the center of the wall.
The dot expanded rapidly, bubbling on the frozen surface.
Suddenly,
Ziiiiiing!
A nerve-wracking sound accompanied the light breaking through the ice, instantly melting it away.
The ice shattered and collapsed in large chunks.
There, in the center, stood the princess with quiet elegance.
The red beam of light.
I’d seen this phenomenon in a science textbook, not a magic one.
“Could that be a laser?”
“Yeah, and quite a powerful one implemented by magic.”
Using science, albeit only theoretically—let alone applying it in combat, was truly deserving of the royal family, the specialists in light magic.
After escaping Niflheim, the princess retaliated.
Flashes of light darted everywhere toward Ilina.
Ilina’s ice melted and crumbled.
She attempted to intercept with sharp shards of ice, but they disintegrated upon contact with the light.
Ilina kept retreating.
It seemed the match was destined to end with the princess’s victory.
‘Wait… what?’
Unexpectedly, the situation shifted.
The light that had been targeting Ilina began scattering in all directions.
Zooming in on the details, I couldn’t help but exclaim.
‘This is diffuse reflection! She can do something like this?’
Ilina changed tactics.
Although it took more time, she created pure, crystal-clear ice that reflected or refracted the princess’s light beams.
Upon closer reflection, this scene had been depicted in a book I’d read.
A Frostgate mage once refracted the emperor’s light magic to obliterate an entire army.
Who would have thought she could apply this so skillfully.
The scattered light hit the protective barrier surrounding the arena.
The magic itself, being of royal origin, made the shield tremble.
And then, the lights dimmed.
After the dazzling display, it took a moment for my eyes to adjust.
As my vision returned, I saw both fighters had ceased their magic.
The princess and Ilina seemed to consult one another briefly.
The referee then announced,
“This match ends in a draw!”
Apparently, they mutually agreed to halt the engagement upon seeing the state of the arena.
Judging by the devastated arena, it was clear the outcome wouldn’t have been simple.
‘Looks like there’ll be some commotion again…’
Is it more impressive that the princess matched with the top senior of the third year?
Or more noteworthy that Ilina held her ground against the princess?
Either way, this would be a hot topic for a while.
“-Shall we go?”
I nodded in response to Lily’s question.
As we exited the viewing area, students began streaming out.
Having witnessed the main event between Ilina and the princess, they likely felt they’d seen enough.
‘Well, probably the same for me.’
After seeing their fight, it felt satisfying.
‘I didn’t expect to see heritage spells too.’
Regardless, the rest of the matches held no interest for me.
I mingled with the flow of students heading back to the dorm.
“-What would you like to eat for lunch?”
I recalled Lily’s earlier promise.
In exchange for staying to watch Ilina and the princess fight, today’s lunch would be delivered personally…
Memories of last time resurfaced.
“Anything seems delicious right now…”
“Hehehe, is that so?”
With a touch of anticipation for what was to come, I headed toward the dorm.
At that moment,
“S-Senior!”
A hand lightly grabbed my elbow.
The touch was so gentle I might not have noticed it at all had I not caught the movement out of the corner of my eye.
Turning my head…
A female student looked up at me with bright eyes.
‘Gah! Why is she here?’
The last time I’d encountered this first-year was at the welcoming party—and she was someone I’d been told to keep an eye on.
“Y-You watched the match well!”
It was the maiden from the welcoming party, candidate for the Holy Maiden, Clana.
