She Professed Herself The Pupil Of The Wiseman (LN) - Volume 3 - Chapter 1

Chapter 1

MIRA’S CARRIAGE rumbled along the gently curving road that cut through the verdant forest between Karanak and Lunatic Lake. With no further business in the City of Requiem, she and Garrett were on their way back to the royal capital.

She looked out the window, taking in the scenery as they traveled. The trees off to the left of the road were much sparser than those to the right, and a riot of colorful wildflowers bloomed in the sunlight.

Just off the roadside ahead, a group of adventurers were engaged in battle against a small pack of monsters—not an uncommon scene in this part of the world. With a steady hand on the reins, Garrett directed the carriage to the far shoulder to give them some extra space.

But just as they were about to pass, a magic circle appeared in the roadway and a raccoon-looking creature sprang up before them. Garrett had neither room nor time to react. 

“Oh…!”

An instant later, Mira heard a cry of pain and felt the carriage wheels thump over something. The creature promptly vanished back into the magic circle.

“What the hell was that?!” she yelled as she turned to look at the driver’s seat, then the path behind them, praying that she wouldn’t see a body lying in the road.

Nothing was there.

She heaved a sigh of relief before remembering that whatever it was it had sounded fairly substantial. Had it been sent flying? She widened her search as she scanned the roadside, looking out into the forest meadow.

Nothing.

The gentle curve of the road stretched off into the distance in both directions. A field of grass swayed in the breeze as the group of adventurers fought. A mountain range towered above, the forest covering its steep slopes until the trees gave way to sheer rock. Wisps of clouds wreathed its peaks under a rich blue sky.

There was no sign of any accident. In fact, the only thing out of the ordinary was that one of the adventurers—a female mage—was looking at their coach with a slightly dazed expression.

“See, I told you,” sighed the male mage casting beside her, giving her shoulder an encouraging pat. “Summoning is a waste of mana. Just stick to providing support with your ethereal spells.”

“I guess so…” The summoner—presumably—slumped in dejection, and her eyes reflected the flames of his spells as they destroyed the monsters.

But above the roar of the flames and the cries of the monsters, someone bellowed, “Did he just say that summoning…is a waste?!”

That someone was Mira.

“Unforgivable!” she shouted as she leapt from the coach, not about to stand by when the art of summoning had been so casually insulted.

Unfortunately, her plan to give a spontaneous demonstration on the power of practical summoning was cut short. Clearly skilled, the adventuring party finished off the last monsters in an eruption of flame as she stalked toward them. Mira was left simmering with indignation that had no outlet as she stood between the two mages.

“I-It came out of nowhere and I couldn’t avoid it. Terribly sorry,” said Garrett, hustling to catch up and address the small group. The vice commander bowed, and the male mage stepped forward to return the gesture.

“Oh, no, the fault is ours. She’s not the best at affixing the summoning point. I told her this might happen.” As he spoke, he nudged the female summoner standing beside him.

“My apologies…” She sounded utterly miserable.

Mira had no time for this song and dance. “So you are a summoner, then?!”

“Well, I… Yes,” the woman replied with a small nod. Considering that she was practicing the least popular school of magic, she was used to chilly reactions and had grown accustomed to feeling inferior.

“I see, I see. A summoner. That’s wonderful!” Mira exclaimed, her face breaking into an unexpected grin.

“I-Is it?” A small smile worked its way onto the woman’s face.

“Well, of course it is! So…you’re having issues affixing your summoning points, eh? Hrmm, I had the same problem way back when. But I’ve got just the trick for that!” As she prattled on, Mira summoned a Dark Knight right next to the woman as if to show how it was done. An aura of bloodlust radiated from the animated armor, and the blackness of its great two-handed sword reflected only terror and despair.

“Where did that…?!” someone shouted.

The knight’s appearance was so sudden, the adventurers didn’t realize a spell had even been cast. In a panic, they readied themselves for battle as the knight stood motionless and stared down at the novice summoner with blood-red eyes.

“Get back!” the male mage yelled.

But the woman didn’t move a muscle. She just stared back, wide-eyed.

“This is an armor spirit, isn’t it?” she asked with a slight lilt in her voice. This spirit was an order of magnitude more terrifying than the Dark Knights she could summon. “Which means that you’re also…”

“Hrmm, yes.” Mira smirked. “I’m a summoner too!”

A murmur rippled through the group.

“Amazing. I’ve never seen a Dark Knight this powerful before,” the novice summoner said in envy before turning to Mira.

“I bet you haven’t!” Mira exclaimed, thinking, Finally! Someone who recognizes summons at first sight!

Then another shout of alarm went up as a massive paladin appeared from nowhere. The newcomer was clad in pure-white armor and carrying a giant tower shield. Instead of terror, the Holy Knight radiated an aura of protection as it turned its glowing red eyes upon the novice. It seemed to have stepped straight out of some legend.

“That’s a Holy Knight, right? I’ve never seen armor spirits this strong. And you summoned them with such accuracy! Amazing!” The excitement in the woman’s voice built as she stared at the white knight.

“With my trick for affixing summoning points, you’ll be able to do it too,” Mira said, basking in the praise as she traced her chin with a finger.

“Really? I’ll really be able to do it like that?” the novice summoner asked, half doubting, but an edge of hope crept into her voice.

As the Elder of the Tower of Evocation, Mira couldn’t abandon one of her own. Staring straight into the woman’s eyes, she nodded decisively.

“Hrmm, it’s simple. Let me show you how it’s done.”

While the other adventurers picked through the spoils of battle, Mira carefully and thoroughly shared her wisdom—even more than when she’d led lessons back at the Silver Towers. Five minutes came and went.

“Like placing a pebble and…”

After being instructed by Mira on the finer points of preparation and visualization techniques, the novice looked down at the circle drawn in the middle of the road and cast her spell. A magic circle appeared, overlapping the drawn circle, and a small raccoon-like creature popped out from the center. The novice threw her hands up in glee as her carbuncle appeared at the exact point she’d specified.

“I did it… I did it!” With tears in her eyes, she scooped Mira up in a hug.

“Hrmm, well done.” Momentarily distracted by the sweet feminine scent mixed with a slight twinge of sweat, Mira regained her composure and offered more praise. “You’re a fast study. You’ll make a splendid summoner!”

And as Danblf, one of the Nine Wise Men and Elder of the Tower of Evocation, she was the most qualified person to make that statement.

“I’ll do my best!” The novice summoner squeezed tighter, overjoyed at the flattery.

Suddenly, a gust of wind blew through the meadow, followed immediately by a black cat, which sprang from the bushes to dash across to the woods on the far side.

“What was that? Another monster?” one of the adventurers asked as he readied his sword.

“No, a wind spirit,” said the novice, peering toward the tree line. “And I think it was being chased.”

“Hrmm, chased by a cat, it would seem,” Mira muttered, hand on her chin as she dug back into her memories. There was a type of monster called an elemental eater, but they had demon-like horns and a monstrous appearance…nothing that could be mistaken for a cat.

The trees rustled, and the wind spirit cut across the field once more. Without hesitating, Mira bolted forward to catch the following cat and cradled it to her chest.

“What have we here…?”

It was quite a bit lighter than it appeared—in fact, it didn’t feel like physical weight at all. And yet the way it looked up at her face and meowed pleasantly was completely normal cat behavior.

“Huh? That cat is full of strange magic,” the sorcerer said, intrigued. He stared at the cat cuddled to Mira’s chest. Oho, is that so? Mira looked back down at the cat. There was a simple player action that revealed simple information about a subject.

“Well, now…it’s a shikigami,” she muttered, as the words Shikigami: Meowmaru floated above the cat. It mewed softly and gently pawed at her. It was absolutely adorable. She stopped herself from cooing over the animal as she realized the eyes of the adventurers were still on her.

Shikigami were normally the familiars of mediums, those who practiced the school of divination. They came in countless shapes and forms, from simple animals like cats to all sorts of imaginary creatures.

“Hrmm, there’s still something off about it…”

“Um…?”

The sound of a female voice fluttering on the wind caught Mira’s ear as she rubbed the cat’s belly. Suddenly, the shikigami cried out and squirmed free of her hands before dashing behind her. Her plan to recapture the familiar was cut short when she realized the wind spirit was standing nearby.

“Wh-what were you going to do with Mr. Cat?!” the spirit demanded with a concerned expression, peeking out from behind a tree at the edge of the road. In her arms, she held Meowmaru protectively.

Hadn’t the cat just been chasing the spirit? Now it seemed they were quite good friends.

“Ah… No particular intentions,” Mira said, trying to make sense of the situation.

The spirit’s face dropped. “Then…then…y-you’re here to get me, aren’t you?!” she shouted as the air began to hum. A small vortex whipped up around them.

“What? What’s going on?” cried the swordsman, readying his blade.

“This wind isn’t natural!” The knight gripped his shield tightly and prepared to defend.

Warrior classes weren’t able to commune with spirits, but the whirlwind suddenly appearing around them was unmissable.

The sorcerer sighed as he explained the situation. “There’s a wind spirit over there. We told her we had no ill intentions regarding the cat, so now she thinks that we’re after her. Not sure why.” 

“So what do we do?”

“Let’s all calm down,” Mira said. She knew that spirits were usually benevolent toward humans and could be reasoned with. “I only caught Meowmaru because I thought he was chasing after you. That’s it.” Her gaze flickered to the cat.

“Meowmaru?” the spirit echoed, tilting her head in puzzlement.

“The name of that shikigami. You weren’t aware?”

The wind spirit stared incredulously at her. Mira tried to explain the situation as they had seen it. To them, it looked like that cat had been chasing after the spirit. She’d only picked it up in an attempt to help. That was when she discovered that the cat was in fact a shikigami named Meowmaru. As Mira’s explanation progressed, the force of the whirlwind lessened.

“Ohhh… Ah. Um, I’m sorry.” The spirit apologized, still holding Meowmaru in her arms.

“No, no… We misread the situation. Sorry we butted in like that.”

The pair smiled at each other in relief, and the spirit told Mira that she had only been playing tag with Meowmaru. The adventurers relaxed and laughed as the tension drained away.

“So Mr. Cat—or Meowmaru, I suppose—you’re a shikigami?” The wind spirit looked down at Meowmaru, who stared back in return.

“Meow.”

“I don’t suppose you know who Meowmaru there belongs to, do you?” Mira asked.

“No, we first met when I was being attacked by the scary people.” Her fear was apparent, but then her eyes lit up. “Meowmaru saved me from danger, though I don’t think there were any mediums in the area at the time. We’ve played together ever since, but I haven’t met his medium yet.”

“Hrmm, with no mage in the picture, it could be that Meowmaru is an autonomous shikigami,” Mira surmised, taking in the particulars of the spirit’s story.

Shikigami had two main types: the responsive, which were directly controlled by their mages, and the autonomous, which acted of their own free will.

Something didn’t add up here. “You said you were attacked? Are you sure they were people?”

Humanity and nature spirits lived in harmony. Furthermore, as their name implied, nature spirits could control the natural powers of the world. It would take someone immensely powerful to stand against them.

“Yes. I was basking in the moonlight beside a lake when I was suddenly surrounded by fierce-looking humans bearing weapons. I fled through the woods, and then Meowmaru jumped out and chased them all away.” As the spirit spoke, various emotions fought for control of her expression.

“Attacking a spirit is an unthinkable offense!” the novice summoner cut in.

“Hrmm, indeed it is.”

They both understood the importance of the bond between the spirits and humanity. Even the warriors in the group knew that much.

Unlike monsters, nature spirits weren’t aggressive—on the contrary, they were known to grant boons and lend aid when needed. They didn’t even drop loot. Whoever attacked a spirit would earn only the wrath of nature and the label of sinner throughout the three great kingdoms.

But that was back when the world was a game. Perhaps something had changed when the world became reality. Perhaps there was now something to be gained by turning on a trusted neighbor. As Mira pondered, she found herself disgusted by the possible depths of human greed.

“I’m very grateful for Meowmaru,” the wind spirit murmured. “I heard that some of my other friends have been attacked and abducted.”

“Wait, you’re saying there are more people out there attacking spirits?”

“So it seems. But I had Meowmaru to protect me…” The spirit squeezed the cat tightly in her trembling arms as her face showed a mix of worry and grief.

If it’s happening in multiple locations, it could be the work of villains who hunt spirits for a living, Mira speculated. She had no knowledge of any way spirits might bring about wealth, or who might be in the market for them. Many spirits, like the wind spirit before them, were quite beautiful. It could be that they were captured with the purpose of being ornaments or pets. Perhaps someone was looking to convert their power into military might.

But spirits had no mercy for those who would do them harm. They were powerful enough to destroy a small village single-handedly if angered. Yet, if the spirit was to be believed, it seemed like someone had found a way to capture them. If these kidnappers knew they were facing a spirit and still chose to attack, it meant they were supremely confident in their capabilities.

Thirty years had passed since the game became reality, and new techniques had surely been developed. Mira had seen new wonders with her own eyes such as the Accord Cannon, a masterpiece of technomancy. Progress marched ever onward, great and terrible in equal measure—so it was possible that someone had found a way to subdue spirits.

But how was it possible that a cat was scary enough to drive those people off?

I don’t have enough information… No matter how much she mulled it over, she couldn’t reach a definitive conclusion. This was a matter to bring up with Solomon and Luminaria. If there were organized foes who could capture spirits, perhaps they knew something about the matter.

She sighed heavily and abandoned that train of thought. Best to turn her attention back to the immediate.

“So you have friends besides Meowmaru?” she asked the spirit, an impish smirk tugging at the corners of her mouth.

“Of course I do!” The spirit exclaimed and began to pout.

“Hrmm… Meowmaru…” Mira murmured. The cat’s name elicited certain memories. Perhaps this wasn’t an autonomous shikigami after all. In that case, considering the creature had triumphed over whatever was hunting spirits, its master must be terribly powerful indeed. 

A name floated to the surface of her memory…Kagura the Seven Stars, Elder of the Tower of Divination. The school of divination made use of numerous techniques utilizing shikigami, the most versatile of which were the Four Guardians: Suzaku the phoenix, Genbu the tortoise, Seiryuu the dragon, and Byakko the tiger could be called upon by only the strongest mediums. Once a shikigami was mastered, they could be named. Kagura herself had renamed all four: Tweetsuke, Kushellge, Henryu, and Growlta. And a name like Meowmaru fit right in. Kagura had scores of shikigami, and all of them had silly names.

It couldn’t be…

It had to be a coincidence. Surely there had to be someone else out there with the same strange sense of humor.

Whoever they were, they were powerful. And if they were a medium, perhaps they might have heard a rumor regarding Kagura’s whereabouts. It was all conjecture, but it was the first lead Mira had found since her mission to locate Soul Howl had ended unsuccessfully. She carefully stored the information in the corner of her mind.

Any clue was better than no clue.