Book 1 Chapter 89

【89】88. Keuran excitedly flew around the forest.

This mischievous fairy enjoyed teasing the students.

[Hahahaha! Fools! Do you think I'd get caught by a flimsy butterfly net like that?]

Keuran, having thoroughly provoked another first-year student, hummed a tune.

[Who should I pick on next?]

*Swoosh-*!

[……?]

A net flew in instantly and snatched Keuran.

Keuran, caught in the flimsy butterfly net in the blink of an eye, wore a blank expression.

[Gasp?]

Keuran, whose eyes met Leo's, looked horrified.

"I sent you here to stay quiet, not to cause trouble, do you understand?"

[Oh, it's a misunderstanding! I tell you, a misunderstanding! There's a reason I'm here… *Gasp*!]

Leo, clutching Keuran, asked.

"What's the reason?"

[It seems like something strange has happened on this island, so I was investigating!]

"What?"

Leo looked surprised.

That night.

After sunset, Leo ate fruits he had gathered from various parts of the island and asked.

"So, what you're saying is that the magical beasts on the Isle of Magical Beasts have become violent, and they sent you to investigate?"

[That's right.]

"For someone investigating, you seemed to be teasing the Lumerne students quite a bit, though?"

Although he had lost his power as a fairy prince, Keuran was still a fairy.

Moreover, he had regained some strength by acquiring a pair of wings.

He was a magical beast that neither first-years nor even second-years could find.

However, the day after Keuran arrived on the Isle of Magical Beasts, rumors about a fairy spread far and wide.

[That's because…!]

"That's because?"

[Because the students' reactions when they discovered me and made a fuss were amusing!]

"So, in the end, you forgot your original purpose and were just playing around, weren't you?"

Leo, who had tied Keuran to a vine and hung him upside down over a bonfire, fell into thought.

'Something strange has happened on the Isle of Magical Beasts?'

This island is currently practically Pyrina's domain.

There's no way she wouldn't notice a change happening on the island.

"What about Ms. Pyrina? Why did she send you?"

[That Phoenix named Pyrina isn't on this island right now! Let me go! Let me go!]

Keuran, struggling, said urgently.

"She's not on the island?"

[Yes! She hasn't been here since three days ago, when you sent us here! In a letter, she said she was temporarily returning to her contractor a few days ago…! *Gasp*!]

*Whoosh-*!

Keuran's body caught fire.

Keuran, who had barely escaped, rolled around on the ground to extinguish the fire on his body.

"How did you know something strange was happening in the forest?"

[Fiora told me?]

"Fiora?"

Leo stroked his chin.

Indeed, Fiora, Pyrina's daughter, was the second most powerful magical beast on this Isle of Magical Beasts.

Even though she was young and weak, she could fully sense the changes happening in the forest.

'Is it just a coincidence that this strange event happened while Pyrina was absent?'

Leo, narrowing his eyes, stood up from his seat.

'First, I need to find Fiora.'

Summoning her would be the simplest, but they were currently in a practical class.

It was clear that if he used spiritual power when no one else was using summoning magic, he would be immediately caught.

'It would be troublesome if Fiora's identity were revealed.'

Currently, in Lumerne, only Professor Yura of Summoning Studies and Principal Kallian knew that Leo was a Phoenix contractor.

Leo concentrated and called Fiora.

'Fiora.'

He could communicate with high-ranking magical beasts even when far away.

This was because they were mentally linked as contractors.

However, Fiora did not answer Leo's call.

'Fiora? If you hear me, answer.'

"What is this kid doing that she's not answering?"

At Fiora's lack of response, Leo furrowed his brow.

Keuran, who had flown next to Leo, put his clasped hands behind his head and said.

[Isn't it possible she's distracted somewhere and doesn't even know you're calling?]

"……"

That was a quite plausible explanation.

Even though she pretended to be mature, Fiora, being a highly curious child, was very easily distracted.

"…All these contractors are just children."

[You're a child yourself.]

Leo sighed at Keuran's grumbling words and concentrated his mind.

And he started walking in the direction where Fiora's power could be felt.

'I'll have to go find her myself.'

***

The direction where Fiora's power was felt was the western end.

'We're currently on the east side of the island, so it's the opposite side.'

Leo, sighing, ventured deeper and deeper into the forest.

There, he encountered students undergoing wilderness training.

To put it simply, the students of Summoning Studies were completely unable to adapt to the wilderness.

Situations constantly arose where they screamed about bugs appearing, or ingested poisonous mushrooms by mistake, foaming at the mouth and collapsing.

Even Eliza, the ace of Summoning Studies, couldn't adapt properly.

'What are they going to do starting tomorrow?'

Leo clucked his tongue, watching the struggling students even before the real hardship had begun.

Of course, not all students were like that.

"Busy at night, Flove."

Woreden, a student of massive build who had been sitting with his arms crossed and eyes closed in front of the bonfire, spoke.

Leo had suppressed his presence and was moving when he coincidentally met him.

Yet, Woreden spoke without even opening his eyes.

"I have something important to do, you see."

Leo calmly shrugged his shoulders.

At his words, Woreden opened his eyes and looked up at the trees.

Among the Knight Department students, few had a physique similar to Woreden's.

On the surface, he looked like he'd engage in tough combat, but in reality, Woreden was quite the intellectual student.

'His scores on general subject written exams, other than his major, were second overall, weren't they?'

First place was Chloe.

Not only that, but his knowledge of magic was also more extensive than most students in the Magic Department.

'Even the knack for combining magic with spirit arts. He truly is remarkable.'

"I'll be looking forward to this Battle Royale, Flove."

"What do you mean?"

"It means I'm going to defeat you."

Leo chuckled at Woreden's flat declaration of war.

"I'll be looking forward to it."

Woreden, upon hearing that reply, closed his eyes.

Leo pushed off a branch and dashed away.

Although he couldn't use aura, he swiftly navigated through the forest using his overwhelming physical abilities.

He encountered wild magical beasts several times along the way, but none of them attacked.

This was because Keuran was on Leo's shoulder.

Magical beasts generally had a strong tendency not to attack those stronger than themselves.

Leo, traversing the forest at high speed, was able to reach the western end.

A gravel field stretched across the western side of the Isle of Magical Beasts.

[Wow, it's pretty, isn't it?]

Keuran admired the beautiful lake scenery, reflecting the moon and stars.

Leo found Fiora squatting by the water, diligently rummaging for something.

*Splash-*!

Fiora picked up a small pebble from the water and stood up.

Then she held the stone in her hand up to the moonlight and exclaimed in admiration.

It was a transparent crystal-shaped magic stone.

"Pretty, pretty!"

Fiora, her eyes sparkling as she examined the magic stone from all angles, *gasp*! and put it in her mouth.

Then, rolling it around in her mouth like candy and humming a tune, she squatted down again and began searching for more magic stones.

"……What are you doing?"

"Huh? Leo, this is important to me."

"Swallow what's in your mouth and then speak."

Fiora munched and swallowed the magic stone in her mouth, then asked.

"Leo, what brings you here?"

"Before asking what brings me here… were you finding and eating all the magic stones in this gravel field?"

This place was originally an area forbidden to students.

And for good reason: this gravel field was a place where magic stones naturally formed.

Around the ecosystem of magical beasts and spirits, there are areas where magic stones are generated in large quantities.

The power they emit seeps into the ground and gathers in specific locations, where magic stones naturally generate in large amounts.

Young spirits and magical beasts absorb these magic stones as their growth energy.

On the Isle of Magical Beasts, this gravel field serves exactly that purpose.

That's why entry was restricted, to prevent students from collecting the magic stones.

But Fiora was busy finding and eating all those magic stones.

Fiora suddenly turned her head and said.

"It's normal to eat a lot when you're young."

[High-ranking magical beasts like us don't need magic stones for growth, do we?]

As he said, magic stones aren't of much help to high-ranking magical beasts like the Phoenix.

They can be a tasty delicacy, though.

Of course, that didn't mean eating all the magic stones that the magical beasts of her domain were supposed to eat was a good thing at all.

"You weren't, by any chance, chasing away all the other magical beasts and spirits and monopolizing the magic stones for yourself, were you?"

Though her power was still weak, if other magical beasts and spirits sensed the Phoenix's aura, they would undoubtedly be scared and wouldn't approach.

"I didn't do that much. I was trying to share them nicely!"

Fiora protested.

[If you threaten them with a Phoenix's power, there's no way they'd share them nicely. You chick…! No! You pig!]

"Who are you calling a pig?!"

[Hmph! Still a flimsy attack!]

Fiora, getting angry, threw a pebble, and Keuran snorted and dodged it.

"Both of you, quiet. Fiora, you said something strange happened on the island and told Keuran to explore the eastern region, didn't you?"

"Oops!"

Fiora, who had forgotten that fact while eating magic stones during her exploration, was startled.

[Hey! You told me with a super serious face, but you yourself forgot?]

Fiora, who was at fault, couldn't answer and was flustered.

[Huh? Isn't this memory completely on a chick's level?! Huh?]

"S-sorry."

Keuran, thinking he had found a weakness, arrogantly tapped Fiora's head.

[I'll forgive you! But from now on, you must respectfully address me as Prince…! *Cough*!]

"You also forgot about investigating and were playing pranks on the students."

Leo slapped Keuran with his palm and said.

"So, what exactly is the strange phenomenon you mentioned?"

"I don't really know that. But I can faintly feel a very unpleasant aura from the island."

'Unpleasant aura?'

Leo furrowed his brow.

If a Phoenix, possessing the power of purification, felt unpleasant, it was clearly an impure force.

'During the midterm exams, Tartarus reached out to the Summoning Department with its demonic influence. Could this be related to that?'

The moment Leo thought that far.

*Gooooo-!*

Suddenly, a mist began to spread.

Seeing that, Leo hastily took Fiora and Keuran, left the gravel field, and hid behind a tree.

It was not a naturally occurring mist.

Moreover, the aura felt from the mist was one Leo was familiar with.

The dark magic he had felt during the practical midterm exam for Summoning Studies.

'That Beast Summoner from back then.'

Leo's eyes widened.

*Splash-*

The Beast Summoner, who appeared on the gravel field, waved his hand.

*Whoosh-*!

The magic stones scattered throughout the gravel field reacted.

The Beast Summoner faltered at the ridiculously small number of magic stones.

"What? Why are there so few magic stones?"

[Because the pig ate them all.]

At Keuran's words, Fiora glared at him and choked Keuran's neck.

"Stop fighting and get ready."

Leo activated his spiritual power.

Although the use of spiritual power was forbidden during the weekend, now was not the time to consider that.

"They're coming!"

*Buzz-*!

A massive summoning circle appeared on the ground where Leo had been.

Leo leaped high.

*Grooooooowl-! Crunch!*

A colossal magical beast opened its mouth and swallowed the spot where Leo had been.

*Whoosh-! Thud-*!

Leo landed on the ground and looked at the Beast Summoner.

"It seems you have a deep ill-fated connection with us, Leo Flove."

At the Beast Summoner's chilling words, Leo smiled a murderous smile.

"A truly awful, ill-fated connection that dates back to a previous life."

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