CH 71

“Amazing! I can sew so easily! It’s so fun!”

“Kiyumi!”

In front of me, a young girl was easily inserting a needle into a rather thick piece of tanned leather. She was the girl I had pointed out as having a talent for sewing, because her needle’s penetrating power was enhanced by the power of her contracted spirit, a wind-clad, palm-sized dog.

Of course, unlike a proper magic enchantment, it consumed mana throughout the duration of its activation, and its efficiency wasn’t exactly the best, that part appeared to be managed by the reduced consumption due to the spirit contract. In Tia’s opinion, considering the concentration of children, they would probably get bored faster than they would run out of magic power.

“I didn’t know spirit magic could do this!”

“That’s right. It’s not that using magic to attack the enemy is the only way to use magic, and you don’t have to limit your talents to any one thing. Free ideas and endless combinations… …ah, you can try anything that comes to your mind or that you think you can do, just don’t be afraid to try it. As long as it’s not dangerous, of course.”

“Yes!”

“Eidos-sensei! Me too! Look at me, too!”

“Ah, wait, wait. I’m coming!”

I went to another male student as he called me. I looked at his face through my [Rainbow Glasses], and I could see his potential in my mind.

“I see, you seem to have a talent for blacksmithing.”

“Blacksmith? Eh, it’s a pain in the ass, washing dishes and all.”

“Not housework, it’s blacksmithing …… where you forge swords and stuff. What’s your contracted spirit?”

“This guy! His name is Grimm!”

At the boy’s feet stood a knee-high dwarf in a green jacket and red tri cornered hat.  He seemed to be quite a good match, as he raised the gavel in his hand to show his motivation.

“He is an earth based spirit, what do you think?”

“Hmmm, isn’t that good? Earth can be used to get the impurities … out of the ore and make a clean mass and if it’s a humanoid spirit, I might be able to get it to mimic me. Then, if you get better at it…. you might even be able to bestow magic enchantments directly to swords and shields?”

“Eeeeeeh, I can do that!? Then I want to make a glowing sword or something!”

“I see. It’s light magic that makes things glow, so then You’ll have to listen to Tia carefully and hone your spirit magic skills as well.”

“I get it! Woohoo, I’m on it! Aim for the sword of light!”

Having finished looking at the students I was in charge of for the time being, I took a breath and turned my attention to Tia. I could see a discussion taking place around Tia, involving not only the students who were genuinely talented in spirit magic, but also the teachers.

“Okay? The reason why we can transfer our mana to spirits is because the paths are connected like this. And since the contracted spirits are in the middle of this path, it is difficult for the mana to reach the other spirits.”

“Oh, so this girl is in the way?”

“Hahaha, She’s not interrupting. Because you called her out, didn’t you? If you invite your friends over, it’s only natural that you should provide them with a nice meal and a comfortable place to sleep.”

“I see, That’s true”

At Tia’s words, a girl with a small octopus-like spirit sucking on her arm poked the octopus’ head with her finger. The octopus shook its head happily and spewed sparkling diamond dust from its outstretched mouth.

(T/N: Spirits do be adorable in this world)

“Then, Tia-dono, how do you get your mana to reach the other spirits in that state? I guess the only way is to forcefully push it, right?”

“Well, that’s one way to go, but the best way is to get to know the spirit better and make a dedicated path for it. If you exchange mana with the same spirit over and over again and develop an affinity with it, you will eventually be able to create a path dedicated to that spirit. Then you’ll be able to deliver the mana to the other spirits without the interference of that child. But that should only be done in the presence of a skilled spirit user who can see the compatibility between the person and the spirit, and If teachers don’t have the capability to do so, it’s not a good idea to force students to do it alone.”

“Gosh, that’s really quite an earful. …”

“Um, Tia-sensei? So how do I get friendly with the spirits so that I can have a dedicated path? I was taught in class that you should just send the mana …”

Another girl quietly raised her hand and asked a question, leaving the principal with a pained expression on his face.

“I agree. It is effective to give them mana, however, it is like food for spirits, so there is no point in giving them more than they need. You would be sad if you went to your friend’s house and they skipped your meal, but you would also be annoyed if they kept serving you more than you could eat, wouldn’t you? However, what to do depends on the individual spirit. So I think you should talk a lot with the spirits and figure out what they want you to do and what would please them.”

“I see. So we just have to do what we do with our human friends.”

“Basically, yes. However, what spirits like and what they want is different from humans, so you have to be careful about that. Some spirits might not like what you do, even if it makes you happy, so if you get angry with them and say, ‘Why aren’t you happy about this?’ it will be quite difficult to get along then.”

“I understand. Thank you, Sensei.”

“You’re welcome.”

Tia smiled back at the female student who bowed to her. Hmmm, things seemed to be going well over there. If there was one thing I was a little concerned about, it was ……

“It’s impossible. Isn’t it a heinous act of disregarding the contract, using magic other than that of your contracted spirit?”

“It is true. Wisdom that disturbs the harmony of nature is like a drug. If such things spread, not only will our pride as spirit users be sullied, but it will have a negative impact on the training of the next generation of spirit users. …”

“In the first place, is that thing really a spirit of beauty? Sure, her ears are a little different, but other than that, she’s a human being just like us …, a little girl.”

About three men, separated from me, Tia, and the students. They were probably thinking they were whispering, but with my banishment skill [Leak the Talk], I could hear them all.

Well, from the flow of the conversation, they’d be messing with Tia directly, so I didn’t think I had to worry so much. … Hmmm, I guess I’ll take a little stab at them

“Hey, you three, you got a minute?”

“W-What!?”

I approached them casually and called out to them, and the three of them looked at me with blatantly alarmed faces. But of course, there was no reason for me to be intimidated by them.

“What, it seems that you have been doing nothing while hoping for my and Tia’s guidance. If you don’t feel comfortable saying it, I’ll ask for you. Hey Tia!”

“O-Oi!, What are you――”

“What? Eidos?”

In contrast to the three of us who were agitated, Tia, called by me, came this way with a carefree look on her face. Tia, who had good ears, probably would have heard the disturbing conversation between these three people, but she didn’t seem particularly alarmed .., which meant that  she didn’t even recognize them as much of a threat…

“Well, because these three seemed to be too reserved to participate in class. Then can’t Tia at least examine their spirits and tell them about it?”

“Huh? Sure.”

“No, no, no, no, No need for that! Me and Spooks have perfect communication――”

“Your great-grandfather asked it to stay with you, but if you want to become a great spirit user, you need to work on your control of mana a little more and give it more power over here.”

“From my great-grandfather? Oh no, no, surely …?”

“So you … you should think about the other person and not just about yourself. That’s why you can’t strengthen your connection with it, and that’s why the woman you love rejects you.”

“What!? How can a spirit understand human life and language to such a degree? How is that possible? …”

“Lastly, you … ah, am I allowed to say this?”

“W-What is it? What does my ally, Termrecia, want from me!?”

“That’s … She is asking you to quit going to the maid’s room because she doesn’t like the smell of heavy make-up….”

“Nuahhh!? D-Don’t mess, that’s… I-I don’t feel good! Excuse me!”

“Ah, wait for me! If you’ll excuse me.”

“I am worried about you two, Me too!”

The trio, their faces reddening and turning blue, hurriedly left the place. I had no intention of doubting Tia from the start, but even from the point of view of other’s, that reaction could only mean she hit the bull’s eye.

“Hey, Ed. Did I do something wrong?”

“Ah, well, it is what it is. Let nature do its work.”

I think it had the opposite effect, but still, this should have removed any doubt in Tia’s power. If they still wanted to make a move ……, Fufu~ I’d be happy to deal with them then.

(T/N: Yeah… So, I was playing Trails of Cold steel, finished all 4 of em. Forgive me)