But the other two I have none or less of…!
Brigitte Meidell was not a person who relied on anything so hazy as luck. As her classmates scattered, she made her way into the dense forest at a leisurely pace. Fortunately, they had nearly two days to complete the test. There was no reason whatsoever to panic at the starting bell. The air in the shadowy forest was a little humid, but what she noticed more than that was a kind of buzz that tickled her back. In all likelihood, it was coming from spirits dancing with joy as they discovered the special magic stones and tucked them away in their arms or wings or perhaps even secret treasure boxes.
Let’s see, where was it? …Aha!
She found the oak tree she had been looking for. She plucked three leaves from the tree, whose flowers reminded her a bit of hairy caterpillars. She was rolling up the verdant leaves with practiced motions when she noticed something.
…Who’s there?!
She sensed someone or something behind her.
Directly harming another student or a spirit during the test was forbidden, but in the past, certain students had taken advantage of loopholes to harm their competitors.
Brigitte hid behind the oak tree and held her breath. But as soon as she saw the face of the person who appeared from the bushes, she relaxed.
“Sir Yuri.”
“! …Oh, Brigitte.”
He appeared to have been searching near her by chance. He seemed surprised but quickly regained his composure.
“How’s it going?” she asked him.
“Just one so far.”
“What?!”
He was holding a sparkling magic stone in his hand. She was flabbergasted. The test had just begun!
Never underestimate him…! She gritted her teeth.
“You?” he had the nerve to ask.
“…Zero,” she muttered, overwhelmed by frustration.
“Ah. Hope you find one.”
“Of course I will!!” she snapped.
“Be careful,” he said over his shoulder as he walked away.
“I’ll be fine. Don’t forget I’m a future spiritologist,” she said as she left.
She didn’t notice the melancholy glance he cast over his shoulder.
“Ohhh, a stone? You mean this?”
“You want this stone?”
Two tiny fairies in silky white dresses were fluttering around Brigitte’s shoulders. Each had her arms wrapped around a magic stone, which looked enormous next to their delicate hands. Brigitte smiled back nonchalantly. As the chatty silkies stared at her with their big eyes, she gave a dramatic nod.
“Yes. I want you to trade me those stones for these flutes.”
She blew into the leaf whistle in her hands. At the sound, the silkies twirled in excitement.
“Why does it make a sound?”
“Why is the leaf crying?”
“This is a magic leaf. I asked it to cry for me.”
The silkies nodded, evidently convinced.
“I’ll give you my stone.”
“So will I.”
“Thank you. I will make a leaf whistle for each of you.”
They completed their trade, and the silkies flitted around, fiddling curiously with the rolled-up oak leaves Brigitte had handed them.
“When you blow it, squeeze one end of the tube. But make sure you leave space for air to get through.”
She wasn’t sure if they heard her as they flew away. She sighed. Silkies were known for their upfront nature, and this was the third time in a row she’d made a successful trade with them. She now had five magic stones in the pocket of her backpack.
I may have reached my limit of silky trades… Considering how much those little fairies love to gossip, the value of noisemaking leaves might soon fall.
The magic stones she had obtained were decorated with a delicate fairy-wing pattern inside them. This was the emblem of Otoleanna Academy, and to inscribe it on the outside, let alone the inside, of a magic stone required skill both as a magical artisan and as a craftsman. Because the stones were imbued with the vibrations of the artisan themselves, they were virtually impossible to forge.
These were the stones the students were competing for. As the sun shone down from high overhead, Brigitte wondered how she was doing compared to everyone else. She had seen students from other classes several times, but given her unpopularity, no one had approached her, so she’d had no chance to pick up information.
I can’t imagine I’m doing too poorly…
She stood thinking for a moment. When Yuri had interrupted her in the process of making leaf whistles, he already had one magic stone. No, she’d better not get too confident.
“Pull yourself together and focus on doing the best you can!” she said out loud to motivate herself.
What should her next strategy be? She was fairly sure she knew more about the various types of spirits and fairies than anyone else. Although stories typically depicted spirits as serious and fairies as cunning, both were straightforward in their own way. Spirits were honest and sincere toward humans, while fairies liked to play with them thanks to their forthright curiosity and mischievousness.
That’s why I like spirits.
They seemed so much better than humans, who were full of dirty tricks. Although she couldn’t rely on help from her contracted spirit, the one overwhelming advantage she had over other students in this test was her ability to negotiate based on her knowledge of spirits. She was determined to draw on everything she knew to find a path to victory.
In terms of which fairies would be most drawn to magic stones—coblynau, the mine gnomes, seem like a good bet… I think I’ll head a little farther into the forest. Although I’d really like to search along the riverbank as well…
She imagined Yuri and his undine had probably already scoured that area for magic stones, however. It would be best to avoid another encounter with him if she could.
I won’t let him beat me, though. I just don’t want him to distract me!
Reciting puzzling excuses to herself as usual, she continued down the slope she was standing on.
It was pure coincidence that she heard the scream.
“Ahhh!”
It sounded like a girl around her own age. The very faint cry had come from deep in the forest. Without thinking, Brigitte swung into action. She tucked her sixth magic stone, which she had just dug from between some tree roots, into her knapsack.
As far as the test goes, it might be wiser to pretend I never heard that…
She should probably take it as a sign that she had one fewer rival. After all, since demons had been removed from the forest, there was no real threat to anyone’s life. But she knew some spirits didn’t hesitate to hurt humans, which made it hard to ignore the scream.
“Is anyone there?” she shouted as she walked in the direction of the voice, but there was no answer. Was the girl farther away than she’d thought? She searched for any sign of human presence.
There are too many footprints to tell which ones are hers. If only a spirit would appear…
If the girl had a contracted spirit, it would likely send out some sort of call for help. Frustrated, Brigitte kept walking. Just then, she heard the scream again. Squinting through the unchanging vista of trees, she noticed a small white form floating in the air.
It’s a…
The moment she realized what it was, Brigitte started running.
“Please don’t follow me!” the girl was screaming.
When Brigitte reached her, she shouted, “Stop!”
Although the girl’s momentum carried her a little farther, she finally stopped. At her feet was a round little fairy with an angry face, but it did not attack Brigitte.
“It’s all right. I’m here to help you. Can you tell me what happened?” she asked as calmly as possible. But the girl, whose eyes were swollen from crying, appeared to be in shock.
“Wh-wh-why…?”
“Your contracted spirit, the brownie, was throwing pebbles over its shoulder, right? That was a sign.”
“…”
For some reason, the girl shook her head. It wasn’t a logical response to Brigitte’s question, but she didn’t have time to worry about that.
“What are you running from? I don’t see anyone behind you.”
“I… Um, there’s no one there, but I think someone is following me…”
The girl was a classmate of Brigitte’s named Kira, and she seemed to be at her wit’s end. She glanced over her shoulder, her black hair swinging. Brigitte followed her gaze. But just as Kira had said, there was nothing behind them but eerily rustling trees.
“Did you look behind you lots of times?”
“Y-yes. Over and over. No one was ever there…but I felt them watching me. I swear!”
She peered at Brigitte from between her long bangs, as if to say Please believe me. Brigitte didn’t think she was lying, of course. The agitated state of her brownie, a normally mild-mannered spirit, was another clue that Kira’s fear was real.
Brigitte pondered the situation. Maybe…
She gestured for Kira to listen. Hesitantly, the girl brought her face close to Brigitte’s.
“…Kira, can you please take your clothes off?” she whispered.
“…What?!”
Her eyes widened. For some reason, they were welling with tears.
“Are you angry about what happened before…?” she asked.
What happened before?
Brigitte had no idea what she was talking about. But if Brigitte’s hunch was right, taking off her clothes wouldn’t be enough.
“Actually, not just your clothes—your shoes, too.”
“My shoes?! Are you going to throw them in the river…?!”
“…! Of course not. I’ll take mine off, too. Brownies don’t wear clothes, so yours are fine.”
“Um…?”
Kira stood frozen and uncomprehending, her mouth hanging open.
“I know I said to take them off, but all you need to do is turn your clothes front to back and put your shoes on the opposite feet. Can you do that?”
“Um…I…”
“I’ll do it first. Will you trust me?”
Brigitte wanted to laugh. Who would trust advice from the Red Fairy, the dunce of Otoleanna Academy?
But Yuri trusted me…