Chapter 16

And then, another half year passed, and it became spring.

"Alright, Seika. Did you forget anything?"

Luft, who had come to see me off, said.

The luggage was already loaded onto the carriage.

"I'm fine. Still, it's a bit surprising that only my brother is here to see me off."

"It can't be helped."

Luft smiled wryly.

"Father is in the capital, and Grail is in the military. Mother is... "

"Just kidding. Having you here is enough."

"You've become quite the smooth talker. ...Eifa, even with a brother like this, please take care of him."

"Y-Yes! Luft-sama... f-fa... a, s-sorry!"

Eifa, who yawned, shrank back.

"Seika, were you studying late again?"

"Of course. I have to pass the exam to get into the academy. I mean, both of us do."

"Don't overdo it. But yeah, it's a seven-day carriage ride to Rodnea, so during that time..."

"I'll study in the carriage too."

"Ugh... S-Seika-kun..."

Eifa seemed to want to say something, but it couldn't be helped since there wasn't enough time.

"But, Seika, you seem to be quite taken with Eifa."

Luft said with a laugh.

"Huh?"

"Look at that necklace you gave her. It wasn't cheap, was it? If you dress up a good-looking servant too much, rumors will start."

"It seems you're misunderstanding. These gem-like things are all magic stones. They're for my academy life."

"...?"

Eifa's next goal is to use magic by asking the spirits. For that, it would be ideal to have spirits around all the time, but unfortunately, Eifa has almost no magical power, and spirits don't usually gather around her.

So, he decided to use magic stones, which store magical power, to attract them.

The two of us went into the mountains, walking around to find outcrops where spirits gather.

It was incredibly difficult, but thanks to our efforts, we found a few good-quality raw stones, which we had processed into a necklace in town.

According to Eifa, quite a few spirits have gathered. That's good. All that hard work will pay off.

"Hmm, I still don't understand what you're thinking, Seika."

"I get that a lot. Well, I'm off. See you, Luft."

"Be careful. And come back to visit during your break."

"I'll think about it."

With that, I quickly climbed into the carriage.

Eifa followed me in.

"Eifa, are you excited?"

"Yep, I'm excited! How about you, Seika-kun?"

"Let me think..."

I looked out the carriage window.

Imagining the streets of the other world that lay far ahead.

"...I'm a little excited too."