“That spirit—it’s the one from the ruins!”
“He caught it……”
The ones who were most shocked when the evil spirit appeared were Celia and Lily, who had encountered it before in the ruins of Luna. Celia, who had actually witnessed its power firsthand, was especially stunned.
Next to them, Gareth, Rourke’s best friend who knew everything, looked at Rourke with a mix of surprise and respect.
“……I see.”
With a smile on his lips, Gareth muttered softly and then closed his mouth, quietly watching his friend’s heroic figure amidst the surrounding chaos.
A little further away from them, in a different seat, was a junior who had also experienced the terror of the evil spirit in the ruins of Luna, her eyes wide open.
“That’s…… the one from the ruins.”
“You know it?”
While Leia stared at the evil spirit in shock, Akari, with a seriousness that was hard to imagine from her usual demeanor, asked.
“Y-Yes. It’s the evil spirit I encountered during the ancient ruins exploration. At that time, I got separated from Rourke-senpai, and in the end, he defeated it alone…… But I never imagined it would be like this……”
“H-He’s commanding an evil spirit!? Is senpai okay!?”
“From what I can see, there’s no change in him.”
While Mary was panicking, Akari calmly observed Rourke and gave her opinion. Though she couldn’t be entirely sure……
“Rourke-senpai……”
Leia could only mutter her beloved senpai’s name with worry as she watched his reckless actions.
The voices around her no longer reached her ears.
“An evil spirit……”
Narrowing her eyes as she observed the spirit that had appeared was Misha Romus, the current student council president and the top-ranked spirit user in her year. Amid the commotion of the student council members around her, she quietly reflected on Rourke’s actions up until now.
Could this be the reason he refused to participate in the Grand Spirit Martial Festival?
But judging from their connection, they aren’t contracted. Which means he must have another contracted spirit. The mystery deepens, but her thoughts were interrupted by the voice of Sena, the student council secretary, who was in a panic.
“President, what should we do!? Should we step in and stop this?”
“No, let’s observe for now.”
“But—!”
Sena’s urgency was mirrored by the teacher acting as the referee, who stepped forward.
“Areas! Can you hear me!? Is my voice reaching you!?”
“Yes, sir. I’m fine. I can hear you clearly.”
In response to the teacher’s voice, Rourke turned his gaze toward him and nodded slowly. Relieved by his response, the teacher let out a sigh of relief. At the very least, he’s conscious.
“Then return that evil spirit immediately! It’s dangerous!”
“I refuse.”
“What!?”
The teacher’s eyes widened at Rourke’s reply.
“This is my spirit. And without it, I can’t defeat him.”
“What are you saying!? That’s an evil spirit! It’s not something a person should mess with!”
“It’s my spirit. Nothing more, nothing less.”
The teacher was momentarily overwhelmed by the sheer forcefulness and directness of Rourke’s words.
“Please. Let me continue. I won’t cause any trouble.”
It was likely his true feelings. The sincerity in his voice almost made the teacher nod in agreement, but he managed to stop himself and shook his head instead.
“No! I can’t allow this, no matter who you are! If you’re going to summon an evil spirit, then summon your contracted spirit first! Don’t resort to such dangerous power!!”
“I don’t have one.”
“……What?”
Unable to comprehend the meaning of Rourke’s words, the teacher stared at him in confusion.
Seeing the teacher’s expression, Rourke himself seemed to realize what he had just said and was equally shocked.
—Ah, I’ve finally said it.
But once the words were out, he felt strangely lighter. So, with a refreshingly bitter smile, Rourke once again revealed the truth he had been hiding.
“That’s why I don’t have one. A contracted spirit.”
“Y-You don’t have a contracted spirit!? W-What are you talking about!?”
The teacher was even more confused by Rourke’s statement. No contracted spirit? That’s absurd, impossible. Especially for someone like him.
“Wait, did he just say he doesn’t have a contracted spirit!?”
“Huh? There’s no way someone as strong as him doesn’t have one!”
“But he just said—!”
“If that’s true, that’s insane……”
“It’s gotta be a lie. It has to be.”
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT LOCALIZERMEERKAT.GITHUB.IO
Once again, voices of confusion, shock, and suspicion spread throughout the arena.
The use of an evil spirit, the lack of a contracted spirit. The unbelievable nature of these two pieces of information quickly threw the arena into chaos.
Rourke hadn’t planned to reveal the truth about his contracted spirit here, but it had slipped out in the heat of the moment.
“…………This is troublesome.”
Rourke watched the situation unfold with a resigned smile.
Well, it’s only natural for them to react like this. First, he summons an evil spirit, and now he admits he doesn’t have a contracted spirit.
In this kind of situation, there’s no way the match can continue. So, Rourke quietly took out his vessel to return the evil spirit.
It was right after that when a dissonant sound, sharp enough to pierce through the entire arena, echoed.
“The noise is too loud, and the show’s not over yet.”
While everyone in the arena instinctively covered their ears, Kay, the source of the sound, looked annoyed as he waved his baton.
“Teacher, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t interfere. This is our match.”
“Trallus…… but—”
“There’s no problem. I don’t know the truth about whether he has a contracted spirit or not, but at the very least, he’s clearly controlling the evil spirit. And even if it goes berserk, I’ll crush it before it causes any harm to the surroundings. So, it’s fine, right?”
“No, no, it’s not that kind of problem…”
“Let them do it.”
But this situation was beyond the authority of a newbie like me. The troubled teacher was about to seek help from someone else when he turned around, startled by a voice from behind.
“Ah, Professor Albert…”
“Let them have their match as they wish. At least, there’s nothing abnormal about Rourke-kun right now. As long as he has the will to continue, it would be a waste to stop this match now.”
“But, still…”
“I’ll take full responsibility if anything happens.”
When Albert, an authority in spiritology, spoke with such finality, the teacher had no choice but to fall silent.
“I’ll take over as the referee. In the meantime, could you contact someone to strengthen the barrier?”
“Y-yes, understood!”
After watching the teacher run off, Albert turned his gaze back to Rourke.
“Rourke Areas, there are many things on my mind, but first, let’s confirm something. As someone who’s attended my spiritology lectures, you fully understand the dangers of summoning a spirit, right?”
“………Yes.”
Rourke nodded slowly in response to Albert’s probing question.
“Let me make this clear: if you lose control, I won’t hesitate to kill you. Even so, do you still want to fight using a spirit?”
“Yes.”
This time, Rourke answered immediately.
Albert stared into Rourke’s eyes, sensing his resolve, and finally nodded. “Very well.”
“We’ll discuss the rest after the match. Both of you, feel free to resume whenever you’re ready.”
With those words, Albert stepped away from the field to watch the match.
Rourke felt the weight of countless gazes from the arena as he turned his eyes back to his opponent.
“Sorry for the wait. And… thank you.”
Rourke offered his apology and gratitude to Kay—a thank you for wanting to continue the match and for standing up for him.
“Don’t worry about it. I didn’t want it to end like that either.”
“And about what I said earlier… I—!”
Before Rourke could finish, discordant sounds echoed through the arena once more.
“I’m not interested.”
“………Huh?”
“Whether or not you have a contracted spirit doesn’t matter to me now.”
Kay wore a look of exasperation as he continued, addressing a stunned Rourke.
“The truth behind your words? I don’t need an explanation. I can hear the emotions in your voice and see it in your eyes—how serious you are about beating me.”
“Tch!”
“That’s why I’ll say this: do you really have the luxury to worry about anything else? Not when you’re facing me.”
“…………”
Rourke fell silent at Kay’s words. He had been concerned about how others viewed him—his use of a spirit, his lack of a contracted spirit. But Kay’s words struck a chord.
He was right. Absolutely right.
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