SRS 103

“…Mikael, lift the spell. We still need to talk.”

Even as he spoke, Yohan enveloped his body in divine power so the soft floral scent of the Rose Garden wafting in the air wouldn’t turn into the smell of blood. When Mikael removed his hand from the senior’s shoulder, Tramashu took a deep breath and scowled.

“Damn it, Mikael, your personality hasn’t changed even after all these years!”

“That’s rich coming from a deranged spirit mage who demanded blood the moment he saw a junior for the first time.”

“It’s spirit caller!”

The senior shouted, and Mikael shrugged before stepping behind Yohan. He covered his mouth, leaned slightly, and whispered.

“You can ignore him. Like I explained before, his skills are guaranteed, but his character is terrible. Let’s just take what we need and leave.”

“…Yes.”

Yohan answered awkwardly and carefully checked Mikael’s expression. Despite what he said, Mikael wore a relaxed smile, which made it seem like his relationship with Senior Tramashu wasn’t actually bad.

Well. That must be why this meeting was even possible.

Yohan found it easy to guess his friend’s feelings since Mikael’s reaction was different from when he faced Abel, whom he genuinely hated. Yohan then showed the divine beast to the senior, who was trying to start a staring contest with the white-haired student.

“Um… the reason I asked to meet today is because I want to feed this one.”

“Hm? What’s this? …The wavelength feels unusual.”

“…It’s a divine beast.”

Yohan avoided introducing it as Fantasiademia’s divine beast, worried about the repercussions, and gauged the senior’s reaction. Fortunately, Tramashu only showed curiosity and nothing more. He didn’t seem to have any idea about the divine beast’s true identity.

Yohan quickly made an excuse.

“I was instructed by the principal to raise a divine. For it to grow, it needs three special abilities as food. It has to be high-purity power, so I already gave it my divine power and Mikael’s mana. I wanted to ask for your help with the remaining one.”

Tramashu snapped his fingers at the long-winded explanation.

“So you want it to eat my power?”

“…Yes.”

“Alright! That’s not hard at all.”

Yohan’s face brightened when Tramashu readily agreed. Asking to use someone else’s power as food for a divine beast could easily offend the wrong person. An arrogant type might’ve exploded, asking how anyone dared to feed their power to a beast. A cautious type might’ve grown wary and asked why they should give their power when the outcome was uncertain.

Tramashu didn’t seem to be either of those types, and he agreed without hesitation. Yohan honestly felt grateful. At that moment, Tramashu suddenly stepped closer.

His green eyes lit up as he pulled Yohan into an uncomfortably close embrace.

“But I have a request too! This is Fantasiademia. You give something, you get something, right?”

Was that really the rule?

Yohan briefly reflected on his school life as the senior explained it like an unspoken law.

Well….

If that were true, Yohan felt like he had only ever given things away. He tilted his head, and Tramashu suddenly grabbed his hand.

“Give me some of your blood!”

“Tramashu!”

Mikael shouted at the energetic senior. Yohan had never seen Mikael raise his voice, and the shock made him flinch. His shoulders tensed, and he tilted his head, only to see Mikael glaring at the senior with a murderous look.

“Mikael.”

Yohan panicked and tugged at his fingers.

“What’s wrong?”

“No blood. Ask for something else.”

“Huh? I don’t want anything else! I can feel holiness just by looking at him, and his blood has energy that would completely enthrall spirits…!”

“No.”

“I said no!”

“Tramashu.”

When persuasion didn’t work, Mikael lowered his voice again. The threat in his tone made the senior flinch just like Yohan had earlier. Tramashu glanced at Mikael with droopy eyebrows, pleading with a frail expression.

“Really can’t do it?”

“No.”

Mikael rejected him before Yohan could even speak. He was so determined that Yohan felt awkward opposing him. If Yohan said it was fine now, wouldn’t that ruin Mikael’s position?

No matter how important feeding the divine beast was, Yohan couldn’t help valuing Mikael more than the senior in front of him.

…And Mikael wasn’t someone who acted without thinking.

Yohan figured Mikael had his reasons and remained silent, choosing to follow his lead. After arguing back and forth several times, Tramashu finally raised the white flag.

“Alright, alright. I’ll give up on the blood. Then can you give divine power instead?”

Tramashu changed his condition, albeit reluctantly. Yohan glanced at Mikael, and the student nodded.

“Yes. That’s possible. Should I bestow a blessing on you?”

“No, no. Don’t give it to me directly. Put it in here, this crystal orb! I’ll take it and check it later.”

“What are you planning to check?”

“The effect high-purity divine power has when handling spirits. I’ve been testing which abilities give the best amplification for spirit control. Professor Sinbi threatened that I won’t get promoted if I don’t submit a paper by the end of the month, so I’m out of options!”

“Ah….”

So that was why he had begged for blood with his eyes popping out earlier.

With his fifth-year promotion on the line, it made sense.

More than anything, Yohan felt a bit surprised that Professor Shinbi had said something like that. When she taught first-years, she had always been endlessly kind. Did she treat upperclassmen differently?

Yohan was a little shocked, and Mikael quietly explained.

“Tramashu is one of Professor Shinbi’s direct disciples. Professor Shinbi is a bit strict with her direct students.”

“Ah….”

Yohan let out a sound close to a sigh and looked at him with eyes filled with both pity and fear. Becoming a direct disciple, of all things. He felt sorry for how that path must’ve come about, and at the same time he felt uneasy about what kind of resolve it took to accept that offer and choose a future that could lead to becoming a teaching assistant or even a professor.

As Yohan reaffirmed his judgment that the senior in front of him wasn’t normal, Tramashu pulled out a drawstring pouch tightened at the opening and took a crystal orb from inside.

A crystal orb coming out of a pouch smaller than his palm. Yohan briefly wondered if it was a subspace item, then froze when the crystal orb fully revealed itself.

Boom!

As Tramashu placed the orb on the desk set up in the Rose Garden, a thunderous sound rang out. Without exaggeration, Yohan stared at the crystal orb, which was as large as a boulder.

Unable to see Yohan’s expression because the orb blocked his view, Tramashu smiled brightly and tapped the crystal orb.

“Just fill this much! You can do that, right, junior?”

“…….”

Yohan started to understand why Tramashu had become Professor Shinbi’s direct disciple.

He spoke in a harmless, gentle, and lively voice while assigning an absurdly terrifying task, exactly like Professor Shinbi.

Yohan opened and closed his mouth in shock, and Mikael stepped in on behalf of his friend, who looked like he pass out.

“Reduce the size of the orb.”

“Huh? I need at least this much to write a paper.”

“That’s too much. Are you trying to drain all of Yohan’s divine power?”

“What are you talking about. Just look at him, his divine power seems at least three times that.”

“You forgot Yohan is a first-year? Having a lot of divine power doesn’t mean he can draw all of it out.”

“Come on. You won’t know unless you try.”

“Tramashu.”

“Alright, alright. I get it, so stop glaring like that. Open your eyes rounder!”

Tramashu complained and tapped the crystal orb three times with the back of his hand. The orb gradually shrank, then stopped at about half its previous size.

Tramashu’s hair peeked up over the rounded surface, entering Yohan’s view.

“There. This should be fine, right?”

“…Yes.”

The size was still large, but Yohan couldn’t refuse any further.

Mikael had already stepped in once, and Yohan still didn’t know how much of Tramashu’s power the small divine beast would consume.

If it took as much power as it had from Mikael, even filling this orb wouldn’t feel like enough.

“Then, senior… please.”

Yohan woke the divine beast and handed it to Tramashu. The senior and junior sat facing each other and drew out their strength to grant each other’s requests.

***

“Wow. It’s tiny, but it eats a ridiculous amount of power. But I’m glad it ended before I passed out!”

Hahaha!

Tramashu laughed energetically while sprawled out on the ground. Yohan, whose face looked corpse pale, stared at the senior with disbelief. He didn’t know what to do with someone who still looked so energetic.

Fantasiademia’s small divine beast absorbed an enormous amount of Tramashu’s spiritual power.

It took a full 1 hour and 30 minutes.

He was sprawled in the Rose Garden, obviously on the verge of passing out, but as Tramashu had stated, he hadn’t actually done so.

Yohan took the divine beast, uncertain about what to do.

“Sh-should I at least give you a blessing?”

“That’s enough, Yohan. You’ll just tire yourself out.”

“But….”

“A blessing? Oh, that’s great! That’s great! Give it to me if you can!”

Yohan hesitated between Mikael, who tried to stop him, and Tramashu, who eagerly nodded. This time, Yohan sided with Tramashu. It was closer to siding with his conscience.

Yohan unleashed what small amount divine power he had left and bestowed a blessing. Tramashu didn’t spring up, but his eyes were a bit brighter.

“Oh, that felt good! That’s more than enough! Let’s see each other often, junior!”

His voice sounded even more unhinged than before.

Mikael massaged his forehead and sighed. Tramashu lay with his arms and legs stretched out and saw Yohan off. He insisted he was fine and told them to hurry back before roll call ended. Yohan felt uneasy, but he bowed to express both gratitude and apology.

Fantasiademia’s divine beast slept peacefully with its eyes closed. If the principal’s words were true, it would likely stay asleep for about a week while digesting the power.

Yohan thought that, thanks to Mikael’s introduction, he had safely completed the final task. He thanked Tramashu one last time and also and nodded to Mikael as well. Yohan realized the reason for the troubled look on the student’s face the next day, during the break after first period.

“I heard there’s a junior here who’s like a walking ability recovery potion?”

Upperclassmen swarmed in the Divine Studies classroom.