Master Avana crossed her legs and spoke.
“Alright. Please, go ahead.”
Count Furst took out a piece of paper from his coat and spread it on the table.
It was a map of the frontier around the New Continent.
“This is the Manya Plains. We will be facing the enemy—us from the east, them from the west. The battle is scheduled for noon today. That leaves us about four hours.”
Master Avana’s gaze narrowed.
“This must be the Grim Mountains… and this, the Grim Lake.”
“Yes. Will it be possible?”
Master Avana paused for a moment before replying.
“If we start preparing right now, we should just make it in time.”
“That’s a relief. If it wasn’t possible, the soldiers would have suffered great losses.”
Count Furst’s expression brightened.
Whatever it was, it seemed that Master Avana’s role was crucial.
Now that I think about it, I should have asked what kind of magic she was preparing. I had been too absorbed in studying Psychokinesis.
Master Avana moved her hand slightly, and a violet butterfly emerged from her palm.
“Then, I’ll see you later. Follow the butterfly, and it will lead you out.”
The butterfly fluttered and passed through the wall of the cabin.
Count Furst gave a brief nod and stepped outside.
“I’ll walk him out.”
I followed after him.
Noticing my presence, Count Furst turned his head.
“Ran?”
“I feel like I never properly thanked you.”
“Really? I recall you doing so quite thoroughly.”
“I don’t remember much about my mother, but there are a few things she said that I remember vividly. One of them was that gratitude should be expressed with both words and actions.”
Count Furst looked down at me with a faint smile.
“Returning kindness with kindness… I suppose that’s one of them too?”
That week on the ship’s infirmary bed had felt incredibly long.
I must have said all sorts of things.
“That’s right. It’s one of my life’s principles.”
“So? What is it that you wanted to give me?”
“I can’t give it to you yet. I don’t have anything right now. But I wanted to tell you again, properly—I won’t forget your kindness.”
I stopped at the boundary between the clearing and the forest.
Count Furst also stopped, though he hesitated for a moment as the violet butterfly did not wait for him and continued to flutter away.
If he lost sight of that butterfly, he would never be able to make it back to Marshall Harbor through the dense forest.
He spoke briefly.
“Understood. If I ever need your help, I’ll ask.”
“Before that happens, I’ll figure out what you need and come to help first. Just like you did.”
Count Furst raised a hand and ruffled my hair once before turning to follow the violet butterfly.
He might have taken my words as the naive determination of a child.
But to me, a life-saving grace was something that had to be repaid—no matter what.
“Ran!”
I turned at the sound of my name.
Psyche stood there with an unreadable expression.
“Yeah?”
“Master is calling you. Come to the lake.”
With that, she disappeared inside.
Since that day, she had been devoid of emotion.
Not once had she smiled.
I walked back into the cabin and made my way to the lake.
Master Avana was standing by the shore, her right hand extended over the water.
Gentle ripples spread across the surface—it looked like she was practicing Psychokinesis.
“Master?”
She gestured toward the lake with her eyes.
“Raise your hand as well.”
What’s gotten into her, practicing Psychokinesis all of a sudden?
I rolled up my sleeves and stretched my arms over the water.
“Should I create ripples?”
“Rather, I want you to summon Undine.”
“Wouldn’t she come after I create ripples?”
“Then do that.”
I tilted my head in confusion, but Master’s deep gaze was firm and unyielding.
She hadn’t been like this at all for the past month.
Still, I had decided to trust her.
Unless she deceived me first, I would believe in her.
“Alright. How should I respond?”
“Speak to her with your mind, just like before. She’ll understand.”
I closed my eyes.
Then, I focused on the image forming in my mind.
The lake, the water’s surface, and Undine beneath it.
The image was blurry. Almost colourless, its shapes blurry.
Except for Undine.
She was as clear as day.
More vivid than reality itself.
The moment I looked straight at her, her eyes widened.
[What? Huh? What the hell? Are you looking at me?]
She was practically bursting with excitement.
What should I say?
[Hey there.]
Her face lit up like nothing I had ever seen before.
She swam toward me in a frenzy, her hand breaking through the water’s surface to reach for me.
The water swelled unnaturally where her fingers emerged.
[Hold my hand.]
I hesitated for a moment before interlocking my fingers with hers.
At that instant, someone grabbed my wrist.
The sudden disturbance broke my concentration, and I opened my eyes.
“Master?”
Master Avana had seized my wrist and pulled it upward.
As she did, the watery figure of a young girl was dragged out of the lake.
Immediately, Master Avana swung her staff.
A violet light poured from its tip, wrapping around the figure.
Splat.
The mass of water hit the ground, shifting erratically between the shape of a girl and a formless puddle.
A sphere of violet light hovered around it, vibrating as if it was struggling to break free.
“Did you just… capture Undine?”
Master wiped sweat from her forehead.
“I may be an elf of water and forests, but water magic isn’t my specialty. The spell I’m about to use would be impossible without Undine’s help.”
For the past month, she had eaten nothing but water-attributed herbs and had dreamt only of water.
And now, she needed Undine as well.
I stared at the puddle of water writhing on the ground.
It almost felt like she was resenting me.
“Honestly, I feel a little bad for her.”
“There’s nothing to feel bad about. Undine isn’t truly real.”
“What?”
Master Avana stood up.
“Come on. We need to move quickly if we want to reach Grim Lake in time.”
She quickly walked toward the cabin.
The violet prison floated in the air, carrying Undine behind her.
I followed.
When we entered the cabin, Master was nowhere in sight, but the front door was open.
Psyche sat on one side, setting down her teacup as she pointed toward the entrance.
“She already left.”
“…….”
“The way you were obsessed with Psychokinesis, I didn’t think you’d take an interest in anything else.”
“Huh?”
I asked back, but Psyche turned her head away, avoiding my gaze.
“An interest in something else,” huh?
That sounded like a pointed remark.
I decided to set it aside for now and quickly stepped outside.
Master Avana was already standing at the edge of the boundary.
“Don’t dawdle. Come quickly and take my hand—we’ll have to walk through the forest.”
I sprinted toward my master and took her hand.
Without hesitation, Master Avana plunged into the forest, and I hurried to follow. She no longer had the patience she’d shown before—this was her serious pace.
So this is what walking in earnest looks like.
I should learn from this while I can.
“Don’t feel guilty for deceiving Undine. It wasn’t like that.”
Hearing that only made me feel guiltier.
“She got so excited when I responded… I did feel a little bad.”
“Familiars may seem alive, but in truth, it’s your Psychokinesis that breathes intelligence into them. If Undine strays too far or your mana runs out, she’ll simply turn back into ordinary water.”
That can’t be right.
No matter how skilled I was with psychokinesis, I could barely stir the water to create ripples, let alone shape it into a human form.
“Is that really true?”
Master Avana glanced at me.
“You’ve mastered psychokinesis well enough now. Today, you’ll gain a familiar. So don’t hold too much attachment to Undine.”
That was good news.
So this was why she had always told me not to respond.
“All right, Master.”
“Psychokinesis isn’t just raw power—it carries your will. And when that will accumulates, it forms an intelligence of its own. That’s what a familiar is—an extension of the magician.”
So that rough, foul-mouthed way of speaking… that came from me?
Of course, I never used foul language.
But growing up as a slave, I constantly heard it.
Had it subconsciously influenced her speech?
I turned to glare at the floating mass of water beside Master Avana.
Undine, still half-formed, was glaring right back at me.
No matter what she said, she looked like a living being to me.
After a long walk, we finally arrived.
“We’re here. This is Grimm Lake.”
Master Avana stepped toward the lakeshore. Then, with a flick of her hand, the violet prison burst apart with a pop, spilling Undine back into the water.
I looked up at the clear sky.
“If we stay out here too long, won’t Senior Kalasta come after us?”
Still kneeling with one hand extended over the water, Master Avana replied without opening her eyes.
“If he was coming, he’d already be here. And I would have noticed. He doesn’t bother to conceal his presence—he radiates it even from hundreds of kilometers away.”
“Why?”
“You’ve met him. Isn’t it obvious? That’s just the way he is. No, it’s a choice. His self-assurance is a weapon in itself. He can likely wield magic far more easily than others—because the world listens to him.”
If you gain something, you lose something.
Master Avana had always emphasized that this was the foundation of magic.
Kalasta had forsaken secrecy, choosing grandeur instead.
He must be terrifying to the weak, but vulnerable to the strong.
“Then—”
Master Avana cut me off.
“I’m sorry, Ran. Right now, I’m attempting a spell beyond my level. And it’s not even my specialty. Only the fact that I’m an elf makes it possible at all. I need to concentrate.”
“Oh… I’m sorry.”
“Just watch quietly. You’ll learn something.”
With that, Master Avana went still.
Come to think of it, I didn’t actually know what her specialty was.
I’d never even seen her familiar.
The only clue I had about her magic was the violet light emanating from her staff.
Well, I had spent every waking moment studying psychokinesis.
Maybe I had been too detached.
Ah.
Was that why Psyche was so cold earlier?
It was then—
Creak.
A tiny noise sent a chill racing down my spine.
Creak, creak.
I didn’t know what it was, but I never wanted to hear it again.
And yet, my ears focused in on it even more.
My head turned slowly on its own.
And then, I saw something rising from the lake.
“…A corpse?”
In the center of the lake, a bloated, pale body was floating—so swollen it looked ready to burst at any moment.
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