"Well, that's probably all I can tell you about dragons. Or do you want to ask something else?"
"Yes. You said that dragons in human form differ from each other, but how?"
"Well, most of the time, when a dragon transforms, they retain the hair color corresponding to the color of their scales, and the horns remain the same as in their dragon form, just smaller. So, if you ever meet a person with black horns and hair, you can see a black dragon in them."
"I also wanted to ask," Grain, who was sitting quietly behind the students, raised his healthy hand slowly, "I understand that dragons mostly use elemental magic, fire, lightning, water, ice. But are there dragons who use earth magic?"
It was evident why he hesitated with this question; if there were no earth magic teachers among humans, there might be some among dragons.
"Well, actually, black dragons can use any type of elemental magic; it's one of our greatest strengths. But out of habit, and because fire is more natural to us, we rarely study other elements. I'm not entirely sure, but maybe some of my relatives possess that type of magic."
Following Grain's question, the faces of the other earth mages sitting nearby darkened. Levris was the one to break the silence.
"Why are you all so gloomy? You've learned a lot today, and it's time to thank Ragni for her story. I think, as your teacher, I'll take that on myself."
Ragni gave up her seat to the teacher and sat down beside us. Although the summoner's history was part of the general curriculum, the details about the contract were not well-known, and they weren't covered in the main subjects.
"Well, I suppose you all know that magic was given to humans by the first summoner. But that's not entirely true. Even before him, some people exhibited magical abilities, but they were limited to simple spells. By opening portals to the spirit realms and summoning rulers from different dimensions, the summoner gave people the opportunity to make contracts with spirits, obtaining power over true magic."
Everyone already knew this story, but Ragni listened with interest. It seemed that dragons knew slightly more about humans than humans knew about dragons.
"In the following days, after the first summoner, four more were born. They appeared in the following order: the summoner of the dead, then the summoner of angels, elementals, and demons. The last summoner ruled only a thousand years ago, and very little is known about them. At that time, demons tried to invade our world. During their lifetimes, people could freely communicate with spirits from the world governed by the summoner, and that's how the contracts were made."
"Hmm, well, I know a bit about the history," Ragni interjected, "but I would like to learn more about the contracts themselves. I only know that they somehow unite a person's soul with that of a spirit."
"Oh, I'm sorry, then let's move on to the contracts," the teacher said, but there was no need to apologize so frequently. "You're right, contracts unite a person's soul with a spirit from one of the magical dimensions. Contracts can vary depending on the spirit. For example, spirits of the deceased take away the contractor's senses but, in exchange, can grant immortality. These are probably the only spirits that offer immortality to their contractors. Spirits of angels and demons bestow their power upon the contractors but, in return, influence their character traits towards what's closer to their nature. Though in some books, it's mentioned that the contractors can resist the side effects of the contracts, depending on their innate abilities, and some can even make contracts without any consequences for themselves. However, when making a contract, the contractor's appearance changes slightly - the color of their hair and eyes changes. I've even heard that some demon contractors grow horns."
"Hmm, all of this is quite interesting, but you deliberately omitted information about contracts with elemental spirits?"
"Mmm. A contract with an elemental spirit is slightly different from the others. The person literally merges with the spirit and is reborn in the form of an 'elemental'. They look like they did before the contract, but their hair and eyes take on the appearance of the element they are associated with, and all their memories, both of their human life and the spirit, disappear. The lifespan of such a contractor depends solely on the compatibility between the person and the spirit. I don't know what happens if a person from a family of mages of the same element but unrelated to the specific spirit enters into such a contract. However, it used to cause a lot of trouble when an adult person suddenly appeared without any knowledge of society or themselves. Not to mention that during the war, there were experiments on forcibly making contracts with elemental spirits to use elementals as mindless soldiers on the battlefield."
"In some way, all the contracts link the souls of the person and the spirit," Ragni pondered for a moment.
"Ragni, it seems to me that you were asking all of this for your benefit?" I noticed that during Levris's story, the dragoness stroked the dragon mark, the proof of our contract.
"Mhmm. These contracts are suspiciously similar. By the way, how does the actual agreement happen? Do you happen to know?" Ragni asked.
"Huh? The contract itself?" Levris became nervous, not wanting to admit her lack of knowledge in front of her students. "I'm sorry, but the last living contractor died many centuries ago, and it's only known that the contract is formed with the mutual consent of the person and the spirit. Unfortunately, the details can only be provided by the spirits themselves during a personal meeting."
"Too bad, I would have liked to learn more about them," Ragni was disappointed, but I had learned a lot of interesting things. If the contracts were almost the same, then maybe I had at my disposal not only a personal servant but also the ability to use her power.
As the evening approached, the students, as agreed, cleaned our yard and repaired the walls after their training. They hadn't caused much damage to the environment, so they finished quite quickly. After they were done, Grain approached us for a serious conversation.
"Lady Katrina, do you really think you can find the summoner?"
"If I wasn't confident in my abilities, I wouldn't have created this guild," the princess replied, and at those words, she almost burst with pride.
"Lady Ragni, is it true that among your acquaintances, there are dragons who possess earth magic?"
Well, I understand that Katrina is the princess of his country, but addressing Ragni as "Lady" is too much formality.
"Well, there aren't many of them, but my mother surely knows a few dragons like that."
It seems I've understood where he's leading. Grain unexpectedly bowed to the two princesses in front of his fellow students and spoke up:
"Allow me to join your guild. I might not be able to provide significant assistance in battles, but I'm confident that I can achieve great things with all of you."
"Eh? Well, this is unexpected," Katrina blushed at such an unexpected request, "our guild is just starting its activities. Are you sure you don't want to join more experienced guilds?"
Whispering from behind, Kurone chimed in, "Miss Katrina, agree to it. Then we can finally officially open the guild."
"But I want everyone in my guild to pursue their dreams when joining. I don't know if I can help Grain achieve his goals."
Grain simply stood there, bowing his head. I don't know, but maybe he had given up on developing his earth magic and was hoping that this was his last hope. Other students looked at him sympathetically; I'm sure some of them were rejected by larger guilds, told that they didn't need more earth mages. Their application on the battlefield was quite limited, and larger guilds didn't require more than one or two mages. Moreover, no one would want to share their loot with them later.
But Katrina didn't even understand such simple things. Of course, she was thinking about Grain's welfare, but her behavior was only causing him pain.
"Hmph, Katrina, what nonsense are you talking?" I couldn't bear to watch this any longer. "You don't have enough people right now! And when a newcomer volunteers to join, you refuse? What a talentless leader."
"How dare you!" The princess rose in anger. "I care about him, YOU heartless idiot."
"Psh. What difference does it make?" I spread my arms demonstratively and turned to Grain. "Do you want to join the guild, even despite the words of our foolish guild master?"
"Yes!" Despite my offensive tone, Grain's answer was firm and confident.
"And will you join even if you end up being used as cannon fodder on missions?"
"Krito!" Katrina was furious.
"I agree," Grain finally raised his head and stared at me with a stern look. Thank goodness he wasn't a fire mage. "No other guild would offer me a better position."
"Eh? What did you say?" It seemed that only now Katrina began to realize her mistake, but I wasn't planning to stop.
"And what if I tell you to completely change your earth magic training? It will only lead you to a dead end anyway."
"Fine. I believe that traveling with all of you will help me find a teacher, and then I'll start training anew."
And he seemed ready for anything.
"Then, if the GM allows it, I have no objection to your joining the guild," I glanced meaningfully at Katrina, waiting for her response. How could she think about it for so long? Strong people in her airy castles never belittle the weak. After all, she witnessed that battle with Miguel, and if she really wants to save this country, she should first bring earth mages to the level of other mages.
"All right, I gladly accept you into our ranks." Inflating with pride, Katrina extended her hand to the new recruit. Unaware of the danger, Grain happily shook her hand.
Oops. Did they forget about our princess's "special ability"? Thank goodness I was standing next to Katrina, and her barrier was weakened. Nevertheless, with a strange expression on his face, Grain fell back unconscious. Levris rushed to check on him, and after a few minutes, the Healthy One was sitting in the shade, sipping the hastily prepared tea by Kurone, while Katrina apologized. At least now, he would be cautious around her.
"Hmph. Useless princess, as always, causing nothing but trouble," the red-eyed beauty was still here, smirking at Katrina's awkwardness.
It seems she has some personal grudges against Katrina and Ragni. I asked as nonchalantly as possible, "Are you still here?"
"I promised to introduce myself if this lizard's tale proved interesting to me," Ragni growled in response to the girl's insult, but she decided not to waste her energy on her.
"My name is Seleria Eileran. I am a fire mage, as you probably guessed," the girl proudly crossed her arms over her chest.
"Oh, is that...?" Kurone mumbled something and tugged at my sleeve. "It seems in some language, it means 'Ruler of Leran'."
"No need to be shy, little girl," if we were at home, the red-eyed beauty's nose would probably pierce the ceiling from pride. "You're right, I am Princess Leran, and more!" She narrowed her eyes, glancing at Ragni and Katrina. "I'm ashamed to be a princess alongside these failures."
Ragni seemed to start growling in anger, though no, it was Katrina.
"Oh, you!! Princess of these barbarians! How dare you insult me like that!" Katrina began emitting a slight crackling sound, and it was best to stay away from her.
"And what's this called? One," Seleria pointed her finger at the dragoness, "lost to a commoner without any outstanding abilities and is now forced to serve him," she seemed well-informed, probably deliberately researching before her arrival, "And the other," with an even more dissatisfied look, the red princess pointed at Katrina, "is incapable of controlling her power, harming her comrades more than her enemies. Hmph, even her own father is afraid of her."
"SHUT UP!" Katrina angrily grabbed Seleria's hand, but to my surprise, her protective barrier didn't work.
"Let me go, clumsy princess. I don't want to start a war between our countries because of your insecurities."
Frowning, Seleria broke free from Katrina's grip and turned away. I don't know why, but her words seemed to hurt Katrina more than anything before. No matter how much they insulted her in the past, she never got this angry.