"I will wait for you even if it takes a hundred years."
— Jiro Horikoshi, The Wind Rises
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He was so close to defeating that man.
"He won't escape," Roy said calmly.
"Secret Art: Ice Archery."
A magnificent ice bow materialized in his hand.
Rinslet's eyes lit up at the sight of the bow.
Roy loosed an arrow, and it flew towards Jio, who felt a chill run down his spine.
"Mirror Spirit, manifest!"
A shiny silver mirror appeared before him.
But the ice arrow split into countless smaller arrows, scattering towards him.
Crash!
The mirror shattered instantly.
The arrows pierced Jio's body, pinning him to the ground.
"Amazing!" Rinslet exclaimed, thrilled by the display of archery.
Fianna and the others also looked at Roy with admiration.
"Haha, it was nothing," Roy said modestly, though he couldn't help but feel a sense of satisfaction.
...
Meanwhile, on another hilltop, a girl's hood was blown back by the wind, revealing her golden hair.
She had delicate features and a petite figure.
She wore the uniform of another academy and had a large ribbon tied around her chest.
This was Muir Alenstarl, a subordinate of Rubia Elstein.
She had been sent here by Rubia to retrieve the Strategic-Class Elemental.
But before she could act, the Elemental had been slain.
She had witnessed the man effortlessly kill the Strategic-Class Elemental and then make its corpse disappear.
His power was terrifying.
She had decided to order Jio to retreat.
But they hadn't been able to escape.
Muir glanced at Roy, her eyes filled with a mix of curiosity and apprehension, then vanished.
Roy had sensed her presence but chose not to pursue her.
After all, Rubia's subordinates were also his targets.
"Alright, now that the mission is complete, let's head back," Roy announced with a smile.
Claire and the others nodded, exhausted from the battle.
They had also sustained some minor injuries and needed to return for treatment.
But as they walked, they noticed Fianna lagging behind, her head lowered.
"Fianna, what's wrong? We're leaving," Claire said, looking at her curiously.
After this battle, they had come to accept Fianna as one of their own.
Fianna had been a great help during the fight.
Although Claire was still puzzled by Fianna's refusal to use her contracted spirit, she didn't dwell on it.
Fianna looked up with a sigh. She had decided to confess.
"I'll tell you now, since you'll find out eventually anyway."
"...?" Claire, Ellis, and Rinslet exchanged confused glances.
Roy, however, understood what Fianna was about to say.
Fianna's expression turned serious. "The reason I don't use my spirit in battle is because... four years ago, I lost my ability to summon my contracted spirit..."
Fianna was the second princess of the Ordesia Empire, once considered a potential candidate to become an Elemental Princess, second only to Rubia Elstein.
But she had abdicated her position and been stripped of her royal status.
This was because she could no longer summon her contracted spirit.
"An Elemental Princess candidate who can't summon her spirit... of course I'm not qualified," Fianna said with a self-deprecating laugh.
An Elemental Spirit Contractor who couldn't summon their spirit was no different from an ordinary person.
It wasn't uncommon for an Elementalist to suddenly lose their ability to summon their spirit.
It could be due to various reasons, such as physical defilement, breaking a contractual oath, or even psychological trauma.
In Fianna's case, it was the latter.
The trauma stemmed from the incident four years ago when Rubia Elstein, the Calamity Queen, rebelled.
Fianna, like Rubia, was a Princess Shrine Maiden candidate.
When she tried to stop Rubia, she was easily defeated.
This had caused her immense psychological trauma, severing her connection with her contracted spirit.
Claire and the others finally understood why Fianna refused to summon her spirit.
But they still had questions.
"But how did you pass the academy entrance exam? There's a practical test, isn't there?"
"I used Greyworth's special privileges to pass," Fianna admitted.
She had been at the academy for a while now. It was impossible for her secret to remain hidden forever.
But with Headmaster Greyworth's protection, she hadn't been exposed.
"I see."
"But why go through all this trouble to attend this academy?"
"Because..." Fianna glanced at Roy, then said with a sly smile, "I wanted to find my prince charming."
Claire and Rinslet frowned, glaring at her.
Fianna giggled.
"Just kidding! I came here to win the Blade Dance and have my wish to regain my spirit powers granted."
For an Elementalist, nothing was more devastating than losing their contracted spirit.
Claire, Ellis, and Rinslet believed her.
"Well, I've told you my secret..." Fianna cleared her throat. "So, do you need an Elementalist who can't summon her spirit?"
She looked at Roy and Claire with a hint of sadness in her eyes, despite her playful tone.
Claire noticed that Fianna's fingers were trembling slightly.
After a moment of consideration, she turned to Roy.
"Don't look at me. You decide," Roy said with a shrug. "But if Fianna can regain her spirit powers, she'll be a valuable asset."
Claire thought about it. Fianna was indeed strong.
She was the second-best student at the Divine Ritual Institute, and her ritual dances were incredibly useful.
Even without her contracted spirit, she was a valuable teammate.
"Fianna already saved us. She's one of us now," Ellis declared.
...
...
"Although I don't like her, she's not a bad teammate," Rinslet admitted, despite her usual disdain for Fianna.
Claire remained silent, seemingly lost in thought.
Fianna looked downcast.
Roy approached Claire and whispered in her ear, "Let me tell you a secret about Fianna..."
"What?" Claire blushed, her cheeks warming from his closeness.
"She's actually using padding!"
"Really?" Claire glanced at Fianna's chest, then nodded. "Fianna, you can be our teammate. After all, we're both members of the 'flat-chested alliance'!"
Fianna, initially pleased by Claire's acceptance, bristled at the "flat-chested" comment.
"Don't compare me to you! I'm much more... endowed!" she retorted, puffing out her chest.
"Hmph! It's just padding!" Claire scoffed.
"Really? Really?" Rinslet's eyes sparkled with excitement.
Her bust was the largest among them, aside from Fianna's.
If Fianna was using padding, then she undoubtedly had the largest... assets.
"As a Knight, I would never resort to such deception," Ellis declared, blushing slightly.
"S-So? I'm using padding. What's wrong with that?" Fianna retorted, crossing her arms defensively.
"So you're just a flat-chested girl after all!" Claire sneered.
"Who are you calling flat-chested?! I'm much bigger than you!"
"What did you say?!"
Seeing them about to start another argument, Roy gently pressed their heads down.
"Alright, that's enough. We should head back. Don't you have injuries to treat?"
The girls realized he was right.
They had all sustained some injuries during the battle.
Especially the poison from Jio's attack, which was quite potent.
They nodded and prepared to leave.
But Roy stopped them.
"Wait, stay still."
The girls looked at him in confusion.
Roy smirked and snapped his fingers.
A blue magic circle enveloped them.
In the next instant, they vanished.
They reappeared in Roy's villa at Areishia Spirit Academy.
Roy had used his teleportation magic to return them instantly, instead of the day-long journey it had taken them to get there.
"...?!" The girls were dumbfounded.
They looked around, recognizing their surroundings.
"Welcome back, Roy-onii-chan!" Alice and Koneko greeted him excitedly.
Their voices drew the other girls from the villa.
"Asia, Shizuka, come and heal them!" Roy instructed.
"Okay!"
"What happened? You're all injured! But thankfully, it's not serious," Asia said with concern, using her Twilight Healing to heal Ellis.
Shizuka, in her usual caring manner, pulled Claire into a hug and began healing her.
Claire, however, struggled to escape. She wasn't comfortable with Shizuka's... embrace.
Shizuka's ample bosom was suffocating her.
Roy, sipping the tea Akeno had prepared, watched them with amusement.
Their injuries were minor, and they were soon healed.
"Roy, what was that earlier?" Claire finally asked.
"Just a teleportation spell," Roy replied casually.
"Teleportation?"
They knew about teleportation magic. They used it to travel to the Elemental Spirit World for team battles.
But they had never seen anyone teleport such a long distance so effortlessly.
The academy was a day's journey away from Gedonelune.
Yet, they had returned in the blink of an eye.
It was incredible!
They looked at Roy with admiration.
"You're all tired. Go and rest," Roy said with a smile, patting Claire's head.
"Okay..."
The girls nodded and left.
"Roy, you're quite good at deceiving little girls, aren't you? You've already won them over in just a few days," Rias commented, her voice laced with jealousy.
"Haha, what can I say? There are so many talented girls here. And Rias can't take them all, so I had to step in," Roy replied with a shrug.
Rias fumed. She also wanted to recruit more servants, but she didn't have unlimited Evil Pieces like Roy.
"That's such a scumbag thing to say," Mine muttered, chewing on a lollipop.
"Well, we're already on his pirate ship," Chelsea added with a sigh, also enjoying a lollipop.
"Ahem." Roy cleared his throat, hearing their whispers.
'I'll have to punish Chelsea later,' he thought.
She can transform into anything... perhaps we can try some new positions.
...
"Kurome, I brought you a gift from my trip," Roy suddenly said to Kurome.
"A gift?" Kurome, who was enjoying some snacks with Akame, tilted her head curiously.
"It's a giant snake called Jormungandr. It's over a kilometer long" Roy explained.
After killing the Strategic-Class Elemental, he had stored its corpse, intending to let Kurome control it with her Teigu.
"Really?" Kurome's eyes sparkled with excitement.
"Of course. Your Yatsufusa should be able to control it."
"Yay! I love you, Onii-chan!" Kurome cheered, hugging Roy tightly.
"Roy really spoils Kurome, doesn't he?" Leone commented with a sigh.
...
The next morning, Roy summoned Fianna.
"Roy, why did you call me so early? Are we going to do something naughty?" Fianna asked with a playful wink, her cheeks flushed.
Roy flicked her forehead lightly.
"Ow..." Fianna clutched her head dramatically.
"I called you here to ask if you want to regain your ability to summon your contracted spirit."
"Eh?" Fianna's eyes widened in surprise.
"Do you have a way?" she asked hopefully.
"We can try," Roy replied with a smile.
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