Class began soon after.
The professor pointed to the magic circle in the center and explained.
“Today’s lesson is a basic practical exercise to check the resonance level between a familiar or spirit and its master.
Resonance is not the same as simple affinity.
It is a concept that includes the transmission of commands, emotional exchange, the stability of mana flow,
and even reaction speed in a crisis.”
The students listened seriously.
From atop Elysia’s head, I merely rolled my eyes.
‘Emotional exchange, huh.’
It had been bothering me that I could faintly sense Elysia’s emotions.
If that was included in resonance, things could get rather troublesome.
“First, each of you will summon your familiar or spirit,
or bring forward the contracted entity you currently have with you.
After that, place your hand on the crystal sphere,
and position your contracted entity inside the resonance array.”
One student raised his hand.
“Professor, what if we don’t have a contracted entity yet?”
“In that case, you will use a practice spirit stone.
We will substitute it by checking how well you react with the spirit stone.”
“Yes, professor.”
The professor smiled.
“There’s no need to be disappointed just because your resonance is low.
In the early stages of a contract, it is only natural for it to be low.
It takes time to grow accustomed to each other’s energy.”
‘That’s true.’
I agreed inwardly.
If it were a normal contract, that would be the case.
If it were a normal contract.
The practical exercise proceeded in order.
First, a male student with a hawk perched on his shoulder stepped forward.
He placed his hand on the crystal sphere, and the hawk sat in the middle of the magic circle.
A faint blue light rose within the crystal sphere.
The professor checked the pattern that appeared on the metal plate.
“Resonance level 42. You said it has been two months since you formed the contract, correct?”
“Yes.”
“Not bad. However, while command transmission is quick, emotional exchange is a little low.
Don’t only do hunting training. Spend more time together in daily life.”
“Understood.”
Next was a female student who had contracted with a water spirit.
As the spirit spun around above the crystal sphere, blue ripples spread inside it.
“Resonance level 57. Quite stable. The water spirit is responding well to its master’s emotions.
However, there are times when the master misses the spirit’s signals.”
“Ah…… yes.”
“Try observing the spirit’s movements more often.”
After that, several students stepped forward one after another.
A black cat-type magical beast had a resonance level of 49.
A flame spirit, 61.
A vine fairy, 53.
A puppy-type magical beast, 46.
Most were between 40 and 60.
Among students who had been together with their partners for a long time, there were some who exceeded 70,
but the professor said that even that was quite a high number.
“Anything above 70 is considered very good.
Even complex commands can be conveyed smoothly during combat.”
A small murmur of admiration passed among the students.
Listening to that, I tilted my head slightly.
‘So that’s the standard.’
Then how much would we get?
No, it must not show.
It had to come out ordinary.
On the first day of a contract, it would be normal for it to be low.
I quietly suppressed my power further.
I made the flow of my yokai power as thin as possible and reduced the energy flowing toward Elysia a little as well.
‘Moderately. Very moderately.’
Just then, the professor’s voice rang out.
“Next, Student Elysia Valerion.”
Elysia stepped forward.
Every gaze in the classroom moved at once.
Of course they did.
It was the turn of Lady Valerion, who had been at the center of attention all day, and her silver-pink fox cub.
Elysia stood before the central magic circle.
Then she carefully tried to set me down from atop her head.
I pondered for a moment.
Should I get down?
Sitting in the middle of a magic circle did not appeal to me at all.
But this was class.
Since I had been registered as a familiar, I had to comply to some extent.
I climbed down along Elysia’s hand and sat in the middle of the magic circle.
The sensation of the cold floor touched my front paws.
‘This isn’t good.’
I felt the magic circle sweep over me.
Thin threads made of mana tried to examine the area around my body.
It was not dangerous.
It was merely measuring the state of the connection between familiar and master.
But I could not allow it to look inside me.
Very quietly, I wrapped up everything except the surface the magic circle could touch.
To put it simply, I was showing it only the outer shell.
‘An ordinary fox cub. An ordinary fox cub.’
I told myself that.
Elysia placed her hand on the crystal sphere.
At that moment.
Light rose within the crystal sphere.
At first, it was a very faint silver.
The next moment, pink mingled into that silver.
And beneath it, a golden light resembling Elysia’s aura slowly spread.
“……?”
The professor blinked.
The students also fell silent.
Three colors of light overlapped within the crystal sphere.
Silver.
Pink.
And gold.
The lights did not push one another away.
Instead, they began to blend very slowly, rotating like a single ring.
‘Uh.’
My ears shot up.
‘Why is it doing that?’
I had definitely suppressed my power.
I had reduced my yokai power too.
The magic circle should only have been able to detect the surface connection.
But the crystal sphere was more sensitive than I expected.
No, to be precise, Elysia’s reaction was strong.
She was conscious of me.
She had been, all along.
Whether I was all right.
Whether I was hurt.
And what that strange sensation during training had been.
Those emotions were reacting through the crystal sphere exactly as they were.
Numbers appeared on the metal plate.
At first, they rose slowly.
‘Good. Stop there.’
‘I said stop.’
The classroom stirred.
“79?”
“Wasn’t the contract formed today?”
“That’s higher than ours.”
“That’s about the level of a familiar that’s been together with its master for a long time……”
The professor, too, stared at the metal plate as if surprised.
But the numbers did not end there.
I hurriedly suppressed my yokai power even further.
The light within the crystal sphere wavered once.
The number stopped at 86.
‘That was dangerous.’
Truly dangerous.
If I had been even a little later, it would have risen higher.
The classroom became completely silent.
The professor checked the metal plate, then looked back and forth between Elysia and me.
“Resonance level…… 86.”
The students drew in their breaths.
Elysia looked surprised as well.
“Is that very high?”
After a brief silence, the professor answered.
“It is not merely high. For a value on the first day of a contract, it is extremely exceptional.”
“……”
“Usually, on the first day, the average is between 10 and 30.
That is because each side’s energy has yet to stabilize.
Even exceeding 50 is considered fast,
and anything above 70 is seen as a state where a fairly strong relationship of trust has already been formed.”
The professor’s gaze landed on me.
“But 86……”
I sat there obediently.
Very obediently.
A subtle tremor passed through the professor’s eyes.
“It may be because Haku is an exceptionally intelligent familiar,
but more than that, Student Valerion’s receptivity is extremely high.
You are accepting your familiar’s energy without rejecting it.”
Elysia looked down at her own hand.
The light within the crystal sphere was still slowly rotating.
“I am…… accepting it?”
“Yes. And Haku also seems to feel a strong sense of stability from Student Valerion.”
‘No.’
I refuted that inwardly.
It was not stability. It was the result of me unilaterally letting energy flow into her.
Of course, it was true that the top of Elysia’s head was more comfortable than expected.
But that was a little different from stability.
Probably.
The professor smiled gently.
“If it is already like this on the first day of your contract, it is a good sign.
However, high resonance is not always purely beneficial.
You may also be easily affected by each other’s emotions or conditions.”
At those words, I paused slightly.
‘That part is true.’
Earlier, Elysia’s anger had flowed toward me.
And my yokai power had influenced Elysia as well.
High resonance meant the connection was deep.
A deep connection could become strength, but at the same time, it could become a weakness.
Elysia nodded with a serious expression.
“I will keep that in mind.”
The professor looked over the metal plate again.
“There is one more unusual point.”
‘Again?’
I wanted to flatten my ears.
The professor spoke carefully.
“The resonance response is a little different from a typical mana bond.
Student Valerion’s aura can be clearly confirmed,
but Haku’s energy…… has a different texture to be called mana.”
The gazes in the classroom gathered on me again.
I immediately tilted my head.
Pretending not to know.
A perfect act of ignorance.
The professor looked at me for a moment, then smiled.
“It may simply be because it is still a young individual and its energy has yet to stabilize.
This sometimes happens with rare familiars.”
‘Good. Let’s move on with that.’
I sighed in relief inwardly.
Fortunately, the professor did not dig any deeper.
Perhaps because it was in the middle of class, she had no intention of examining it in detail,
or perhaps she had dismissed it as a trait of a rare familiar she was seeing for the first time.
Elysia removed her hand from the crystal sphere.
Then the light slowly disappeared.
I quickly slipped out of the magic circle and walked toward Elysia.
Then, as naturally as could be, I leapt onto her skirt,
climbed up her arm, passed over her shoulder, and settled back on top of her head.
“……”
“……”
“……”
The students stared blankly at the sight.
Someone muttered softly.
“It really climbs up so naturally.”
“No wonder its resonance is so high……”
“86 on the first day of a contract.”
“Did Lady Valerion have talent with familiars all along?”
Elysia seemed a little flustered, but soon calmly returned to her seat.
On top of her head, I curled my body into a ball.
‘This is ruined.’
Far from passing quietly, the number 86 had been firmly stamped into everyone’s minds.
Of course, if I had not suppressed it midway, it might have gone even higher.
At least that fact was fortunate.
No, was it fortunate?
“Haku.”
Elysia called me in a very small voice.
I moved only my ears.
“Just now…… did you feel it too?”
“……”
I did not answer.
But Elysia seemed to have already sensed it to some extent.
The moment the lights had mixed inside the crystal sphere.
The thin connection flowing between her and me.
That sensation had reached Elysia as well.
I let out a small cry.
For now, let’s pretend I know nothing.
After a moment of silence, Elysia smiled ever so slightly.
“Mm. All right.”
‘She understood that?’
Things were becoming more and more troublesome.