The next day passed a little faster than usual.
The Starlight Council’s announcement had a definite effect.
There were still students who came to see me during every break,
but before approaching, they first asked Elysia for permission,
and when they were told that today was not a contact day, they backed away, disappointed though they were.
“Haku, today isn’t a touching day, right?”
“Yeah. Under the Starlight Council’s regulations, today isn’t allowed.”
“What a shame…”
Even as they said that, the students merely waved a little from a distance.
I quietly felt relieved in Elysia’s arms.
Three times a week was strange in itself, but it was still far better than being touched every day.
Morning classes, lunchtime, and afternoon classes went by without any major problems.
Richard was still quiet.
No, he was not merely quiet—he barely looked my way at all.
Whenever our eyes happened to meet, he turned his head as if instinctively avoiding something.
Perhaps word had already spread that the Starlight Council had begun an investigation into restricted contact.
Watching him, I muttered inwardly.
‘That’s what you get for doing that.’
Of course, I said nothing out loud.
And at last, school was over.
As the students left the classroom one by one, the corridors of the Department of Magic Knights building settled into an air far calmer than during the day.
After putting her books and writing tools into her bag, Elysia carefully gathered me into her arms.
“Let’s go, Haku.”
‘The library?’
“Yes. Let’s check before the academy gates close.”
We left the Department of Magic Knights building and headed toward the central plaza.
The academy after classes had a slightly different atmosphere from daytime.
Students who had finished their lessons gathered in twos and threes, making their way to the dormitories or clubrooms, while a few upperclassmen walked toward the training grounds.
From the direction of the Department of Magic Engineering, the sound of metal being hammered and the low vibration of magic stone devices still reached my ears.
I flattened my ears slightly in that direction.
I still didn’t like it much.
Perhaps sensing my reaction, Elysia gave a small laugh.
After crossing the central plaza, a huge library building came into view.
The Central Library.
Six floors above ground, two below.
A storehouse of knowledge for Exelia Academy, preserving ancient texts, bestiaries of familiars, grimoires, and even family histories.
The front of the building, which must have been crowded with students during the day, was now somewhat calmer after school.
Even so, students searching for materials before closing time came and went here and there.
Above the entrance was an emblem shaped like a star and a book, and beyond the windows, blue magical lamps glowed softly.
Elysia paused for a moment in front of the library.
“If it’s books related to familiar contracts, they should be on the fifth floor, in the familiar and spirit stacks.
Older materials might be in the ancient familiar bestiary section on the first basement floor.”
‘Going underground right away feels a bit much, so the fifth floor first?’
“Yes. Let’s start by looking up the basic contract methods.”
I nodded.
A formal familiar contract.
The fox bead.
And the connection between Elysia and me.
I did not know if we would find the answer, but at least it felt like the first step would begin here.
Holding me in her arms, Elysia entered the library.
As the door closed quietly, the noise outside seemed to fall one step farther away.
The inside was much more spacious than I had expected.
A high ceiling, endless rows of bookshelves, magical lamps floating with a gentle light.
Between the shelves drifted the faint scents of old paper and dried ink.
For no reason, my ears perked slightly in that air.
Somehow, it felt as though something I did not know was sleeping here.
Elysia approached the reception desk and asked quietly.
“I’d like to find materials related to familiar contracts and ancient familiars.”
The librarian seated at the desk looked back and forth between Elysia and me.
“General familiar contract materials are in the eastern stacks on the fifth floor.
Some materials on ancient familiars and special contracts are on the first basement floor,
but certain books require reading privileges, so I recommend checking the fifth floor first.”
“Thank you.”
Elysia bowed her head and headed toward the stairs.
In her arms, I thought quietly.
‘So we can’t go straight underground after all.’
But it did not matter.
We had only come to check today.
There was not much time before the academy gates closed.
For now, it was enough to look at the basic contract methods first.
When we reached the fifth floor, the atmosphere changed a little.
It was far quieter than the lower floors, and each bookshelf bore labels such as familiars, spirits, magical beasts, contracts, and resonance.
Unfamiliar titles were lined up along the spines.
Basic Theory of Familiar Contracts
Resonance and Contract Stability
Mental Connections Between Familiar and Master
Differences Between Spirit Contracts and Familiar Contracts
Precautions When Contracting with High-Ranking Entities
My ears twitched slightly at the last title.
‘That one.’
Elysia seemed to have seen the same book.
“Precautions When Contracting with High-Ranking Entities… Let’s look at that too.”
She sat down at an empty reading seat and opened several books.
I was carefully set down on the desk.
The surface was cold and smooth, and the surroundings were quiet.
Elysia opened the first book.
“I’ll start with the basic contracts.”
I looked at the pages.
The writing was of this world.
It should have been a script I had never seen before, yet strangely, the meaning entered my mind little by little.
Perhaps it was because of the knowledge remaining in this body’s flesh.
That fact made me a little uncomfortable.
But for now, I decided to pretend not to notice.
Elysia began reading in a low voice.
“A general familiar contract is intended for positional resonance between master and familiar,
support in conveying intent, stabilization of mana flow, and summoning in times of crisis…”
I listened quietly.
Positional resonance.
Support in conveying intent.
Stabilization of mana flow.
Summoning in times of crisis.
If that was all, it did not seem as dangerous as I had thought.
But the next sentence was the problem.
“Depending on the depth of the contract, the master’s and familiar’s life force, mana circuits, and mental resonance may become partially connected.”
‘…That’s what the professor was talking about.’
Elysia must have thought the same thing, because her voice stopped.
We looked at each other for a moment.
If it were an ordinary familiar contract, it might be all right.
But my case was different.
My power was not mana, but spiritual power.
Inside my body slept Woryeong’s memories and power, and perhaps even the fox bead.
There was no knowing how an ordinary contract circle would react to such things.
Elysia carefully turned the page.
“We definitely shouldn’t make a contract right away.”
‘Yeah. I think so too.’
“Today, let’s only confirm the contract methods. Later, we’ll ask a professor from the Department of Special Familiar Studies.”
And until the academy gates closed, we checked several more books.
The contents were largely similar.
A general familiar contract was relatively safe, but the higher the resonance with the entity, the deeper the connection could become.
When contracting with a high-ranking spirit, an ancient species, or an intelligent entity, the will of the parties involved must be confirmed without fail.
A forced contract could provoke severe backlash and cause harm to both master and familiar.
After reading the last sentence, I quietly muttered inwardly.
‘As expected, a general contract might be dangerous for me.’
Then, Elysia’s hand stopped on one book.
The title was Precautions When Contracting with High-Ranking Entities.
Inside was a sentence like this.
A contract with a high-ranking entity should be closer to mutual approval than a contract of obedience.
Rather than the master owning the familiar, the most stable method is for both parties to acknowledge each other’s names and permit a connection.
I stared at that sentence for a long while.
Mutual approval.
A contract in which each acknowledges the other’s name.
For some reason, those words lingered in my heart.
Elysia was quietly reading the same sentence.
“Haku.”
‘Yeah.’
“If we ever make a contract someday, I’d like it to be this kind.”
I looked up at her.
Elysia’s blue-gold eyes were serious.
“Not a way for me to bind you, but a way for you to connect with me when you want to.”
For a moment, I could not think of anything.
The word contract felt heavy somehow, like a form of restraint.
But the contract Elysia was talking about now was different.
Not binding, but acknowledgment.
I slowly nodded.
‘I… if it’s like that, it might not be bad.’
Elysia smiled very faintly.
Just then, a low bell rang from inside the library.
It seemed to be a notice that closing time was drawing near.
The librarian’s voice sounded quietly.
“There is not much time left before reading hours end. Students who wish to borrow books, please come to the reception desk.”
Elysia closed the book.
“We’ll have to stop here for today.”
I nodded.
It was a shame, but it was enough.
We had learned a lot today.
A formal familiar contract was different from simple registration.
In a state of high resonance, there was a risk that the contract would deepen.
A contract with a high-ranking entity should be closer to mutual approval than obedience.
And what Elysia and I needed was probably that kind of method.
Elysia wrote the titles of several books in her notebook and returned the books to their original places.
I climbed back into her arms.
When we left the library, the sky outside was already dyed red.
That quiet hour before the academy gates closed.
From within Elysia’s arms, I looked out over the central plaza.
I had thought today would pass without anything happening, but in truth, that was not the case.
We had found one very small answer.
An answer that a contract might not be obedience, but acknowledging each other’s names.
I turned those words over in my heart once more.
Each other’s names.
Haku.
Elysia.
And the old name sleeping deep inside me, the one I had not yet spoken.
I quietly closed my eyes.
I decided not to bring out that name yet.
At least, not today.
After we returned home, that evening passed a little more quietly than usual.
It was because what we had confirmed at the library remained in my mind.
A formal familiar contract.
Mutual approval.
A connection that acknowledged each other’s names.
If it was not simply a master binding a familiar, but a way for both sides to acknowledge each other, then it might not be bad.
Of course, there was still much I did not know.
Whether there truly was a fox bead inside me, and if there was, how it would connect to a contract,
and how an ordinary contract circle would react to my spiritual power.
It was not yet the stage to act rashly.
Thinking such thoughts, I lay curled up on the soft cushion where I always sat, inside Elysia’s room.
Elysia was seated at her desk, organizing the notes she had taken at the library today.
The sight of her calmly writing down the titles of books related to familiar contracts and the parts we needed to check again later was quite serious.
I stared blankly at her, and then, truly out of nowhere, one thing occurred to me.
Come to think of it.
I did not know Elysia’s age.
No, to be precise, I had never properly thought about how old the students attending this academy were.
By the standards of my previous life, an academy felt like something between middle school, high school, and university,
and since everyone wore uniforms and was divided into classes, it felt even more like a school.
But this was a four-year academy.
Children of nobles enrolled here, there was the Crown system and the Starlight Council, and even among students, a certain degree of political influence was exercised.
When I thought about it, it did not seem to be a simple high school.
I cautiously raised my head.
‘Elysia.’
“Yes?”
Elysia put down her pen and looked at me.
I hesitated for a moment.
Was it all right to ask something like this?
Asking someone’s age could be needlessly rude.
Especially if that someone was a young noble lady.
But I could not simply move on without knowing the standards of this world; it kept bothering me.
‘I know it’s rude.’
“Hm?”
‘How old are you?’
Elysia blinked for a moment.