The weather was not particularly cold. Even though the temperature difference between day and night in the academy's location was significant, it was not yet the season for thick blankets.
So the girl was wrapped in only a very thin sheet. Est's body was quite small, and the thin sheet covered most of her body, making it hard to see clearly.
Restia looked at the peaceful little face lost in sleep, her lips curling into a strange arc. She reached out her slender finger, pinching Est's cheek and giving it a good tug. Est frowned slightly, poking her hand out from the blanket to swat Restia's mischievous hand away, turning over to change her position and continue sleeping.
Restia felt quite surprised, as if she had discovered a new continent.
Roa sat on the sofa, savoring the dishes Ellis had made, wearing a distracted expression.
Ellis, sitting opposite him, glanced at Roa and casually asked, "What's wrong? You don't look very happy."
Roa sighed, feeling somewhat helpless, "To be honest, I'm not quite sure how to handle those two spirits anymore."
Ellis paused with her fork and knife, looking up at Roa, "Your spirits are very special. Rather than being spirits, they are more like humans. Since they are close to you, you need to grasp the balance, or I might hear about spirits wandering the streets, homeless and destitute."
Roa's mouth twitched slightly, feeling somewhat helpless, "How much do you not trust me?"
While they were talking, a loud thud and Est's cold yet clearly angry voice came from the room where Roa was resting.
"What are you doing?"
Roa's heart skipped a beat, and he hurriedly got up and walked into the room, only to see Est rolled up like a dumpling, with only her small head sticking out.
At this moment, Est's face was so cold it could be described as frosty. Roa turned his gaze to Restia, who was standing nearby, laughing cheerfully, signaling her to explain.
Restia shrugged and smiled, "As you can see, it's just a friendly interaction between me and her."
Est coldly retorted, "Is this what you call a friendly interaction? I don't think a friendly interaction involves pinching someone's face while they are sleeping and wrapping them up like this."
"Well, who knows? Maybe my customs are different from yours."
Restia said cheerfully.
Est turned her gaze to Roa's face, took a deep breath to calm herself, stood up, and awkwardly reached out a hand to uncover the blanket.
She was only wearing a thin shirt on her upper body, and her lower body was almost unprotected, with only black over-the-knee socks covering her slender, rounded calves.
Ellis, hearing the noise, followed Roa into the room. Upon seeing this scene, her face instantly turned bright red.
She heavily punched Roa on the back, stammering, "What were you all doing yesterday?"
Est tilted her head and explained, "As the master's spirit, isn't it my duty to accompany the master while he sleeps?"
"Sleep? Sleep?"
Ellis's voice rose sharply as she glared at Roa, angrily saying, "Didn't I tell you not to do such dirty things in my room? By the way, you scoundrel who doesn't even spare spirits."
Roa tried to explain, hoping to salvage his almost irredeemable reputation, but Ellis did not give him a chance to explain and had already turned her gaze away.
Roa felt somewhat awkward, standing there.
His awkwardness did not affect the atmosphere between Est and Restia, who were ready to fight at any moment. Est launched an attack on Restia, trying to pinch her cheek with her delicate yet pale hand.
The height difference between the two was significant; Restia was a head taller than Est, and the height gap was an insurmountable chasm. Restia simply shifted slightly to the right and easily dodged Est's attack.
Est missed and looked even more unhappy. She turned her gaze to Roa, her expression as cold as ice, revealing her displeasure. Est took a few steps forward, came to Roa's side, and directly hugged his arm, saying, "Master, she's a bad woman; don't be fooled by her."
Roa and Restia were both taken aback, thinking Est would come over to report.
Restia's expression gradually became strange, then she smiled and said to Est, "Forget it, I'll play with you later. Oh, by the way, remember to dress properly next time, okay?"
With that, the girl elementalized and disappeared from the spot.
Hearing this, Est looked down at her lower body, which was only covered by over-the-knee socks and panties, her face showing a puzzled expression.
Roa sighed deeply.
This little girl has no idea how alluring she is right now.
After sending the girl back to her room and instructing her to get dressed before coming out, Ellis merely stood by with a cold expression, watching silently.
"You know, the common sense of spirits is quite different from that of humans."
Roa shrugged, indicating that he had no other options.
In the end, Ellis didn't say anything more. Angrily, she took the knight's sword and put on the uniform that symbolized the academy's knight order before pushing the door and leaving the room.
The large room was once again left with just the two of them.
Once Est finished dressing, Roa took her out to meet in the Spirit Forest.
Days passed as usual, time ticking away.
Ren Ashbell woke up the next day.
Roa, upon hearing the news, brought Restia along to visit the girl.
Who could have imagined that this stunning girl was once a boy in her childhood? If it weren't for the corruption of the otherworldly darkness, she would still be a boy to this day.
The girl in front of them showed a confused expression. She looked around, her beautiful face momentarily lost in thought. Looking at the two before her, the girl voiced her doubts.
"Where is this? Who are you?"
Her pronunciation was very standard, and there was no language barrier.
Roa and Restia exchanged glances, and for a moment, neither spoke.
The room fell into an eerie silence, the girl's gaze shifting back and forth between Roa and Restia, finally resting on Restia.
A hint of hesitation appeared on the girl's face as she asked, "It seems we know each other?"
Roa opened his mouth to clarify Restia's identity but was coldly interrupted by Restia, "It's just an illusion. After all, there are many people in this world who look alike. Perhaps you've seen someone who looks similar to me before?"
Roa felt puzzled and swallowed the words he was about to say.
The girl's beautiful eyes were fixed on Restia, and after a long moment, she said, "Is that so?"
Outside, the sun hung high in the sky.
Inside, shadows concealed half of the girl's face.
After chatting for a while, Roa and Restia exchanged a few words before leaving Ren Ashbell's room.
Once outside, the two walked side by side down the long corridor. Roa asked, "Why pretend not to know her?"
Restia glanced at Roa, her black eyes calm and unruffled.
Restia replied lightly, "What else can I do? This is the best choice, for both me and her. I hope she can live a normal life as an spirit mage, without having to struggle like before."
Ah, she still has a story.
Roa didn't have the habit of probing into others' backgrounds, and even if he asked, Restia might not tell him.
But things never go as planned. In Greyworth's office.
The gray-haired witch was standing by the window, looking down at the scene outside.
When Roa arrived, Greyworth withdrew her gaze from the window and turned to the young man, nodding at Roa and Restia before sitting down to get to the point.
"I assume you have met that child, Ren Ashbell."
A steady yet mature voice came through.
Roa nodded, while Restia stared at Greyworth without blinking, a faint smile on her face.
Restia was always like this; whether in everyday life or elsewhere, she seemed to carry this subtle smile.
Greyworth got to the point, "Then, I hope you can include her in your team. She is a powerful asset, isn't she?"
Neither Roa nor Restia spoke.
In fact, if one had to say, with Ashbell's strength, joining his team would be more than enough. But the key issue was whether it was really appropriate for her to get involved.
In fact, was it really appropriate for the other two girls to get involved?
Roa and Restia both knew that their purpose this time was not to achieve victory; what they truly wanted was the death of the Elemental Lord.
Looking at the two before her, Greyworth did not rush to speak. She slowly twirled the pen in her hand, waiting for their response.
Roa showed a helpless expression, turning his gaze to Restia, and directly asked, "What do you think, Restia?"
Restia's smile faded. She looked deeply at Greyworth and nodded, "You can't expose too much of your abilities. Yes, let Ren Ashbell join."
Roa nodded and said to Greyworth, "I agree, but you need to find her a spirit."
"A spirit, huh?"
At this, Greyworth furrowed her brows, thought for a moment, and nodded, "Alright."
With that, the matter came to a close, but Restia's expression was fluctuating.
She had thought this would completely sever their connection, but unexpectedly, that witch inadvertently caused her to become entangled with her again.
Roa, on the other hand, felt indifferent. He had a clear purpose for coming to this world: to kill the rampaging Elemental Lord.
The Elemental Lords would watch the Spirit Blade Dance Festival, and showcasing too much strength during the Festival would hinder their assassination plans.
Having the girls around him to provide protection could also be a good plan.
Moreover, if anything unexpected happened, they could serve as reinforcements.
With the decision made, Roa once again took Restia to Ren Ashbell's room.
On the white bed, Ren Ashbell's face was pale.
Upon seeing the two return, she glanced at them and then withdrew her gaze, falling back into deep thought.
Roa cleared his throat, stepped forward to greet her, and explained his intentions.
Ren Ashbell calmly nodded, agreeing to Roa's invitation.
Days passed as usual, and time flew by. During the day, Roa trained with the team, and nothing particularly special happened.
When the team saw Ren Ashbell, they all exclaimed in surprise, crowding around her with shining eyes, occasionally reaching out to touch the girl's not-so-robust body, making Roa feel quite embarrassed.
"You, you are the real Ren Ashbell, right?" Claire asked excitedly, her face full of admiration.
Ren Ashbell tilted her head in confusion, her expression dazed.
Roa pulled the overly excited girl aside, feeling somewhat helpless, "She has amnesia, but her foundation should still be there. With some training, she should be a powerful spirit mage. As for whether she is the real Ren Ashbell, I think she should be, right?"
The girls cheered, surrounding Ren Ashbell with questions. Ren Ashbell became dizzy from the inquiries and sought help from Roa.
After a while, the group of girls finally calmed down.
The remaining tasks were quite simple: training within the team, sparring with other teams, and honing their compatibility. Roa had Ren Ashbell observe the battles between spirit mages to familiarize her with them.
Later, he found time to train Ren Ashbell alone.
As Roa had expected, although Ren Ashbell had amnesia, her experience was still there. Even when relearning the Blade Dance, she made rapid progress.
Ren Ashbell's contracted spirit was not particularly strong, merely average, but as Greyworth's former disciple, it was still a high-level spirit.
The spirit was a longsword, enhanced with wind attributes. By casting spirit magic and chanting spirit spells, she could gain the protection of wind elements, temporarily increasing her speed.
The ability was quite decent, and after some training, Ren Ashbell gradually mastered everything.
Just when Roa thought they would smoothly arrive at the start of the Blade Dance Festival, an unexpected event occurred.
To be precise, it wasn't exactly unexpected.
Velsaria Eva Fahrengart arrived.
Although this girl's reputation was not as loud as Ren's, she was also quite famous in the Ordesia Empire.
Velsaria had represented her team three years ago but suffered a crushing defeat in a duel against Ren Ashbell.
Since then, Velsaria had become obsessed with the gains and losses of power, becoming quite paranoid.
If the former Velsaria could be called a knight, the current Velsaria could only be described as someone who pursued power but lost herself.