(āSo that wasnāt the right place eitherā¦! At this rate, I wonāt be able to find herā¦ no, I canāt give upā¦ thereās a big lake to the east, so sheās probably thereā¦!)
He was coming back from one of the deepest parts of the forest. That place was so densely packed with all sorts of trees and plants, that Gustav had no other choice but to constantly avoid them, in order to push forwardā¦ which was a bit tiring. So, when he arrived at the edge of the forest, he decided to take a break.
Gustav only managed to sneak out of the camp, because the students were too focused on Bianca and Leonora to notice him. It was at times like these, that he wanted to thank the two of them for being as popular as they were.
Gustavās main contracted spirit was a normal fire spiritā¦ but they didnāt have a normal contract. Usually, one wouldnāt be able to contract multiple spirits, however, since their contract was just a contract of friendship, Gustav was free to use multiple spiritsā¦ and use them he did.
Most of the time, he asked them to do reconnaissance for him, but this time, they werenāt answering his calls, so he ended up having to search for the Lady of the Lake on his own.
Well, there were two main reasons for why that happened though. For one, the spirits living in the forest thought of Gustav as a āTraitor who didnāt help Christine when she most needed him,ā so they didnāt help him either. And the second, because Gustavās mind was a mess right now.
*Crunch!*
āDammitā¦ā¦ . ā ā Whispered Gustav, as he sunk his fist into the trunk of a nearby tree.
He was trying to forget the bad things he said to that innocent girl with purple eyesā¦ but he couldnāt. Leonora wasnāt an evil and calculative woman. She was just an undoubtedly good person that didnāt mind sacrificing herself for the good of othersā¦ and that fact haunted Gustav.
The numbness of the poison fadedā¦ but not his guilt. The things that Natalia told Gustav were still lingering in his mind.
(Khh! Why didnāt I notice it soonerā¦!)
Thin body.
Easily frightened.
Broken language.
There were more than enough hints. However, Gustav was so hellbent in avenging his sister, that he didnāt even notice them. And that led him into almost committing one of the most unforgivable sins, as a knightā¦ he tried to oppressed the weak.
Moreover, Gustav couldnāt even apologize to Leonora. Whenever he tried to get close to her, Bianca would glare at him, so he ended up feeling even more guilty.
(And to make things worse, she postponed our talk about woman named Chris because she didnāt have enough timeā)
Yesterday, when Gustav questioned her, Leonora told him that an ex-priestess named Chris had told her the real name of the Lady of the Lake. However,Ā only a handful of people knew the real name of the Great Spirit of Water, so deep inside, Gustav had a feeling that that woman named Chris was actually his sister.
(āNo, Iām sure she just said that because she was afraid that Iād lose focus on my mission, if she told me what I wanted to hear. Thatās why she promised me weād meet each-other as soon as possibleā¦)
At first, Gustav thought he had lost his sister forever, but now, he had a glimmer of hope that she was still alive. Well, that didnāt mean he wasnāt a bit impatient though. Gustav even considered asking one of his friends to look for that woman named Chris. However, there was probably a reason for why she hadnāt contacted him yetā¦ and he didnāt want to lose her trust by doing something so shady.
āDammitā¦ . ā ā Whispered Gustav, as he tried to punch the tree again.
But before he could do thatā
āThere you are, Schneider-san, I was looking for you! Itās an emergency!ā (1)
āOne of the magic teachers called his name.
Gustav was still a bit tired, but as soon as he heard the other teacherās voice, he raised his head and turned around.
āAn emergency?ā
āYes! Thatās why I need you to come back with me to the camp! This is serious!ā ā Shouted the teacher, in a panicked tone, as she hurried Gustav to come with her. (1)
When Gustav heard what happened earlier, he initially thought that the other magic teachers were just playing a prank on him. But after making sure that they were, in fact, telling the truth, he yelledā
āāThe spirits kidnapped the First Princess and Leonora von Harkenberg!?ā
āY-yes! According to what we know, one of the students casted a simple fire spell, but instead of vanishing normally, that spell became a huge fire pillar! Her Highness, the First Princess, tried to deal with the spirits who were controlling the fire, but the two were taken away right after that!ā (2)
āThis is badā¦ the spirits are angryā¦ and I think the reason is because the students were using too muchĀ magic powerĀ near the forest.ā ā Said Gustav, in a concerned tone.
The spirits arenāt fond of too much magic power.
That was common knowledge, but the students didnāt know thatāno, Harlet had never taught that to them. They only knew useless information. So, as their new teacher, it was now Gustavās job to teach them that common knowledge and fix this mess.
āā¦*Whisper*ā¦Informationā¦ yes, I need more information. Hey, you, bring me to the place where they disappeared! Maybe I can track them down!ā ā Said Gustav, as he pointed to one of the teachers.
āY-yes, this way!ā (3)
As soon as they reached the disappearance site, Gustav began analyzing the place.
āFrom what I heard, the two of them were speaking normally with the spirits, before they got kidnappedā¦ however, the other students couldnāt hear their voices. Thatās what is bothering meā¦*Whisper*ā¦by the way, do you this this has anything to do with the Lady of the Lake?ā ā Asked one of the teachers, as he approached Gustav. (4)
āProbablyā¦ . ā ā Said Gustav, as he glanced to the side.
However, he wasnāt paying much attention to the other teacher, after all, he was trying to hear the faint voices of the spirits.
āThat man cub isā¦ probably crazy.
āI hope our Ladyā¦ received our offering* .
āMaybe our gift* willā¦ restore her mood.
( *Tl/n: That same word can also mean to gift something and donation , but I used offering on the first one, since it makes more sense, context wise.)
(An offeringā¦!?)
When he heard that, Gustav became even more impatient than he already was.
He then switched to Elandic and asked the nearby spirits if they could tell him where were the two girlsā¦ but not even his main contracted spirit wanted to answer him. In other words, heād have to find them on his own.
āā¦*Whisper*ā¦I seeā¦ so this is how you guys want to play this gameā¦ . ā ā Said Gustav, with a savage smile; his amber eyes were glowing with the light of determination.
Gustav was a Holy Knight and he respected the spirits, but sometimes, they could be a pain in the ass to deal with. So he learned early on that relying on his own strength was the better option, when he wanted something done.
āAll the magic teachers, attention! I want you guys to tell the students that I donāt want any of them using magic power near the forest, until second order! Thereās a possibility that the spirits will kidnap more people, so Iām taking the liberty of cancelling the field trip as well! Send everyone back to the academy as soon as possible!ā
āB-but the students are restless! They want to help in the search as well! You canāt simply tell them toā!ā (3)
āYou canāt simply tell them to go back to the academy.ā ā Is what one of the teachers wanted to say. But before he could finish his sentence, Gustav grabbed him by the collar of his shirt.
āāNow listen here you little shit. If they enter the forest to look for those two, theyāll just increase the number of people that I have to be concerned about. Theyāre just students, not the royal guard. Besides, they wouldnāt be able to win against the spirits even if they tried. So youāll turn around and do what I saidā¦ understood?ā ā Said Gustav, in a threatening tone.
āY-y-yes, sirā¦!ā (3)
āGoodā¦ . ā
Gustav then let go of him, turned around and started walking in the direction of the forest.
āW-where are you going, Schneider-sanā¦!?ā (1)
āMeā¦? Iām going to look for them.ā ā Said Gustav, in a serious tone, without even turning around.
He was heading towards the east, in the direction of a big lake. If his guess was correct, then that place was certainly the home of the Lady of the Lake.
The spirits despise evil more than anything. Thatās why they chose Leonora, a girl with a pure soul, as an offeringā¦ however, that made Gustav even more worried.
(From what I heard, Bianca got teleported while trying to save Leonora, which means, she was teleported as an extraā¦)
The Lady of the Lake was famous for blessing pure girlsā¦ but she despised girls like Bianca, who were known for being cruel towards other people. Thatās why Gustav had to find her as fast as possible, otherwise, something really bad was bound happen.