"I know that uanding the atmosphere and not standing out is the key to happiness."— Hitohito Tadano, Komi 't unicate

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  Roy suspected that Scarlet had been injured in a battle with other spirits, causio lose most of her power and even fet her name.

  But after ing a drop of the Phoenix Tears, her wounds healed within moments, arue strength as a high-ranking spirit was restored.

  Scarlet, her power fully recovered, transformed into a petite girl with fiery red hair, crimson eyes, cat ears, and a tail.

  She looked at her hands in surprise, then bowed deeply to Roy. "Thank you, Roy-sama!"

  Roy's eyes widened slightly. Scarlet's clothes were quite revealing.

  "Ahem, you're wele," he coughed, waving his hand dismissively.

  Saya shot him a disapproving look.

  "S-Scarlet?" Cire stammered, her face flushed as she stared at the transformed Scarlet.

  How could her tracted spirit take on a human form?

  Cire was bewildered. Only high-ranking Elemental Spirits could do that.

  "Is that really you, Scarlet?" she asked, her curiosity overing her embarrassment.

  "Yes," Scarlet replied with a sweet smile. Her voice was clear and melodious.

  "But... how is this possible?" Cire was dumbfounded.

  "I'm a high-ranking Elemental Spirit," Scarlet expined. "Thousands of years ago, I was severely injured in a battle against a Demonic Spirit, causio lose most of my power and my memories."

  Roy's guess had been correct.

  Cire was stunned.

  Her Scarlet was a high-ranking Elemental Spirit? This was unbelievable!

  High-ranking spirits were incredibly rare. There were only a few iire world.

  And the highest-ranking spirits were even rarer. She couldn't believe she had one as her tracted spirit.

  The reason high-ranking spirits were so scarce was mainly due to Roy and his group having tracted most of them.

  And very few new high-ranking spirits had been born in the past few thousand years.

  "Scarlet, this is wonderful!" Cire excimed, tears of joy welling up in her eyes as she hugged Scarlet tightly.

  But a moment ter, she released Scarlet, her face flushed red.

  "Huff... huff..."

  "That was close! I almost suffocated!" Cire gasped, relieved.

  Scarlet's... assets were a bit overwhelming.

  "Scarlet, you won't leave me, right?" Cire asked, her eyes filled with worry.

  F a tract with a high-ranking Elemental Spirit was incredibly difficult, and Scarlet had formed a tract with her when she had lost her memories.

  Cire wasn't sure if Scarlet would still aowledge her as her master.

  "Yes," Scarlet replied with a nod.

  Cire was overjoyed.

  She had been pnning to go to the Spirit Forest to find another spirit, but now that Scarlet had regained her true power, there was no need.

  "Anyway... Scarlet, please put on some clothes," Cire said, remembering that there was a ma.

  Scarlet blihen jured a school uniform identical to Cire's.

  "Ahem." Roy cleared his throat, interrupting Cire's thoughts.

  "Hey, I'm Roy. What's your name?"

  "Eh?" Cire was startled, then quickly replied, "Cire Rouge."

  "Cire, I healed Scarlet for you. How are you going to repay me?" Roy asked with a mischievous grin.

  "D-Don't call me so casually!" Cire blushed, flustered by his forwardness.

  "Well, since you helped Scarlet, I'll grant you one request," she offered.

  "Is that so? Then give me your first kiss," Roy said with a chuckle.

  "What?!" Cire's face turned as red as an apple.

  "My first kiss?" she squeaked, staring at him in disbelief.

  Saya and Kurome, who were standing beside Roy, pinched his sides, clearly displeased with his eous request.

  Roy sighed aly removed their hands.

  "If you're not willing, then fet it," he said to Cire, shrugging. "How about this? You guide me to the Elemental Spirit you heard about in the Spirit Forest."

  Cire breathed a sigh of relief.

  "Okay, follow me," she agreed, leading the way. Roy, Saya, and Kurome followed closely behind.

  ????

  Meanwhile, at the academy, Greyworth was Roy from a window.

  She was growing more and more curious about him.

  He could identify a high-ranking Elemental Spirit, and he had casually given arecious item like the Phoenix Tears.

  She had already used the Phoenix Tears, and her years of accumuted injuries were instantly healed.

  Yet, he had given such a valuable item to aal Spirit.

  And that Elemental Spirit seemed to know him.

  Who was he?

  Greyworth's curiosity deepened.

  ...

  ...

  In the Spirit Forest, Cire led Roy, Saya, and Kurome, searg for the Elemental Spirit she had heard about.

  By midday, they still hadn't found anything.

  'Growl!' Cire's stomach rumbled.

  She blushed and covered her stomach with her hands.

  "Let's take a break," Roy suggested with a smile.

  Cire, though embarrassed, agreed.

  She took out a of food from her bag and was about to eat when a delicious aroma wafted towards them.

  Cire's mouth watered. It smelled so good that her ed food suddenly seemed uizing.

  She turowards the source of the smell.

  Roy and the others were sitting at a table den with delicious food.

  "Where did all this e from?" Cire asked, staring at the feast in disbelief.

  "I just brought it with me. Would you like to join us?" Roy offered with a smile.

  How someone just "bring" so much food? Cire wondered.

  But she didn't dwell on it. Some Elemental Spirits could store items.

  Like the ice spirit, Fenrir, tracted to Ri.

  Fenrir's stomach was ected to a separate dimension, allowio carry any amount of luggage.

  ...

  Not only that, but Fenrir could also keep food fresh.

  "Just to be clear, I won't give you my first kiss for this," Cire said, eyeing Roy suspiciously.

  She saw him as a lecherous wolf and was wary of his iions.

  Roy sighed inwardly. It seemed his earlier request had givehe wrong impression.

  Just then, Scarlet emerged from the spirit seal on Cire's arm.

  She approached Roy, her eyes fixed on the food. "Roy-sama, I have some?" she asked, drooling slightly.

  Roy chuckled. "Of course. e a."

  "Scarlet, you usually eat ed food, don't you? It must be tough having a master who 't cook," Roy teased Cire.

  Cire bristled like an angry cat.

  "Who said I 't cook?! I'll show you my cooking skills whe back!" she retorted.

  Roy thought about Cire's cooking in the inal story.

  No, thank you.

  What Cire made couldn't even be called food. It was more like charcoal.

  He shook his head. He wasn't ied in trying her disastrous cooking.

  "e a. We'll tinue searg for the Elemental Spirit after we're done," Roy said.

  Cire, no longer holding back, joihem at the table and picked up a chi leg.

  Her eyes widened as she took a bite. It was delicious!

  For Cire, who lived on ed food, this was the most amazing meal she had ever tasted.

  ...

  After their satisfying lunch, they tiheir search for the Elemental Spirit.

  They arrived at a valley.

  Roy sensed something ahe girls deeper into the valley.

  The valley was barren, with steep cliffs oher side and a narrow path iween.

  Suddenly...

  "Aah!"

  Two figures came flying towards them from around a er, screaming.

  Roy reacted quickly, catg both girls in his arms.

  One of them was a beautiful girl with stunning blonde hair and an air of noble elegance.

  She was the picture of a perfeoble dy.

  She wore the Areishia Spirit Academy uniform, a white dress with bck ats and a ribbon repg the buttons.

  This was Ri Laurenfrost.

  The irl was her clumsy maid, Carol, dressed in a maid outfit.

  Ironically, Ri was more like a maid than Carol, as she often had to take care of her i servant.

  But Carol was excellent at ohing: transting Ri's words.

  Ri, being a tsundere, often spoke in a roundabout way.

  Only Carol could uarue iions.

  "Man, you're quite something!" Ri decred, looking at Roy with a haughty expression.

  "My dy means to thank you for saving us," Carol crified gratefully.

  "It's no problem at all. Are you twht?" Roy asked with a smile.

  "Thank you for your . We're fine," Carol replied with a nod.

  "Ri? What are you doing here?" Cire asked in surprise.

  "Hmph! Why 't I be here?" Ri retorted.

  "My dy was worried about Cire-sama, so she followed her to the Spirit Forest," Carol expined, revealing Ri's true iions.

  "Carol..." Ri whined, embarrassed.

  Cire was touched.

  She hadn't expected Ri, who usually antagonized her, to be so ed about her well-being.

  But being a tsundere herself, Cire couldn't express her gratitude.

  "By the way, I'm Roy. This is Saya and Kurome. What are your names?" Roy introduced himself.

  "I apologize for not introdug myself earlier. I am Ri Laurenfrost," Ri said with a graceful curtsy.

  "And I am Carol, Lady Ri's maid," Carol added.

  "What happened back there?" Roy asked curiously.

  Ri's expression ged.

  "There's a Demonic Spirit in there! We have to leave! If it finds us, we're in trouble!"

  "Yes, we were just attacked by it. It sent us flying with a single roar. We should leave quickly!" Carol added, her voice filled with urgency.

  "I don't think we o run," Cire said, staring at the steep cliffs surrounding them.

  ...

  "Eh? Why not?" Ri asked, fused.

  "Because it's already found us," Cire replied, pointing towards the cliff with a trembling finger.

  Ri followed her gaze and gasped.

  The Demonic Spirit had indeed found them.

  It was a massive rock giant.

  It roared upon seeing them.

  ROAR!!!

  The entire valley shook, and rocks tumbled down the cliffs.

  The giant swung its massive hand towards them.

  Ri, Carol, and Cire were frozen in fear, uo react.

  Roy swiftly scooped up Ri and Cire, leaping onto a nearby cliff.

  Kurome grabbed Carol, and they escaped with Saya.

  Boom!

  The giant's hand smmed into the ground where they had been standing, causing a tremor that shook the entire valley.

  They could now see the monstrous creature clearly.

  It was hundreds of meters tall, its massive body radiating a destructive aura.

  "N-No way! How are we supposed to defeat that?!" Cire excimed, her voice filled with terror.

  "We should run!" Carol suggested.

  "Don't worry, you have Scarlet," Roy reassured Cire, gently patting her head.

  Cire calmed down, then blushed as she realized Roy atting her head. She shook her head, esg his touch.

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