Before heading to the Eastern Principality, Epherna met someone she already knew through Solendril.
“Cyan…?”
Cyan Lemea, the eldest daughter of the Northern Duke.
She was indeed the high-level summoner Solendril had vouched for.
“Why are you so surprised? Even though I look like this, I’m quite a remarkable woman.”
Cyan was twenty-four years old, five years older than Epherna.
While the age difference didn’t matter much previously, given their status as a princess and a duke’s daughter, it was clear that Cyan was definitely the elder sister by age.
Cyan was a renowned summoner who specialized in handling white wolves during her time at the academy.
What began as a hobby eventually turned into a passion, and she acquired many other summons, earning Solendril’s recognition.
“The realm of summoning relies more on talent than effort, but that doesn’t mean effort is unnecessary.”
After her academy classes, Epherna had one-on-one sessions with Cyan at a café.
“Summoning objects follows a similar principle but requires a more literary touch. In other words, emotion.”
Epherna was already familiar with the magic of summoning objects, as Bergamot had taught her it was a useful spell to know.
Thinking that learning it wouldn’t be too difficult since it was similar, Epherna’s expectations were completely overturned a few days later.
“Bring a literary sense, I said! Don’t just think of summoning but feel the soul of the summon! Imagine specifically what kind of summon you want to connect with!”
At first, Epherna couldn’t understand Cyan’s words at all.
She was being told to visualize the form of the summon she wanted and pray deeply from her heart.
Yes, she understood that much.
But then.
“The summon is already inside your heart. Inside your mind, you’re already sharing names, patting backs, and playing together. Communication is important. Communication.”
This statement made Epherna think it was ambiguous to the point of being nonsensical.
“Summons, unlike monsters, don’t have a physical form. You know spirits, right? You can’t see them, but you know they exist. Summons are like that.”
While very few humans have seen spirits, most believe they exist.
Summons are in a similar context. Epherna continued her meditation, comparing summons to spirits.
Understanding the simple principle, summoning itself wasn’t difficult. However, due to natural affinity limitations, there’s a slot system where a certain percentage decreases with each summon.
Epherna wanted a powerful summon, even if it meant emptying the entire slot, rather than summoning many weaker ones.
She wanted a summon as strong as Ern, who could always be by her side and was worthy of being a Personal Guard.
For about an hour, Epherna meditated, visualizing the image of her desired summon.
The image that emerged changed daily. Summons that had already taken an interest in her were striving to enter her mind, and Epherna selected the ones she liked and dismissed the rest.
For about a week, many lower-level summons, which didn’t even occupy a tenth of the slot, came to her.
After two weeks, somewhat acceptable mid-level summons appeared in her mind.
By a month, many high and mid-level summons surrounded her.
However, none of the summons satisfied Epherna or filled the slot completely.
Even high-level summons were insufficient.
They had to be top-level to occupy half the slot, but Epherna was not satisfied.
She wanted a summon more precious and powerful than any other.
Epherna did not forget to spend time reconstructing her physical body during the process of summoning a spirit.
In fact, reconstructing the body was something that had to be done, even if it wasn’t for stamina reasons.
An ordinary human body has limits in accepting a certain amount of mana.
Epherna already had an immense amount of mana, comparable to a strong river, and needed a more robust body to withstand it.
Despite the term “reconstruction,” Epherna herself did very little.
By circulating mana throughout her body and meditating, her body changed on its own.
However, it was inherently a time-consuming task.
It required diligence and sincerity, so she had to dedicate herself each day.
Time flowed like a river.
Three months passed in the blink of an eye.
*****
As a side note, Cyan had decided to stay in the room next to Epherna’s until Epherna could summon a spirit. Currently, she was chatting with Epherna in their dorm rooms.
“The North was so cramped and stifling.”
Although there are closed sectors, the North isn’t particularly small, but Cyan felt confined because she had never left her home due to family matters.
“I don’t know if that’s why, but when the headmaster contacted me, you immediately came to mind. We didn’t get to talk much during our New Year’s festival, did we?”
“That’s true.”
They had been very busy.
Besides that, the two women had rarely met separately.
They did exchange letters, but with the time it took for letters to go back and forth, communication was rare.
“There’s something I really wanted to ask. How are things going with Lord Astra? Have you confessed? Any kisses? Any smooches?”
“…”
Epherna’s face turned red, and she shook her head vigorously.
It had been a long time since she talked about romance, and even a small stimulus made her blush deeply.
“…I think there might be a slight chance.”
She said shyly, bowing her head.
“Really??”
Cyan asked, eyes wide and smiling.
She was surprised that Epherna could say this much.
Just a few months ago, Epherna had been all dreams with zero execution.
The fact that she now mentioned a possibility meant she had likely made some effort.
Thinking of that, her previously frustrated feelings began to ease.
“Well, well, look at you! You were able to do it after all!”
Cyan clapped her hands on the table and smiled brightly.
“So when are you planning to confess? Right at the coming-of-age ceremony? Or maybe at the engagement ceremony?”
“That’s…”
She hadn’t decided yet.
She hadn’t even decided whether to confess at all.
Without being sure if he would accept her feelings, she couldn’t make a decision about the confession.
Cyan gave her advice on this.
“There’s no rush. If you truly can’t stand how much you like Lord Astra, then you can confess when that time comes.”
Rarely did Cyan not express her impatience. This was the opposite of her previous eagerness for Epherna and Ern’s relationship to develop rapidly.
The reason for her newfound calmness was confidence. She was certain that Epherna would eventually make up her mind and confess.
“Epherna, if I, as your older sister, may offer advice, remember that Lord Astra is still a man. A man can’t possibly have no feelings for you.”
Epherna was beautiful.
Beyond just pretty, she was enchanting. Any man would find it hard to refuse such a woman.
Ern, after all, was a human being with desires, and no one knew what emotions he might be hiding.
Cyan continued.
“By the way, did you know? You’re getting even more beautiful lately.”
Recently, as Epherna worked on reconstructing her body, her balance as a human was becoming increasingly perfect.
Approaching twenty, she was developing the demeanor of an adult and, frankly, was alluring even from a woman’s perspective.
“If you confessed to any female student right now, she’d probably accept.”
It was a strange analogy, but it meant that Epherna’s appearance was flawless.
Cyan’s eyes traveled over Epherna’s body. Comparing how she looked now to when she first saw her, she realized one thing.
“By the way, when you reconstruct your body with magic, does your chest get bigger too?”
“Hmm?”
“Why does it look like your chest has gotten bigger? Normally, br*asts don’t change that noticeably.”
Cyan reached out and touched Epherna’s chest.
Epherna was startled and let out a sharp cry, but they were in the academy dormitory.
The soundproofing was good enough that no one could hear them.
“Seriously, why is it so big? Did you get implants?”
“What are you talking about!”
Epherna’s face turned as red as a tomato.
She was very sensitive to such discussions among women.
It was only natural.
Discussing such topics with someone other than Cyan would be considered a serious offense and treason, so no one would dare speak so openly.
“Touching it like this, it’s quite ample… D-cup… No, that’s too small, E-cup…? No… This feeling is…”
Epherna kept shouting at Cyan, who seemed unfazed by the reactions.
For Cyan, Epherna’s cries sounded as innocent as a baby bird chirping.
“This feels a bit like betrayal. I thought it was similar. Or has it grown recently? Your hips also seem different. Your skirt looks tight?”
“…”
Epherna was at a loss for words.
Strangely, Cyan’s comments seemed to hit the mark exactly.
As Cyan had said, recently… no, not just a little, but significantly, her body had grown.
The growth plates that had been almost closed had been working hard, and the change in her skeletal structure had inevitably made her hips wider.
Her face had changed too… but other than having matured, she wasn’t sure what else had changed.
In any case, Epherna felt a fleeting sense of fear at Cyan, who seemed to know all about her changes.
A skilled woman’s intuition could be beyond even the Princess’s capacity to predict.
