The fountain’s statue shattered, sending a massive column of water shooting into the sky.
This was far from a natural flow of water.
Instead of cascading back to the ground, the soaring column began to coalesce into a cylindrical mass of tremendous size.
There was something strangely familiar about its appearance…
[Kraaaah! I sense the wretched aura of that damned creature nearby! Come out at once! My eternal nemesis!]
“Oh, great. What now?”
A threatening voice reverberated through the air.
As the water column seemed poised to sweep through the plaza, people screamed and fled in panic.
This was going to be trouble.
“Julia, are you sure that’s a spirit?”
“Y-yeah, it is a spirit, but I have no idea why it’s so angry… uh, sir.”
“Can I count on you to handle it?”
“O-okay! If it keeps rampaging like this, we won’t have a choice…”
Just as Julia shut her eyes tightly, preparing to chant an incantation—
“Oh-ho-ho-ho! Who needs my assistance?”
“…?”
A refined, almost regal laugh echoed from the distance.
While the students scattered in terror, one lone woman with golden hair styled in a neat bun strode confidently toward them, the sound of her heels echoing in the chaos.
Who is this?
“Help isn’t really—”
“No need to worry! This bizarre phenomenon is caused by a spirit! With me, the veteran Spirit Master Lillia, here, you’re all safe! There hasn’t been a single spirit I couldn’t subdue with my Spirit Language! …Except for one, that is.”
“What was that last part?”
“T-that’s not important!”
With a dramatic snap, she unfolded her fan and stepped forward.
Lillia? That name sounded vaguely familiar…
Just as she closed her eyes and began chanting softly, something unexpected happened.
[Unseen spirit! Cease scaring these people at once and kneel before me!]
What?! She translated Spirit Language directly into human words?
While Julia was still at the stage of using near-primordial sounds incomprehensible to humans, this woman could seamlessly transform her Spirit Language into a chant.
No wonder her reputation as an exceptional Spirit Master didn’t seem entirely unfounded.
Julia began looking at Lillia with eyes full of admiration, her respect growing as the raging water column’s ferocity gradually subsided.
Could it be that Lillia was taming it?
“Phew. That should do it. It’s not uncommon for spirits that have just evolved into intermediate rank to lose control like this. Once they reach intermediate rank, they can fully intervene in the physical world, so—”
[Kraaaargh! Intermediate? Did you just compare me to those lowly creatures?!]
“…What?”
Rumble!
The rumbling sound of boiling bubbles came from the water column, followed by a deep, resounding voice.
Lillia’s face turned ghostly pale.
“A spirit speaking in human language… that means it’s at least a Grand Spirit!”
[Kraaaargh! Indeed, human! Now go and find my mortal enemy! I can sense they’re nearby!]
“Hiieeek!!!”
Lillia’s legs trembled, and she collapsed to the ground in fear.
Julia’s admiring expression quickly soured into one of disappointment.
She had hoped for a valiant display from this so-called veteran Spirit Master, only to find her unable to subdue even a single Grand Spirit.
As Julia sighed and prepared to step forward, the earth began to rumble.
With a resounding roar, the ground split apart, and Dirt-Dirt burst out from beneath the cobblestones.
[Kyaaaaargh! Were you searching for me, Spirit of Water?!]
“Hiieeek!?”
[Kyaaaargh! Isn’t this the same human who tried to banish me from the mountains last time?!]
“I-I’m sorry! I’m so sorry! I swear I won’t show myself here again···!”
The sight of Dirt-Dirt towering in its colossal form sent Lillia into a fit of hysterics as she crawled away on all fours.
So that was her? The Spirit Master Count Ariente had summoned during the highway construction to deal with Dirt-Dirt.
If she couldn’t even subdue Dirt-Dirt, she was less skilled than Julia.
[Kyaaaargh! Frightening humans is beneath you, Spirit of Water! Such petty actions are disgraceful!]
[Kraaaargh! Finally, I’ve found you, Spirit of Earth! I still haven’t forgotten the humiliation you inflicted upon me!]
Two Grand Spirits.
Two titanic forms.
Aside from their colors, they were mirror images of each other, standing face-to-face like a set of devious twins.
Their thunderous argument shook the entire academy.
[Kyaaaargh! What humiliation? You’ve done so many disgraceful things I can’t even keep track!]
[Kraaaargh! Don’t you dare play dumb! Have you forgotten how you filled my pond with dirt while I was asleep?!]
“That’s a bit much…”
“Yeah… Dirt-Dirt’s in the wrong here.”
The Spirit of Water howled in grief, its voice laden with sorrow.
Come to think of it, Dirt-Dirt had raged about how we woke it up by carrying out construction near its resting place.
Yet now it had done the same to someone else…
What a truly awe-inspiring display of hypocrisy.
[Kraaaargh! What’s this? Dirt-Dirt? Is that supposed to be your name?!]
[Kyaa… Kyaaaargh! Of course not! I am the mighty Spirit of Earth! There’s no way I’d have such a ridiculous name!]
“It’s Dirt-Dirt, isn’t it! Why are you pretending it’s not?”
“Yeah, if you keep denying it, we’re going to feel a little hurt…”
[Kraaaargh! To accept such a ridiculous name from mere humans—what a disgrace!]
[Kyaaaargh! Mere humans?! The only spirit allowed to look down on these humans is me! Take that back immediately!]
[Kraaaargh! Never! The so-called mighty Spirit of Earth has become nothing more than a guard dog!]
[The Evil God ‘Kali’ is outraged, claiming the Spirit of Water has committed blatant and malicious defamation against our esteemed Dirt-Dirt!]
The argument reached an irreparable stage, and soon the massive forms clashed.
But instead of a deafening explosion, what followed were soft squelching and splashing sounds.
The two Grand Spirits pressed their stubby hands together, locked in a comically intense struggle.
From afar, it might have looked like a petty squabble between children, but the sheer scale of their forms meant every shove shattered fountains and cracked the plaza’s tiles.
“Wow! Wooooow! A fight between Grand Spirits, something straight out of legend! Is this really happening?!”
“What are you talking about?! We need to stop them!”
“Oh, come now! Do you realize what you’re saying? This is a clash of the most powerful beings in existence! Doesn’t your heart swell with awe? This is a once-in-a-lifetime, no—a once-in-a-millennium spectacle!”
“Ugh! I can’t reason with you! I’ll handle this myself!”
The bun-haired woman sat on the ground, narrating the battle as if it were a grand spectacle.
Even as Julia shook her by the shoulders, she remained transfixed, endlessly repeating the same giddy remarks.
Sighing heavily, Julia rolled up her sleeves and stepped forward.
But before she could act, she hesitated and turned to me, seeking my approval.
“Go handle it, Julia.”
“Got it!”
With newfound determination, Julia moved toward the squabbling spirits.
However, Dirt-Dirt and the Spirit of Water were too preoccupied to even notice her presence, locked in their childish quarrel.
In their indifference, Julia began murmuring incomprehensible sounds—a Spirit Language chant spreading throughout the area.
Slowly, Dirt-Dirt’s massive form started to shrink, shedding clouds of dust.
Similarly, the towering column of water composing the Spirit of Water diminished rapidly.
Soon, the two spirits appeared before us in their smaller, familiar forms.
Yet even in their reduced sizes, they continued their bickering, oblivious to their situation.
“Enough! Both of you, stop fighting!”
[Kraaaargh! Silence, human! You dare interfere in the battle of noble spirits—wait, what?]
The Spirit of Water froze mid-sentence as it turned and locked eyes with Julia.
First, it glanced downward, taking in her shoes, then slowly tilted its head up, finally realizing its diminished size.
“You said Grand Spirits are rare, right? That means you shouldn’t be fighting! You should be getting along!”
[Kyaaaargh! Did you hear that? Apologize to me immediately and admit you were wrong to pick a fight!]
“Hmph! Dirt-Dirt, you’re not innocent either! You were the one who started it by disturbing the Spirit of Water’s rest! Apologize to them, and you—apologize for attacking out of nowhere!”
[Kraaaargh…!]
Julia’s stern scolding left both spirits visibly deflated.
Bound by her Spirit Language and unable to resist, the two were forced to face each other and clasp their tiny hands together.
[Kyaaaargh… S-sorry… for waking you and running away…]
[Kraaaargh… I forgive you… I’m sorry for attacking you…]
“Good! Now promise to get along from now on!”
[…]
[…]
Clapping her hands with satisfaction, Julia grinned brightly.
The two spirits, however, avoided her gaze, unable to hide their reluctance.
Julia’s expression suddenly turned ice-cold.
“What? You’re not going to get along? Do you want to stay like this, holding hands, for the next ten years?”
[Kyaa-kyaaaargh! No, no! We’re getting along just fine! Aren’t we?!]
[Kraaaargh! Yes, of course! It’s unthinkable for Grand Spirits to be at odds!]
“Good! Because if I catch you fighting or causing trouble again, I’m going to be really, really angry!”
[Kyaaaargh! It won’t happen! Ever!]
[Kraaaargh! F-five times over, it won’t happen!]
The two spirits frantically nodded, wrapping their tiny arms around each other to show their newfound “friendship”.
Julia, finally satisfied, beamed at them with a cheerful smile.
…For some reason, the sight of that smile sent a chill down my spine.