"A moment ago I placed a simple dark spell on all of you. Some of you could not see the starry-sky illusion, and some of you couldn't break free from it until the very end. Those currently with their hand raised... ah, you may lower them now."
The students, who had been so dazed by Onii-chan's entrance that they'd forgotten they still had their hands up, snapped out of it and put them down. They straightened their postures in excitement. Among them I spotted my black-haired friend from earlier, and I sighed at her state.
Come to think of it, she has a crush on Onii-chan, doesn't she?
She had covered her mouth with her hands, looking as if she were about to cry, yet her eyes remained firmly fixed on Onii-chan.
Even though she hadn't approached me because of Onii-chan, I can't help but feel a bit conflicted.
"Those who have magic possess an element, and have resistance to that element. That's common knowledge; but as second-years of the Magic Faculty, you still have a chance to experience this, and yet... I wanted to give it a try.
Illusions fall under dark magic. Those who never saw the illusion from the beginning have the dark attribute themselves, and so are resistant to dark magic. Conversely, those of the light attribute have no resistance to dark magic, and thus the illusion didn't dissolve for them until the very end. Simple, but interesting, isn't it?"
How many years ago was it that Onii-chan did the same thing to me? That time it was a scary-monster illusion, if I recall correctly.
He made it nice and easy this time.
"By the way, there aren't many people who possess these two elements, and there aren't all that many at the Magic Research Institute either. When you students are busy with your job-hunting, someone from the Institute will come to scout you, and dark and light attributes are particularly prone to being targeted, so please do be careful... And please don't be upset if I'm one of the recruiters."
At the slight smile he gave, most of the young ladies looked as though they might faint. Some were even saying wild things like, "If anything, please do take me away."
Those girls have no idea.
That Onii-chan's reason for living is flirting with the house's housekeeper.
"Magic and sorcery are not omnipotent. There are a number of things they cannot do. The most notable among them is life. You cannot, of course, raise the dead; nor can you conjure up so much as a weed from nothing. You can accelerate growth, but..."
When Onii-chan directed his gaze into the air, the character for life appeared in large letters of light above his head.
"... life itself cannot be created."
The instant he said it, the sound of thin glass cracking rang out, and the character for life vanished as well.
That I don't even know which element that magic belonged to just goes to show how much of a novice I still am.
"And this is also well known, but a person cannot exist in different places at the same time. The one who tried to complete a body-double spell and ended up split in two and dying, was, if I recall, the Chief before last.
I'd recommend making efforts that fit within your capabilities. I don't take on anything I consider impossible either. It's exhausting, and it could kill you."
And that's the sequence of events that brings us back to where we started.
Even when the break bell rang in the distance, there was no break for this special lecture.
Behind me I could hear the auditorium doors quietly opening and closing, and with them the rush of air as new attendees came streaming in one after another. They'd caught wind of the Chief Sorcerer from somewhere.
The small cries of excitement are surely coming from the seniors of the Magic Faculty, but people from other faculties seemed interested in the mage who was hailed as the best. An unusual number of people were crowding into the hall.
"Now that I think about it, I hear you'll be taking up contracts soon. This will mostly be a lecture for the time being, but let me ramble for a bit. Rest assured, the teachers here will teach it to you far more clearly, and in greater detail, than I could."
Contracts. One of the spells that a mage wishes to master.
"Here's a question: are contracts magic, or sorcery? Put your hand up, please... Oh my, how quick you are. You there, if you would."
"M-magic!"
"Correct. Contracts come in several forms, such as magic contracts and summoning contracts. Because a contract uses a large-scale magic circle, they're often mistaken for sorcery at first; but in fact, the act of forming a contract is classified as a traditional form of magic dating back from ancient times. That's because only simple elements such as channeling and summoning are inscribed.
However, a contract alone isn't useful, so elements of binding and of submission need to be inscribed. Once you do that, it becomes sorcery... but let's set that aside for now. So, can anyone give me the three guidelines of a contract?"
Dead silence. Well, of course; we haven't even started the classroom lecture on it yet.
Caught up in the nobody wants to speak and be wrong in front of the Chief atmosphere, I found my eyes meeting Onii-chan's on the stage.
--- He smiled gently at me.
This is... a signal to speak up...!
Oh no. Dozing off isn't allowed. Neither is just winging it or escaping from reality.
When I timidly raised my hand, Onii-chan's eyes narrowed as if to say well done.
"Very well. If you please."
"A-a contract must be made with mutual consent. Do not abuse contracted beasts. And take responsibility for them."
"Yes, correct. As for the first guideline: a complete contract cannot be formed without mutual consent in the first place, and thus it cannot be broken. Do try to be liked by the beast you wish to contract with."
Onii-chan is so intimidating.
"I got a little curious and tried forcing a contract on a fairy who had dozed off on my lap. In the end, the contract ritual failed, so it seems the other party does indeed need to be fully conscious. She was a Rank A fairy, and being able to summon her would have been very handy, so I actually still try it from time to time."
So Eleanor was being subjected to weird stuff by Onii-chan again.
I've been shutting myself in my room so I don't get in the way when they're being lovey-dovey at home, but this is a bit much.
I know he dotes on her.
I also get wanting to be able to call her at any time.
No matter how we go about it, that is how we siblings love. Until she's willing to be that way with Onii-chan, we must keep her within the walls of the Stillus household.
Because one day she'll marry Onii-chan, and I'll finally get to call Eleanor Onee-chan.
Even if the Stillus family is cursed by fairies because of past mistakes.
Our feelings won't change one bit.
"Hypothetically,"
A firm voice rang out, and I refocused my attention to the front.
"even if you manage to form a contract with a powerful being, please refrain from treating them with disrespect. Many people overestimate their own power, but you mustn't be mistaken.
It isn't impossible for a servant to kill their master."
What his soft voice delivered was a warning.
The word kill that Onii-chan had thrown out so abruptly felt really out of place. And yet, since Onii-chan had said it without hesitation, he surely understood what it meant, and knew it was still too early for us, and said it on purpose.
Onii-chan can kill a person whose name he doesn't even know without so much as laying a fingertip on them. He knows better than anyone just how terrifying overwhelming power is.
If Onii-chan was the one who had created the silence, he was also the one who broke it.
He laughed elegantly as if he found something amusing. And the lecture continued.
"Whether a contract exists or not is irrelevant, but if you treat them with contempt... they may come to loathe humans and go into hiding with their kind; or, in the worst case, it may even trigger a war between species.
The fairies are a prime example of the former... You've been taught that this nation stands upon the sacrifice of fairies, haven't you? Not only as a Court Mage, but also as a member of the Stillus family, I would like to place my trust in all of you."
As a member of the Stillus family, I would like that too.
Even if others don't understand, the Stillus family of the past were certainly fiends.
"... I enjoy a peaceful relationship with those fairies I spoke of. With them, a mutually beneficial relationship is probably the best way to go."
The lecture on contracts was wrapped up with those words.
I hadn't anticipated in the slightest -
the ruthlessness of the girly army that would come my way after this lecture,
or the fact that the relationship between the two people at my house would take a major turn.