After waiting under the tree for half an hour, Merlin finally saw Naoki return.
"Did you say your goodbyes properly?"
"Mm... well, more or less. Whether he could hear me or not, at least I've said what I wanted to say." Naoki replied with a smile. "Besides, calling it a farewell isn't quite accurate. As long as I'm still at the Clock Tower, I'll probably come here often. For some reason, this place feels calming."
"If I really wanted to say goodbye, it would probably be later, after I graduate from the Clock Tower."
Hearing those relaxed words, Merlin immediately understood that Naoki had finally been able to truly bid farewell to the Holy Grail War that happened a year ago. With this meeting, which transcended time and space, he had finally stepped out of the shadows of the past and turned his gaze to the present and future.
Merlin smiled faintly. "That's good. Then, now we can focus on the main task."
"Right."
They hadn't forgotten the main reason for coming to Glastonbury. Meeting Arthur was just a coincidence—the most important thing was to complete the spirit summoning practice task assigned by Waver.
"Before coming, I already asked Waver. We just need to successfully summon one spirit, conduct a simple experiment using that spirit, and then write the results in a report. That's enough to complete the task."
"Oh? For a basic course assignment, this is easier than I expected."
Basic courses at the Clock Tower essentially serve as the foundation for students. The material taught covers various fundamental concepts of Magecraft, such as geomancy, the world's energy flows, and other Magecraft theories.
Strictly speaking, spirit summoning isn't part of the basic courses, but understanding it is included in general Magecraft knowledge. Therefore, with Waver's philosophy of combining theory and practice, this task was assigned to the students.
Other professors might only give theoretical homework, but Waver encouraged students to try it out themselves.
After considering Waver's standards for a moment, Merlin asked, "By the way, Naoki, can you perform basic-level spirit summoning?"
"If it's just textbook theory, I've memorized it. But I've never tried it in practice."
"Okay~ Then, watch me first. After that, you can try it yourself, and I'll guide you."
"Alright."
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There was no denying that, as a Grand-class Heroic Spirit candidate, Merlin was on a completely different level. Although spirit summoning wasn't her specialty, she could still do it easily thanks to her interdisciplinary knowledge and years of experience.
In Naoki's eyes, her teaching method was even more effective and easier to understand than Waver's.
Thanks to her guidance, Naoki was able to perform spirit summoning on his own without assistance after just two attempts.
This should have been a good development. But the problem was—
"Damn it!"
Seeing his magic circle dim again, Naoki frowned.
Merlin chuckled softly. "Failed again? Still the same as before?"
"Yeah, still the same. The spirit I summoned just runs away."
Naoki sighed, feeling helpless.
That's right, he could perform spirit summoning. The process went smoothly, and he successfully summoned a spirit... But the problem was, as soon as the spirit appeared and saw Naoki, it would immediately flee as fast as possible!
He knew the reason—it was because of his Mystic Eyes.
Even though low-level spirits lack intelligence, they still have instincts. And to them, Naoki's Mystic Eyes were a weapon of mass destruction. If it were a Heroic Spirit, they might still tolerate it, but for low-level spirits? They'd rather run as far as possible, afraid of being annihilated with just one glance.
Even with his Mystic Eyes sealed, Naoki's aura was still too terrifying for them.
Merlin thought of another solution. "This task uses basic summoning, so only low-level spirits appear... How about we try a higher-level summoning Magecraft?"
"High-level spirits might not run away immediately."
"But I can't perform high-level summoning."
"Then... how about we change locations? Glastonbury is a good place, but it's blessed land. Here, it's likely only low-level spirits exist. We could try a mass grave or an ancient battlefield? Oh! How about Sword-in-the-Stone Hill?"
Naoki gave her a sidelong glance. "Forget it. If I perform spirit summoning there, I'm afraid something terrifying might appear. Besides, this is just a regular assignment. No need to go that far."
"So, does that mean you failed the task?"
"Mm, but don't worry. I already have a solution."
Naoki smiled. "There are many ways to avoid homework. For example, 'I forgot to bring it home,' 'I was busy last night so I didn't have time to do it,' or 'I forgot there was an assignment'... There are plenty of excuses like that."
"So, you're going to avoid it?"
"No way. I'm a model student. Besides, I live with Waver. If I don't do it now, he'll definitely force me to do it later."
Merlin frowned. "So, what then?"
"Easy. If I can't avoid it, I'll just erase it."
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A few days later, Waver looked at the assignment report submitted by Naoki. He furrowed his brow as he read the note at the end of the report.
[Due to Naoki's Mystic Eyes being incompatible with basic spirit summoning, he is exempted from the basic spirit summoning practice. His grade and score will be recorded as 'pass.' – Kayneth]
Yes, Kayneth.
Before submitting the assignment, Naoki deliberately went to see Kayneth and asked him to add this note. Kayneth, who knew about Naoki's Mystic Eyes, understood why the task couldn't be completed.
But for Waver, this became a new headache.
Honestly, he wanted to return the assignment for a redo. But since there was a direct note from Kayneth...
How was he supposed to grade it?!
By the way, since when did Naoki have Mystic Eyes?!
And how terrifying are those Mystic Eyes that they interfere with spirit summoning?!
"Sigh... Whatever. If the teacher himself says so..."
Resigned, Waver finally marked the assignment as passed.