"This is... quite an impressive effort you put in," Marina murmured appreciatively as she surveyed the Earth Wall.
She probably hadn't expected him to build one on this scale.
"Wow..."
Mail, Marina's student, also voiced her admiration as she took in the sprawling Earth Wall before them.
From Mail's perspective, she was simply astounded by Rei's magical prowess, wondering just how much effort it must have taken to create something of this magnitude.
...In reality, it wasn't magic at all—he had used the Terrain Manipulation skill that Death Scythe had acquired through Beast Magic.
Marina understood this, but Mail was not Rei's companion. During the trip here, she had also learned that Mail was only serving as Marina's disciple until spring. Since she wasn't someone he should be sharing his secrets with, he couldn't mention Death Scythe's skills and simply let her mistake it for his own magic.
"Being praised that much is a little embarrassing. ...From the looks of it, no Cobolts have climbed over the Earth Wall so far."
Rei said it to change the subject—though that wasn't the only reason. He genuinely needed to know the situation.
As far as he could see, there were no signs that any Cobolts had crossed over.
...That said, this was only within his current line of sight, so he couldn't be completely certain.
At any rate, with Marina here—and Mail as well—there was no doubt the Earth Wall would become far sturdier.
"It seems so. ...Though it looks like there are a few on the other side."
Whether from her Spirit Magic or her senses as a Dark Elf, Rei nodded at Marina's words.
"Seems like it. But if they can't climb this wall, they'll head straight for the Gigant Turtle. ...Things might get rough over there."
"Eh? There are Cobolts on the other side!?"
Unlike Rei and Marina, she apparently couldn't tell. Hearing their conversation, Mail panicked and looked around.
"No, that's why I said the other side of the wall. What are you looking around here for?"
Rei told her, his voice laced with exasperation.
Once again, the question of whether this girl would truly be alright surfaced in his mind. But if Marina vouched for her, he had no choice but to trust her judgment.
As if reading his thoughts—though she probably wasn't—Marina patted Mail on the head. Mail stood about a head shorter than her.
"Well then, let's give it a try. ...Hey, don't be nervous. I've told you many times: as a Spirit Magic user, you're undoubtedly fully competent. All that's left is learning to demonstrate that ability consistently. ...Ready?"
"...Yes."
At Marina's words, Mail gave a small reply and focused her mind.
Rei and Set watched her, but then Marina tugged Rei by the hand and moved to a spot away from Mail.
Naturally, Set followed along, leaving no one near Mail.
"Why are we moving away?"
"That girl can't concentrate well when people are close by. It's something that needs to be addressed little by little."
"I see... Just to be sure, is Mail an adventurer?"
"She is. Though as you can see, she's extremely shy, so she can't form a party and operates solo."
"Solo? Isn't that... impossible?"
From what Rei could tell, Mail was what you'd call a Spirit Magic specialist.
He wasn't sure exactly how skilled she was at wielding it, but the way she moved her body—while not quite amateurish—certainly didn't suggest any talent for close combat.
If she could activate Spirit Magic instantly like Marina, relying on it alone would be fine. Well, Marina can also use a bow, though.
But from what he was seeing, it took Mail a fair amount of time just to activate her Spirit Magic.
Being a solo adventurer in that state... wasn't impossible, but it had to be incredibly tough.
If I only had Spirit Magic like Mail, I'd either fight from a hiding spot to avoid taking hits... or skip subjugation requests entirely and specialize in gathering quests.
Given his personality, his earning potential, and above all, his need for Magic Stones, Rei could never choose that path himself. But for someone solo with only Mail's abilities, it was probably the safest option.
"Rei, look."
Marina's voice snapped him out of his thoughts.
He turned his gaze to where she was looking. There, Mail's Spirit Magic was finally beginning to activate.
What appeared first was a mass of water.
It writhed in the air about a meter above the ground, almost like a Slime.
"Huh."
A note of genuine admiration escaped Rei's lips at the sight of water floating in midair.
It was a considerable amount—from what Rei could tell, enough to fill a twenty-five-meter pool.
He'd heard from Marina that the girl had talent, but he honestly hadn't expected this much.
Marina caught his reaction and offered a knowing smile. She didn't say a word, but her look clearly said, See? I told you.
Properly humbled, Rei returned a small nod.
Set watched the floating water from beside Rei with keen interest.
Under the gaze of the two humans and one gryphon, Mail beseeched the Water Spirit to move the floating mass.
The water descended onto the top of the Earth Wall and seeped into it as if being drawn in.
That said, the amount Mail had called forth was nowhere near enough to saturate the entire wall.
She likely understood this herself, but the volume she could muster at her current level had simply reached its limit.
"Phew... um, Marina-sama. What should I do next? Should I let the whole wall absorb water first? Or should I call the Wind Spirit and freeze just this section?"
The Wind Spirit to freeze it? Rei wondered. But thinking about how a wet breeze feels cold, it wasn't far off in principle. He decided to watch for now.
"Let's see. Your communication with the Water Spirit was decent enough, so next, show me the Wind Spirit."
"Y-yes!"
At Marina's instruction, Mail replied and focused once more, reaching out to the spirits.
This time, far more quickly than when she'd summoned the water, a sharp, cold wind began to blow around them.
"Compared to the water, the effect came much faster. Is it because Mail has better affinity with the Wind Spirit?"
"No."
Marina's denial was flat and immediate.
Not expecting such a blunt rejection, Rei cast her a questioning glance.
But Marina didn't look like she was joking.
"What do you mean, 'no'? The wind definitely started faster than the water."
"That's true. But if you're asking which one Mail has better affinity with, it's water. This is simply because she was nervous about using Spirit Magic in front of you, and she's gotten slightly used to it."
"Used to it?"
"Yes. She still wasn't accustomed to casting in front of you. As a result, she needed extra time to properly focus and commune with the spirits."
"...Can she really make it as an adventurer? If she takes that long to cast just because someone's watching, she'd be completely helpless against monsters or bandits."
Rei now fully understood why Mail operated solo, but honestly, the situation was dire.
Since Marina was teaching her, her raw ability couldn't be that bad. But Mail's biggest problem wasn't her skill—it was her timidity.
It was highly questionable whether she could even approach a Guild Staff Member to strike up a conversation. That wasn't just Rei's imagination.
"That's true, but personality can be changed if you set your mind to it. Mail could do it too, if she really wanted to."
As the two talked, the wind swirling around them grew colder by the second.
Rei had his Dragon Robe, and Marina could use Spirit Magic, so neither seemed bothered. But anyone less equipped to shrug off the dropping temperature would have been shivering.
He couldn't visually confirm it, but the Earth Wall was almost certainly freezing over.
A few minutes later... apparently satisfied that the wall had frozen, Mail turned to Marina and, for once, broke into a radiant smile.
Mail usually wore a timid expression, but with her fine features, that smile was undeniably heartwarming.
"How was it? I tried really hard..."
"Rather than asking me, what do you think? Did it go well?"
"Umm... yes. I could feel the spirits listening to my request."
"Good. Then that's fine. ...All that's left is to fix that personality of yours."
"Urk."
Those words, delivered right at the peak of her joy, dragged Mail back to reality.
"That's, um... that's something to work on gradually..."
"I suppose so. Dark Elves live longer than humans, so a gradual approach might be fine. But if you keep saying 'next time' and 'the time after that,' you'll never actually change, you know?"
Marina's words stirred a memory. Rei recalled his time in Japan—homework assigned over long school breaks.
I'll start today. Actually, I'll start tomorrow. No, the day after... And in the end, summer vacation would wind down and he'd be too busy to even think about playing.
The situation between Mail now and Rei back then was similar in some ways, but not quite the same.
"Well, you worked hard today. ...Now, I was originally planning to have Mail handle the rest too, but it'll be faster if I do it. It seems she's gotten a better grasp of the basics."
Step back, she told them.
Marina moved toward the Earth Wall and focused her mind. The action itself was no different from Mail's.
But what set her apart was the time between focusing and communing with the spirits.
Overwhelmingly, Marina was faster.
That gap was a direct measure of the difference in their Spirit Magic proficiency.
"Wow..."
The word slipped from Mail's lips in pure awe. At a speed she could never hope to match, she could only watch and admire.
"Please."
With that single, brief phrase, water materialized. And the volume was immediately, visibly greater than what Mail had produced.
The water stretched into a straight rod—no, a water snake—and hovered above the Earth Wall before descending.
It seeped into the wall without a single drop wasted.
When Mail had done it, the water hadn't soaked in nearly as cleanly, and some had spilled to the ground outside the wall.
By comparison, Marina's handling of Spirit Magic was on an entirely different level.
The scale was different too. Mail had only managed to saturate a portion of the wall, but Marina drenched the entire thing in one go.
Once she was satisfied the wall had absorbed enough water, Marina called upon the Wind Spirit.
...This, too, was nothing like Mail's attempt.
Mail's cold wind had washed over the surrounding area, reaching even Rei's group standing some distance away. Fortunately, none of them—Rei, Marina, or Set—minded that level of chill.
Marina's Wind Spirit Magic, however, froze the entire Earth Wall solid without affecting the surroundings in the slightest.