The Evocadia Empire, located in the center of the Lumiel continent.
Unlike other continents, this was a land where human mana was not strong.
Instead, people had lived by contracting with familiars since long ago.
Those who commanded strong familiars became nobles,
And those who summoned rare familiars were revered as heroes.
Conversely, those without familiars could not be recognized no matter how hard they tried.
The most prestigious institution in the Empire.
Evocadia Familiar Academy.
It was a school that trained the continent's best summoners.
Here, a unique rule existed that was hard to find in other countries.
If you win a duel, you can take the opponent's familiar.
It was also possible to change contractors according to the familiar's own will.
There were even cases where the contract was naturally transferred if a being appeared that received more mana and trust than the current contractor.
As such, familiars were respected as living beings, not just simple summons.
However, there was an exception even in such a school.
Yuria Edel.
A commoner.
Weak mana.
No familiar.
She performed summoning rituals several times after admission, but the result was always failure.
As time passed, students began to mock her.
"What kind of academy is this for a summoner without a familiar?"
"A commoner shouldn't have bothered coming here."
Mockery soon became a daily occurrence.
At the center of it all was Lucian von Blackwood.
Heir to the Count Blackwood family of the Evocadia Empire.
Powerful mana and outstanding talent.
And a familiar that no one could imitate.
The humanoid high fire spirit, Ignis.
Students marveled just at the sight of the red-haired humanoid spirit standing by Lucian's side.
A humanoid spirit.
And a high-ranking one at that.
It was a being that appeared perhaps once every few decades.
Lucian always boasted of that fact,
And enjoyed mocking Yuria whenever he saw her.
A commoner without a single familiar.
That was another name they called Yuria.
But Yuria did not give up.
Even after classes ended, she stayed in the library to research old summoning techniques,
And even sought out and read ancient summoning books.
People laughed at her.
Calling it a waste of time.
Saying she would never get a single familiar in her life.
Still, Yuria did not stop.
Because she believed that one day, she would surely meet her own familiar.
One late night.
There was no one in the academy's research wing.
Yuria entered a long-sealed laboratory alone.
A dusty ancient grimoire.
And a ritual magic circle that no one used.
