Delicious!
A sweet treat tastes so much better after lessons!
So does tea! Although we used to look forward to a bath after training...
We did, didn't we?
Allen, sir!
What are you doing with him?!
You have to ask?
We're on a date. What other reason could there be?
A d-date?!
I only stopped by for lunch.
Really, Dear Brother. Ignore those interlopers.
"I-Interlopers"?!
Y-You know, um...
I'm glad to see you're such good friends,
but try to keep your voices down in the café.
We are not friends!
I know.
How about a hot spring trip to get to know each other better?
The Ducal House of Algren operates one on the city outskirts.
I hear it's secretly popular among students.
A h-hot spring?
Take that!
You got me good!
How does this feel?
Just right.
What are we waiting for?!
You'll come with us, of course, Dear Brother!
Don't invite yourself!
Look who's talking!
Don't push me!
Kindly stand aside!
Episode
Extracurricular Lessons at a Hot Spring
A hot spring trip with Mr. Allen is like a dream come true!
I'm delighted.
Although...
I didn't anticipate such a crowd.
Let me introduce you.
This is Gil Algren. He was a year below me at the university.
Hi there!
I've been waiting for you!
We've bumped into each other at dinner parties,
but I don't think we've ever really talked.
I-It's a pleasure.
Algren? Then Your Highness must be the duke's son.
Technically, yeah.
But please, call me Gil.
I asked for Gil's advice about the hot spring trip.
That led to Lydia tagging along...
I couldn't not tell her!
She'd kill me when she found out!
And there you have it, kiddos.
Wh-What do you mean, "kiddos"?!
Isn't Lydia supposed to be repenting at home?
Don't worry. I told the right people.
Now, let's get going!
I'll take my own bag!
Don't sweat it! Let me!
Gil is Allen's faithful dog.
He'd do tricks if Allen told him to.
Anko! You're here, too?
Even you, Anko?
Come on. Follow me.
Welcome to our humble establishment!
Meet the manager.
I'm Allen. Thank you for your hospitality.
We've all come to enjoy the hot springs.
Actually, sir, about that...
The facilities broke down just the other day.
We cannot allow bathing at this time.
What?!
Th-That's news to me!
I sincerely apologize for my failure to send word in time!
N-No!
Lady Tina!
I got a bathing suit just for today.
How...
How can the hot spring be closed?!
S-Stay strong, my lady.
Well, that's life.
We might as well take it easy in our rooms.
I will show you to them at once.
I reserved the very best.
Allen and I will share one, and—
I think you mean Allen and I.
I don't think that would be—
What's the problem? We've slept together plenty of times.
What?!
I wish you wouldn't put it like that in front of my students.
You would just use your key to let yourself into my room.
Wh-What key?!
Her spare key to my dear brother's lodgings.
Only my dear sister and Caren have them.
B-But that's indecent!
I w-won't stand for it!
You sure are a hit with the ladies.
How do you figure?
You certainly look like you're enjoying yourself, Allen.
Oh, Stella!
What are you doing here?!
What a surprise.
I had no idea you were all vacationing as well.
You gave me a start, too.
Are you also staying here?
Yes.
Stella does nothing but study in the dorms.
I need to get her fresh air every now and then.
You met Caren at the entrance ceremony, didn't you?
Yes!
I-I'm Ellie, in case you forgot.
It's a pleasure to meet you again.
The pleasure's mine.
Allen's told me so much about you two.
And this is...
N-Nice to meet you.
I'm Felicia Fosse.
Felicia is taking a break from classes due to poor health.
She came with us because she wasn't feeling well,
so it's a real shame she can't soak in the hot spring.
Can't we do something about that?
Wh-What sort of thing?
I've got it!
Your Highness wishes to do magic?
Yes. We may be able to fix what's broken.
Wh-While I sincerely appreciate the offer...
Are there complicating circumstances?
T-To tell the truth, sir...
the problem isn't mechanical!
The spellstone we used to regulate temperature has gone missing!
What?!
A-A whole spellstone?
Yes.
Duke Algren himself presented us with that spellstone. It's the inn's treasure.
Now we don't know where it's gone.
We don't dare inform the duke until we discover the cause,
so we blamed it on a malfunction.
I beg your pardons.
So that's what's going on.
It sounds as though we'll have to give up on the baths after all.
What a shame.
No!
We've come too far to give up now!
Let's all put our heads together!
Think! Where could the spellstone have gone?
Tina has a point.
Gil, I'd like your opinion.
Let me see...
The spellstone's heavy,
so I've gotta assume somebody took it away on purpose.
You mean that someone stole it?
Wh-What could they mean to do with a stolen spellstone?
Hmm...
Oh!
I've got it!
The culprit must be a business rival!
They want to hurt the inn by closing the baths!
Thoughtless as ever, Miss First Place.
What?!
D-D-Don't fight!
E-Excuse me.
Th-The Algrens run this inn,
and they set it up to help people by revitalizing the local economy.
I doubt it has any business rivals or enemies.
I don't think someone did this to hurt the inn.
I... I m-m-mean...
I-Is she all right?
This is normal for her.
Still, it sounds like she knows all about it!
Felicia comes from a merchant family.
She's full of facts like that.
In that case, who stole the spellstone, and for what purpose?
The thief might not have been a person.
Not a person?
Oh, that reminds me!
Is there something we should know?
This happened a little while back,
but I hear they had a big monster scare here.
A monster?
Yeah.
A guest said he heard a terrible cry and the beat of great wings.
What's that?
There was a search to find out if it was dangerous,
but they didn't find any monster.
But there were feathers floating in the spring,
so we got a warning to keep an eye out.
Feathers, huh?
A winged monster could carry off a spellstone.
Then, the culprit was...!
B-But why a spellstone?
That, I don't know,
but Lydia and I will take another look around the area.
Wait, me too?
It's nice to help an old friend once in a while.
The spellstone should radiate mana, so we may be able to track it.
S-Sir!
Allen, I'll go with you!
Caren, you and the girls stay here.
Gil, I'd like a favor.
Just say the word!
We can walk and talk.
Come on.
Sure thing!
Don't worry.
No monster they find will be a match for Allen and Lydia,
and they'll send their voices by wind magic if something comes up.
Right.
Would you care for tea?
Thank you.
Tina.
I know why we have to wait here.
But it's so frustrating, not being able to do anything.
U-Um...
Have Mr. Allen and Lady Lydia always been on such good terms?
I hear they've been together since their Royal Academy entrance exams.
Lydia sliced through the headmaster's advanced spells during the test.
Advanced spells?
L-Lady Lydia is as impressive as I'd heard.
She wasn't always a prodigy.
My dear sister worked twice—
no, a hundred or a thousand times as hard as the next person.
D-Did she really?
Yes.
There was a time when she struggled because she could only do elementary magic.
Meeting my dear brother changed all that.
In her eyes, he's hope. He's everything.
They aren't merely "on good terms."
The two of them are inseparable.
I sense traces of mana.
We must be going the right way.
What are you upset about?
Nothing. I'm not upset.
Wanting to help someone in trouble is only natural, if you ask me.
What do I always say?
You're too nice for your own good!
Not at all.
Tina insists that I have "a mean streak."
Answer me this, then.
Have you linked mana with anyone other than me?
If you've linked more deeply than you have with me...
What will you do?
I'll slash you, burn you, and slice up what's left.
I can assure you, it's nothing like that.
Oh?
You know, you still haven't told me.
Why wasn't Tina able to do magic?
Something inside her was preventing her spells from activating.
What was it?
I couldn't find an answer to that,
so I turned to the professor and the headmaster for help.
You couldn't figure it out?
We're close.
It's in there.
We should proceed with caution.
It's around here.
Sir!
Dear Brother!
Allen, sir!
Thank you for bringing everyone, Caren.
I see you got my wind spell.
I'd never miss a call from you.
We asked Felicia to remain at the inn.
Now, have you really found the spellstone?
It's in here. Come along.
This way.
I-Isn't that...?
They're a-adorable!
They're griffin chicks.
Their parents must have taken the spellstone to keep them warm.
Wh-Where are the parents?
I've heard wild griffins can be vicious.
They can.
And they have the power to wipe out a small town if they set their minds to it.
Don't scare her so much.
That said, I suppose we'd better retrieve the stone before the parents get back.
They look so warm and happy.
It would be a shame to take it from them.
But we can't use the baths without that stone.
I can't wait to see how you get it back.
Huh?
I called you all here because it seemed perfect for an extracurricular lesson.
E-Extracurricular, sir?
If you don't feel up to it, stand back and watch.
I'll retrieve the spellstone!
Wh-Who are you implying doesn't "feel up to it"?!
Wh-Why don't we, um, all work together?
I'd like to get it back without scaring the chicks.
I know!
Maybe they'll move if we freeze the area and lower the temperature a little.
As I've said, thoughtless.
The colder it gets, the more one desires a blanket.
Then, what if we used a spell to make it dark and took it back stealthily?
That's better than Miss First Place's idea,
but it risks startling the chicks into calling their parents.
Th-That would be a problem.
Don't just put our ideas down. Suggest your own.
It's simple.
Warming the area with fire magic will do the trick.
We won't move the chicks;
we'll lure them away from the stone!
And then they won't have to feel cold!
I do think it's a good idea,
but it still ends in taking the stone from the chicks.
It gets chilly here, and we can't keep fire spells going constantly.
What should we do, then?
Is there a spell that will give everyone a happy ending?
When we were little, Allen loved to tell me,
"Don't rely on magic for everything.
We have our wits and our hearts,
and sometimes, they can do more than any spell."
Wits and hearts...
Of course!
What if we gave the chicks a new spellstone?
A new stone?
But... But... can we make one?
Good question.
If it only needs to provide warmth for a while, I think you can.
That takes care of our assignment.
Yes, but fire spells aren't exactly my specialty.
Then leave that part to me!
I'll h-help, too!
Now, all of you focus your mana on this stone.
Right!
Try touching it.
Wow!
It's so warm!
This should keep you nice and toasty!
Here! It's all yours!
Allen!
Don't worry.
Lydia.
Sir!
We'll talk it down! Anko!
"Talk it down" how?
If you would.
It's all right now.
With a little help from Anko, I showed it that we mean no harm.
But Dear Brother, won't our spellstone lose its warmth before long?
No need to worry.
Gil will bring a new stone from the professor's private stock soon enough.
Huh?!
I suspected griffins as soon as I heard the story,
so I made arrangements ahead of time.
So that's how it happened.
You might have told us sooner!
B-But now we can use the baths without any worries!
Yes!
Let me wash your back, Lady Tina! It's been so long.
Thanks, Ellie!
Talk about spacious!
Say, where's Felicia?
Huh?
Oh, there she is!
Hurry up!
Is something wrong?
T-Traitor!
Oh, sir!
He's got a job to do: washing my back.
Go play somewhere else, kiddo.
"K-Kiddo"?!
L-Lydia!
I... I may be no match for you now,
but I'll hold my own against you one day!
Allen!
Let me wash your back for you!
I'll incinerate you.
What for?!
Doesn't this feel lovely?
Are you all right?
I'm getting dizzy.
Make yourself scarce.
Allen!
This really hits the spot.
It's the best!
Stella, is Felicia feeling well?
Yes.
Don't worry. She's just a little lightheaded.
Oh, good.
Everyone was delighted.
It's thanks to you girls that we can use the baths.
If not for you, I would have given up on the hot spring and gone home.
You do make yourself useful on occasion.
Only "on occasion"?
By the way, where has Caren gone?
Now that you mention it, I don't see my dear sister!
D-Don't tell me she's stealing a march on us!
W-We'd better rush to the defense!
There's no time to lose!
We must hurry!
Stella.
What's wrong?
Nothing.
I was just thinking how much they've changed.
Tina and Ellie both.
I cannot thank you all enough.
Please come again.
Thank you for a wonderful stay.
Thank you very much!
U-Um...
Thank you, too, sir!
W-We had a tovely lime.
You need a break every now and then.
If you ever need a break, Dear Brother, just give me a call!
I'll go wherever you go, Allen!
Huh?
We're leaving!
Oh, Allen!
J-Jeez!
N-No cutting!
Is this it?
This is all I need.
Just you wait, Leinster.