Ch. 27

               

“Huh? Why are you looking for the jeweler?”

“I need to retrieve the other one, obviously.”

The boy frantically shook his head.

“No way! It’s too dangerous. The Dunhell Jewelry Shop is always guarded by thugs. If anyone causes trouble, they make them disappear—just like that! My father nearly died at their hands! I can’t tell you!”

“So, it’s the Dunhell Jewelry Shop.”

“…Ah.”

“You need to work on keeping secrets.”

Nodding absentmindedly, I reached into my bag for my coin pouch. How much should I pay for a book and two Spirit Stones?

“It’s really not possible! Even if you’re a noble lady, they won’t just hand it over!”

“It’s fine. I have two knights and a snake.”

[Spirit! I’m a spirit!]

Rai emphasized loudly, though, of course, only I could hear him.

“I’ll take care of retrieving the item, so don’t worry about it. Here, this is for the two Spirit Stones. The book is included. This should be enough, right?”

I pulled out the pouch and handed the boy a stack of gold coins. His eyes grew wider with each coin that fell into his palm.

Once his eyes couldn’t get any bigger, his mouth dropped open next.

Hah, funny kid.

“Gasp!”

“I’ve paid, so they’re mine now, right?”

“This is… This is way too much! Miss!”

“I paid what I wanted to.”

“I can’t accept this much…”

“Shut it. It’s my choice.”

Take notes, kid—more money is always better.

“But…”

“Just take it. Anyone who knows what these are really worth would pay a hundred times more.”

I gave him the most he could safely handle.

Any more, and it would only put a target on his back.

“Buy lots of good bread and head home. Take your parents to the temple to get their injuries treated. If there’s anything left, maybe even try learning how to read and write.”

Life for commoners seemed harsher than I had imagined.

Being born a noble, I could only guess at the unfairness of it all, but it was obvious how difficult their lives were.

“Miss, ten gold is way too much.”

The boy bowed repeatedly, while Philo seemed to think I had no idea about the value of money. Well… he wasn’t exactly wrong.

“Too much?”

“It’s more than too much! Ten gold could feed an entire family for a year!”

“Yes! It’s enough to build a small house!”

They tried to stop me, but it was too late—I’d already given it away. And I didn’t regret it one bit.

“It’s fine. I don’t really have much use for money anyway. My monthly allowance is one gold coin.”

“…What?!”

“One gold… as an allowance?”

“And I don’t even spend it. I’m at the academy most of the time, so it just keeps piling up. If you add the scholarship I got when I contracted with a spirit, I think I have around a hundred gold saved up?”

I mumbled nonchalantly, but Hansen and Philo looked even more shocked than when I pulled a snake out of my coat.

I could guess what they were thinking.

“Our salaries…”

“How much?”

“N-nothing, forget it.”

“We misspoke.”

“Hmm… Don’t tell me it’s not even one gold?”

Their silence was answer enough.

Knights had it rough.

Poor wages, babysitting some noble kid, getting punished just for not greeting a superior…

Truly tragic.

My sympathetic gaze must have been too obvious because Philo and Hansen couldn’t even lift their heads.

[What do you think, Rai? Should I comfort them and tell them it’s not shameful to have a low salary?]

[That wouldn’t be very comforting.]

[Yeah, I thought so.]

I shrugged and started walking.

I should find this Dunhell Jewelry Shop before sunset.

People still parted to make way for me as I walked, and I was starting to get used to it.

What were nobles to commoners, really?

The thought crossed my mind, but I didn’t dwell on it for long.

—

Finding the jewelry shop wasn’t difficult. It was the largest one in the city.

[Well? Do you sense the Spirit Stone?]

[Yes, faintly. It’s definitely inside.]

Then this was the place.

I crossed my arms and looked up at the shop’s sign.

It was so gaudily decorated that it looked downright tacky.

[Alright, you know what to do now, right?]

[Retrieve the Spirit Stone?]

[Your instincts are improving. How commendable.]

[Hehe.]

[Now go get it.]

Just a little praise, and Rai was as eager as a puppy.

I watched as he eagerly slithered into the jewelry shop.

Now, all I had to do was wait.

Perfect.

“Um… Miss?”

I stood triumphantly when Philo hesitantly called out to me.

“The snake… is running away.”

“He’s not running away. He’s retrieving the Spirit Stone. Don’t you get it?”

“You mean the one that the boy tried to sell but got stolen?”

“Yup, that one. I already paid for it, so it’s mine. I’m just taking back what’s rightfully mine.”

“…”

He looked like he had a lot to say, but I cut him off before he could start.

“What?! I’m in the right! The jeweler took it from that boy unfairly, right? They stole it without even paying for it! So I’ll steal it back! Even if you have objections, keep them to yourself!”

“No, it’s just… how is a snake going to do that?”

“Oh, that?”

“Snakes aren’t exactly intelligent creatures…”

“Most snakes, sure. But this one’s special. Just don’t overthink it.”

Philo looked entirely unconvinced.

But I didn’t feel the need to explain.

The fact that Rai was actually a spirit was still my little secret.

Not that I’d meant to keep it hidden.

I just didn’t feel like explaining.

I had considered telling Master Yael once… but he’d probably just scold me for being reckless, so I decided against it.

“What should we do, then?”

“Just wait for Rai to come back.”

“That’s… your plan?”

“Yup.”

The knights seemed to have expected some action, but I despised unnecessary trouble. Sending Rai into the shop was the most peaceful solution.

There was no need to barge in when we could simply slip the Spirit Stone out unnoticed.

‘Rai is the best at this kind of thing.’

While waiting, I ran through my next steps.

Once Rai retrieved the Spirit Stone, I’d check what kind of spirit it could summon. If it was useful, I’d contract with it and let Rai absorb the stone afterward.

Leaving it for someone else to contract with would be a waste—why let others benefit from my discovery?

‘But… would four spirits be too much? No, five—Rai, Undine, and two more from the Spirit Stones.’

I paused, wondering if I was being too greedy.

In theory, this was impossible. Contracting with four different spirits?

Most Spirit Mages only formed a contract with a single type of spirit due to elemental compatibility.

For example, since I had a contract with a water spirit, it was impossible for me to summon a fire spirit—water and fire weakened each other.

I could summon an earth spirit, since water and earth were compatible, but most Spirit Mages didn’t bother.

Trying to balance contracts with different elements made it harder to reach higher ranks.

Most Spirit Mages who aimed for high-ranking spirits focused on one element exclusively.

“Hmm… Well, let’s just grab it first and worry later.”

A greedy person never knows when to stop.

Leaning against a tree, I reopened the book and skimmed through the middle sections I had skipped earlier.

—

“Why do spirits help humans? It is a question as old as time.”

“Have you ever considered what it truly means? Do spirits enjoy servitude? Do they demand offerings or sacrifices, like demons?”

“The answer is none of the above.”

“According to creation myths, when the gods created the human world, they made it so abundant that the celestial and demonic realms fought over it. To maintain balance, the gods birthed dragons, blessed humans to grow stronger, and commanded spirits to aid them.”

“But this presents a great contradiction. Spirits are not exclusive to humans—though we do not know if celestials or demons can contract them, we do know that most high-ranking beings in the Middle Realm, such as dragons, elves, and dwarves, can.”

“If the gods commanded spirits to aid only humans, then it would be strange. Did they, in truth, order them to aid all of the Middle Realm?”

“If so, then another question arises—why do spirits help the living at all?”

“When asked, spirits give no answer. They still hold many secrets. Will I uncover this mystery before I die?”

—

The book was a deep dive into spirit studies—there wasn’t a single personal anecdote in it.

Whoever wrote it was a total spirit fanatic.

Maybe once I finished, I’d pass it to Master Yael Roenin—though I’d pretend I only found the book and not the Spirit Stones.

Still…

“Why is Rai taking so long?”

It had been over ten minutes.

Rai wasn’t the slow type—if anything, he was incredibly fast.

Frowning, I walked toward the jewelry shop.

How long did it take to grab a Spirit Stone?

I am not a patient person!

[Rai?]

I called out in frustration, but there was no response.

He was probably too far away.

There were limitations to our mental communication—through my own experiments, I had figured out that the range was about ten meters. Rai said that as we grew closer, the range would increase.

[Answer me right now! If you’re sneaking snacks instead of working, you’re in trouble!]

Letting a cat into a fish market—that’s what it felt like sending Rai into a jewelry shop.

What if he was ignoring me while getting into more trouble?

I quickened my pace, and the knights followed close behind.

[Gyaaah! Humans! Let me go, you scum!]

I spotted Rai just as I reached the shop entrance.

Once he came into view, I could finally hear him again.

Rai was caught.

A few strangers were holding onto him, and judging by their snickering, they weren’t being gentle.

Well… I suppose most people wouldn’t ignore a snake slithering through a shop.

See? I told you to wear a ribbon!

I was about to step forward when something really pissed me off.

The more Rai struggled, the more they laughed.

“You there!”

[Master!]

“Huh? Who’s this?”

The ones holding Rai turned around.

They were young—too young to be real thugs.

Barely twenty, at best.

Sure, in this world, sixteen was considered an adult, but in my eyes, they were just punks.

And they looked the part too.

“What the hell are you doing? Let go of my snake!”

[Sniff… I knew you’d come for me, Master! I believed in you!]

“I’m the only one allowed to bully him.”

[…Master?]