Ch. 305

The knights seemed to be shouting something fiercely at me, but the only person who could pursue me was now half a corpse, so there was no one to stop me.

As I rose into the sky, I saw citizens gathering near the broken castle wall.

They were flocking there in droves, likely awakened by the untimely commotion.

After a glance at them, I hid in the clouds of the night sky with the now-transparent Endairon.

Only when I rose higher did the moon come into view.

[I admit it! Master is a pacifist!]

I was savoring the endless, sea-like expanse of clouds and the peace of the night when Rai’s disgruntled voice shattered it.

I couldn’t help but laugh.

[With this much firepower, you should be aiming to conquer the continent! You should swallow up a country at least! My Master doesn’t use her power! Master is hiding her power! Master is lazy!]

“You’re still going on about that?”

[But it’s so much fun!]

“Is lazing around with me not fun?”

[It is!]

“Then that’s all that matters.”

My plan was to fly over the clouds like this, switch to Undaine, and then quietly land on the outskirts of the city.

[I want to be in the spotlight too!]

“Ah, then do you want to go visit Magi by yourself? You two are an even match when it comes to a physical fight. I’ll give you permission, so go blow off some steam.”

[I’ll just stay put.]

Was it because I’d won? Or because I’d caused some major trouble for the first time in a while? I just felt good.

On top of that, Endairon’s flight speed above the clouds was several times faster than Undaine’s, so the sense of speed was something else.

I welcomed the wind with a light heart.

Using a high-ranking Spirit for transportation was extravagant, but that was precisely what made it fun.

[By the way, Master? What did you see earlier? When you were caught in the illusion.]

“It showed me what I fear.”

Rai, having completely returned to his snake form, was wrapped around my shoulder, clinging to me.

[Exactly! That! For some reason, I couldn’t see it.]

Rai sounded frustrated that he couldn’t read my mind.

“Well, isn’t that what Spirits of Illusion do? I called for you, but you didn’t answer.”

[This is different! I could feel that you… felt fear for a moment? Then you were fine, but then you suddenly fell into confusion. But I couldn’t feel at all what you saw to make you feel that way! What in the world was it?]

“……It’s a secret. There have to be some things you don’t know.”

[A secret between us! That’s ridiculous!]

I thought so too, but it wasn’t something I could tell him even if I wanted to. The moment I decided to say it, my voice wouldn’t come out.

Adelaide had described this as a divine sanction. That’s why it was so amazing that the Illusion Spirit had managed to pierce through it.

Even the Veiled Mirror, an ancient artifact, hadn’t been able to reach it…

Was it possible because it was showing me a memory that was inside me—and only to me? Since it touched the subconscious…?

If so, did that mean even the Illusion Spirit didn’t know what I saw?

The battle with Theatrazen left me with several questions, but also with hope.

There are holes in the divine sanction.

[Master? You’re getting a bruise on your forehead.]

At Undaine’s whisper as she flew close and stared at my face, I touched my forehead, and sure enough, a lump was rising. A bump.

“Hey! What are you going to do about this!”

[Ah, the sky!]

The moment I glared, Rai feigned innocence, acting as if he couldn’t take his eyes off the empty sky in the opposite direction.

I oughta just—

[I’ll heal you.]

“Yes, please get my nose too. My nasal bone is throbbing.”

[Are you okay anywhere else?]

“I feel a bit sick inside… but it’s not severe. I have some internal injury medicine left, so I can just take that.”

Even with Rai being so openly and childishly jealous, I couldn’t help but favor the Water Spirits because they gave me that much stability.

There was a trust that came from their comfort and harmlessness. It might be a bit like Ash.

“Endairon. Undaine.”

[Yes.]

“I won today thanks to you two. Thank you.”

I smiled, meeting Undaine’s eyes as we flew through the night sky. And I didn’t forget to pat Endairon’s head as I sat on him.

[What about me! What about the amazing Mana battery!]

It wasn’t like Rai to be left out.

“Rai, you…”

[You’re going to pick on me again, aren’t you!]

“No, you did well too.”

[…I did hit you a little too hard earlier, didn’t I…?]

“So you do know? But my head is fine. It would have been hard to win if even one of you had been missing. I mean, I would have won anyway… but it would have been much more of a hassle, right? You all did well!”

I was in a good mood. If not now, when else would I give such heartfelt praise?

It was truly rare for me to praise them so generously.

Endairon was as dependable as ever, and Undaine kept circling nearby, as if she enjoyed making eye contact with me.

Rai was grinning so wide I thought his mouth might rip.

[Heheheh.]

It’s not very cute when a snake does that.

For someone born a noble, I wasn’t very picky about where I slept.

First, my long time at the academy had accustomed me to frugal dorm life.

I’d managed to catch some sleep in the rocky cave of a Dragon Lair with a monster bone as a pillow. And after starting my travels, I’d slept on straw spread over bare ground, which taught me to be quite satisfied with just a sleeping bag.

Honestly, at this point, I could sleep anywhere as long as I had a place to rest my head.

An inn bed was the absolute best sleeping arrangement.

So moments of happiness were rare, like waking up from a deep sleep with no one to wake me, feeling moderately tired after working out my body the night before.

“Yaaawn… Rai?”

[Yep!]

“Apple.”

And I even had a servant… a Spirit who would bring me food just because I mumbled after opening my eyes.

I really am a person of excellent character. To think I can find happiness in such small things.

===

By the time I woke up after sleeping in, the sun was already high in the sky.

I stretched and thought it sounded noisy outside the window for some reason.

Hunger had woken me, but I didn’t get out of bed right away. Instead, I lingered a bit, biting into the apple Rai had brought.

After finishing it, I checked my body’s condition by simply moving my Mana.

[How is it?]

“I think I’m fine.”

For all the ruckus I’d caused, the internal injury was trivial.

You could say it was as mild as a cold.

It seemed like it would heal completely if I took it easy for a few days, so I didn’t think I needed medicine.

[Take it.]

“I am strong!”

[I said take it!]

“No!”

Based on my past experiences with internal injuries, it seemed grabbing Rai in advance for a proper Mana supply before a large amount of Mana was depleted had been effective.

To wake myself up, I got out of bed and moved around, mulling over yesterday’s events.

Overall, it wasn’t bad.

I’d won without much difficulty, and I was confident I could win against Theatrazen every time, no matter how many times we fought.

Looking at just the conclusion, I was the one who had held back.

The only things that bothered me were the Illusion Spirit and the Space Spirit. I had to admit their strengths, having experienced them firsthand, but I also knew their weaknesses, so there was nothing to fear.

The bigger problem lay with me. If I could just compensate for that, I could beat someone like Theatrazen with my eyes closed.

Dealing with Rovenin would become easier too.

‘As I thought, Ador and Grufain are the problem…’

[Cancel the contract and it’s solved!]

“Hey.”

[Am I wrong? If I’m wrong, go ahead and hit me!]

“Hitting you only hurts me! And don’t you know that if I cancel the contract with Ador, that’s the end of the Electricity Spirit!”

Theatrazen would wail if he found out. That the Contract Seal capable of summoning the Electricity Spirit no longer existed in this world.

The trial I faced was that I had no choice but to fix that pain in the ass.

Grufain, though uncooperative, at least didn’t do anything rash, but Ador took after me and was just ridiculously disobedient.

In the midst of it all, I realized during yesterday’s battle that Ador would be very useful in screwing Rovenin over, which only deepened my worries.

The reason Rovenin was a tricky opponent for me was purely because of that ridiculous speed, and the only one among my Spirits who could match it was Ador.

“Hmm… Ador. Come out.”

I sat down next to the table with the apple basket, crossed my legs, and picked up another apple.

[Ooh! Master! Calling me two days in a row!]

[Don’t come out starting tomorrow.]

[What’d you say?]

[That’s what she called you for!]

“No, I didn’t! Rai, stop joking around! And you, stop being so stupidly gullible!”

Rai, in his wolf form, dodged the apple I threw and fled onto the bed. His spirit, however, was as majestic as ever.

[Master! You don’t fix a Spirit! Once a pain in the ass, always a pain in the ass!]

“Are you talking about yourself?!”

[Why me! I even got praised yesterday!]

“You think Ador is as bad as you? Huh? As bad as you? When I think about how my personality was ruined taming you, I grind my teeth in my sleep!”

[Master’s personality was always rotten! Don’t blame me!]

Damn it. It’s obvious who he takes after with that mouth of his.

Having not one, but two pains in the ass under my jurisdiction, my headache wouldn’t go away.

How nice would it be if all the Spirits had personalities like Undaine.

[Uh… so? I’m not getting fired, right?]

“Haa…”

[Fire him! Fire him! Fi—]

“Rai, shut your trap before I cut it off. Ador, come closer.”

Still, having learned from yesterday’s mistake, Ador was acting more docile than usual.

On any other day, he would be flying around erratically in every direction, but today, he was as calm as gently floating fluff.

“Considering the crime you committed yesterday, I want to bury you in the deep sea, but a person has to know loyalty, don’t you think?”

[Loyalty is good!]

“You caused a huge mess, but you were just as active, so I’m going to give you one chance. I believe you’re worth it. I value your will highly…”

[Master! Why don’t you say things like that to me? Huh? You’ve never said anything like that to me, have you?]

Would I, to someone like you?

I casually pushed Rai away as he sidled up and shoved his face into mine, then got to the point.

“Ador. If you really want to be helpful to me, and if you’re doing this for my sake, there’s something you can do. It’s nothing much.”

[Brace yourself! Bzzzt! It’s never nothing much when Master says it like that!]

I shut Rai up by shoving an apple into his constantly yapping mouth.

[Speak! It’s a Spirit’s job to serve their master! What do I have to do?]

“It’ll probably… be a little different from usual. You won’t be carrying out an order.”

[Then?]

“You’re going to learn a new skill that will maximize your usefulness!”

************************************************************

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