Ch. 98
“No way.”
“…I may be a Spirit Mage, but I’m actually pretty smart!”
“No.”
“Come on! I’m not just—bored—I mean, I want to do something meaningful.”
It was a great way to entertain myself, discovered just before dying of boredom.
But Magi shook his head firmly, making it clear he had no intention of agreeing.
That stubbornness must have been what even his mom couldn’t handle.
But I had a tempting offer up my sleeve.
“Magi, you like making swords, right?”
“I love it! My mom says it’s a waste of time, but I don’t care.”
She’s right, though.
Looking at it now, maybe he turned to smithing because magic was too hard for him.
“Then think about it. The greatest swords are ego swords, right? Blades with souls.”
“So?”
“Giving will or a soul to an object can only be done with magic. So you have to learn magic, too!”
“I could just ask my mom for that.”
“No! Magi! It only means something if you do it yourself! If someone else helps, it’s not your achievement!”
“But it’s not someone else, it’s my mom…”
“Doesn’t matter! Even homework your mom helps with won’t be accepted by the teacher!”
“I don’t get it.”
Ah, right, not an elementary student, but a dragon.
“Anyway, you need to learn magic! That’s your destiny!”
“I have a destiny like that?”
“Yes!”
“Since when?”
Ugh! If he wasn’t a dragon, I’d… There’s a limit to wasting talent.
“How about this, Magi! If you learn simple math and magic theory from me, I’ll let you do something cool.”
“Something cool?”
“I’m going to make Rai a new body. Have you ever done that before?”
“A new body?”
His ears were already perked up.
“Unlike other spirits, a Metal Spirit needs a body for the material world. Naturally, it’s made of metal.”
“Wow, how do you do that?”
He was almost hooked already.
“You melt down all kinds of metals and gems together, then put in the body of the animal you want to use. That becomes Rai’s new body.”
“…Awesome!”
“Knew you’d like it.”
“I want to do it too! Me too! Let me help!”
“If you listen to me, you can join in.”
[Master! What about my opinion!]
It was time for Rai to learn there’s no such thing.
“But you have to play with me just a little first. How about it?”
“Um… Can’t we do something else for fun instead of studying?”
“What else is there?”
I asked, puzzled.
I’d searched everywhere here, but there was nothing for entertainment.
Magi hammered all day, and my whole routine was just sitting in a corner watching.
At first, I was just grateful not to be eaten, but soon realized boredom could be torture.
“Like making swords with me—!”
“Rejected.”
“Why!”
“Let’s just study. I’m pretty delicate, you know.”
I was never a physically active type, and I had no interest in lifting anything heavier than a fork. I’d rather study.
“That’s no fun at all!”
“I know that better than anyone, but you really need it.”
“Ugh…”
“Magi? Trust me. Just a little, that’s all. I never do anything hopeless.”
He hesitated but soon took the bait I dangled.
“Really? Just a little, right?”
“Of course, of course. And after that, we’ll do a fun crafting class.”
[Why is it that my body always gets used for that crafting class! Master! Master! What about my rights!]
That was a first—spirits claiming rights.
[Sacrifice for your master is a spirit’s happiness!]
[That’s not true!]
Besides, even the Beginner’s Guide to Spirit Studies said it.
‘The master’s will is the spirit’s will!’ Not that it means to be taken literally!
I ignored Rai’s loud protests.
All that was left was Magi’s eager eyes.
Rai was a perfect offering for Magi. For a dragon with a passion for smithing, there’s nothing better than a Metal Spirit.
Rai, working tirelessly day and night for his master’s survival, really was an excellent spirit.
“You know, Geenie!”
“Yeah? What is it.”
“Can’t we start with the crafting class?”
“Hmm…”
“Please?”
With a pose that would’ve been cute if not for the old dwarf face, Magi pressed his hands together and looked up at me with sparkling eyes.
“Maybe. We are a little short on materials, though.”
“What do we need? I’ll help!”
“A big cauldron and some gems… Oh, perfect. Magi, you’ve got tons of gems, right? Can you share some?”
I put on my sweetest voice.
“Sure! I’ll give you some!”
And I didn’t ask to borrow—I asked for them. I needed quite a lot.
“Thanks. Then go wash your hands.”
“Okay!”
“Hey, stop sucking your fingers.”
I stopped Magi from sticking his blood-soaked ogre fingers into his mouth.
He nodded obediently, making me both proud and a bit sympathetic toward his parents.
Life sure is strange—now even a dragon makes me feel this way. I truly felt bad for Magi’s parents.
They must’ve worried so much about letting this lacking child live on his own.
Like sending a child off into the wide world…
I stroked Magi’s silky blond hair and whispered in his ear.
“And Magi, while we’re at it, why not try polymorphing into something else?”
“Something else? Like what?”
“Not a dwarf… Something cuter.”
I’ll coax him into transforming into a beautiful boy, just my type.
No matter what he does, if he’s adorable enough, it’ll all be forgiven—a work of art.
Magi, so innocent, was falling right into every trap I set.
Maybe it’s time to teach him a bit of caution around humans, too.
I was feeling more and more like a nanny every day.
—
For Rai’s new body, the candidates were the wolf boss I caught recently, a big eagle I’d caught for food but left because it was too much work to prepare, a fox cub, and a squirrel.
They’d all frozen solid in the freezer, so I took them out and laid them out to thaw.
Then I asked Rai.
I probably wouldn’t follow his preference, but I felt obligated to at least pretend to care.
“Which one do you like, Rai?”
[I want the wolf!]
“Oh, you feel the same as me for once?”
I was going to choose the wolf anyway.
It looked enough like a dog to be easy to bring along, and it was big enough to ride, so it seemed the most useful.
[The fox and squirrel are too small. The eagle is cool, but I might not be able to fly.]
“Huh? Why not?”
[I’ve never flown before.]
“But it’s an eagle’s body.”
[I’m not an animal spirit, am I? All I can do is mimic the appearance. Flight and such are impossible for me. Impossible.]
So that’s how it is. What a shame. I muttered as I stroked my chin.
“Then quadrupeds are the most practical.”
[Exactly.]
“Hm, I got used to the snake, so it’s a bit sad to change.”
[Why? You just change the outer shell, you know?]
Completely blackened from the lightning, Rai looked more like a lump of coal than a snake these days.
His once smooth shell was now rough and damaged, so he was banned from crawling on me.
“Don’t you lose the snake body if we make a new one?”
[Nope! Any body I make, I can summon again whenever I want.]
“…What? Really?”
[Yes! I can store as many as I want!]
“So I can make all of these into bodies for you?”
[Of course! As long as there are enough gems!]
And gems? In a dragon’s lair, there were more than enough.
One reason I’d put off making Rai’s new body was that it was hard to gather enough materials.
You had to melt all kinds of gems together in one cauldron.
“I had no idea you could do that…”
I looked at Rai, curled up at my feet, with fresh amazement.
[See! Master just isn’t interested in me. My powers don’t end there, you know!]
“Come on, you’re just way too unusual. What other spirit has transformation abilities? It’s absurd. You even need a material body for the intermediate world…”
[Hehehe!]
“What’s so funny?”
[I’m just saying, I’m multifunctional and cool!]
It wasn’t a compliment, but he looked so satisfied it didn’t matter.
Rai’s laugh had changed after hanging around Magi.
He used to laugh a lot, but never so obnoxiously.
“So we’ll need a really big cauldron to melt all this together.”
[Actually, that won’t work.]
“You just said it would.”
[Making a body for the material world is a sacred process. It’s a kind of offering. The rule is one animal per cauldron.]
“Seriously, what’s so sacred about that…”
Metal spirits really were unfathomable beings.
Even with my doctorate-level knowledge of spirit studies, Rai remained a mystery.
It’s not like I hadn’t tried to learn about him.
But the deeper I delved into spirit studies, the clearer it became that Rai was truly one of a kind.
[I keep telling you! Pay more attention to me, Master!]
“I do spoil you enough.”
[No way! You love Undine more than your rare, multi-talented, cute, and clever Rai!]
“What’s wrong with Undine?”
[That’s just a low-level spirit—back in the spirit world, they’re as common as rocks!]
“Doesn’t matter. I like Undine and you both the same. You’re both my spirits. But… you’re too rare, Rai. I just can’t show you off in front of others.”
Rai was rolling his eyes, trying to figure out whether that was a compliment or not.
I crouched down and tapped the sooty head of Rai.
“You’re my ace in the hole. My secret weapon!”
[…Secret weapon?]
“The good stuff is always saved for last, Rai.”
[I see! I didn’t realize your intentions, Master! Yes. I should stay a secret! After all, I’m your one and only secret weapon!]
