Ch. 99
What a simple guy. Even though he was upset that I didn’t spoil him more than Undine, as soon as I flattered him a little, he seemed to have forgotten the original issue.
It was just an excuse I came up with on the spot, but Rai looked extremely satisfied.
I really liked that optimistic side of Rai.
[I’m Master’s secret weapon!]
Truthfully, it’s mostly because if people start asking questions about what kind of spirit he is or try to use him, it’ll just be a hassle for me, so I keep him hidden as much as possible. But that’s fine.
Undine is more than enough for public appearances anyway…
While I was laughing at Rai, who was flapping around, singing in excitement, Magi came running from a distance.
He was carrying something on his head.
“Geenie!”
“Watch out, Magi, you’ll trip.”
Finally, our supplier has arrived! Gemstone provider.
“Can I put this in the cauldron? This one!”
Magi grinned brightly, holding up half a leftover troll on his head.
[Gyahhhh!]
“Oh, my ears.”
Rai sure had a dramatic way of saying no.
“Okay! I get it!”
[No! No! Gyahhhh!]
“Ugh! Magi, at least bring something with all its limbs next time, okay?”
“This won’t work?”
“No. Rai’s torturing me right now.”
Rai’s screams were the kind that got through even if I covered my ears, making things very unpleasant for me.
With my desperate hand gestures, Magi reluctantly put the troll chunk on the floor, looking completely dejected.
“Aww, but I like this one…”
And Magi had now transformed from a dwarf into a young human boy.
He looked about thirteen—a beautiful blond boy with angelic features.
Even his eyelashes were so thick and golden that he looked like a child from a very wealthy family.
I had him take that form because, inside, Magi felt about that age to me.
After so long as a dwarf, I’d grown used to his short stature.
Magi also really liked when I patted him on the head from above.
He might be a dragon, but he was also an immature youngster.
“Listen, Magi. I have to carry Rai around everywhere, and a half-eaten monster is just too gross, don’t you think? At the very least, he shouldn’t be revolting to travel with.”
“But he was a snake before, wasn’t he?”
“Snakes are kind of cute, in their own way.”
“…That’s true!”
Above all, Magi and I had a way of understanding each other.
Magi nodded, satisfied, and then started chattering excitedly again.
“I looked, but there’s only leftovers in the freezer!”
“If Rai’s crying, then leftovers are a no.”
“Okay! Then I’ll go catch something new!”
“Yeah, just make sure it has all its limbs.”
“I’ll be right back!”
“Take care.”
And especially, be careful around people.
Magi immediately disappeared with a hasty teleport, while Rai was left shivering beside me.
[Master…!]
“What? I stopped him for you.”
[I just hate monsters to begin with!]
“Oh, really? I thought you were upset because it was leftovers.”
[What spirit would want to transform into a monster? I hate it! I absolutely hate it!]
Ugh, these whiny kids. Catering to their moods is a full-time job.
Neither Magi nor Rai were especially mature, and I was hardly an adult myself.
After all, I always loved myself the most.
I couldn’t stand things that annoyed me. I didn’t even want to try!
“Enough! That’s enough whining!”
[You’re so mean!]
“What is!”
[Protect me! Protect me, too!]
“What? Spirits are the ones who are supposed to protect their masters, not the other way around!”
[But you cried so much when Undine died!]
“First, Undine didn’t die. Second, if you die, I’ll cry for you, too. Fair, right?”
Whatever he found so unfair, Rai started rolling on the ground, wailing. It was all just sound effects, of course—he didn’t actually have tears.
[Bad master! You’re such a mean woman! Bad person!]
“What a troublesome brat…”
[Sob, sob.]
Rai had a habit of clinging to me obsessively and wearing me out.
I didn’t feel the need to comfort him, because even if I did, he’d just start clinging to me again and demanding I spoil only him.
A spirit, being possessive of its master… ridiculous.
“Cut it out! You said you can make as many bodies as you want! So monsters shouldn’t be a problem! Think positive. Wouldn’t it be nice to have at least one monster in your transformation list?”
[What part of that is nice!]
“Well, maybe if you want to prank someone you don’t like?”
[Oh… that’s actually tempting.]
“See?”
[I suddenly feel a lot better.]
In the blink of an eye, Rai was back to his usual self, as if he’d never been upset.
He really was acting.
He’d always faked tears to get my attention, but his performances were getting more convincing lately. What a cheeky guy.
“Sometimes you should think about why you get scolded so much, you know?”
[Is it because I’m too cute and adorable?]
To put it simply, he was an attention seeker.
A completely unpredictable one, at that. That’s my spirit for you.
—
Morning arrived, and the long-awaited Rai’s New Body Project began.
First, we needed a big cauldron.
This is where Magi’s hobby really came in handy. In just one day, he made a cauldron as big as I wanted.
It was large enough to fit a person inside.
Once the cauldron was ready, we had to fill it with gems—that was the main challenge. Thankfully, Magi agreed to provide them, which was lucky.
I decided that as long as I was staying in Magi’s lair, I might as well make Rai’s body in as many varieties as I wanted.
After all, this place was practically a mountain of gems.
“Every time I see it…”
It’s truly amazing.
The moment you pass through a giant door, you’re faced with an unbelievable sight—a seemingly infinite number of gems, as countless as grains of sand on a beach.
What human could ever see a mountain of gems in their life?
I could confidently say that not even the emperor had witnessed such a spectacle.
A dragon’s gemstone vault, built by raiding every human treasure house, boasted an incomparable, immense scale.
It was less a room and more a cavern with a soaring ceiling.
Piles of gems reached all the way up to the ceiling, and it was impossible to know where to start.
Over there was a hill, and over there a mountain…
“Geenie! Come up here, too!”
I waved to Magi, who was climbing a small mountain of gems.
“No, I’ll collect some from down here. You get something rare from up there.”
“Something rare, got it!”
“The more variety in the materials, the better!”
While Magi searched up high, I dug through the gems scattered below.
I picked out especially large and sturdy-looking stones to toss into the cauldron. Picking gems out of a pile of gems—what a strange feeling.
Rai joined in, helping select the gems.
He always made sure to take care of his own body.
[Master! This one’s a good one!]
“They all look the same to me.”
[The higher the hardness and the fewer impurities, the better! I can tell by biting it!]
“That’s because you’re a Metal Spirit…”
[Ah, you’re right!]
Full of energy, Rai busily carried gems in his mouth back and forth.
I didn’t want to move much, so I just loitered near the cauldron and picked up gems.
We’d made the cauldron too big, so it was taking longer than expected to fill.
Eventually, I didn’t even want to walk over to the cauldron, so I started tossing gems into it like shooting basketballs from afar.
When a gem landed perfectly in the cauldron, the pleasant ringing sound felt like an extravagant game.
Ting.
Ting-rrrr.
“This is actually kind of fun.”
“Geenie! I found something cool, waaaah!”
Somehow Magi had climbed all the way to the top, waving at me from the peak of the gem mountain, then suddenly slipped and slid down the pile.
“Magi!”
[Sliding down a mountain of gems—what a refreshing feeling!]
Magi shot down the gems so fast, he looked like he was riding a sled.
“Yeah, refreshing… Wait! That’s not what I—Rai! Stop singing weird songs! You’re confusing me!”
Bang!
While I was yelling at Rai, Magi arrived at the bottom.
And did so in spectacular fashion, crashing into the cavern wall.
It must’ve been a hard impact, because Magi was sprawled out in front of the wall. I was about to run over in shock when he jumped up and ran over to me.
Even as he fell, he’d kept the gems clutched tightly in his arms, and now he proudly presented them to me. Despite all the noise, Magi looked perfectly fine.
“Will these do? My mom gave them to me!”
“…Magi, are you okay? Is your forehead all right?”
“Why wouldn’t I be?”
As expected of a boss monster with the strongest offense and defense.
When I looked back, I saw a big crack in the wall where Magi had hit it.
Apparently, Magi was as tough as Rai—maybe even tougher.
[That kind of thing doesn’t hurt at all, Master.]
“Have you seen this before, Geenie?”
Magi poured the gems he brought into the cauldron and held up two for me to see. His face was begging for praise.
“No, I’ve never seen those before. What kind of gems are they?”
One was an astonishingly brilliant golden color, and the other was a sphere with a unique black and yellow mix, like oil and water.
Both were about the size of a fist, but the golden gem caught my eye the most.
I could feel a swirl of mana inside it.
