Spirit.
A race that loves nature and enjoys playing tricks on humans and elves.
Beings that love purity and inherently have goodwill towards others.
Although they have been forgotten among people today, spirits still exist.
They merely reside in another world, the spirit realm, away from this world.
“Why is that?”
When I asked Arin this question about spirits, she crossed her arms and appeared to be deep in thought. After tapping her arm with her fingers, she let out a big sigh and said.
“It’s because of the Imperial Family.”
“Huh?”
I wondered what the relationship between the spirits leaving this world and the Imperial Family was. I looked at Arin with curiosity.
Noticing the confusion in my gaze, she pressed her finger to her lips and shook her head.
I soon understood what Arin wanted to say.
‘Repression…’
A constraint that prevents one from speaking about the Imperial Family’s secrets. They say that even if you try to express it, the message distorts before reaching others.
I had felt this in that village as well; it was indeed an annoying constraint.
“To get to the point, a Spirit Conduit refers to a person who forms a contract with a spirit.”
Spirits inherently have goodwill towards others.
Whether human or elf, as long as they can communicate, they show goodwill.
Thus, it was rare for them to show affection for a specific individual.
If a spirit finds a human they like, they will propose a contract first.
Only after accepting that proposal can one become a Spirit Conduit.
Of course, refusing the contract doesn’t mean any disadvantage. One merely has to put up with the spirit’s grumpy pranks.
The most important part is that humans cannot propose the contract first.
Arin particularly emphasized this point while explaining.
“Talent must be important then…”
“That’s right.”
She nodded, agreeing with my statement.
Magic can be used quickly once you feel mana and learn the types of magic. The difficulty lies only in achieving a high level, while the basics are relatively easy.
Aura is also not particularly challenging to perceive, as long as one trains their body properly.
But spirit magic was quite different.
If a spirit doesn’t propose first, you can’t even begin to learn it.
As I thought of this, I worried a bit about whether a spirit would come to me.
Noticing my concerns, Arin continued.
“You don’t need to worry too much. We have this.”
Saying that, she pulled out a wooden music box from her pocket.
It was the item that Abel had handed over to her. It looked like an ordinary music box on the outside, but was there something different about it?
Curiosity struck me, and I asked her about the identity of the music box.
“It’s the proof of a promise made by spirits. It’s an item that fulfills your wishes.”
“What do you mean by that…?”
“Yes. We will use this to form a contract with the spirit.”
Just hearing it made it sound like quite a precious item. I couldn’t help but think if it was okay to use such an item just to become stronger.
“You don’t need to feel burdened. Our family has many items like this.”
Arin seemed to have picked up on my slight uneasiness as she said that. Was it that obvious on my face?
With a shy scratch on my cheek, I nodded slightly.
“Then let’s get started right away.”
Arin placed the music box on the table. She then slowly began to turn the handle.
As a refreshing piano sound echoed in my ears, the lid of the music box opened wide. A small wooden statue in the shape of a girl caught my eye.
The statue began to spin slightly as the handle turned.
‘This is…’
Green energy started to emanate in all directions.
Even I, who was ignorant about spirits, could sense that something unusual was happening.
Vines shot up from the ground, wrapping around the legs of the table and slowly climbing upwards.
I had wondered why we were starting the spirit magic lesson in the garden, and it seemed this was the reason.
Shoving my distractions aside, I carefully observed the area around the music box. Before I knew it, the vines had climbed all the way up to the music box.
At the same time, various colors of flowers began to bloom from the vine stems.
Pink, blue, light green, and red flowers appeared in brilliant colors.
“What is this…”
A small gap opening above the music box. From that gap in the air, sparks began to fly out.
Three bursts of flame emerged.
One was green, one was red, and the last one was blue.
They looked similar to the flames that had appeared in Arin’s palm earlier.
[Rooie? Has Rooie called us?]
[Really?! I haven’t seen Rooie in ages!]
[You fools. Those here aren’t Rooie.]
The faint voices echoing in my ears.
They were so small that if I lost focus for even a moment, I’d miss their conversation entirely.
Is this the voice of a spirit?
[Silphy, you’re so rude!]
[Let it be. She’s always like that.]
[Be quiet. More importantly, who are these beings?]
Their little squabbles seemed almost adorable.
In the meantime, Arin politely bowed her head and greeted them.
“Hello?”
Her voice was noticeably higher in pitch than before. She must really be fond of spirits, as she had been this excited since our first meeting.
Though it felt a bit strange to see her like this compared to her usual demeanor.
[What are you?]
[I’m a Half-Elf! Why is a Half-Elf here?]
[Did you call us?]
“Yes. My name is Arin. I am a Spirit Conduit.”
I strained to listen closely, making every effort to catch their voices. If I lost focus for even a moment, I was sure I’d miss the spirits’ words.
[Spirit Conduit? There are still some of those left in this land?]
[Silphy, watch your words.]
[Tch, fine, I got it.]
As the green spirit scolded her, the one named Silphy moved away as if she didn’t want to hear it.
With a shallow sigh, the green spirit turned back to Arin and spoke.
[Looks like Rooie gave you that item.]
When Arin nodded, the spirit’s form momentarily flickered.
[Well… there doesn’t seem to be any issues with the contract. What do you wish for?]
“Please allow the person next to me to contract with a spirit.”
The green spirit then gradually approached me as if noticing my existence. For some reason, I felt a warm sensation wash over me, making me a bit drowsy.
[It seems you can hear my voice.]
“Is that true?!”
All of a sudden, Arin rushed close to me, leaning her face in.
I didn’t know why, but having her this close felt a little overwhelming.
I gently placed my hand on her shoulder and nudged her back slightly. It seemed she realized her mistake and took a step back.
“I’m sorry. I got a bit too excited.”
“It’s okay. But why were you that surprised?”
At my question, Arin cleared her throat and calmly responded.
“It’s rare for someone to hear a spirit’s voice right from the start. Even I could only catch the general meaning of what they were saying at first.”
Could it be that I was an irregular since I could understand a spirit’s voice from the start?
“Ah…”
“Usually, most don’t even know if they’re speaking.”
Hearing that made me understand a little why she was so surprised.
I hadn’t even considered that I would be able to understand the spirits’ words immediately when I first encountered them.
Does that mean I somewhat have talent in spirit magic?
[Hehe, it’s rare, but sometimes there are kids like that.]
[Really? We can understand what you’re saying!]
[Be quiet, you loudmouth, Sally.]
Suddenly, Silphy, who had come close to me, replied to the red spirit named Sally, who was flitting around.
She seemed to rebel against that and moved around even more.
[Silphy, move away! I want to see a human after so long!]
“How do contracts work?”
[Contracts?! I want to contract too, hush!]
[First, be quiet. Let’s hear what they have to say.]
At Silphy’s words, Sally fell silent as if calming down. Despite their squabbles, they seemed to be somewhat close.
The green spirit came closer and asked me.
[What’s your name?]
Now that I think about it, despite being our first meeting, I hadn’t introduced myself yet. Oops! I quickly bowed my head and greeted them.
“I’m Adele von Este. Nice to meet you.”
[So you’re Este?]
[Fool. That’s her last name. Adele is her first name.]
Once again, the spirits began bickering among themselves in that short span. Seeing that felt strangely familiar, as the green flame ignored them to introduce itself.
[I am Sylvana, the Spirit of the Forest.]
[I’m Silphia, the Spirit of the Wind. You can just call me Silphy.]
[Oh, I’m Salamander, the Spirit of Flames! You can also call me Sally!]
Their unique introductions revealed their identities. A spirit of the forest, wind, and flame. Since a Spirit Conduit can only contract with one spirit, I had to be careful.
I decided to pass on the flame spirit for now.
While its destructive power might be good, I couldn’t guess what might happen if I misused it. Plus, I wasn’t drawn to excessively noticeable abilities to begin with.
So that left the wind and forest spirits…
“… I’ve made my decision.”
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