20demayo Chapter 21
Chapter 21
Side Story: Schlie Letziano
The study session with Meg continued. Next, we moved on to the unavoidable ritual of using nature magic. Even though I called it a ritual, what you had to do was simple. Call out to a spirit you liked and ask them to make a contract.
Of course, spirits had the right to refuse, so there was always a chance of being rejected. However, there were as many spirits as there were stars in the sky, so there was bound to be a spirit who’d accept a contract. Meg possessed a pure soul, so I imagined spirits would be clamoring to partner with her. A wry smile spread across my lips.
Those who wielded nature magic could, to a certain extent, sense the quality of a person’s soul. It was a vague sense, like knowing who was comfortable to be around and who wasn’t, based on how they affected your mood. However, you could immediately tell when someone’s soul was exceptionally tainted, and conversely, you could also sense when a soul was exceptionally beautiful.
I was in the guild when Gil brought this child back. I felt an inexplicable tug at my heartstrings and went outside. And then, I sensed the source of that unease approaching from the sky and waited for its arrival.
The cause was in the basket Gil was carrying. Juma, who happened to be near the entrance, and I peered into the basket, and both of us were captivated by the adorable sleeping face of the child.
Ah... her soul was so pure. I offered a silent prayer of gratitude to the spirit gods for allowing me to meet this child.
With Meg’s beautiful soul, it was inconceivable that she wouldn’t be able to form a contract with a spirit. However, only a spirit with enough strength to protect her, and one with a personality that didn’t pose any problems, would be acceptable. I had to keep a watchful eye until the ritual.
...I had to ask the spirits to calm down. It was amusing to see them so restless, usually wandering around carefree, now all aflutter at the prospect of contracting with Meg.
“The initial contract requires a considerable amount of magic power. The amount varies from person to person. The ritual involves transferring magic power to your limit. So, you’re a bit vulnerable at first.”
I continued teaching Meg while lost in my thoughts. Parallel thinking was one of my strengths.
Elves occasionally give birth to children with special abilities. Given that elves had a low birth rate to begin with, and this only happened occasionally, it was an exceptionally rare occurrence. Fortunately, I possessed parallel thinking as one of my special abilities.
However, since parallel thinking was so natural to me, I only discovered it was a special ability much later.
Meg shook her head vigorously at my teasing question. Ah, you’ll mess up your hair if you shake it like that.
“No! Schlie-shan is good! I’m really happy! I really like being your practice subject!”
Her words, her voice, her smile. They spread through my heart, becoming a sweet symphony, making my whole body tremble. I didn’t want to let go of Meg. I felt it with all my heart.
I gently stroked her head, and she closed her eyes contentedly. Savoring that strange feeling of warmth spreading through my body, I lifted Meg from the chair, took her hand, and led her to the open space in the training grounds.
There were a few guild members scattered around, training. It couldn’t be helped, even though I chose a time when it wasn’t too crowded. The ones training seemed to be curious about us, but the rules of the training grounds stated that we weren’t to interfere with each other unless it was work-related. We would proceed, ignoring them.
“Well then, I’ll cast the spell to allow you to see spirits. Just relax and close your eyes. I’ll let you know when to open them slowly, okay?”
“Okii! Pwease take care of me!”
I chuckled at Meg, who stumbled over her words more than usual, perhaps out of excitement.
But I was getting nervous too. If Meg trusted me, the spell should work without a hitch... but that meant, conversely, if it didn’t work, it meant she didn’t. It would be a significant psychological blow. It was hard not to be nervous.
Had I ever felt this much trepidation about using magic before? Pushing aside my pounding heart, I mentally called out to my spirit.
I borrowed the power of my first spirit, the wind child, Harneflaaf, and a gentle breeze enveloped Meg. A faint light emanated from her body. After a while, it subsided... I must have finished casting the spell.
“...Meg, it’s okay now.”
I spoke softly. Meg slowly opened her eyelids. Ah, I was probably more nervous than Meg!
I prayed that the spell had worked. I waited anxiously for her reaction.