Chapter 10 - Spirit (1)
『Among the legends of the snowy mountains at the northernmost edge, there exists something called the 'Spirit that Counts the Winter'.
It is said that this spirit makes its home in the frozen lake at the highest peak of the snowy mountains and crafts the white snow of the peaks. The barbarians worship the spirit like a guardian deity and revere it as their spiritual pillar.
The investigation team initially considered it a simple folk belief, but according to further inquiries, there was one strange point to the legend.
It is that whenever the barbarians of the snowy mountains select a new chieftain, they go to the frozen lake to receive the Token of Endless Winter.
The name of the requested item is 'Token of Endless Winter'.
The investigation team believes the requested item is related to the token that the barbarians' chieftain receives.
However, a more detailed investigation is impossible.
The barbarians of the snowy mountains were reclusive, and their barrier was of a form that the investigation team's capabilities could not penetrate.
It is considered necessary for the requester to visit the snowy mountains in person.』
Deltain read the letter with sunken eyes.
He had already read the letter five times, repeating it to deduce other clues, but there was nothing he could know.
There was no alarm announcing a quest either.
This didn't mean it was a wild goose chase, but rather that he couldn't judge the truth of it with just this.
'A spirit, huh....'
Deltain ruminated on the characteristics of spirits he knew.
'An amorphous life form. It is impossible to confirm with the naked eye without affinity, and due to its nature of being bound to nature, it cannot leave the place where it was born.'
There were other habits he knew, of course.
After all, when he first fell into this land, 'Spirit User' was one of the routes he had considered to nurture the body of Deltain Hebron.
Spirit User was a job classified as high-value even within [Evil Lore] because of its excellent wide-area bombardment capabilities and mental corruption defense abilities.
The reason Deltain didn't choose that job was simple.
Even if a Spirit User could do wide-area bombardment, their single-target attack power was terrible, and Deltain's mental barrier was sturdy enough even without any corruption defense abilities.
'If I had known this would happen, I should have at least dipped my tongue in it.'
Deltain floated up a belated regret.
As he hadn't had the idea of receiving a spirit's help while progressing through this game, he hadn't made any investment in Spirit Affinity.
Furthermore, it was difficult to invest now.
Deltain had thoroughly modified this body into a form specialized only for Mana Affinity, and in the process, he had dropped other affinity abilities to near zero.
It was impossible for Deltain's own power to confirm the spirit of the frozen lake.
'This is getting tangled up again.'
Deltain's brow furrowed.
He thought about whether he should find another Spirit User, but Spirit Users were rare, and most of them were people who had hidden themselves in nature and turned their backs on the world.
Even those who came out to the city were eccentrics who wouldn't move for threats or bribery, so it could be called an unexpected impasse.
'What should I do....'
Deltain thought that while biting into the remaining sandwich.
'Should I just have one of the Hounds change their class to a Spirit User?'
...He even thought that, but Deltain knew.
It was nonsense.
The Hounds of Hebron were already perfectly tuned, and if he messed with their growth route for no reason, their performance would drop.
Since he didn't know what kind of battles he would have to fight in the DLC yet, that was out of the question.
'Stealing the token from the barbarians without meeting the spirit....'
This, too, would only cause unnecessary trouble if that token wasn't the quest's target material.
Deltain's expression soured.
He let out a deep sigh and threw the report onto the dining table.
'For now, take this slowly.'
Unlike the Demon Flower Extrias, it was a quest without a time limit.
Since the spirit wouldn't run away just because he delayed the plan a little, there was enough leeway to inquire more about Spirit Users.
"Are you finished with your meal?"
Gerhart returned.
Deltain glanced at him, then nodded and rose from his seat.
"Uh, let's go to the Duchy first."
"Wasn't today your day off?"
"The Young Lady's condition was strange yesterday. Since it's a change that happened not long after the surgery, I have to grasp it for sure."
"...Understood."
Gerhart bowed his head and thought.
Was his master being a bit too fussy?
*
Deltain, who arrived at the Levadein Duchy, tilted his head.
It was because the direction the maid was guiding him was not toward Agnes's bedroom.
"I don't think it's this way."
"Ah, she is in the garden today. She said she wanted to get some fresh air."
"What... How long has it been since she woke up, and she's already running around like crazy?"
Deltain was displeased.
He was annoyed by Agnes, who was running around for no reason when she had rushed out of the banquet hall just the day before, claiming her heart felt strange.
"She'll only come to her senses after she's bedridden again."
When Deltain clicked his tongue, the maid smiled awkwardly.
It was about 5 minutes later that they arrived at the garden.
"Young Lady, Count Hebron has arrived."
A modest tea table in the middle of the rose garden.
Agnes, who was sitting there, turned her head.
Immediately after discovering Deltain, Agnes's expression wavered for a moment, but soon she regained her composure as if nothing had happened.
A smile hung on her lips.
"What's the occasion today?"
"Supporter check."
"It's not that you wanted to see my face under that pretext, is it?"
"Seeing that your mouth is still running, I feel like I came for nothing."
"Do you want to sit down while you're here?"
Agnes offered the seat next to her.
Deltain snorted and walked over there.
The maid had already left the spot.
"What kind of guts do you have to be walking around alone already?"
"I'm a body that even danced."
"You said your heart felt strange while you were dancing that dance."
"It was a misunderstanding. My heart was just surprised because I was active for the first time in a long while."
The face of Agnes, who said that, was filled with satisfaction for some reason.
It looked like she was satisfied with what she had said.
"...Yeah, anyway, since I'm here, I'm going to check, so give me your hand."
"Woof."
"Don't do that."
Deltain's expression crumpled. Agnes burst into clear laughter.
"You made a face that makes me want to tease you."
"My fault?"
"Who told you to be so cute?"
"Cut the cheap lines."
"It's fine because I, the one saying it, am a luxury item. No, should I say I'm a masterpiece...."
<1st Rank Magic: Silent is activated.>
Deltain checked her pulse by feeling her wrist. By doing so, he flowed mana into her blood vessels to grasp her blood flow and tension state.
It was a trick only he, who had the anatomy of the human body engraved in his mind, could do.
"You're healthy."
There was no problem.
The Heart Supporter had settled in perfectly, as well as it could be.
Deltain's face filled with satisfaction upon realizing that fact once again, and Agnes lifted her skirt.
Thump!
Deltain's body jolted.
He, who hadn't been able to react to the sudden movement, instantly faced the scenery under her skirt.
"You crazy...!"
She wasn't wearing underwear.
What was shown under the skirt was Agnes's raw body.
It was a color that made him recall the events of that night again.
As Deltain stared at Agnes with a bewildered face, Agnes smiled mischievously and tapped her lips.
"...."
Click.
Deltain snapped his fingers.
<1st Rank Magic: Silent is deactivated.>
"How was it?"
"Do you really want to ask that question?"
"Yes."
"You're truly vulgar. I'm sick and tired of intelligence below human level that doesn't even understand the concept of wearing clothes. It's shameful that we're the same species."
"You're quite scathing."
"Don't I look like I'm not? Why on earth are you not wearing underwear?"
"What's it to you, it's my house."
"This is a garden. You're outside the house."
"There's no one watching. And the skirt comes down to my calves, so who could see unless I lift it? Rest assured. You're the only one who can see under my skirt."
Deltain was speechless.
Agnes looked at the stunned Deltain, then tilted her head and asked.
"Should I show you one more time?"
"Get lost!"
"Tell me anytime if you want to see. Ah, I'll even let you touch...."
"Shut up before I seal your mouth again."
"Chee-."
Agnes pouted as if dissatisfied, but Deltain was stubborn.
No, it would be more correct to describe him as desperate.
Deltain felt a headache from her incomprehensible behavior.
The action that followed as a natural course was rubbing his face with his hands.
'Honestly....'
He didn't understand.
It wasn't like she lacked education or intellectual ability, so it felt like his insides were turning over because she kept doing such nonsensical things.
"Huu...."
"You've done everything from biting and sucking to screwing, and now you're pretending to be innocent."
"...I should record this and play it for the Duke."
"Hmm, I think it's morally wrong to tell your dad that I ate your daughter."
"And the action you took is moral?"
"It's an expression of affection."
"Just die. Forget the treatment, just go hang yourself and die."
"There's still half a year left. I'm going to enjoy it more before I go."
Agnes's laughter grew a little louder. And it became clearer.
She seemed to be having the time of her life now that her health had returned.
Deltain thought once again.
It was right not to treat her after all.
If he had done that, he wouldn't have had to see such unsightly things.
"But you know."
"What now."
"Do you have something on your mind?"
Deltain's head lifted.
He stared at Agnes with a furrowed brow.
"What are you talking about?"
"You have that kind of face. You were thinking about something else since you arrived."
Deltain's fingertips trembled.
It was a bullseye.
Even though he tried to shake off the thoughts about the Spirit User, he couldn't, so Deltain had been thinking about it even while coming here.
"What is it? Huh? Tell me too."
"What's the point of you knowing...."
"I suddenly felt like taking off my clothes."
"What's the context for that?"
"Because it seemed like you hated it. I'm doing it instead of threatening you."
Deltain glared at Agnes with bloodshot eyes.
The more he did, the deeper Agnes's smile became.
At that moment, Agnes placed her hand on her skirt.
Deltain answered without realizing it.
"Spirit User."
"Huh?"
He realized his mistake, but the words he had already spat out couldn't be taken back.
Deltain's fist trembled.
Thinking it was strange to keep insisting he wouldn't tell her now, he let out a deep sigh and said in a drained tone.
"...I need a Spirit User, so I'm looking for a way to find one."
"Aren't there a few in the capital? You can just meet them."
"I have to take them to the snowy mountains. There's a spirit I need to find there."
"Ah, the thing you were talking about with Marquis Montvert."
Agnes, who was nodding, closed her mouth and began to think about something.
Then she asked.
"But if it's the snowy mountains, that would be really far."
"Yeah, two months round trip."
"Are you leaving me behind?"
"If necessary."
"What about the treatment?"
"I'll continue the research even while I'm away. When I return, I'll try the methods I thought of for two months one by one."
"Umm...."
Agnes tapped her cheek with her index finger.
While doing so, she stared at Deltain for a long time.
Deltain felt uncomfortable at her unreadable gaze, and in the midst of that, Agnes said.
"You know. You said you needed a Spirit User, right?"
"Yeah."
"Can I become a Spirit User too?"
A question filled with pure curiosity.
Deltain cut it off instantly.
"Do you think that's possible?"
"Is it not?"
"Do you think just anyone can become a Spirit User? Even if someone is smart and strong, if they don't have affinity, that's the end of spirit arts."
"If you say it the other way around, it means I can do it too if I have affinity, right?"
"...."
Agnes's eyes sparkled.
Deltain felt anxiety.
The vitality dwelling in her cherry-blossom-colored eyes was ominous for some reason.
The anxiety became reality.
"Can you check if I have affinity?"
"No."
"Do it."
"I said no."
"Why?"
Because he thought she might actually have it.
Deltain, who had that thought for a moment, was startled belatedly.
'...It's a good thing if she has it.'
Since the problem of the Spirit User to take along would be solved and the research problem of the Demon Flower would also be solved, the best option would actually open up if Agnes could see spirits.
But why did he feel resistance to it?
Deltain vented his bewilderment at himself, which he didn't even understand.
Even while doing so, Agnes was leaning in.
"Right? No reason, right? Then do it."
"...Do you have it?"
"I don't know. That's why I'm asking. But I hope I have it."
The bitterness on Deltain's face deepened.
A heart that hesitated for some reason.
However, since it wasn't rational, Deltain ignored that heart.
Rational action and reasonable judgment were quite important elements to Deltain.
"...Don't be disappointed."
Click.
Deltain snapped his fingers.
<3rd Rank Magic: Identifying is activated.>
A target mark that looked like it was made of dots appeared on Deltain's retina.
Deltain placed that mark on the side where Agnes's face was.
And.
"How is it?"
"...Why is it real."
He felt a sense of utter absurdity.