Chapter 13 - Proof (1)

It took quite a while to sort out the situation.

That was because the three parties involved in this dual spirit contract needed to reach an agreement.

To put it briefly, that was the case.

[Um, there shouldn't be any major problems... I can stay on the snowy mountain and only be summoned to you, Master... Agnes-nim, whenever you want. Yep, that's right.]

In truth, there were many suspicious parts to that statement.

Wouldn't you agree?

A spirit, of all things, letting its contractor wander around to different regions, and even offering to move according to the contractor's needs?

This was impossible within Deltain's common sense, but he didn't dig too deeply into that doubt.

'It seems to be related to the Demon Flower, and if the spirit is acting like this right now, I can investigate later.'

He decided to prioritize solving the immediate urgent matter.

Deltain checked the interface floating on his retina once more.

<Complete all items.>

The first item was cleared.

Now, the things to solve were the second and third.

Deltain continued to ponder.

'Summoning the Spirit King is one thing, but what on earth is that third one?'

Just slapping the single sentence "Prove yourself" without any context or explanation made his head throb.

In fact, looking back, most of what this interface showed was like this, but he couldn't help the rising sense of injustice.

Deltain ruminated on his past experiences and deduced the meaning of that "Prove yourself."

'It seems like a side quest...'

He couldn't know more than that.

Deltain let out a "Hoo" and said to Hornlake.

"So, if you're done sorting things out, can we start soon?"

[Yes?]

"The Spirit King. I came all this way to see that."

To be precise, he had come to obtain the 'No.3 Token of Endless Winter', but judging by the quest item that popped up and Hornlake's demeanor, she likely didn't know about the object.

Perhaps the Spirit King he was about to summon would give it as a reward for the 'Proof'.

That was enough unnecessary rambling.

Deltain wanted to get to the point quickly.

Hornlake made an "Ah" sound and nodded.

[Yes, I understand.]

"How do I summon it?"

[There's not much you need to do... I, I...]

Hornlake suddenly twisted her body and looked at Agnes.

And she was twitching the corners of her mouth.

Agnes tilted her head.

"What are you staring at?"

[W-well, you see...]

Hornlake looked lecherously at Agnes's chest, specifically her heart area.

[I need to enter the Yeonghwa... U-um, I need to consume a little bit of spiritual power by doing that...]

In a word, that was what she meant.

I need to become one with you.

For Agnes, it was quite an unpleasant remark, but for Deltain, it was a statement that made his eyes widen.

Deltain grabbed Hornlake's shoulder and asked.

"Yeonghwa? Not the Demon Flower? No, more importantly, what is spiritual power? Do you know what that seed is?"

Hornlake made a "hiccup" sound, then tilted her head and answered.

[O-of course I do? The Yeonghwa is the source of spirits.]

"Source?"

[Yes, the place where the Father was born.]

"I know that the Spirit King was created naturally when life was born on the planet."

[I-is it a matter of order! If so, I don't know! I just know that the Yeonghwa is ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the beginning of all spirits!]

Her attitude was very confident for someone who claimed not to know.

Deltain felt a fire rising inside him.

Naturally, bloodshot veins appeared in his eyes, and his fists clenched tightly.

"...No, never mind."

Deltain clicked his tongue ("Tsk") and wiped his face with his hand.

And he urged himself on.

'Let's not be impatient. I'll find out everything once I summon the Spirit King anyway.'

He had briefly lost his composure because such unexpected information came from an unexpected place.

Deltain calmed his mind with a deep breath and looked at Agnes.

"Please."

"Hmm..."

Agnes looked back and forth between Deltain and Hornlake for a moment, then smiled meaningfully.

Deltain flinched without realizing it.

It was because he knew that whenever she made that expression, something unpleasant would happen.

His prediction was correct.

"For free?"

Agnes smiled brightly.

Deltain ground his teeth.

"...Fine. If you need something, say it quickly."

"Give me a kiss."

[Gasp...!]

Hornlake clutched her chest and suffered.

Deltain furrowed his brow sharply and said to Agnes.

"You want to do that in this situation?"

"It's because it's this situation. I need to educate her."

"What?"

"There are things like that."

Agnes was smiling at Hornlake.

Deltain's expression became even more irritable.

His honest feelings were this.

He didn't want to follow that request.

But he hated wasting time wrestling over useless things when his goal was right in front of him even more.

After not-so-long deliberation.

Deltain approached Agnes, grabbed her by the collar, and leaned in.

"Chu."

He pressed his lips against hers.

"Ah!"

Orga made a surprised sound, and the Chieftain covered Orga's eyes.

Deltain ignored it indifferently and inserted his tongue.

Perhaps because she had been at the top of the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠snowy mountain for a long time, Agnes's lips were cold.

But the breath coming from between them was warm, and her skin was soft.

A sensation that pointlessly disturbed his mind.

Deltain evaluated it as such internally and pulled his lips away.

Agnes's face filled his vision.

She had her eyes wide open like a rabbit.

"Are you satisfied?"

"Wow, I didn't know you'd be so aggressive. I'm a little flushed."

"Stop talking nonsense and really start."

The moment he said that and turned his head toward Hornlake.

Deltain stopped his body abruptly.

[Kuaaaah...!]

The snowball that made up Hornlake's body was cracking with a "zzjeojjeok" sound.

The snowballs that formed her eyelids had fallen off and disappeared, and her tightly clenched chest had a gaping hole in it.

Would someone dying while screaming in pain look like this?

Deltain felt an indescribable sense of repulsion at Hornlake's inexplicable behavior and looked at Agnes.

"Why is she like that?"

"You don't need to know. Just think of it as her being punished."

Punishment for daring to have lecherous thoughts under the pretext of work.

Agnes swallowed those words and smiled.

It was about 10 minutes later that Hornlake stopped her strange behavior.

Agnes did not tell him the cause of that behavior until the end.

[I, I will begin...]

Is it his imagination that he feels sorrow in Hornlake's voice?

While Deltain was raising questions at her voice, which was clearly more drained than before, her body collapsed.

'Did she turn into a spirit form?'

His gaze turned to Agnes.

The direction her eyes were looking moved from the air, gradually downward, and eventually to her own chest.

Immediately after.

"...Ah."

Agnes's body jerked slightly.

"How is it?"

"It's ticklish."

"Anything else?"

"Not really?"

Does the spirit not change the state of the Demon Flower?

Just as he was thinking that, an anomaly occurred.

Saaaa.

A wind blew from somewhere.

Deltain's head lifted at that.

'Is it coming?'

Even though there was no other mana flow, Deltain had the conviction that this was an anomaly caused by the Spirit King.

It was a conviction truly in the realm of intuition, so there was no way for him to express this sensation.

Saaaa.

The wind blew once more.

Following that, a visual change occurred.

Kugugung.

"A, an avalanche?!"

As Orga fussed, what happened resembled an avalanche.

But it couldn't be called an avalanche.

That was because all the snowy peaks surrounding the lake were shaking and soaring into the sky.

"The snow is rising!"

The rising snow began to clump together in the air.

Its size was extraordinary.

The size of the clumped snowballs was enough to cover the entire mountain peak where this lake was located.

Furthermore, the shape that was gradually wriggling and changing resembled the upper body of a human.

Kugugung.

The finally sculpted snowball had the shape of a giant filled with intimidation.

"That is..."

The Spirit King.

Deltain let out a hollow laugh.

'I can't feel anything?'

Even though it was giving such a huge visual shock, he felt nothing from the Spirit King.

It wasn't that he couldn't feel mana, but a sensation where the existence itself was not recognized.

The reason was obvious.

'...It's outside my perception.'

That is the range he can perceive.

In other words, it is a monster that exists outside the concepts of up to the 4th-dimensional system.

The will of the planet was at such a distant level.

Just how vicious is this game trying to be, to insert such an existence into a quest?

While Deltain's expression was wavering due to the thought that suddenly welled up, the Spirit King spoke.

[You have come.]

It slams the characters into his head.

It was a resonance that had to be expressed that way.

[Contractor.]

Deltain's gaze sank.

'...Contractor.'

It wasn't the first time he heard that word.

Before meeting the Spirit King, when he caught Gaias and Chambler, it was a word they had uttered.

At that time, he had dismissed it as just the ravings of demons, but now it was time to overturn that thought.

"What is that?"

They know something.

The word "Contractor" was clearly the core word of the DLC.

He asked with that thought in mind, but the Spirit King's answer was one.

[First, proof.]

An alarm rang.

<Complete all items.>

Deltain looked up at the Spirit King beyond the interface.

The Spirit King, without any other explanation, just uttered those words.

[Prove it. Your qualifications.]

It must have meant it wouldn't tell him easily.

Deltain laughed "Hah!" and smiled crookedly.

"Proof, proof, huh..."

If it wants it, I'll give it.

It's not that difficult.

Deltain was a person who had already proven every moment of his life.

"Interesting."

The ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Spirit King is an existence outside of perception.

It is an existence he cannot do anything about right now.

And there was something he had to get from it.

...Things like that flashed through Deltain's mind.

And disappeared.

"When the proof is over, spit out everything you know. Bet your existence on it."

[I allow it.]

"Allow it, my ass."

Deltain laughed and relaxed his body.

"Start."

It was an expression of his will that he wouldn't blink an eye no matter what trial it presented.

The Spirit King stared at Deltain for a moment, then soon raised its arm.

[Welcome the winter of a day.]

At the same time as those words.

<End the winter.>

Thump.

Deltain's body collapsed.

Deltain opened his eyes.

Then there was something he could see.

First of all, the interface.

<End the winter.>

And the shop visible beyond that translucent alarm.

It was a clothing store.

The scenery reflected through the shop's glass window, which was dyed black because the lights inside were off, was like that.

Snow was piled up on the paved road.

There were streetlights emitting yellow light at regular intervals, and people of various races passing by busily.

As he watched it quietly, a Christmas carol rang in his ears.

And he felt a chill he hadn't felt for a long time.

Deltain rolled his eyes and looked at the center of the glass window.

A black-haired boy of about 7 years old was reflected in the black window.

He had a quite fierce impression.

'...It's me.'

It was Deltain himself.

To be precise.

'...It's me in my childhood.'

It was himself in the very distant past.

A time when he hadn't achieved anything yet, an Asian kid digging through trash cans to avoid starving to death.

<End the winter.>

Deltain was standing in the past.