The Youngest's Spirit

"I never imagined something like this would happen right from the test phase." I stared blankly at Ruru.

"..."

"Ruru, it’s time to give that back."

"Kkureung."

Despite Yaruru’s desperate pleas, Ruru clutched the Mana Panel even tighter. 'Where did it all go wrong?' I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠picked up the fries I had set aside and tried to organize my thoughts. Adel had become a shut-in, Yaruru was addicted to the game, and Ruru was sulking. 'Hmm. It’s a total mess.' Or rather, a total spirit-mess.

"...Wait. A spirit-mess?"

Adel was a spirit. A unique case, at that—one who had slept for ages only to wake up and do nothing but play games inside my mental space. Yaruru provided feedback from the perspective of a Spirit Master. And Ruru was just... a spirit.

'...Isn't this sample group of testers a bit weird?' Two spirits, one Spirit Master. And me. Anyone looking at us would think it was a Spirit Master’s club. It had been fine when I was building the game, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠but looking at it now, it was a heavily skewed combination.

"Chase? Why are you acting so weird?" Yaruru tilted her head, poking Ruru’s belly.

...*Gulp.*

If I signed a contract with a spirit like Ruru, could I poke her belly like that, too?

"You’re making a weird face again."

"No, it’s just... I realized I need the reaction of a normal person."

"Why are you suddenly bringing up normal people?"

I looked at Yaruru and Ruru with an incredulous expression.

"There are way more ordinary people in the world than Spirit Masters."

"Oh. I guess that’s true."

"But there isn't a single ordinary person in our group."

...I don't know about Yaruru, but Ruru—did she actually understand what I said to make that shocked face? 'Ruru is a raccoon, but she has such expressive faces. Is it because she’s a spirit?'

"I never even thought about that."

"Even if you exclude me as the creator, one Spirit Master and two spirits... the composition is too biased."

Yaruru nodded in agreement, humming along. "I’m so familiar with spirits that I just accepted it easily."

"I suppose so."

"Plus, because she reacts just like Ruru, it felt even more familiar."

"Ah. So that’s why."

"Kkyung."

Ruru bobbed her head and wagged her tail. Is she reacting like that because we’re talking about her? 'She’s so cute even when she’s just moving around.' I stopped myself from getting lost in thoughts about Ruru and returned to the problem of the test.

"Actually, the easiest way is just to post on the bulletin board."

"Hmm. I haven't not thought about that, but..."

If I posted something like [GameMakerCute New Title Private Test Recruitment], people would swarm it in an instant. But I quickly dismissed that idea. 'The brand value of GameMakerCute has become too big.' Once for the Nista offline festival, once after the Northern Monster Wave, and once for Retrieval ERROR, which pioneered a new genre. My name was now known to quite a lot of people.

I only needed a few testers, and if I assumed that everyone who didn't get picked wrote a post about it... 'Ugh, just thinking about it is terrifying.' Even if I thought of it as viral marketing, it would clearly backfire.

"Actually, the most important reason is the nature of the game."

What if the people picked as testers get so obsessed that they beg me to let them keep the test spirits? With so much work ahead of me, updating every single person's spirit individually was impossible. It hadn't even launched yet, but... it was a reasonable concern. 'If by any chance a reaction like Adel’s happens... it’ll be a disaster.' So, recruiting testers from the board was off the table.

"But I don't have anyone around me to entrust with testing..."

"Ah. I know that."

"...!!! Ruru! Go and attack that annoying Chase!"

Doroong- Doroong-

"...Just how long have you been lost in thought?"

"An ordinary person who can watch their reaction quietly..."

I shoved a piece of bread into Yaruru’s yapping mouth to calm her down and retraced my human relationships. Someone who isn't a Spirit Master, who won't spread rumors about GameMakerCute’s new project—someone I can trust and who keeps their mouth shut? Luchel and Ayla were...

'They haven't said it out loud, but they seem almost certain of my identity.' And... and...

"Pfft. Chase, you’re just like me."

"Ugh, no I’m not!"

What on earth have I been doing for the last 21 years?! Wasn't reincarnation supposed to turn me into an insider who gets a harem of beautiful girls and friends with great personalities?! As I was despairing over my life, a message I had put off earlier came to mind. Right. My family! My older sister had run away—no, gone on a knight’s pilgrimage—but I still had three family members left. If all else failed, I could just ask the trusted servants.

First, my father and mother only ever asked when I was coming home, so I switched accounts and sent a simple reply.

That should be enough, so I clicked on the message below it.

"..."

Terrifying. Even more than my parents. How does an 8-year-old kid have a more mature attitude than me? 'She was like that in the past, too... even at 5, her mental age seemed higher than mine.' And after what happened during the half-year I was at the Academy, she’s even telling me not to call her "Baby"...!

I had a lot to say, but I sent a light note back. Since she was holding the Mana Panel, the reply came back immediately.

"..."

A verbal assault with just two lines of facts? Maybe it’s because of her polite young lady tone, but it felt like the damage to my conscience was even greater. As expected of the youngest, who holds the position of the "normal one" among us three siblings. Me? Up until now, I was in charge of being lazy.

"Who is it?" Yaruru poked her head out from the side as I focused on the message.

"My younger sister, Vivian."

"Hah! She’s the person you cherish so much!"

"It’s not that much."

At my rebuttal, Yaruru pointed at Vivian’s nickname. "There’s no one else who would save their sister as 'Our Baby'!"

"She’s 8, so she’s still a baby."

"Besides, before you started making games, you only talked about your sister every time you opened your mouth!"

"..."

"Hmph. Treat me half as well as you treat Vivian."

"Should I call you 'Baby' too?"

"Th-that’s em-embarrassing..."

"What, how did she know?"

"The Mana Panel, the game—it hasn't been long since they were made, but there’s no one else who makes games like this except for Chase."

"...Aha."

Taken aback by Vivian’s enthusiastic reaction, I was pushed into selecting a test file. The spirit data was already in the Mana Panel. Not Delia, not Doongsil, but a new spirit. Since Delia was human-type and Doongsil was nature-type, I decided to go with an animal-type this time. A small, cute spirit with a wronged expression, smelling of savory fur.

'Did I try too hard?'

"..."

Seriously. To leave me speechless so many times... she was a tough sister to deal with.

That was close. I almost sent the wrong file.

Vivian Roman. The youngest of the Roman family. And the only person of common sense in the Roman family sighed as she looked down at the Mana Panel.

"Haa... what kind of life is Brother living at the Academy?"

Her brother, who had top-tier grades in practical and written exams but lost all his points due to attendance. Her brother, who found training annoying and only slept in his room. She didn't like being treated like a baby, but... he was always kind to her. But such a person, suddenly!

"He said he missed me every day until the start of the semester! Why isn't he showing his face now that it’s vacation!"

And the only reply she got was because he needed a favor?! Even if it was a game by GameMakerCute, who was practically the ideal type for young ladies her age...

"Seriously! Brother is the 'bad boy' Lady Ines talked about! What on earth is he doing... Hmph!"

Vivian recalled what Lady Ines had said at a tea party a while ago.

'A bad boy is trash who only contacts a woman when they need something and only says sweet things!'

'Oh my, oh my!'

'The problem is that bad boys are all handsome, so naive young ladies fall for that attitude!'

'Hee-ut! It’s scary just to imagine it...'

No matter how she thought about it, her brother satisfied all the conditions of a bad boy...!

"But it can't be helped... we’re family, after all."

Vivian scrunched up her cute face and installed the file she received from Chase onto her Mana Panel. Looking at the clock, it was almost time for her etiquette lesson.

"I’m just going to check it."

She had finished her homework the moment she received it, and the tea was fragrant. It was the perfect situation to enjoy a brief moment of leisure before class.

"Even if he is GameMakerCute, I can't forgive him for making my brother neglect his family!"

Vivian glared at the Mana Panel, determined to judge it coolly.

A small light floated over the Mana Panel. Soon, the light gathered in one place and turned into something oval-shaped.

"The title is Spirit Raising... why did an egg come out?"

It was a different start from Adel and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Yaruru. The two of them were Chase’s assistants. That was the original intention of the game, too. But since it was a test file, the egg cracked after just a few touches.

"Ah! Did I do something wrong...? What should I say to Brother..."

The egg shook more and more violently, and the Mana Panel screen shone brightly.

"Kyaa?!"

"Huh? A, puppy?"

What hatched from the egg was a small, fluffy, and seemingly warm ball of cotton.

"...It’s small."

It was an appearance closer to a stuffed toy than a spirit or a real puppy. 'The droopy eyebrows are a flaw, but it’s still unique.' As Vivian just stared at the spirit, the puppy spirit tilted its head with its tongue sticking out.

"Heup...!"

For Vivian (8 years old), whose lifelong wish was to raise a puppy, it was a powerful attack.

"If it’s just a little bit... it might be, c-cute...?"

Vivian muttered that and pretended not to care as she brought her finger to the spirit inside the Mana Panel. When her finger touched the spirit through the screen, the spirit fell backward in surprise.

"Hit?! I, I didn't mean to! Uh, what should I do?"

Flustered by the spirit’s whimpering, Vivian tapped the screen frantically and accidentally rubbed its belly.

"Oh?"

The spirit was flustered at first, but then it stretched its body out on the floor as if enjoying Vivian’s touch.

"..."

Rub-rub-

Stroke-stroke-

"...Hot! I did it without realizing."

Vivian, who had been rubbing the Mana Panel for a long time, came to her senses when the spirit barked a bit sharply, and she hurriedly brought her now-cold tea to her lips.

"Losing my judgment was my mistake. Still, GameMakerCute is indeed amazing."

To think he would make something that could bewitch her (8 years old), a young lady of the Roman Count family who was well past the age of being swayed by such movements.

'The droopy eyebrows make it look pathetic, which is cute, I suppose.'

Just then, the spirit shivered slightly. Brrr—

"Oh my! It must be cold!"

Vivian, forgetting her previous composed demeanor, picked up the Mana Panel and stroked the spirit frantically.

"..."

Vivian bit her lip at the harmless appearance of the spirit moving here and there as she rubbed it.

"Cute..."

It didn't take long for Vivian to be completely conquered. It ran around energetically only to trip over its own feet, licked the screen with its tongue sticking out, and even showed off tricks at Vivian’s command!

"Since Brother sent this child to me, it must be my pet... no, my spirit, right?"

Vivian remembered. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠The worry she had for several nights when she was young (around 5 years old) about what name she would give her pet if she ever got one.

"Perzica Valerio Chase Vivian Rahela the 3rd."

Right. Now was the time to bring out that name.

"From now on, your name is Perzica Valerio Chase Vivian Rahela the 3rd."

"For a nickname, I’ll shorten it to Sein."

"Hehe..."

Does it know it has a name now? Vivian stroked the spirit, which was lying on its back again in the screen, showing its belly.

Knock knock.

"Young Lady! Why haven't you gone to your etiquette lesson yet?!"

"Kyaa! Now that I think about it, the time...!"

Vivian hurriedly stood up from her seat.

...She tried to stand up.

"Uh-uh. Sein, it’s no use looking at me with those eyes."

And so, Vivian was 10 minutes late for her etiquette lesson for the first time in her life (at 8 years old).