The Light of Perseverance
Light. Until now, I had always thought my contractor lacked stamina and athletic ability. Watching her run beside me confirmed my suspicions. Yet I also saw potential in her.
“Uheee... ugh... ugh...”
Her black hair swayed along her shoulders. The cumbersome black robe had long since been discarded. The black shirt clinging to her slim, flat frame had two buttons undone at the top, and the sleeves were rolled up to reveal thin, pale arms.
“...Crazy demon.”
“She’s awfully harsh on a kid who looks that young.”
“It just means she values her contractor. In the dungeon, running out of stamina is the same as death. I thought she was insane when I only heard the rumors, but she has this side to her too?”
“Still, that adventurer kid who keeps following her all the way isn’t normal either, is she?”
“Birds of a feather, I suppose.”
“Hmm. The more I look at that kid, the cuter she gets. The way she refuses to give up and keeps running is kind of impressive...”
“...? You crazy woman. Think about her age—kgh!”
“Shut up. Unless you’re planning to date her.”
Nearly twenty minutes had passed since my contractor and I began running together through the promotion exam grounds. I wasn’t running particularly fast to match her pace, yet even so, running nonstop for twenty minutes was harder than it sounded—especially for a child around middle-school age.
“Hahk, uheok! Hua!”
Her breathing grew more ragged with each passing second. Her pupils trembled with self-doubt. Sweat poured down her face. Still, her legs kept moving. Fueled by my calm encouragement, she pushed forward toward her limit.
“Contractor. Don’t exhale all at once. Let it out in small bursts. You’re doing well, Contractor. In this moment, you shine brighter than anything else. Your limit is far beyond this, isn’t it?”
“Uhh... uwaaaah!”
Even as she staggered on the verge of collapse, her face streaked with tears and saliva, she refused to stop. Her legs trembled like aspen leaves, her chest heaved violently as she gasped for air—she had clearly reached her physical limit long ago. Yet while she hesitated to begin something, once she took that first step she never knew how to quit. Her body might have been frail, but her spirit was extraordinary.
“Excellent. As expected of my contractor.”
“Ugh... ugh...”
Panting and wiping away tears, the contractor never stopped following at my side. Her eyes, filled with venom as she glared at me, sparkled with unwavering determination—as if to say she would follow me anywhere, anytime.
...It was dazzling. Her burning will caught on the ashes of my heart and warmed my chest. Once again, I realized that those who refuse to give up shine simply by existing.
‘...This should be enough.’
Part of me wanted to see just how far she could go, but it was time to stop her. Pushing any further risked injury. I wanted to witness my contractor’s physical limits, not watch her get hurt.
“That’s enough now...”
“Uwee...”
Before I could finish speaking, her legs gave out. Her body crumpled diagonally like sliced pudding. I snatched her by the collar of her black shirt, stopping her from hitting the flattened dirt.
“Hue... huee...”
“...You did well. I didn’t expect you to go this far. I’m proud of you.”
I had already thought it remarkable that she hadn’t fallen while running, but I never imagined she possessed this kind of hidden strength. Her performance had been so impressive that I almost wondered if that black robe had been some kind of sealing tool.
“Hahk... hahk...”
Hanging limply like a kitten held by the scruff, the contractor gave a small nod and continued panting without answering. Droplets of sweat and fluid fell from the tips of her bowed head, darkening the dry ground.
‘It must be even harder for her to stay bent like that.’
I lifted her upright and let her lean against me.
“Straighten your back, stick out your chest, and breathe in slowly before exhaling slowly, Contractor.”
“...Feels nice.”
“...?”
The moment I let her rest her head against me, she began rubbing her face frantically against my coat, wiping away sweat and fluids.
“Oh dear.”
My coat was fused to my body—essentially my skin—so it couldn’t be removed or washed. Watching it grow damp in real time was rather troubling. Just then, I heard footsteps approaching.
“What are you doing half-killing the adventurer, nyang! Crow guy!”
It was Sion. Thanks to the miracle performed by the guild healers, she had recovered enough to run again only an hour after injuring her ankle. She carried a sturdy leather pouch the size of a thick branch. The sloshing sound suggested it was a waterskin.
‘Even a world with things like flashlights still has these classics.’
The convenient setting reminded me once again that this world was a game. Sion slowed to a stop in front of us, fixed me with her feline golden eyes, scolded me for the state the adventurer was in, then offered the waterskin to my contractor. She was the very picture of a doting mother.
“Adventurer! I brought water, nyang! Drink this, nyang!”
“Water! Ah, thank you, Sion-nim.”
The contractor pulled her cheek away from my coat, accepted the waterskin, and began gulping it down. Then—
“Gulp, gulp... kgh? Keck, keck... uweeek...”
“Contractor?”
She suddenly spat out the water through both nose and mouth. I patted her back, thinking she had choked from drinking too fast. Wiping her lips with her bare arm, she turned to Sion with the eyes of someone who had been betrayed. I was intensely curious what Sion had done to the water to make the contractor’s expression rot so quickly.
“Sion-nim... the water tastes a little strange...?”
“Ah, I added a bit of holy water so the adventurer could recover faster, nyang! So it might be a little salty, nyang!”
“Oh?”
She had mixed holy water made from Bastion’s rock salt into the drinking water? I might be witnessing the historic birth of the world’s first sports drink.
“Holy... water?”
Wrinkles formed on the contractor’s sweat-dampened forehead, as though she had just heard someone suggest putting sugar in kimchi stew instead of salt. Sion, sensing the sudden shift in atmosphere, clasped her hands together and asked carefully, looking like a scolded cat.
“...Nyang, Adventurer, does it not suit your taste, nyang?”
Wide eyes, flattened gray ears, the very image of a dejected feline.
“...No.”
Faced with that pitifully adorable expression, the contractor quietly drank the salt water like a butler who gets smacked on the back of the head daily yet still opens cans for the cat. It must have been very salty—her face showed clear displeasure.
***
“Are you feeling better now, Adventurer?”
“My legs are a bit sore and I feel weak all over, but... yes. I’m fine.”
“As expected! Holy water is amazing, nyang!”
“With such excellent effects, it wouldn’t be bad to drink it every day after training.”
“....”
Whether thanks to the superior efficacy of the sports drink made with Bastion’s holy water, the contractor recovered her condition in an instant. Judging by how she kept poking my side, she had gone beyond recovery and was now overflowing with energy.
“Then! We shall begin the promotion exam now! But there’s no need to worry! It’s only called an exam—it’s really just a demonstration of the contractor’s skills and magic!”
As Regina Gura had said, the promotion exam was less of a test and more of a simple showcase of the skills and magic already appraised at the assessment center. Without the familiar combat performance evaluation, we could have finished long ago and gone about our business.
“Before demonstrating skills, we shall check magic first! Adventurer! Use magic whenever you’re ready!”
The contractor nodded lightly at Regina Gura’s request. She extended her index finger into the air and quietly recited:
『Even something insignificant like me... I hope I can shine, just a little.』
It sounded less like a magic incantation and more like a prayer to the sky.
“【Light.】”
Even to the frail voice of a young life, this kind world responded gently.
A small light bloomed at the contractor’s fingertip before quickly fading. It wasn’t as bright as when she had fought the Rabbit Spider, but it had definitely shone.
“....”
Staring at the light that had flashed from her own hand, the contractor slowly turned to look at me. With a hint of anxiety, as though seeking approval, she waited for my words. Until now I had thought she was simply a child hungry for praise. But after watching her push her body to the brink just to hear my approval today, my thoughts had changed. Perhaps her past wasn’t so bright after all.
...If that were the case—
“Contractor.”
“....”
“That was splendid magic.”
“...!”
All I needed to do was illuminate her present. So brightly that even her dark past would be forgotten—just as she had done for me.