The Whale and the Girl
To put it simply.
Serena had accepted Leviathan’s proposal.
In other words, she had decided to form a contract with a fragment of a Great Spirit.
“Hmm. Then, does that mean the ability to see the future will disappear?”
“Ah, if you find that regrettable, shall we call off the contract?”
Just as I was about to brush it off with a "what a shame, but it can't be helped," Leviathan spoke up.
“So that’s how it is.”
“Your Majesty, what do you think I should do?”
“As far as I’m concerned, you lose nothing by making this contract. And by the same token, you have nothing to lose.”
A contract with a Great Spirit is like that by nature. Unlike ordinary spirits, they have no need to demand anything from the contractor.
Pure mana, precious treasures, or even the trials meant to elevate one’s status—these things are all useless to a Great Spirit.
To form a contract with them means, in other words, that you can enter into it for almost nothing. Of course, the very act of "forming a contract with a Great Spirit" is something that almost never happens.
“Then I’ll do it! I’ll take the contract!”
Anyway, since she had received my seal of approval, Serena, now free of any hesitation, bounced around with enthusiasm. Even if she didn't show it, I suppose she had been under quite a bit of stress from her foresight.
“This is your first time contracting with a spirit, isn’t it?”
“W-well, yes. But if any problems arise, won’t Your Majesty solve them for me?”
This girl really has no fear.
“There won’t be any problems. You have the talent for it.”
“Hehe.”
If she hadn't had the talent, Leviathan wouldn't have made such an offer in the first place.
With Serena grinning foolishly in front of him, Leviathan shifted. His massive body descended bit by bit. As he lowered himself to a distance where he could meet Serena’s eyes, the air in the area grew heavy.
“Ugh.”
Serena winced, as if she were being suffocated.
And immediately after, a small whale popped out from Leviathan’s massive form. Of course, since the base was Leviathan, even this "small" whale was much larger than any ordinary whale.
“Eek. D-don't tell me I have to... with that size?”
Serena was momentarily terrified. Fortunately, the large whale split in two once more. And again, and again, dividing multiple times until—
- *Pooooo*
In the end, a whale spirit small enough to fit in Serena’s hand fluttered over.
“Wow! It’s cute!”
- I leave myself in your care, contractor.
“Please take care of me too, Leviathan-nim!”
- Hmm.
Perhaps it was because it had become so small, but the majestic voice that had once seemed to resonate from the depths of the soul now sounded quite adorable.
The miniature Leviathan, a fragment of a fragment of a fragment of the original, seemed to realize this as well.
- I am merely a terminal of a terminal of the main body. It is not appropriate to address me by the name of the original.
“Eh? Is that so?”
- Therefore, contractor. Give me a new name.
Serena’s expression turned serious.
“Why are you worrying so much? Just pick something.”
“A name is a grave matter.”
- A name is an important matter, Emperor of humans.
This guy. He’s not calling me "Twisted One" anymore?
Perhaps the question was written all over my face, as the fragment of Leviathan turned its tiny body to look at me.
- What the main body sees and what I see now are different. To my eyes, you are merely the Emperor of humans.
“Hah.”
So, without the status of the main body, you can’t see through me? I don’t know if Leviathan, a Great Spirit, is that amazing, or if my secret is so profound that it requires that level of power to perceive.
“In the first place, what is this ‘secret’ of mine?”
- That is not something even my main body can easily speak of.
“Tsk.”
- If there is anything I can say, it is that a witch freed from her constraints might be able to speak the truth.
A witch—does he mean Hecate?
That meant Hecate’s status was higher than Leviathan, a Great Spirit.
Just what is her identity? And what am I?
“I’ve decided!”
While I was lost in thought, Serena jumped up, having apparently settled on a name.
“Levi! I’ll call you Levi!”
- Hmm.
“Isn’t that a bit lacking in sincerity?”
She just lopped off two syllables from the original name.
“B-but it’s cute!”
Serena puffed out her cheeks in protest.
Well, as long as the party involved is fine with it, it doesn’t matter. I looked at the fragment of Leviathan.
Wiggle, wiggle.
- A good name. I like it.
It seemed he liked it. The tiny whale, made entirely of clear water, spouted a jet of water from its back.
“Then I look forward to working with you, Levi!”
- The feeling is mutual, contractor.
Serena was squealing with joy. It’s nice that it ended on a heartwarming note, but...
“You remember that our business for coming here isn’t finished yet, right?”
“Ah.”
She had forgotten.
With a guilty look, Serena looked back up at the sky. There was Leviathan, slowly ascending once more, flying leisurely.
We have to send him back home, don't we?
“Leviathan. Do you know how to return to the Spirit Realm?”
I know.
I know, but...
“You can’t go back through that.”
Leviathan was startled. The agitation was transmitted to me as well. The air in the area hummed and vibrated. I crossed my arms.
“Do you think you can pass through with that body?”
“Oh...”
Serena looked up at Leviathan blankly. He was an extra-large whale.
“Can’t we?”
“We can’t.”
There are usually two ways for a spirit to cross over from the Spirit Realm into this world. One is to be summoned by the call of a Spirit Master. The other is to travel through the passages that exist in various places in this world.
You can probably guess, but there is no passage that can accommodate Leviathan’s mass. If there were, this world would have been overflowing with spirits long ago.
The existing passages are like... dog holes. They cannot withstand Leviathan’s scale, neither physically nor spiritually.
“The passage would likely collapse completely halfway through.”
“Hick. Then what happens?”
“What do you think?”
He wouldn’t die. He has the status of a Great Spirit, after all. But he would be severely injured and come crashing back down into the human world. If it’s the human world, not the Spirit Realm, it would take a long time to recover.
“That’s...”
Serena’s face darkened.
In the first place, a Great Spirit like Leviathan being summoned into the human world in his true form shouldn't have happened. What on earth was that Goddess doing to cause such a massive disaster?
Leviathan asked, sounding troubled by what I had said. I crossed my arms.
“Why are you asking me that?”
Unfortunately, I don’t know either. To be precise, I know *that* it happens, but I don’t know *what* it is. All I saw was Serena praying earnestly, then—*flash!*—and Leviathan returning.
How am I supposed to explain that?
That scene didn’t even have CG; there was no way to explain it. It was just a few lines of text. And even those few lines were just useless content praising how beautiful and amazing Serena was.
...Well, if you want to be technical, since it’s a romance fantasy, I suppose that *is* the useful content. But anyway, that’s how it is from my perspective.
Crazy game. Why did I even play a game like this?
“Um, Your Majesty.”
I did play it because of her, though...
Come to think of it, isn’t Serena the enemy who ruined my life?
I looked back at Serena, who was tugging on my sleeve, with complicated feelings.
“Do you feel anything?”
“That is...”
She had a mysterious look on her face. It was an ambiguous expression, as if she knew something but couldn't quite put it into words.
And a moment later, she spoke with a firm face, as if she had made a decision.
“I’ll try.”
“Can you do it?”
“I... can.”
Not "I think I can."
I can. Serena asserted it. Her atmosphere was different from usual. I obediently stepped aside to give her space.
“Hoo.”
Taking a deep breath, Serena stood before Leviathan. Had she felt something? Leviathan also began to descend slowly from the sky once again.
With a soft rustle, Serena knelt on the ground. And then, she clasped her hands together and closed her eyes.
As if in prayer.
It was a scene that looked sacred at a glance. I watched her back in silence.
*
Serena Enfield.
When she was very young, she had once heard a voice whispering in her ear.
‘I’m sorry. I’ll leave it to you.’
It was a very sweet, lovely, warm, and gentle voice that warmed the heart of the listener.
There was a very deep sense of guilt embedded in that voice.
That fact had been very heartbreaking for young Serena.
And so.
“Yes!”
The girl nodded.
And since that day, many things began to appear before the girl’s eyes.