Chapter 1: Eyes Open to a Strange Ceiling… No, Water?
Huh.
"-!!"
The moment I snapped to my senses, I held my breath and started flailing my arms and legs toward the surface.
Last night I definitely fell asleep in my own bed, but now I'm underwater? Did I get kidnapped? Or is this some novel-style possession or reincarnation? If so, why the hell am I in water of all places?
In the midst of the confusion, all sorts of thoughts kept popping up and vanishing in a chain.
Anyone would freak out waking up underwater instead of in their bed. Still, I tried to stay as calm as possible instead of panicking.
First things first, let's get to the surface.
Even as I resolved to keep cool and swam upward, negative scenarios kept flooding my mind.
What if I struggle to the surface and end up in the middle of the Pacific? If no ship passes by or I don't spot land nearby, won't I die of hypothermia?
Dying for no reason in some unknown place? No thanks, pass.
The instant I reignited my survival instincts and paddled harder, I felt a strange presence behind me.
Come to think of it, sharks have been spotted in our coastal waters lately.
I'd been so worried about not getting rescued on the surface that I'd completely forgotten about underwater threats.
Praying it wasn't something dangerous, I whipped around.
"Whoa, shit!"
I was so shocked I accidentally opened my mouth.
And I couldn't help it—because instead of the shark from my nightmares, there floated a real dragon straight out of fantasy.
If dragons exist, does that mean this really is reincarnation or possession...?
Me, a king?
It answered my unspoken thought. Good thing I didn't know how to talk underwater.
Who are you?
A water spirit in the form of an azure dragon. But if it's a spirit, shouldn't it be more like a Western dragon than an Eastern one?
So does that make me the Water Spirit King?
I let the cringey formal speech slide for now and looked down at my arms and legs. They were made of water. Come to think of it, when I'd opened my mouth earlier, no water had rushed in.
The situation felt so unreal that a sigh escaped me automatically.
Haa... Went to sleep and woke up as the Spirit King. Can't quite wrap my head around it.
The round sun's gone mad again.
It had been hundreds of years since my reincarnation as the Spirit King. I'd long transcended physiological needs like sleep or food, but I stuck to my past life's routine because it felt right.
"Hey, Shiri, what's on the agenda today?"
"A Nereis? Haven't had to flex my powers like that in a while."
Creating a spirit. It sounded weird, but it was routine for me by now.
Shiri here proves it—she's one I made myself.
I'd created an upper spirit, an Ariel, and named her Shiri. She turned out special, unlike the average Ariels.
Made things a lot less lonely.
Maybe it was because I was the Spirit King, but in hundreds of years, I'd never contracted with a spirit contractor. My only company was Shiri or the occasional visiting water spirits.
Contracting, huh... Yeah, I'm curious about it.
The spirits I'd asked all raved about it. Was it instinct?
They described it as filling some void, but how would I know without trying?
The other Spirit Kings all tell me to give up.
The other three Spirit Kings had advised me to let go—it made life easier.
I was the baby among the Spirit Kings despite centuries alive, so I'd gotten plenty of advice, but on contracting, they all said the same thing.
"Contracting? Best not to obsess. Even a top-grade spirit like a Nereis hugely impacts a region's environment. Imagine a Spirit King."
"Yeah. Just live your life, and if a human who can summon us shows up, contract then. We've got thousands of years ahead anyway."
Even my Spirit King seniors had gone far longer without contractors.
They'd lived so long that they no longer pinned hopes on it, content in their domains.
But it's so damn boring...
Was it my past life memories? My dopamine-addicted modern brain kept screaming for more.
Reincarnated as a Spirit King in a fantasy world, and I'm basically under house arrest.
With great power comes great responsibility, right? Straight out of my past life's superhero flicks. Not that I'd flexed much.
Lost in thought too long, apparently—Shiri spoke up cautiously.
"Sorry. Let's get started right now."
Snapping out of it at her call, I began creating the Nereis.
It wasn't hard. Unlike naturally born low spirits like Undines or mid spirits like Aquases, upper spirits like Ariels and top spirits like Nereis had to be handcrafted by me, the Spirit King, so I was used to it.
The only downside was the massive mana drain leaving me a bit fatigued, but nothing major.
Phew, mana process done. Time to summon.
Finishing the process and calling its name, the orb of mana gradually shifted into an azure dragon's form.
Early on after reincarnating, I'd thrown in fancy incantations, but after centuries as Spirit King, that felt too cringey—just the name now.
"Call me Kalion. Anyway, Shiri, where did you say we need this Nereis?"
"Right. The Nereis in Terranos died, messing up the local climate. I want you to go fix it."
"So, what's next?"
After sending off the Nereis, I asked Shiri, and she said there was nothing else.
That's part of the problem. Too little to do.
Deaths of upper or top spirits weren't common, and as spirits, we didn't need rest or meals.
Haa... What to kill time with today.
I was mulling it over after Shiri confirmed the day's tasks were done when—
"Anyone, please, please help me."
A unfamiliar voice rang out, and a magic circle appeared.
A summoning magic circle!!
I didn't recognize the pattern, but instinct told me what it was—and I reacted faster than I thought.
"Shiri, I'll be right back."
I ignored Shiri's call, buzzing with excitement as I answered the summons.
Wonder who summoned me?
Deep into a pitch-black night.
Long past her usual bedtime, Linea still couldn't sleep.
It was my birthday...—drip. Drip.
Tears began falling from Linea's eyes.
"Hic... sob."
All the pent-up grievances exploded like a dam breaking, spilling out as sobs.
Linea's father, Count Raidel Silbarein, had two wives.
Bellona from the Theresia Duchy, taken for adult reasons, and Elesia from a fallen noble house.
Raidel and Elesia had been engaged, but her family fell, and Bellona—who admired Raidel—intervened.
And Elesia was Linea's birth mother. Still, Linea had enjoyed happy days.
She couldn't ignore Bellona's glares, but her parents loved each other and doted on their daughter.
Linea's happiness shattered when Elesia died.
The healthy Elesia passed suddenly, leaving Linea without pillar or home.
To avoid Bellona's wrath, servants shunned her; Bellona's son bullied her under the guise of play.
Linea endured thanks to her father Raidel's lingering love.
But even he, wary of Bellona, distanced himself. On her birthday, no less—Linea hit her limit.
In truth, a young girl weathering unchecked malice in the vast Silbarein manor was impossible.
"Hic... sob... heup."
Once the sobs escaped, they grew louder. Clutching her necklace, Linea prayed blindly.
"Anyone, please, please help me."
As Linea's tears soaked the necklace—Elesia's keepsake—a magic circle formed against her will.
"Did you summon me?"
"H-Huh...?"
And so Linea became the Spirit King's contractor.
What the hell is this?
I rushed over thrilled for my first contract, only to find a crying kid.
And it didn't seem intentional.
Guess that just means she's got crazy talent.
Thinking positive, I asked her name.
"I'm the Water Spirit King, Kalion. What's yours?"
"Huh? Uh-heh?"
She still hadn't caught on.
My contractor's a bit airheaded.