Chapter 2 - Chirp Chirp.
Chirp chirp.
The sound of birds chirping drifted in from outside the window as the sun rose and darkness retreated.
It had been quite a while since daybreak, but there was no sign of Linea stirring.
Well, can't blame her. Staying up late in that little body, not just skipping sleep but crying her heart out—no wonder she's wiped out.
That tiny frame must've drained every last bit of energy. It was a miracle how she squeezed out that much tears.
Last night, after contracting with Linea, she'd been confused and flustered at first. But once she snapped out of it, she threw herself into my arms and bawled her eyes out.
I'd heard kids had great affinity for spirits, but even so, how could she open up like that to a total stranger? Then I learned the Silbarein family was an old lineage of spirit contractors, and it clicked.
She said she used to play with spirits all the time when her mom was alive.
Anyway, after her massive meltdown—spewing words in no particular order—she finally exhausted herself and passed out. I tucked her into bed and had been waiting for her to wake up.
She's so pretty, but way too skinny for a count's daughter. From last night's reaction, is she getting abused or something?
I kept watching her sleep, lost in thought. And it wasn't flattery just because she was my contractor—Linea really was a beautiful child.
Big eyes, cute button nose, tiny mouth—all perfectly balanced on her fair skin and silver hair. A literal doll of a girl.
The only flaw was how unhealthily thin she was, not at all childlike.
No servant's come by this late... guess my hunch is right. No physical wounds, though.
Neglect, pretty much.
I had no intention of waking the peacefully sleeping Linea, so I was mulling things over alone when—
-Thud thud.
Footsteps approached, followed by—
-Bang!
A woman in a maid uniform burst into the room noisily.
"Miss! You always handle things yourself, so why today of all days..."
The maid started scolding in an irritated voice, then sighed heavily upon seeing Linea still fast asleep.
"Haa. Still sleeping? This kid's making my busy morning even worse. What a pain. Miss, get up already!"
As the maid approached to shake Linea awake, I decided it was time to step in. I could block the noise from reaching Linea, but stopping the hands-on wake-up was another story.
And besides...
Is this how a maid treats her lady?
A servant in the count's house handling Linea so roughly—it rubbed me the wrong way. She'd been radiating bad vibes from the moment she entered, and even with Linea sleeping, she didn't hold back her words.
She's my contractor, the Spirit King, no matter how recent the contract.
Time to give her a little lesson. I materialized my body.
"Hey."
"Eek! You scared me! Who are you?"
Oh right.
I'd acted on impulse, but to her, I must look like some intruder sneaking into the mansion.
What do I say?
After a brief hesitation, I decided to just come clean. A servant in a spirit contractor family wouldn't find it too shocking.
I'll make Linea apologize to her later.
With that settled, I spoke up.
"I'm the spirit contracted with Linea. I'll let you know when she wakes up, so go do your work."
My tone came out sharper than intended. Seeing her treat Linea like dirt must've gotten under my skin more than I realized.
Calm down.
A Spirit King who's lived centuries shouldn't get this emotional. I tried to steady myself inwardly, but the maid's next words ruined it.
"The miss? No way she has that kind of talent. She's such a timid little mouse, always cowering—it's frustrating."
-Hiss.
A chill ran through me. Well, as a spirit, maybe it's mana now.
Either way, the surrounding mana grew heavy to match my mood.
Spirits' influence on mana based on emotions—it explained why Spirit Kings rarely appeared in the world lightly.
But this maid had no clue and kept blabbering.
"You're the guard the count assigned, right? Here's some advice: don't get too close to the miss. Just half-ass it. Half-ass it so you don't catch the countess's eye."
Haa.
What kind of treatment has Linea been putting up with? I sighed involuntarily, cutting her off.
"Like I said, I'm the spirit contracted with Linea. And—"
"Guh! C-can't... breathe..."
"She's sleeping, so quit the noise and get out. I'll tell you when she wakes."
I focused the heavy mana on the maid, and as soon as I finished, she scrambled out in a panic.
Feeling oddly downcast, I glanced at the sleeping Linea. She looked even skinnier than before—probably just my imagination.
Poor thing...
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
A maid hurried down the hallway of the Silbarein estate.
It was Mary, Linea's exclusive maid. As she walked, replaying the earlier scene, she ignored even the greetings from passing servants.
What the hell was that?
Linea hadn't come down for breakfast, which was unusual, so she'd gone to her room—and there met a man claiming to be Linea's spirit.
A man with piercing blue hair and eyes, not quite human. If he was really a spirit, definitely not a low-level one.
Thinking of him gave Mary goosebumps.
The miss contracted a spirit? Hope this doesn't get me in trouble...
Mary, who'd been slacking on most of her duties since becoming Linea's exclusive maid, started to worry.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
"Hey, Linea!"
Now what?
Shortly after chasing off the maid, a boy came yelling into the room.
He had thick red hair and vaguely resembled Linea, but with a sharper edge.
"Still sleeping?"
Seeing Linea asleep, the boy raised his hand as if to strike her. I rushed in and grabbed his wrist.
-Grab!
"Ow!"
I must've gripped too hard without realizing—the boy let out a groan.
"Who the hell are you? Don't you know who I am?"
"Should I?"
"Of course!"
Quite the ego on him. I had a pretty good guess who he was, though.
Freely roaming the count's house, face like Linea's but different hair, and taller, older build.
Probably the half-brother she mentioned.
Last night amid her tears, she'd talked about her different-mother brother. Not hard to piece together.
I'd already sorted it out in my head, but the kid was so full of himself he started a self-introduction that'd make anyone cringe.
"I'm Verian Silbarein, eldest son of the Silbarein count family! A genius spirit contractor who bonded with a spirit at nine years old..."
Loudmouth.
Raising his hand at Linea out of nowhere, and now this bragging—I couldn't take it and decided to boot him out.
"Get out."
"...And what was that?"
"Get. Out."
"I let the first one slide, but a servant acting all high and mighty?"
Same misunderstanding. Why does everyone think I'm a servant?
Maybe I should materialize in fancier clothes next time.
"I'm the spirit contracted with Linea."
"Pfft, what? No way she contracted a spirit. And spirits look like this. Salamander!"
But Salamander didn't respond to the summon.
"Huh? What's wrong? Salamander! Salamander?!"
His contracted spirit's a Salamander, huh.
Suits his hair and personality perfectly, first impression or not.
Panicking, Verian kept calling, but Salamander stayed silent.
Probably wary of me. Sensing my bad mood, it refused.
Poor clueless Verian looked utterly baffled.
"Why's this happening?"
"Obvious. Spirits have ranks."
I'm not the Fire Spirit King, but still a Spirit King. No low Salamander wants to face a pissed-off king.
Verian, still not getting it, asked:
"What the hell are you, anyway?"
Fed up with the repeat scenario, I didn't bother answering and prepared to send him out—riding a flow of mana like running water.
But trouble hit.
-Bang!!
Worried he'd get hurt, I'd gone easy, but he wriggled free and tumbled out the door.
Crashing loudly, Verian glared furiously, oblivious to my mercy.
"You bastard!! If Salamander won't come, magic it is! Fireball!"
Is he nuts?
Casting spells indoors? Kid's either too young or spoiled rotten by the count's house—no common sense.
And his little sister's bed right there.
Damn annoying. Deal with the spell, then discipline him.
Extinguishing the fireball was easy. I could do it barehanded.
-Sizzle.
Shocked that I'd snuffed his spell with my hand, Verian stared blankly.
"Ow!"
I flicked his forehead to snap him out of it. He glared, but I brushed it off. More importantly, Linea's voice came from behind.
"Ka... Kalion? Hehe. It wasn't a dream after all..."
Woken by the commotion, Linea giggled sleepily.
They say cute things heal you, and my building anger was melting away—until she spotted Verian behind me and went pale.
This won't do.
Meeting her parents just got bumped up the priority list.
"Linea. Where's your dad's office?"
"Huh...?"
I scooped up the startled Linea and headed out.
Time for a face-to-face talk.
Today, I'm the isekai homeroom teacher.