Spirit (6)
After learning that the nameless human-born spirit girl was actually twenty years old, I pondered alone. 'If I contract with her the same way I did with Iri, will she gain power too?'
If that was the case... it meant her appearance would change as well. Right now, she looked about fifteen, still with her baby fat intact, but once she gained some strength after the contract, she'd grow into a tall, busty beauty like Iri.
'...Oh.'
Was this that "keyholder" thing people talked about? It was a little exciting. And understandably so—it was a keyholder situation. Not something you saw every day, so there was that forbidden thrill from the unknown, something almost intoxicating.
But I couldn't let it show on my face, so I flashed a kind smile instead.
"Would you like to have a name, by any chance?"
"...A name?"
"Yes."
"Name..."
The girl murmured the word "name" a few times. And then...
"...I want one."
"Then I'll give you one."
"...You're going to give me a name?"
"Yes."
"...Really?"
"Really."
Let's see. What would be a good name? I gazed at the girl's angelic features. Black wings and black horns, hair as dark as the night sky, and beautiful golden eyes. She didn't look like a typical angel—more like Lucifer, a fallen one...
'...Lucifer?'
Yeah. Lucifer fit her perfectly. But I couldn't just name her Lucifer straight-up. Taking that as a base, I thought of variations—
"—Lucille."
The girl stared at me blankly.
"Lu...cille?"
"Yes. How about Lucille?"
"Lucille..."
Eventually, she nodded with bright eyes—eyes misty with emotion somewhere deep inside.
"I like it..."
"Good."
Glad she seemed to like it. I chuckled softly and stroked her head—no, Lucille's head.
"Looking forward to it from now on, Lucille."
"...Yeah. Me too."
"Oh, and my name's Aren, by the way."
"Aren... Aren... Yeah. Got it, Aren."
"Perfect."
I gently stroked Lucille's head like that, and just as she was savoring the warmth of a touch for the first time in her life—
—Flash!
"?!"
Suddenly, a brilliant light burst from Lucille. My eyes squinted at the explosion-like radiance, but it faded quickly, revealing her new form.
"...Oh?"
I couldn't help but gasp in admiration. Just moments ago, she'd looked about fifteen, but now she was taller, her breasts fuller—practically an adult.
"...Aren. I've gotten stronger."
"Did you grow during that time?"
"...Yeah. I think it's because I contracted with you and got a name."
"I see..."
They say kids these days grow up fast... but this was too fast. Still, good things were good, so I decided to think positively.
After Lucille's sudden growth spurt, I started cleaning up. First, I had to decide what to do with the Red Moon organization I'd subdued.
Two options: one, wipe them out completely. Two, absorb them.
'I'm leaning toward the second.'
Honestly, it felt like a waste to just erase them. Cut out the rotten parts, tidy up, and absorb the rest... The problem was management. I wasn't exactly acing Academy classes, but I couldn't stick around here forever either.
'Need a proxy... Hm.'
That's when I glanced at Lucille tending to the kids.
'Maybe leave it to her.'
After a brief deliberation, I spoke up.
"Lucille. Ever thought about managing an organization?"
Lucille looked at me, surprised by the sudden question.
"...An organization?"
"Yeah. I don't know what you'll think, but I'm planning to absorb this place."
"...Ah."
This place meaning... Red Moon, obviously. The vile assassin group that had used her as a lab rat for all sorts of experiments. Naturally, she hated them with a passion.
And asking her to manage them? No normal person would accept that. Who in the world would like the group that hurt them? Lucille sure wasn't some saintly pushover.
But...
"...Yeah."
She wasn't ungrateful either. Even in the mud, flowers can bloom—she hadn't lost her basic humanity through all that pain.
"You sure? I was just asking casually. Feel free to say no."
I said it like I wasn't serious, like it was okay to refuse if it hurt too much.
But...
"...No. I don't want to refuse."
"Alright then?"
"...Yeah."
I didn't pry for details.
...Lucille was truly grateful for that.
"Looking forward to working with you, then."
"Yeah. Just leave it to me."
It was decided: Lucille would manage the organization. Of course, we couldn't keep the Red Moon name or policies, but that could wait.
First, we had to "select" which of the subdued members to keep.
Action was swift. In moments, every Red Moon member was gathered in the basement. Some had experimented on Lucille; others had tried fighting me and passed out in seconds.
And then...
"Nice to meet you all."
I spread my arms wide and greeted them casually. The Red Moon members shot back confused, defiant glares.
But I ignored them.
"I'm Unknown, your new master."
"......"
No one bought it.
"I can see you don't believe me. But whatever... You will soon enough."
Fierce glares returned. I spotted some trying to slip their bonds and escape.
I smiled at them.
"You've got one path ahead: obey your new master unconditionally. If not... this is what happens."
I pulled Jack Hyperion's—the former Red Moon leader's—severed head from my Subspace and tossed it down.
Horror filled their eyes. Jack was their master, no doubt. And now, just a head. Meanwhile, I was unscratched.
Some bowed in terror and awe. But where there are submitters, there are rebels. They dared direct killing intent at me—
-HEAD GONE
"......?"
Their heads vanished in an instant. The headless bodies toppled forward.
"Oh dear."
Too bad—those who wouldn't follow the new order would become fertilizer.
"......!"
Seeing former comrades vanish, some glared with killing intent. And they, too, lost their heads.
-HEAD GONE
Someone else glared—and their head exploded. Rebellion, slaughter; rebellion, slaughter. It repeated.
-HEAD GONE
About five minutes of one-sided slaughter. The last rebel's head just burst.
I smiled at the headless corpses littering the floor amid the survivors.
"Anyone else wanna rebel?"
"......"
Silence fell.
...In the end, about half survived the selection. Far too few for smooth operations, but...
"......"
The key was that the survivors were all obedient to me. Awe, fear, terror, even ecstasy mixed in their gazes as they bowed one by one.
They humbly accepted their new ruler.
"Oh, and when I'm not around, follow the girl behind me. Got it?"
Their eyes turned to Lucille. Some were shocked, but they nodded in acceptance.
Or die.
With the proxy introduced, the final selection was complete.
Afterward, Lucille and I headed back down to the kids.
"Lucille, someone I want you to meet."
"Meet?"
"Your new colleague spirit... something like that. You'll be living together."
"...Colleague spirit?"
I summoned Iri in front of the tilting-headed Lucille and kids.
"Eek!"
Summoned mid-air again, Iri fell with a yelp. Still in pajamas, she rubbed her butt and looked at me.
"Master?"
"Say hi, Iri. This is Lucille—you'll be living together from now on."
"......?"
"......"
Lucille and Iri's eyes met.
And...
"...Human? Spirit? Angel? She's a total mix..."
"...Angel's spirit, for now."
Iri nodded, no big questions.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Iri, the spatial spirit contracted to Master."
"...I'm Lucille, angel's spirit. Just contracted with Aren."
The awkward introductions didn't last long before both looked at me. I smiled and patted their heads—both spirits'.
"Iri."
"Yeah, Master?"
"From now on, you, Lucille, and the kids behind her will all live at the mansion. Can you teleport everyone there?"
"Yeah, I think so."
Good. I turned to Lucille.
"Lucille."
"...Yeah."
"You'll live at my mansion with Iri from now on. For managing this place, just go back and forth via Iri's space."
"...Yeah. Got it."
I could feel her resolve hardening.
'Traffic sorted, more or less.'
Feeling today's work done, I sent Iri, Lucille, and the kids back to the mansion. Group teleports were handy—Iri for the win, spatial spirit supreme.
'Guess I should head back too.'
Whew... what a day. Time to return to the Academy, cuddle up in Lydia's arms, and get all the pets I deserve.
...Of course, after that, back to training with Veronica, checking on Senior Sara, and more. So much to do. Sigh.