How to Tame a Spirit (5)
Mana returned to him.
When he woke, every last drop of his mana had recovered to fullness. Roy immediately shouldered the pack he had prepared and set out for the mountain.
He needed no assistants for this. He had already drilled the process of contracting a spirit into his bones; there would be no foolish collapse from mana depletion like last time.
Thanks to the no-entry signs, neither the mountain paths nor the cave held any human presence. New monsters might have crept in, drawn by the scent of mana, but there was no way to know until he ran into one face-to-face. For the moment, no matter how hard he focused mana into his eyes, they would not turn gold.
"It's been a week, Noah. I wonder what you're up to."
Roy reached the heart of the mana vein and at once began laying out the magic circles. Just as when he had first summoned Noah, he prepared the mana-reduction array drawn on the scroll and the circle array that would draw on the vein itself. Back then he had relied on the magic stone taken from the unicorn's belly. This time he would use the staff crafted from the unicorn's horn and the jet-black stone. He was grateful he had charged it thoroughly before the curse struck.
He activated the Time Spirit summoning spell at once. This would be the third time he called Noah. There would be no mistakes.
Moments later every chant was complete, and the scene still vivid in his memory began to replay before his eyes. Beyond the fissure that split the dimensions, a familiar silhouette stepped into view.
Noah Chrono Nyres. By her own claim, the one and only spirit in this world who commanded time.
"Noah!"
"……"
"It's been a while."
"……"
"If you won't talk, I'm leaving again."
"You heartless thing. Why have you summoned me once more!"
"Because you're my spirit."
Roy smiled brightly. Noah, by contrast, was crying. Fortunately little time had passed; she still retained her memories.
"You remember. I was worried you'd forgotten everything again, like last time."
Noah only sniffled. One moment she was a towering beast snarling threats; the next she was like this. Roy still half-suspected the tears were an act, though he was careful not to show it.
She wiped her eyes and finally managed an answer.
"…Of course. Enough mana remained for me to keep my wits about me."
"That's welcome news."
From Roy's point of view, after the mountain of mana he had poured into her, if nothing had been left he would have had a few choice questions ready. The thought of rebuilding her tails from scratch again… Last time, down in the palace cellars, growing even one of those tails had nearly killed him.
"But why the tears? Because you hate me? Or because you missed me?"
"You… need not know…"
He had asked gently enough, yet the little cat pretended to sulk and turned her face away.
Same personality as ever.
Whether the act was real or feigned, more conversation would not magically produce trust. Roy knew that well. So he simply declared, as if he had never been the one to dissolve their previous contract:
"Noah Chrono Nyres. I desire a contract with you!"
To Noah the words must have sounded absurd. She had broken the bond of her own free will, and now he summoned her on a whim and demanded a new one. Yet tears kept spilling from her eyes—snot as well. Sniffling hard, she forced the words out.
"If this was how it would end… then why did you do that back then, you wicked thing…"
The tears fell harder still.
"Hmm."
There was one answer Roy had wanted from her for a long time. Before they sealed anything new, he meant to hear it from her own mouth.
"Noah. There's something I need to know."
"Something you need to know…? What… is it…?"
"Why you're so obsessed with mana. Spirits craving mana is natural, but your hunger went far beyond that. You said more tails would restore your power—I understand that much. But there's something deeper, isn't there? A real reason. Will you tell me?"
"……"
"Stop sniffling and answer like yourself."
"…If I refuse, will you withhold the contract?"
"No. But I want to hear it from you before we begin."
"……?"
"Don't want to talk?"
"Memories…"
"Memories?"
"I wish to reclaim them. Every memory of the past I have lost."
"What does that have to do with the tails?"
"I am a Time Spirit. How laughable is a Time Spirit who cannot remember the past? When every tail returns, I shall be able to recover all that I have forgotten…"
"That's it? That's why you were so desperate for mana?"
"…Yes."
Still sniffling, Noah nodded.
"Well. All right then. Let's form the contract again."
After a brief hesitation she nodded once more. Roy smiled and called her true name.
"Time Spirit Noah Chrono Nyres. From this moment, walk with me—Roy Greenhilt!"
Intricate ancient circles and magic-script rose into the air. Now they would state their terms; agreement would seal the bond. The process was identical to the first time. Roy's intentions, however, were not.
"I shall present the conditions!"
"…!?"
"First. Noah Chrono Nyres may speak no falsehood to me, Roy Greenhilt."
The face that had been wet with tears froze solid, as if time itself had stopped. Then outrage, hotter than mere shock, began to climb.
"Second. Whenever her master Roy Greenhilt faces danger, Noah Chrono Nyres shall expend every power she possesses to protect him with all her might."
Anger twisted the frozen features. Her mouth stretched wide; sharp fangs showed themselves again.
"Third. Noah Chrono Nyres shall obey every command of Roy Greenhilt without exception."
She dropped into a low crouch, growling as though she meant to spring and tear out his throat—exactly like a four-legged predator the instant before it struck.
"Fourth. Noah Chrono Nyres shall never, under any circumstance, betray me, Roy Greenhilt."
"Grrr… Are you… are you mocking me? What kind of contract is that? I am no slave of yours!"
One condition still remained.
"Fifth."
"Enough! I will hear no more. You heartless thing—I waited for you to call me again…"
Roy ignored her and finished.
"Fifth. I, Roy Greenhilt, shall devote myself wholly so that Noah Chrono Nyres recovers every scrap of her power, every last tail, and every lost memory."
"……"
"There, Noah. Those are the terms I desire. Should I ever break them, you may take all my mana, my life, even my soul. Is that still not enough? Answer me!"
"……"
Noah said nothing for a long while. Then the tears came in a flood—not mere sniffling, but open, unrestrained weeping. Roy waited as long as he could before raising his voice again.
"Hey. How long do you plan to make me stand here?"
She scrubbed at the endless tears and finally forced the words out.
I, Noah Chrono Nyres, accept the conditions set forth by Roy Greenhilt.
…I shall form the contract anew.
Thus, with far more time and care than the first occasion, Roy and Noah sealed their spirit contract. The circles hanging in the air ignited; every scrap of mana from the vein poured into Noah at their center. Before either of them noticed, she had three tails once more.
"Honestly, Noah… I think you're the most troublesome spirit in the world."
She launched herself at him as if she had found lost parents. Clinging tight, refusing to be separated again, she wept into his chest. Roy stroked her head gently.
"Noah. Did you miss me?"
"Ungh… You heartless thing…"
She cried for a long time, and he did not push her away. He believed her heart now. The words and gestures alone would not have been enough, but the absolute, unbreakable magic of the contract left no room for doubt.
"In the end you swallowed every drop of mana in this dungeon. Where am I supposed to brew another batch of Dragon's Breath…?"
"I am sorry…"
"It's fine. The world is full of mana veins. Just remember that next time, making Dragon's Breath comes first."
"Of course, my master. Hehe."
She burrowed deeper into his arms like a puppy. And so Noah returned to Roy's side. The contract had not stolen every freedom; it merely bound her so that, when he spoke her true name, she could never refuse a handful of absolute conditions. Day to day, little would change.
"Let's go home."
"Ungh."
Only late that night did Roy finally reach the mansion in the capital. The moment Anna saw Noah, she flew forward; the two of them locked in a fierce hug and promptly dissolved into tears. Even the sight of that enormous beastly form had never frightened her.
"Noah, where did all your clothes go?"
"Anna! You can just ask her—why are you looking at me? You saw her enlarge last time too! They tore then!"
"Who said anything? I only wondered how she managed to travel all the way here from the mountain looking like that."
"……"
Roy's face had already turned a brilliant shade of red.