The Contract (6)
"Why did you show up without even being called? And what's with that look?"
"What of it? I don't recall ever agreeing to appear only when you summon me."
"That's not what I mean, but my mana... wait—huh!?"
Something was wrong.
His mana wasn't dropping at all.
Maintaining a summoned spirit should have required a constant drain. So why wasn't it?
"I took a full day's worth while you were asleep. Your mana has already recovered since then, so there's nothing to worry about."
"......"
Roy stared, stunned that such a thing was even possible.
He had never handled spirits in his previous life, so even if he wanted to take the lead, he simply didn't know how. He should have asked Lily for advice beforehand. Still, he decided to press hard and seize the initiative.
"Why are you deciding that on your own? Without your master's permission?"
"Master? Pfft. Very well. What does our dear master wish me to do?"
Roy refused to rise to the obvious bait.
"There's no real downside, so I'll let it slide. From now on, keep doing it the same way—on the condition that my mana is fully restored every time I wake up. If you keep siphoning it all day, I won't be able to live a normal life."
The spirit offered a light smile—half mocking, half fond. Roy could not read the expression on the being standing before him no matter how hard he tried.
"Why don't you properly introduce yourself, Time Spirit?"
"I am Noah. Just call me Noah, little one."
"Fine, Noah. And you can drop that damn 'little one' nonsense. Call me Master. Or Sir Roy."
Noah burst into peals of laughter, as if something about the demand was endlessly amusing. Roy quietly furrowed his brow at the spirit, pretending not to care.
"Very well, Sir Roy. Or should I say... Master? Puhuhuh."
"Enough games. Give me some information about yourself. I don't know a single thing about what you are."
"What do you want? What kind of information do you wish to hear?"
"Alright. I'll ask the questions, and you answer."
Noah simply smiled that quiet smile again. A nod, a clear reply—anything would have been better. Roy was ready to scream from frustration, but he refused to show it.
"What the hell was that yesterday? You sucked up every last scrap of mana around us."
"That was me securing the magical power needed to form a contract with you. You drew a rather fine diagram, I must say."
"Diagram? The magic circle?"
At last Noah gave a single nod.
"Just what are you that you needed that much mana? Are you some kind of Spirit King?"
"No. Unlike the other spirits, I alone command time. A king? If such a thing existed, I would be it."
"...Fine. Putting that aside—what's with the tail? Why did it suddenly appear?"
The moment Roy mentioned the tail, the one attached to Noah's rear swayed lazily from side to side.
"This tail grew by devouring mana. Originally I possessed nine magnificent ones. If you keep me well fed from now on, the others will return one by one."
"So you get stronger?"
"Something like that. More precisely, I regain my original power."
"Original power? Why did you lose it?"
"I'm sorry, but I no longer remember."
"What?"
"I was sealed beyond the dimensions for a very, very long time. Where that place was, why I was there—I remember nothing at all. How fortunate that adorable little you pulled me free. You are my benefactor."
Without warning Noah flung herself at Roy.
"Thank you, thank you. Truly thank you, little one. No—my Master."
She looked exactly like a dog or cat leaping into its owner's arms. With the ears and tail, she was the spitting image of a tiny beastkin child. She even seized one of Roy's hands and pressed it against her own head, demanding to be petted.
Roy still struggled to believe this was the same pitch-black monster that had once towered dozens of meters tall.
Well, as long as she's easy to handle, I don't care what she is...
He lightly ran his fingers through Noah's jet-black hair. Her ears twitched in clear delight.
"Ehehe. That feels wonderful."
"So... how long do you plan on staying like this?"
"Don't be so cold. We are bound by contract, are we not?"
It felt as though he had suddenly acquired a new, clingy burden. Roy wondered how he was supposed to manage this creature now hanging off him like a child.
"That's all well and good, but thanks to me you escaped your prison and even grew a tail from all the mana you received. So what's in it for me?"
"I gave you the eye, did I not?"
"True. But right now you're less useful than the shadow spirit Lily keeps around. And you're supposed to be the one-and-only Spirit of Time."
Show me what you can actually do. That was what Roy was demanding.
"Your mana may not be enough to wield my power properly."
"Managing mana is my specialty. As long as the quantity isn't the problem, show me right now. Feel free to burn through everything I've got. I wasn't planning on going out today anyway."
"The quantity is insufficient."
"......"
"Little one. The truth is always cold. With the magical power you possess right now, you cannot properly command me."
Barely two days earlier Roy had cheered at the massive increase in his internal mana after drinking the Elven Liquor. He had thought he had finally reached the level of a count's bloodline. To be told his mana was lacking only two days later...
Damn it. I'm so bitter I'll hunt down every last drop of Dragon's Breath that exists in this world and drink it all.
Anxiety gripped him again.
"You—back when we first met, you said it yourself. That Dragon's Breath isn't just one kind."
"Hm? I don't remember."
"Oh for—! You said your gut feeling was that my mana would keep growing. So what am I supposed to do to make that happen!?"
The moment Roy raised his voice, Noah—who had been nestled tightly against him—shot away in an instant, like a startled squirrel.
"Do not shout when you are so close. My ears are sensitive."
Roy sighed deeply and nodded.
"Fine. Just tell me."
Noah's answer went roughly as follows:
— Just like Elven Liquor, the world contains many elixirs that expand the very vessel that holds a living being's mana.
— Some are crafted by humans, some by elves, some by dwarves, some by beastkin—the varieties are endless.
— Their effects are similar, yet their natures differ. Drinking many of them is never a loss. As long as they are not completely identical, each one will grant an additional benefit.
— However, even Noah herself does not know who currently holds which secret recipes or where they are kept.
"I thought you lost your memories?"
"I do not know. This particular knowledge remains."
"......"
As an ancient spirit, the things Noah had just described likely predated even the empire of Roy's previous life by ages. He did not press further. The information she possessed came from a time before her long imprisonment in some unknown space. Simply knowing that such elixirs existed and that their effects stacked was already more than enough. From here he could gather current rumors and hunt them down himself. Or, failing that, invent new recipes of his own.
If even a backwater baronial house like mine has one, people all over the world must be brewing and drinking them in secret.
"You want me to grow stronger, right?"
"Of course."
"Then you'll help me?"
"Naturally!"
"Good enough. But is there anything else? With my current mana, can I not use any of your abilities at all?"
"No. A very small amount is possible."
"How do I do it?"
"Concentrate mana into your eyes."
Fortunately, he was not completely powerless. Through further conversation with Noah, Roy learned the methods for several abilities—some of them far beyond anything he had imagined. The only problem was...
The mana consumption is insane.
With what he currently possessed, sustained or repeated use was impossible. For the time being, they would have to remain trump cards of last resort.
After spending one more night at the witch's house, the baron and Roy finally set out for the manor.
Roy had been thoroughly scolded for entering the dungeon without permission, yet he did not mind in the least. What he had gained was more than enough to justify a little nagging. He would have been grinning even if someone had slapped him across the face.
Lily, meanwhile, had remained confined the entire time, so they had barely spoken. For her, being forbidden to talk with the baron or Roy was the heaviest punishment of all. Still, Ilia had allowed her to see them off, so at least they could exchange final farewells.
"Roy, will you come play again?"
"Hard to say. In a few months I'm leaving for the capital. After that I probably won't be able to visit for a while."
"Oh..."
"Or you could come find me in the capital yourself."
The offhand remark earned him a sharp glare from the witch.
"You should come visit me too, Witch. Or just call, and I'll drop everything and come running. The vow I made a few days ago still stands. Knight Academy or not—I'll abandon it all and be there."
"You little—!"
The baron scolded him with an incredulous look, yet until that moment his expression had been bright. Proof enough that the journey had not been a bad one.
Ilia's face, as she stood among those seeing them off, was not particularly dark either. Subtle glances passed between the baron and the witch. It had been a full twenty years since their last meeting. Once they parted now, who knew when they would see each other again? Of course it was bittersweet.
"Goodbye, Roy."
"Yeah. Take care."
After the brief exchange, Roy and the baron left the witch's house, a bag stuffed with Twin-Headed Hound mana stones in one hand and a long unicorn horn in the other. They walked on without looking back, threading between the bare winter trees.
The mother and daughter watching the father and son grow smaller in the distance wore expressions that somehow looked terribly lonely.
Before long the quiet that had been absent for the past several days settled once more over the witch's house and made itself at home.