The Fire Spirit's Courtesy and the Chairman's Secrets
"Spinel, why are you looking at him like that? Do you have something to say to Eli?"
"Yes, Bayul. It is a great pleasure to meet such a noble being."
At that, Spinel bowed deeply toward Eli, offering a formal greeting. Aidan and Quinn couldn't hide their surprise at the sight of a spirit being so courteous—something neither of them had ever witnessed—while Bayul himself found it equally puzzling.
A noble being?
What on earth does that mean?
"Ahahahaha! Were you flustered because I'm so handsome? That must be it, right?"
"……?"
"Your taste in fire spirits is exactly like mine! Look at that—all red from head to toe. You like red too, don't you? Just like me, right?"
Spinel was not flustered at all, contrary to what Eli claimed. She simply took a liking to him, for reasons even she couldn't quite explain.
"Hey, Eli! She's a fire spirit, so of course she'd like red, wouldn't she?"
"…What?"
"If a fire had a spirit, wouldn't it be white? You're the one who likes red. Why are you forcing a connection out of nowhere?"
"When have I ever forced a connection! I was just happy to see someone else dressed entirely in red like me! Do you have any idea how few people can pull off an outfit like this?"
It was, admittedly, an argument impossible to refute. Very few people could wear such flamboyant clothing and still carry it off with effortless flair.
"Come to think of it, he is pathologically obsessed with the color red. Guys, seriously—isn't this a disease? A disease?"
Aidan turned to Quinn and Bayul, asking with mock gravity.
"Hmm. I've never really thought about it that way…."
"Hard to call it normal, honestly."
Bayul answered as if it were no big deal, while Quinn nodded along in agreement with Aidan. Judging by wardrobe alone, Quinn—who wore nothing but white and blue—hardly had the standing to say such a thing, but his expression suggested he simply didn't care much for the color red.
"Are you all treating your friend like a patient right now? What's wrong with liking red! Do you have any idea how brilliant, how noble, how dignified this color is? Go around saying things like that and people will call you ignoramuses!"
"What did he just say?"
"I wonder who the ignorant one is here."
"Spinel, don't take offense! They just don't understand the true worth of red. Got it?"
"Yes, Master Eli. Although, you see…"
"You seemed utterly stunned by my beauty, but I'm human, same as the rest of them! I do get the occasional misunderstanding because of my less-than-human looks, so don't worry about it!"
In Bayul's eyes, the one who was actually flustered was Eli. Spinel had simply been watching him with a consistent smile, while Eli—uncharacteristically—kept chattering away noisily.
Why is he acting like that?
Something felt off, but the atmosphere hardly lent itself to asking, so Bayul just scratched his head in bewilderment.
"Hey there, Spinel! We've met before, you know!"
As Spinel tilted her head, looking at Eli, Aidan strode up boldly and extended his hand to her.
"I've always wanted to shake hands with a fire spirit. I'm not going to burn to death, am I?"
"Not at all. It is good to see you again, Lord Aidan."
Spinel did not refuse the outstretched hand and clasped it firmly.
"Whoa! She's warm! I expected her to be scorching, but she's fine!"
Despite this being only his second encounter with her, Aidan felt somewhat overwhelmed by Spinel's intensity. Having met her already as an Intermediate Spirit rather than a Lower one, her presence and aura were on an entirely different level from the other spirits he knew.
"You know, she's not as hot as I expected."
Did Quinn's offhand remark somehow offend her? Spinel's crimson eyes shot wordlessly toward him. And in that very instant, a fierce blaze erupted from her body.
"Gah! Hot, hot!"
Aidan scrambled backward, while Quinn smirked. Spinel looked like nothing so much as someone demonstrating—still think I'm not hot enough?
"Spinel."
"Yes, Bayul."
Though Bayul gave no particular command, Spinel instantly retracted her flames.
"Polite, but with quite the temper, I see."
Who would have thought a simple "not that hot" would spark such a flare-up? Fire and water were incompatible by nature, and this rocky start left him with a strangely uneasy feeling. All at once, Quinn found himself missing Innocent.
"That's it, that's it! Now that's what a fire spirit should be!"
The only one cheering was Eli. For whatever reason, the boy even clapped his hands in praise of Spinel's outburst.
"Let me make the formal introductions before this goes any further. Spinel, starting from this side: Quinn, Aidan, and Eli. It probably goes without saying, but Quinn is of the merfolk, and these two are humans, same as me."
"…Humans, you say?"
"They're my closest friends, so please take good care of them from now on."
"Yes, Bayul. Please call me Spinel."
She was ready to accept any command Bayul gave her with gracious willingness, and she introduced herself once more with impeccable courtesy.
"She really is wearing earrings? Did she get named Spinel because she carries spinel gemstones?"
Aidan had spotted the earrings at a glance.
"And here I thought you didn't know art, but you have an eye for gemstones, do you?"
"Nothing special—I've just seen a lot since I was little. My mother collects them."
"Oh! The scale must be impressive. A human collecting gemstones—that's rather unusual, isn't it?"
"Now that I think about it, I remember seeing a gemstone display case in the drawing room downstairs. So that's all her collection, huh?"
"My friends, that is merely the tip of the iceberg. Go upstairs and it's beyond anything you can imagine. Whew."
Aidan shook his head as though no one alive could restrain his mother.
"I know exactly how you feel. I've lived with someone like that, after all."
"You mean the Chairman?"
"Who else? Anyone who's visited his estate knows. That's child's play, though. Visit his real family seat and it's absolutely resplendent. Dazzling to the point of blindness."
"Wait, Eli, don't you like that sort of thing too?"
They knew Eli's taste for extravagance better than anyone.
"Weren't you the one who looked at that enormous mansion in the middle of Carrington and called it substandard? I distinctly remember you grumbling about why we'd chosen such a shabby house, saying it was embarrassing to look at."
"That one was genuinely on another level of terrible. You just haven't been to the family seat. It's simply incomparable—no comparison is even possible."
"Where even is this family seat? Take us sometime."
"…Huh?"
"You bring it up, of course I get curious. Right, everyone?"
"I wouldn't mind seeing it."
When Quinn, of all people, agreed, Eli panicked and shouted.
"Hey! You know I don't get along with that person, and that's what comes out of your mouth? Sometimes I swear you're enemies, not friends! You're the worst!"
"Then don't make us curious. You started the whole topic yourself—it's hilarious, really. This time it was you who brought it up, remember?"
"Oh, right, Eli! There's something I need to tell you."
Before Eli's voice could rise any higher, Bayul cut in quickly.
"Hmm? What is it?"
"I'd like you to hear me out before getting angry."
"What could possibly require setting up an atmosphere like that?"
At Bayul's sudden words, not just Eli but Aidan and Quinn alike fell silent and turned their eyes to him.
"The truth is, the Chairman came to see me yesterday."
"What? Why would that person come looking for you? Is he out of his mind? Don't tell me he asked where I was?"
"No, actually, he told me not to worry, because you'd surely be doing well wherever you were."
"See? He doesn't worry about me one bit. It's all just talk."
"…Anyway, the Chairman came to see me because of my father, not you."
"Your father? Why would Duke Randert…?"
Bayul briefly explained how his father had set a chaser on the Chairman, and why.
"Jared and Duke Hector—exactly the same, both of them. Cutting off the scholarship fund? The nerve is unbelievable."
"Shouldn't we be getting revenge for this? First the assassin business, and now watch how fast the money just rolls in for them!"
"We'll probably have to deal with the Jared matter eventually. Anyway, the Chairman's source of funds was unclear, so Father began investigating. That's when the chaser got spotted tailing him."
"Sending a chaser after that man—your father made a mistake there."
"A mistake?"
"Yes. Whoever he sends will be spotted, every single one. He'd be better off just giving up, I'd say."
"…If the Chairman was offended, I'll apologize on Father's behalf. He had no choice—it's his position to investigate anything suspicious. Even so, I think he was being careful out of consideration for you, in his own way."
"Why would I be offended? Not at all, not in the slightest, not even a little?"
"…Really?"
"And that enormous donation probably came from the storehouse at the family seat. They live with piles of money lying around."
"Piles of money lying around?"
Aidan pulled a face as though he'd just heard the most absurd thing in the world. Even his family—the wealthiest household in the empire—didn't do that.
"I told you before—the only thing they have is money."
"No, but how much money do you have to have to stack it in a storehouse? Is the Chairman richer than my family?"
"What's this? Feeling competitive?"
"It's not that—it's just ridiculous that anyone would keep money in a storehouse instead of a bank or a vault. What happens if thieves break in?"
"Bwahahaha! Thieves?"
Aidan had spoken out of genuine concern, but Eli burst into roaring laughter.
"Hey! There's no need to worry about that in the first place. Who would dare touch that place? Who'd be reckless enough to even try!"
Declaring that such a thing would absolutely, categorically never happen, Eli seemed to sincerely believe it. Well, Bayul supposed that made sense—if the man was a mage of real power, it was plausible.
"So, did you contact your father? Tell him to call off the chaser?"
"I did. I don't know what he'll decide, but I sent a letter, at least."
"If you ever ask him, just tell him to give it up. There's nothing for him to find out. That person is beyond such things."
"Eli, hearing you talk, aren't you underestimating Duke Randert a little too much?"
"What underestimating?"
"Calling it hopeless when you're talking about the man they call a living legend? The one who should give up is the Chairman, not the Duke. There is nothing Duke Randert cannot do."
Aidan had grown up reading and studying the Duke's war exploits from books. What's more, he was a knight-in-training whose dream was to become a knight alongside Duke Randert himself. Perhaps that was why he seemed to revere the Duke even more than his own son Bayul did.
"Hoo. Much as I hate to say this to such faithful believers of yours, if there ever comes a thing Duke Randert cannot do, it will be something tangled up with my adoptive father. Just wait and see. You'll understand in time."
"What are you even basing that on? And honestly, that tone of yours is kind of annoying?"
Aidan pressed him in exasperation, but Eli remained unmoved.
One day, when you all learn the truth, you'll understand what I mean… But even then, will you still treat me as your friend?
…Eli?
For some reason, a trace of loneliness had suddenly flickered in Eli's eyes.
Had something involving his adoptive father come to mind?
In that instant, a sorrowful sadness seemed to radiate from the boy, and Bayul found himself strangely concerned.