Episode 636
Episode 636
Given that a considerable number of mages had contracts with low-level spirits, spirits were more familiar and recognizable to the people of the empire than one might think.
Just flipping through fairy tales, there were plenty of stories where children in peril would converse with spirits to escape danger.
However, strictly speaking, most of these stories were fictional. Ordinary people couldn't communicate with spirits.
Spirits were beings from an entirely different dimension, and breaching that barrier required either a strong contract or magic.
For instance, even if Lee Han heard the true name of the spirit contracted to the Pengerin Family, he wouldn't recognize it.
Unless Lee Han—who had a contract with a powerful spirit like Perkuntra capable of conversing with humans through its own power—was of the Pengerin bloodline, he wouldn't be able to perceive the name.
But to be born with the innate ability to speak the Spirit Language...
"To be able to speak the language of spirits...! Lady Arsil, by any chance, what kind of magic do you research?!"
"My elder brother isn't a mage."
"What?!!!"
Alsicle was even more shocked than when he first heard that Arsil could innately speak the Spirit Language.
To possess such an extraordinary talent and yet not be a mage—
"Why on earth not?!"
"Because he has no interest in magic?"
Arsil shrugged and said something, which Lee Han relayed.
"He also didn't have much talent for it, apparently."
"......"
Alsicle nearly screamed, 'What kind of nonsense is that?!'
If someone could command spirits to that extent, wasn't that talent enough?! Did they need to be able to flip heaven and earth with a single finger to qualify?!
"Ah, no, haha. Ah, you're too kind."
"What did he say?"
"That compared to me, he has no talent for magic... Please don't take this too seriously. My elder brother is just being overly complimentary because we have guests."
'Hmm. That might actually be true.'
Alsicle found himself unconsciously agreeing.
Excluding being beloved by spirits, it didn't seem like the Wardanaz bloodline standing before him was any more exceptional in magic than Lee Han.
"How on earth can someone innately speak the language of spirits? Even spirit half-bloods would struggle with that..."
Alsicle muttered, his face still dazed from the shock.
Among spirit half-bloods, those who inherited particularly strong traits from spirits would display differences—such as having asexual characteristics or being born with innate spirit abilities.
But even among those spirit half-bloods, none could innately speak the Spirit Language. At best, they might understand a few words from spirits with whom they had deep connections.
To innately speak the Spirit Language and possess such strong affinity, wouldn't they have to be a spirit themselves rather than a half-blood?
'Is he actually a spirit?'
Alsicle had the impolite thought that perhaps the other party was a spirit of the Wardanaz Family.
That would explain a lot.
Able to speak the Spirit Language (because he's a spirit), able to converse with Lee Han (because he's of the contracted family's bloodline)...
"Lord Pengerin?"
"Huh? What?"
Alsicle lifted his head at Lee Han's call.
The two Wardanaz brothers were staring at him. Arsil, in particular, was giving him an intrigued look.
"My elder brother says he'd like to see you eating sardines... My apologies."
"Ah, no. I was just craving sardines anyway."
"Right. That makes sense. He commands demons too. Yeah. Hmm. Right. That makes sense. He commands demons too."
"Lord Pengerin, you've said that almost a hundred times now."
"A broken phonograph?"
At his junior's words, Lee Han made a 'shh' sound.
"Lord Pengerin is just shocked, that's all."
Finally snapping out of his daze, Alsicle collected himself and spoke.
"Ah, no. I was just... shocked. It's such an astonishing ability."
"Ah, come on. I have a similar ability too."
"What?! You mean you can also talk to spirits?!"
Alsicle was startled.
Had he been talking to the elder brother earlier not because they shared blood but because he too had the ability to speak the Spirit Language?!
"No. Unlike my brother, I have the ability to make spirits flee wherever I go... Just kidding. My apologies."
"......"
Alsicle was baffled, but Arsil beside him burst into laughter and rapped the table.
"I was so surprised I couldn't even properly greet Lord Arsil... Please convey my apologies."
"He says he doesn't mind at all."
"What does Lord Arsil do?"
"My brother hunts for treasures."
"Oh!"
Without realizing it, Alsicle found himself staring at the large, worn-out backpack Arsil had set down earlier.
Could ancient artifacts be inside that? '...?' But even upon closer inspection, he couldn't sense any particular mana from the items in the bag.
Alsicle cautiously asked,
"Are those the treasures?"
"Yes."
"I don't sense any mana from them."
"Treasures don't necessarily have to be artifacts, right? They could be relics with archaeological value."
At that, Arsil added something from the side.
Lee Han made an awkward expression as he explained,
"Um... Apparently those items are less than 30 years old."
"Then what value do they have?"
"He says their worn-out appearance has charm. He plans to give them as gifts to the spirits..."
"......"
Alsicle grew even more bewildered.
No matter how he looked at it, they were just random junk you'd commonly find lying around the streets.
He was going to give those as gifts to the notoriously picky spirits?
Having needed spirit assistance for his own magic research before, Alsicle knew well the conditions for offerings to spirits.
Presenting shoddy gifts risked provoking their wrath.
-■■■■! ■■■■!
When Arsil offered a chipped and cracked porcelain cup as a gift, the drought spirit perched on his shoulder became overjoyed and flew back to the Spirit World.
Witnessing this, Alsicle's jaw dropped.
Since when did spirits get so happy and delighted over gifts?
"Aston... Astonishing. Truly. I never knew spirits could rejoice like that."
"Ah, right. Brother, I made a contract with this spirit."
Arsil pointed to Perkuntra's emblem and asked with apparent interest. Lee Han shook his head.
"You don't need to worry about that. Look here instead."
Lee Han summoned a sparrow spirit and a squirrel spirit.
Arsil smiled softly at the sight. It warmed his heart to see his younger brother, who usually struggled to befriend spirits, getting along with them like this.
Though he was a bit curious why the mighty lightning spirit was being ignored...
Tap
—The moment they were summoned, the sparrow and squirrel spirits immediately rushed to Arsil and perched on his shoulders.
"Here. This way."
Lee Han called to the two spirits. But as if they couldn't hear him at all, they kept hopping playfully across Arsil's shoulders.
Lee Han's expression darkened.
"...I said come here?"
Too engrossed in their games, the spirits didn't heed his words.
Watching Lee Han's face twist with growing bitterness and sorrow, Alsicle panicked.
"Hey, hey! Move! I said move!"
Even at Alsicle's shout, the spirits remained distracted—only snapping to attention after Arsil gave them a light poke.
The two spirits scurried over to Lee Han, trying to climb onto his shoulders.
But Lee Han coldly distanced himself from them.
-!?
Arsil, who had been watching his little brother play with the spirits with fondness, suddenly seemed to remember something and rummaged through his backpack before calling out to Lee Han.
"Yes, Brother. Ah, a gift? Really, it's fine. As a memento for surviving a year under that corrupt tyrant? Who's the corrupt tyrant... Ah. The Headmaster. Thank you."
Alsicle cautiously asked,
"By any chance, do you not get along with Headmaster Gonadaltes?"
"Well, the Headmaster does buy a lot of treasures."
Though Arsil traveled the empire hunting for treasures and relics, his methods differed from those of ordinary collectors.
Imperial collectors would leisurely wait and purchase items dug up by adventurers at auction houses, but Arsil preferred to travel around personally to seek them out.
There was nothing more heartbreaking than seeing artifacts he was interested in slip through adventurers' hands and end up in auction houses, only to be bought by collectors who had nothing but gold coins to their name.
'Whoops. I buy a lot at auctions too.'
Alsicle felt a pang of guilt.
Among wealthy nobles, it was rare to find those who didn't frequent auction houses. With all sorts of diverse items flowing into auctions, just browsing was entertaining enough.
"Does Lord Pengerin buy a lot of treasures too? Ah, no. Lord Pengerin isn't the type to do that."
"G-Lord Gonadaltes is really too much! He should leave some treasures for the younger generation, but instead, he hoards them all for himself!"
Alsicle hastily cursed Gonadaltes. Arsil laughed in agreement.
"You want me to pick one from these? But, brother. The treasures you've brought before tended to be quite dangerous... Is this time different? But you said the same thing last time, didn't you?"
Arsil gave Lee Han an innocent look, as if to dispel any misunderstanding.
His appearance, resembling a spirit, carried something that made it hard to hate him even if he were an enemy.
But Lee Han remained cold.
"The gift you gave me last time summoned a monster when I wound it up. Alarong had a hard time dealing with that."
"......"
Alsicle snapped back to his senses.
Just because someone looked like a spirit didn't mean they were sane.
'Get a grip. This is the Wardanaz family!'
"Is it really different this time? You carefully picked these out? Ugh. You really didn't have to... Fine. What's this dagger? It burns the opponent's blood when stabbed? Hmm. I'll pass on this for now. What about this landscape painting? The westernmost coast of the Empire? Ah, so you just painted this yourself?"
Arsil nodded.
He had sketched it while traveling in the west when he spotted a distant aurora and thought of his younger brother.
'I should skip this.'
But Lee Han immediately moved on.
In terms of value alone, this was worse than the cursed dagger earlier. Arsil felt slightly disappointed when his brother dismissed the painting.
"What about this necklace? Does a demon come out if you break the gem? Is it under contract? No? Hmm. So it'll just attack randomly then?"
Arsil nodded again.
That necklace was a treasure he had retrieved from deep within the ruins of the southern Great Desert.
Its design was beautiful on its own, but the fact that the demon inside had a name made it even more valuable.
A truly great gift should have an element of surprise that leaves the recipient stunned...
Lee Han coldly pushed the necklace aside. Arsil sighed in regret.
"What about this cloak? Does it turn you into a berserker if you wear it? Ah, just a defensive cloak? Then I'll take this. No. It's fine. I won't change my mind. I like this. Not boring, right? Plenty fun, right? Look at this cloak's design. It's fascinating."
"......"
Though Alsicle could only hear Lee Han's voice, he strangely felt like he understood the conversation unfolding.
"You are the Empire's finest coachman!"
"Hehe. Just leave it to me."
Gainando lounged inside the carriage. It was the most comfortable position in the Empire.
Though the carriage was pulled by no less than eight horses, the coachman personally hired by the family lived up to his reputation, driving without the slightest jolt.
As the scenery outside changed in an instant, Gainando nodded approvingly.
'We'll arrive soon, won't we?'
Just as the carriage was speeding along, it came to a brief stop at a fork in the road.
The coachman halted the carriage to let the horses rest and called out to a passerby.
"Excuse me. May I ask you something? Is this the right way to the Wardanaz family's estate?"
"You're going to the Wardanaz family?"
"Yes. As a guest..."
The passerby suddenly turned and sprinted away at full speed.
"...?!!"