Chapter 19
Chapter 19
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 19
Chapter Title: Divorce Ceremony (1)
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I'd initially wondered if the spirit might be hostile toward me.
If that turned out to be the case, I'd no doubt have to fight it.
So, I'd steeled myself to some extent before stepping into the spirit's domain.
But it looked like that hadn't been necessary after all.
⚙ Spirit Sword ⚙ To put it simply, that spirit is saying it wants to lend you its power. It wants to form a formal contract? The spirit wasn't showing any real hostility toward me.
Putting that together with the Spirit Sword's explanations of its behavior...
Wasn't everything proceeding surprisingly smoothly?
'Is this my ability...'
This had to be thanks to my constitution, right?
The spirit had been anything but friendly to the Magic Tower's mages.
Yet even a spirit it was seeing for the first time was treating me kindly. It might be an even more impressive power than I'd imagined.
"Hmm... So, what exactly is a contract?"
Still, I had no idea what a contract really entailed.
Maybe it was something where we exchanged...
But nothing was certain, so I had no choice but to ask the Spirit Sword about it.
⚙ Spirit Sword ⚙ To put it simply, you'll be able to use that spirit's power freely. Just like a power you've always had. The Spirit Sword answered matter-of-factly.
Once we contracted, the spirit would lend me its power.
Or more precisely, I'd be able to wield the spirit's power at will.
That seemed to be the gist of it.
"So, that's a good thing, right?"
⚙ Spirit Sword ⚙ Normal humans want to, but can't. "Obviously impressive, right?"
⚙ Spirit Sword ⚙ Yeah. You'd be able to wield a spirit's power. Just hearing about it made it sound way more incredible than I'd thought.
Being able to use a spirit's power freely...
I had no clue what it could do yet, but considering how desperately the Magic Tower folks had been hunting for spirits...
Spirits clearly weren't ordinary beings, so this could grant me some tremendous ability.
From the sound of it, it felt like something I absolutely had to do.
But I couldn't sign on the dotted line just yet.
"So, what's the condition?"
No matter the world, you always had to read contracts carefully.
What if, as payment, it demanded my life or the soul of a child?
I couldn't agree to something like that.
No matter how great the product, I could only buy it under fair terms.
So, I had no choice but to ask the Spirit Sword about the conditions.
But there was no need to worry about that, either.
"Satsubi~"
⚙ Spirit Sword ⚙ No conditions? "Hm?"
No conditions?
The Spirit Sword translated that the black spirit before me wasn't demanding anything.
It was offering a contract for free.
"This isn't a normal situation, right?"
⚙ Spirit Sword ⚙ Nope. Spirits never hand out free contracts like this. I didn't know what this spirit's power was, but the Spirit Sword said normal ones never offered terms like these.
It was like getting a top-grade weapon for free.
It was a great deal, sure.
"..."
But I couldn't help feeling a bit suspicious.
Was this really legit?
I needed to shake off this nagging doubt completely.
"Just one thing I want to ask..."
⚙ Spirit Sword ⚙ What? "Could you ask that black orb why it created it?"
I asked the Spirit Sword to relay the question.
This spirit had made a black orb and taken over the church with it.
That seemed pretty hostile to humans, didn't it?
I wanted to know why it had done that before contracting.
If we contracted and it caused trouble later, the blame would fall squarely on me. I had to clarify this.
So I asked.
"Satsubi!!!"
⚙ Spirit Sword ⚙ It did that to show off its power? What?
⚙ Spirit Sword ⚙ This one's a mid-tier Darkness Spirit, after all. Darkness spirits' magic is usually tied to 'shielding.' It probably just wanted to show off its abilities. That was it?
It didn't seem all that strange after all.
Showing off its power before a contract made sense.
Any misunderstanding cleared up, then.
"Alright, then. Let's do the contract."
"Satsubi~~~"
There was nothing holding me back anymore.
I decided to contract with the Darkness Spirit.
As long as it wasn't a bad one, there was no harm in it.
The moment I agreed, the Darkness Spirit started bouncing around excitedly beside me.
This little guy really just liked me that much and wanted to contract...
I felt a bit bad for suspecting it.
Anyway, with the contract decided, it seemed to trigger something—changes began rippling through my body.
It felt like something settled into my hand.
Looking at the back of my hand, a black pattern had appeared there.
This must be the mark of our contract.
"Looking forward to working with you."
"Satsubi!!!"
It felt like I'd gained a new companion.
And with that, my contract with the Darkness Spirit I'd met today was complete.
"So, what's your name?"
So, what was its name?
I had to ask, since it was now my contracted spirit.
But I didn't get a proper answer.
"Satsubi?"
The spirit's reaction sounded like it was asking what I meant.
The Spirit Sword explained why.
⚙ Spirit Sword ⚙ Spirits usually don't have names. "Really?"
⚙ Spirit Sword ⚙ Yeah. Names exist for communication with others, and spirits don't need that. Spirits didn't even have names, huh.
Made sense. For solitary beings like them, names were probably unnecessary.
But now it'd be living with me.
"Guess I'll have to give you one."
Plus, with the Spirit Sword around, calling it "spirit" would get confusing.
What would be good...
I thought for a moment and came up with something fitting.
"From now on, you're Satsubi...!"
"Satsubi~~~"
I said Satsubi, so it responded with Satsubi. Perfect.
Names were best when intuitive.
⚙ Spirit Sword ⚙ You... what kind of name is that for a spirit... Never mind. The Spirit Sword seemed pretty displeased with my naming sense.
But the subject itself liked it, so it didn't press the issue.
'Isn't it fine?'
Why did everyone react like that?
I thought my naming skills were decent.
But those around me always had that response.
Even with Eleana, I'd originally planned a different name, but Levia freaked out and stopped me.
I didn't know why, but anyway.
Things had worked out well.
"Alright, Satsubi. Could you remove the black orb around the church?"
"Satsubi!"
I asked Satsubi to restore things, and it instantly made the black orb vanish.
The surroundings suddenly brightened.
The sky, which should have been there all along, came into view.
And in the distance, Dipne was rushing over with a shocked expression.
"What happened here?"
"I contracted with a spirit."
"What???"
I gave Dipne a quick rundown.
I pointed to Satsubi, peeking cautiously from behind me.
Found a spirit, made a contract.
Dipne's reaction was the most stunned I'd ever seen from her.
"Incredible. Contracting with a spirit...! This is a first."
Was that natural?
Ending up contracted with a spirit like this.
Considering why the Magic Tower had come to this remote little village in the first place, yeah, it made sense.
"This is huge. Davian, if you'd just let me study it a little..."
She acted like it was a historic discovery.
She grabbed my hands, eyes sparkling.
But...
"What, is it that special?"
Kailin didn't seem pleased at all.
She spoke coldly, her face saying she was thoroughly unimpressed.
"Huh? Kailin, what do you mean?"
"Pfft, it's just a mid-tier spirit at best. We don't need something like that. Our goal was never a mere mid-tier one to begin with. We were after the highest-grade spirits, remember?"
She claimed she had no interest.
No need to get worked up over a mere mid-tier spirit.
Dipne, of course, immediately pushed back.
"No, Kailin, this is still huge. Even a mid-tier spirit's mana alone surpasses that of skilled mages in the Magic Tower..."
It really was impressive.
Considering no mages had even met, let alone contracted, a low-tier spirit...
And knowing how unique and powerful a spirit's innate strength was, she insisted we couldn't ignore it.
"I don't need it."
"Kailin..."
But Kailin wasn't listening.
"Searching for spirits feels like a waste of time now. We should leave this village."
A mere mid-tier still held no value for her.
Kailin vented her frustrations irritably.
'What's her deal...'
Had she forgotten she'd been the one hunting for the spirit's entrance to meet this mid-tier one...?
Anyway, Kailin was leaving the village.
Finally free of her—I was thrilled.
But then...
"Davian."
"Yeah?"
Kailin called out to me.
"One month from now. The church near our family homes."
"Huh?"
"The divorce ceremony. We're holding it then, so get ready."
Oh, right.
There was still that important matter left.
I might have to see Kailin one more time after all.