The Metal Spirit's Secret
[Hello?]
“What exactly is wrong with this candlestick?”
“Can’t you hear it? It’s saying hello. This is a metal spirit!”
Iel’s expression at that moment was something else.
“Haah, Miss Jeanie? It seems you’re trying to tug at my sympathy with this little act, but I won’t fall for it.”
“……You really think I’m spouting nonsense right now?”
“Yes.”
How could he answer so immediately!
“It’s true! What do you take me for?”
“You just want to form a contract with a spirit, don’t you?”
Does he see me as some child who drags around dolls because she wants a little sibling? Does he actually think I’m ten years old?
“Can’t you hear this voice? This guy’s been chattering nonstop since earlier!”
[Chattering, you say. I am a most refined spirit, you know. This is unfair, Master!]
“There are no spirits that look like candlesticks, Miss Jeanie.”
“Who doesn’t know that! That’s why it’s a metal spirit! Metal!”
“I’ve never even heard of such a thing. If you’re going to make something up, at least make it plausible.”
I was about to lose my mind! I succeeded, so why won’t anyone believe me?
Unfortunately, it seemed Rai’s voice could only be heard by me.
How could I make Iel hear it too? Frustrated and restless, I shouted.
“Fine! It doesn’t have a proper form yet…… but if I feed it something, you know, make it a body, then even you’ll be able to see it. Then you’ll know I’m telling the truth.”
“My, you’ve been reading too many fairy tales, Miss Jeanie. Quite the entertaining nonsense. Pretend spirit contracts are fun and all, but let’s stop here.”
“Aaaagh! I’m serious! I did it! With the circle from the library book! Exactly like that!”
“……Are you perhaps referring to that ancient summoning circle you asked about yesterday?”
“Yes, that one! It worked perfectly!”
Was he finally starting to believe me? Iel’s expression softened, if only a little.
I thrust the candlestick toward him, desperately emphasizing that I hadn’t gone mad.
Praise me already! Tell me I’m amazing!
“Look! I contracted all by myself, didn’t I? You said it was possible. The book mentioned non-attribute spirits, and this one didn’t go back on its own—it stayed inside the candlestick. This guy’s really unusual……”
“I was planning to teach you about non-attribute spirits later because they’re difficult. Where did you hear about them?”
“This candlestick. No, the metal spirit……”
“I don’t know where you saw it, but non-attribute spirits only exist in theory, Miss Jeanie. We can’t summon them. They’re extremely rare beings that could only be seen in ancient times, and they’re not the kind humans can control. Just because you read it in a book doesn’t mean you can slap the term onto anything.”
“……No? Maybe you’re the one who’s mistaken? That circle definitely worked. Here, this is…… proof.”
[Ahem, I am rather rare, after all.]
A suspicion began to creep in. Had I been possessed by a ghost instead? Maybe the one I’d been talking to all night wasn’t a spirit but some socially oblivious ghost.
“Miss Jeanie? You’re still young, so you might believe it, but that summoning circle doesn’t work anymore. It’s nothing more than an ancient relic.
The chance of a spirit appearing from it…… is about the same as a whale leaping out of a lake.”
“Eek?”
“I know that circle well. I tried summoning a spirit with it when I was young too. Failed, of course.”
Iel smiled kindly and shrugged as if reminiscing.
“Every young spirit master tries it at least once, drunk on the idea of contracting. It’s a phase everyone goes through. But that circle hasn’t functioned as a proper summoning tool for hundreds…… no, thousands of years.
It’s a discarded exit that spirits no longer use. Do you understand?”
“But……”
“Even if I wanted to play along, the story is simply too far-fetched.”
“……”
“Contracting with a spirit at ten years old is already an extraordinary feat.
Haha, and on top of that, a non-attribute spirit through an ancient circle? The scholars wouldn’t even treat it as a joke.”
He clearly thought the whole thing was a child’s fabrication.
Iel was a straightforward, kind man who never mocked others, but this case seemed different.
No matter how I thought about it, I hadn’t been possessed by a ghost. The only conclusion left was that I’d done something so incredible even Iel couldn’t believe it.
I had to get serious.
I stared intently at the candlestick.
“Are you actually some kind of big deal?”
[Of course. I am the one and only existence of my kind.]
“I’m also the one and only in this world, you know?”
[……Now that you mention it, that’s true?]
It seemed I’d accomplished something far more extraordinary than I’d realized.
Whether this slightly dim-witted fellow was an unbelievably remarkable being, or the fact that I’d summoned such a being—either way, it was hard to wrap my head around.
“Why did you come out when I called?”
[Because I liked Master.]
“What about me?”
[You smelled different from ordinary humans.]
Maybe it was the scent of remembering a past life. Did I reek of living twice? I sniffed myself, shoving my nose against my own body, but of course I couldn’t tell.
[I wandered for a long time because I wanted to return here. I waited for a suitable contractor for a very long while. But it wasn’t easy. Just as humans cannot choose their parents, there are things we cannot choose freely either.]
“What kind of analogy is that?”
[That’s simply how it is, Master. It’s already decided. Humans call it fate.]
While I was having a serious conversation with the candlestick, Iel finally snapped.
“Ugh, fine! I get it!”
“Why? Are you going to believe me now?”
“Haaah…… You win, Miss Jeanie. If you want to contract with a spirit that badly, I’ll prepare a practical lesson.
But I clearly warned you—it’s still too early.”
“You’ll let me attempt a contract?”
That hadn’t been my goal, but it was welcome news nonetheless. I widened my eyes eagerly.
It was embarrassing to say out loud, but I really was an adorable, charming little girl.
Iel looked down at me as if I were a con artist.
“I’ve said it many times, but attempting doesn’t guarantee success.
Whether a contract forms is entirely up to the spirit. Far more contracts fail due to rejection than succeed.”
“What about succeeding on the first try?”
“That never happens.”
“What if it does?”
“That would make you a genius among geniuses.”
Huh? Was I perhaps……
‘A once-in-a-generation genius?’
It was such an unpleasant thing to say that I couldn’t voice it, but the probability seemed quite high. This body really didn’t seem ordinary.
***
For now, I decided to keep quiet about Rai. Since Iel didn’t believe me anyway, and it seemed like a bigger deal than expected, I chose to leave it alone for the time being.
Above all, drawing the academy’s attention would be troublesome.
[Master, what’s that? What about that? Good heavens! When did the world change so much?]
If scholars swarmed in because of this endlessly chattering rare spirit, things would obviously get annoying.
Anything annoying was a huge problem for me.
I’d been feeling life was exhausting from an early age, but now that I realized it was because of my genius talent, it made sense. Haah, being a genius really is exhausting.
“Miss Jeanie?”
“Yes?”
“Just how far do you plan to carry that candlestick?”
“Umm, well, you could call it a lucky charm?”
“……The same candlestick that’s in every dormitory room?”
“Yes. Do you have a problem with that?”
Iel’s strength was that he didn’t drag things out with unnecessary comments.
Being the excellent person who respected individual tastes, he didn’t lecture me about my shamelessness and simply looked forward again as he walked.
I followed behind him obediently.
In my hand, I clutched the candlestick tightly, and inside it was the talkative metal spirit, Rai.
[Master! There’s a huge lump of metal rolling around over there—can I absorb it?]
“……Have you lost your mind? That’s the armor of Barolde, the holy knight the headmaster cherishes.”
[The composition looks excellent. Just a little……]
“No! That’s not rolling around—it’s on display as decoration!”
[Hmph.]
Even if I were dragging around a starving dog, it wouldn’t be drooling everywhere like this.
The more I observed Rai, the more peculiar this existence seemed. Both its nature as a metal spirit and its behavior were unusual.
Yesterday, when I was desperate for a contract, I’d just thought it was a bit strange and moved on, but thinking about it now, it was an incredibly valuable research subject.
A spirit that didn’t need to return to the spirit realm! I’d never heard of such a thing.
[By the way, Master. Why are you speaking so quietly?]
“Because talking to a candlestick makes me look insane.”
[I am a spirit, you know.]
“I’m keeping the fact that I contracted with you a secret, that’s why!”
[Aha, I see. In that case, you can just speak to me in your mind. I’ll hear you just fine.]
“……That’s possible?”
[We’ve formed a soul contract, after all. Since our souls are connected, we can do things ordinary people can’t.]
Conversation through thoughts was possible.
They never taught that in class.
“How do I do it?”
[Just speak in your mind while wishing for me to hear it.]
“Not thinking, but wishing?”
[Both, I suppose. If you wish earnestly, your will will be conveyed. Just as I am doing now.]
So that’s how it worked.
If I wished earnestly, it would be heard……
It was a matter of will. Heart and mind. I focused intently on the candlestick. I am, right now, very—
[Yes, you must be hungry.]
[I haven’t eaten breakfast yet.]
[You’re doing well.]
[Huh. Hey, it works! Can you hear me?]
[Loud and clear.]
As expected, this body was genius-level!
Feeling well-founded confidence, I bounced around on my own before hurriedly calling out to Iel, who was walking ahead.
Listen here, Teacher! Your student is a genius!
“Teacher! Iel, sir!”
“What is it, Miss Jeanie?”
“When you contract with a spirit, can you talk without using words?”
At my question, Iel stopped walking and turned around.
He looked pleased that I was asking questions at all.
“Of course. However, the compatibility with the spirit must be good. Above all, the spirit must have the proper will to listen to the contractor’s voice. It consumes mental energy, so training is required for that as well.”
“Can you do it too? When you talk with your wind spirit?”
“It’s possible, but speaking aloud is faster and more convenient. More efficient, too.”
“I see.”
“Any more questions?”
“No. Let’s hurry!”
We were heading somewhere important. Iel was taking me to attempt my first “public” spirit contract—one he was certain would fail.