A Gift for Einy
The silk ribbon? Total garbage!
A pet? Just look at Rai!
A magic tool? Way too early for that.
After wandering around the market for quite a while, I finally stopped in front of a fairly large weapons shop. There, a magnificent pair of swords caught my eye.
Right. Einy’s tribe was quite famous for their dual-wielding swordsmanship.
“Rai! What do you think of those? They look like the right size and the material seems good too.”
[For the little one’s school admission gift? Twin swords?]
“Yeah. She’s in the Spirit Arts Department, but there’s nothing wrong with learning swordsmanship too. A Spirit Swordsman! Doesn’t that sound cool?”
[……If you’re giving them as a way of saying ‘kill anyone who annoys you,’ I won’t stop you.]
“It’s not necessarily that kind of meaning. It’s not bad, right?”
[It sounds exactly like that, though?]
The twin swords were incredibly tempting, but the fact that even Rai was being sarcastic meant they were probably a terrible idea, so I gave up.
I knew Einy wasn’t the type of child who would casually kill people like I did, but if the kid I was vouching for ended up hurting even a noble, it would become a huge headache.
“Picking out a gift is harder than I expected. When have I ever done something like this before?”
After roaming the market and checking out nearly every store and stall, I stopped in front of an apothecary. A promotional phrase there immediately caught my attention.
Special Effect for Numbness!
The image of Ash’s hand trembling on that rainy day suddenly flashed through my mind.
He had switched his sword to his other hand and looked at me with a slightly embarrassed expression.
I stood with my hands behind my back, staring intently at the nameless dried herbs.
“Welcome! What are you looking for today?”
The apothecary owner quickly came out and started his sales pitch. He was quite the talkative man.
“For numbness symptoms, this product is also very effective! Taking both together works even better. If it’s numbness from old age, I’d recommend something different.”
“What about numbness from an old injury?”
“What kind exactly? There are many types of numbness. If it’s a throbbing kind, you’ll need something stronger. For old wounds, you need something even more potent!”
“When I was young… about ten years ago, I had an accident where my palm was pierced through. It seems like the nerves were severed back then. I did get treatment, but it still goes numb sometimes. When it’s really bad, I can’t even hold a sword properly?”
I pressed the palm of my right hand with my left index finger while explaining the symptoms. The owner nodded in understanding and immediately dashed back into the store.
Before long, he came back out holding a small silver medicine container.
“In that case, I have just the thing! This is it! It’s a salve type that you apply directly. This one’s really excellent. Only twenty silver!”
“Is the effect good?”
“Of course!”
“You guarantee it?”
“I guarantee it!”
“Even if it costs you your life?”
“……Do I really have to go that far?”
“It’s twenty silver! It should be that effective, shouldn’t it!”
I guess I pressured him too much.
“I’ll offer it to you for five silver.”
The price suddenly dropped to a quarter of the original.
I was going to buy it anyway. After all, Ash had bought me medicine when I was bedridden with a cold. This was just a small token of gratitude.
“Can you lower it more?”
“You look like you have plenty of money, so why……”
“I’m going to say I picked it up on the way, but five silver doesn’t just fall on the ground.”
“Excuse me……”
“Anyway, give me a discount!”
“Hey there, golden-haired Spirit Master.”
That was clearly a voice calling for me.
Drawn by the gentle, clear voice, I turned around to see two figures completely covered in dark cloaks approaching me. No, judging by the aura they gave off, they weren’t human.
This peculiar presence was definitely…….
“Nameless one. Do you recognize me?”
[Oh, it’s that dark elf.]
It was definitely the dark elf I had released on the mountain behind the academy. I had heard the name before.
“Of course. So… Da… Da… Daruha?”
[Daphne?]
“It’s Daria.”
“Right! Daria! I got it right.”
“Yes. One letter off.”
Well, let’s not sweat the small stuff.
I tossed five silver at the apothecary owner and waved him off. Even without that, the murderous aura radiating from Daria’s companion was so intense that the owner couldn’t stand it and quickly fled the scene.
“You were still in this city. I thought you would have left long ago.”
“I wanted to thank you properly, so I’ve been waiting all this time.”
“That’s fine, but……”
Although their faces were hidden by the cloaks, I could clearly feel that Daria’s companion was glaring at me.
He was a full head taller than both me and Daria, and his killing intent was so raw it could rival that of a carnivorous monster.
The only difference from a monster was that it was somewhat restrained.
“You are my benefactor, after all. It felt too rude to leave without even knowing your name.”
“Jeanie.”
“Lady Jeanie. I will cherish that name in my heart forever. I apologize for the late greeting, but thank you for saving me. I swear on the name of our god that I will never forget this kindness. This is my older brother, Jecar.”
I had wondered why he was emitting such an unusual amount of killing intent. So this was it.
I remembered her saying that a Chastiser was coming to rescue her, and that he gave off a very dangerous feeling.
It seemed they had met safely. Since he was Daria’s brother, he was obviously a dark elf as well.
“So it was you. The main culprit behind that tragedy.”
I thought Jecar’s aura felt familiar, but the moment I heard his gloomy voice, it finally clicked.
This bastard! He was the one causing a ruckus in front of the inn! I had stared at him for a while because his aura was similar to Robenin’s. He had nearly killed the person he was quarreling with, so Ash had to step in to stop him.
“There were all sorts of rumors in the village that it was the work of dark elves. It wasn’t you, was it?”
“Is that how you show gratitude?”
“……I am grateful that you saved my sister.”
“How do dark elves repay kindness?”
“……”
“If it’s money, I’m good.”
If he thought I would be scared by mere killing intent like this, he was greatly mistaken.
Endairon’s aura was ten times heavier, and demonic energy was twenty times more terrifying. And Adelaide’s killing intent had been an overwhelming despair that made dying by my own hand seem preferable. After experiencing all of that, a dark elf’s aura was nothing more than a snort of contempt to me.
“As expected, humans have no shame.”
“I’m the one who saved her, so why should I be the one showing shame? If you have something to give, hurry up. I’m busy.”
“How insolent!”
“What, you wanna go?”
When I bared my teeth and growled aggressively just like Rai had earlier, Jecar responded with equal ferocity.
A dark elf famous for having a terrible temper had met a human who was just as bad. It didn’t take long for the two of us to start radiating murderous intent at each other as if we wanted to kill one another.
Daria, unable to watch any longer, stepped between us with her whole body to mediate, but even as she tried to separate us, we continued to snarl at each other.
“Filthy human!”
“Who are you calling pitch-black!”
“Stop it! Stop! I wasn’t planning to give you anything, but… still, you have a point! That’s right. I heard that humans express gratitude that way. Here, take this!”
Daria hurriedly removed the bangle bracelet from her wrist and held it out to me.
The round ornament carved from stone had an antique charm, but it didn’t particularly catch my eye.
“It’s nothing special, but please accept it.”
“It really is nothing special. Sorry, but you can keep it. I don’t really like accessories.”
“……If you wear this, even if you enter the land of the dark elves, they will not harm you. It is a symbol of friendship.”
“Which means it’s completely useless if I don’t go to the land of the dark elves.”
“Th-there are other functions too! This bracelet increases affinity with spirits. Wearing it will help somewhat when using spirit magic.”
I had been refusing with a lukewarm expression, but my attitude changed in the blink of an eye. Afraid she might change her mind, I snatched the bracelet first and tightly grabbed both of Daria’s hands.
Then I looked at her with eyes as affectionate as if we had known each other for ten years.
“Oh my, Daria! You really are such a good elf!”
“I’m glad you like it!”
“Ugh… disgusting.”
Jecar’s grumbling was intense.
“Thank you. I really like it. I needed something like this! I couldn’t get one even though I wanted it. So, do you have any more of these?”
“More, you say……?”
“I want the full set. How much would that cost? Don’t you have earrings or a necklace? What about a ring? Where do you get these? What’s the material?”
Since this was the first time I had ever seen an item that increased affinity with spirits, my greed surged uncontrollably.
As expected from the elves, the originators of spirits! They had items like this but only used them for themselves?
I had seen auxiliary tools that helped mages before, but even those were extremely limited and rare. So I had naturally assumed that something for spirit users didn’t even exist.
“The material is ordinary stone. However, it is stone from the altar that our people have used for generations, so it is heavily imbued with the energy of spirits.”
“Altar?”
“Humans call them spirit circles. For us, there are temples where spirit circles are enshrined. This is made from stone carved from there.”
“You guys call the Contract Room a temple?”
The material was easier to obtain than I thought. A space with a spirit circle? If that was the case, there was one at Drike Academy too. It was a shame that since I was the only student using it, the space that had been so painstakingly created was just sitting there unused.
“We consider spirits to be one of the gods. The kind and small gods who come to us… that is why we cherish them so dearly.”
“I see. So to make this, you just need to carve stone from a space where a spirit circle is engraved?”
“It’s a little different. All of our clans use designated altars to summon spirits and form contracts with them… Most of the altars have a history of at least several thousand years. Some of the older ones are over ten thousand years old.”
“……Wait, don’t tell me.”
“That’s right. Only old altars that have been used countless times possess such power. When the energy of spirits accumulates in the altar through thousands of years of continuous summoning and contracting, it finally gains spiritual power. But that’s not the end.
We turn that into accessories and always carry them with us, using them as the source of our prayers. This… is not just an ordinary stone. It is essentially a condensed gathering of the power of spirits and spirit masters.”
Just when I thought it was good, it turned out to be impossible. It was the kind of thing Rai couldn’t replicate. Even if he absorbed it, what he would spit out would just be ordinary stone.
I couldn’t hide my disappointment, and I could tell from the sound of his laughter alone that Jecar was mocking me.
“Heh heh heh……”
“There’s no way humans would have such a historically deep altar……”
“Of course not! Ha, inferior humans. Living only a mere hundred years yet so arrogant.”
“……Hey, do you happen to have a black flame dragon on your right hand or something? You’re really annoying, you know that?”
It hurt a bit since it was an irrefutable fact. Humans could never create such an altar. Not only was our lifespan short, but spirit masters themselves were extremely rare to begin with. It could never be the same culture as the elves, where most of the clan were spirit masters.
Jecar was detestable, but I had to admit it. How nice it must be to be an elf! To have things like this!
“The eldest adult of the clan gives this as a gift to the youngest kin who forms their first contract with a spirit.”
“So that means you don’t have any more?”
“Unfortunately, I only have this one.”
Disappointed, I even licked my lips as I looked at Jecar. Surely that guy had one too.
“I have nothing to give to the likes of you!”
“Hmph, I know even if you don’t yell at me.”
All I did was look at him. Why was he making such a fuss? I had looked at him with wanting eyes, but I hadn’t even asked for it!
I pouted my lips and slipped the bracelet Daria had given me onto my wrist.