The Haughty Electric Spirit
I lay sprawled on the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling, when Rai’s voice slipped into my mind.
“Master, don’t humans die eventually anyway? It’s only a question of when, so why fixate on it and let it wound you like this?”
“…It’s not because I watched someone die.”
“Then what?”
“Dying itself isn’t always painful. I can accept that much. But I hate it when people die because of me.”
I sat up and clutched my head. The unfamiliar weight of stress threatened to split my skull open.
“We spirits don’t even have the concept of death, so I truly cannot understand your torment, Master.”
“What happens if you don’t die?”
“We simply cease to exist. That’s all.”
“Then spirits… do spirits never…”
Get reborn? The question sat on my tongue but refused to leave my lips.
I remembered my past life with perfect clarity, yet for some reason I could never speak of it aloud. Whenever I tried to force the words out, my tongue simply wouldn’t obey. Something was blocking me.
Sometimes I wondered if something had gone terribly wrong—that maybe a person like me wasn’t supposed to be born here at all. That remembering a previous life was something that should never happen. Why did these strange things keep occurring around me?
The questions tangled and knotted inside my head, feeding on each other.
I wanted to spit everything out, but the more I couldn’t, the worse the knot in my chest grew.
What the hell is stopping me? Why? Why are you doing this to me? What do you even want?
My own violent emotions disgusted me, yet I couldn’t stop them.
Things I usually brushed aside felt unbearably repulsive today. Grief, rage, and irritation boiled together until I wanted to smash everything in sight, but even that urge refused to obey me.
“I don’t know… I don’t know! Why are you doing this to me!”
“Master? What’s wrong…”
I shouted at the top of my lungs, and that was when a powerful surge of energy exploded from the other side of the room.
Rai and I whipped our heads toward it at the same time. An unfamiliar light flickered above the table, consuming something with greedy flames.
“My… bag!”
The source was indeed the table—my bag and coin pouch sitting right there.
A glaring golden light gave off a choking, acrid smell as it melted the bag away. Golden droplets pattered onto the floor below. No matter how I looked at them, they were my gold coins. Or rather, what used to be my gold coins.
“What the hell is that!”
Forgetting my gloom, I scrambled off the bed and rushed over, but there was nothing I could do.
The leather that had once been my bag had lost all shape and was dripping like molten wax. Strong currents of electricity visibly crackled across it; touching the thing looked like a one-way ticket to electrocution.
I was going to live a long life, damn it!
“It’s an electric spirit. You left the spirit stone inside your bag, remember?”
“Who doesn’t know that? Of course I know! But why is it suddenly acting like this!”
“Um… it appears the spirit wants to be summoned?”
Was that a question?
At some point Rai had climbed onto my shoulder—the spot he liked best.
“My money! My bag! My… my…!”
“Your mood is currently at rock bottom, Master. It seems to have been drawn by that. The spirit is reacting to your intense negative emotions, showing its own will to come here. However, we cannot cross dimensions without a summoner, so it’s essentially begging you to call it by—”
“In short, it’s an attention seeker!”
“Yes. It wishes to serve you of its own accord.”
Crackle. Crackle!
The electrical discharge continued without pause. At this rate it would burn the table, the inn—everything. Most buildings in this world were made of wood and horribly vulnerable to fire.
“How do I stop it!”
“Since it can’t control its power, it’s rampaging. If you summon it outside first, it should calm down.”
“…Damn it. I’m really not in the mood to contract anything right now.”
“It looks quite happy about the situation, though.”
An electric spirit, huh?
I was irritated beyond words, but I couldn’t just stand there and watch my belongings turn into slag.
“So how do I call it? I don’t know any summoning incantations or contract circles.”
“Spirit stones are simple. Just pour your mana into it. Hold it in your hand and—”
“Do you want me to die?”
“Of course not. You misunderstand.”
“How am I supposed to grab that thing!”
There was no safe way to approach it.
The offending golden light buzzed menacingly, flickering in every direction and scorching everything it touched black.
Watching anxiously, I had no choice but to pull off my shoe. The sole was leather, at least.
“Ugh, I really don’t want to stick my hand in there.”
“Oh! The light is stabilizing. Its energy must be running low. Now, Master!”
I slipped the shoe over my hand like an oversized glove and reached out during the brief lull. I wasn’t sure it would work with a shoe as a barrier, but I managed to channel mana through it anyway.
Mana sent outside the body usually dissipated, but the spirit stone drank it in like a man dying of thirst in the desert.
“Ah! Hot!”
Even with the leather, the heat was no joke. I shook the shoe off and frantically waved my hand in the air to cool it.
When that wasn’t enough, I grabbed Rai.
You! You look nice and cool!
“Eek!”
“Stay still!”
“Master! Metal is weak to heat! No! My shell!”
While I wrestled with Rai, the spirit finally emerged, but my burning hand took priority and I barely noticed.
“…Name…”
“Oh. It came out.”
The voice sounded rather listless.
And the fact that it was asking for a name confirmed it was a natural spirit.
Thanks to my experience with Rai, I didn’t panic like I would have before.
The small clump of light that had floated unsteadily from the ruined bag began to nibble away at my mana, bit by tiny bit.
“…Master? Most people show more wonder when a spirit appears. Some admiration, at least…”
“But this body is a genius. I’m used to it.”
“Ah… yes…”
Besides, I hadn’t even summoned it. The thing had come out because it wanted to form a contract. The power dynamic was clearly in my favor.
“So you’re an electric spirit?”
Still in a foul mood, I glared up at the flickering ball of light.
“Correct.”
“Your tone is awfully short.”
“I shall specially accept you as my master, so bestow a name upon me.”
Despite the flickering, its words dripped with confidence—bordering on arrogance. There was even a hint of condescension, as if it were looking down on me.
“What if I refuse?”
“…Re-refuse?”
“I have no need for an insolent spirit. Crawl back inside if you want.”
This one had zero manners. Taming it would be a pain. My preference was something well-behaved like Undine.
“How dare you reject this body’s gracious offer to contract!”
“What kind of attitude is that from a spirit begging for a contract? If you’re not going to behave, go back. It’s not like you’re the only electric spirit around. Hmph.”
The little ball of light traced angry figure-eights in the air. The way it shrank and swelled showed just how furious it was.
“You will regret this! Among electric spirits, this body holds one of the highest ranks and—”
“Enough. Go back in.”
“Pfft.”
What kind of ranks did non-attribute spirits even have? It was obviously bluffing.
Rai, who had been listening quietly, finally burst out laughing.
“You dare laugh at me! What are you?”
“This body is Sir Rai, Master’s very first spirit! A metal spirit!”
Rai nodded proudly, even though his current form was a snake.
“A metal spirit? Where did this unheard-of trash spawn from…”
“What did you say!”
“Shall I repeat myself? Trash! I’ve never heard of such a thing! It must be a mere lower spirit at best!”
“This guy can’t even recognize his great senior! How dare you—”
“Both of you, shut up.”
They were fighting each other, so why did I have to hear every word? I couldn’t even speak politely anymore.
“Who are you telling to shut up! This body is an electric spirit—”
“But Master! This guy started it by calling me—”
“I said shut up.”
“Yes.”
Sigh. Two noisy spirits were the last thing I needed. I really should send this electric one away. I could just summon a different one… probably.
“…Rai?”
“Yes, Master!”
“The spirit stone over there looks completely shattered… You can fix it, right?”
Before the noisy one emerged, it had at least kept its shape. Now it lay in pieces. The old artifact must have taken too much shock.
“I examined it while retrieving the other spirit stone earlier.”
“Please tell me there’s hope?”
“Unfortunately, there is none. It is not an ordinary stone but a magical one, far beyond my capabilities.”
I suddenly felt dizzy.
“It broke? How fragile!”
“This is all your fault!”
“I am strong!”
“Crazy.”
I’d heard spirits had varied personalities depending on the individual, but this one was especially unique.
“Such a small human with such a foul mouth! However, I like it! I shall graciously give you one more chance! Will you form a contract with me?”
I fell into thought.
Should I contract this guy who clearly didn’t get along with Rai and whose personality seemed as bad as my own? Or refuse and lose the chance to ever contract an electric spirit?
If only the spirit stone had survived, I wouldn’t be this conflicted.
“Fine. But I have conditions.”
“Conditions? What conditions does a mere summoner dare to impose? You should be grateful a spirit is even willing to contract with you! Such a thing has never happened in the entire history of spirit contracts!”
“Then there’s no helping it. Negotiations are off. Safe travels.”
To send a spirit away, all I had to do was reduce the flow of mana—like turning off a faucet.
“W-wait! Very well! I shall at least hear your conditions!”