The Spirit's Rejection
“What the hell are you talking about!”
[You’ve been in a foul mood ever since the ice spirit rejected your contract. You’re just taking it out on me, aren’t you?]
“No, I’m not! As if I’d get irritated with you over something so trivial! I may be narrow-minded and have a terrible temper, but still!”
Tsk.
Now that I’d said it out loud, it was true.
I clicked my tongue loudly and slipped back into the water, leaning against the edge of the tub.
[The fact that you admit it so quickly is one of Master’s better qualities.]
Rai’s pinpoint accuracy made me grind my teeth. Even though the little brat usually seemed clueless, he knew me far too well.
Well, it’s not like we’ve only been together a day or two.
“You’re annoying.”
I hated to admit it, but the aftermath of being rejected by the ice spirit was worse than I’d expected.
I’d been in a constant bad mood, irritation bubbling up nonstop. It was downright unpleasant.
Until now, spirits had always obeyed me without question. It was only natural that they would follow my every whim.
But meeting one that didn’t… it had crushed my pride into dust.
I was angry precisely because I didn’t want to acknowledge that.
Overwhelmed by the urge to run away, I submerged myself completely, head and all.
I held my breath until I reached my limit. Only when Undine started swimming anxiously in front of my face did I finally lift my head above water.
“Pwah!”
[If it bothers you that much, why not try calling it again? The spirit stone is still perfectly intact.]
“……Not right now.”
If I got rejected a second time, my pride would be damaged beyond repair.
I’d never really thought of myself as someone with a particularly strong sense of pride. But that was only because I’d never experienced anything that could wound it.
After all, I’d been born a noble, hailed as a genius, and raised in comfort and peace.
Everyone around me had spoiled me rotten.
Everything had always gone my way. I’d done almost anything I wanted, and I even had a natural talent in this field. There had never been any reason for humiliation.
[There’s no need to be so heartbroken. In the end, it’s only a matter of time. Once you become an adult and put in the proper effort, Master… that fellow will surely kneel at your feet.]
I listened to Rai’s words—which I couldn’t quite tell were meant to comfort me or not—and slid back under the water.
My head understood. Things had been too easy until now.
Both Rai and Adore had practically rolled into my lap on their own.
I’d been lucky.
The only one I could truly say I’d contracted through my own skill was Undine.
Maybe that was why she was my favorite.
“Rai.”
[Yes, Master?]
I slowly lifted my face from the water and narrowed my eyes at him.
“Be honest. You would’ve contracted with anyone, wouldn’t you? It didn’t have to be me.”
[What do you mean?]
“I’m saying, if someone just happened to summon you while you were bored, you would’ve contracted with them instead.”
[How can you say something so hurtful! That’s a ridiculous thought!]
“Try getting rejected for the first time in your life. All sorts of dirty thoughts start popping up.”
[I told you before, didn’t I? We wait. Endlessly.]
“……”
[For our true master. And not everyone can become that master.]
I didn’t drop my suspicious glare.
“Then what’s with getting summoned and then rejecting them?”
[It means the wavelengths matched enough for a summoning to occur, but something was still lacking for them to become our master.
Whether we accept the imperfect parts of a potential master or wait for them to become more complete is entirely up to us.]
“Hmm?”
[It’s a question of whether we’ll accept them despite their shortcomings, or wait until they become perfect. A master’s flaws can easily lead to our destruction, after all.
Meeting an immature master puts us at that much greater risk.]
“But you and Adore didn’t care about any of that?”
Both of them had jumped straight into a contract with a kid.
[It’s a matter of personality, I suppose. Every spirit has different standards when choosing a master.]
“……Well, neither of you exactly seems deep.”
[Hey! What are you saying! We simply follow fate. We know it instinctively. If it’s Master, then surely……]
Surely?
[No! This chilling presence is……!]
“Huh? Where are you going? Rai!”
[Iruse is coming! Don’t look for me, Master!]
Rai, who had been trembling, shot away like a bullet before I could even grab him. He was so fast that I caught a fleeting white afterimage trailing behind him.
“You have to finish what you were saying! Hey! I clearly said—!”
I shouted, but Rai was already too far away to answer. That guy was getting faster and faster these days.
“That brat’s definitely going through a rebellious phase.”
Leaving right when his master is talking to him. I grumbled to myself as I climbed out of the tub.
Ever since Rai’s color had suddenly changed to white, Iruse had become absolutely convinced that he was a diamond serpent. And with that belief came an insatiable desire to study him.
One day she’d pluck out his scales, another she’d try to yank out his fangs to extract venom. There were times she’d kept him captive for hours.
Rai had reached the point where he genuinely wanted to kill her if I would only allow it.
But of course I would never permit that. Since she was my friend, he couldn’t do anything about it. Whenever Iruse caught him, all he could do was suffer.
And somehow, whenever Rai disappeared from my side, Iruse would appear.
Just like right now.
“Jeanie!”
A youthful voice called my name from outside the door, followed by the sound of enthusiastic knocking.
“Just a minute!”
Since I’d almost finished bathing anyway, I stepped out of the tub and looked at Undine.
One of the reasons I enjoyed baths so much was because of this particular skill of hers.
“Undine, dry me off.”
It was so simple it felt embarrassing to even call it a skill.
With a single wave of her hand, Undine drew every drop of water from my body.
In an instant, I was perfectly dry and fluffy.
I didn’t need a towel at all.
Not having to dry my hair after washing was fantastic, and the feeling of standing still while my body simply dried was a comfort only a water spirit master could truly appreciate.
In these small moments, I often thought that becoming a spirit master had been the right choice.
“Jeanie?”
“I’m coming out!”
At Iruse’s urging, I threw on the pajamas I’d tossed onto the bed.
It was a simple long shirt made of soft linen—one of the uniforms provided by the academy.
Whether it was thanks to the Royal Academy’s famous wealth or not, the items they issued were usually of excellent quality.
I walked to the door. It was already past dinner time, so she probably wasn’t here to eat. Maybe she wanted to play a board game?
Even though I was in my pajamas, I knew who it was, so I opened the door without a second thought.
“Iruse? What’s—”
“Huk.”
Why was Bright here? And his shadow-like best friend too.
I’d smiled a little upon seeing Iruse, but my expression hardened the moment I noticed the two tall figures standing behind her.
“What is it?”
“Ah… Hello! Jeanie, would you… like to go see the dawn market… with us?”
“The dawn market? All four of us?”
“I’d rather it was just the two of us, but… you said we should start by being friends first, so…”
So they’d come in a group.
Bright looked incredibly nervous. His face was so red it seemed like it might explode at any moment.
Was I really that great?
“More importantly, Senior, I think your nose is bleeding?”
“What?”
“Lord Bright!”
“Sorry! I must have been too nervous.”
It couldn’t be that he’d gotten a nosebleed just because I was in my pajamas, right?
A ten-year-old in pajamas causing a nosebleed… that would be mentally problematic.
Wasn’t that what people called a lolicon?
Of course, in this world, the age difference between ten and sixteen wasn’t just for dating—it was old enough to get married.
“Lord Bright, here is a handkerchief.”
The shadow-like friend who always followed Bright around was a neat, model-student type with blue hair and glasses. He looked like the perfect honor student.
He had the air of an intellectual pretty boy. Judging by his uniform, he was in the same year as Bright, yet for some reason he always spoke with perfect politeness.
“Thank you, Jaimam.”
Huh? Jaimam… wasn’t that the alchemy club senior who shared a room with Iruse?
I definitely remembered hearing that name a lot.
Wait… they were making a male senior share a room with a female junior? For a moment, I was completely confused.
As I tilted my head, Iruse smiled brightly and said,
“Jeanie. Senior Jaimam is a girl.”
“Oh, I see! A girl… wait, huh?”
With her neat bob and androgynous features, I’d naturally assumed she was a boy.
I’d been nodding along to Iruse’s words when a strange sense of dissonance hit me.
How had she known what I was thinking just now?
Was it that obvious on my face? Or had Iruse learned some kind of mind-reading technique?
“I didn’t learn mind reading, Jeanie. Hehe.”
“……Really?”
“I’m just a bit quick on the uptake, that’s all.”
This didn’t seem like something that could be explained by mere “quick uptake.”
“Let’s go out too, Jeanie! Everyone else has already left!”
“I don’t know… I’m not feeling great because of motion sickness.”
“Ehh? It’s a festival! And not just any festival—it’s the Winkan Festival! The biggest festival on the continent! It’d be a total waste not to enjoy it!”
“I know that, but…”
The truth was, I really didn’t like that very festival.
Never mind the hassle of coming all the way here because of it—I absolutely hated noisy, crowded places.
“Come on. Please?”