Spirit Mage, Ser (1)
“They should be here any moment now.”
Rubia pulled her robe tight against the chill night wind and glanced around.
“I hope this goes well…”
“I-It will… I’m sure of it…”
I tugged my own robe down over my face and squeezed Rubia’s hand.
If things get ugly, I’ll step in. Not sure those bastards’ll believe me, though.
“If Lady Cartia is willing to help… that is a relief.”
I’ve gotta suck down divine power for a while anyway. Might as well earn my keep.
“Heh heh… Thank you. But… I suppose we can no longer call Cartia a holy land.”
Holy land my ass. A bunch of pretentious pricks crawl in and just sit around jerking each other off—that’s a holy land? Well, it is a holy land of the other kind, I guess. Fucking hell.
Cartia’s scathing curse made Rubia flinch and suck in a sharp breath.
And I never asked anyone to call the place a holy land. That dirt just happened to be where I killed a dragon. I didn’t do anything special with it.
“A d-dragon…!”
Yeah, a dragon. Huge, terrifying bastard. So tell me… why the hell am I stuck looking like this when I once tore that thing’s head off?
“Ugh… I-I’m sorry.”
I carefully stroked the bracelet that Cartia had become and bowed my head.
Two days earlier.
After I drew Cartia’s greatsword, she had started traveling with us.
Some unknown seal had kept her trapped before, but the moment I pulled the blade free, the seal broke—or so she claimed.
The seal itself seemed to be ancient dragon magic. The only dragon left these days was the ancient dragon Sirinias…
Hmm… She’d been sealed for about six hundred years, so maybe other dragons had still been around back then?
Anyway.
Freed from the seal, Cartia could leave the mainland—but a new problem cropped up.
The instant she stepped beyond the mainland, she could no longer maintain the form of a greatsword…!
The most likely reason was that my rank as the sword’s new master was too low. She said once I underwent the trial and awakened a Unique Ability, it shouldn’t be an issue.
Still, just in case, I spent two days trying everything I could think of.
I secretly activated Carpeng’s Fragment without Rubia noticing, and even pressed the Tyrant’s Fragment Bishur had given me against the blade…
Nothing useful came of it.
But… if Cartia was right, shouldn’t someone of my rank not even be able to hold the sword in the first place…?
Well… whatever.
In the end, she barely managed to keep the shape of a bracelet by constantly siphoning divine power from Rubia, whose rank was higher than mine.
I could force it back into greatsword form if I wanted, but two swings would drain every drop of mana from my body… so I wasn’t exactly eager to use it.
It was ridiculously heavy, too.
Hurry up and fix this somehow. My pride can’t take it.
“Y-Yes… I-I’ll do my best.”
Don’t “do your best.” Just do it right, you little brat.
“…Nngh…”
Shut your mouth.
“Y-Yes…”
I pretended to stroke the bracelet on my wrist and gave it a few sneaky little taps.
But seriously, no matter how I look at it, I don’t get it. How the hell can a kid with barely any mana, who hasn’t even taken the trial, grab my sword?
“Our Noah is quite special, you know.”
For some reason Rubia’s shoulders rose higher than mine as she chuckled.
Hmm… True. Can’t argue with that. Now that we’re linked like this… I can feel something I can’t put a name to. What the hell is it? A dragon? A god?
A god? Please…
“N-No. I’m just a person.”
Doesn’t look like any ordinary human to me. Ah, screw it, I don’t know. I’ve been idle too long—my senses are completely dulled. Tch. Back in my day I was a real terror. I told you, right? In my era there were dwarves, and the elder of that clan was so—
Cartia had a habit of launching into old war stories the second she got the chance.
At first I’d listened eagerly, fascinated by a past I knew nothing about…
But she kept recycling the same tales, and I’d grown thoroughly sick of them.
Still… I tried to listen as if it were a grandmother’s reminiscing… hmm…
You listening? Huh? Everything I’m telling you is pure gold. Pay attention.
“O-Of course. I’m listening very carefully…”
I wasn’t.
I just nodded vaguely and tossed out the occasional “Ohhh…” or “Wow…”
So when Cartia reached the part of her journey’s third chapter—the story of seeing the World Tree—
“It’s been a while.”
“Ah…!”
“O-Oh. Hello. I’m glad you look well after causing such a huge incident, Lady Sirin.”
Sirin appeared with a soft pop!
Thank goodness!
Especially since chapters three and four were the boring ones…
Perfect timing!
“Mm. Rubia, you look well yourself. Something good happen?”
“Heh heh… Yes, well… it wasn’t bad.”
Rubia’s warm hand squeezed mine tightly.
“A-Ah, hello, Lady Sirin.”
“Yes, it’s been a while for you too. But… hmm? Hoo… Noah, it seems you’ve had quite an interesting time yourself.”
Hey… kid. Is that thing even human?
Cartia’s voice rang inside my head.
Huh? Of course she is…?
That’s a person? No… you crazy little brat. That’s not a person, that’s a dr—
“Mm, there are circumstances. I’d appreciate your understanding.”
Sirin’s voice, laced with a strange weight, cut Cartia off mid-sentence.
Wait, what?
Did Cartia know Sirin’s true identity?
What is it?! Tell me too!
…Can she hear us? Did that thing just hear what we said?
N-No way. You’re speaking inside my head right now, aren’t you?
Right. Only someone directly linked like you should be able to hear me… But this damn brat is seriously thinking of me as a grandma? You looking to die?
…N-No, I’m not.
H-How did she know?
Like hell you’re not… Tch, whatever. So… what the hell is that thing…
Sirin watched Cartia and me converse for a long moment, then smiled faintly and spoke.
“Cartia, I shall explain things to you separately. Wait just a little.”
“H-Huk… H-How did you know…?”
I clutched the bracelet in panic and stumbled backward.
…What the hell, this is scary as fuck…
The bracelet trembled violently.
“…You know Lady Cartia?”
Rubia swallowed hard and carefully opened her mouth.
But Sirin offered no answers to our questions. She merely wore that enigmatic smile and raised an arm.
“The day you learn everything is not far off… For now, it would be best to finish the urgent matters first.”
Then she snapped her fingers.
Hey, this… what the hell is this…
I stroked the humming, trembling bracelet as we followed Sirin ahead of us.
First-timers can get startled. I was pretty shocked myself.
No, that’s not it… Haa… Forget it.
The soft drip-drip of falling water echoed through the cave.
“Sorry about this. Transporting us straight to our lodging would have been a bit troublesome… We’re almost there, so I’d appreciate your patience.”
“Walking this much is fine. But… is the pursuit so severe that you have to hide in a cave?”
“Hmm? No, nothing like that. I simply thought living in a cave while on the run would be rather romantic. Don’t worry yourselves.”
Sirin’s light tone made Rubia’s face twist.
Mine scrunched up a little too.
Romantic…?
Well… sure, romance is important and all.
But still… still, a little… uh…
“…Wasn’t the Magic Tower Master unwell?”
“At this rate she probably won’t last half a year.”
“And yet… you stuck a patient like that in a place like this for the sake of romance?”
Rubia glared at Sirin with a frigid expression.
“Mm… You seem to regard this body as quite the vicious bitch… You’ll understand once you see. Come, let’s go in.”
Sirin gave a bitter smile and slowly spoke.
Open.
Rumble—
A vibration like the cave collapsing rolled through us, and the scenery shifted once more.
“Well then, introduce yourselves. This body has other business to attend to.”
Rumble—
“…Huh?”
Holy shit…
I had no idea what the others were seeing.
But the first thing painted in my mind was a massive fireplace crackling merrily against the wall.
“Uung…?”
A carpet that looked soft enough to sink into, and four steaming mugs sitting on a wooden dining table.
And then—
“Greetings.”
Seated in a rocking chair, knitting—
“I am Ser. I look forward to working with you for the time being.”
—Ser took shape.
“A-Ah… Hello…”
A spirit mage?
“Ahem… Hello, Magic Tower Master.”
“Ohoho… Yes. It is an honor to meet the Priestess in a private setting. Then, is that adorable young lady over there Lady Noah?”
“I-I’m not adorable… b-but… y-yes, I’m Noah…”
A voice so gentle it could put you to sleep, and a soft, unhurried way of speaking.
Her features weren’t drawn in sharp detail…
But that expression and those gestures—
They were exactly the same as the Ser I had seen in the game.
“The rumors painted you as terribly fearsome. You don’t seem that way at all. Hohoho.”
“Ugh… Th-Those are all baseless rumors…”
“Of course they are. An adorable young lady like you, a demon? Truly absurd gossip.”
Ser set aside her knitting and rose from her seat.
How could even the act of standing up from a chair look so elegant…?
“We cannot remain standing forever, so please, have a seat first.”
“Y-Yes…”
I nodded as if entranced and walked toward the sofa Ser indicated.
Hey. That woman… something’s off about her.
Huh…? In what way?
Hss… I don’t know. Just… something feels wrong. I can clearly sense spirits, but… what the hell is she?
I have no idea…
Just in case, I focused my Qi Sensing and carefully mapped Ser’s form.
The flow of her mana was a little different from an ordinary person’s… but nothing that seemed particularly strange.
Click-click—
“According to Lady Sirin, the Magic Tower Master’s condition is quite poor… but looking at you, I can’t tell.”
“Yes. It’s a disease that shows very little outwardly. I’m glad I appear fine. And please, call me Ser rather than Magic Tower Master.”
Ser answered Rubia with a faint smile and turned her face toward the table.
“I’ve taken the liberty of preparing drinks… For the Priestess, coffee—”
“Please call me Rubia as well. I don’t care for the title of Priestess…”
Ser tilted her head at Rubia’s words.
Then she smiled strangely and nodded.
“Mm… Hohoho. Understood. Lady Rubia will have coffee, and Lady Noah strawberry milk. I hope they suit your tastes.”
“S-Strawberry milk…!”
The imagined sweetness of strawberry milk quickened my steps.
As I toddled toward the table—
Crackle-crackle— the fireplace’s embers died out.
“Ah, it has gone out again. I shall handle it. Please make yourselves comfortable.”
Ser patted the sofa’s backrest and approached the fireplace.
And then—
Oh. You seeing this, kid? She’s summoning a spirit.
I’m blind, so no.
…Sorry.
Hehe… Just kidding. Hmm… but something weird is taking shape. Is that… a spirit?
Rubia, clicking closer, was also watching Ser with open curiosity.
“R-Rubia… She’s summoning a spirit…!”
“So it seems. Quite… dreamlike.”
Whoa… First time I’ve seen this in almost eight hundred years. Brings back memories.
While the three of us gawked and made a fuss—
Ser stretched out her arm, and a tiny spirit formed in her hand.
“My, how adorable. Ufufufu… Is it a sparrow?”
A low-rank spirit. But why does it look so terrified…
Rubia smiled fondly.
Cartia’s words trailed off—
And in that instant—
—Kyaaaaaaaaaah!
Ser brutally clenched her fist around the spirit—
Pwah!
—and crushed it.
“…Huh?”
…What the fuck.
Crackle-crackle—
Sparks scattering through the air reignited the fireplace logs.
Sizzle—
The heat that burst forth scorched Ser’s hand.
And then, once more—
A water spirit formed over her burned hand.
—Kieeek… kiiik…
Splash—!
It burst.
Thick droplets of water healed Ser’s burns as they scattered into the air.
Ser examined her hand for a moment, then—
“The firewood was not fully dried, so it is not ideal for kindling. Please bear with me a little.”
—looked at us with elegant poise and smiled.
Oh, fucking hell. That bitch is not your average lunatic.