Chapter 46

"――――Huh!?"

I sit up with a jolt.

After three seconds, I realize I’m in the inn at Badegold.

What happened to me?

“Master~!”

Terra clings to me.

Ah, that’s right. I...

“Terra... I’m sorry, it’s all my fault.”

I dragged you into this.

Master and spirit, one and the same. Terra, who had to follow my foolishness, almost died. Even though you tried so hard to stop me, I couldn’t.

When I came up with the idea to conquer the Prolin Dungeon, I thought it was the best plan ever and got carried away. But in reality, it was just a pipe dream, an impossible idea. I was swayed by the immediate reward and almost lost everything.

“Please don’t apologize, Master. I should have given better advice earlier…”

Terra says this. I jump out of bed without thinking.

“No! It’s not your fault! Everything was my doing, and you did nothing wrong!”

As I shout, I suddenly feel a strange sensation.

Wait, my body feels light? And my skirt...

“No, I knew it... Master has feelings for Second-san.”

“What did you say!?"

Feelings!? Me!? For him!? No way!

“That’s the best proof, seeing your face turn red~”

“No, that’s not it! It’s impossible!”

“Then why did you do something so reckless? Why try to conquer Prolin? Why come to this town together~?”

“I, I...”

I’m at a loss for words. Why...? Huh? Why did I do that...?

“That’s what it means to have feelings, Master.”

Feelings? Is this it? Wanting to be acknowledged, wanting to be seen, and wanting to talk more... is that what feelings are?

...

...I see... This is what it means to like someone.

“I should have pointed it out earlier. Then Master wouldn’t have almost died~... and wouldn’t have been so embarrassed~...”

...

...Huh?

“Huh? Wait a minute. Huh? Embarrassed?”

Indeed, I was saved by Second. Yes, it was embarrassing. But it’s not something that needs to be specifically mentioned. After apologizing, if it’s convenient, maybe, if it’s okay, that is...

No, that’s not it. I shouldn’t be thinking about becoming friends or anything more.

...But that was really cool, wasn’t it? The seven-colored aura, the teleportation, the sword skills that no spirit mage should have, it was electrifying. Appearing so gallantly in a crisis and defeating an unbeatable enemy... Well, well? It’s hard not to fall for that, right?

No, no, no! Not that!

“What do you mean by ‘embarrassed’...?”

I had a bad feeling. The strange sensation I felt, could it be...

“Master was found unconscious with a nosebleed, and Second-san helped you. After giving you a potion, you instantly recovered, and he carried you back here~”

A potion, huh? A high-level instant recovery potion to treat that condition must have been quite expensive. I should return it with a thank-you note. But a nosebleed... that’s a bit embarrassing. Oh, my clothes are quite dirty—

...

Huh...? Was I wearing this skirt?

“Actually, Master, you had an accident~... Hehe!”

“...”

Did I hear that right?

“...Terra? What did you just say?”

“You had an accident~!”

F*ck!!!!!!!

＊ ＊ ＊

“Um, that, uh...!”

At dawn. Woken by loud knocking, I opened the door to find Sherry standing there, her face bright red and acting very suspiciously.

“What?”

I say with a sleepy, half-open eye, feeling a bit irritable due to yesterday’s events.

“H-here...!”

She thrusts something at me roughly. It’s a letter.

“S-sorry! And thank you! See you again, okay!?”

Sherry, with smoke coming out of her head and her eyes spinning, leaves in a stiff, tin-man-like manner, her curls bouncing.

“Second, I’ll never forget this kindness. Please tell the Great King~”

Terra smiles and bows deeply before following Sherry.

...What was that all about?

After their sudden farewell, I read the letter. It’s a long letter about “apologies, gratitude, and wanting to meet again.” I feel like I already heard all of this. It’s quite anticlimactic.

Sherry, the usually aloof and proud young lady, wrote a surprisingly sincere letter, which makes me tilt my head in confusion. I go back to bed.

“Strategy meeting!”

“Yay!”

During lunch, we hold our usual meeting to decide on future plans. I call it a “strategy meeting” just to make Eco, who loves strategies, happy.

By the way, Sherry seems to have returned to Renyado. The inn’s receptionist gave me a bag of gold coins from her, about 2 million CL. She said it was for the trouble I caused. She’s surprisingly considerate.

Hmm... It feels both peaceful and a bit lonely without the noise. Well, she said we’d meet again, so we probably will. I can tolerate her noise better now.

Alright, let’s get back to the meeting.

“First, Sylvia. I’ll give you your future plan.”

“Alright, I’m ready.”

Sylvia, who has been growing rapidly, is very enthusiastic about her development. She has all her archery skills at high levels, all her magic skills at high levels, and is close to high levels in magic archery. If she continues, she’ll be at all level 9s soon.

By the way, the magic archery skill has two additional attack skills besides “Composite”: “Synergy” and “Charge.” Both are necessary for a magic archer.

“Sylvia, aim for level 9 in all skills. Learn Synergy and Charge in magic archery. If you have time, learn Dragon Horse Archery and Dragon King Archery.”

“Wait, didn’t Second say Dragon Horse and Dragon King were garbage skills?”

“Yes. They’re hard to use, consume a lot, and require a lot of experience. But they have high damage. Plus, you need all skills at level 9 to get the title.”

“Hmm, for the title... for the title!?”

Ah, a rare reaction.

“Who for!?”

“You.”

“You!?”

“The ultimate goal is to get the archery title.”

“The archery title...”

I’ll probably take it from you eventually.

“Alright, that’s it. Next, Eco Eco~”

“Sure!”

I leave the stunned Sylvia and give Eco her plan.

“Eco, first, learn Dragon Horse Shield. Once you get it, level it up to level 1. Then learn healing magic. If you have time, learn all the shield skills and aim for the title.”

“Got it!”

“...I guess you understood, even though I’m not sure if you really did.”

I stroke Eco’s chin and close her open mouth. Does she really understand?

“Lastly, Yuki.”

“Yes, Master.”

When I call Yuki, she responds eagerly and quietly approaches. A bit scary.

“Aah... Yuki, level up to level 9 in blacksmithing. Then learn and level up to level 9 in enchantment magic.”

“Enchantment magic?”

“Yes. It’s a skill to add special effects to equipment. Once you get it to level 9, it will be amazing.”

“Amazing...”

Yuki’s eyes shine brightly as she nods, “Understood, I’ll do my best.” I might be relying on her too much, but if she’s this enthusiastic, it should be fine.

“By the way, what’s your plan, Master?”

A sudden question. Right, I should share my plans too.

“My first priority is to learn Dragon King Sword. Second, level up Spirit Possession to a high level. Third, learn Transformation. Fourth... I’ll tell you when the time comes. Fifth, learn the Fourth Form from Mine. Sixth, learn the Fifth Form. Seventh, get the sword title.”

“...Wait a minute. There are too many points to comment on.”

“Transformation?”

“Your plans are too specific and scary...”

Learning “Transformation” requires completing a somewhat troublesome quest. But compared to Dragon Horse and Dragon King, it’s a bit easier.

“Transformation” is a buff skill like “Spirit Possession.” It temporarily boosts your stats significantly. Once I learn it, my “preparations” will be complete. Preparations for the “fourth goal.”

“Anyway, we’ll grind experience in Prolin and make a fortune with mithril. We’ll be going back and forth between Prolin and the inn for about two months, so count on it.”

Everyone nods in agreement.

Poor mithril golems, they’re about to be hunted in large numbers. Are you okay with that?

“Still, making a fortune on the side is so typical of Second.”

“He’ll probably buy a mansion worth billions of CL with this. ‘On the side.’”

“Let’s do it! Yeah!”

Everyone responds to Eco’s sudden cheer, and our First Test rally ends.

＊ ＊ ＊

Outside the inn. Two shadows are secretly observing Second and the others from a distance.

Sherry Rambajack, the 16-year-old genius spirit mage and daughter of a count, and her spirit.

Sherry is still blushing slightly as she watches Second from a distance. She’s been observing for about an hour since he started eating downstairs. This is what people call stalking.

“Master, someone is approaching~”

“Huh?”

Her earth spirit, Terra, alerts her to someone approaching.

“E-excuse me! Are you Sherry Rambajack!?”

A tall man with reddish-brown long hair approaches, trying to appear humble.

“What? How rude. Who are you?”

Sherry, as usual, speaks harshly and glares at the man. He steps back, bows, and speaks.

“S-sorry! I’m a big fan of Sherry! My name is Seram. I’m a 19-year-old spirit mage, still in training, rank C!”

Seram, the spirit mage, is a meek and nervous person, which might make one feel good.

But not Sherry. She always expects “more” because she believes she is superior. Things like prostrating or licking shoes. But if someone actually did that, she’d yell, “That’s disgusting!” So, talking to her is already a lost cause.

“I’m busy. What do you want?”

Interrupting her (stalking) makes her more irritable. She considers ignoring him if the conversation drags on.

“I really wanted to see an earth spirit up close! Wow, it’s amazing! Compared to Nymfe, the aura is completely different!”

“Sorry, I’m an aura-less spirit, Master.”

Seram has summoned his spirit, Nymfe.

Sherry decides to ignore him and gives a “leave it to you” look to Terra.

“Oh, are you a wind spirit~”

“Yes. I’m a wind spirit, Nymfe. It’s an honor to meet you, Nymfe Des.”

“Nice to meet you too~”

Nymfe and Terra hit it off and start chatting about spirits.

Seram, ignored by Sherry and unable to join the spirit talk, is flustered.

“By the way, I met the Great King last night.”

“T-the Great King!?”

Nymfe’s loud response to Terra’s casual comment gives Seram a chance to join the conversation.

“The Great King! You mean the Great King of Spirits!?”

He shows great interest.

“Yes. The Great King Angolmois... the pinnacle of the spirit world. A scary person.”

“I’ve never met him. He’s like a god to a spirit like me.”

“S-such a powerful spirit! Where is he!?”

“He’s being served by Second. Look, right there—”

“Huh!?”

Sherry, who was pretending to ignore them, was listening. The Great King Angolmois, the pinnacle of the spirit world, how did Terra meet him? And then, Second’s name came up.

“...T-Terra? Why didn’t you tell me? That Second has such an incredible spirit... That...”

What was the point of boasting about being an earth spirit... Sherry trembles, her ears turning red. It’s a good thing it was Second; if someone else had the Great King, she might have gone crazy with jealousy, but in a different way.

“I forgot~”

“You didn’t forget! It’s super important!”

“Sorry, Master~”

“Sigh... Whatever. Forget it...”

A spirit mage who serves the Great King. Sherry realizes she can’t compete. Of course, she’s a bit jealous. But more importantly, she’s happy. It’s a joy to see the person she admires being strong.

“...Huh? Where did that weird long-haired guy go?”

“He’s over there~”

“Eek!”

Seram, a spirit enthusiast, is walking towards the inn’s first-floor tavern with Nymfe, probably to see the Great King.

“N-no, we have to run, Terra!”

Sherry, worried about being caught by Second, decides to flee Badegold.

“Yes, Master~”

Terra follows, smiling happily.

Thank you for reading.