Chapter 42

Sapporo's Maruyama Park was filled with a throng of people.

The cherry blossom season in Hokkaido coincides with the Golden Week in May, so during this period, Maruyama Park is incredibly bustling.

In one corner of the park, two girls were having a serious conversation.

"Juna, thank you so much for helping me!"

"It's no problem at all. Since you're my best friend, it's only natural to help you."

The name of the blonde girl expressing her gratitude to her companion was 'Owl.' She was a girl studying in a Japanese middle school as an exchange student from England.

The name of the black-haired girl talking to Owl was 'Mizukami Juna.' She was the younger sister of Mizukami Junna and the only spirit mage in the Mizukami family.

"Right, we just need to find the 'Fairy Seed' that was stolen from the group Owl belongs to, the 'Twilight and Dawn Corps,' and the thief who stole it, right?"

"That's right. Gran and Sunda have already found them, so they must be here!"

When Owl said this, two orbs of light appeared above her head.

The brown glowing orb was the earth fairy 'Gran.' The yellow glowing orb was the lightning fairy 'Sunda.' Both were fairies that Owl could command.

"By the way, Gran and Sunda remember the presence of the 'Fairy Seed,' right?"

"That's right. They often played in the church where the 'Fairy Seed' was placed, so they remember it."

The unique presence emitted by the 'Fairy Seed' can only be sensed by fairies. Therefore, Owl could identify that the thief who stole the 'Fairy Seed' was present in the area.

"If the 'Fairy Seed' is nearby, my 'Dine' should be able to sense some changes. To improve efficiency, let's split up and search."

"Got it! Thank you so much!"

"Don't worry about it. Let's quickly find the thief."

"Okay, let's do it!"

After exchanging words, the two girls disappeared into the crowd to search for the thief who stole the 'Fairy Seed.'

◇

"My crepe!"

"Yeaahh!"

"Here, here! Eat, eat!"

Tourists having their crepes stolen by crows, young people singing and dancing, and middle-aged men enjoying barbecues with smoke rising as if there were a fire... This was the chaotic scene of the cherry blossom viewing at Maruyama Park, which I had never seen before.

"It's a bit scary, let's hurry and move on."

Walking through this chaotic zone towards the shrine, one can reach the food stall area and the cherry blossom viewing area.

The number of crows flying around looking for food is impressive, but the cherry blossoms are very beautiful.

"Indeed, they are in full bloom."

This year, the full bloom of the cherry blossoms coincided perfectly with the Golden Week.

"Look, Rin, take a look."

"Uh! French fries! Crepe! Takoyaki!"

Unfortunately, the cherry blossoms did not catch Rin's attention. She was completely focused on the food at the food stalls.

"Kaa-kaa"

"Ho, Shiro is aiming for the sweet potato. I want to try kebabs."

"Ha! There's a lottery stand with the latest PlayStation model!"

In my head, the cheerful voices of Shiro, Kuro, and Nia echoed.

Today's cherry blossom viewing is not just for me alone.

The group consists of me, Kuro, Shiro, Rin, Nia, and—

"Wow! So many people! I want to eat a candy apple!"

—six members, including the noisy blonde fairy.

Rin, with her long white hair, is walking next to me, hiding her hair under a hat while holding my hand.

Shiro is flying high above us, waiting, Kuro is inside the eco-bag I'm carrying on my shoulder, and Nia is in my chest pocket.

"The bag is a bit stuffy."

"I'm sorry, but you'll have to bear with it. It's difficult to walk together in this crowd, right?"

"True, I guess."

"The top of your head is comfortable!"

Kuro and I were talking, and the fairy interrupted.

The fairy is clinging to my hair and sitting on top of my head. Since ordinary people can't see fairies, I placed them in this position.

"Still, I didn't know spirit threads could be used like this. It's convenient."

The reason we can communicate in this crowd is due to the effect of spirit threads.

By connecting spirit threads, we can communicate without speaking.

Currently, everyone is connected to me via spirit threads, so we can all communicate even in this crowded place. It's a very useful function.

"Against weaker opponents, we can bind them with spirit threads. There's also an advanced technique to connect spirit threads to other people's familiars and take control of them."

"Wow, spirit threads can do so much. Wait! If control can be taken, Shiro and Rin could be controlled too!?"

That would be very problematic. If Rin's cheat slash attack were used against us, we'd be in trouble without a 'substitute talisman.'

Moreover, I can't attack Shiro and Rin even if they become enemies.

"Don't worry, it's almost impossible for that to happen. The technique to take control is a high-level skill that is theoretically possible but has never been seen in practice. Besides, Shiro and Rin have established their own will. It's impossible to control them, unlike familiars without will."

"Is that so? Don't scare me like that..."

I was really surprised.

Alright, let's get back to enjoying the cherry blossom viewing.

"By the way, the allowance is 500 yen per person. Think carefully about what you want to buy."

The spending limit for this outing is 500 yen per person.

500 yen is a small amount that can quickly be spent at food stalls. However, it's too much to ask for more.

For six people, including me, the total cost would be 3,000 yen, which is not easy for a high school student's budget.

"Candy apple and one skewer of yakitori... Maybe strawberry candy and the rest for French fries?"

"French fries! I want to buy them!"

"Ah, sharing is also an option! If Rin gives me some French fries, I'll give you my candy apple!"

"Candy apple!"

The fairy is playing with my hair while thinking about how to spend 500 yen with Rin.

"You've really gotten used to things in just one day."

"Kuro, did you dislike it?"

I replied in a low voice to Kuro's murmur.

The fairies are talking with Rin and don't seem to notice our conversation.

"I didn't dislike it. In fact, it's not bad to have a lively atmosphere."

"Hehe, I feel the same way."

Yesterday, I thought about releasing the newly born fairies into the forest but couldn't do it.

It seems that fairies are bound to me by a special contract from the moment they are born, and they naturally return no matter how far they go.

In the end, Kuro and everyone else accepted the fairies, and they became part of the family.

At this point, adding one more person doesn't matter much.

"Alright, let's start with a crepe stand... Oh, sorry."

Just as I was about to start exploring the food stalls, I bumped into a blonde girl.

Is she a foreigner? She has a very cute and doll-like face.

"No, it's my fault...!!?"

The moment she saw my face, the girl's expression changed to one of shock. She was looking at my head... not good!

"Fairy!"

"Okay! I was going to get a candy apple... What's wrong, Master?"

"Disappear! She can probably see you!"

Normally, fairies are invisible. However, people with special talents, such as spiritual sensitivity, can sometimes see them.

The girl in front of me must have such a talent.

"Ah, really. She's staring at me. Got it, I'll disappear."

The fairy turned into a spirit and completely disappeared.

The girl looked confused when the fairy suddenly vanished.

"Is something wrong?"

"N-no, nothing at all!"

I managed to cover it up... I hope.

I hope she thinks it was an illusion.

"Alright, then."

To avoid further questioning, I quickly left the scene.

◇

"Pressure comparable to the five great spirits... What was that just now...?"

Under a cherry tree after leaving the crowd, Owl wiped the sweat from her forehead and muttered to herself.

She recalled the scene she had just witnessed and shuddered again.

"Since it had a human form, it must be a higher-level fairy, a spirit. However, Gran and Sunda said they felt the same presence from this spirit as from the 'Fairy Seed'..."

A 'Fairy Seed' is the seed that creates fairies, and a 'fairy' cannot become a 'spirit' without a long period of time and a vast amount of magic.

Therefore, the spirit Owl saw could not have been born from the stolen 'Fairy Seed.'

However, the fairies said they felt the same presence from the spirit as from the stolen 'Fairy Seed.'

Owl was troubled by this contradiction.

"Anyway, I need to be careful about that person."

Even if they are not the thief who stole the 'Fairy Seed,' the fact that such a powerful spirit favors them means they are not ordinary.

Owl thought this and took a pinch of gold sand from her pocket.

"Familiar Summoning"

When Owl said this, the gold sand transformed into a small gold beetle.

"Go to the person we just met."

When Owl gave the order, the gold beetle flew in the direction of the young man they had just met.

"I need to meet up with Juna quickly."

The gold beetle, which had disappeared into the crowd, was connected to Owl herself via a magic thread.

Owl confirmed the beetle's view through the magic thread and stood up to meet Juna.

I won't let you down, until the end.