Chapter 45

Hyahhoo!

"......So, I don't know anything about this 'Fairy Seed' or that I attacked you guys in the park."

After introducing ourselves to each other, my claim of innocence finally came to an end.

Now, we are at a café next to the ticket gate of Subway Main Street Station. We decided to come here to find a place where we could talk quietly, rather than standing and talking.

"That's right! I was all jittery, thinking you might confess! I definitely didn't go to the park where you were called by the letter!"

"U, Ul! Don't say unnecessary things!"

I thought I might be confessed to, but I wasn't that jittery. This chatty fairy, no dessert for you today.

"Sand also says that you don't seem to be lying."

"Then, it seems that the person who attacked you in the park is someone else."

Oh! Thanks to the proper explanation, it seems they finally believe me.

"I am truly sorry!"

"I am truly sorry!"

And so, the apology festival began.

Two girls bowing their heads with great momentum and a high school boy being bowed to. No one is watching, but this is quite a scene.

"If you understand, it's fine. So, please lift your heads."

"No, I almost caused you a serious injury due to a misunderstanding. Please let me apologize."

"That's right. This is our responsibility, and we want to properly apologize."

"Apologize...?"

Ah! If that's the case, how about using this opportunity to learn about magic and fairies? It's not something I can easily investigate.

"Then, would it be okay to learn various things as an apology? About fairies, this barrier magic, and so on. As a freelance magician, I don't often get the chance to talk with other magicians."

I had heard from Kuro before that there are freelance magicians who don't belong to any organization. So, I used that as an excuse this time.

Actually, I don't belong to any organization, so it's not a lie.

"It's fine. First, let me explain the barrier. This 'Mist Illusion Barrier' is a barrier with the power to avoid people and conceal. So, if used locally, it can do this. The voices inside don't leak out, so you can talk freely."

While looking at the mist-like barrier set up in a corner of the café, Jyunna, the class president, explained.

This barrier is the 'Mist Illusion Barrier' used in the battle on the main street earlier, and it seems to be a pretty powerful barrier that Jyunna can use.

When set up to surround only the seat, it can create a space like a private room. It's convenient; I'll try it when I study next time.

"Next, about spirit magicians... Kousuke, you're a spirit magician, right?"

"Probably, but I met Ul only the day before yesterday, so I don't really understand what spirit magic is."

"The day before yesterday!?"

"Then, you just made a contract with that spirit the day before yesterday!?"

"More or less, yeah."

I just made the contract properly a little while ago.

"Wow. To be able to use such a variety of spells right after making a contract, I've never heard of that."

"Beautiful barriers and stone golems I've never seen before, and the spell that controlled the 'Golden Giant' was amazing too!"

It's more like a stone pavement puppet created by a special ability, and the one who controlled the golden giant was Nia, but they seem to have mistaken it for a spell.

Talking about Nia would complicate things, and Kuro told me to keep quiet about the fact that I can use both 'spells' and 'special abilities', so I'll go along with this.

"But the power is too high, and I can't control it well yet."

"That's understandable. Spirit magic uses the magic power that exists in nature, so the power and scale are larger."

"If you have such a powerful spirit, it must be quite difficult to control."

"Powerful spirit?"

I look at Ul, who is playing with the three-colored light orbs.

The light orbs seem to be unable to resist Ul and are being massaged on her shoulders and limbs.

"Master, what's wrong?"

"No, nothing. And stop using those light orbs as your servants."

"Okay."

Is this chatty fairy really powerful? Did I hear wrong?

While thinking about this and looking at the two, they were gaping in shock.

"Is something wrong?"

"No, you really did make a contract with that spirit."

"Oh, I'm surprised. A spirit magician who can talk to such a powerful spirit on equal terms, I've never seen one before. That's amazing."

They were surprised that I could talk to Ul on equal terms.

I don't think I need to show respect to such a chatty fairy...

"Master, are you thinking something rude?"

"No, I just thought Ul is an excellent fairy."

Fairy, indeed. Quite sharp.

"By the way, what's the difference between a 'fairy' and a 'spirit'? I don't even know that..."

I call Ul a fairy, but the two call her a spirit. I suddenly noticed this discrepancy in our casual conversation.

"Fairies and spirits are simply of different ranks. It is said that fairies, after a long period of time, ascend to spirits, and after an even longer period, they ascend to great spirits."

"To distinguish, fairies like Gran and Sand, and Dine, who are contracted to us, appear as light orbs. If they have a clear form like a human or animal, they are considered spirits. Most spirit magicians are contracted to fairies, and those contracted to spirits are very rare."

"I see."

So, Ul is a 'spirit' and not a 'fairy'. I didn't know that.

"More than that, it's beyond rare to have a contract with such a powerful spirit. Where did you meet Ul?"

"Where? I guess it was in my garden, where she was born."

"Born? What do you mean?"

The two tilted their heads and asked back.

"I was given a seed about the size of a child's fist by someone I didn't know, and when I touched it, Ul was born."

"Born from a seed!?"

"Y-Yeah."

Is that so rare? Well, spirits themselves are rare.

"That's... "

"Probably, there's no mistake..."

After looking at each other, they looked at me. What's going on?

"Kusunoki, the seed from which Ul was born... "

"Is the 'Fairy Seed' we are looking for."

"...What?"

Upon hearing this, the characteristics of the mysterious seed from which Ul was born and the 'Fairy Seed' matched perfectly.

The 'Fairy Seed' means a seed from which a fairy is born, I see.

"So, the 'Fairy Seed' no longer exists..."

Upon hearing more, the 'Fairy Seed' was a treasure of the magic organization that Aul belongs to, and it was of immeasurable value.

"Seriously...?"

I glance at Ul, who is enjoying drawing with the water droplets on the glass cup.

"Master, what's wrong?"

"No, you're surprisingly good at drawing. Is that Nia?"

"Yep! Hehe, it's pretty similar, right!"

Yeah, it's similar...! No, that's not the point! I momentarily escaped reality.

After that, Aul... no, Aul-san, apologized profusely, and I was forgiven on the condition that I would regularly report on Ul's condition. It seems that the case of a 'spirit' being born from a 'Fairy Seed' is unprecedented, and they want to know the subsequent developments.

If I can be forgiven for that, I'll report as much as I can. Phew, it's really a relief... I was worried about being asked for an astronomical amount of compensation.

"The real culprit who stole the 'Fairy Seed' hasn't been caught yet. The trap that made us quarrel this time was probably set by the criminals."

"There is a possibility that Kusunoki will be targeted again. Please be careful."

"Got it, I'll be careful."

After that, we exchanged contact information with the two to keep them informed about Ul's condition.

"Master, your mustache is growing~"

"It's not growing!"

I'm just a little happy that I exchanged contact information with two beautiful girls. I definitely didn't mean to grow a mustache.

No dessert for Ul tomorrow.

"We might still have clues left, so we'll go and check."

"Let us know if you find anything!"

With that, the two left. They plan to continue searching for the criminals and re-examine the designated park and escape routes.

"See you again!"

"Because the middle school and high school buildings are separate, the probability of meeting is low."

"True. Well, if we have a connection, we'll meet again."

With such casual conversation, I, Ul, and Nia headed home.

◇

"Krom, what were you doing?"

"I'm sorry. The boy that Io found was an incredible spirit magician, and there was no chance to intervene in the battle."

In a room of a luxury hotel adjacent to Sapporo Station, Krom was bowing to Io.

"Well, it's fine. You're not a combat-oriented magician. I'll handle the rough work with Felm."

"Sorry to trouble you."

"I'll hold you accountable after the mission."

"Ah!"

Krom stepped back, trembling at Io's magic-infused angry voice.

"Alright. Krom, you will infiltrate the school and gather information. Understand?"

"Y-Yes, I understand."

"I will wait for the opportunity with Felm. Felm, understand?"

Io called out to the black-robed girl standing in the corner of the room.

"...Understood."

The black-robed girl replied with a single word and quietly sharpened her magic.

◇

The next day.

It seems there is an exchange meeting for the 'Overnight Recreation' in the gym.

I didn't know about it because I entered through external exams, but the 'Overnight Recreation' involves not only the first-year high school students but also the third-year middle school students, who are divided into groups.

It's an event where the middle school juniors deepen their relationships and spend two nights and three days together.

"Hey, they're here!"

Takigawa is looking at the entrance of the gym with excitement.

Looking at it, the middle school juniors are entering one after another.

"E-1 is here! Here, here!"

With Takigawa's shout, other groups are also calling out their group names to attract the juniors.

There are five classes from A to E in our high school, each with about 40 students. Since the group members are in groups of five, there are eight groups in each class.

By the way, we are in Group 1 of Class E, so our group name is 'E-1'.

"Wow! The middle school students are starting to move!"

As Aihara said, the middle school students also started looking for their groups.

It seems that which high school group they are assigned to is decided by a lottery, and they are moving one after another while looking at the paper from the lottery they just drew.

"Aihara is also excited."

"Of course, I'm looking forward to seeing what kind of students will come!"

Next to me, Aihara and the class president are talking happily.

Indeed, it's exciting to see what kind of students will come.

"Those two are so beautiful..."

"Cute!"

"Wow, they look like idols!"

Among them, there were two particularly eye-catching beautiful girls.

One is a beautiful girl with short blonde hair and a doll-like face. The other is a girl with black hair tied in a short ponytail. Actually, they are Aul and Jyunna.

Those two are third-year middle school students.

"A-3 is here!"

"C-5 is here!"

"D-2, over here!"

With the appearance of the two, the excitement of the high school boys increased even more.

The groups that have already found their members are calm, but the groups that haven't found them yet are desperately trying to attract the two, hoping they are in their group.

"Which group is this?"

"B-6."

"Is that so? Sorry, wrong group."

"Ah, yeah..."

As soon as they realize it's not their group, the boys start to droop. Wait, this scene seems familiar.

"Takigawa, are you not going to call out to those two?"

Seeing the two attracting all the attention, Ishida teased Takigawa.

"Of course not. We already have the most popular students in our grade, Mizukami and Aihara. It would be greedy to ask for more..."

"Wh-What?"

Takigawa's unexpected response shocked Ishida and me.

Usually, Takigawa would shout something like "Of course I'll go! Hyahhoo!" and rush over. Today, he's unusually humble.

Is this the real Takigawa!?

"Just kidding! Of course I'll go! Hyahhoo!"

He's the real deal.

"E-1 is here! E-1 group is here!"

Pushing through the crowd of boys surrounding the two, Takigawa shouted the group name and rushed over.

"Hey, he's back...!"

Seeing the scene behind the returning Takigawa, Ishida and I were even more shocked. Aul and Jyunna were following Takigawa.

"Both of you are in E-1!"

Hearing Takigawa's words, the surrounding boys who were listening in drooped their heads.

Takigawa, walking with the two beautiful girls, looked almost divine as he pushed through the drooping boys.

"Ah, big sister! And, Kusunoki!?"

"Kusunoki is also in E-1! It's nice to see someone I know!"

The two ran over to me as soon as they saw me, leaving Takigawa behind.

The surrounding boys glared at me with bloodshot eyes. It's a complete déjà vu.

"It's you, Kousuke!"

Leaving those words, Takigawa kicked my shin and ran off somewhere.

It hurts.

Despite the slow updates, thanks to everyone's support, the book has been decided for publication! Thank you so much!

I will provide more details in my activity reports.

The publication will not stop the updates on 'Narou', so I hope you will continue to read it as a way to pass the time.

Thank you for your continued support of 'Reincarnated... Not Really!'.