Chapter 6

---

Last night, I slept soundly, so I feel good this morning. I even made it to school on time with plenty of time to spare.

"Good morning."

"Kiryu, good morning."

"Good morning, Kousuke!"

The two people I just greeted are external students like me, and we naturally became friends.

The cool intellectual with glasses is Ishida Seikou. The almost delinquent with dyed hair is Takigawa Shou.

I was worried about how things would go on the first day of school, but I'm really grateful to have made friends like these.

"Is Mizuhara-san okay?"

"Sure, she'll probably find it soon."

After finishing our greetings, I noticed that one corner of the classroom was noisy.

"Hey, why is it so noisy over there?"

"Ah, it seems that Mizuhara-san let her cat escape and is feeling down."

When I looked over, I saw the class representative, who was more depressed than ever. Her name is Mizuhara Mizuha, with long black hair, an excellent figure, and a stunning appearance, making her the most beautiful girl in the class.

Perhaps because she is popular with both boys and girls, a crowd of classmates concerned about the class representative has gathered.

I want to help find the cat if I can.

The first person to talk to me in this class was the class representative, and that helped me get used to the class. So, I feel a bit grateful to her.

"But, it's a stray cat... I have no idea where it could be."

I'll let her know if I find it.

With that thought, I started studying as usual.

---

On the way home, I used the enhanced hearing and vision that God gave me to search for Mizuhara-san's cat while walking home. The cat is said to have golden fur.

It should be easy to spot, but I can't seem to find it.

"Huh? What's that?"

Looking up at the sky, I saw a strange bird? It was blue and looked somewhat artificial. And if you looked closely, you could see a thin thread connected to it.

Is it a new remote control? No...

"The medium is paper or a shikigami. From the spell, it seems to be just for reconnaissance and has no combat ability. The thread allows the caster to share vision and hearing... Huh?"

Why do I know this? I've never seen it before, but I can somehow understand the mechanism and how it's made.

"Could it be..."

I remembered God's words.

"I'll also raise your ability to learn skills. That way, you should be able to learn any magic or martial arts just by seeing them once."

Is this for real? I can learn skills I've just learned about, let alone even know exist?

"If that's the case, can I do something like that shikigami spell?"

I decided to try it later and observed the shikigami a bit more.

I felt like our eyes met for a moment, but maybe it was just my imagination.

Since there's no sign of the cat, I'll cut my detour short and head home.

---

"There's no way I can see a shikigami... I was just looking up at the sky, right?"

Mizuhara Mizuha, the caster, muttered to herself, thinking about the scene she saw through the shikigami.

She felt like she made eye contact with her classmate, Kiryu Kousuke, through the shikigami while operating it to search for the missing cat.

However, that's impossible. The shikigami is designed with a special spell to prevent it from being seen, even by someone with a bit of spiritual sensitivity.

"Still, it doesn't seem to be here. I hope it hasn't been involved in some incident..."

Thinking about the missing cat, Mizuhara sent the shikigami to another area.

---

"I'm home!"

"Welcome back."

In response to my words, a black cat came to greet me at the entrance.

After all, it's more relaxing to have someone around. The house is too big for a single person to live in.

"Oh, Orb isn't here."

"They're all in the yard. They said it's fine as long as they can stay within the property."

I had asked the black cat to deal with the orbs (white balls of light) inside the house. It seems the orbs can communicate, and the black cat persuaded them to go outside.

The property is surrounded by a wall about the height of a person, and there's a small yard at the back. There used to be a small garden, but now there's just one apple tree and some overgrown weeds. So, the orbs are in the yard, right?

"Wow..."

When I looked closely, I could see orbs of light flying around the yard. It looks like snow is falling, which is beautiful but a bit scary.

Well, it's better than having them inside. This way, I can sleep soundly and focus on my hobbies and studies.

"Alright. There's time before dinner, so I'll try making something."

I found some unused washi paper in the shed, cut it into the shape of a bird, and carved a spell with a pen.

"What are you doing?"

"I found a shikigami on my way back, so I thought I'd try making one."

"Can you make a shikigami just by seeing it?"

"Probably."

There, it's done. Now, I just need to channel some kind of miracle energy to complete it, right?

"Hmm, not bad, you've drawn a pretty clean spell."

"Do you understand it?"

"Yeah, it's a familiar spell. However, I can't sense any spiritual energy from you. You probably won't be able to activate that shikigami."

"Spiritual energy?"

"Yes. Generally speaking, it's life force. It's also called demon power or magic power. It's a special force mainly produced by the soul that can interfere with events in this world."

I see, so the miracle energy I felt when I saw the shikigami was this spiritual energy.

Wait, what?

"Do I not have spiritual energy... life force!?"

"Sorry, my explanation was poor. You just don't have any excess spiritual energy leaking from your body. I can't sense your internal spiritual energy, but since you're alive, you must be generating the necessary amount for life functions. It's likely that the production and consumption are balanced, so you don't have any excess."

I panicked. After all, I died once. I thought maybe I was still dead without realizing it.

"However, to use spells like shikigami, you need to use excess spiritual energy. Without it, you can't use any spells, including shikigami."

"Really...?"

That's quite a shock. I wanted to try summoning a shikigami.

...No, I won't know unless I try!

"Shikigami summoning!"

I placed my hand on the washi paper and channeled what felt like spiritual energy. The paper bird gradually took on a three-dimensional shape, and a white crow was born.

"I did it!"

"What are you doing!?"

The black cat was furious.

"How are you feeling!? No dizziness, no wobbling, no weakness!?"

"I'm fine. I feel nothing."

What, those sound like side effects of a drug. Why is the black cat so worried?

"Using a spell without spiritual energy means using your internal spiritual energy. That means consuming the energy necessary to maintain life. If you're not careful, it could lead to death."

"Seriously...?"

Phew, I almost died again.

"However, despite using your internal spiritual energy, you don't seem to have any changes in your condition. Even a small amount should cause some symptoms or aftereffects."

"I'm not just enduring. I really feel nothing."

"Hmm..."

The black cat thought for a moment while looking at the shikigami I made.

"Can't be... No, that can't be... Hmm..."

The black cat muttered to itself.

"It seems my earlier explanation might have been wrong. You can use spells."

"Really!?"

"Yes. But if you start feeling unwell, stop immediately."

"Got it!"

Oh, I'm so happy!

As a fan of such things, I've always wanted to use miracle powers like the protagonists in famous works.

"Alright, how do I control this shikigami?"

"Yes. You should be able to control it by extending your spiritual energy like a thin thread and connecting it to the bird."

"Like this?"

I extended a thread of spiritual energy from my fingertips and attached it to the bird's tail. The bird moved as I thought.

"What can this thing do? Spit fire or shoot lightning...?"

"It's for reconnaissance. It's the weakest type of shikigami. However, it can fly far and is quite fast."

"Wow..."

I had a vague feeling about this due to my enhanced learning ability, but it's really a weak shikigami.

"However, you can share senses and see things from a distance."

"Sharing senses is amazing, but it seems like a drone... But it's enough. I'll try it out."

"Wait. Before you send it far, give it a command in case the connection is lost."

"Command?"

"If the connection is lost due to some influence, it will just become a motionless white bird. So, give it a command like 'return if the connection is lost.'"

"I see..."

That's convenient. I followed the black cat's advice and gave the command, "Return if the connection is lost."

While I was at it, I also gave the command, "If attacked, counterattack without killing."

"That command might be useless. This type of shikigami is really weak. A wild crow might be stronger."

"Seriously...?"

Well, it's fine. I won't have any opportunities to fight.

"Alright, fly!"

The white crow flapped its wings and flew away energetically.