Chapter 58

Schnell invited Arjitt and Endelia to his room, saying he had something to show them. He took out a shirt from the pile of luggage left lying around.

"This is the result of the protective stitching I commissioned, using most of the money I had saved up before coming to this country."

Red threads were crudely sewn over the chest pocket.

"Wow."

"This is what came back after they charged extra for the spirit's power being imbued."

"Wait a minute, this is sewn on the back too? You can't even wear it!"

"Even if I could, I wouldn't wear such a filthy thing!"

Schnell gritted his teeth and pinched it with his fingertips.

"What do you mean 'imbued with the spirit's power!' It's the power of a stolen spirit!"

"Schnell, can you tell the difference in the types of spirit power?"

"To be honest, I only approached you because I recognized the work of the same person who made this."

"The previous head of the Nier family?"

"No, the current... Wait, was he dismissed? Is he the one who made the clothes you're wearing now?"

Schnell smiled and clapped his hands.

"Serves him right! That damn bastard! We should raise a toast!"

Arjitt hurriedly stopped Schnell, who was eagerly fetching a decent honey wine from a locked storage box under the bed.

"Schnell, don't forget about us."

"Oh, sorry, sorry, I got carried away. ...Right, right, Arjitt, you're clearly a noble, and a high-ranking one at that. So, is it a family rule that you can only wear Nier family clothes? But, why doesn't it have the stolen power like mine?"

He placed the wine on the table regretfully and arranged two chairs in front of the bed. Schnell sat on the bed and gestured for the two to sit on the chairs.

"Just to confirm, Arjitt... can you see spirits?"

"Yeah."

"I can see them too, if I concentrate."

Squinting, Schnell stared intently at the spirit by his side. His gaze grew more intense, but his expression remained soft.

"I see, she changes her color to make it easier for you to see her."

"Change color?"

At Endelia's question, Arjitt nodded.

"The first time I met her, I thought she was a high-level fire and wind spirit. But the next time, she was earth and wind."

"Yeah, you had a strange look on your face."

"And the colors of the attributes other than wind gradually faded. I saw her exchange power with a nearby spirit, which was water at the time, and now it's green."

"Right. I can't retain the power of attributes other than my original ones for long. The protective stitching thread is special."

Schnell's voice carried a hint of envy.

"But if it's stolen power, it had to be sewn in before the power was taken away, right?"

He imagined a scene where spirits were waiting in line to give their power to Yui, but that was a phenomenon that should only occur with the progenitor. Spirits wouldn't approach spiders other than the progenitor.

The man must have made the spirit-imbued protective stitching thread by feeding the stolen power to the spider. However, the spirit's power had faded over time. The man might not have even noticed. The high price of the commission and the fact that he did all the sewing himself might have lowered its value.

"......I see."

"Or perhaps, out of fear that the magic eye could distinguish the type of spirit power, he refrained from using it."

Endelia's words made him think that this possibility was also high, but he shook his head.

That man was a greedy and foolish person who only thought about the immediate future. Even with the shoddy work he did on the shirt he gave Schnell, he shamelessly charged extra. Such a worthless piece of work, and he was still able to retain stolen power, which was rare for someone with no ability.

"That man doesn't have the brains to think that far. He was only able to be the head of the family because of the contract with the spider."

"......Yeah, that's true."