Chapter 10

Eifa clearly flustered, said,

"E... eh, what are you talking about?"

"In fact, I've seen you several times following something with your eyes, like the soul of an animal or something."

"You can see them too, Seika!?"

"Well..."

In my case, I was born with the ability, but it's also possible to gain the ability to see spirits through training.

However, that's a different matter.

"But it's not just that, right?"

"..."

"I've seen you following something with your eyes that I can't see even more often. Eifa, what else can you see besides spirits?"

"..."

"You're amazing, Seika. You can even figure that out. My mother told me never to let anyone know about it."

With that, Eifa reached out her hand toward something in the air.

Of course, there was nothing visible there.

"This must be a spirit."

"Spirit..."

"Yeah, like the ones in fairy tales."

"..."

"What do they look like?"

"Most of them are round and blurry, with small wings. But sometimes they look like small animals, like birds, lizards, fish, or moles. I think they're probably powerful. The places they pass through feel warm or have a breeze. ...You probably don't believe me, right?"

"No... I believe you."

There was something I had sensed in my previous life that wasn't a spirit or a demon.

During my journey to seek the wisdom of the West, I met a Celtic sorcerer, a Druid, who had a special staff made from mistletoe. He said a spirit dwelled in the staff, but while I could feel the flow of power, I couldn't see the spirit.

Can't you see it, someone of your caliber? This blue heron.

His surprised words didn't sound like a lie.

So, they exist in this world too...

Perhaps they are remnants of souls like spirits, or souls independent of physical bodies like demons... or something entirely different.

"Your mother was wise. If others found out, it probably wouldn't have been good."

"..."

"Even you, Seika, might not have believed me. Probably."

Yeah, maybe.

I asked,

"By any chance, did the spirits help you find the carbuncle and my clothes today?"

"Umm, yeah. They're drawn to magic. Your belongings are... a bit special, though."

"Special how?"

"When you have your belongings, the spirits act strangely. They swarm around them in a weird way, and some of them even spin around like they're drunk... So, I could tell when they were nearby."

"Interesting... What about me personally?"

"Well, not at all. They seem to avoid you. Usually, a few of them stick to people with strong magic, like your master... So, it's really strange."

Hmm, why is that? Oh well.

"Can you touch spirits... or, can they understand what you say?"

"No, they live freely, unrelated to humans."

"Really, not at all?"

"Yeah... Oh, right. Once."

Eifa recalled,

"Once, they listened to me. When I was hanging laundry, a few of them in bird form were playing... Then, the wind almost blew away your master's shirt, so I yelled at them to stop, and they all ran away. They came back soon, but after that, they were all very quiet. Yeah... that's all. I'm sorry, it's not a big deal."

"No, that's not true."

They listened to you. That's a significant factor.

This might be it.

"Eifa, suddenly, do you want to learn magic?"

"Eh! That... I'd be happy if I could, but it's impossible."

Eifa laughed weakly.

"Spirits never come near me. I probably don't have any magic or very little."

"No, you don't need magic."

I held the Hitogata behind my back and opened the door.

"Let these guys do the magic."

《Summon—Human Souls》

Several fireballs appeared from the phase, floating behind me with orange flames flickering.

...These things are hot. I should keep my distance.

"Eh, eh, what are these monsters!? What's going on, Seika!?"

"Um... I found them."

"Found them!?"

It's not a lie.

I collected them from a graveyard in my previous life.

They can cause fires and are dangerous.

When I pushed the invisible shikigami, the human souls drifted toward Eifa.

"They're monsters similar to spirits, but they don't attack humans, so you can be at ease."

"Okay, they're hot..."

"Let's try to extinguish the fire."

"Eh?"

"Try asking them. Like you did with the wind spirits."

"Okay... I'll try."

Eifa gazed at the human souls and closed her eyes tightly, as if concentrating.

After about half an hour, nothing happened.

"Seika, is the fire out?"

"It's still there."

"Ah! I'm asking so much..."

Eifa's shoulders slumped.

"Try saying it out loud. It doesn't matter much to spirits, but it helps to put your feelings into it."

"Okay... Please go out. Please."

"..."

"Please, please go out. I really, really ask you."

"..."

"Please, really... please..."

The fire didn't go out.

"Ugh! Go out!!"

The fire went out.

As if water had been poured on them, all the flames disappeared, and the temperature around us dropped.

"Eh, they're... gone!?"

"They're still here. Look."

When Eifa looked up, small sparks appeared in the air.

"..."

"You don't have to come out."

Eifa glared, and the sparks shrank.

Wow.

"Good. Let's try a bit more."

After about an hour, Eifa could control the human souls without speaking.

"Like this?"

"You're improving fast. With this, you'll soon be able to control the direction and strength of the flames. Definitely."

I was satisfied inside.

In my previous life, kitsune often controlled human souls. No demon could control human souls, which showed almost no will. But I had always been researching, thinking that if kitsune could do it, humans could too.

In the end, neither I nor my disciples could do it, and I was almost giving up... but I never thought I'd find such a talented child in another world.

It was worth all the effort of collecting human souls, even while being treated as a weirdo by my peers.

"Eventually, you should be able to do the same as a kitsune's fire techniques... I mean, fire magic."

"Really!?"

"That's not all. You might even be able to get the spirits you see to listen to you, like a fairy tale princess."

The Druid in my previous life could do it. It's not impossible.

"Amazing... Seika knows everything."

"I don't know everything, but I've studied hard."

"I'll try hard too! I thought this was a useless skill, but now I feel a bit more confident! Thank you, Seika."

Yeah, keep it up.

I'm lucky too.

I found such talent soon after reincarnating.

Well, this child might be a bit weak... but it's better to have companions.

"By the way, do you ever think about leaving this place, Eifa?"

"Eh...?"

"No, not running away. Even if slaves are freed, they often work as servants for the same family, right? Your father is like that. Even if you're a slave, leaving a place where you've lived for a long time must be difficult, but what do you think, Eifa?"

"I want to leave."

Eifa said firmly.

"It's not that I dislike it here, but I want to see different places. I want to know different things and see different things. This country is so vast, right? So, I feel it's a waste to stay here all the time. If I ever become free, I will definitely..."

Hmm, I see.

Eifa's eyes seemed to be looking far away.

This child, despite being quiet, has a lot of energy.

Not like me in the past.

My impulses were never this positive.

"Oh, right. I have one more thing to ask, Eifa."

"What?"

"I'll be out of the house a few times from now. Can you cover for me with everyone? Tell them I'm not feeling well and resting in my room or something."

"Umm, okay... but..."

"I want to look around on my own. I don't want Gray to interfere. Please."

Eifa nodded in understanding.

This is good.

I'll start preparing tomorrow.

As Eifa hurried back to the mansion, I attached a shikigami to her.

A Hitogata with water phase magic.

Of course, it's for extinguishing fires in case of an emergency.

If the mansion catches fire because of the human souls, it would be a disaster.

※1 hour length

In the Heian period, the day was divided into 48 segments, so Seika counts 1 hour as 30 minutes.