Chapter 15

Will was angry.

Maina had hurried back to inform her father, sisters, Ellis, and Aika that they were in danger. Upon hearing this news, her mother looked sad, and John even announced that he would quit his job as the gatekeeper.

At that point, Will had already rushed out of the room.

If things continued like this, he might never see his beloved sisters again. His beloved mother might look even sadder. Everyone might be separated.

(I have to do something...)

Feeling a sense of mission, Will desperately thought about what he could do. Then, he had an idea.

(Ah...)

As he was about to cross in front of the servants' break room, Will turned his head as if he had just noticed something.

In the servants' break room, the items for the day's magic practice were placed.

Will knew this. He entered the room and climbed onto a chair. On the table, there were three small spirit lanterns and a wand (which Will had named "Bell") placed. The spirit lanterns had adjustable straps so they could be hung from the shoulder. They were probably prepared by one of the servants for the children to carry.

Will hung the spirit lantern over his shoulder, took the wand in his hand, and climbed down from the chair. He left the servants' break room and arrived at the stairs leading to the underground storage.

"Guardian deity..."

His father had told him that there was a guardian deity in the underground storage. The guardian deity was a deity who protected everyone.

It was a simple explanation, but it was different for Will.

Will could see the flow of magic. He noticed that the gentle, protective magic that filled the house was flowing from the underground storage. When he was told that this magic belonged to the guardian deity, Will was greatly convinced.

There is someone in the underground who is watching over everyone—

Will was certain of this. He took one step at a time down the stairs and reached the door. Ren wasn't there today. The last time, he had opened the door for Will, but today, Will had to do it himself.

"Un...!"

With a small burst of determination, Will jumped and hung onto the doorknob. He managed to turn it and open the door, slipping his body into the dark room.

"Light up!"

There was a magical device on the wall to light up the room, but Will didn't know about it and couldn't reach it. So, he used the light magic he had recently learned to illuminate the room.

A round light orb floated in the air, casting a soft light over the room. At the back of the warehouse, where various items were lined up, there was a sword that seemed to be carefully displayed.

"Guardian deity, are you there?"

Will called out, but no one responded. He walked further into the warehouse and approached the sword displayed at the back. It was a strange-shaped sword sheathed in a streamlined scabbard with a white and green color scheme. It was completely different from the sword his father wore when he went out. A green stone was embedded in the hilt, from which the magic that enveloped the house overflowed.

"Magic...?"

As Will tilted his head, the light of the magic overflowing from the stone circled around him, gently and reassuringly.

"...Hmm!"

Will decided and pulled a chair in front of the sword. He climbed onto the chair, moved to the pedestal, and faced the sword directly.

"Guardian deity...?"

He called out, but there was no response. Will waited for a while, then reached out to the sword.

"Hey, that's dangerous!"

Will was startled by a voice he had never heard before and turned around. There was a large wolf with a green phosphorescent glow. It narrowed its eyes slightly and looked up at Will, speaking.

"Boy, it's dangerous to climb up there. Come down."

Will blinked at the talking wolf but obediently climbed down from the pedestal.

"Hmm..."

Will stared intently at the green wolf looking down at him.

"Boy, aren't you afraid of me?"

"Huh?"

Will tilted his head in confusion at the wolf's question.

"Why not?"

"Why not? Don't you feel fear at my appearance? I'm a large wolf... I might eat you."

The wolf bared its fangs, but Will looked up at it with a puzzled expression. The wind magic that the wolf was wrapped in was the same as the magic that filled the house, radiating a gentle glow. Will had no reason to be afraid.

"Why not?"

"...Well, never mind."

The wolf sighed as if it were exasperated by Will's innocent question.

"Go back. This is not a place for a young boy like you. Your father will worry."

The wolf urged him to leave, but Will shook his head.

"No! I have to ask the guardian deity to help Father and my sisters!"

"...What?"

The wolf was surprised by Will's determination.

"Father, Maina said he was attacked by bad people. My sisters are locked up too..."

"Hmm..."

The wolf was not entirely wrong. The conversation was at a level that Will could understand, but the wolf could tell from his serious expression that he was not lying.

"Father said the guardian deity is here. He said the guardian deity protects everyone."

Will said this with conviction.

"Did Shiro say that?"

"Yeah. Do you know Father?"

The wolf tilted its head in confusion at Will's question. It frowned, looking troubled.

(Shiro, no matter how many ruffians surround him, he won't be delayed...)

The wolf growled softly. What was concerning was the fact that Shiro's daughters were locked up. Even if Shiro was safe, there was no guarantee that his daughters were. In the worst case, they might have been attacked separately. This was a matter of concern for the wolf.

In reality, two maids were with them as guards, but in Will's mind, Ellis and Aika were also locked up, so the situation was not clear.

In the end, the wolf could not be confident that the situation would be resolved quickly.

"...Can't the adults solve this problem without the boy moving?"

Will shook his head. Despite his young age, his eyes were filled with a clear will.

"Mother and everyone look so sad! Everyone needs to smile!"

In the end, Will's motivation was that he didn't want to see the people he loved sad. He wanted to bring back everyone's smiles. And the current situation posed a risk that this might be lost forever. This was not something the wolf wanted either.

"...Alright."

The wolf sighed as if it had given up.

"Boy, I will lend you my power."

"Huh...?"

Will tilted his head in confusion again.

"Will you help me?"

"Yes."

The wolf nodded, and Will's eyes widened in surprise.

"But, the guardian deity...?"

"Apparently, you didn't realize it..."

The wolf sighed, and Will's confusion deepened.

"Boy, what is your name?"

"My name is Willbel Turks. I'm three years old."

Will bowed politely in response to the wolf's question. The wolf nodded slightly at this.

"My name is a fragment of the wind. I am the幻兽【叶山之森的风食者】—风狼，也是世界上独一无二的风之魔刀。"

Will looked up at the wolf with a blank expression as it introduced itself.

"...哪部分是你的名字？"

"……抱歉。"

看来长名字超出了Will的理解范围。

"风的碎片，是我的名字。"

"一片先生……"

"是的。你父亲所说的守护神就是我。"

风狼—风的碎片如此说道，Will发出“哦—”的声音，眼睛闪闪发光。

"这次是特例，明白吗？"

风狼强调道，Will用力地点了点头。

于是，Will的脚下浮现出一个绿色的魔法阵。同样地，风狼的脚下也出现了魔法阵。室内被明亮的绿色光芒照亮。

"哇啊……"

Will被这幻想般的光辉所吸引，发出了赞叹声。

"这是临时契约。因为我的主人是你的父亲……这是通过血盟的临时措施。"

风狼如此解释道，双方的身体开始溢出魔力，魔力像绳子一样缠绕在一起。Will呆呆地看着这难以理解的魔力流动。在视线的前方，Will和风狼的魔力连接在一起。那一刻，Will感受到了风的碎片的魔力流入自己的身体。

魔法阵消失，光芒收敛。Will低头看着自己的手，握紧又松开。

"通常，与强大的精灵或幻兽签订契约，力量不足的人会因为无法承受共享的魔力而死亡。"

风的碎片的话让Will抬起头来。

"你体内流着你父亲一半的血。你有足够的基础来接受我的力量。因此，即使只是临时的，你也能驾驭我。但是—"

风狼继续解释，但中途停了下来。认真听讲的Will的表情逐渐变得奇怪。这个表情显然没有理解。对一个三岁的孩子来说，讲这些根本没用。这些知识等他长大后再告诉他也不迟。风狼这样说服自己，

"啊，总之就是—"

风狼思考着孩子喜欢的落脚点，结果却向Will的好奇心投下了一颗炸弹。

"如果你想和精灵或幻兽成为朋友，就必须变得更强大。"

"哦—！"

Will的眼睛闪闪发光，身体前倾，伸手向风狼。

"Will，如果我变得更擅长魔法，就能和精灵和幻兽成为朋友吗？"

"啊，是的，可以的。嗯，可以的。"

风狼被气势压倒，点头回应。Will高举双手，欢呼“耶—！”风狼看着他的样子，无奈地叹了口气。

"时间宝贵。你叫Will，对吧—"

风狼严肃起来，Will也转过身来，情绪高涨。

"去救你的父亲和姐姐们。"

"是！"

Will用力点头，身体被风狼的魔力包裹，浮了起来。Will像被引导一样跨上了风狼的背。

"好软啊—♪"

Will满意地摩擦着风狼的毛发。接着，风狼用魔力吸引来那把装饰的魔刀，送到Will面前。

"没有这个，我无法行动。听好了，把这把刀送到你父亲手中是Will的任务。"

风狼对跨在背上的Will如此说道，Will点了点头，小心翼翼地抱住了眼前的刀。

"好，出发！Will！"

"哦！"

Will高举拳头，风狼随之奔跑起来。