Agnes-Style Spirit Contract (3)

“Wow, wow…”

Wind spirits.

Water spirits.

Earth spirits.

As soon as Agnes saw the dazzling dance of countless spirits flying around, she was utterly captivated, her eyes helplessly following their movements.

This was the first time in her life she’d encountered so many spirits right before her eyes.

Even in Professor Erin’s secret garden, she’d never met this many spirits at once. Of course, most of the spirits she’d seen back then were mid-level spirits, so in terms of status, those were stronger, but…

The gathering of spirits, shining brilliantly in all colors like stars gathered in this pond, was a mesmerizing sight.

For Agnes, who had been obsessively pursuing a spirit contract for quite some time, the scene before her was so enchanting that she momentarily forgot her original purpose.

‘…This isn’t the time to be spacing out.’

Though part of her wanted to keep watching this fairy-tale-like scene of newborn spirits mingling and playing together…

If she just stood there dumbfounded, she’d waste the precious opportunity she’d worked so hard to obtain.

The reason she had pushed through her fear and come all the way here in the dead of night was to make a spirit contract.

According to Lilith, today was the most favorable day for a spirit contract in a hundred years.

‘Not that I believe everything she says…’

But still, a day with conditions this favorable wouldn’t come again easily.

Of course, she was already painfully aware that her presence wasn’t particularly welcome among spirits.

She knew full well that if she awkwardly tried to blend in among them, she’d only be rejected.

For a moment, she felt selfish for trying to manipulate the gathering of newborn spirits for her own gain, but…

Even so, the thought of never making a contract and falling behind as a mage, or worse, squandering the opportunity someone else had created for her due to her own incompetence, was far more terrifying to Agnes.

Above all, she didn’t want to fail the upcoming Spirit Communication class this semester.

-Hmm.

-Rustle!

-Thud, thud.

Following what she’d learned, Agnes suppressed the mana flowing from her body and stepped into the midst of the formless spirits.

A fair number of spirits took an interest in her sudden appearance, and for the first time, Agnes felt like she was the one “choosing” among the spirits.

…Of course, that feeling lasted only a moment. The spirits’ reactions remained as cold as ever.

“Um, excuse me…”

-Whoosh!

The moment she spoke, the wind spirits-most sensitive to air currents-instantly vanished into the breeze.

“P-please, just a contract…”

-Plop!

The water spirits burst like droplets and disappeared at the slightest touch.

“Just a contract! That’s all I need!”

-Tap tap tap!

Even the earth spirit, which she’d managed to converse with just before contracting, fled the moment it tasted her mana.

“…Sniff.”

Perhaps this ordeal was a bit too harsh for a girl who had just become an adult.

Unable to bear the repeated rejections, Agnes finally broke down in tears.

Spirits or not, she hated everything in front of her right now.

No matter how beautiful or numerous the spirits were, not a single one among them wanted to be her partner.

It wasn’t like she chose to be born with mana that spirits disliked.

She felt utterly pathetic and miserable for not even being able to win over newborn spirits.

Slumping down by the pond, hugging her knees, Agnes’s spirit was easily crushed.

‘…Maybe I should just go back.’

It wasn’t like staying here would lead to a better future anyway.

Rather than getting rejected by the remaining spirits and then leaving, it’d be better to turn back now while there was still some fuel left in her lantern.

After all, she’d have to navigate the dark forest alone on the way back too.

With that thought, she picked up her lantern and was about to leave the spirit pond when…

-Tap.

‘Ouch!’

“……Huh?”

As soon as she grabbed the glass lantern she’d set down, she heard a tiny voice. Her gaze naturally shifted to the inside of the lantern.

-Hmm.

‘…That hurts! Can’t you move more gently?!’

A small flame spirit, no bigger than a fist, stared back at her from inside the glass lantern.

A newborn flame spirit, born right there in the lantern.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

About an hour after sending Agnes into the Black Forest.

“She should have arrived by now.”

Assuming she’d reached the spirit pond by now, I muttered to myself while blankly staring at the night sky.

She was a determined character, so she probably hadn’t given up midway.

Even if Agnes was afraid of the dark, I still believed she was stronger than that.

Part of me wanted to follow her out of worry, but if I went with her, the contract that should have worked wouldn’t.

If I were there, the spirits’ attention would shift to me instead of Agnes-including the “flame spirit” that was supposed to be born from her hands.

‘Soon, she’ll return with a spirit that looks just like me~.’

“True. It was really tough teaching her how to make a contract on this exact date over the past few months.”

‘Who would’ve thought~? That I’d have her carry a lantern made from an ember taken from my body~. My chosen master really is clever~!’

“…Well, I’d rather not have Blaze come back angry at me for failing.”

And since she had high potential to be the main damage dealer in the Hero’s Party, I also wanted to power her up as much as possible.

The lantern I’d given Agnes wasn’t just any lantern.

It was lit from an ember that had fallen from Sally’s body-a lantern with slightly higher “spirit affinity.”

Of course, just because the lantern had high spirit affinity didn’t mean its owner would be affected, so Agnes would still be treated poorly by the spirits.

But if she managed to keep the lantern intact all the way to the spirit pond, the rest would proceed smoothly.

The bond with a spirit.

Normally, building this before a contract was difficult. Unless something miraculously worked out-like how I had exterminated demons with Sally-it wasn’t easy.

But if you spent an hour exploring a dark forest alone with a lantern lit from a spirit-imbued ember…

When that ember became a spirit, it was only natural for it to feel some bond with Agnes, who had been closest to it.

And since it was Sally’s ember, the spirit affinity was high, making it easier for the unstable mana to take form as a spirit.

The moment she reached the spirit pond and encountered the gathered spiritual energy, Agnes would effectively secure a spirit to contract with.

‘Honestly, what a pain in the ass to clear one quest.’

If I were playing as the protagonist, I would’ve walked with her to the spirit pond and taught her how to make a contract on the spot.

Even for Agnes, if the protagonist-blessed by the goddess-was by her side, the spirits would naturally grow curious and approach.

With the protagonist’s smooth talking, one or two young spirits would hastily make a contract with Agnes.

The problem was that Lilith-me-couldn’t use the same methods as the protagonist.

If I went into the spirit pond with Agnes, most spirits would flock to me instead.

What kind of weird spirit would choose a rotten egg over a moist steamed egg custard?

If I carelessly flaunted the difference in charm right in front of Agnes, it would only ruin things for her.

So I repeatedly taught Agnes how to make a contract on her own and, though it was a bit harsh, forced her into the Black Forest at midnight.

This was the only way I could give Agnes a spirit under these circumstances.

And most importantly, this method ensured…

‘Agnes’s first contract would be with a flame spirit.’

In the game, the best way to maximize Agnes’s potential was with a wind spirit, which synergized well with her fire magic.

The next best option was an earth spirit, though in that case, Agnes would have to play more of a support role.

And water spirits were the worst match. Unless both Agnes and the spirit grew perfectly in sync, their attacks would actively interfere with each other.

But ironically, flame spirits-the best match for a fire mage-couldn’t be contracted at the spirit pond. I hadn’t played that route myself, so I wasn’t sure why.

I assumed it was because there were no “seeds” for flame spirits near the pond.

In a secluded pond untouched by humans for ages, seeds for earth, water, and wind spirits would naturally form.

But seeds for flame spirits could only be found in places like the Black Rock Canyon where dwarves lived or the lair of a flame dragon-rare locations where fire burned endlessly.

…Or, in the case of an ember from the body of a high-ranking spirit who had lived long enough.

‘This time, having Sally around really paid off.’

Just as I was thinking that while staring blankly at the entrance of the Black Forest, a red twin-tailed girl quietly emerged from the woods.

By her side, a flame spirit-clearly contracted-circled endlessly around her.

‘Agnes! I’ll be counting on you! The name you gave me is super cool! The best!’

“…Yeah. I’ll be counting on you too. Infernosilia.”

‘Yeah! Let’s do our best, Agnes!’

It seemed her chuunibyou naming sense hadn’t faded even at the moment of the spirit contract.

…Well, as long as they were happy with it, it didn’t matter.