Ch.189189. Objection (3)

“Park Shinwoo, I’m here!”

A flashy and boisterous entrance.

When the tiny little girl, a rare sight even in this great forest, appeared, everyone’s attention shifted from Ray, who had been focusing on his heartbeat and swirling mana to summon a spirit, to her.

“Hmm… so that’s the spirit…”

Friel had only heard rumors floating around the mansion. She had never seen Tania in person.

The moment Friel’s murmur, with her lips curled upward, echoed through the barracks, a commotion began to spread.

“…Lady Eunice.”

“He really summoned a spirit. I knew he was extraordinary from the first time I saw him.”

Eunice marveled at Tania.

Contracting with a top-tier spirit was an achievement nearly impossible for humans.

It’s an undeniable truth that, sadly, humans have a pathetically low compatibility with spirit arts compared to elves.

As a fellow human, she knew that for an ordinary human to achieve such a feat, they must possess innately blessed, great talent.

Eunice nodded in acknowledgment of his magnificence.

And because of that…

‘He’s definitely different from the fake in our house.’

Her dull-witted brother, Allen Kallia, who called himself a male knight. She couldn’t help but compare Ray to her brother.

Self-proclaimed or not, they both carried the title of male knight, so her thoughts naturally went in that direction.

‘He must have been of common birth.’

A fake male knight from one of the most excellent and superior bloodlines, yet utterly useless.

In contrast, Ray, despite his humble roots, strived to shine more brilliantly than anyone else.

The stark difference between the two made her sink deeper into thought.

‘Allen… tsk.’

As her train of thought eventually reached Allen, Eunice became even more absorbed in her own thoughts. The whispers from the Marquisate of Kallia diminished due to Eunice’s darkening mood.

But the commotion inside the barracks was far from over.

“…This is truly a spirit that has reached the highest tier. However, in today’s great forest, summoning a top-tier spirit in such perfect form should be impossible unless one is right beside the World Tree.”

The head of the Chelnis family narrowed her eyes.

Her navy blue eyes, reminiscent of the depths of a vast ocean, were filled with questions.

“How on earth did he manage to summon it here?”

“Like Elder Kasia said, I’m quite curious about that part too…”

Fleta had seen it. Just yesterday, Tania had transformed into a high-tier form the moment she moved away from the Divine Tree.

If that’s the case, he too should not be free from the spirit’s degradation that even the elders couldn’t easily overcome.

But he is a hero favored by the Grand Elder, isn’t he?

“Surely, being able to overcome such obstacles is what qualifies one to be called a hero chosen by the World Tree, wouldn’t you agree?”

“Hooh…”

Fleta and Kasia quietly shifted their focus from Tania back to Ray.

“Hmm…”

Ania, the elder of Ianet, merely stroked her crimson hair while looking down at Tania.

Even Diolia was staring at the back of Ray’s head, as if wondering when he had formed a bond with such a top-tier spirit.

Amidst all this, the only one who didn’t—or rather, couldn’t—easily go along with the heavy atmosphere in the barracks was just one person.

Sione Sianella.

“Ah.”

Sione, whose eyes met with Tania’s.

She quickly glanced around at the others.

“Ah, hello…?”

With a very quiet whisper, she raised her hand and waved it gently in greeting.

Tania stared at Sione silently for a moment, then raised her own small hand and waved it just as Sione had done.

—…Hello.

“Wow…”

Unlike the low-tier spirit that only knew how to make “myong myong” sounds every day and couldn’t properly communicate.

At the thought of successfully initiating a conversation and greeting a spirit that could actually communicate properly, Sione’s clear blue eyes began to sparkle brightly.

But that didn’t last long.

“……”

Stare—

Under the gaze of various elves and humans focused on her, Sione lowered her hand and her head.

“…Lady Sione, what are you doing?”

“Lord Diolia, I’ll just stay like this for a while…”

Sione hid behind Diolia, using him as a shield for quite some time.

* * *

The numerous gazes and murmurs surrounding me were secondary concerns.

I had already anticipated receiving such intense attention from the moment I summoned Tania, and now…

Now, all sorts of strange status windows were appearing.

No, I definitely summoned a high-tier spirit…

And yet Tania appeared in her top-tier form, quite spectacularly at that.

It was all quite distracting.

Especially problematic was the status window.

[…@**, *※**# is interfering……]

Who is this strange character suddenly appearing and interfering out of nowhere?

“Qualification Verification”… Well, at least the quest name is normal, so that’s fine.

“Prove your abilities to the elves in the barracks, including the Ianet family. If you possess the appropriate qualifications, the elves…you…*※※…###……”

And then there’s this broken quest description that I can’t help but get caught up in.

Surprisingly, the quest that appeared just before I summoned Tania—

‘…My mana has improved.’

The conditions were met on their own, and it was cleared automatically. Now I could feel the rewards coming to me, making the situation even more confusing.

‘What on earth is this?’

Even when I summoned Tania last time, there was an uncharacteristic hastiness in the arrangement of words.

And now, some unknown entity is clearly interfering with my status window…

While I’m grateful for the increased mana, I couldn’t help but feel uneasy about it.

‘And Tania—’

Could it be because of this status window’s influence?

My thoughts shifted to my spirit who had manifested in her top-tier form rather than high-tier.

Ending my solitary contemplation, I straightened my gaze that had been directed at the ground.

Since Tania was summoned at the center of the round table, I raised my head to face her.

“Hey, really…! I called you so many times, but you didn’t answer once.”

Sseuup, what a surprise.

Right in front of me, with arms crossed and a scrunched-up expression, was Tania.

“…Tania?”

“What are you thinking about so pathetically by yourself?”

Tania, with puffed cheeks, forms her small hand into a fist and lightly taps my solar plexus.

After giving her an awkward smile for a moment, I patted her head to calm her down.

Fortunately, this was enough to pacify Tania’s tantrum.

After this brief scuffle with Tania, everyone’s attention was now focused on us.

With everyone staring at me like this, my skin was starting to feel hot.

Tania seemed to sense this too. After briefly scanning the surroundings, she began to communicate with me through telepathy.

—The pointy-ears are surrounding us. So, where is this place?

—It’s an extension of the great forest I roughly explained to you yesterday. We need to coordinate before hunting the demon. But… is it okay for a spirit to call elves “pointy-ears”?

—What does it matter? I’ve suffered a lot while traveling with you because of elves. I’ve even been reverse-summoned after being hit by arrows.

—I guess so.

—I don’t show it in front of Shinwoo, but… does Changsik also hate elves? Every time he got reverse-summoned, he cried so much about how scary the pointy-ears were. It was so hard to comfort him every time.

Well, that sounds like Changsik. He hates pain and is quite timid. I can vividly imagine how he was in the spirit realm.

—Ah, speaking of Changsik, I should tell you now. He’s crying a lot right now.

—What? Why?

Who made our Changsik cry again?

—Because Shinwoo left him alone in the spirit realm and only summoned me. I was comforting him just now, but then you summoned me, so I came as I was.

—Ah.

Changsik…

—…Please explain it well to him. Tell him it couldn’t be helped.

—Heh, I’ll think about it.

As Tania and I resolved our bickering and began to show more comfortable expressions.

Fleta, as if she had been waiting, looked directly at Aina. With a clear voice that contrasted with her sleepy eyes, she asked Aina.

“Would this be sufficient qualification? With his accumulated achievements and spirit arts capable of handling a top-tier spirit, he could be as effective as a decent Forest Guardian in terms of combat ability.”

“His physical capabilities are also more than adequate. The knight here informed us, didn’t he? That he has such exceptional stamina that he can spend the night on the wall, swinging his sword.”

“Moreover, my daughter told me that he was bold enough to throw himself down the wall without hesitation to exterminate the half-human half-demon below. Wouldn’t it be hard to find someone more suitable for capturing that hybrid?”

In response to Fleta’s barrage of arguments, Aina firmly pressed her lips together.

Seeing that she had no intention of speaking, Fleta neatly shifted her gaze away from her.

Like mother, like daughter. She, who was looking at me, wore a small smile full of interest and amusement, just like Friel is doing now.

“Ray, what do you think? Do you believe you are sufficient to join the subjugation party?”

Of course.

To be honest, the great forest has been peaceful for hundreds of years. Even if it’s become a bit dangerous lately, the elves have enjoyed a long peace.

Wouldn’t I, who has risked my life in dungeons and navigated through chaos, be more suitable for killing the damn demon than any of these elves who are steeped in peace?

“I—”

I looked at Tania.

—You understand the situation, right?

—Yes, should I breathe some fire to match the situation?

—No, just a bit of heat and presence will do.

After quickly conspiring, I continued.

“I myself—”

A presence unique to top-tier spirits began to emanate from Tania.

A spirit that controls fire and brings about acrid calamity. The energy she dispersed had a subtle heat and a solemn pressure.

The small girl’s imposing presence, which pressured the audience, added weight to my words as her contractor.

“Have no doubt in my ability to join the subjugation party and exterminate the demon—”

Indeed, not just the half-human half-demon hybrids who are neither demon nor human.

If I can meet Changsik again along with Tania and fully draw out their powers…

“I believe without a doubt.”

I am confident that I alone can bring about a generational change among the elders here.

So, with a confident expression and without a hint of hesitation, I spoke.

Tania stared at me and sent a telepathic message.

—Shinwoo, your expression is annoying. You’ve got some nerve.

—…Shut up.