Ch.31Familiar (1)

In front of Ruide’s mansion.

Amelia stood at the main gate with a nervous look.

She took several deep breaths before entering the mansion with proper posture.

“You’re late, Ria.”

As soon as she entered, Irene Windsor was standing with her hands behind her back.

As always, her eyes were cold while her mouth maintained a gentle smile.

Amelia flinched in surprise and gave a slight bow.

“Oh, sister. It’s been a while.”

“You don’t seem particularly happy to see me.”

“N-no, that’s not true.”

Amelia answered stiffly.

“…I’m sorry. I should have arrived earlier and waited for you.”

“You need to attend your classes. Let’s go.”

Amelia walked carefully, making sure not to walk ahead of Irene.

When they entered the reception room, Sherry, who had been preparing, greeted them.

Two cups of tea were placed on the table. Amelia sat in the seat that was slightly farther away.

…The tea was cold.

“I’m glad to see you’re doing well.”

“Yes. Have you been… well too, sister?”

“The North is always the same.”

Irene smiled faintly as she drank her tea.

After silently putting down her teacup, she glanced at Sherry, who was standing stiffly.

“Sherry, are you doing well too?”

“I am doing well.”

“The mansion in the North is a mess without you. Both the cleaning and discipline.”

“I-I’m sorry.”

Irene looked at Amelia and said:

“But I couldn’t send an inadequate maid to serve my dear siblings.”

“Thank you.”

Sherry, who was standing behind them, took out a handkerchief to wipe away her cold sweat.

Though nothing was different except for Irene’s presence, the atmosphere in the mansion was unusual. Not only was there a strange tension, but it felt as if the average temperature had dropped below zero.

Amelia drank her tea while maintaining her tension.

Irene simply waited with a smiling face until Amelia finished her tea, and only after she put down her cup did she ask:

“I’m glad everyone is doing well. Is Ruide taking proper care of you?”

“…I’m trying my best.”

Irene leaned deeply against the backrest and said:

“It doesn’t seem that way, which is why I asked.”

Amelia’s pupils shook violently.

“His Majesty mentioned it to me. He said there have been suspicious movements in the territory lately. He called me separately and asked about it. Was it Windsor’s doing? I wonder how I should have answered.”

In the Windsor family’s successor test, there is something called a ‘trial.’ The method varies depending on the successor’s disposition.

The common point is that some kind of ‘problem’ occurs. It’s to test whether they can lead Windsor when a problem arises.

It was a test for the qualification of the successor to the Windsor Duchy. The problem was likely to be not simple.

However, Amelia’s successor suitability test was only being conducted nominally.

Since Amelia had already declared she would take the path of a knight, no ‘problem’ intended by the Windsor family could occur in this generation’s successor test.

But that fact couldn’t serve as an excuse.

It was only that problems wouldn’t occur artificially, but if a real problem did occur, Windsor would have to deal with it.

Irene rested her chin on her hand and met Amelia’s gaze directly.

“Are you taking it easy because it’s a successor test with no possibility of succession? Or have you become negligent because you’re enjoying everyday life with your cute sibling?”

Amelia, who had been intimidated all along, raised her head firmly this time. She looked extremely wronged.

“Not for a single moment have I forgotten that I am being tested.”

Irene slowly nodded after hearing those words.

But she gave an answer completely different from Amelia’s words.

“It seems you haven’t noticed that they are moving.”

“…!”

Amelia’s body stiffened.

Irene asked accusingly:

“Really, you didn’t notice?”

Amelia’s lips trembled.

“…I know that cases of missing children in the territory have increased.”

“And beyond that?”

Amelia looked at the floor and said in a tiny voice:

“…Nothing yet.”

“Do you have any intention of solving the problem?”

“…Yes.”

Irene reached out and stroked Amelia’s head.

A drop of sweat rolled down Amelia’s forehead as she bowed her head.

“I’ll believe you. So.”

Irene grabbed Amelia’s chin and lifted it, placing her index finger on her lips and whispering:

“It would be better not to make mistakes.”

Irene smiled brightly.

“Among other things, Ruide is still too young to see such things. Right?”

Don’t let it bother him.

Irene left those words behind as she stood up.

Amelia remained frozen in place, unable to move for some time.

**

Dellin’s Lake.

Hersy, who had calmed her startled heart, asked:

“S-so… the fox ate Rak’s Orb and is possessed by an evil spirit?”

“Not an evil spirit, but Rak.”

“Is it the… Lich Rak that I know?”

Ruide looked at the fox.

“It claims to be a Great Spirit.”

[I really am a Great Spirit! How else could I have been trapped in an orb for 500 years!]

‘That does make some sense.’

Earlier he was too dumbfounded to realize, but thinking calmly, it made sense.

The reason why various magicians couldn’t discover anything despite 90 years of research.

Also, the reason why even he, who prided himself as the world’s greatest magician, couldn’t detect even a trace of mana.

If the reason was that it was hiding using ‘spirit power’ rather than magical power, it was theoretically possible.

“Th-that’s absurd. Spirits only appear in fairy tales.”

That was common knowledge in this world. But Ruide, who had read the original novel, knew. Spirits exist in this world.

However, there are few spirits with self-awareness. Such spirits all perished 500 years ago due to an incident. But they remained in the form of tiny micro-spirits. In the original novel, the world where spirits live is called the ‘micro world.’

‘…The timing matches perfectly.’

Since spirits with self-awareness perished 500 years ago, if it had been trapped in the orb for a long time, it made sense.

“…Can you prove it?”

[O-of course!]

The fox opened its mouth with a snap. A bright red fireball formed between its sharp teeth.

“Oh my!”

Hersy was startled and hid behind Ruide’s shoulder.

[This is fire summoned with spirit power! You won’t feel any magical power at all!]

Ruide stroked his chin.

“Indeed… I don’t feel any magical power.”

“Y-you’re right.”

Arctic foxes certainly don’t have the ability to summon fire from their mouths. This meant that a transcendent power was being used, and if it wasn’t magical power…

There was a possibility it really was spirit power. Even Ruide was seeing this power for the first time, so it was impossible to determine anything beyond that. But it was certain that it wasn’t magical power.

“…Is it real?”

The fox closed its mouth. The fire went out.

[See? See?]

The fox wagged its tail, moving around restlessly. Ruide looked at Hersy.

“What do you think, Hersy?”

“I-I think there’s a possibility, but honestly, it’s hard to believe.”

Ruide nodded slowly.

“Alright. I’ll believe you. But, so what?”

Ruide pointed his staff. The fox trembled.

“The fact that you tried to attack people doesn’t change.”

According to the descriptions in the story, there were actually people who died, and countless injured.

Even if it was a spirit, the fact that it caused harm didn’t disappear.

[It’s a misunderstanding! I-I just didn’t want to be trapped in the orb again.]

“You didn’t want to be trapped?”

[After my master Rak died, I was trapped in the world inside the orb for 500 years. To escape, I needed a contractor.]

“What does calling humans ‘worthless’ have to do with contracts?”

[That… I’m really sorry. I was in the orb for so long that my mind was a bit unstable. B-but thanks to the magician’s purification magic, I’m fine now!]

Ruide recalled the scene where the purple orb turned white.

Ruide looked at the fox with a blank expression.

“Fine. I understand, but first, get out of my fox.”

“Would… would you please make a contract with me…?”

Ruide glared fiercely.

“Didn’t I tell you not to speak through the fox’s mouth?”

“S-sorry.”

The fox whimpered and lay flat on the ground. Ruide could only sigh.

Somehow, it had merged with the fox’s soul.

Ruide knew how to destroy souls, but not how to separate them. If he rashly tried to eliminate this spirit, the fox’s soul would be erased as well.

So he needed to coax it out somehow… but it didn’t seem easy.

“Um, Ruide…?”

“Yes?”

“It might be presumptuous of me to say, but… wouldn’t it be okay? It doesn’t seem like a bad child.”

“It’s saying it’s Rak’s spirit, Hersy. We can’t judge hastily.”

“According to legend, spirits are so pure that they change according to the summoner’s will. Maybe it was just being used? Somehow, it doesn’t feel very harmful to me.”

Honestly, Ruide was thinking the same thing. This spirit seemed utterly incompetent.

‘I shouldn’t be fooled by appearances.’

It wasn’t for nothing that ‘Indolent Ruide’ was exceptional. In the catastrophe that occurred in the novel, even a professor was involved but couldn’t suppress it.

That meant it was at least stronger than the academy’s practical professor, ‘Lepen Chaser.’

In other words, unless one was an archmage or at the level of a knight commander, they couldn’t defeat this spirit.

It was quite a dangerous entity.

“Still, I’m uneasy.”

Ruide muttered that and then looked at the fox and said:

“If you’re really a good spirit, prove your purity.”

[How can I prove my purity…]

The gender-neutral voice in his head sounded very sorrowful.

Moreover, its appearance as a lovable fox made his heart ache a little.

Nevertheless, Ruide spoke firmly. In the original story, it killed several innocent students, and he didn’t want to go along with such an entity.

“Anything will do. Think of a way that I can accept. Otherwise…”

Ruide spoke somewhat chillingly:

“I’ll remove your soul. It might be a bit difficult, but I’m a magician who can do that.”

It was half a bluff. But it was enough to make the spirit tremble with fear.

[Th-then… shall I show you my form?]

“Your form?”

[Yes. All my past masters loved my materialized form. I-I’m not certain, but I think you’ll like it too when you see it.]

Ruide said with a displeased face:

“Go ahead.”

[Okay.]

Poof!

A hazy smoke appeared, obscuring their vision. Hersy coughed and waved her hand. The wind blew the smoke away.

What appeared inside was…

“D-do I look pure?”

It was a blue-haired girl awkwardly touching her hair.