“I have already sent a messenger to Litonia. The Hero will return soon.”
That a Demon Lord cannot be destroyed by anyone other than a Hero.
A Hero is a class that only a select few, a mere handful among humanity, can receive through a divine oracle.
Only those with the divine protection of that class can inflict fatal damage on a Demon Lord and end its life.
There is one Hero based in Tandem, currently dispatched to support the subjugation of a Demon Lord that appeared in the allied nation of Litonia.
Since a Demon Lord has appeared here in Tandem, recalling them was the natural conclusion.
“…I see.”
“What is this? Your reaction is dull.”
“A Demon Lord appeared, so it’s the obvious course of action, right?”
“Gaaah, what a heartless fellow!”
Saying that, Elanza slapped her forehead—well, the mask covering it—with her palm.
“…Is that all? If so, we’re done—”
“Ah, wait. One last thing.”
“What?”
“Adem, become a guild staff mem—”
“I won’t.”
“I haven’t finished saying it all yet!”
Every time we meet, Elanza tries to recruit me as a guild staff member. I have absolutely no intention of doing so, and although I refuse every time, she shows no sign of giving up.
“I’ve refused countless times. Why do you ask the same thing every single time?”
“I thought you might have changed your mind.”
“Not happening.”
“Ehhh—”
Don’t”Ehhh”me.
“You are definitely more suited to be guild staff than an adventurer! If you join now, I promise you high treatment as my right hand!”
“I don’t want it! You’ll definitely just push all the troublesome work onto me!”
“What a thing to say! Do you have no spirit of wanting to repay your Master’s kindness!?”
“You just used ‘training’ as an excuse to make me process your work!”
“W-Wait a second! Master!? The Guild Master is Adem’s!?”
Linfa, who had been listening silently to our exchange, raised a voice as if unable to hold back any longer.
“No, she’s barely not my master.”
“Why would you say such a thing—!?”
“Yoyoyo,”Elanza cried with exaggerated sobs, crumbling onto the sofa.
In reality, there was a period where I could say I studied under Elanza. However, what I did during that time was mostly run errands for Elanza, take care of her personal needs, and help with guild duties.
Thanks to that, I am confident that I know more about guild operations than most of the guild staff working here right now.
To be fair, there were times when she gave me proper training, but that was also insanely extreme, to the point where I prepared myself for death multiple times. In the end, the gains might have been significant, but honestly, those are days I don’t really want to remember.
That’s why I have a slight sense of aversion toward Elanza, and I didn’t really want to acknowledge her as my master. There are others more worthy of being called Master, and…
“Ugh, you used to be so honest and cute back then…”
“And yet you treated me like that?”
“Well, look, it’s like… the cuter the child, the more you want to bully them…”
“You have a nasty personality, you know that!?”
That’s exactly the problem.
“Ah—jeez. If that’s all, we’re going. Linfa must be tired too; keeping him here forever just to hear this stupid talk is pitiful.”
“Eh, no, I’m fine—”
“You’re tired, right!!!”
“Ah, yes… ah.”
Taking Linfa’s hand, I stood up and tried to leave hurriedly when—
“Adem.”
Elanza’s voice, unusually tinged with seriousness, made me stop.
“Don’t be so reckless all the time. Incidents like this chill my blood.”
“…I’ll make an effort.”
“Also, if you change your mind, the staff position is always—”
“You’re persistent!”
We left the room for real this time.
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT LOCALIZERMEERKAT.GITHUB.IO
After leaving the reception room and walking silently down the deserted hallway for a while, Linfa opened his mouth.
“…Adem.”
“Hm?”
“The battle with the Guardian… because of me, you almost died…”
“What, you’re still talking about that?”
“…Tch, why do you always… never even try to get angry!? I usually treat you so coldly… and on top of that, this time I put your life in danger…!”
Linfa looked like he was about to cry. I scratched my cheek and chose my words carefully.
“Hmm… Linfa, you didn’t do that because you wanted me to die, right? Protecting you back then was my own decision because I judged I could handle it. And your usual attitude… well, it’s like a child’s selfishness. It’s cute.”
“…………”
“If you’re still not convinced, let’s see. Just apologize properly one more time. Then we’ll end this topic.”
Linfa opened his eyes wide. In the slight silence, Linfa took a deep breath and spoke the words.
“I am… sorry…”
“Yeah, I forgive you.”
“Kh…”
“Let’s use the reflection on this failure for next time, and talk about what’s ahead.”
“…Ahead?”
“Yeah. Let’s see… first, we have to go find a mid-ranking spirit Linfa can contract with.”
After all, in terms of efficiency, contracting with a mid-ranking spirit would be the top priority for Linfa’s growth. I said it with that in mind.
“—I can’t.”
“…Eh?”
“I… can’t contract with other spirits anymore.”
…What did he say?
“Can’t contract… what does that mean?”
Before answering my confused question, something like a faint ball of light floated up near Linfa’s shoulder.
“…This child is Yuno. My contracted spirit.”
The ball of light introduced by Linfa—now named Yuno—spun around me as if greeting me.
“Yuno became a lesser spirit… due to the contract with me…”
“Became a lesser spirit…? Don’t tell me, is it an Soul Contract?”
When I voiced my suspicion, Linfa’s eyes widened slightly.
“I thought maybe you might know, but you really do know about it.”
An Soul Contract is a form of contract with a spirit—and simultaneously the most powerful one. A secret art that deeply binds the caster and the spirit in the realm of the soul. Once bound, it can never be broken, and while one can no longer contract with other spirits, the caster gains immense power in return.
By its nature, the contracted spirit of a Spirit User bound by an Soul Contract is almost always a high-ranking spirit. However, Linfa is bound by an Soul Contract to a lesser spirit. There’s no way someone would do that without meaning. There was one other use for an Soul Contract, considered a taboo.
“Turning the deceased into a spirit, huh.”
“…Yeah. Yuno is… my younger sister.”
By applying a Soul Contract to the soul of the deceased, one can transform them into a spirit and anchor them to the living world.
One might call this technique a pseudo-resurrection, and upon hearing of it, many might desire it. However, the reality is not so convenient. In the first place, the success rate is extremely low, and if it fails, one’s own soul is dragged along, resulting in death.
Even if, by some miracle, it succeeds, nine times out of ten that soul becomes a Low-Rank Spirit. Since one can no longer contract with other spirits, any hope of achieving greatness as a Spirit Arts User is effectively lost.
Because of these circumstances, while Adem knew of it as knowledge, this was the first time he had seen an actual example.
“My family is a noble house that has produced excellent Spirit Arts Users for generations. I was expected to succeed the headship.”
Strict training and education imposed daily. There was almost no communication as parent and child with his strict and busy father. For Linfa, whose mother had passed away when he was young, the only emotional support he had was the existence of his younger sister.
“Yuno was born sickly, but she was a very kind and strong girl… Even though she was always bedridden and surely suffering the most, she was always worried about me… We used to talk about how, once her illness got better, the two of us would go to all sorts of places.”
Then, when Linfa turned twelve and officially obtained the job of Spirit Arts User, just as he was awaiting the contract with a High-Rank Spirit his father had prepared, Yuno’s condition took a sudden turn for the worse.
“As the days passed, I could only watch as Yuno grew weaker and weaker. And so, when Yuno breathed her last, I made my decision.”
—To form a Soul Contract with Yuno.
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