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“I lost it.”

“Huh… Elisa, what did you say?”

Friel’s furrowed brow, which had remained unbent even when Elisa butted in with her remarks, now crinkled in confusion.

Zing!

“…I didn’t say anything.”

Under the sharp gaze of Friel, Elisa ultimately slinked away, avoiding eye contact.

Meanwhile, Piel, who had been perched on my palm, suddenly flew up in shock at Friel’s expression.

─Oh no, Riel is bullying Elisa again! Friend, don’t tease her!

Flapping wildly, Piel zipped over to Friel and gave her cheek a playful headbutt.

Friel, her cheek squished in the shape of Piel, looked at the spirit clinging to her with weary eyes.

“Piel, could you just stay still for a moment?”

Swish!

After snatching the spirit from her cheek and placing it back on my palm, the commotion with the mischievous spirit, Piel, calmed down a bit.

Piel climbed onto my hand, firmly grasping my index finger and shaking it as a greeting, clearly excited.

Piel waved enthusiastically at me, then abruptly turned to glance back at Friel.

─Friel, are you sulking? Are you sulking? Still, Piel thinks your palm is the coziest!

“You’re being noisy, Piel.”

─Definitely sulking! Cheer up─

Ignoring the chatter between Friel and her spirit Piel, I mulled over what Piel had let slip earlier.

‘Why does it feel like the thoughts are spiraling endlessly?’

That mischievous spirit pointed out that I felt even more pure and refreshing than Friel Arielte.

Being an S-tier hunter myself, I had a rough idea of my spirit affinity.

‘Above a regular elf, below a high elf.’

I could surpass an average elf, but I hadn’t yet broken through the boundary set by the high elf, who was the king and representative of their race.

Before I had my neck taken by that unbelievable S-tier dungeon demon, I had been handling top-tier spirits effortlessly.

In terms of affinity alone, I might be on par with the illustrious Friel Arielte, who had supposedly received the World Tree’s blessings.

Sadly, due to the innate limits of the human race, I thought I was just a tad inferior to her.

‘It’s only natural to think that way.’

The significance of the World Tree’s blessing to the elves is profound.

For the elves, it’s an opportunity and qualification to transcend the barrier between high elves and regular elves, depending on innate talent and hard work.

Especially since she was the heir from a noble family composed solely of elite elves.

Considering her innate talent plus the blessing from the World Tree, her affinity probably stood right at the boundary between elves and high elves.

‘Then why, oh why…?’

Was it that I expressed my feeling of having a purer and more refreshing aura from her spirit than from Friel?

Of course, when it comes to controlling, manipulating, and utilizing spirits, I’d reached a peak level, especially if my body contained plentiful energy. I could certainly toss around Friel if I wanted.

Yet I had no idea the affinity would be this high when it first comes to the spirit.

‘If that’s the case, it would be good to look into this later.’

Even if I don’t understand it yet, this could be an opportunity to enhance my spirit magic closer to that of a high elf.

For now, I should make sure to remember this and jot it down somewhere later.

“So… Piel, can you help that human form a contract with a spirit now?”

─Hmm, it should be simple if nothing’s wrong. You seem very comfortable, Ray. If I call, my friends should come out quickly too!

Flap flap!

The spirit soared into the sky, stretching its arms and legs dramatically.

─Alright, let’s see if Ray can form a contract with us now!

Checking if a contract could be formed was right in my wheelhouse, so I was well aware of how this worked.

Spirits tend to avoid or firmly reject contracts with those whose souls contain impurities, or whose minds are fraying.

So I was double-checking whether I had been tainted by magic or if I was of sound mind.

─Then just stay still for a moment!

Nodding in response to Piel’s words, I waited for her inspection to finish.

The little spirit placed its hand on my forehead, briefly closing its eyes to focus.

Flap flap!

After lifting its hand and letting go, it now looked at me with a very puzzled expression.

“……?”

Why was it looking at me in such an odd way, when there were no impurities and my mind was intact…?

I too began to wonder about Piel’s behavior, and at that moment, Friel and Elisa started to fixate on this situation.

Piel finally spoke.

─Hmm… I’ve never encountered a case like this before.

“…Is something wrong with me?”

─Well… Ray, you’ve already formed contracts with two spirits. But the door that the spirits use to come to you is way too small and firmly closed, so they can’t reach you.

“Ah─”

There lies the crux.

Contracts with spirits are a pact made to each other’s souls.

If the corporeal form housing the soul perishes, the spirit contract is bound to fade quickly as well.

Normally, when I lost my life to that demon in the dungeon, the contract I had formed with the spirits should have crumbled shortly afterward.

It seemed that my soul had settled back in its rightful place within my body.

Since my soul hadn’t perished, the original contracts from my spirits appeared to remain intact.

‘The door being too small means…’

It probably meant that my physical prowess was far too weak to call them.

There’s also a rather cryptic phrase.

“If it’s tightly shut…”

─Just as I said, the door is tightly locked. Even if Ray manages to strengthen the door, they still won’t be able to cross over!

Piel said with a giggle, finding it fascinating and amusing.

Her words deepened my thoughts, and the interest of both elves grew stronger.

What caused the door to be locked? What could possibly unlock that door?

Questions piled on top of each other.

But my reflections didn’t extend too far, as Piel’s bright voice pulled my mind back to the surface.

─But even if you have two already, you can still form a contract for one more! So, I’ll call my friends now!

After declaring she’d summon her friends, Piel donned a subtle smile and began to channel the winds around us.

Despite sounding like a kid, Piel was no ordinary spirit.

She could command the condensed natural energy, and the trees and shrubs around us rustled in response to her will.

Whooosh─!

Fresh leaves soared with the wind’s guidance, gathering next to Piel.

Gathering and compressing, the essence of the wind erupted from a single point.

Bam─!

The whirlwind swept through the vicinity, and what emerged was—

─Here! My friend!

“…….”

A spirit in the form of a little creature, looking very unimposing, as if it were destined to be squished by a cat.

‘It’s a low-level spirit.’

A small cotton-like being.

Only spirits of intermediate rank and above could normally communicate properly using human language.

Low-level spirits could only express their thoughts and questions correctly to their summoner.

The spirit before me made sounds that resembled those of a small animal, looking around.

─No, no. Friel is my summoner… Elisa has a friend already.

─Baaah!

─Friel is pretty, but what’s that good about? Our Friel isn’t ugly! No, that’s not it!

─Whaaaaaaa!

──You go that way, that way!

It seemed to possess a fairly developed sense of self, even among the lowest class spirits.

Thanks to that, Friel Arielte, the distinguished heir of the Arielte family, let out a sigh and made a sour face at their exchange.

To be honest, it was a bit annoying to see her smirk with such slyness while calmly chatting with Shione and me.

But seeing her now, thanks to Piel, it felt like the pent-up grievances were alleviating just a bit.

─Huh?

The spirit, which looked like a deflated cotton ball, tilted its head as soon as it caught sight of me.

Sway sway!

The little fluffball floated closer, tilting its head with every sway and finally made its way onto my right hand, its little eyes twinkling.

Sniff sniff!

After smelling the scent on my hand, it immediately rubbed its face against me like a cat.

It seemed my affinity had risen much high than I realized, easily captivating the low-level spirit.

─Woof woof!

The spirit barked loudly while looking up at me, and Piel chimed in to translate.

─Ray, it said it took a liking to you? If you want, it can personally offer to form a contract with you!

“Uh… Is that so?”

─Yup! Want to?

“Then… yes, I will.”

─Okay! To form the contract, the spirit mage must now…….

“I know how it works.”

─Hmm, you already know the rules of the contract… Ray is smarter than I thought. Well, I suppose that’s obvious since you’re tidier than our Friel… right?

Crunch.

Someone in the vicinity was heard grinding their teeth.

I stepped lightly over that sound and proceeded with the contract.

With the beat of my heart, I let my mana flow throughout my body.

A heightened spirit.

Today, I meant to intertwine my will with yours.

This mana, imbued with rich crimson, will continue to exist until this body wears and withers away.

You simply need to witness and accept my will.

I switched the cotton puff from my right hand to my left, then brought my index finger to my lips.

…It was time to prick it.

I placed my finger above its sharp fangs.

I couldn’t help it. A drop of my blood was necessary to form a contract with the spirit.

Okay…. one, two, three, and then you bite.

One. Two…. Three……!

“Eeep…….”

As I pinched my finger with its fangs, a sharper pain than I expected made my face contort involuntarily as I tried to suppress my reaction.

─Woof!

Finally, the spirit drank in my blood.

The process of forming a contract was straightforward.

A gentle breeze wrapped around us. The fluff floated along with my hair. And the special bond and closeness between us began to solidify as the contract came to fruition.

It was in that moment.

─Ah, it’s changing!

Right after the contract was finalized, the little puffball began to transform.

Pop! Pop!

Short, adorable legs sprouted out from its body.

And then—

Pop!

Little wings grew on its back.

─Oh, congratulations!

The spirit that had emerged with the least evolution looked at me with glee.

As Friel watched the tiny transformation, she moved closer.

“You completed the contract. Congratulations. It might be low-level still, but… Rey should be able to foster the spirit to intermediate level quickly. For now, it would be wise to cultivate it before we enter the Great Forest.”

The gap between low-level and intermediate-level spirits is vast.

In moving from this fluff to a form like Piel’s, it’s a significant enough step that few can manage to achieve it in one leap, barring extraordinary talent and bonds.

I just nodded along, matching her words with empty gestures.

“…I’ll do my best.”

Upon hearing that reply, Friel cracked a small smile before starting to scrutinize my finger.

“By the way, are you okay with your finger?”

“Oh… yes, it should heal quickly enough.”

“Hmm… there was no need to bite down that hard.”

“Huh?”

Wait a minute. No need to bite down?

“As a preparation for the contract, I had actually brought a small knife with me. Just needed to prick your fingertip a little, and I was startled when you suddenly bit it down like that.”

“You had a knife?”

“Indeed? Right, Elisa?”

At Friel’s words, Elisa stepped forward and displayed a small ceremonial blade.

While it wasn’t very sharp, it was certainly sufficient for puncturing my finger.

“…It would have been nice if you told me that sooner.”

“What? We had no idea you’d outright bite your finger, knowing the method of the contract!”

Friel began to chuckle, finding it amusing.

While her friend, Elisa, silently offered me her handkerchief.

“Here’s a handkerchief….”

“Oh… thank you.”

I wiped the blood from my finger with the handkerchief Elisa handed me, and thought to myself.

─Friel, that smile is making me uncomfortable!

“Well, so what? I witnessed something entertaining.”

In this world, male nobles are said to throw their handkerchiefs in the face of their opponent when challenging them to a duel.

I wanted to throw my handkerchief at that elf, who wore a grin that was impossible to hide amidst pure amusement.

 

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