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After finishing the contract with the spirit, we finally returned from the open space towards the carriage.

“Then, may you have a delightful meal, Young Lady. See you next time.”

“Yes, see you next time.”

Finally bidding farewell to the elves, I approached the carriage that Shione and I had come in together.

In front of it stood Diolia, a steadfast knight of the Count’s House.

Seeing her loitering by the carriage entrance, it seemed she had a reason to look for either Shione or me.

“Lady Diolia.”

“Oh, Ray. I haven’t seen you in a while; is something going on?”

“I just had a chat with Friel Arielte regarding her request.”

“Hmm… you didn’t go with Princess Shione, but alone? When I peeked inside the carriage, it seemed Princess Shione was asleep.”

Diolia wore a slightly displeased expression.

She briefly looked around to check if anyone else was nearby.

Fortunately, there were no signs of anyone else near us.

“I also heard from the head of the Count’s House about the strange elf who is a friend of ours… It seems it would have been better for you to go with Princess Shione, rather than alone.”

It looks like Diolia had heard a bit about the elves from Ainel Shianella before heading out to the carriage path.

I smiled quietly, satisfied with her appropriate attitude, and replied.

“Don’t worry. The reason Friel came to me was simply a continuation of advice regarding spirit magic that wasn’t fully discussed at the Count’s House. I just got some brief advice and assistance.”

“A continuation of advice, you say?”

“Yes. Thanks to this opportunity—”

Something began to stir atop my head.

“Now that I’ve met the spirit.”

Suddenly, a spirit that had been buried in my hair popped out.

It looked like a cotton puff and was rather cute.

The calm and rational knight, Diolia, was momentarily captivated by the spirit.

“A spirit…?”

“Yes, not only the spirit but also I gathered quite a bit of information about the Great Forest… I’ll explain everything once I’m with Princess Shione later.”

What I heard from Friel was quite significant.

The discrimination against people from our Count’s House who may be inside the Great Forest.

Included were insights about the Ianette Family, who held hostility towards us, unlike the friendly Arielte Family.

It would be wise to drop hints to Shione, Diolia, and other trustworthy individuals on our side.

Diolia, evidently fascinated by the spirit, kept her gaze fixed on the little cotton puff hovering above my head and nodded.

“…Yes, I’ll remember this and wait.”

“It seems you find the spirit intriguing.”

“Hmm…”

Diolia nodded slightly at my question.

“Spirits passed down through legends are often said to bring storms and floods or even droughts, so…”

“Isn’t it cuter than you expected?”

“Right, I never would have imagined it would look this adorable.”

“Would you like to take a closer look?”

“Is that really okay?”

“Of course.”

I raised my right hand over my head.

“Want to come down for a bit?”

—Bloop!

The spirit sprang from my head.

Flapping its tiny wings, the cotton puff leaped onto my palm, puffing out its fluff as if to show off its appearance, proudly gazing at Diolia.

…Though it looked pretty ridiculous because of its appearance, it probably thought it was quite cool.

—Meow…

As I gently patted its little head, it lay down on my palm.

It seemed that the majestic image of the spirit Diolia had imagined was quite far from reality.

“Hmm…”

With her arms crossed and right hand raised to her mouth, Diolia gazed seriously at the spirit.

Making an effort to remember it, she even inclined her head a bit in front of me as she focused intently on the spirit.

Whoosh!

Suddenly, she raised her head and looked up at me.

“May I pet it once?”

There was a hint of obsession in her gaze.

Though it might not look like that, Diolia seemed to have a weakness for cute things.

“Of course.”

Well, petting a spirit wouldn’t wear down my hand, so I reached out my hand to bring her closer to the spirit.

Having toughened up my hands through daily sword training, I extended it towards the spirit.

Seemingly excited, it raised its little mouth into a sly grin.

But the spirit, unaware of her feelings, turned its head away.

—Bloop.

Flap flap!

The spirit floated up into the air above me again.

“Oh…”

All that was left was Diolia with a blank expression, having made eye contact with me while chasing the spirit.

“Hmm. That’s a shame.”

Diolia quickly returned to her dignified knight persona and cleared her throat.

“So, a meal will start soon. Wake up Princess Shione. Understood?”

“…I will comply.”

“See you later.”

Feeling a bit embarrassed by her series of actions, Diolia swiftly turned and headed to where the others were.

I entered the carriage with the spirit on my head, having a silent conversation with it, pondering why she avoided me, with no reply.

“Just as I thought.”

Our noble guest had been deeply asleep despite plenty of time passing.

I really wondered why she slept so much.

“Princess Shione, wake up.”

First, I spoke.

“Wake up.”

Then I shook her shoulders.

“Ugh… why…?”

After several shakes and poking her cheeks repeatedly, it seemed Shione still struggled in her sleep.

With a small sigh, I added a touch of urgency to my voice.

“Wind. Strong enough to wake her up.”

—Bloop!

The spirit, seemingly understanding, began to flutter in the air.

No matter how much it looked like it would fall with the gentle blow of a fly swatter, it was still a spirit.

The spirit, having nested on my head, created a gust of wind in accordance with my command.

“Ah… wait, what is this…! Ray!”

As the surprisingly strong wind hit her face, Shione finally opened her eyes wide in shock.

Finally, her heavy eyelids lifted, revealing her blue pupils to the world.

The first thing her eyes fixated on wasn’t me, but rather a single white fluttering cotton puff.

“W-What is this moth?!”

Out of nowhere, the spirit had turned into a moth.

*

After a peaceful chat and sharing lunch as usual, Shione and I returned to the carriage.

Originally, the carriage we used with just the two of us maintained a calm and serene atmosphere.

But this time, it was a little different.

There was one more small, noisy friend in the carriage besides Shione and me.

—Kyaang!

The cotton puff spirit fluttered around as if it found the inside of the carriage incredibly fascinating.

Shione’s eyes sparkled brightly, matching the shining spirit, radiating with curiosity.

She chased after the tiny spirit jumping around with her small wings, her head turning back and forth.

“Ray, you said it was a spirit… right?”

“Yes, it’s a low-level wind spirit.”

“…How did you get it? You said you would explain it in the carriage during lunch.”

“I will start explaining now. It’s that—”

I slowly began to explain to Shione.

Starting from the scolding about why I had a talk separately with the elves.

The opinions on our house gathered from the elves along with what Friel added about them.

And eventually ending with all that I learned about the spirits. I realized I had spent quite some time elaborating on such content.

There were indeed many questions raised, and I provided quite a few answers, which consumed a significant amount of time.

I found something to drink prepared in the carriage and took a long sip.

“So… the little one flying around now is the spirit that will be with you?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Then it looks fluffy… can I pet it a bit?”

“Of course.”

With the bond I had formed with the spirit, I could read its intentions instinctively, if it was allowed.

I wished strongly for the spirit to return to me, and its gaze shifted from a little adventure in a corner of the carriage to me.

When I raised my hand, the spirit quickly soared over and rubbed its cheek against mine, making it feel quite cute.

Shione, just like Diolia before, wore an expression of excitement as she slightly flexed her hand.

Then.

Tap.

—Bloop!

“Ugh…?”

The little spirit flicked Shione’s fingertip with its short legs.

Then it came up my arm and perched on my shoulder, quietly gazing at Shione.

Then, in an instant.

—Heng.

With a swift flick of its head, it turned away and began nuzzling my cheek instead.

Just to suggest to move away a little, I gently patted its head with my index finger.

Seeing which, Shione stared back and forth between the spirit and me, looking utterly baffled.

“Honestly…”

She let out a voice tinged with exasperation.

“Ray.”

Shione said, her tone slightly laced with annoyance and jealousy.

“I don’t like it.”

…Wait, seriously, why are you getting jealous over this cute cotton puff spirit?

 

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