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“Then let’s not do this here… Let’s talk in the garden.”

Unlike the relaxed tone of the High Elf, I was quite busy trying to grasp the meaning behind her calm voice.

‘Mentioning two top-tier spirits… reminds me of Friel and Elisa from before.’

I had already noticed Friel’s spirit, Piel. There were two spirits bound by a contract imprinted on the soul.

However, I recalled that both Friel, the contractor of Piel, and her servant, Elisa, seemed utterly oblivious until Piel carelessly revealed my existence.

It was a completely understandable reaction.

Although Friel and Elisa showed a considerable amount of interest upon hearing Piel’s words… What good was it to contract two spirits? They couldn’t summon them, or rather, they wouldn’t be able to. If they had successfully contracted with them normally, they wouldn’t have come rushing to follow her claim of aiding the contract with the spirits.

‘Friel and Elisa seemed to show initial interest at what Piel said… but eventually brushed it off as if it was nothing important.’

Even though Friel and Elisa had lived long enough for humans to consider it an eternity, they lacked the insight to glimpse the connection of contracts and bonds with spirits. Especially since the World Tree, connecting the spirit realm and this continent, was in such pain; outside the Great Forest, spotting a spirit was exceedingly rare.

No matter how talented I was and how widespread the rumors might be, could I even attempt a spirit contract without spirits to begin with?

In the Count’s House, far from the Great Forest, not only was it hard to find a trace of any spirit, but Piel also mentioned that I had formed contracts with not one, but two spirits, so it wasn’t something easily believable.

‘Though it was hard to believe, Piel’s genuine surprise was evident, merely planting the seeds of suspicion about me.’

That was the reaction of the two elves upon hearing that I possessed two spirits.

‘But this High Elf is different.’

An elf, born superior to the already superior race, the Grand Elder of the Great Forest was different.

She spoke with a deep conviction instead of the mere suspicion that the previous elves held.

‘So, she must have noticed.’

I never expected her to catch on so quickly.

The Grand Elder really was a thousand-year-old elf; she possessed a monstrous perception.

The Grand Elder’s gray pupils zeroed in on me, and in the brief exchange of glances, Shione and Fletta exhibited contrasting reactions.

“Hmm…”

Shione, who knew somewhat of my past, displayed a look of surprise at the Grand Elder’s unwavering assertion.

“Does that mean… he has contracted two top-tier spirits?”

Fletta, on the other hand, was openly expressing distrust towards me.

The Grand Elder glanced at me once, then opened the door of the temple she had just walked out of with a grand gesture.

“Fletta Arielte Elder, it’s still too early for the Elder to hear any more than this.”

The Grand Elder was resolute.

“From now on, I will speak with my esteemed guests in the garden, so the Elder should go inside and offer prayers to the World Tree instead. If you have any time to spare… yes, it wouldn’t be bad to help me trim the World Tree’s withering branches while you’re at it.”

“…Understood.”

“But there’s something important.”

The atmosphere of the Grand Elder subtly shifted.

A slight chill wrapped around Fletta’s throat, tightening ever so slightly.

“The Elder must not listen to what may be said in the garden from now on. And if, by some chance, you cannot help but overhear, you must not speak of it at all until I grant permission in the future. Causing trouble… if a variable arises and fate twists in an even worse direction… it could become quite cumbersome.”

Fletta quietly nodded. Following that, she entered the temple without a word and closed the door firmly.

Once the High Elf confirmed Fletta’s departing presence, she turned back to me and Shione.

“Then let’s head to the garden. I’ll introduce you to the garden I’ve carefully tended.”

With her hands clasped behind her back, the High Elf began to lead us with quiet steps. The hem of her dress fluttering in the breeze, she glanced back briefly to check our faces.

“Oh dear, I just realized I forgot the most basic thing.”

She bowed her head slightly once more to us.

I doubted my eyes. The High Elf I knew would never bow her head so easily, especially not to humans no older than thirty.

“I am Edelin, the Grand Elder of the Great Forest and a High Elf. Please feel free to call me Edelin.”

I also had to doubt my ears.

High Elves do not take kindly to having their names scattered carelessly among others. For them to permit the calling of their name usually meant a reciprocal sense of equality or a connection of feelings.

As I quietly watched the unexpectedly gentle actions of the High Elf, Shione quickly replied to Edelin.

“…Thank you, Grand Elder. I am Shione, and this is Ray.”

“You may call me Edelin comfortably, Young Lady.”

“However…”

“Edelin.”

“How could I easily call upon the name of the Grand Elder of the Great Forest?”

“Hmm. For you, Young Lady and Ray, you are more than worthy of calling my name.”

“…?”

Edelin shrugged and continued speaking.

“Throughout over a thousand years, whenever prophecies were received, I have read the destinies that were marked by this eye. Thanks to the grace of the World Tree, as the time approaches for me to fulfill my destiny, my eyes have become somewhat capable of discerning and reading destinies. Though not quite as good as the violet eyes of the Aisyliya royal family… I take pride in saying my eyes are fairly exceptional.”

Her gray pupils shimmered.

“The last prophecy and the destinies I see for you are quite monumental. Young Lady’s destiny aligns with that of my dear friend, Shianella, or perhaps even exceeds it… so I felt you would be ample enough to become friends with her—”

Edelin’s gaze slowly shifted to the side of Shione, lingering on the Cotton Puff resting on my shoulder, before turning towards me.

“Ray, you…”

For some reason, the Grand Elder abruptly stopped speaking and closed her mouth tightly.

Her murky pupils appeared as though recalling the past.

“You too resemble my dear friend’s soul and destiny. If you wish, you may call upon me by name.”

*

In the garden Edelin tended, all sorts of flowers were gathered. Unlike Shione and the majority of elves who liked to garden, I had no deep interest in these static plants.

‘…I’m so bored.’

Flowerbed here, flowerbed there. If I looked up to the sky, instead of bees floating over the flowerbed, there were just spirits playing around, trying to tackle each other.

Occasionally, spirits would race towards me at full speed, but I wasn’t sure if they wanted to hug me or strike me. I was managing the endless cycle of boredom while dodging the spirits closing in.

The ones enjoying this situation the most were not the spirits, who had suddenly turned the game into a fight, but…

“Wow… Edelin…! Isn’t that flower only found in the Empire? I thought it couldn’t be seen in the Kingdom…”

“Oh, do you know that flower, Shione?”

“Yes. The legend around that flower is quite moving, so I remembered it. But I never expected to see it here.”

“Shione seems to be more knowledgeable about flowers than I thought. Then… do you know about that one over there?”

“That flower is…”

Shione squinted her eyes.

“It’s a Baby Giraffe Flower.”

“Oh. Do you know what it symbolizes?”

“Of course. It’s a girl’s love, isn’t it?”

“Shione, you certainly seem to have a keen interest in flowers! It’s like you have a love for plants as deep as our elves do.”

…Baby Giraffe Flower.

The nightmare of the sudden engagement breakup with Evan Feiosha from a year ago flashed in my mind.

Back then, I thought, what on earth was this guy thinking? But looking back now, it seems like quite an amusing memory.

At that time, I imagine how to tell about the canceled engagement while being stuck in front of the letter I had to send to the Count’s House. The distortion in Diolia’s expression was truly unique. Her face, filled with despair and conflict, still vividly remains.

While I was stuck in that brief recollection, suddenly, Edelin turned around and stared directly at me.

“Then let’s take a break from the sightseeing and talk with Ray now.”

“……”

“Right now, what Ray deeply wishes for is a conversation about spirits. Your contract bound to your soul. You must want to meet those friends once more.”

The smile that had been blooming on Shione’s face while looking at the flowers was nowhere to be found. Edelin spoke seriously, each word carrying weight.

“I won’t ask how your soul is linked with top-tier spirits or how you possess that absurd purity of energy. That’s unnecessary. Those who share the same soul and destiny as you have always possessed such special traits. You must be similar in that regard. Especially since divine energy protects you.”

The words about divine energy, an unknown concept.

A millennium is not a short time for me either. There have been many like you during that long span. Edelin added with that.

Thought-provoking phrases filled with contemplation.

However, she seemed to imply that now was not the time for my solitary pondering. She swiftly cut out all unnecessary details and continued on.

“Your spirits are linked through the soul, yet for various complex reasons, they cannot manifest. Without dragging out this dull story, Ray, while it may be difficult to bring both of them to you, if it’s only one… I can reunite you with it right now.”

Suddenly, Edelin’s eyes sparkled sharply.

She raised her slender index finger, pointing directly at me.

“Of course, after the war with the demons ends. If you use the top-tier Spirit Stone of the Great Forest that I gave to Shianella.”

She perfectly discerned the presence of the Spirit Stone in the box I held.

Simultaneously, when Edelin mentioned the Spirit Stone given to Shianella, Shione flinched and reacted.

Edelin referring to Shianella indicated she was speaking about the founding head of the Count’s House, meaning that this High Elf had given a prized possession of hers to the esteemed founder, which now sat in my hands.

Having the treasured family heirloom were currently in my possession would surely sound strange to Shione.

“Ray…?”

“Go ahead and take it out.”

Unable to resist the flow of the conversation, I gently retrieved the box from my garment.

Then, I opened the lid, revealing the brilliant jade-colored gem to the world.

Shione seemed to have known about the existence of this Spirit Stone as well. Upon seeing the sudden appearance of the precious spirit stone, her expression turned anxious.

“Uh… this is the one that was in the very back of our storage. It’s immensely precious and important… Ray, why do you have this…?”

I looked at Shione blankly before calmly replying.

“…Lady Siabel gave it to me.”

“But this is… something only the head of the Count’s House is allowed to take from the storage…?”

“……”

“……”

After a brief silence, Shione tilted her head slightly, her expression filled with disbelief.

“Could it be that what I’m thinking is true?”

I replied with the most nonchalant tone possible to Shione’s question.

“What you’re thinking is probably correct.”

“…That Siabel sister?”

I nodded slightly in response to Shione’s words.

The Siabel Shianella I knew was a knight who knew how to keep her promises and was the finest thief of the Count’s House.

And with the emergence of that Spirit Stone…

“Hmm.”

Edelin was giving an unprecedentedly profound smile, much denser than before.

 

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