Whether the current project was successful or not would be decided not by the subordinates, but by the higher-ups who would confirm the presence or absence of results.
The Tester’s Spirit Contract Project was plagued with trouble that lingered on its schedule, and it was wavering between continuation and cancellation.
Those below could only present information that could sway the decision, and then it was up to fate.
They had no choice but to entrust themselves to the judgment from above.
In this world where only the moonlit night existed, the word “midnight” might not be appropriate, but the inhabitants of this world also slept.
There was indeed a time when the inhabitants were fast asleep.
“I see, so that’s what happened.”
“Yes, I’m troubled by his recent tendency for trouble. I was honestly relieved that Muil-san was unharmed amidst it all.”
“What? In this world, powerful spirits abound, so there’s no way an undead could avoid being defeated instantly.”
“That’s very reassuring.”
This was the same in the Spirit Village.
The rainbow-colored sky now showed me a magnificent Milky Way, giving the spirits a moment of peace.
Some spirits were active during this time, so it wasn’t entirely quiet.
Still, it remained a leisurely and peaceful scene.
While Dark Elves in the Spirit Forest and the village were busy with post-event cleanup, I had come to pick up Muil-san, who had remained in the Spirit Village.
When Valse-san had teleported me to the base of this incident, I had acted without a word and thought he would be waiting around cluelessly, so I had hurried over, but…
“Hoh, the son-in-law arrived sooner than expected.”
Seeing him leisurely casting his fishing line into the spring, enjoying night fishing, and the shichirin beside him, I thought perhaps there was no need to rush.
Suppressing a sigh, I explained the current situation, leading to the conversation at the beginning.
“Hahaha, once you get used to it, there’s no more comfortable space than this.”
“I suppose so.”
In the bucket by his side, there were about two magnificent fish that looked quite fatty. I idly wondered if there were creatures other than spirits in the Spirit Village, and I struggled to decide whether to be exasperated or impressed by the man in front of me who was preparing an environment for enjoying a survival life.
“I’ll treat you to some later, son-in-law. Well, if the situation outside is like that, hmm, then perhaps I shouldn’t have been leisurely casting my fishing line here. I should hurry back to the village.”
“That would be a great help.”
As if noticing my gaze, Muil-san gave me a sly, mischievous smile, then gestured as if to drink alcohol and offered to let me eat some fish.
I responded by saying it would be meaningful to accompany him and that he should just go back honestly, and began helping Muil-san, who had started cleaning up.
With two men, and one of them being someone accustomed to staying in the Spirit Village, the cleanup was done in no time.
However, due to the time of day, we couldn’t immediately call for a spirit to transport us, so we left the minimum necessary equipment for spending the night.
We would camp here tonight and return the following morning.
We leaned against each other in suitable spots, protected by the barrier Muil-san had erected, and closed our eyelids to heal our tired bodies.
We woke up a little before the sky began to shine with rainbow colors again. On the way back, Muil-san called for a whale-like taxi spirit, Horei, and we easily returned to our original location.
From there, we headed for the entrance of the Spirit Village, passed through the mist, returned to the elder’s mansion, and then made our way to the village plaza.
Even in the early morning, there were many people, but with the recent commotion, people’s movements were even more hurried.
Despite receiving several gazes, we joined the flow of people and headed towards a simple errand with Muil-san, only to see…
“Hoahha!? Water, water!? Kitamiya-chan!?”
Kaido was being gnawed on by a dog lighting a fire on its head and thrashing about.
“Yes, yes, hold on a little longer.”
As if Kaido was completely out of her sight, Kitamiya was earnestly trying to direct the white kitten’s attention towards her by slowly dangling a cat teaser.
“Aaaaaa, we are, aliens~.”
“Amī, I don’t think using spirit power like that is a good idea, you know?”
I searched for someone who could explain what was going on, but Amelia, facing a green little creature that looked like a mix of a squirrel and a cat, was having fun and hadn’t noticed us.
“Muu?”
“Myuu?”
Normally, Minami would be making noise, but she was staring at a creature that looked like cotton candy. When the other party tilted its head, Minami also tilted her head, creating an irregular game of staring.
Hoping for a last resort, I looked for Katsu.
“Ah, Jiro-san, welcome back.”
“Ah, I’m back. And sorry, but what are they doing?”
Katsu, with a blue frog on his head, greeted me.
Finally finding someone I could have a proper conversation with, I felt relieved, but I didn’t know how to react to the party members engaged in various activities, so I frankly asked.
“Um, Kaido-senpai and Kitamiya-san are trying to contract with the spirits they saved in the forest, and Minami and Amelia have finished their contracts, so they’re interacting, I guess? They’re trying to deepen their bonds.”
“I see. The fact that they’re still fulfilling their objectives even amidst such chaos is just like them.”
The former were the group that hadn’t made contracts yet, and the latter were the group that had made contracts.
Kaido, who I managed to pull away from his head, was once again confronting a red dog that was flickering fire near his head.
Kaido held what looked like dried meat in his hand and was trying to lure it with that, but it didn’t seem very effective in front of an excited spirit.
Kitamiya was probably using a cat teaser because the opponent looked like a cat, but since it was a spirit with intelligence greater than a cat, it sensed her intention and was wary.
However, it also seemed confused, as much as it was wary.
I could only offer a wry smile at the two who had directed their efforts in the wrong direction.
“Hohohoho, you should approach spirits with a sincere heart. You and the young lady over there seem to be doing that, but as adults, it’s hard to be so straightforward. Well, I think it will be fine if you just observe those two for a while.”
I was curious about how Katsu had made his contract, but knowing him, he probably handled it skillfully.
Looking at the frog spirit with an expression similar to the serious Katsu, I could imagine a scene where they had a contract after just a few words.
That’s what you call being alike.
Amelia probably approached them innocently.
She truly embodied Muil-san’s words, projecting an atmosphere of wanting to play together. Right now, spirits were flying around her body, using it as an athletic course, jumping on her arms and head, or even doing handstands with applied dance techniques.
“It’s rare to see a young lady like her. She’s trying to see the true nature of the spirit, but the spirit doesn’t seem uncomfortable. That’s unusual. And to have contracted with a cloud spirit, that’s also rare.”
“In Minami’s case, while she’s curious, interacting with spirits is more important to her.”
Minami has the fantasy beings she’s been seeking. With her childish mental age, it’s no wonder she got so excited about that existence. I don’t know how the spirit perceived her emotions, which were a combination of curiosity and affection, but at least the fact that she could contract means that much.
If we’re talking about mental age, Kaido is also like that, but he seems to be treating spirits like ordinary dogs instead of interacting with them, which is probably why he’s angered them and complicated the contract. If he could just improve that, he’d be able to contract easily. I wonder why my kouhai’s path, which should be straight, keeps veering off. Kitamiya’s seriousness, I surmised, was also misdirected, but if it aligns properly, it should be fine. Despite everything, unlike the other testers, she’s managed to secure her target spirit. I have to acknowledge that.
“I heard the situation from the Supervisor’s unit, but I never expected it to be resolved in this manner. And of all people, Amelia.”
“I thought it couldn’t be helped.”
“Don’t worry, I’m not blaming you.”
I had received an explanation of how things had come to this before going to pick up Muil-san. However, perhaps my phrasing was poor, as it sounded like I was blaming Amelia for acting unilaterally. I corrected myself, but a wry smile was probably on my face. Although I corrected my words, there was a hint of exasperation in them. It was because I thought her stubborn insistence on pushing through resembled me. Thinking that I was influencing it, it became difficult for me to blame Amelia’s actions, which I heard about in the report, and the party members who supported her.
“For now, the important thing is that you’re all safe. So, that’s good. Also, I’ll inform the other testers as well, but this project is scheduled to resume once safety is confirmed. Since you’ve all achieved your objectives, you might be assigned to help out where hands are short, so be prepared for that. For now, please tell the others to rest for two or three days.”
“Understood.”
As if changing the subject, I relayed the message from the soldiers who were at the elder’s mansion when we returned, and without saying anything more about Amelia’s actions, I let out a wry smile towards those heartless people who didn’t even look at me and moved on to the next schedule.
“They’re quite enjoyable friends, aren’t they?”
“Please don’t tease me.”
As I started walking, having asked Katsu to relay the message, Muil-san spoke to me with a laugh.
“I spoke my true feelings. Those kinds of friends are important, you know.”
“Understood.”
“Yes, being honest is good.”
Although I didn’t say it out loud due to embarrassment, I was happy to hear my friends praised. With such a buoyant feeling in my heart, I walked through the village with Muil-san. We arrived at a certain area deeper in the village, a military facility guarded by Dark Elf soldiers. Perhaps because word had been sent ahead, the gate slowly opened as soon as they saw us. Well, the buoyant mood ends here. Shaking off the feeling of taking a break, I switched to work mode.
We were led into the facility, and following the soldiers’ guidance, we descended a long staircase carved into the trunk of a large tree. We went down the wooden stairs, illuminated by spirits, to the bottom of the ground, in other words, underground. That was our destination.
“Oh, you’re here.”
“You’re late.”
“I’m sorry I’m late.”
“We’ve been waiting.”
This was an underground prison. A special prison for those who had committed especially serious crimes among criminals. The spirit-based surveillance network surpassed modern security. In one of the rooms in this facility were Keiri-san and Nostalfer. And beyond the iron bars was the tester I had captured.
“Did you find anything?”
“Nothing. They’ve managed to erase all the evidence.”
“All information about this human has also disappeared. It’s even questionable whether he was a tester who actually made a contract.”
They must have investigated the man sitting in a corner of the cell, curled up in a ball. All they found was that he had no proof of identity and was essentially a nobody. Keiri-san shook her head as if she was at her wit’s end, and Nostalfer could only close her eyes and sigh at this result, even though it was only a preliminary investigation.
They had probably been investigating non-stop since my and the supervisor’s unit’s return. Fatigue was evident on their faces.
“Honestly, what am I supposed to do when I can’t even communicate with him?”
“He doesn’t answer anything we say, he just keeps looking at his right hand.”
“His right hand… does that mean the magic sword is involved?”
“Yes, that seems to be the case. We have a broken magic sword and a broken gauntlet. Honestly, that’s the only clue we have. However, it will be a while before we receive that information. Or rather, it won’t be in time for this project to end, so we’ll likely receive that report after we return.”
“It’s frustrating, but there’s nothing else we can do. For now, we’re discussing with Evia-sama’s subordinates about escorting this man to headquarters.”
“So, we’ll transport him tomorrow or the day after, and we’ll be free from our burden. In exchange, a mountain of reports will be waiting for the three of us when we get back.”
“I’m prepared for it.”
The resumption of the Spirit Contract Project probably depends on when these two are free. Until then, it’s a brief vacation. I was also a bit tired of making contracts myself. I wanted to rest for a while, but…
“Muil-san, is there something on your mind? You’ve been watching silently since a moment ago.”
“I was just observing what kind of person the man who caused this commotion was.”
“Your evaluation?”
“A pawn. Be careful, son-in-law. This incident might not be over yet.”
Muil-san’s words lingered in my mind, echoing persistently.
Today’s word: If the end is vague, the anxiety remains. It’s difficult to perform a job perfectly.
This concludes this installment. If you enjoyed it, please leave comments, ratings, bookmarks, etc.
*The first volume of this work has been decided to be published by Hayakawa Bunko JA. The release date is scheduled for October 18, 2018. The content includes revisions and additions to the material posted on Shōsetsuka ni Narō, along with an unpublished interlude. Please continue your support for this work.
