We live at the foothills of Dragon Peak.
Onigokko
“Um. Mistral, you’re ‘it’ next.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
“Meow.”
“Oh dear, I’ll have to run with all my might.”
“This is tough.”
The day after I met Priscilla-chan and the others.
I came to the Moss Garden as usual.
And then, I encountered a terrifying sight.
Priscilla-chan, Nimia, and Mistral. Besides them, there were two unfamiliar adult men.
They were having a ferocious game of onigokko.
One of the men had light green hair and a gentle appearance. He was tall with flowing clothes, and his long hair and gestures gave him a noble air.
The other man had short brown hair and a stern face with a goatee. Even through his clothes, his bulging muscles were apparent. Despite his imposing physique, a gentle smile softened his aura.
I wondered who these two men were.
As I was thinking, Mistral, who was ‘it’, chased after the stern, goateed man with incredible speed, closing in.
However, the man suddenly disappeared into the ground and reappeared elsewhere.
Mistral shifted his target to the nearby Priscilla-chan and moved at high speed again.
Priscilla-chan escaped using spatial jump.
But Mistral immediately pinpointed where Priscilla-chan had appeared and closed in.
Priscilla-chan continued to flee with consecutive jumps.
The gentle man escaped by riding the wind into the sky.
Mistral chased the people running around the Moss Garden with incredible speed, in all directions.
Then, Nimia, unable to escape, became the next ‘it’.
“Uh…”
I stood there, dumbfounded by the excessively intense game of onigokko.
Or rather, who are these two unfamiliar men?
Seeing Mistral chase the man makes me incredibly jealous.
“Oh, Elnea. You’re here.”
*Sniffle.* I’m sad you didn’t notice me until now.
“Um. Hello, Onii-chan.”
“Meow.”
“My apologies.”
“Hmm.”
Everyone stopped playing onigokko and came over to me.
“Um. Who are these men?”
Since they’re here at the Moss Garden, are they people recognized by Old Man Sleigsta?
They have round ears like us, so they aren’t from the Mimicho Race, are they? At first, I thought they were Priscilla-chan’s acquaintances.
“Oh, my apologies. I am a Wind Spirit, employed by Lady Priscilla.”
The gentle man, now revealed as the Wind Spirit, bowed elegantly.
“I am an Earth Spirit.”
The man with the short brown hair and goatee replied with a smile.
“S-spirits? Nice to meet you, I’m Elnea.”
The Wind Spirit and Earth Spirit, and I, all bowed politely.
What? They were Priscilla-chan’s spirits? Come to think of it, Grand Elder Grandma did say Priscilla-chan had spirits.
But I didn’t expect to see two human-shaped spirits.
Priscilla-chan hugged me as a greeting.
I held her and headed towards Old Man Sleigsta.
“You’re so loved,” Mistral teased me.
Maybe she’s still holding a grudge about yesterday.
“H-hello, Grandpa.”
“Hmm, as steadfast as ever, which is for the best.”
Old Man Sleigsta looked unusually sleepy. Did something chaotic happen last night?
“Indeed. Both Mistral and I are sleep-deprived.”
“Priscilla is too energetic.”
Mistral gave a wry smile.
Ah, as expected, that’s the usual Mistral. Good, good.
“Um. It’s fun.”
“Meow.”
Priscilla-chan, beaming, and Nimia, comfortably resting on her head. They’re truly adorable.
The Wind Spirit and Earth Spirit didn’t approach Old Man Sleigsta, watching us from a slight distance.
“Your spirits are humanoid too, Priscilla-chan. That’s amazing!”
Priscilla-chan rejoiced in my arms when I praised her. I almost dropped her.
“Elnea, it’s nothing special,” Mistral sighed with a troubled air.
“Opposing elements, and not only that, but adult human forms…”
“Is that amazing? I don’t know much about spirit users.”
The long-haired gentle man is the Wind Spirit, and the short-haired, goateed man is the Earth Spirit. I admit they have opposing elements, but I don’t quite understand what’s so amazing about it.
“Hmm. I shall teach you before meditation. First, about elements.”
It was Old Man Sleigsta’s lesson. He sometimes teaches me various things, and I always learn something new.
“If you contract with a spirit of one element, spirits of opposing elements will naturally dislike you and refuse to contract. If you still wish to contract, you must either overpower them with force or build a strong relationship of friendship.”
“Um. Wind and Earth are friends.”
Hmm, hmm. So Priscilla-chan contracted with two spirits of opposing elements by building a friendship. Well, with Priscilla-chan’s cuteness, I’d happily contract with her too.
“Now, about their form.”
I learned about forms from Grand Elder Grandma of the Mimicho Race. Humanoid forms are the highest rank, you see.
The Wind Spirit and the Earth Spirit must be very powerful spirits.
“Hmm, you lack a bit of knowledge. Spirits grow under the power of their contractors. Even with human forms, the power differs greatly between adult and child forms. To manifest in an adult form requires an immense amount of spirit power.”
“That’s right, Elnea. Furthermore, manifesting two adult spirits simultaneously and maintaining it for a long time requires an exceptional amount of spirit power.”
“Uwah, so it’s actually an incredibly amazing thing?”
I didn’t know that simply nurturing spirits was amazing, and maintaining their manifestation required an exceptional amount of spirit power.
They must have been playing onigokko before I arrived, and they’re still watching us from a distance.
Even just standing here, Priscilla-chan has been constantly expending spirit power.
She must be the Next Tribal Leader for a reason.
“You’re amazing, Priscilla-chan!”
“Um. But I’m at my limit.”
As Priscilla-chan said that, the Wind Spirit dissolved, and the Earth Spirit burrowed into the earth and disappeared.
“It’s like with Elnea. It was practice to use your power skillfully and increase your spirit power.”
“Is that so? I thought that was the Mimicho Race’s way of playing onigokko.”
It was a game of onigokko I couldn’t participate in.
“I’m tired too,” Mistral gave a wry smile.
Mistral, while unable to teleport, was incredibly fast. As expected of the Dragon Race, and the Dragon Princess.
“Now, now that things have settled down, we shall diligently continue our training from yesterday.”
Prompted by Old Man Sleigsta, I began to meditate.
I sat cross-legged, placing the Spirit Tree Wooden Sword on my lap.
Then, Priscilla-chan started napping on my lap. Nimia, you too.
Smiling as they watched us, Mistral headed towards the Ancient Tree Forest.
“Where are you going?”
“Fufufu. To get the firewood you need, and something delicious.”
With that, Mistral disappeared into the forest.
Ah, I see. They were busy taking care of the little ones until just now, so they hadn’t gone foraging yet.
Thank you, as always.
With heartfelt gratitude towards Mistral, I began my meditation.
As soon as I closed my eyes, I felt the life force of the Spirit Tree on my lap. Then, I felt the comfortable breathing and warmth of Priscilla-chan and Nimia.
As my meditation deepened, I began to feel the powerful flow of the Dragon Vein.
I absorbed the Dragon Vein, refined it within my body, and sublimated it into Dragon Energy. Then, I slowly flowed it into the Spirit Tree.
As I did so, I felt a sense of joy emanating from the Spirit Tree.
I felt a presence near my ear, different from the wind.
Grandma said I have a Spirit Tree Spirit possessing me, so perhaps this is the spirit?
Thinking this, I continued my meditation.
The Moss Garden became lively.
Mistral had apparently gone to the Mimicho Race village to pick up Priscilla-chan and Nimia in the morning.
In the afternoon, I joined them, and we trained and had fun together.
On the way back, Old Man Sleigsta teleported us all back.
Mistral is a beautiful woman, and Priscilla-chan and Nimia are very cute.
I was living a happy daily life.
Then, one day.
When the summer had completely ended and autumn had arrived.
“Elnea-kun. Do you remember our promise?”
At school, Ruiseine said to me, sounding a little sulky.
Ah. Ahhhhhh!
I forgot again…
“I-I’m sorry, Ruiseine.”
Why do I always forget?
Ruiseine didn’t pursue it at all, and with the Moss Garden always so lively, I had completely forgotten.
But this is entirely my fault.
I haven’t kept my promise.
“I’m truly sorry.”
“Oh, dear me. If you look so dejected, I don’t know what to do.”
Ruiseine gave a wry smile.
“I believe you’ll teach me someday, Elnea-kun.”
“Yes, please believe me. I’ll definitely teach you.”
“Yes, I believe… or rather, I’d like to say that.”
I was taken aback as Ruiseine suddenly leaned her face closer.
Gasp. You’re too close.
Lately, Ruiseine has been strangely proactive.
We’ve become a little closer since the incident at the ruins, and as Kiiri and Inea, who were originally good friends with Ruiseine, started disappearing more often with the Hero Listea, I feel like we began spending more time together at school.
But recently, she’s become even more proactive than before.
Ruiseine is beautiful, and I’m happy to become closer to her.
However, I have Mistral, and I don’t understand why Ruiseine wants to be friends with me.
“Y-you won’t forgive me?”
I panicked. In many ways, I was panicking.
Our noses were almost touching.
The boys in our class often complain, “Why is an idiot like you so friendly with Ruiseine?”
The girls watch us with amusement, which is awkward.
I thought the Miko was a being of purity, but Ruiseine is surprisingly proactive.
Well, Kiiri and Inea are in a romantic relationship with Listea, so romance might not be forbidden.
“…”
Ruiseine moved her face closer to me and stared intently without averting her gaze.
I-is she actually angry? What if Ruiseine gets angry, will she be scary?
“Elnea-kun.”
“Y-yes!”
“As punishment, you’ll be doing servitude.”
“Ehhhhhh?!”
I was shocked and shouted at Ruiseine’s unexpected statement.
Servitude, what will I be made to do? Cleaning the temple? Or charitable activities? I’ve never done either, what does Ruiseine plan to make me do?!
Seeing my strained face, Ruiseine smiled.
C-could this mean something even more terrifying awaits me?
For some reason, Ruiseine’s smile scares me.
“Elnea-kun.”
“Y-yes!”
My voice cracked with tension.
“You’ll be going on an errand.”
“A-an errand?”
“Yes. An errand to the Sub-Capital.”
W-what?!
I, who have never left the vicinity of the capital city, am suddenly being sent on a long trip.
This has become a serious situation.
“Let’s go to the Sub-Capital together,” Ruiseine declared with a beaming smile.
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