“Fufufu, I’m glad My Lord is motivated. Now may I ask you a question?”
I asked Miguel, who was smiling as he held and opened his hands for some reason. So far I have been acting to bring this world to a happy ending, but not from here on out.
“Eh? What?”
“Are there any other mysterious spirits like me summoned to this school?”
Yes, this was very likely. As far as I could remember from the first round, there were no spirits like me in this world …, which was not surprising since I was the only human spirit. But that was also true of Tia, and if there was another spirit that had appeared similar to me, there was a pretty high probability that it was Tia.
“Ah, Yeah there is. Nash summoned one three days ago. It was a big deal at the time because it was so unusual. … I guess that’s why there wasn’t an uproar about mine this time around.”
“Three days ago…!?”
When I heard it was three days ago, I let my body go limp so that my expression wouldn’t be noticed. Ah, Really… I am really glad.
If there was a severe discrepancy, the question arises as to what might happen on the return trip, or whether it would be possible to meet in the first place and the fact there was a only difference of three days was the best news I heard… but there were some additional things I needed to confirm.
“So who’s this … Nash?”
“Nash is … what do you call, A jerk. He has a contract with a spirit called …. Tia. Ordinary spirits can only use magic of their own attribute, but Tia can use all six attributes! That’s why she’s on a roll these days!”
“Ah, I see… By the way, Is He treating his spirit roughly…?
“I don’t think so? It’s different if we make a contract as adults, but I don’t think we can make them do anything that they dislike under our contract… Isn’t it the same with you, Eidos?”
“… Correct.”
Actually, I had no idea what the specific binding force of that contract was, either in the first round or now. After all, I was a human, so it wasn’t magical, of course.
But what about Tia? Considering that she was an elf, also known as half-spirits, and a skilled spirit magic user, perhaps that contract magic might be effective. And moreover, if she had been suddenly thrusted into this strange world and was in a confusing situation without me? There was no end to my worries, but … it would be best to meet her and ask her myself.
“Hey, hey, now answer my question! What is the world of spirits like? I’ve always wanted to ask a spirit directly!”
“Ugh! That’s .. what do you say …”
Miguel, with sparkling eyes, asked me if it was his turn, I involuntarily raised my eyebrows and choked on my words. I couldn’t come up with a good and well-crafted excuse in such a short period of time, but On the other hand, it was possible to tell a lie because he was a child… How about this?
“I’m a human spirit, and I lived in a different place compared to other spirits, okay? Is that okay with you?”
“Of course! I mean, I’d rather hear that! What kind of place did Eidos live in? What did you do before I summoned you?”
“I see. Then … I lived in a place that’s all white and in between worlds. There are countless doors that led to other worlds, and I repeatedly went through those doors to other worlds, helping people I met there and then returning to my original world.”
Not wanting to talk about my time as a mercenary, I told him about the situation I was in now. Miguel seemed to like it and leaned forward to ask me to continue.
“Eh! So that’s why you came to me, too!?”
“Ah, yes. I heard the voice of my Lord calling to me, and from there I came to this world.”
It was a minor lie, but, well, this was good enough for now. It may not be a complete lie, since the summoning magic circle invoked by Miguel was used as the exit for the world transfer.
“Oh, that’s right! Wow. … Oh, wait. If what you just said is true, has Eidos been to many other worlds besides this one?”
“Oh, yes, I have. Do you want to hear about it?”
“Yeah! Tell me, tell me!”
“Hahaha, Fine. Then――”
At Miguel’s urging, I proceeded to tell him a rousing tale of my exploits in the other world. This continued after dinner, and when I finally made sure Miguel collapsed into bed after falling asleep, I opened the window of his room and walked out of the dormitory.
“Hmmm, maybe I’ll wait a little longer?”
I laid down on the maintained lawn, looking at the two moons in the sky. The number and alignment of moons differ from world to world, but I liked how the ones here were nestled together like twins. It felt kind of sentimental to me right now.
“…Well, it’s about time.”
I waited until midnight, and called out, [Akashic Compass].
“I’m looking for Tia.”
I whispered quietly, and the image of Tia lying on the floor instantly appeared on the compass. From the scenery reflected in the surroundings, it was almost certain that they were in the dormitory of this school. Then all that remained was to proceed in the direction pointed by the compass needle that appeared late.
“[Mirage Shift]”
Alerted to the presence of the night watchman, I used my banishing skill to make myself invisible. I went straight back to Miguel’s room and slipped through the door and continued down the hallway. …
(No, too close!?)
Making sure they couldn’t hear me when I spoke out loud, I quickly went ahead. The room that the compass pointed to was, to my surprise, only 10 steps to the left from Miguel’s room. There was no point in patrolling at such a small distance, So I couldn’t deny the feeling that I had wasted my skill.
It was not like it won’t be usable again after a day. … Ughh, what is this feeling of defeat?.
(Well, it’s okay. Sometimes it’s just for precaution. Besides, this way I don’t have to open the door to get into the room, so yeah)
Lightly reassuring myself, I slipped through the door and entered the room. The room was about 50% larger than Miguel’s, but still not big enough to accommodate two beds.
And that was why Tia, wrapped in her cloak, was sleeping on the floor. The room had a soft carpet, so it was heavenly compared to camping out during an adventure, but … What can I say, I was just a little bit pissed off.
I mean, well? I said myself that I’d be fine outside too, and Tia’s not the kind of girl who would let kids sleep on the floor, so maybe she came up with the idea herself, even though …, you know?
(I’ll just spill a vase of water on Nash’s crotch… No, that’s for later.)
Putting aside my unprofessional vengeance, I quietly moved closer to Tia’s side. It had been three days from Tia’s point of view, and not even a day had passed since we had parted, but something tugged at my heart because of my initial uneasiness.
(Tia, Tia)
I quickly deactivated the [Mirage Shift] and shook Tia’s body just a little bit. Even with that, Tia, who had been working as a member of the Hero’s party, immediately woke up,…, And when she saw my face up close, her eyes widened to a full circle.
“E… Fue!?”
(Baka!? You’re too loud!)
I hurriedly covered Tia’s mouth with my hand as she was about to scream. Tia immediately remembered the situation and delivered her voice to my head without moving her mouth. It was Tia’s banishment skill [Missing Talk].
(Ed! You’re safe!)
(That’s my line. Tia, are you all right?”
(I have a lot to say about that, but … let me say this first.)
(Eh? What?)
I removed my hand that was covering my mouth, and Tia hugged me just like that. As soon as my head was buried in Tia’s chest, a nostalgic and reassuring scent tickled my nose.
(Welcome Home Ed. I’m home, Ed.)
(Ah, welcome back Tia. I’m home, Tia.)
After the unexpected separation, we just held each other quietly until our warmth reached each other.