After that, Tia and I took care of the remaining Nordes properly, and the first major invasion of Nordes in the history of mankind came to an end. The invasion, which focused more on speed, ended with surprisingly little damage, both property and human, and, thanks to the fact that they had “penetrated deep into human territory” made us brace ourselves so that the Nordes never crossed the border again.
However, not all was well for the children. While some left the school traumatized by the sudden attack of Nordes, others felt confident that they could defeat Nordes with their own hands, and some children became even more enthusiastic about honing their spirit magic after experiencing Norde’s threat firsthand. As a result, although only 80% of the children remained, all of them reached a incomparably higher level in using spirit magic than they had ever attained before.
Of course, the efforts of me and Tia had an influence on this. That’s why some of the bigwigs were asking us to do all kinds of things, but we were just spirits, and they had no control over what we did. If you want to give us orders so badly, why don’t you just summon us and make a contract with us?
Still, that didn’t stop some of them from trying to enslave us by force, but to me, the “enslavement as a spirit” method was pointless, and Tia’s was … Well, you know. I won’t say much, but let’s just say she had an awfully nice smile.
We spent such a lively, troublesome, but irreplaceable time to the fullest …. and today. The contract between Miguel and me, who will advance to the next grade tomorrow, ends here.
“Uwaaaaaaaaa! Saran!”
“Kuah ……”
The burning lizard and Thomas embraced each other tightly. Sarang’s face, which was mostly expressionless, looked a little sad …… only today, but not so much.
“Hey Thomas, were you listening to Tia-sensei’s class? Even if the contract is expired, you can still summon …, or rather, she said you can summon spirits even if you don’t have a contract to begin with! Hey, Kyu-chan. You’ll come back when I summon you, right?”
“Kiyumi!”
The little dog spirit on her shoulder licked her cheeks at the words of the girl who had completely awakened her sewing skills.
Yes, that was true. According to the conventional beliefs of this world until now, spirit magic could only be used if you had a contract with a spirit. And since they could only use magic with the attributes of the spirit they were contracted with, they had to summon a different spirit each year to see what attribute they were best suited for, the method was to determine what kind of spirit one would ultimately make a contract with, but since this year, when Tia’s teachings became more widespread, it started to be different.
This year, with a few exceptions, many students no longer made a contract with the spirits. But that did not mean that the bond that connected them would be severed; it would be akin to a being who was always with you as your friend who would come when you called them. Of course, summoning a spirit without a contract required a certain amount of mana and skill, so it would be a short separation, but if one made a serious effort, a reunion with a friend would not be so far off in the future.
Therefore, no one here was saddened by the parting … except for two people, Miguel and Nash.
“So I guess this is goodbye.”
“Yeah, I guess so.”
Miguel had no talent for spirit magic. That’s why he was convinced that he would never be able to summon me again. … I won’t deny that. I will always and forever be a human spirit …… for Miguel, the potential of a human.
“Let’s do this.”
I handed Miguel, who looked down quietly, a sword I had prepared. This was also one of my best swords, which I created with [Master Smith] in between classes.
“This is ..?”
“As you can see, it is a sword. It is a sword that will not cut at all unless it is wielded in the correct form, but it will not break, it will not bend, it will not decay, and it will always remain with my Lord, unchanged. When you have mastered the way of the sword, and when normal swords no longer fit your body… You will receive the license to use it.”
“Wow, is there a time limit? That seems pretty tough.”
“Fufu, my Lord can do that.”
“Yeah, I’ll do my best!”
“Ugh … really!? You really won’t recontract with me!?”
“Haha … sorry.”
Next to us, Tia and Nash were saying goodbye. But Tia only had a troubled smile on her face, and Nash was one-sidedly squirming.
“It’s not that you are a bad guy, okay? It’s just that, you know, I have my reasons. …”
“I thought… I thought after I made a contract with Tia and became able to use all six attributes of spirit magic, my legend of being the strongest had begun,…”
“Don’t get carried away! Sure, you’re doing pretty well at this stage, but if you’re not careful, the new kids who are coming in will catch up to you in no time, okay?”
“N-No, I am not! Hmph, Fine! I’ll make you regret not making a contract with me again!”
“Fufu, I’m looking forward to it. Well then, it’s time to go…..”
“Mm, time to go.”
Tia and I looked at each other and stepped onto the magic circle drawn under our feet. Around us, other spirits were also on the magic circle, and children who were the contractors were chanting spells in front of them.
“Now herewith the contract is expired, and I am the one to repatriate thee! O Eidos, Spirit of Man, return to thy rightful place!”
As Miguel finished his chanting, the magic circle under my feet began to glow with white light. As my vision gradually turned white, Miguel unexpectedly grabbed the sword I gave him…
“YAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!”
“NAIVE!”
With a clink , my sword blocked Miguel’s. Miguel took a few steps backward and yelled at me, tears streaming down his face.
“Absolutely! I’ll become a better swordsman than Eidos! I swear that I will pursue the human potential that Eidos showed me for the rest of my life! So someday …… someday again When I reach that point, we’ll meet again! Spirit of Man, Eidos…… my mentor, my benefactor, my friend!”
(T/N: Okay I cried a bit here)
“Yeah, I’m looking forward to it. My Lord, my disciple, and my friend Miguel.”
The light disappeared from the magic circle under my feet as I smiled,… but I didn’t disappear. Our return was “10 minutes after we were expelled from the heroic party,” so it was only natural.
“……. Huh? What, No way, I failed! W-What should I do!? What should I do!?”
“Uh, no. It’s not that. It’s just something about … me needing another ten minutes or so to get back over there.”
“Yeah, ….”
“Why the hell are you still here? Damn it, damn it! I can’t even send Tia back!?”
“No, no, no! It’s not your fault!
Next to Miguel, who looked indescribably dismayed, was Tia, who was trying desperately to get Nash to return to himself with an embarrassed look on her face.
“Calm down, both of you. Tia and I are somewhat powerful spirits, so it will just take us a little while to disappear.”
“Really? What, you should have said that first!” Thomas said,
“I-I’m sorry, okay? I didn’t have the right time to say it. ……” Tia replied,
“Waaah, what a mess! However, I feel that it’s because of me.” Miguel said,
“Well, that’s certainly a Miguel like thing to say.” I said,
“…… Eidos? What’s with the way you’re talking?”
“Hmm? Since our contract is over and you are no longer “My Lord,” why don’t we just talk normally? We’ve got 10 minutes, let’s talk as friends.”
“Eidos … Yeah!”
“Oi, Tia! Then tell me some new magic I can learn in ten minutes!”
“Ehhh, that’s just absurd!?”
The last moments before the transfer. Miguel and I talked as friends for the first time, and Tia tried to figure out a way to deal with Nash’s recklessness. … What should have been a tearful goodbye, instead carried us into the white world with smiles on our faces.
(T/N: Man I love this novel)