I Played the Role of the Adopted Daughter Too Well

“Are you Kang Han-Joon?”

 

Even the pronunciation was unfamiliar to him.

 

Someone walked out of the dark. It was a young boy with blue hair and blue eyes.

 

Looking curiously at the boy, Jeremy asked,

 

“Boy, are you human?”

 

“Could it be a human?”

 

Jeremy felt strange. He could see it with his eyes, but he couldn’t sense it. It felt like a ghost.

 

“I am a spirit.”

 

“Oh!”

 

Jeremy opened his eyes wide. He was full of curiosity.

 

“I’m seeing a spirit for the first time.”

 

“I’m seeing a human for the first time, too.”

 

The boy’s gaze turned to Viola. After coming to her senses, Viola’s heart pounded.

 

‘Korea, and Kang Joon. That spirit knows about me.’

 

Could it be because she came through the spirit gate? What if the fact that she was from another world and took over possession of Viola’s body became known? Then she might be subjected to a witch hunt.

 

‘For now, Zenon doesn’t seem to be here.’

 

Although he may not be aware at the moment, there was a high probability that Zenon had deliberately allowed himself to fall into an illusion… to verify the qualifications of Viola Bellato. In any case, there was a high probability that he was lost somewhere.

 

‘Then things are a little better. That spirit doesn’t know everything about me.’

 

It asked what Korea was, and it asked Jeremy if he was Kang Han-Joon. If it knew everything, it wouldn’t have asked that question. As her thoughts reached this point, Viola’s heart felt much lighter.

 

“Well, I don’t know either.”

 

“That can’t be.”

 

“It could be.”

 

Viola drew her dagger and moved closer to the spirit.

 

“Wait, what?”

 

“You are a spirit who passed through the spirit gate without making a contract with a human, right?”

 

Viola walked forward without hesitation, grabbing the boy’s hair at the back of his head and putting her dagger to his neck. The boy struggled, but couldn’t overcome the power of Viola’s grasp.

 

“Let go, let go! I’m angry!”

 

“Don’t you know? A non-contracted spirit loses most of its power when it passes through the spirit gate.”

 

“Wait, what?”

 

“Judging from the fact that he doesn’t know this fact properly, it seems that he is a young spirit who has just been born, passing through the spirit gate out of curiosity.”

 

The boy struggled but he was too weak.

 

“And as you may have heard, this dagger is a magic weapon specially crafted in Bellato’s workshop.”

 

She rested it lightly on the boy’s neck. After dealing with monsters like Vicen and Jeremy, why would she feel uncomfortable dealing with a baby spirit?

 

“Magic weapons can injure even a spirit’s body.”

 

The spirit swallowed his saliva. Anyone could see that he was terrified.

 

“So you’d better stop trying to play pranks with other people’s memories.”

 

Viola squinted her eyes and, as she had done before, let her aura explode. The character Viola had a special ability to kill.

 

Hiccup.

 

The spirit began to hiccup. Young spirits tended to hiccup when feeling extreme fear.

 

“I hope you aren’t going to claim that the distorted things I saw in my dreams are my memories.”

 

“Yeah, but a four-wheeled vehicle that makes a loud ‘wee-woo-wee-woo’ sound… and humans running around wearing white coats…”

 

“I’ve had dreams like that before.”

 

She pressed the dagger closer. The spirit’s body trembled, it could feel the chilling energy of the magic weapon.

 

“Yes, that’s right. It was just a dream.”

 

“Yes?”

 

“Huh, I must have seen your dream.”

 

“Right.”

 

Viola raised her dagger.

 

“When are you going to let go of my hair?”

 

“I don’t intend to let go.”

 

“Why?”

 

“If I let go, will you run away?”

 

“I won’t run away.”

 

“I know.”

 

Viola replied that she knew, but she still wouldn’t let go of the back of his head. She just wanted to know what the spirit would say.

 

“You said you knew, so why aren’t you letting me go?”

 

“You said you wouldn’t run away, but did you ask me to let you go?”

 

“That’s so, but… then, let go.”

 

“No.”

 

“Why?”

 

“Because the back of your neck is cute.”

 

The more the spirit spoke, the more it felt like it was falling into a deep pit. Viola asked,

 

“What kind of place is this? Why are these spirits staying here?”

 

* * *

 

Jeremy stroked his chin as he walked. At this point, he thought it would be okay if Viola let go of the spirit’s hair, but she refused. It was a refreshing shock to Jeremy.

 

‘What’s this? Uncontracted spirits lose most of their power when they pass through the spirit gate?’

 

“Judging from the fact that he doesn’t know this fact properly, it seems that he is a young spirit who has just been born, passing through the spirit gate out of curiosity.”

 

Jeremy knew nothing about spirits even though they existed in this world.

 

However, Viola seemed to be very familiar with spirits, and through the recent conversation, he realized that this was a young spirit who had just been born. Furthermore, she used that characteristic to intimidate it.

 

‘Is she a walking encyclopedia?’

 

She was indeed a White Bellato.

 

“So, Spirit. Where are we going?”

 

“This ruin is the laboratory of Gavgol, who was both a magician and a spiritualist.”

 

“Can someone learn magic and spiritualism at the same time?”

 

“Maybe? I don’t know either.”

 

The spirit walked down the dark aisle, becoming more aware of the ominous energy of the threatening Viola and Jeremy. How long would it take to arrive?

 

“Concentrate.”

 

The light suddenly brightened and the surroundings became visible to their eyes.

 

‘A room? No. Is it a laboratory?’

 

Various potion bottles and books were lined up on a large desk. There was also a magic circle in the shape of a pentagram on the floor in front of them.

 

‘Is that the smell of the potions?’

 

In addition to that damp smell unique to old basements, there was the smell of various potions and medicines, all mixed together. Jeremy discovered something curious.

 

“Ah! That centipede is huge!”

 

The centipede he saw looked at the light, then turned to run away, in a hurry to find a dark place. It was the size of a man’s forearm.

 

Viola almost freaked out.

 

‘That’s crazy!’

 

Even if the centipede was big, that was too big. She had never seen such a huge insect. She honestly wanted to cry but Jeremy had another point of view.

 

“Shall I catch it? It’s the first time I’ve seen a centipede that big.”

 

“Stop.”

 

“Huh? Why?”

 

That, that… It was because she was afraid of centipedes. Anything with more than four legs was just too scary.

 

“This is a historic site. It’s better not to be rash. Any little element could be a trap.”

 

“…Okay?”

 

Jeremy licked his lips in regret. He really seemed regretful that he couldn’t go and catch the centipede. If left as he was, Viola felt sure that Jeremy would be unable to hold back his curiosity and eventually run forward to catch the centipede.

 

“I thought this was Gavgol’s lab, right?”

 

“Yes. The back of my head hurts, when will you let go?”

 

She had no intention of letting go. Jeremy’s colleague, Nadia, who came here with Jeremy in the novel, held on to the spirit’s hair until the very end. She decided to stick with the original.

 

“What research was done here?”

 

“I don’t know much because I was born not too long ago.”

 

“Yes, I guess that’s true.”

 

Viola looked around.

 

“I don’t think the conditions are very good for the spirit gate to open.”

 

“Oh? Viola, are there good conditions for the spirit gate to open?”

 

“Huh.”

 

The spirit gate usually only opened in a place filled with the energy of nature. For example, a lake deep in the forest where the sun was warm and the soil was alive. It had to be a windy place with an abundance of mana stones and mana crystals. At the same time, it had to be equipped with a special topography that allowed mana to flow into one spot and be condensed.

 

“The proper conditions haven’t been met here. So, that must be a magic circle that can artificially open the spirit gate.”

 

“Oh. I see.”

 

“Wow, that’s right! Shit, the back of my head! You’re holding me too tightly!”

 

Jeremy and the Spirit both nodded. Of course, when the Spirit nodded, he felt as if all the hair on the back of his head was being pulled out.

 

“Jeremy, you didn’t know either?”

 

“No, I didn’t know. And he said he was a newborn spirit, right? So how did Viola know?”

 

“I don’t know!”

 

“But…”

 

Jeremy was having fun. He thought it was a good thing he had come with Viola.

 

“As expected, it’s fun to go somewhere with a smart person.”

 

Viola was startled involuntarily. Those words were very similar to what Jeremy had said here to his colleague Nadia.

 

“As expected, wherever you go, it’s fun to go with a smart person”

 

There was a difference of about two words. To Viola, it was expressed more as ‘a garden to play in’, and to Nadia, it was simply expressed as a ‘garden’. It was a very subtle difference from the original.

 

“So I think that magic circle opens the door to the spirit world and forcibly increases affinity with the spirits. This was a laboratory where such research was conducted.”

 

“Then, if you have that magic circle, can you make a contract with the spirits even if your affinity with the spirits is low?”

 

“I guess so. If the research was successful.”

 

“If it was successful, shouldn’t it be known to the world?”

 

Jeremy thought that if there was a way to make a contract with a spirit, even for a person with low spirit affinity, the people of the world would greatly welcome that method.

 

“No. You should think the opposite. There are magic towers in the world.”

 

“What are you talking about?”

 

“Would you like to see an increase in the number of spirits from the Mage Tower’s point of view?”

 

Magic was a study that sought convenience by artificially processing the energy of nature. Spiritual magic was a technique that sought convenience by borrowing the power of spirits instead of the energy of nature. The two were studies that conflicted with each other.

 

“Magicians don’t want to see more spiritualists.”

 

And since ancient times, magicians have been powerful.

 

“So he must have secretly studied in a shady and dark place like this.”

 

“…Is that what you think?”

 

“Yup.”

 

This reasoning was all Nadia’s and Viola only recited the contents of the novel. However, Jeremy didn’t know that.

 

“Why are you so cool?”

 

“What?”

 

“Uh, nothing.”

 

Jeremy laughed hysterically. Being with Viola was really fun. But that wasn’t the end. Viola was great. What kind of world was unfolding in her head? If he could look at the world through those eyes, how amazing and new would it be?

 

“I guess you could infer all of that by combining the clues here.”

 

Viola felt wind blowing but this was a room that was closed on all sides. There was no way for wind to blow.

 

‘The spirit of the wind.’

 

Perhaps the spirit gate was slightly open like in the novel. When Jeremy and Nadia arrived, the spirit gate was slightly open.

 

“I don’t have time. The spirit gate won’t stay open for long so I have to hurry.”

 

Viola felt her heart racing. Now was the right time. A chance to open the spirit gate and make a proper contract with a spirit.

 

“That’s probably a magic circle that can fully open the spirit gate while greatly increasing affinity with spirits.”

 

Viola strode towards the magic circle. She stood in front of the magic circle, but nothing changed. However, now that she stood in front of the magic circle, the spirit became arrogant.

 

“Yay!”

 

The strengthened spirit shook off Viola’s hand. It seemed that the power of the spirit realm leaked through the spirit gate and restored some of the spirit’s power. 

 

Without panic, Viola said, “Jeremy, subdue him.”

 

Fortunately, it went the same way as the novel. Jeremy moved quickly and as Jeremy’s sword was a famous sword from a magic workshop, it wasn’t too difficult to subdue the spirit.

 

“Hey, brother. Help me.”

 

“Don’t kill him.”

 

Jeremy had no intention of killing the mysterious spirit. Viola told him to subdue it, so he would only subdue the spirit. He said with a laugh.

 

“He’s more mysterious than a centipede, but I won’t kill him! No way.”

 

But could he dissect it? That thought crossed his mind, but he decided to stay still because he was sure he would be scolded by Viola if he actually dissected it.

 

Viola said, “The pentagram.”

 

A star-shaped magic circle with five vertices. There was a hollow space at each point.

 

“I think I know what to do.”

 

Viola moved quickly and grabbed handfuls of things that were scattered around her. 

When she touched the magic torch attached to the wall, a red bead-shaped energy mysteriously gathered in Viola’s hand. Then, as she touched the water pooling on the floor, a blue bead-shaped energy gathered in Viola’s hand.

 

‘What is she doing?’

 

When Viola placed her hand on the iron magic staff hanging on the wall, a golden orb was created, and when she placed her hand on a wooden bookshelf, a maroon orb was created. Finally, when she touched some dry soil on the floor, a brown-colored orb appeared.

 

‘Five attribute orbs?’

 

Viola brought the orbs to the points of the pentagram, one by one. The hollowed-out spaces in the floor sucked the marbles in like a black hole and at the same time, amazing things started to happen.

 

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Translator Note: