【Chapter 63】
No matter what time I went to bed, the morning arrived punctually. As I opened my eyes to the dim light, I immediately saw Ramande lying opposite me.
“Meow.”
While I was still drowsy, staring at his beautifully closed navy eyelashes, Elle kissed me as if saying good morning.
‘I scolded him yesterday, but he’s not even sulking.’
Feeling proud, I smiled broadly, and Elle’s lips seemed to curl up slightly too.
As I stroked his soft fur, drowsiness hit me again, but I forced myself to shake it off and got up.
I’ve never seen Ramande oversleep, so I was worried when he didn’t open his eyes even after I woke up.
“No fever.”
I felt his forehead, but his temperature wasn’t much different from mine. Still, just in case, I transferred some warmth before carefully picking up El, trying not to wake Ramand, and went outside.
The knights seemed to have just started their activities too.
“Good morning, everyone.”
“Did you sleep well, my lady?”
Even the biting wind that seemed capable of freezing everything felt refreshing to me.
As I stretched refreshingly in that wind, my pocket suddenly felt hot, and something red leaped into the campfire where they were building up the embers to prepare breakfast.
“Eek?!”
In that moment of surprise, the spirit had appeared.
The knight in front of the campfire fell back in shock, and I pressed my forehead in embarrassment.
Regardless, the spirit sprawled out among the embers and hummed contentedly.
– Ah, this is nice.
“Hey…”
Is the campfire… like a sauna to you?
– As expected, it’s best to warm your back.
You don’t even have a body to warm up. What do you mean, warming up?
“My lady, is that…. is that perhaps….”
The knights, noticing the commotion, gathered around. Unable to resist their sparkling, curious eyes, I nodded.
“Yes. It’s the spirit.”
“Ooh…”
“Some of you might have guessed, but I’m planning to keep meeting the spirit a secret for now.”
I continued, swallowing a sigh.
“I’ve shown you because I trust you all who’ve come this far with me, so I hope you’ll keep this as our secret.”
I finished speaking and tilted my head, smiling brightly.
While the Knights of Karinen are a group that not only pledges loyalty but also respects my mother and sister, I made sure to emphasize this point just in case.
“Of course!”
“We’ll keep it on our honor.”
As expected, everyone made firm promises.
Even as I was instructing the knights, the spirit was happily rolling around on the coals of the campfire.
‘Is that a spirit or a mischievous child?’
The fire should have blazed up long ago, but whether the spirit was consuming it or not, it had only grown slightly bigger than before.
“Spirit, can you stop playing and move aside?”
– No.
Even though I spoke kindly because we were in front of people, the spirit didn’t even look this way and just snorted.
“You’re delaying the preparations, you know.”
We need to eat quickly and head back.
The knight in charge of meals, the one who had fallen earlier, looked up at me desperately.
“My lady…”
“Yeah. I’ll get it out soon.”
I made a bold promise, but now the spirit was throwing a tantrum, flailing its arms and legs.
– I’m telling you, it’s nice inside the fire!
Then live in the fire. Your owner is going home.
Swallowing the voice in my mind that had risen to my throat, I tried to persuade again.
“Isn’t the spirit stone your home? Stay in your home quietly. Don’t eat unnecessary embers.”
– Home is home! I was trapped in ice for ten years, how can you do this, cruel human?
That “human” word is definitely an insult, right?
Now my patience was at its limit. I threw away my pretense of being gentle and calm and shouted.
“When we get to the castle, I’ll stick you in the fireplace, so get out of the fire, quick!”
Unlike the knight beside me who gasped in surprise, the spirit’s eyes lit up as it sat up.
– Really?
“Really.”
As I answered, I felt all the strength drain from my body. And then.
Whoosh!!
A pillar of fire shot up where the campfire had been.
“……”
I felt like I got a glimpse of why the spirit hadn’t been able to gather its strength until now.
Despite the spirit causing a commotion, Sister Elga, who had been quietly watching, came inside as soon as the carriage departed.
“Come on in, Sister.”
Before she could even sit down, I touched her face to check her temperature. My sister raised the corner of her mouth slightly at my actions.
“Thanks to you, everyone is traveling warmly, Minuelle.”
“It seems so. I’m glad it worked as I thought it would.”
Only then did I relax and adjust my posture.
Although most are northerners, it’s natural to move slower when staying in cold places for a long time. Moreover, we had camped for two days in a place too cold for people to live.
Furthermore, not wanting to strain Ramande any further, I pondered for a way and came up with the idea of a heater.
I confirmed yesterday that it was possible to start fires with the spirit’s power and change temperatures.
‘Then let’s try applying it to a wider range.’
Conception, experiment, success.
I really blew out warmth within a certain distance around the carriage, just like a heater or stove. As a result, the tired look on everyone’s faces had noticeably diminished.
“I came because I have something to ask.”
I wondered why my sister, who had been riding outside saying we should be cautious, suddenly came in.
While still focusing on maintaining the temperature outside, I nodded willingly.
“You can ask me anything, Sister.”
“How strong is that spirit’s power?”
But this question surprised me a bit.
Not about what happened inside the cave, or why the spirit was frolicking and swinging its legs beside me.
Instead, she directly asked about the spirit’s full capabilities.
But I soon understood why.
“When the pillar of fire rose, your cheeks turned a little pale, Minuelle.”
“Oh… did they?”
How did she notice something even I didn’t know?
Feeling embarrassed, I held Elle’s front paws and kneaded them.
‘I thought it was fine since there was no smell of blood.’
Apparently, it wasn’t fine in my sister’s eyes.
“Yes. That’s why I’m asking if you’re straining yourself now too.”
“Ah, no, it’s not like that.”
Although power is consumed, one great advantage of spirit power is that it’s based on nature, so it naturally recovers over time.
“The current power state is… hmm. I think it would be exhausted after creating about five or six pillars of fire like earlier at once.”
“More than I thought…”
Ramande, who had opened his mouth with a slightly disappointed look, swallowed his words.
What could he do? He was already crushing the spirit with his gaze.
“Think positively, Priest Ramand. It might be because of that level that Minuel is safe.”
Even my sister joined in.
While that was true, it was also chilling to think about how much power the Church of Fire had stolen from the spirits.
Surely 10 years ago, it had enough power to kill as soon as a child touched it, but now its limit is just five or six pillars of fire about an armful in size.
– Are these humans belittling me now, human?
It seemed to be idly swinging its legs and just looking out the window, but apparently it had heard all the conversation.
“Belittling? We’re just accurately assessing the current situation.”
I denied it immediately, but it didn’t work on the spirit who had enough sense from living a long time. The spirit snorted and threatened ominously.
– If you belittle me, I’ll burn you until not even bones remain.
I wasn’t one to cower at that.
“If you touch my family, I might send you back to the Church of Fire. We’ll all die together. Got it?”
– You human!
“You damn spirit!”
Grr, hiss.
It was Ramand and sister Elga who calmed us down as we looked ready to grab each other’s collars.
“Both of you, calm down. Are you trying to burn this place down?”
“Getting too excited is not good.”
“Mya, mya!”
El also joined in, rubbing its face against my cheek. Only then did I suddenly realize that the inside of the carriage had become hot enough to be stifling.
“Ahem. Sorry.”
– I’ll accept your apology, insolent human.
“I wasn’t apologizing to you!”
Oh my, my blood pressure!
Instead of me grabbing my neck, Sister Elga calmly asked.
“By the way, spirit, should we just call you ‘spirit’?”
Do as you wish.
The spirit crossed its arms and turned its body around. Then, grumbling sounds came over its small shoulders.
– Originally, the contractor gave a name that was easy for them to call. A contract is an exchange of names between both parties. But this human doesn’t even know that…
My sister, Ramand, and even Elle turned to look at me with expressions that said ‘oh dear’.
“No, what, so it’s my fault? There was nothing like that in the contract!”
– Do we need to write that in the contract!
“Seriously. You’re the one calling me ‘human’ even though you know my name!”
My sister clicked her tongue.
“They’re fighting again.”
“Ah, no…”
– I’m just staying still, but that human…
As if we had agreed, the spirit and I, who were making excuses, glared at each other again. Unable to bear it anymore, Elle covered my eyes with its front paw.
“Wha?!”
“Well done, Elle. Minuelle, hurry and give the spirit a name.”
For a moment, names of old flamethrowers like ‘Ranchafiam’ or ‘Flammenwerfer’ flashed through my mind, but I decided against it.
‘I don’t really want to give it a weapon name.’
Isn’t that too blatantly declaring ‘I’m going to use you’? Of course, people here wouldn’t know what those words mean.
Moreover, there’s a saying that your fate follows your name, so I was even more reluctant.
After pondering for a moment, I soon made a decision.
“Let’s call you ‘Gabi’.”
– Gabi? What does that mean?
It was ‘Gabi’ from Matchstick. It was cute with its childlike big head appearance, and although it’s like this now, I also included a small wish for it to quickly regain its power and become a big fire, like a matchstick.
If I told the meaning, it would obviously jump around saying it’s trivial or whatever, so I just answered like this.
“Yeah. I just wanted to give you a friendly name.”
– How dare you consider me friendly!
There’s no way it could gain dignity by grumbling in a child’s body.
“As you know, I’m Minuelle. Once again, please take care of me, Gabi.”
– …..
Gabi, who had been staring at my outstretched hand for a while, unexpectedly shook hands without resistance.
At the moment when strength entered the small hand, a different sense of elation from when the contract was finalized bound us together and then disappeared.
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Thank you for reading! ♡
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