Translator and Editor: Effe and Nabi

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Chapter 14 – Give And Take (5)

A person who deals with spirits.

It had already lived for thousands of years, but the world was also long lived and full of things to see.

Although Bell was perplexed, it pretended not to be and calmly began to persuade.

— Ha! I don’t think the master knows anything.

“Yes. What do I not know, then?”

— Contracting with spirits is for a special, chosen minority. It’s a very honorable thing. Of course, you can only become a spirit master after a long period of training, not only because you were born with talent. Now, by training hard, you will become a great spirit master. With me, conquering the world is no problem!

World domination.

Is there anyone who would fall to not wanting to conquer this world?

Bell spoke confidently, but it backfired.

“Whoa. That’s too annoying.”

— An, annoying?!

“To conquer the world, isn’t it too ambitious? Is the spirit allowed to do that?”

Well, aren’t spirits pure and peaceful beings who naturally desire harmony and stability? Sienna became increasingly suspicious of Bell’s identity, but Bell rather rebuked her.

— Even spirits have preferences. Give me some respect.

“Oh, no, I can’t. We have very different values.”

It was true. She just wanted a peaceful princess life.

‘World domination, really now?’

There is no such ambition when you live a small life. If you were on the same boat as Bell, it was obvious that the boat would go to the mountains.

Even though Sienna had already made up her mind, she still had questions.

“But, what’s the point of becoming a spirit master?”

— ….

“I’m really curious.”

The role of the spirit already could be replaced by magic.

Spirits are difficult to deal with and require a lot of time, whereas magic is much more convenient. Even if you don’t have a talent for magic, if you have a tool that contains magical power, anyone could spit fire or create powerful power.

It’s a spirit whose affiliation is unclear, isn’t it completely suspicious?

“What can you do?”

Sienna narrowed her eyes and looked at Bell, which was smaller than before. She asked, “You don’t have one?”

— …There are so many to choose from.

“Really?”

— Can’t we start with the contract?

“Umm, no.”

— I’m running out of time to stay!

“Look for another human.”

— This time, I’ll definitely protect you! Let’s give it a try!

“Hmm…”

Bell said that it was in a hurry, so it would try to turn off the lights that lit up the secret room. She doesn’t know why it’s doing that, but a subtle wind brushed her cheeks.

“…Is that it?”

‘Well, the flames trembled a little because of that?’

Silence passed for a moment as if even Bell was bewildered.

— Hey, this is not my true strength.

“I mean, are you a real spirit…?”

— You have a lot of doubts.

“It’s a tough world.”

— You are right.

‘Bell, is your position changing quickly?’

In the meantime, the light became smaller and could be held in one hand. She could feel Bell getting anxious.

‘It seems a little pitiful.

It seemed that it did not want to return to the spirit world at all. Though… is it possible to be bullied in the spirit world? Or is there any particular reason why it wants to stay here?

‘What to do…’

Sienna was a little shaken up. After thinking for a moment, she held out her hand.

‘Well, two would be better than one, anyway.’

Even if it is not particularly reliable, she wanted to believe the words that it would protect her nonetheless.

“Haa—yes. Let’s do it, that contract.”

She decided to save one spirit. Meanwhile, Bell, who continued to blow out the impossible candles, was startled and raised his voice.

— What?

“You don’t want to…?”

— No way!

“I’ll check it out in advance. Even if I make a contract, it won’t hurt me, right?”

—Of course. Spirits have a duty to protect their contractors.

“Really? Then, can you protect me?”

‘Because you’re so weak.’

At times like this, the quick-witted Bell grumbled.

—Once you make a contract! My true power will be awakened!

That again…

Somehow, the more she listened to it, the more it seemed like a scammer, but it was so weak that it didn’t seem like it would do any harm.

“So, how do you make a contract? Do you usually memorize some kind of spell?”

— Please name me.

“Name? Is that it?”

— Because I’m special.

It was once a spirit with extremely high self-esteem.

‘Well… it’s better than shriveling, though.’

— Come on, make a contract!

Sienna was in trouble again.

‘It needs a name…’ Coming up with a name was more difficult and cumbersome than she thought.

Maybe fifteen seconds passed.

Sienna’s lips moved after she finished thinking hard.

“Shushu.”

It didn’t mean anything, as it was just a name that crossed her mind. Though of course, Bell, no Shushu, protested again.

— Isn’t it too rough?

“It’s urgent. Don’t you like it?”

— Hmm. Well, it’s not bad.

Sienna laid her hand on the Stern bell as he told her to. Then, the magic circle that floated over the jewel grew bigger and bigger and covered the whole floor.

The blue light was radiating over the complex patterns.

Sienna admired it for a moment.

As she stared blankly at the enchanting blue light, Bell, no, Shushu urged her.

— Master! Come on!

“Oh, I’m sorry. This is my first contract.”

She concentrated her mind and called out Bell’s name.

“Shushu…”

At that, a thin wind began to blow around her Sienna.

— Yes!

“Come on, Shushu.”

It was a fleeting moment.

When she opened her closed eyes, the light and wind had disappeared without a trace. Instead, a lively voice called out to Sienna.

— Master!

***

“Ahh—”

Sienna yawned and clapped.

Shushu was quite the clingy type, as she realized from the top of her head. As if it had any regrets, it tried to blow out the candle again and finally succeeded after five attempts.

— Did you see it? Did you see it?

“Yes. That’s great. So, what else can you do?”

— Shushu can also do this.

‘It said Shushu…?’

Although it was grumbling quite a bit before, thankfully, it seemed to like its name now. In any case, Shushu spoke proudly in a very proud voice and revived the extinguished light.

“Oh. This time, it was successful.”

The light returned to Sienna’s eyes.

“What else can you do?”

—I can have a conversation without making a sound with the person you signed a contract with.

Sienna concentrates her mind and tries to connect with Shushu. “Can you hear me?”

—Sure!

“Oh, okay. This is pretty convenient?”

—Right?

“Huh.”

It’s perfect when you have a sore throat.

Sienna was also less concerned about looking crazy in the eyes of others. She smiled brightly as she looked at Shushu, who was happy with her compliments.

“Please take good care of me in the future, Shushu.”

***

It was a perfect morning when she left the secret room.

Bright light poured in through the wide window—Sienna closed her eyes for a moment and stood still. Whether it was the effect of contracting with the spirit, the feeling was different from usual.

Is this normal?

‘Hmm? I think I heard something.’

All of a sudden, the door opened with a click.

“Why are you here?”

There, Pierre asked in a tone that was not at all surprised.

‘He must have known everything, anyway.’

Rumors circulated quickly in the castle. At the apex of all the rumors, he couldn’t have been unaware of Sienna’s progress.

Sienna slowly opened her eyes and looked at the open door, not Pierre.

She could see Arthur waiting.

He was watching her until the moment the door closed. And so, she simply smiled at him.

‘Relax, Arthur.’

There were more eyes to see here.

Besides, the King will arrive soon, so even Pierre wouldn’t be able to make a mess and strangle her like last time.

As the door closed completely, Sienna stared intently at Pierre.

—Shushu, keep your eyes wide open. It’s number one on the alert.

—Well, it’s not much.

—Really? It’s nice to hear that. So why don’t you try something right now?

—For example?

—It would be fun to mess around with that painstakingly brushed hair. I’m sure he’ll get very upset.

He wouldn’t tolerate even a single mess of his hair.

They continued to exchange conversations inwardly,

— Shushu, is it possible, then?

— It’s impossible with the magic you have now.

— But, didn’t you say you’re so great?!

— Shushu is great, but the Master’s capability is too small to contain my power. So, make an effort.

This brat, make an effort yourself then!

— So, it’s my fault?

— It is.

— Tsk. But I’m a little tired from before.

Sienna thought it was because she hadn’t slept, but that feeling was different. It somewhat feels like something is slipping away.

— Without a body, the magic is consumed quickly.

Of course, The culprit was Shushu.

— Please tell me about that quickly!

— You didn’t ask.

— Yes. It’s my fault again.

— Hahaha. That’s right.

‘This is the feeling of magic draining. I need to find its body quickly.’ At this rate, she’ll die faster than the scheduled day.

“I asked why are you here?”

“Ah…”

Concentrating on her conversation with Shushu, she forgot Pierre’s presence in front of her for a moment.

He seemed to think she dared to ignore his words. Still, Pierre seemed to recognize the place they are at currently, and tried to suppress his anger as much as possible.

She raised her head and looked at Pierre.

He felt particularly large in his uniform.

Pierre was a human who knew how to inflict fear on his opponent. He knew Sienna was afraid, so he would deliberately stand close and look down on her.

A small reflection was reflected in his blue eyes.

Recognizing that, her hands began to tremble uncontrollably.

Seeing this, Pierre raised the corners of his lips.

Sienna clenched her fists.

Last night, in the room she was left alone in, she had a habit of touching around her neck. When she closed her eyes, she suddenly suffocated and could not sleep.

Even when thought it was all right, the fear once imprinted was not easily erased.

Even if she tries to forget it, she can feel her hands trembling like this again.

Sienna closed her eyes tight.

Anna’s tears, the weight of Arthur’s sword, and Dan, who was stroking her wound, came to mind in turn.

‘Ah, I want to see him. What is Dan doing now?’

Most of Sienna’s thoughts nowadays were about Dandelion. She didn’t want to waste any more time here.

‘There are so many things I want to do…’

She wanted to see the ocean, and she was about to go boating.

A beautiful dress was also waiting for her to wear on the final day of her debutante.

‘I’m not dying. At least, I won’t die at your hands.’ Even if she wasn’t in a hurry, the chance for her to mess with Pierre was on its way.

‘Your ending will be terribly lonely.’

Forgiveness, reconciliation…

This possibility ended yesterday. He must pay the price for touching her.

— Master! This time!

— Huh. I know.

She ran out of magic, and there was no reason to stay here any longer.

Sienna took a step back and made eye contact with Pierre.

“Brother.”

“….”

“Are you curious? Why did I come here and what happened in the secret room?” She said, lengthened her lips before slyly moved her steps towards the door.

Pierre didn’t answer, but he wrinkled his pretty forehead.

It seemed that he was very concerned about Sienna being here.

‘Pft. Poor man.’

‘Still, what about it? I have no intention of telling him.’

“Well, keep wondering.”

She smiled and opened the door.

“Well then, I’ll leave you to it!”

Of course, she didn’t forget to wave her hand vigorously to Pierre.

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