Chapter 174
The wind high spirit glares at the light high spirit, grumbling under its breath.
The light high spirit looks thoroughly annoyed by the wind high spirit's antics.
It's not quite at the point of an explosive confrontation, but the atmosphere is tense enough that a fight could break out over the slightest provocation.
"Honestly, you people are always like this!" "I'm not in the mood to hear this right now." "Like that's an excuse!!"
Watching this exchange, I can't help but feel the idea of spirits being benevolent beings is starting to lose credibility.
Sighing, I face the light spirit, who seems completely intent on having her way.
"Uh, if you're going to argue, could you take it somewhere else?"
If this keeps up and turns into an actual battle, the results will be too horrifying to look at.
"Then give us a live performance." "Light!" "...Fine, then name your terms."
I briefly considered teaming up with the wind high spirit to drive her out, but realistically, a fight between two high spirits would never end without collateral damage.
Winning might be possible, but considering the aftermath, compromise was the only option.
I glance at Amina, who gives me a resigned smile and a nod.
Guess she's leaving the negotiations to me.
In that case, I'll have to use my wits to defuse the situation.
"Terms?"
The light spirit scowls deeply, as if the very idea disgusts her.
"If you refuse, I'll just team up with Wind here and kick you out. This house belongs to His Grace the Duke, and if it gets wrecked, it'll be a huge problem. And I won't hide the reason—I'll make sure everyone knows it was because a certain high spirit barged in and threw a tantrum. If that happens, forget about any festivals next year or beyond." "..."
My words make her grimace like she's chewing on something bitter. She must be weighing the pros and cons.
"Honestly, what’s a light spirit who’s lived over a thousand years got to agonize over?" "Over a thousand years?" "Yes, despite appearances, she’s older than I am. That’s why she’s lost her innocence and become so stubborn."
Ah, I guess after living that long, you wouldn’t have the patience to negotiate like a child. If anything, the wind high spirit’s cheerfulness—despite being centuries old—seems more precious now.
"...State your terms." "Oh, she folded." "Quiet, Wind. So? What do you want? A contract with me?" "No thanks."
She looks like she’s making a painful concession, expecting me to ask for a contract in exchange for her power.
But I immediately refuse, raising my left hand in polite decline.
"Kukuku, that was fast."
No way I’d want a contract with such a troublesome spirit.
"Tch!"
The light high spirit glares at me, a vein pulsing at her temple, but the wind spirit—barely holding back laughter—waves her off, so she redirects her glare at me.
"Then what?" "Two scrolls, and permission to mine in your spirit corridor. Provide those, and we’ll do the live show." "..."
Confident in her own power, the light spirit twitches at the demand.
Next to her, the wind high spirit is desperately stifling laughter, making the whole scene absurd rather than intimidating.
"You have them, right? A spirit magic scroll and a summoning scroll."
This is reverse-engineering the quest system—both the spirit magic and summoning quests involve spirits.
And the quests for those were issued by another light high spirit, not this one.
So, I figured, why not skip the quest and negotiate for the rewards directly?
"Those things are worthless to a human who won’t even make a contract." "Oh, don’t worry—Amina’s the one who’ll use them, not me."
No matter what, those quests aren’t available on this continent, and the level requirement (Class 6) is pretty steep. I was planning to focus on Amina’s singing skills first and leave spirit-related training for later.
But if they’re offering the rewards upfront, that’s perfect timing.
"Hey, girl." "What?"
Hearing that Amina would be the one using the scrolls, the light spirit’s frown eases slightly as she turns to her.
Amina tenses at the high-handed tone.
"Will you contract with me?" "No!"
She rejects the offer even faster than I did, crossing her wing-like arms in an X for emphasis.
"..." "BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
The light spirit is speechless.
Meanwhile, the wind spirit, having reached her limit, doubles over laughing.
"...Hey, kid. Why’d she refuse?" "Put a hand on your heart and think about it."
When I refused, she didn’t seem to care—but Amina’s rejection visibly stings.
Her movements are stiff, like a wind-up toy running out of steam.
I barely keep my own smirk in check.
Watching her confidently ask for a contract only to get instantly shot down is pure comedy.
"…Just so you know, Light—more spirits than you’d think want to contract with Amina. I offered too, and got turned down. Don’t take it so hard."
The wind spirit pats her shoulder sympathetically, though her tone is teasing.
Amina had refused her as well, but at least she’d looked apologetic.
With the light spirit, it was an instant, no-hesitation rejection.
"Then wipe that smug look off your face!" "Whoops, my bad."
She’s not even trying to hide her amusement.
The light spirit swats her hand away irritably.
The fact that she’s still here despite all this means she really must want to see the live show.
"So, what’ll it be, Light? You could easily fulfill Liberta’s request, couldn’t you?"
Spirit magic scrolls are rare drops from specific monsters—ones that don’t even exist on the eastern, western, northern, or southern continents.
The only way to get one here is directly from a spirit.
But not just any spirit carries them—only high spirits, and the royal-class spirits of light and darkness.
Other elemental spirits don’t have them.
"……Fine. You’re right."
As for summoning scrolls, there are monsters on the southern continent that drop them, so I could’ve gone hunting for one eventually.
This just speeds things up.
Now it’s up to whether the light spirit agrees.
Securing both spirit magic and summoning now would be huge.
"……" "……" "……" "……" "……" "Enough already!"
The light spirit falls into a long, conflicted silence.
It drags on so long that the wind spirit finally snaps.
"Just hand over a scroll or two! Be generous!" "……Fine. I accept your terms." "Then we have a deal."
I could tell she was trying to lowball us, but in the end, she agreed—locking in Amina’s power-up.
Now I’m tempted to push for more skills.
No handshake is exchanged. With a sullen expression, we move on to the details.
"When can you do it? Tomorrow?" "No way we can prepare that fast. Right, Wind?" "What’s with that nickname? I’m the only wind spirit here, you know…" "Well, you never gave us a name." "Hmph. If Liberta contracted with me, she could name me properly."
Having the wind spirit as a mediator is a big help.
She’s neutral but leans toward our side, making negotiations smoother.
And if things go south, she’s strong enough to back us up.
"Someone like that will come along eventually." "I’ve been waiting a long time for ‘eventually.’" "Well, it won’t be me. Or Amina."
She keeps hinting at a contract, but we’re sticking to our policy of ignoring it.
My skill build doesn’t include spirit magic anyway.
For Amina, the best approach is raising low-ranking spirits from scratch.
So a contract with a high spirit like her is out of the question.
"Anyway, we’re burning daylight. Let’s get back on topic—Wind, I’d like you to help prepare the hot spring area." "Why? Can’t you just use the shrine like last time?" "That required the Duke’s help and a lot of setup. Plus, if we keep summoning spirits to the capital regularly, it’ll cause problems for everyone." "……Unacceptable. I want nothing to do with unnecessary humans." "Which is why this time, we’re skipping the stalls and just doing Amina’s live show."
We’ll have to compromise on that.
This time, we don’t need job selections, so it’ll just be a straightforward performance.
"Hmph. Can’t you at least bring back the lottery? Many spirits were looking forward to it." "The lottery?"
The wind spirit insists, so I consider if we can manage some kind of merchandise.
"Well, I guess we could. But preparing prizes will take time." "Then forget it!" "What are you saying?! Those stalls were amazing! You could buy Amina’s goods and even get limited-edition artwork! You know how incredible those pieces were!" "You can get those drawings?" "It’d be luck-based, but yeah, it’s possible." "Hey, human." "It’s Liberta."
So even spirits aren’t immune to gacha addiction.
Guess the gambling business is universally tempting.
"Prepare more of those drawings. At least a hundred—no, two hundred." "Impossible." "Why not?!" "They’re all hand-drawn. We don’t have enough artists for that."
But I didn’t realize Amina’s artwork was that popular.
Guess merch sells well.
I wonder how they’d react if we offered crystal statues?
Maybe commission a sculptor?
"Liberta, I’m begging you. Everyone wants those. Not a hundred, but more than last time. And more towels, fans, and glow sticks too." "How many are coming?!" "At this rate, spirits from other continents might show up through the spirit corridors." "Seriously?" "That’s how big last year’s festival was. The Spirit King might even attend."
I smell a business opportunity—but production limits are a problem.
The wind spirit keeps piling on requests.
We’ve got connections with artists thanks to the Duke, but preparing towels, fans, and glow sticks in bulk…
"We’ll prepare as much as we can. But it won’t be enough for everyone." "That’s fine. Those who bought last time can wait. Just spread them as much as possible." "It’ll take time to arrange the artwork and new products. At least two months." "Two months… Fine. Leave the venue to us. We’ll expand the hot spring area to fit more than the shrine could."
This is going to be a massive order.
And this time, we might get spirit stones from all elements—light, dark, thunder, ice—not just light.
That means…
Upgrading alchemy tools and maybe even building golems.
"Try not to go overboard, okay?" "No promises. Once word spreads, spirits will flock to help." "……"
Which means we’ll have to deliver.
"Amina, you okay with this?" "Hmm…"
But the one carrying the heaviest burden is Amina.
After all this, if she says no, it’s over.
Even if we’ve pushed this far, I won’t force her.
"Yeah, I’ll do it."
She glances at the light spirit, then at the wind spirit, sensing how much her fans want to hear her sing again before nodding.
"Wonderful! You have my thanks!" "About the payment—we’d like the spirit magic scroll upfront. The rest can wait until after the live show." "Acceptable?" "……And the artwork will be available?" "We’ll prepare it and chances to win. But no guarantees."
With that, the deal is struck.
The light spirit reaches into a dimensional space, retrieving the promised item with a sour expression.