Chapter 159
Chapter 159
Companion (1)
I led Canis straight toward where the Dream Bird was. I ignored her as she kept questioning me from the side.
We headed to the central building that managed the Floating Island. There, we met Berrot, who had been waiting for us in advance.
"It's been a while."
"Well. You seem to have been doing well."
Even though it had only been a few days since we'd last seen each other, we exchanged greetings like that. Canis simply watched us blankly from behind.
"I heard you had a favor to ask. What is it?"
"Shall we head to where the Dream Bird is first?"
"Hm. Very well."
Without showing any suspicion, Berrot led the way. Since the Dream Bird was currently recovering, no one else was allowed to meet it.
That alone showed just how important the Dream Bird was to the Floating Island.
"As you already know, the Dream Bird must be treated with the utmost care."
"Yes. I know."
Just in case, Berrot gave me a small warning. I had no intention of harming the Dream Bird, so I didn't react much.
"What happened to the former Administrator of the Floating Island?"
"He was sent to the Imperial Central Prison after having all of his magic power stripped away. The amusing part was just how insignificant the amount of magic power he possessed turned out to be."
That part had seemed a little suspicious to me as well. It was assumed that he had been siphoning the Dream Bird's magic power for quite a long time, yet when they examined him, he only had a rather small amount.
"He must have squandered it."
"That's the only thing we can believe. Ah, and thanks to you two, I regained my position."
"Your position?"
I asked with a puzzled expression. What kind of position could a homeless man possibly regain? Seeing my reaction, Berrot chuckled.
"My family name is 'Oppenheimer,' isn't it?"
"Hm?"
"Oppenheimer~ is the family that the First Emperor entrusted with managing~ the Floating Island after creating it~. The former Administrator who was arrested was also an Oppenheimer~."
Berrot nodded at Canis' added explanation. There had never been any such explanation during the Floating Island event in the game, so I hadn't known.
"The man who was arrested was my uncle. Well, that sort of family situation isn't exactly uncommon among nobles, is it?"
"That's true."
Since I knew the game's overall story, I deeply sympathized. Nearly forty percent of the current nobility had already fallen under the influence of Magus.
They were the worst kind of scum who committed corruption without the slightest hesitation. Even in Rama Kargula's case, hadn't his own older brother tried to kill him?
"So that's how you became the Administrator."
"Exactly. The name Oppenheimer carries tremendous importance on the Floating Island."
As we chatted, we eventually arrived at the room where the Dream Bird was staying.
"The concentration of magic power~ is incredible~."
Being sensitive to magic power, Canis admired the dense magical energy filling the room.
Museion Island also had an impressive concentration of magic power, but this place far surpassed even that.
"This is where the magic power of the sky resides. You can think of it as something similar to the sea's magic power."
"Ah~ So it's magic humans can't use~."
After saying that much, Berrot slowly opened the door and stepped inside.
I took in the familiar interior design that I had seen in the Palace of Dreams.
I supposed it was simply consistent taste. The room was modestly decorated, with a massive bed in the center, and the Dream Bird was lying on top of it.
—Mwi? Mwi!
The Dream Bird, which had been lying limp, greeted me happily the moment it saw me. It flapped its wings, flew briefly, then hurried over to me with tiny pattering footsteps.
"......"
It spread its wings and hugged me tightly.
Watching that, Berrot's jaw dropped.
"Good heavens. This is the first time I've ever seen the Dream Bird treat someone with such affection."
"Ah. Is that so?"
The Dream Bird kept insisting on being hugged, making it difficult for me to keep my balance. Left with no choice, I lifted it into my arms.
When Aro was in her fox form, she was small enough to fit comfortably in my embrace. This fellow, however, was so large that it almost felt like I was the one being held instead.
As a result, my entire field of vision was filled with nothing but pure white feathers.
"The Dream Bird is naturally fond of spiritual power. It also likes pure-hearted people. But in this day and age, the only truly pure-hearted people left are ignorant little children."
"If you mean spiritual power~ what kinds are there~?"
At Canis' question, Berrot fell into thought for a moment.
"The magic power of fairies, beings like ghosts... or completely pure natural power. Other than those, perhaps the power of the stars."
"Ah."
Hearing Berrot's explanation, we both froze.
Out of those four difficult conditions, I possessed two of them.
For completely pure natural power, I had the lightning Anaye had granted me.
As for the power of the stars, I had the fragment of a star contained within my gauntlet.
"Haha. Since we're already here, how about becoming its Companion?"
"A Companion?"
Despite my vision being completely blocked, I answered sincerely.
"The beings we commonly call spiritual creatures all possess unique powers. Some control the weather, while others turn dreams into reality. Do you think such spiritual creatures are always born as male and female pairs?"
"I~ don't think so~."
"Correct. Then how do they produce offspring?"
This was another interesting story.
Canis, who was the most interested, pondered deeply.
"Hmm~ Are they hermaphrodites?"
"Close enough. More precisely, they receive magic power from their Companion and create new life themselves."
So there had been lore like this.
I became interested in this new piece of game setting that I had never heard before.
"There are certain families that serve spiritual creatures. The Archduke Family of the northern snow mountains has preserved the lineage of spiritual creature Companions for generation after generation. It's something like that."
"Then that's quite an impressive~ achievement~."
"You could say that. The Archduke Family had always been prestigious to begin with, but the reason they managed to maintain their status as Marquises despite the harsh frontier environment was because they were Companions of spiritual creatures."
"So how does one become a Companion?"
"Davi~ Not over there, this way.~"
Now that he had gone that far, I became interested.
Canis helped me as I kept looking in the wrong direction.
The Dream Bird, which completely filled my vision, was starting to become a nuisance.
"Our Oppenheimer Family were once Companions of the Dream Bird as well. However, after my father, who had been its Companion, passed away, neither my uncle nor I were chosen. On top of that, neither of us has any descendants."
The atmosphere began to turn strangely serious.
I set the Dream Bird down.
It looked disappointed and immediately rushed back toward me, so I gently stroked its head.
I glanced at Canis.
For some reason, Canis suddenly nodded.
Honestly, I had no idea why.
"If you become its Companion, I have a proposal for you. Would you be willing to hear it?"
"You've piqued my interest. But if I become its Companion, I'll hear it then. If I don't, the disappointment would only be greater."
At my answer, Berrot nodded enthusiastically.
His face was filled with satisfaction.
"The key to becoming the Dream Bird's Companion is forming a bond with it. That already seems to have been fulfilled. In that case, all that's left is for you and the Dream Bird to exchange your magic power. Would you sit down for a moment?"
Berrot suddenly became far more proactive and pressed me down.
Caught off guard, I ended up sitting on the floor.
At that moment, Berrot looked exactly like a father trying to marry off his troublesome daughter.
"Close your eyes and remain still."
"Um, but I don't have any magic power—"
"You must concentrate. It's a far more delicate process than it appears."
I panicked.
When he spoke about exchanging our magic power, I had been about to explain that I possessed none.
As the penalty for obtaining Adaptive Body, my body contained absolutely no magic power.
However, there was no stopping the excited Berrot.
With a quiet sigh, I closed my eyes.
It was bound to fail anyway.
"Focus on your breathing, and sense the presence of the one before you."
Following Berrot's instructions, I breathed slowly and felt the Dream Bird's presence.
I could sense the overwhelming existence unique to a spiritual creature.
"Now remain still. From here on, it's the Dream Bird's job."
Without saying anything, I stayed still.
I felt the Dream Bird's face against my forehead.
With our foreheads touching, an enormous amount of magic power flowed into me from the Dream Bird.
—Mwi? Mwi!
However, the moment the Dream Bird's magic power entered my body, it scattered and immediately returned to the Dream Bird.
Startled, the Dream Bird gathered its resolve and tried again.
—Mwi! Mwi! Mwimwimwi!
No matter how many times it tried, the result was always the same.
The Dream Bird became angry.
I wanted to help too, but this was simply how my body worked.
If anything, this only seemed to ignite the Dream Bird's competitive spirit.
It practically gritted its teeth and began trying over and over again.
"Huh? It's reacti...ng~ but this is a little~"
Suddenly, Canis, who had been silently watching, reacted.
She saw something moving inside me and looked shocked.
Then she became puzzled when she realized it wasn't magic power that was moving, but Divine Power.
"?"
"?"
Then I opened my eyes as I felt a warm sensation from where I was sitting cross-legged.
The Holy Scripture appeared there.
The sudden appearance of the Holy Scripture on its own left all of us bewildered.
—Mwi! Mwiak! Mwimwi!
The Holy Scripture, which had quietly appeared, suddenly began moving by itself and charged at the Dream Bird.
It started beating the Dream Bird even more violently than ever before.
We simply stared blankly at the scene.
None of us could comprehend what was happening.
"It looks like~ our Goddess~ is angry~."
"I had heard the Holy Scripture was a sacred object, but... I never imagined it could move on its own."
"No, why is she acting like that?"
I simply couldn't understand why Anaye was suddenly reacting this way.
"Well~ she's probably trying to keep another woman from stealing her son~."
"......"
At Canis' teasing remark, none of us could easily respond.
Even Canis herself, who had clearly spoken as a joke, couldn't bring herself to deny it after saying it.
"Huh~ It really does seem that way~."
The Dream Bird bared its beak defiantly.
Angered after being beaten continuously, it entered a battle stance and pecked at the Holy Scripture.
The Holy Scripture gracefully dodged, then seemed to say, "Well, look at you?" as it beat the Dream Bird even more fiercely.
"So~ who are we supposed to cheer for~?"
"Just stay quiet."
I lightly scolded the tactless Canis.
The three of us ended up sitting on crystal chairs that Canis had created, watching the fight between the two.
"The Holy Scripture moves~ just like Davi when he fights~."
"It's truly an incredible object. Though the Dream Bird really seems to like you. Normally, it would have given up after one attempt, but it wants to become your Companion badly enough to go this far."
At Berrot's words, I quietly kept my mouth shut.
The Dream Bird was desperately throwing itself into the fight.
There was something subtly earnest about the way it struggled so hard, as if it absolutely wanted my approval.
"Ah~ As expected, it can't beat Lady Anaye~."
Eventually, the long battle came to an end.
The victor was, naturally, the Holy Scripture.
No matter how you looked at it, it was still something called the Holy Scripture.
And if the one controlling it was Anaye, that made it even more inevitable.
I gazed wistfully at the Dream Bird, which had collapsed, bruised all over.
Losing to a book was admittedly pathetic, but I liked its determination to keep fighting until the very end.
"Oh? It looks like Lady Anaye approves of it now~."
Then something unexpected happened.
The Holy Scripture, which had thoroughly beaten the Dream Bird before floating proudly in the air, approached it.
It then presented its cover.
The limp Dream Bird stared blankly before carefully placing its wing against the cover.
The Holy Scripture emitted a brilliant light before sinking into the Dream Bird.
As its wounds gradually healed, Canis made a huge fuss.
"......"
"Congratulations. You've become Companions."
At the same time, a strange tattoo appeared on the Dream Bird's head.
Then the back of my neck began to glow.
After taking a quick glance, Berrot calmly offered his congratulations.
I let out a quiet sigh.
What was I supposed to do with our impossibly fussy Goddess?