By Zephyria 
“Aaaaaah!”
Perhaps it was because the life that had been suddenly shoved and rolled down was too dynamic and thrilling, but I was definitely not the type to seek and enjoy thrills. Absolutely.
But as they say, life is always swept away by unexpected rapids.
“Aaaaaaaah!”
As the saying goes, I was swept away by the ‘rapids’ and all I could do was scream and spin around, falling endlessly down, down. The current was so strong that I couldn’t even struggle. I was just grateful that my head wasn’t buried and I could breathe without worry.
It’s still a long time before I have to wake up, so why do you keep coming to wake me up? Why!
I had always only seen the Spirit Stone that the Spirit left behind for Allen when it left, but I had never actually seen the protagonist of that power. All I had seen was a cute and adorable illustration on the monitor… Oh my god, how could that tiny guy have such a loud voice and such a terrible personality? It was an unbelievable character breakdown. Wasn’t the Spirit originally a weakling who would have his seal released by Lennox at Allen’s request and then burst into tears of gratitude!
Whether I was in shock or not, the Spirit’s temper, which had a damn loud voice, didn’t stop. No, but this mine… Was it this deep? Where am I falling to? Just when I was about to run out of energy from the endless roller coaster. As if to prove that no one would doubt that he was the Spirit of Water, the huge stream of water that he had pulled up so ignorantly gradually weakened, and I fell completely into a place I didn’t know. Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud, tororororong, thud!
The sound of my wet body rolling around and crashing into a rock in the corner was truly beautiful. I rubbed my forehead and barely managed to get up. No, that’s when I was about to get up.
You little punk!
Thwack!
“Ack!”
Stars burst in front of my eyes along with a deafening shout. My forehead, which had been flicked unexpectedly, felt like it was on fire. I was about to get up, but I immediately covered my forehead and sat down, and then I heard the Spirit’s arrogant voice in front of me, as if he was about to give me some kind of lecture.
I wondered who it was, but it was you? Why did you come so early this time! I told you to keep the promised date! That was the condition of the contract!
“Ugh, it hurts so much… What are you saying? Promised date? Contract condition?”
Huh? It hurts? A soulless shell can also feel pain…?
The Spirit’s mouth, which had been babbling incomprehensible things, suddenly closed like a clam.
W-W-What, you? Who are you?
It’s absurd. Who am I? After dragging me all the way here on his own, and then flicking my forehead on his own, he’s asking who I am now?
“What the hell have you been saying since a while ago… Speak so I can understand.”
I involuntarily gritted my teeth. I was looking around with my eyes wide open, trying to find the Spirit Stone where the Spirit was sealed. I don’t know how a guy who’s supposed to be sealed in a jewel embedded in the entrance of the mine and can’t even move is using his abilities so freely, but now wasn’t the time to argue about that. Judging from the fact that his voice was significantly louder than when I heard it above ground, either the Spirit or the Spirit Stone must be nearby.
“Hey, where are you? Don’t just keep chattering annoyingly, come out in front of me and talk.”
The Spirit, who had been chattering so well, suddenly didn’t answer at my voice, which was full of strength. However, I could definitely feel it. That the Spirit was currently trembling and not knowing what to do.
So… How do I feel it…?
It was around the time when I vaguely had that thought.
“Ah. You were there?”
The bluish aura that had been vaguely surrounding me since a while ago finally came into view properly. I instinctively reached out my hand. Towards the void where the aura was most strongly condensed.
“You’re dead now.”
Aaaaaah! I surrender, I surrender! How can a human see me? I haven’t even materialized!
“Come here. Are you not coming right now?”
Would you come if you were me, you monstrous human!
The condensed aura flew around the narrow cave like a gnat, frantically. It was fortunate for me that the space was so small that the ceiling was within reach if I stretched out my hand.
Eee, I don’t care. Let’s just try to knock him out!
“What are you doing…!”
Sleep! Sleep, go to sleep!
With the Spirit’s deafening shout as the last thing I heard, my vision closed darkly.
Bang!
The front door was flung open violently. The urgent sound of horses’ hooves followed. It was a sound that was rarely heard in peaceful Bartolo. Perhaps it was thanks to, or rather, because of the master who bought the land and had only sent new managers a few times and didn’t seem to have any intention of coming down to Bartolo. The residents of Bartolo and the workers attached to the villa were just soaking in the good old days of peace, which was all they could do. The excessive peace made people full, and the overflowing fullness was always the duty of making humans lazy.
“What’s going on?”
“Well… Isn’t that the knight who was always following the young master around?”
Noah Hamilton, who had inherited Bartolo from his parents a few years ago, was called by the somewhat bizarre title of ‘Young Master’ by the people of this area. It seemed that the history of calling him Young Master, Young Master, had been long, and the perception that the real owner was Count Hamilton was still strong in people’s minds.
The sight of the knight rushing in frantically with an unprecedentedly pale face was a topic that was more insignificant than a fly sitting on their arm for the workers of Bartolo, who were full of complacency.
“Hmm… It looked like he was going out with the young master earlier, so why is he coming in alone so urgently? I wonder if something really happened.”
“I don’t know, but even if that’s the case, it has nothing to do with us. If something really happened, they would take care of it themselves.”
“That’s right, that’s right.”
The workers, who were wearing servants’ clothes and dozing off lazily under the warm sunlight, withdrew their attention and began to doze off again.
“Gather the people! The Young Master, Noah Young Master is in danger!”
The desperate cry of the knight also couldn’t chase away all of their laziness.
“What are you talking about, Noah is in danger!”
“N-Noah…?”
“Sir Kyle!”
In the end, it was only the high-ranking nobles who had come down from the capital with the young master who were infected by the knight’s urgency.
The quiet villa stirred dangerously. The Count and Little Count were already driving the knight, who had been guarding the young master under the pretext of escort, as if they would devour him. The weak Countess turned pale and collapsed, holding her head. The act seemed a bit exaggerated, but no one pointed it out.
“What happened, Noah, why is that child!”
“I’ll report as we go. Gather all the remaining knights, as well as the workers and the locals who know the characteristics of this area well. I’ll gladly accept the punishment, but rescuing the Young Master comes first!”
There was no one in this villa who didn’t know how devoted this knight had been to Noah Hamilton in recent months, although he had been acting like he was out of his mind at one time. The Little Count, who had maintained his composure and commanded the people rationally even when his younger brother had disappeared overnight a few days ago, got on his horse without delay, looking like he had clearly lost his composure.
The knight and the Little Count didn’t leave any further instructions and kicked the horse’s side hard.
The young servant, who prided himself on not being second to anyone in his concern for Noah Hamilton, decided to stay at the villa without saying a word. It was impossible for him to keep up with the riding speed of the two talented people from the beginning, and he hated more than death to make his beloved master more dangerous by just bustling around without being of any help.
The servant stayed by the side of the Countess, who seemed to be worried about Noah for once, and tried to calm his rising anxiety.
According to the knight, Noah Hamilton had been checking the unknown caves in the outskirts of the area one by one, as if he was planning to go on an exploration trip that didn’t suit him for the past few days. He said that he was looking at the map and moving as usual today, but… it was really like a lie, the ground suddenly cracked in front of him and a stream of water shot up. And then, before he could even grab him, Noah Hamilton fell right into the cracked ground.
Even if she dabbed and dabbed with a handkerchief, new tears kept welling up without getting tired. It was hard to believe the story that the ground had cracked for no reason and that a pillar of water had shot up from it without any evidence, but strangely, she believed it. It wasn’t that the knight who told the story was so trustworthy. Rather…
For some reason, it seemed like such a thing could happen to her one and only master. All kinds of misfortunes in the world that most people wouldn’t experience in their lifetime would suddenly come crashing down like a huge wave and sweep him away without a trace, like accidents. The servant himself didn’t know why such things felt so fitting for him, who had grown up so preciously within the high walls of the Count’s family, but that was the truth.
“Nothing will happen, that’s what will happen… The Young Master will come back safely…”
It was around the time when the servant was compulsively repeating this, calming his weakly trembling heart.
“What are you talking about! Noah is, the Young Master Noah is in danger!”
A thunderous shout rang loudly in the villa.
“The Young Master, why is the Young Master… ! How did such a thing happen…!”
It was the voice of Grand Duke Graham, who had not lost his reason even when his one and only lover had gone missing.