By Zephyria 
A spirit that would follow me even if I didn’t call out desperately.
I had kept it in a corner of my heart, regretting it, yet I had completely forgotten. Wouldn’t it be perfect if I had just one Sylph that I could summon anywhere, even in someone else’s territory or within a magic circle?
Without a word, I examined the magic circle once more. Inside the round circle, several straight lines were overlapped to draw an eight-pointed star pattern. Within that, there was another circle with various Magic Formulas written on it, more unknown words than words I recognized. At each point where the circle and the star’s vertices met, a small saucer was placed. These saucers held things like silver sand, red crystals, or dried herbs.
Did my gaze drift towards the counter and kitchen without me realizing it?
Ivan, who had been watching from the side with a placid expression, spoke.
“Only our people are inside. How could we let an outsider in, with who knows what might be overheard? We’ve given the innkeeper and all the staff leave, so you don’t need to worry.”
“That’s right. Don’t worry, just take this and stand in the middle of the magic circle.”
Marianne placed a small pinwheel into my hand. I felt a bit sheepish accepting the pinwheel, which looked clumsily made, as if a child had folded it from colored paper. For now, I did as I was told, standing in the center of the formation, careful not to step on the magic circle.
“What is this…?”
“It’s a mark for wanting to summon a Sylph. We’ll try all Four Elementals, but Sylph is the first, of course.”
“…Have you summoned a spirit before?”
“I’ve summoned one before, in class. Though the contract failed.”
I should have studied Elemental Studies beforehand. No, that wasn’t right. At the time, I was already overwhelmed with other matters. I should be grateful just for Marianne sharing what she had learned.
As I stepped into the center of the formation, everyone watching fell silent. My companions, whether sitting on chairs or standing on the floor, were all looking at me, which felt burdensome and awkward.
Half a step forward, no, no. A little more back. To the right. Marianne corrected my posture with such instructions, then took out a piece of paper with something written on it and unfolded it.
“There. Now close your eyes and focus on my voice. If you can, it’s good to repeat it in your mind.”
“…Yes.”
“Yakelop Din Lope De Hineun. Per Yoyan, Per Makane, Du Elden Bind…”
I was well-practiced in reciting words whose meanings I couldn’t understand. I listened to the incantation and mumbled it inwardly. Even with my eyes closed, I could feel beings blooming like seeds in the air, pong, pong. Suppressed gasps of admiration could be heard from various directions.
“…Nar Du Mai. Now, open your eyes.”
“…”
Over a dozen Sylphs were swimming in the empty air like goldfish, giggling.
As I kept my gaze fixed on them, Marianne advised in a calm voice, “Release your Mana now. Just enough to gather slightly at your fingertips, your palms. Overlap your hands… and extend them forward.”
The Sylphs showed great interest in my hands. One of them, which had been hovering nearby, settled right on my hand. I didn’t look away. Marianne’s voice continued calmly, “Grasp your hands as if to enclose it… Yes. Now, take three breaths. Open your hands again.”
I did as I was told.
The spirit that had first settled on my hand remained there, looking at me and smiling brightly.
“…I’ll do it once more. Place the Sylph you just caught on your right shoulder. Settle it… and again, extend your hand…”
…
And so, the fifth spirit sat demurely on my shoulder.
What was this? Fishing would be harder than this. The Sylphs, perched neatly on my shoulders like well-trained Ranunculuses, made my ears tingle with their chatter.
“…That’s five. Shall we stop here?”
Marianne, looking somewhat dejected, asked this. As I lowered my hands, the Sylphs that had gathered around chirped. Even if I didn’t understand the spirits’ voices, I knew the sound of baby swallows begging for food. It sounded exactly like that.
“No, it’s first come, first served in life. What are they complaining about after setting it up themselves? Fine, fine. I’ll close it now. Mikael, close your eyes again. Repeat after me. Like the first time.”
I felt something constantly tugging at my hair.
For now, I closed my eyes as instructed.
“…De Ba Laden Muhda. Paven.”
Paven. As I recited it inwardly and opened my eyes, the Sylphs that had been circling vanished. Only the Sylphs perched on my shoulders were still giggling. One crawled from my shoulder up to my head, and I let it.
“Is it over now?”
“Yes. No, wait, what? Why is this so easy?”
“…Is it usually like this?”
“Would it be? Normally, they disappear with a ‘poof’ after you trap them in your hand and open it. Spirits are very picky about their Spirit Masters. You have to try dozens of times until you happen upon one whose heart’s resonance matches yours.”
Mage Boulder, who was preparing the next set of ingredients nearby, said with a pout, “But spirits can see faces. I’ve never seen anyone gather Sylphs this easily, though…”
“This is truly astonishing. Let’s see if the other Four Elementals are like this too.”
Suddenly, I thought of Nereid.
“Are you only going to summon the lowest-tier spirits?”
“Yes. This is Bivan Capital, so there are too many people. The environment isn’t good for summoning higher-tier spirits. This magic circle summons natural spirits that might be within a 15km radius. Please wait outside for a moment.”
She waved her hand dismissively as if chasing away a dog, and I obediently stepped back.
While Marianne was redrawing the magic circle, I stood beside Ruben. As the child looked on with curiosity, I placed a Sylph on my finger and held it out to Ruben. The Sylph, looking like a small boy, widened its eyes and stared at Ruben, then stuck out its tongue with a bee- and hid inside my collar.
Its behavior was so amusing and unbelievable. I laughed for a long time.
Unlike the Sylphs, who were easily caught, the other spirits were not.
It took fifteen attempts to finally catch one Undine, and the Gnomes just ran around everywhere, showing no interest in me. The Salamanders liked settling on my hand, but they vanished like ghosts the moment I opened my hand.
Five Sylphs, one Undine.
The more I looked at the small, gathered spirits, the more amazed I became. Most of the spirits I had seen before had a uniform body color, but the ones I had contracted with this time flickered, their bodies becoming faint or intense.
As Marianne cleaned up in order, Boulder, who had been scribbling in a notebook, approached me with eyes shining like a madman.
“Lord Ernhardt certainly has a good affinity with wind! Did you say you once put the will of the heavens into your sword? I didn’t know internal energy had an element… Heaven, wind, floating—these are properties of wind and water. Until now, I thought the spirits swarmed because they could see faces! Hahaha! I was almost fooled! So, if it’s alright, just one drop of blood touched by the breath of the wind…”
“Um… just me, and no one else is trying to contract?”
I interrupted him hastily. Mage Boulder answered without any sign of being offended, “Spirits aren’t obtained for free. At the very least, one must have an eye for the Immaterial Plane Dimension and be able to use Mana freely, and be able to provide a certain amount of Mana consistently during summoning! If you contract incorrectly, you’ll suffer greatly from Mana exhaustion, indeed. Moreover, most of the Mana users here are Sword Masters, aren’t they? Swordsmen and wizards typically use destructive Mana, so they don’t have a good affinity with spirits. Neither I nor Marianne can handle spirits, you see. That’s how it is.”
“But I…”
“Lord Ernhardt has a large amount of Mana, and spirits have always been drawn to you, haven’t they? If it weren’t for that, it wouldn’t be worth trying. The material cost alone is 12 gold per attempt, and while the magic circle itself is easy to draw, it’s pure luck, so it’s not easy to gain anything.”
Still, something felt lacking.
As I hesitated, Marianne, who was counting the remaining ingredients, called out, “If we scrape together what’s left, we can do it one more time. How about it? Does anyone else want to try?”
I immediately looked at Rubel.
But Ruben shook his head with a troubled expression.
“I… I’ve tried a few times already. But the spirits didn’t really stick to me.”
“When did you try?”
“Around the time I graduated. There are several Spirit Masters in the Imperial Palace, you know. I just hoped.”
Then…
My gaze swept over the surrounding people. The Knights, watching with keen interest, shook their heads with a smile.
“I’ve tried before. I’m fine.”
“Hmm… I don’t think so for me right now. It would be disadvantageous if a certain amount of Mana were constantly being consumed in my current state.”
“My age… for dreaming of becoming a Spirit Master.”
Fortunately, only one person was left.
Benjamin blinked and looked at Ikyun.
❖ ❖ ❖
As if the suspicious magic circle had never appeared, the first floor of the inn was restored to its neat appearance.
Several tables were pushed together, and everyone in the party, excluding the staff, sat in a circle.
While waiting for the meal, I listened to Marianne’s lecture on Elemental Studies. She explained that the faint flickering of the spirits first summoned meant their affinity with the summoner was still low, and that they would gradually take on a more solid form, so there was no need to worry. She also advised that in the early stages of contracting with spirits, it was good to summon them for about two hours a day, and that when summoning a contracted spirit, it was enough to recall its remembered form and call out to it in one’s mind.
The Sylphs and Undine sitting neatly on the table were all human-shaped. Some were as small as my thumb, others slightly longer than my middle finger. The Sylphs had short or long hair, while the Undine had long hair that reached their waists. All six were blue.
The Gnome clinging to Benjamin’s ankle looked like a clay figurine. I had seen some Gnomes that resembled humans, but this one looked like a roughly molded clay doll. It looked remarkably like Benjamin, which I found very amusing.
We spent a long time laughing and talking about spirits. While eating the meal served, we chatted about various other things.
Ivan, after placing several pieces of meat on his wife’s plate, suddenly asked, “So, how long do you plan to stay in the capital?”