Chapter 6

The spirit named Silri had a voice that sounded cute, but her personality didn’t seem all that pleasant.

Yet, despite saying she’d get angry if it were a trivial matter, she readily offered her home after hearing Enria’s circumstances — making Enria wonder if perhaps her personality wasn’t so bad after all.

Enria had expected Silri’s home to be a modest mansion at best, but she was astonished to find it nearly as large as a Grand Duke’s castle. What truly fRosee her face, however, was realizing the house was floating in the sky.

She thought it a blessing she wasn’t afraid of heights and wondered whether there might be something like an elevator to go down below.

With an almost enlightened calm, Enria was absorbed in such thoughts when Silri suddenly transformed into a whirlwind before her eyes.

Moments later, the whirlwind took the shape of a tall woman about Enria’s size.

When Enria flinched in surprise, Silri brushed aside her long white hair with an imperious air and spoke.

“What are you jumping at every little thing for? Follow me.”

“You—you transformed into a human…!”

When Enria blinked at the sight of Silri’s human form, too stunned to move, Silri sighed heavily as if exasperated.

“How long are you going to stand there gawking? I said, follow me.”

“Ah, yes. Ma’am!”

The chill in Silri’s expression made Enria feel that if she didn’t follow, she might be tossed off the edge, so she hurried after her.

‘The one blessed by the Fire Spirit is targeting her. She needs your help.’

Lahar’s voice echoed in Silri’s mind.

Spirit summoners were able to communicate with spirits through their thoughts, so Lahar could naturally speak inwardly with Silri and the other spirits.

‘Oh, you mean those foolish humans who broke the rules and sided with that idiot Panz? Why are they trying to kill this human?’

‘Because her power must pose some kind of threat to them.’

‘…Fine. That idiot Panz giving his power to a non-summoner is a stain on us anyway.’

Silri agreed to Lahar’s request without hesitation.

Unaware that Silri and Lahar were conversing silently, Enria simply followed the now-humanized spirit in confusion.

In the original story, Lahar did fight alongside Roseanne and Caldeon against the villains, but none of the spirits ever took human form — which made this all the more surprising.

“Here.”

After a long walk, Silri stopped abruptly.

Enria blinked at the white door embroidered with ornate patterns, and Silri continued.

“You can use this room. Lahar will bring whatever food or supplies a human needs.”

“Ah, thank you.”

“There are no servants like in human dwellings, so you’ll have to do everything yourself.”

“Oh, that’s fine.”

Before being possessed, Enria had always done everything on her own, so that part didn’t bother her.

Then she realized with a pang of worry that her belly would soon start to show.

She hesitated, then called out to Silri, who was about to leave.

“Um, Lady Silri.”

Silri whipped her head around with a startled expression, as though Enria had just split the heavens.

Enria, flustered, scratched her cheek with her finger.

“I’m sorry, but… I’m actually pregnant.”

“What?!”

Silri’s face fRosee in even greater shock.

The sudden outburst made Enria step back a little and explain quickly.

“I’m fine for now, but when my stomach gets bigger, it’ll be harder to move around. I was wondering if, maybe, you could ask Lahar to send a servant—”

“Why didn’t you say that earlier?!”

Silri snapped, her voice sharp enough to cut the air.

“This isn’t what I had in mind…”

Enria sighed as she looked around her room at the small whirlwinds floating everywhere.

The moment Silri had learned she was pregnant, she’d summoned a flock of miniature whirlwinds and ordered them to tend to Enria.

‘I’m not sure what exactly these little whirlwinds are supposed to do for me…’

With another weary sigh, Enria sat up from the bed.

Silri had told her to lie still and not lift a finger, but after staying motionless for so long, her back was aching.

‘I should tell her lying down all day isn’t good for you.’

She couldn’t understand why a spirit would react so seriously to a human pregnancy, but since Silri’s attitude had turned from annoyance to overprotectiveness, Enria couldn’t really complain.

Suddenly, all the whirlwinds drifted toward her at once.

In an instant, eyes, noses, and mouths appeared on them — and limbs followed. Each one’s features looked slightly different.

It was strange enough that they suddenly had faces, but even stranger that they acted like they had minds of their own.

[Do you need anything?]

[Would you like something to eat?]

[Are you hungry, perhaps?]

Enria shook her head and asked the closest one,

“Could you contact Lord Lahar for me? I’d like to see him.”

[The summoner is currently in Lady Undy’s healing circle.]

“…Ah.”

Now that she thought of it, Undy had been struck by Groen’s fireball and blown apart.

Enria frowned slightly.

“Is she badly hurt?”

[We do not know.]

Enria turned toward the window, worry clouding her face.

If a spirit was in a healing circle, it had to be serious.

‘I wish I could help…’

Then she suddenly remembered — she could use healing magic.

‘Maybe my healing magic would work on spirits too!’

If there was a chance, she had to try.

“Can you take me to the healing circle?” she asked.

But the whirlwinds told her that only a summoner with a contract could enter such a place.

Enria frowned, thinking, then murmured,

“Maybe Lady Silri could take me there…”

Immediately, a massive whirlwind appeared before her — and from it, Silri emerged.

She gave Enria a faint, incredulous laugh.

“Ha. What now?”

“Lady Silri!”

At the sound of her name, Silri’s face stiffened again — just like the first time.

“So it wasn’t an accident you said my name earlier.”

Brushing back her hair, Silri narrowed her eyes at her.

“How can you even say my name?”

“…Pardon?”

“My name. How are you able to speak it?”

“Well… because I know it, so—”

“The name of a spirit can only be spoken by the one who has made a contract with that spirit.”

Enria blinked.

“…Huh?”

“No matter how well you know it, it shouldn’t be possible for you to say it aloud. And yet, you did.”

Her expression hardened.

“Don’t tell me you… burned your life force like that damned magician?”

“W-what?”

As Enria stared, bewildered, Silri’s gaze dropped to her stomach.

Enria hesitated, then said quickly,

“Anyway, could you take me to Lady Undy? I can use healing magic—”

Before she could finish, large bubbles began to form beside Silri — and in an instant, they coalesced into a handsome man with blue hair.

His bare torso was covered in deep wounds.

“Good grief,” Silri muttered.

“Huh?”

The man looked around in confusion, and Silri, watching Enria, said dryly, “I think I’ll have to sew this human’s mouth shut.”

At that, Enria instinctively pressed her lips together in fear.

“What’s going on here?” the blue-haired man asked, flustered.

Silri jerked her chin toward Enria.

“This human summoned you, Undy.”

Undy’s eyes widened as he looked at her.

Enria stepped forward carefully and reached toward his wounded chest.

“Let me heal you.”

He instinctively tried to move back, but she placed her hand on his chest before he could — and began to chant.

Just like when she had healed Lahar, a soft light spread around Undy’s body.

“Oh,” Silri murmured, folding her arms in interest.

Undy, equally dumbfounded, blinked at her.

Though slower than with Lahar, the wounds on his body began to close.

‘My sacred energy is draining so fast…’

Since healing magic drew upon divine power, the greater the injury, the greater the cost.

But Enria felt a thrill in learning more about her ability through experience.

Maybe she’d be able to unlock the atonement power Lahar had mentioned in the same way — through understanding and practice.

‘Experience really is everything.’

As most of the wounds vanished, her divine energy ran dangerously low. She could feel the emptiness spreading through her body.

Just as she reached for the last wound on his hand, her vision flickered — and she collapsed.

Silri caught her before she hit the floor.

“What on earth…”

Undy looked between Enria and his now-healed body.

Aside from a faint mark on his hand, every wound was gone — much faster than any healing circle could manage.

“She must be one of the humans chosen by the gods,” Silri said, gazing down at the unconscious Enria in her arms.

“Chosen by the gods?”

“She spoke both our names freely — mine and yours. She could probably speak Lonn’s and Panz’s as well.”

“But she healed me with divine power. Humans are only ever given one gift from the gods. A person with divine power shouldn’t be able to wield magic.”

“Exactly. Which is why she must be one of the chosen.”

“But the gods are fair. They’d never give one human two powers…”

“They’re not as fair as you think — just look at him, the one with the black magic.”

“…!”

Undy’s eyes widened.

Silri nodded toward Enria’s belly.

“She’s carrying a child.”

Undy’s eyes widened further.

“The father, I suspect, is another of the chosen.”

“…!”

“That union might be why she can temporarily use all the powers the gods bestowed upon humankind.”

“No way…!”

Undy’s gaze dropped to Enria’s stomach.

“The prophesied savior of mankind…”

“Exactly. It could be her — or the child she bears.”

Undy’s eyes widened again.

“At a time like this, when Panz is conspiring with magicians to plunge the human world into chaos…”

Silri’s lips curved into a slow smile.

“Things are about to get very interesting, don’t you think, Undy?”

Her gray eyes shimmered with a mysterious light.