23. Beginner Spirit Mages Start with Sylph!  

Sylphid, looking extremely annoyed, twisted my nose. Strangely enough, whenever he twisted my nose, he would take on Darius’s appearance again. Didn’t he say he hated that form?

‘Does everyone who takes on Darius’s appearance develop a habit of nose-twisting or something?’

I suddenly remembered the time Darius twisted my nose while I pretended to be asleep in the carriage on our honeymoon journey, and my face flushed more than necessary.

“Fraud? I never deceived anyone, and it’s the fault of the one who gets deceived!”

Sylphid, who was in Darius’s form, lamented.

「Inkheart and I carefully devised restrictions, but to think such a tiny girl would break through them.」

‘He’s been looking down on me since earlier, but this tiny girl happens to be the wife of the current Grand Duke of Inkheart, you know?’

I grumbled internally and glared at Sylphid.

「You caused me to be mistaken. I can’t sense even a speck of spirit power in you right now. But your vessel is absurdly large compared to your abilities. Almost like the vessel of a Great Spirit Mage.」

“What does that even mean?”

「It’s simple logic. If there’s only a drop of water, there’s no need to prepare a huge vessel. It’s a pointless waste. From what I sense, you originally possessed immense spirit power, but it seems as though something happened, leaving only an empty vessel behind.」

Could it be that Annette before my possession had the qualities of a Great Spirit Mage?

「Spirit power isn’t a capability that gets used up and disappears. When the body recovers, the used spirit power naturally replenishes itself. But this… this is unprecedented. I can only sense traces of what was once abundant spirit energy in you, now dried up completely.」

Well, it’s not like I have no guesses at all. Like transmigration, or transmigration, or maybe a soul swap. Annette had a lot of things to feel guilty about before, didn’t she?

Haha.

Even if I tried explaining such things, there’s no way I’d get a good response, right?

Since the Spirit King hates demonic beings, in the worst-case scenario, he might try to exterminate me, calling me a vile existence.

I decided to keep quiet about the misunderstanding the Spirit King had about me.

「I heard your call and pondered. You showed potential, but at the same time, you didn’t feel like the perfect Spirit Mage we hoped for. So, I decided to summon you anyway. And as I just said, the result was a flop.」

He playfully tapped my forehead.

「So, have we cleared up all misunderstandings now?」

‘When the heroine obtained the treasure of the North, there wasn’t any event like this.’

There was no mention of meeting the Spirit King. Although there was the tragic incident of Rose’s death, the story only mentioned how the legendary treasure was obtained overnight.

Maybe, as he said, this event occurred specially because I was unqualified.

「Let’s go back to the beginning. Here lies an enormous treasure that any human would desire. How do you intend to use this treasure?」

Gold coins sparkled at my feet. The space was so dazzlingly golden that the gold looked like sand.

‘Ah, that sword over there. It would suit Darius. In the original story, I think he obtained a magical sword here.’

And with these gold coins, there would no longer be any need to worry about money for Northern development projects or even renovating the training grounds.

“In this era where your legends have become fairy tales, what do you think drove people to desperately search for them? You wouldn’t know since you’re stuck here, but the world already considers the promise between the ancestor Inkheart and you as a mere children’s tale.”

Money. The North needs money right now.

But waiting for the heroine to arrive and solve everything would take too long.

“I know that the Demon King is coming. Your treasure must have been created to prepare for that final day. It’s needed now, to prepare for the coming Demon King’s army.”

This wasn’t sweet talk to win him over. I genuinely knew. Because I had read the original story. I knew that all of this was truly meant to prepare for the final invasion of the Demon King’s army.

「My dear friend Inkheart gathered this wealth with the conviction that his descendants would defeat the Demon King. But to you humans, doesn’t the Demon King sound like some villain from a fairy tale? Especially in such a peaceful world.」

“What nonsense. If there’s a Spirit King, why wouldn’t there be a Demon King?”

「And yet, the Spirit King himself is saying the Demon King is nothing but an absurd tale.」

“Just as your friend had conviction, so do I. This vault didn’t open now for no reason. It opened to help the current Grand Duke of Inkheart. How long are you going to keep this buried?”

Honestly, even if there were no Demon King, the North is already on shaky ground. The finances are in shambles!

Hearing my answer, Sylphid quietly smiled and then piled up gold coins in front of me.

「If you want, take them wherever you wish.」

‘Come to think of it, moving all of this is going to be a massive task.’

There was so much gold that it could crush someone to death. The entire castle staff might have to work together to move it all.

「Will you truly use it for the North and the world?」

Sylphid’s voice was subtle. I was too busy nodding to notice that he was testing me.

‘Ah, Lady Ygret. I must ensure she doesn’t get her hands on this, right?’

If this much gold suddenly appeared in the castle, there’s no way she wouldn’t notice. Hiding it would be a challenge.

「Isn’t the gold heavy?」

“This much is fine. Moving everything here is the real issue.”

Annette didn’t realize it, but Sylphid was actually surprised.

The two conditions they had set were that only someone with abundant holy power or spirit power could find the treasure, and the second condition was this:

The gold coins of the Grand Duke of Inkheart were cursed so that anyone with an evil heart who touched them would be crushed under their weight.

「I’m glad. I can finally fulfill an old promise to a dear friend.」

The promise with his deceased friend had been Sylphid’s last lingering attachment.

‘This should cover the finances for ten years. …But with this much gold, surely some of it counts as my contribution, right? I can take a little when I get divorced, can’t I?’

Poof! Suddenly, the gold coins in Annette’s hand expanded wildly, scattering everywhere. The anti-corruption magic had activated.

「…Contractor, until just a moment ago, you had an untainted, pure soul. What on earth is this?」

“…With so much gold, I thought maybe 1/10, or even 1/100, could be left over for me after using it all…”

Poof poof poof! The gold coins increased in proportion to her greed, and Annette’s hands sank lower under the weight.

“I’ll use it all and settle the accounts later. Until then, I won’t touch a single coin! I’ll focus on the important matters first! I swear!”

Seriously, isn’t there a law against making people work for free? What about my labor fees, huh?

Finally, after I swore not to embezzle public funds, the magical expansion of the gold coins stopped.

「Can I truly trust you?」

Sylphid’s eyes were filled with suspicion as he looked at Annette.

「You’re a suspicious contractor. But I have no choice but to trust you.」

Sylphid formed a contract. Then, a red circle appeared in the air, and from it emerged a small, adorable furry creature.

“Woof!”

The puppy-sized creature ran up to the Spirit King, wagging its tail and acting cute at his feet.

Sylphid picked it up and handed it to Annette.

「This is Sylph.」

“What?”

「First, form a contract with Sylph. A lower-tier spirit seems suitable for your level.」

“Why all of a sudden?”

「Originally, anyone entering this place as a Spirit Mage would be granted the special right to form a contract with me. A Spirit Mage would understand how glorious it is to contract with the supreme Spirit King.」

No wonder he had been calling me a contractor since I entered. It seems this was his plan all along. Among the treasures prepared by Inkheart for his descendants was the power source of his fame as a Great Spirit Mage—his contract with the Spirit King.

Sylphid spoke as if doing me a favor.

「Of course, any mere human who meets the great Spirit King of the Wind, Sylphid, would want to contract with me immediately. But don’t. Just as a baby trying to run before learning to walk is dangerous, attempting to contract with me at your current level would drain your strength and kill you.」

So, I should start by forming a contract with the lower-tier wind spirit, Sylph? Is this how my journey as a wise Spirit Mage begins?

‘Well, gaining any sort of power isn’t a bad thing.’

「Even handling Sylph, whom I’ve generously given you, will be difficult for you in your current state. While you don’t meet my standards, I won’t say you lack talent. Don’t neglect your training.」

As soon as Sylphid handed Sylph to me, the little spirit began curiously examining me. In many ways, it really resembled a puppy. Would it start panting soon too?

「Don’t make me regret trusting you and opening this door, wife of Inkheart.」

‘You knew?’

Sylphid faintly smiled. Come to think of it, he had said earlier that he chose Lucion’s form after peeking into my mind. How much had he seen?

「Lastly, let me give you some advice: time doesn’t flow in this place. Outside, everything will be exactly as it was before you entered… so give it your all.」

With those words, he vanished without warning. The spot where he stood began to crumble. His vivid figure started to fade.

Crash. The sound of gold coins tumbling was deafening.

‘What does that mean?’

I flailed helplessly, overwhelmed by the shifting room.

Just like when I entered, the Spirit King left me with nothing but riddles and disappeared.

* * *

Gasp.

The cold wind touched my body again.

Was it all a dream? If it was a dream, then where exactly did the dream begin and end?

Clink, clink. The sound of gold coins colliding brought me back to reality.

When I regained my senses and looked around, the tree where I had first arrived was completely covered in gold coins. It was as if all the gold from that treasure vault had been transported here in its entirety.