38. Sylph Was Actually □□□

“‘Water spirits have emotional personalities but are said to help with healing.'”

‘Healing…… Come to think of it, what about the medical standards here? They’d kill even healthy people.’

Thinking about what happened when Rose collapsed made my head feel stuffy again. I should correct the trend of bloodletting at least in the North.

No, I’m not even the protagonist but just an extra, so should I be involved in this too? If I meddle everywhere, when will I pave my own flowery path!

……is what I’d like to say, but since I’ll be the one grabbing someone by the neck if they try bloodletting in front of me claiming it’s a way to save patients, I should reform medicine for my own mental health. Yes, this is all for my mental health.

It’s absolutely not because my K-possession instinct, which can’t stand seeing work pile up, is making my hands tingle. No, certainly not. I like freeloading.

‘If people would just wash their hands and feet properly and drink boiled water, they could avoid dangerous plagues in this era, and since I know that, I naturally want to spread the knowledge!’

Besides, am I just a commoner? I’m the Grand Duke’s wife whom everyone obeys. I want to use my power a bit. To see how well they follow my words.

So that’s why.

My involvement in medicine, developing IV fluids in the future, banning bloodletting, and fighting tooth and nail with doctors is…… really for my mental health, I tell you!

‘The population increases. More people pay taxes. More taxpayers means what? More assets for me to take when I divorce!’

Satisfying my desire for power, saving lives, and increasing the assets I’ll receive later.

‘A rational decision from any angle.’

As I nodded with satisfaction, Sylph shook its head as if it had seen something it shouldn’t have.

What’s with that? Who does it think the human is?

“Sylph, Wind.”

A gentle breeze blew through the room like an air purifier running.

A great spirit master could overturn this room and tear the bookshelves to shreds with just a basic command like Wind, but with my power as a spirit master who had just taken her first steps, a gentle breeze was my limit.

Sylph looked at me with a bored expression, as if wondering if I had summoned it just for this trivial task.

“Don’t look at me like that. Who gets full from the first spoonful? I need to practice. With practice, I can try Wind Cutter after Wind, and summon Sylraphe too.”

I smiled brightly.

Wind Cutter.

According to this book, Wind Cutter was a technique of the mid-level spirit Sylraphe, a skill I couldn’t use.

But I clearly used it when fighting Lady Ygret.

〈Sylph, Wind Cutter!〉

A mid-level technique with both the target and command wrong.

Even though I had just obtained Sylph and didn’t know how to properly handle spirits, Sylph faithfully followed my command at that time.

No, it even fought more skillfully than I directed.

“Hey, Sylph?”

Though not a dog, the fluffy-furred Sylph, which looked cute, rolled its eyes to look at me.

“I’ve been wondering, when I asked how to use Grand Duke Inkheart’s gold coins, how did you bring back an answer so quickly?”

Is the spirit realm where spirits dwell actually the Grand Duke’s backyard or something?

A powerful spirit attack beyond my ability range.

Immediate communication with the spirit realm.

So if the Sylph I have isn’t an ordinary Sylph….

What if…… the Spirit King I met in the Ash Tree Forest that day became interested in my existence and has been watching me all this time pretending to be an ordinary Sylph?

“How long are you going to keep pretending, Lord Sylphid?”

Slowly, the fluffy-furred beast form of Sylph melted away.

A clump of wind formed where Sylph had been, then grew taller, and a mysterious handsome man with water-colored hair appeared.

After Sir Lucion and Darius, this was the third human appearance I had seen.

‘Ah, as I thought.’

「Slow-witted. Don’t be so proud of yourself for finally noticing.」

“Is that the first thing you say after keeping your mouth shut and following me around like a stalker?”

「Stalker? I regret to inform you that without that stalker, you would have died when you met the witch.」

This snooty Spirit King!

Perhaps embarrassed at being caught, Sylphid snapped back abruptly.

“You followed me because I’m interesting!”

「It’s true that I’m interested since you’re the generation that will fulfill Inkheart’s prophecy. It’s also true that I’ve been extremely worried since the treasure I’ve carefully watched over for ages has been passed to someone who can’t even properly command a Sylph.」

“H-hey, it’s not a crime for an extra to be weak!”

I’m conserving my strength because I’m worried about becoming stronger than the protagonist! Really!

「Extra? Come to think of it, the word ‘extra’ is always floating around in your head.」

A criticism for using terminology different from the worldview. Unnecessarily sharp, aren’t you?

“So what I mean is that Darius is the one who will fulfill the prophecy anyway, and he’s the one who really needs to be strong, so whether I’m strong or weak doesn’t matter…… No, before that, why do you keep rudely looking into my mind?”

Gasp, feeling like my mind was being read, I reflexively raised my hands to cover my head.

「How foolish. Mental barriers can’t be blocked that way.」

“Eek, that’s how ordinary humans are!”

「Ordinary human? Do you believe yourself to be an ordinary human?」

Sylphid’s water-colored eyes looked at me indifferently.

“But you said I have unusually little spirit power compared to my vessel’s capacity…… And all I can use now is just Sylph……”

「There’s something called a ‘book’ in your head.」

Tsk, a book?

My spine froze. Sylphid’s words touched on my identity. This wasn’t just about whether he had looked into my innermost thoughts or not.

In a transmigration story based on an original work, wasn’t that something you shouldn’t touch?

Hey, what happens if you break the common rules of this genre? Is this what they call breaking the fourth wall or something?

「Unlike your other memories, the ‘book’ appeared briefly when you recalled it in your mind and then disappeared repeatedly. So even I couldn’t read that ‘book’ precisely. But roughly guessing, are you something like a prophet who received revelations?」

A prophet? Am I a prophet?

「It’s hard to believe, but you believe that you lived in another world and were reincarnated here. And according to what you read in a book in that other world, the demon king will soon be resurrected. Darius is the hero who will defeat the demon king.」

Sylphid said.

「You believe in your revelation and are doing your best to make Darius a hero. Am I right?」

Explaining that I read about future events in a book from another world might be harder to understand than explaining that I received revelations from a god.

Or, did I really receive divine revelations, but found it difficult to accept so I deceived myself into thinking I had read a romance fantasy?

I was supposed to be the one doing the convincing, but I was being swayed by Sylphid’s words.

This wasn’t good.

“That’s right. Following my ‘revelation,’ I went to the Ash Tree Forest and opened Grand Duke Inkheart’s storage. If the demon king really resurrects soon, that storage must have been prepared for the hero.”

「Anette.」

I am Anette. A possessor who possessed Anette’s body. An extra in this novel.

My hands and feet trembled at the feeling that my shallow identity was being completely exposed.

Before this great being, the Spirit King, my shallow existence felt like it could crumble at any moment.

‘I shouldn’t have meddled.’

For the first time since coming to this world, I felt afraid.

「Don’t be sad. You too must have struggled, holding the fate of the world.」

A gentle breeze, the kind, warm air that blows when the long winter ends and spring blooms, wrapped around my shoulders.

「You bear a heavy burden. I will share your burden. Just as I shared the burden of my friend in the past. They say heroes are lonely and solitary, but that’s not true. If you choose not to be alone, I can gladly share with you.」

“I’m not a hero.”

「Aren’t you striving to make this world run according to its principles?」

Sylphid looked at me kindly.

The heroes Sylphid loved never boasted of their achievements.

Those who stood at the forefront and moved forward, yet were humble enough to acknowledge others’ contributions more. While finding such personalities frustrating, Sylphid invariably ended up loving such people.

〈Sylphid. When I received the prophecy that not I but my descendant would defeat the demon king, part of me was cowardly relieved. I don’t have the courage to advance toward the demon king while sacrificing soldiers’ lives. I’m grateful that it won’t be me who has to restore the devastated land after defeating the demon king.〉

The ancestor of Inkheart said this while devoting his life to preparing for the descendant who would face the demon king.

The inexperienced contractor before him now was the same.

‘Darius is the protagonist.’

‘I should step back for the protagonist at important moments.’

‘But I’ll do everything I can for the protagonist.’

An unremarkable soul invited to this world by a whim of fate one day, living the best it can.

How could he not love this girl who reminded him of old memories?

「I will help you.」

“How?”

「For starters, I can help with your spirit affinity.」

“You said I have a large vessel as a spirit master but can’t utilize it properly.”

「I’ll guide you slowly over time. You can look forward to it. It’s rare for a spirit master to be directly instructed by a Spirit King.」

Sylphid, who had lived for hundreds, perhaps thousands of years, gently comforted his newly contracted partner.

「For that, we need training first. If you want to stand beside the hero as a spirit master, you must be thoroughly prepared.」

“……What?”

「Daily training of spirit affinity, and communication with spirits cannot be neglected either. I’ve connected you with Sylph for now, but with your ability, you should actively consider contracting with spirits of other attributes.」

Wait.

「First, let’s progress to the advanced wind spirit Sylraphe. Which spirits of other attributes are you considering?」

Wait, wait, wait!

The student doesn’t want to study! Why me? After coming all this way? Why add another routine to these difficult days?

Is transmigration a joke? Do I look easy because I suddenly possessed someone?