chapter 5: The Strongest Spirit and Her Power
Shimizu Residence – Tokonoma
Somehow, I managed to make a contract with Hymingreva, so I immediately brought her home and introduced her to my sister.
“Um, Kyousuke, who is this?” My sister looked at the silver-haired beauty sitting next to me with a curious expression.
She’s so cute. I hope she can live happily ever after.
“Oh, this is Hymingreva Albion-san. It may be hard to believe, but she’s like the deity of the shrine we serve… I mean, she holds a position similar to that of a god.” I explained.
“No problem. You can call me Al,” Hymingreva nodded with a calm face.
Since leaving the shrine, she had removed her weapons and stopped speaking in that unique and corny way. Now she looked like a sophisticated young lady. The white blouse she was wearing was very refreshing.
“What is this incomprehensible lie? Why can’t you just introduce her as your friend?” My sister protested.
“No, it’s not like that, sis. She’s not some phony being. She’s a real goddess…” I tried to explain.
“Which one of you is more phony?” My sister pouted and puffed up her cheeks. While it was tempting to argue that she was, I decided to let it go since we were both equally absurd.
But as expected, my sister didn’t believe me.
Well, it’s also a problem that if she easily undoubtedly believes in her being a god.
I looked at the boss lady sitting next to me.
“Master, could you come closer?” Hymingreva asked.
“Huh? Oh, sure. What is it?” I leaned closer to Hymingreva’s lips.
“If we continue like this, it won’t work. I’m going to make up a story, so please go along with it,” she whispered.
“All right, I get it. Sorry, Hymingreva. But what’s with this way of speaking? Well, it’s fluent, but…” I asked.
“I simply removed the language restrictions and optimized it for the contractor’s language environment. Oh, and please call me Al. It takes time to get used to being called by my first name,” she explained.
With her answer solely focused on efficiency and disregarding character development, I nodded in agreement and replied, “Alright, Al.”
“What are you two whispering about? If it’s a secret, count me in. I feel left out,” my sister interrupted.
“I apologize, elder sister. But please don’t worry. He and I don’t have the kind of relationship you’re concerned about,” Al reassured her.
“Then what kind of relationship do you have?” my sister asked.
“Well, to put it simply,” Al began, her beautiful lips moving gracefully…
And then she uttered such nonsense.
“!? Kyousuke, is that true!?” my sister exclaimed.
“Uh…? Oh, yeah. That’s right,” I stammered.
“We met at the shrine. I don’t know why I was there or even my own name. I was a girl with no memory. He happened to be there and saved me. And then…” Al continued.
What followed was a series of countless lies that seemed like a compilation of heartwarming boy-meets-girl stories from different eras and cultures.
A girl with no memories, a kind young man they met at a shrine where cherry blossoms danced. He gave the hungry girl a pastry and recited some abstract poem-like lines. But then, heartless thugs appeared out of nowhere, surrounding him. The girl awakened her hidden power to save him, and so on. By the time Al finished fabricating this heartwarming story, my sister was already in tears.
“Oh, sob… I never knew there was such a dramatic story…”
“Well, yeah. So, sis, if you’re okay with it, why won’t we…” I tried to suggest, but my sister cut me off.
“You don’t have to say anything more, Kyousuke! Let’s take her in!”
My sister declared with a determined tone.
I appreciate her enthusiasm, but her kind-heartedness also worries me.
“Don’t worry, Master,” Al reassured me.
“Did Al sense something from my expression?” Al whispered quietly into my ear.
“My sister’s acceptance was due to the bloodline of [Shimizu]. Our relationship, since ancient times, has been that of the one to be worshipped and the one to worship. My words hold great weight and significance to them.”
“So, what does that mean?”
“I will listen to any request and believe anything.”
“Scary!?”
Upon hearing this unbelievable fact, I felt a slight dizziness.
Could it be that I have unleashed a forbidden god of this world?
“Please rest assured. I have no intention of harming this household. As long as the Master keeps their promise, I will faithfully serve.”
That could also be interpreted as meaning they don’t care what happens to the family if the promise is not kept… well, never mind.
For now, I decided to ignore that matter and turned to my sister, who was excitedly exclaiming, “Our family is growing!”
“Hey, sis. Actually, Al has a mysterious power.”
“You mean the power that repelled those bad punks from earlier?”
“Yeah, exactly. It’s like a variation of that power.”
Expanding on Al’s tall tale from earlier, I got straight to the point.
“It seems that Al has the ability to heal people’s wounds and illnesses. Despite the intense fight earlier, not a scratch remained thanks to this power.”
There were no injuries to expect since there were no thugs attacking in the first place. It seemed more like a scammer’s trick.
“Well, I have a suggestion. Lately, sis, you haven’t been feeling well, right? So what do you think about letting Al examine you?”
“That would be a dream come true…”
I signaled Al with a glance.
Unbeknownst to me, the boss, who had devoured all the sweets on the table, approached my sister as if it were a post-meal exercise.
“It might be a little bright. Please close your eyes.”
“Okay, I’ll close them,”
With my sister obediently closing her eyes, the super boss gently placed their hand on her forehead.
In the next moment, as promised, a faint white light emitted from Al’s palm.
The light took on a fan-like shape, roughly the size of my sister’s face.
Subjectively speaking, I perceived it as a gentle light filled with compassion.
I watched for about a minute, praying silently for everything to go well.
Gradually, the light from Al’s hand dimmed and vanished, dissipating like smoke.
“Sis!? Are you okay?” I anxiously checked on my sister’s condition, my heart pounding like a church bell.
“No way…” My sister widened her eyes even more and spoke with a soft, amazed voice.
“I don’t feel suffocated… My body feels so light… Ah… The air tastes so good.”
How can I express the overwhelming joy that welled up inside me at that moment?
Al, as if indicating the success of her spell, gave a thumbs-up, while my sister smiled calmly, a sight I had never seen before.
Ah, yes, we did it.
Trying to hold back tears of relief, I couldn’t help but be moved, as I became convinced that the spell had succeeded.
The impending fate of death that had threatened us… We had struck back against that damn devil’s script!
That day, we held a small feast at the Shimizu household.
To celebrate my sister’s recovery and Al becoming a member of our family, the party turned into a semi-duel of eating contests, but it was still enjoyable, I think.
However, my sister had a large appetite.
She had also eaten seconds yesterday, but I now realized it was due to the curse affecting her health, rather than her having a good appetite.
But that wasn’t the only thing.
“You eat a lot too, don’t you?” I remarked to the boss, who had just finished bathing, calmly enjoying an ice cream.
“Spirits and humans have different standards altogether. It’s nonsensical to compare you guys in the same category,” the boss replied, their face slightly flushed from the influence of the bath.
“It’s a matter of etiquette for the one being worshipped to properly receive the offering.”
“Is that so?”
“Wow, it really is surprising that you have doubts about my words. Even though you’re from the Shimizu family, you’re still pretty cheeky, aren’t you?”
“Well, I am not really from the Shimizu family, so there is that. But I appreciate and respect them.”
“Even if your current appearance lacks any trace of dignity, it doesn’t change the fact that Al saved my sister’s life.”
“Thank you again, Al. Now it’s my turn to keep the promise, right?”
“Speaking of which…”
After Al finished the cup of vanilla ice cream, he set it aside and turned his attention to me.
“There’s a pressing matter we need to discuss.”
Although I was a little confused by her serious tone, I listened to her words carefully.
“Please, tell me.”
Hymingreva replied quietly, “Master’s abilities are far too weak.
She said it so bluntly.
A pang echoed in my heart, as if something inside me had crumbled.
But it was an undeniable truth, even if it was a hard one.
As a base model with Kyoiichiro’s consciousness and no connection to Spirits or dungeons, I had lived as an ordinary person in a peaceful world.
“Well, that’s a good point. But why don’t we just find another capable individual to make a new contract with, and I can assist as a collaborator?”
Since it would be a temporary contract, I was about to continue my argument when the white girl shook her head, dismissing my objection.
“That would be a breach of contract. I made a contract with you, the siblings, on the condition that you would avoid the fate of death that loomed over you. However, I haven’t yet saved both Shimizu Ayaka and Shimizu Kyoiichiro.”
“Huh?”
Maybe it was a matter of nuance or a misunderstanding, but I didn’t quite understand Al’s explanation.
“Hey, Hymingreva. That doesn’t mean you didn’t save both of us. The way you said it, it sounds like you didn’t even save my sister.”
“No, I’m not wrong. I still have a duty to save both of you, brother and sister. Please call me Al from now on.”
“No, no, I disagree,” I denied Al’s argument.
“My sister, did she just recover with your power a little while ago?”
I vividly remembered my sister happily enjoying her bath at that moment.
Her radiant skin, graceful movements, increased appetite, and improved complexion were evident to even an amateur observer. It was clear that my sister had completely recovered.
There should be no doubt about it… or at least there shouldn’t have been.
“Yes, I halted the curse phenomenon that was affecting Ayaka-sama.”
“That’s right! So…?”
“I merely halted it.”
“…Hmm.”
I understood that her words carried a negative implication.
“As someone well-versed in this world, you should be aware that my abilities consist of ‘time manipulation’ and ‘altering causality.'”
“That’s true.”
As the ultimate spirit, Hymingreva-Albion possessed the power to manipulate time freely and erase events as if they had never occurred, making it the ultimate ability.
“I assumed that with Al’s power, you could not only ‘halt’ but also ‘reverse’ things…”
“Yes, that’s why this problem arises due to Master’s lack of power.”
Al’s explanation reminded me of a particular game system known as “Dammagi.”
“Are you referring to the spirit level?”
Al nodded, confirming my understanding.
The spirit level was a general term for the growth elements in Dammagi.
As the title “Spirits’ Great War Dungeon Magia” suggests, spirits were the main characters in the battles of Dammagi.
Spirits were highly intelligent beings from a higher dimension that had existed since ancient times, representing the true essence behind numerous myths and legends.
The goal of the Dammagi series was to fulfill each character’s objectives while exploring dungeons, which served as gateways to different worlds, with the assistance of their power. The phrase “with the help of spirits’ power” had a significant impact on character growth.
This was the spirit level—a unique growth system in this work, where characters were strengthened by developing their contracted spirits.
It was based on the common [skill board system] seen in RPGs and similar games, where one could earn points by leveling up contracted spirits and allocate those points to adjust the spirits’ stats and acquire specialized skills.
Therefore, as someone who had recently formed a contract with Al, I was in what could be called the initial state, where I could barely utilize my own power.
“Yeah, that’s how it is.”
I couldn’t help but kneel down and bow my head.
It wasn’t that Al chose not to turn back time at that moment. She couldn’t.
“Al, is it because you were able to perform [time stop] that you were able to use skills in the released state, which grants benefits to the spirits?”
“Yes, that’s correct. The functions in the release area can be used without any issues. Therefore, it’s safe to assume that you can use some skills before the master.”
However, those were just the fundamental aspects of Al’s abilities.
“To unlock advanced functions like the [undo] skill, a considerable amount of experience points will be needed.”
“I see.”
Gritting my teeth, I realized that the situation had taken a turn for the worse.
In other words, the impact she could have on this world depended on my spirit level.
Therefore, the measures that Al could have taken against my sister at that time were limited to the lowest level [time stop].
Even though it was an extraordinary and cheat-like ability, it only halted her actions.
Thus, the curse afflicting my sister still remained within her body, despite her actions being stopped.
“Additionally, interference in the three-dimensional world only takes effect while I am connected to the contractor.”
“Does that mean…?”
“If my incompetent master were to die somewhere, the curse on your sister would resurface.”
A cold sweat ran down my neck. My sister had regained her health, but depending on me, that cursed fate could return?
This was no joke. I couldn’t accept it. It was utterly absurd.
So, what should I do? Should I distance myself from the protagonist and quietly avoid getting killed? No, that was impossible.
While the motive for Kyoichiro’s attack on the protagonist and others might be my sister, there was another factor that prompted his actions.
It wasn’t some vague concept called fate. It was something more tangible, with rules and phenomena that involved actual harm and malice.
When that so-called “original cause” spread, I would inevitably be invaded and pushed toward unwanted acts.
If that happened, my contract with Al would be broken, and my sister’s curse would resurface.
That would be the worst possible outcome imaginable.
To make matters worse, it awaited me after I chose a peaceful life without taking any action.
Maintaining the status quo was not an option.
It was because I was weak.
Although I disagreed with the notion that weakness was a sin, I knew that my weakness had caused the death of my family and had undermined the contract with the boss.
Because I was weak, because I was weak, because I was weak…
So, what should I do as a weak person?
“Hey, Al. I have a proposition.”
“How coincidental. I also have something I would like you to do, Master.”
And throughout the night, we talked.
The conversation revolved mainly around what lay ahead.
My proposition and what Al wanted me to do aligned perfectly, allowing us to have a relatively calm discussion.
Within that conversation, we reached a conclusion, or rather, a fundamental premise.
And that was…
“If my weakness is the cause…”
“Then I simply need to become stronger.”
Yes, the answer was very simple. With determination, I would tirelessly train and strengthen my weak self.
In other words, it was about training.
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