Chapter 30
"Heed my call and pass through the Gate. Open, Gate of the Maiden—Virgo!"
"You called for me, Master?"
A powerful rush of wind swept through the room as an unusually tall figure appeared before Marshall.
She was a woman dressed in a maid uniform, standing nearly six feet three inches tall.
Long pink hair fell over her chest in a side ponytail, giving her a mature, almost motherly appearance.
She had a graceful figure, a gentle expression, and a warm, nurturing presence.
She was practically Marshall’s idea of the perfect woman!
"You’re... a Celestial Spirit?"
"Yes, Master. I am Virgo, the Celestial Spirit of the Maiden. I am here to serve you."
Marshall had begun the summoning ritual as soon as he returned home.
This was his first time calling forth one of the twelve Zodiac Spirits.
He had not expected Virgo to possess a human form... much less to look this beautiful.
"Miss Virgo, I have to admit, you’ve left quite an impression."
"I am a Celestial Spirit loyal to my master. I generally take the form my master desires most and place serving them above all else."
"Oh, I see! Are you sensing that through Soul Magic? Or does the magical link naturally transmit information between us? Celestial Spirit Magic really is—"
Marshall abruptly stopped himself.
"Sorry. I got distracted. Let’s establish our contract first. Do you have any restrictions on when I can summon you?"
"I am available to serve you at any time."
"Is this the legendary dedication of a maid? Impressive! Do you have any other conditions for the contract?"
"Your reserves of magic power are considerable. I would like to remain in the human world beside you for as long as possible."
"Uh... I can agree to that. I’ll let you stay here whenever possible."
Marshall nodded.
"Then our contract is complete."
"I look forward to serving you, Master."
Virgo maintained a perfectly polite smile throughout the entire conversation.
Marshall could not sense much emotion behind it, though.
Her mind was completely silent.
This was the first time he had encountered anything like it.
Even the Celestial Spirits incapable of speech still had thoughts Marshall could hear through Telepathy Magic.
Virgo, however, gave him nothing at all.
’Serving her master above everything else... Does that mean she barely has a sense of self?’
From the perspective of a Celestial Spirit Mage, she would probably be an extremely convenient partner.
"From today onward, we’re companions. I’m not particularly fond of being called ’Master,’ though. Could you use something else?"
"Your Majesty?"
"I’m not an emperor! Try again."
"Young Lord?"
"I’m an orphan, so that feels strange. Something else!"
"My lord?"
"That makes me sound so old.... Again."
"...Please tell me what you would prefer."
The corner of Marshall’s mouth rose.
He took Virgo’s hand, only to discover that he had to tilt his head so far back that he could barely see her face.
"Virgo, you look almost old enough to be my mother. Could I call you Mommy? In exchange, you can call me Daddy."
"..."
Virgo’s body visibly stiffened.
At last, Marshall heard something from her mind.
[My new master is a child... So this is what human children are like.]
"Very well, Daddy."
"..."
This time, Marshall was the one left speechless!
It seemed he had misunderstood.
Virgo had not been suppressing her thoughts, nor did she possess any resistance to Telepathy.
She was simply naturally expressionless and quiet.
Marshall immediately lost interest in the joke and waved one hand dismissively.
"Forget it. I was joking. Call me whatever you like."
Virgo tilted her head slightly.
"Understood, Little Master."
"...?"
Marshall felt as though he had dropped a stone on his own foot.
Still, he had already told her to choose, so he let it go.
"Could you explain what abilities you possess?"
The other Celestial Spirits Marshall had summoned were not intelligent enough to assist with his research.
Virgo’s arrival gave him new hope.
Perhaps his study of Summoning Magic could finally make real progress.
"Of course. I am an elemental Celestial Spirit specializing in Earth Magic. I also possess some skill in hand-to-hand combat."
"Uh... anything else?"
"I am an all-purpose maid. I am proficient in every form of housework and possess every skill expected of a maid."
"?"
"..."
"Right... We’ll leave that aside for now. Let’s go outside and test your combat ability."
Marshall took Virgo’s hand and teleported them outside.
He then watched as she casually burrowed seven or eight holes through the ground in rapid succession.
Marshall fell into thought.
"Is... that all your ability does?"
Perhaps sensing his disappointment, Virgo bowed and explained.
"Little Master, a Celestial Spirit’s magical strength is predetermined. Different portions of that strength are unlocked according to the amount of magic power possessed by the summoner."
"So your strength has different tiers? Which tier are you currently using?"
"The beginner tier. Although your magic reserves are substantial, they are only sufficient to extend the duration of my summoning. They are not yet enough to unlock my intermediate strength."
"Beginner, intermediate, and advanced? So Celestial Spirits normally possess three levels of power?"
"Generally speaking, yes."
Marshall checked his status.
[Magic Power: 650/691]
Ever since raising Meditation to Level Three, his magic power had begun increasing far more quickly.
If he meditated at full effort every day, his maximum capacity rose by nearly ten points.
At that rate, he should exceed one thousand magic power within another two months.
Marshall had also recently become capable of roughly estimating the magic reserves of other people, so he already had a theory about Virgo’s thresholds.
The beginner, intermediate, and advanced tiers probably corresponded to magic-power values of one thousand and ten thousand.
His guess was not baseless.
Anyone with less than one thousand magic power belonged to the small-fry category.
The elite Mages in Fairy Tail all possessed more than one thousand, including Erza.
Everyone said Laxus was close to becoming an S-Class Mage, and his magic power was around ten thousand.
That likely meant ten thousand was the rough threshold for S-Class.
As for Gildarts and Makarov...
Marshall could not measure either of them.
Their reserves were probably terrifying.
He would wait until his magic power surpassed one thousand, then see whether Virgo’s intermediate tier became available.
"I think I understand now..." Marshall said. "By the way, you can alter your appearance, can’t you? Is that Transformation Magic, or an ability unique to Celestial Spirits?"
"It is one of the abilities of the Maiden. I have no permanent form. My appearance is determined by my master’s thoughts during our first summoning."
"Can you change into something else now?"
"Theoretically, yes, though I have never attempted it before. Each time I am first summoned, I already possess the appearance my master considers ideal."
"I still want to test it. Let me summon you again in a different form!"
"..."
Virgo nodded.
"Then please dismiss and summon me again, Little Master."
Marshall immediately sent her back to the Celestial Spirit World.
"Open, Gate of the Maiden—Virgo!"
"You called for me, Little Master?"
"Nani?!"
Marshall’s eyes widened.
The towering, mature maid with impossibly long legs had disappeared.
In her place stood a petite maid with twin pink tails, only slightly taller than Marshall himself.
’Wait!’
’No, this isn’t what it looks like! Don’t arrest me!’
Marshall shuddered and immediately dismissed Virgo again.
He took a deep breath and carefully pictured the kind of female character he actually liked.
"Open, Gate of the Maiden—Virgo!"
"...You called for me, Little Master?"
This time, he finally got it right.
Virgo appeared as a cute, short-haired pink-haired maid with a quiet, unreadable expression.
The only strange part was the faintly meaningful way she looked at him.
It was probably his imagination.
That previous childlike form had clearly been an accident!
Marshall’s eyes lit up with excitement.
"This ability is incredible, Virgo! You really are the ultimate maid!"
"...As long as you are pleased, Little Master."