Price of Management

Chapter 6. The Past

The war has already begun.

Yeah, it is.

This was a war with boredom.

Wide plains.

A runaway wagon and the troops escorting it. Earl McDell was accompanied by me in the wagon, which was sometimes bumpy as it was moving gently.

Earl McDell groaned and lay down when he got seasick while reading a book. When he woke up that early, he read again persistently. It's better to get seasick reading than bored.

I was immune to motion sickness because I felt a myriad of itchy dizziness when I was depleted of spiritual affinity.

Even if I get seasick, it will heal with the power of the undead inside me.

By the way,

I'm even more bored because I'm fine. It was as if Earl McDell and someone could handle the boredom better.

Why did I say I was going with him? If you fly away, you can see the eclipse of the horn.

So, not long ago, I offered to go ahead and wait, but Earl McDell jumped up and down.

“I reported to the imperial court that I would escort the late Regent Ligand, but if you go alone, what would be my position? ”

Then you won't hear a good story. If I, the Lion of the Kingdom of Leaden, take unpredictable action, Earl McDell will not be impressed with the same diplomatic mission.

But even so, it's widely known that I'm always on my own. I don't take water, food, clothing, I just fly around naked. It's all aesthetic.

Nevertheless, Earl McDell's reaction that he had to accompany me led me to think of many things.

After much thought, I made two guesses.

First, they want to control me.

I want to know exactly when I will arrive at the Imperial Court.

Because they know of my free will, they may be worried that one day I will suddenly appear before Emperor Kars.

Second, I try to buy time.

It's a somewhat vague guess, but if you intend to capture me on a troublesome day, it may take some time to prepare yourself to put me in the right place.

Hmm, a trap...

Actually, I'm not seriously worried.

I'm a higher spirit.

It can soar into the sky or be extinguished into the earth. I was confident that I would get out of one body under any circumstances.

But there is one catch.

The man who will wait for you to dig that trap is Emperor Kars.

If that stubborn psychopath had decided to capture me, he would have dug a blameless trap. I think I have an approximate idea of the extent of my aesthetic.

Moreover, I'm worried about the strange tricks performed by the Black Wizards who appeared earlier.

Dark magic that binds spirits.

Although I couldn't handle the powerful power of a higher spirit, I was able to block it temporarily, for sure.

I'm guessing it's the product of the Horn Imperial Magical Troops who studied the Great Aesthetic Measures. I don't think that's the result of working in conjunction with a group of secret Black Mages for research.

Of course you can't threaten me with that alone.

Unless there's only one higher spirit. Noum, Woundee, and Salamander.

Even if the Grand Wizard of the Orient Kingdom casts a spiritual blockade spell, he won't be able to completely defeat me.

But next to King Kars lies the shadow of the late Hallstein.

Consider the events of the Magic Troops, Knights, and the Grand Duke of Halstein. At that time, no matter how intimidating the country is.

If so, there is no foolishness in walking into a trap without any action.

It would be better to prepare a number of spleens that are not recognized by the surveillance of the Horn Imperial Court.

“Well, what's good? ”

“What? ”

Earl McDell asked me out of nowhere.

It's the card of your grandson's fucking spleen.

…… but I shook my hand saying it was nothing.

Earl McDell was no longer interested in reading again. Frowning at the sight of intoxication.

I thought I was immune to motion sickness, but now I can't stand the sight of that intoxicated old man's face. Seriously, why do I have to look at an old man's nauseous face all day?

“I'm afraid I can't. ”

“Yes?”

Earl McDell suddenly asks me what I'm talking about again.

I told you.

“I'll go and wait for you where you can camp today. Follow me slowly.”

“I see? But……. ”

“No problem? You weren't even told to keep an eye on me. ”

I'm telling you, Earl McDell's heart rate changed to be hot. I knew it, old man.

I opened the carriage door and ran out.

“Noum, rocking chair. ”

- Yeah!

The gnome's face sticks out from the ground and swings a large shovel at the same speed as an electrolyte. Geez, that's cute. The jolly scattered soil crumbles and turns into a rocking chair.

I flew to the sky in a rocking chair.

Earl McDell's group rises high enough to look like ants, enjoying a whirlwind.

I felt like my heart was cracking open.

Then I suddenly remembered.

“... The wind? ”

It was the moment when I remembered the card of the spleen that no one expected.

* * *

After flying a little, I found a small stream of land. The ground was flat and not too humid. There were trees, so it shouldn't be too hard to find wood. This might be a good place to camp today.

To mark it, I made a statue that resembles me. It was me welcoming with open arms. Well, if you look at this, you know this is a campsite, right?

I made a house of dirt and made it known from afar that this place was a campsite.

And I flew to a place about 10 minutes away.

“I never thought I'd be able to use this. ”

I took out a spirit stone.

If I had a Spirit Stone, I would always have it because it helps to increase Spirit Affinity.

The wrath of the earth.

It's a whiff of water.

Salamander of Fire.

Honestly, I thought this was enough, and I didn't even think about signing with more spirits.

There are three Supreme Spirits. What more do you need? The more the thought of gain, the more useless the greed.

Besides...

In fact, I wish there were more lovely kids like gnome and undee. Daughters are polytheists.

But my belief that spirits are always cute and adorable (?) was destroyed with the appearance of salamanders.

Since then, I haven't had the courage to attempt a contract with another spirit. You think someone else is gonna show up?

I was about to try that again.

“I don't know if it will or not. ”

It is said that there are attributes that do not match each other well. Some have only one contract, and some have five or six.

I have yet to fail the Spirit Contract.

In a bowl made of dirt, I ground the spirit stone into powder and mixed it with water.

It's been a long time since I've drawn a magic circle in my memory.

- Wrong…….

- Dad, it's clean in there.

Undine and gnome point out in succession.

“Oh, that's right. ”

- Heheh heh, dementia!

“Thank you. Salamander, keep your mouth shut. ”

I've managed to draw barely a magic circle, taking pointers from the spirits.

“The great spirit of the natural world that has existed since the beginning. Answer the call of my soul. ”

Pa...!

A bright light begins to flow from the enchantment.