Chapter 31 - Contract with the Spirit Sisters

“Halt-sama, do you have a moment?”

As I was loitering around after returning to the academy, Mai and Mei came to talk to me. As usual, they spoke in perfect unison.

Tina had gone to report the Steel Forest incident to the principal, and Youko was napping in the schoolyard, so I was heading to the classroom alone.

“Ah, sure. What’s up?”

I’m not sure when it started, but both Mai and Mei began addressing me with honorifics.

What exactly happened?

They seemed to want some privacy, so I followed them to the training hall.

Wait, is this… a confession?

Moreover, from both of them at the same time?

My heart pounded a little as I followed them. Once we reached the center of the hall, they stopped and turned to face me.

Then, they started undressing.

“Eh, wait! What are you doing!?”

They ignored my protests, continuing to strip down to their underwear, then suddenly transformed.

Mai became fire, and Mei became water.

“Halt-sama, these are our true forms.”

“O-Oh…”

I knew Mai and Mei were spirits, but seeing their true forms left me speechless. They had a different kind of beauty compared to Undine.

I also couldn’t help but feel a little guilty, knowing I was technically looking at my classmates’ naked forms.

“Halt-sama.”

“Y-Yes, what is it?”

“Could you please form a contract with us?”

“Ah… Did Undine recommend me?”

“There’s that too,” Mei said.

“But both of us…” Mai started.

“…have fallen in love with Halt-sama’s magical powers,” they finished in unison.

Ohhh!! It *is* a confession!

…But it’s because of my magic, huh.

Well, I already have Tina, so that’s fine. It’s not like I wanted them to fall for me.

H-Hey, I’m not lying!

By the way, I see Youko more like a fluffy pet than anything else.

My main goal is to become as strong as the heroes of this world to protect Tina. Forming contracts with spirits won’t lower my combat strength, either.

Mai and Mei can already manifest in the human world without a contract, so they’re definitely not weak.

And, well… they’re cute, so that’s a bonus.

In short, I didn’t really have a reason to turn them down.

“I’d be honored. Please, be my spirits.”

“!!!”

It’s hard to read emotions from spirits, but even I could tell they were overjoyed.

“We are truly grateful. Please take care of us!”

“Ahh, the pleasure’s mine. Let’s work well together.”

“Now then, please excuse us.”

“Huh!?”

They suddenly kissed me on the cheeks—Mai on the right, and Mei on the left.

So soft…

It would’ve been better if they did it one after the other.

Since they kissed me simultaneously, I barely had time to enjoy the sensation…

Before I could dwell on it, Mai and Mei vanished.

Because our contract was complete, they probably returned to the Spirit Realm. Spirits typically return after forming contracts with humans, and can only manifest when summoned.

I’ll need to create a magic circle to summon Mai and Mei again. Even though we have a contract, I want them to enjoy school life as much as possible.

It would be lonely if our class of ten became any smaller, so I want them to be present.

When I summon Undine, her magic circle requires around 1,000 characters.

A year in this world is approximately 300 days. So, if I do the math, I’ll need 300,000 characters for either Mai or Mei to manifest in the human realm for a year.

That means 600,000 symbols for both of them.

I rounded up a little for good measure and prepared about a million characters with mana.

By transferring this amount of magic, I think they’ll be able to stay in this world longer.

They’re waiting, so let’s summon them quickly.

I focused on their attributes—fire and water—and started creating the magic circle.

…How should I cast it?

I wanted to summon them both at the same time. Wait, I think I felt a faint aura of light from them.

So—

“Lightning Lance!”

I cast a beginner-level light spell.

“!?”

The magic circle erupted in light.

“Who dares to summon me so rudely!?”

A glowing, towering old man appeared, holding a brilliantly shining javelin.

“Uh… Who?”

“I am the Cosmic Spirit King, ruler of all spirits in this star.”

Oops. Looks like I summoned the wrong guy.

“My apologies, I didn’t mean to summon you. Can you return?”

“…Is it not possible for me to return on my own?”

“Well, you’re the one I summoned by mistake, but even I’m surprised a human could summon someone as powerful as you. However, my daughters require my attention, so if you would kindly send me back…”

The important-looking spirit king bowed before me. I felt bad for dragging him here.

“Alright, I’ll send you back immediately. Sorry for the trouble.”

The glowing old man bobbed his head repeatedly as I returned him to the Spirit Realm.

I really should focus more. No shortcuts.

Let’s start with summoning Mai.

I prepared a magic circle with around 500,000 characters and focused on Mai’s form.

“Fire Lance!”

The circle shone brightly, and flames rose, revealing Mai’s spirit form. She looked… a little more mature than before.

Suddenly, the circle glowed again, and a figure stepped out from the light.

“Are you the one trying to form a contract with the Fire Spirit Mai? Show me your strength… Hm?”

Oh, it’s that glowing old man again.

Apparently, I need to defeat him to form a contract with Mai and Mei. But since I already summoned him once, he should follow my command now.

So—

“Got it. You want a demonstration of power, right? Kneel—”

“Wait, wait, wait, wait!”

The old man darted at me with incredible speed, grabbing my arm and pulling me into another realm.

“What are you doing?”

I found myself between the Human Realm and the Spirit Realm.

“That’s my line! Why would you make me kneel in front of my daughter!? You’re too cruel!”

Wait, this guy is Mai’s father?

“Well, you asked for a show of strength…”

“The fact that you can command me is proof enough of your power! I didn’t realize you were going to be their master.”

“So, you don’t approve?”

“No, no, no! Your magic is more than qualified! But…”

“There’s a condition?”

“Yes… They are my precious daughters. Please, promise me they won’t suffer. If you ever have to face the Demon King, I will fight alongside you. But please, protect them.”

The Spirit King prostrated himself before me. I could understand a father’s concern for his daughters. I don’t want to force Mai and Mei into danger either.

“Alright. I promise not to put them in harm’s way. But in an emergency, I can’t guarantee I can protect them. Can I count on you?”

“Yes, absolutely. Call on me anytime.”

With that, we returned to the Human Realm, and I proceeded to summon Mei.

This is how I formed a successful contract with Mai and Mei, with the bonus of Shiny Old Man.