We went to the ninth floor, even though Hikari and Rurika haven’t woken up yet.
Then I had a strange feeling, and met spirits. At first I was confused, because the magic energy around them is different from the spirits contracted to me. Spirits have different personalities and abilities too.
Still, the spirits grandma, my sister, and Kotori formed a contract with all have that same magic energy. There are slight differences, but nothing compared to the spirits I met here.
That was why I was so surprised when I met them for the first time. But after translating what they said, that I had a hard time hearing, and feeling them, I figured I could trust them.
They’re, you know, pure and innocent.
What surprised me the most was when they ate. Grandma told me about spirits like these before, but all I heard was that they ate things like honey and fruit.
When Sora got them steak, they jumped in to bite it before I could stop him.
So they eat solid food like meat too…
Then I was surprised by their appetite, but there really was no problem. In fact, there weren’t any monsters on this floor either, or other dangers, so we got to rest well.
And perhaps because I got to let that tension go, that night, I had a nice sleep.
When I went to sleep, the spirits contracted to me said they were going to play, so I saw them off as they flew away, looking like they were having fun.
◇ ◇ ◇
The next day, we continued moving with them.
Sora really wanted some help cooking, so I helped him cut ingredients, but nothing more.
But it’s not like I’m bad at cooking or anything.
Actually, the spirits contracted to me stopped me. Apparently they watched the other spirits swarming Sora as he cooked, and didn’t want me in that position.
Could it be that they thought the others might take me away? Even I felt my cheeks loosening at that cute reaction.
But I might form contracts with more spirits eventually. I don’t want to treat any of them differently when that happens, but I also can’t help but feel like the ones that have been with me since I was a little girl will feel special to me.
When I tell them that, they look happy, and dance around me.
But they still don’t want me cooking. They’re not backing down from that.
Sorry Sora, do your best.
And on our second day on the ninth floor, we reached the spot they normally call their home.
There I saw spirits sleeping. No, sleeping isn’t the right word.
Their magic energy… Rather, I felt no breath of life from them.
I felt a commotion in my heart. I’ve never seen spirits in this condition.
Spirit death. I’ve never heard of this, even from grandma. But the spirits I saw definitely looked dead.
I felt sick, and had trouble even standing up, so I laid down. And Sera stayed with me until I fell asleep.
When I woke up, I saw her sleeping next to me. She was worried about me.
I got up carefully, so I didn’t wake her up, and went to where Sora was.
He gave me soup, and after I drank it and took a deep breath… I didn’t know what to say.
“Thank you, Sora. You should go rest too. You’re tired from cooking too, right?”
He probably wasn’t all that tired thanks to his strange ability, but I said that because of the heavy atmosphere around us.
Then he tried to go somewhere else, out of consideration for me, but I reflexively reached out and grabbed him. He looked troubled.
What was I doing? I could feel my face becoming hot.
Sora said nothing, he just quietly laid down here and went to sleep.
And as I looked at him, I thought this was no good. I haven’t grown at all.
But my spirits consoled me. When did they get back?
“Are you sure it’s all right?”
I whispered without thinking, but apparently my spirits talked to the others for me.
Basically, they said the others are resting. They had to have a sad goodbye, so they are resting to heal their hearts.
The ones resting had to part with the people they were contracted to. When I heard that, I turned to my spirits.
I have a longer lifespan than Sora and the others, but still, grandma told me spirits basically live forever.
I don’t know when it will be, but there will be a time when the same thing will happen to us. What will become of these spirits then?
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Thank for the treat.