85 – 16 – Species Alliance – 5

Gi-jun had recently been cooking warm soup dishes more often.

The time when Earthlings fell into Leta was around March, and since Gratia’s four seasons roughly coincided with Korea’s, in terms of the season, it was currently the transition from late spring to early summer.

One-third of it was the thought of eating a lot of it beforehand since it would be hard to eat hot soup once summer came, another third was the thought that there was nothing like soup to easily cook a meal for multiple people, and the remaining third was…

“It’s so delicious today too, Jun…”

“Right, that’s a relief.”

It was because of Scintilla, who wore an expression as if the darkness had been washed away whenever he made a dish containing soup.

At one point, he had thought about fixing the breakfast menu to chicken soup, but he gave up on that, thinking it was going a bit too far.

According to Rodim’s report, soup filled with positive energy was the best for curing Scintilla’s mental illness, so he had been rotating a few staple dishes while occasionally testing new menus.

In that sense, today’s breakfast menu was French onion soup.

―Kong, koong.

―Rodim says it’s delicious today too.

‘No, instead of the taste, I wish you would tell me about Scintilla’s progress.’

Not only did she refuse to believe that Gi-jun was not a Flame Human, but she also showed a vulnerability to mind-attribute magic, and he wanted to return Scintilla to normal as quickly as possible—yet could it be that Rodim had only said that because he simply liked soup dishes?

Fortunately, however, the French onion soup was welcomed by the other members as well.

“Oh, this is something you’ve made for us since the old days, Oppa.”

Seeing a menu she had eaten since the first round of the tutorial, Ji-hye in particular dug in with a nostalgic expression.

“Because it was something I could make relatively simply even when sourcing ingredients was difficult.”

“Why does this make me so happy… I feel bad eating this by myself.”

The difference from those hard times was, of course, the amount of cheese on top of the soup.

Savoring the soup along with a generous helping of cheese and bread that was thoroughly soaked and almost melting inside, Ji-hye let out an exclamation of admiration, “Mmm,” and then, wearing a look of firm resolve, she picked up a piece of toasted baguette piled high on the plate in the center of the table and dipped it into the soup.

“Since I’ve been working out hard lately, it should be fine to eat a bit more…!”

“T-Then me too.”

The baguette quickly ran out.

Meanwhile, Gi-jun, who had succeeded in securing the last remaining piece of baguette, was spreading butter on it and melting it slightly by staring at it with his Flame Eyes when—

“Is it a big deal, nya! Has a big deal occurred, nya!”

Out of nowhere, a cat wearing low shoes ran in in a hurry, jumped onto the table, and shouted.

For reference, Nabinya was able to enter and exit the lodging relatively freely thanks to being officially registered as Gi-jun’s ‘asset,’ but as to why a proper Light Faction species like the Cait Sith would be treated as an asset once they received shoes and became bound to someone else, Gi-jun had no way of knowing.

“Nabinya, you’re causing a nuisance to the other guests, so be quiet.”

“Since I shouted so only Master could hear, is it fine, nya.”

“Oh.”

When Gi-jun looked around upon hearing those words, the other guests indeed had no interest in this direction as if they hadn’t heard Nabinya’s voice, and his companions also merely wore surprised expressions at her sudden appearance.

Between this and the hallucination magic from before, the Cait Sith’s performance was insane.

“So, what’s going on?”

“Do I think I succeeded in catching the goblins’ conspiracy, nya!”

Nabinya said, irritating Gi-jun with a sentence ending that was still incredibly confusing to the listener.

Although she hadn’t been of any help in delaying the faction war schedule, she had run out, saying she would do what only she could do now that she had received shoes and was reborn as a cat in low shoes…

Had she really been spying on the goblins like a secret agent since then?

“Those goblins, since they’ve been acting strange before, did they indeed have a scheme, nya!”

“Right, I get it, so don’t do that on the table and come down to talk.”

“Nyat?!”

Gi-jun stuffed the remaining baguette in his hand into his mouth all at once, picked up Nabinya by the scruff of her neck, and placed her on his lap.

She insisted on walking on two legs since she had received shoes, but after Gi-jun, who had grown skilled at petting from dealing with Ur, stroked her a few times, she soon began to purr.

“Purrrrr… Hot! Because your touch felt so good, did I almost fall asleep, nya!”

Finally snapping back to her senses, Nabinya only then began her report, and the content was surprisingly simple.

While secretly investigating the goblins, she had discovered a scene where the goblin representative secretly met Saber in a place no one knew of.

…And that goblin was bowing and speaking politely to Saber.

“Polite speech?”

“Is it certain, nya. Might they be planning an even bigger conspiracy beyond the faction war, nya!”

Nabinya herself, who was delivering the report, wore a highly confused expression.

That was only natural; it was impossible not to be surprised if the Saber species, whose foundation was thought to be unstable as they had only recently entered Leta, was acting as the master to the goblins, who had already firmly established themselves in the guild union Demander.

“Is something, is something happening, nya. Was it not a simple coincidence that the Cait Sith fell out and Saber entered the empty space, nya. Could there be a connection on a civilization level that transcends species between Saber and the goblins, nya…”

“Civilization.”

Come to think of it, he recalled being told that Saber consisted of a single civilization, and that even the representative of that civilization was unknown…

Things were getting increasingly suspicious.

This was why he hadn’t wanted to accept Demander’s request—he clicked his tongue and looked around once again.

Fortunately, thanks to Nabinya’s own ability and Lucy having already cast a double barrier, far from anyone eavesdropping, his companions sitting at the same table merely stared at him with expressions asking for a quick explanation.

“It means we might have to be more wary of them than the goblins.”

“Will I look into it in more detail, nya. Will everything the Saber bastards are hiding, all their weaknesses, be thoroughly shaken down once they fall into the hands of this cat in low shoes, Nabinya, nya!”

Since she had already achieved something, he couldn’t tell her not to talk nonsense.

By the way, it seemed she had completely accepted the name Nabinya by now.

“Don’t push yourself too hard. Just finding out that Saber is hiding their relationship with the goblins is helpful enough.”

“Don’t misunderstand, nya. Is it not for Master, but only investigating for the future of our Cait Sith species, nya!”

“Sure, sure.”

Gi-jun stroked her head and stared quietly at Lucy.

Having understood his intention at once but pretending not to know because she did not want to follow it, she eventually could not withstand his gaze, let out a deep sigh, and fluttered over to land on the Cait Sith’s head.

“What are you doing, nya?!”

―What else could it be? Our worrywart contractor took safety measures for you.

“I hope nothing happens, but just in case. The information you brought back is that dangerous, after all.”

Had she returned empty-handed, it would have been different, but since she had captured suspicious circumstances, he had no intention of backing down easily.

Attaching Lucy to her would temporarily degrade Gi-jun’s own abilities, so he was making a significant investment in his own way.

Empowered by Lucy’s buff effect, Nabinya jumped up from Gi-jun’s lap and hopped down to the floor.

“Ooooh… Do I feel power surging through my body, nya. Since I will find out all the secrets they’ve hidden, will Master wait here with an easy mind, nya!”

―Ah, hey, wait a minute, before you go, at least the dish the contractor made—!

“Take some brown sugar at least!”

When Gi-jun tossed a pouch packed with brown sugar, Lucy caught it, took out a large lump to bite into, and stuffed the rest into Nabinya’s inventory.

―Nom… I won’t tag along for long, okay? I have a disease where I’ll die if I’m separated from my contractor for more than a day.

“Did Master feed you poison or something, nya?”

―I’m definitely not giving you any brown sugar.

As Gi-jun’s possession and contracted spirit quickly vanished from sight, the companions remaining at the table stared at him with expressions that asked what on earth had just happened.

Gi-jun gave a vague smile, got up from his seat, and said,

“I’ll let you know when Lucy returns. In the meantime, let’s spar.”

“Oppa, are you possessed by a ghost that died because it couldn’t fight?”

“Phew, it’s been a while since I fought without Lucy, so it’ll be quite the training.”

Certainly, Gi-jun without Lucy had lost nearly half of his combat power, but the combination of the legendary-grade Light Mana flowing through his blood and Ur was still going strong.

Gi-jun, who had struggled a bit at first, quickly grew accustomed to fighting without Lucy, and the party members facing him could only click their tongues at his monster-like adaptability and growth.

Lucy’s absence also helped him focus-train his Fire Spirit Arts, which was still at a level far below his Light Spirit Arts.

―The level of the [Fire Spirit Arts (R)] skill has reached 80. You feel a portion of the vast power that your contracted spirit had lost gradually reviving.

―The level of the [Fire Spirit Arts (R)] skill has reached 80. You feel a portion of the vast power that your contracted spirit had lost gradually reviving.

The problem was that Lucy and Nabinya did not return even after that day passed.

―The level of the [Moonlight Blood Fangs (L)] skill has reached 12. You realize that there are times when you must find your way by relying on a faint light.

―The level of the [Moonlight Blood Fangs (L)] skill has reached 12. You realize that there are times when you must find your way by relying on a faint light.

Even when the next day came.

―The level of the [Salutaris (L)] skill has reached 16. You are like a power plant producing spiritual power and mana. A planet can never become a fixed star, but having sprouted great possibilities, you might one day become a star that shines permanently on its own.

―The level of the [Salutaris (L)] skill has reached 16. You are like a power plant producing spiritual power and mana. A planet can never become a fixed star, but having sprouted great possibilities, you might one day become a star that shines permanently on its own.

It was the same even on the day after next.

Gi-jun could summon Lucy to his side at any time if he wanted to—but the problem was that it became a situation where he simply could not.

―It’s dangerous, contractor. These bastards have such an underground hideout inside the city…

―If I pull out, I think this kid will die, contractor.

―But I don’t think we can get out of here in a day or two. …Unless you plan to fight the faction war without me.

―Don’t hesitate and just summon me, contractor.

This was the message that flew in from Lucy on the night of the third day since Lucy and Nabinya had begun their joint action.

In a way, Gi-jun’s choice to attach Lucy to Nabinya proved to be excellent.

The two who were tracking Saber had infiltrated a hideout inside the guild union, but because the scale of this hideout was vast beyond imagination and they were eventually caught by the enemy, they ended up on the run inside it.

Even if he wanted to go rescue them, the entrance to the hideout was inside the territory of the guild union, meaning invading at will could lead to a clash with the entire union, so he could not easily make a move.

On the other hand, if he summoned Lucy, it was obvious that Nabinya, left behind all alone, would die.

“I’m leaving Nabinya to you, Lucy.”

―Contractor!

Gi-jun naturally had no choice but to make such a decision.

“It’s not like I’m going onto a battlefield where my life is in danger. Protect her, please.”

―You know that the more power I use for her, the more of your spiritual power will be consumed, right?

“It’s fine.”

―…Have you given up on your goal to wipe them out without getting hit even once?

“No, I haven’t. I still have one more partner.”

―I’m starting to feel a bit jealous.

“I’ll make it all up to you when you return later, okay?”

Lucy, who knew that Gi-jun would not change his mind once he had made a decision, had already half-expected that he would choose this from the very beginning, so she had no choice but to accept it.

―In exchange, if it looks like you’re in danger, I don’t care about this cat; I’ll run to you immediately.

“I won’t be in danger, so don’t worry.”

Replying in a firm voice to reassure Lucy, who was likely struggling far away, Gi-jun hugged Ur, who was pressing his head firmly against his stomach.

“Right, Ur?”

―Kihiiiit!

―It’s even more annoying because Ur seems to like it…

Muttering as if boiling with annoyance at the thought of Ur spending time alone with Gi-jun in her absence, Lucy said, “Ah.”

―I found out one thing. Contractor, these guys aren’t Saber. There was no such species to begin with.

“As expected, was it a species they made up from the name? Then what are they originally?”

―A species famous for having the ability to transform freely. A man-eating monster whose original size is much larger—

Upon hearing their species’ name from Lucy, Gi-jun nodded, understanding.

And he admitted that he had gotten caught up in a situation far more complicated than he had thought.

Ahead of a full-scale war with the vampires, he had accepted a request from a massive organization thinking he could boost his reputation further.

How could he have known that the massive organization already had one foot in the conflict?

* * *

[Biche♥ (Dimensional Waiting Room): Wow, I never dreamed you’d make such a bold statement.]

[Biche♥ (Dimensional Waiting Room): Still, with your abilities, you can easily do it. Trample them all.]

[Biche♥ (Dimensional Waiting Room): Ah—and the summoned of the dark faction are all of low quality, so be careful.]

[Biche♥ (Dimensional Waiting Room): It would be nice if they attacked fairly and squarely, but those bastards cowardly use things like sorcery. Like hallucinations, auditory hallucinations, or curses.]

[Biche♥ (Dimensional Waiting Room): Hm? Aren’t you asking if I wasn’t also one of the summoned of the dark faction?]

[Biche♥ (Dimensional Waiting Room): …Does it bother you after all?]

[Biche♥ (Dimensional Waiting Room): No, if you say something like that, I…]

[Biche♥ (Dimensional Waiting Room): Feel like I’m going to die of embarrassment!]

[Biche♥ (Dimensional Waiting Room): Hold on, anything beyond that is forbidden. Saying such shameless things is forbidden.]

[Biche♥ (Dimensional Waiting Room): You’re going to tell me directly face-to-face?]

[Biche♥ (Dimensional Waiting Room): Then, I’ll look at you directly and tell you too.]

[Biche♥ (Dimensional Waiting Room): I’m telling you it’s forbidden right now!]

[Biche♥ (Dimensional Waiting Room): Forbidden!]