Chapter 666

Chapter 666

TENKEN 666 Spirit Magic

In the end, we decided to accept Weena's suggestion. It was a deal that had more advantages than disadvantages after all.

We'll be leaving the day after tomorrow. However, we won't rush straight to the continent of Gordisia.

It seems that we have to go to the royal capital of this country with the request letter first. There, we would cross over to the continent of Gordisia together with the country's personnel

『I guess it's time for us to say goodbye to this inn』

「Woof」

「Nn」

Fran is eating her meal with a somber look on her face while looking at the huge tree that runs through the center of the inn. The meals were supposed to be delicious, but I wonder is there something bothering her?

『Fran, are you not feeling well?』

(…The spirit, I didn't get to see it in the end)

『Aah, now that you mention it…』

She was unable to see the spirit that was said to dwell in the ancient tree after all. With my spirit detection skills, even I haven't been able to detect any sign of it.

But then Fran suddenly turned her gaze upward.

『Hmm?』

「Woof?」

「Master, it's here」

『Eh?』

I don't really get what Fran meant when she muttered that.

I didn't detect anything other than us here after all… Even Urushi doesn't seem to be able to detect anything.

However, Fran's eyes were firmly fixed on one point.

「…」

Fran continued to stare silently at the trunk of the giant tree for several seconds.

And right after that.

『!』

「I can see it」

『M-me too!』

「W-woof!」

Fran and Urushi had forgotten about eating and gaped with her mouth wide open.

「――」

What we saw there was a green squirrel floating fluidly in the air. On the outside, its appearance looked like that of a small animal, but inside, I could sense a much greater presence.

It's definitely the spirit of the ancient tree. At the very least, it must be a high-ranking spirit.

It may sound strange, but I couldn't sense anything when I couldn't see it, but as soon as I could see it, I immediately understood how great it was.

Besides, the fact that the spirit was able to completely fool my detection skills while I was right in front of it shows that it possesses a great deal of power.

「Hoho. I didn't expect Spirit-sama to show itself. It seems it has taken quite a liking to you」

「To me?」

「Yeah」

The old elf lady smiled as she was looking at Fran and the spirit. It seems that this spirit was really the spirit of the ancient tree.

「It seems that Spirit-sama wanted to say its thanks to you」

「Why?」

「Well, I wonder? But since you can see it now, why don't you ask it yourself」

「Nn. Okay」

「Good」

Fran nodded enthusiastically at the old lady's words. Then, she slowly approached the spirit of the ancient tree.

「…」

「…」

Fran and the spirit silently looked at each other for a while, and then nodded at each other for some reason.

『What happened?』

(?? You didn't hear us?)

『Eh?』

What does she mean? Have they had any conversations?

『You were talking with the spirit just now?』

(Nn, it says that it was grateful to us for saving Rhyn)

『Urushi?』

(Woof)

It seems that even Urushi didn't hear them either.

I see; maybe this is what's called compatibility. In spirit magic, compatibility with the spirit is more important than the skill level or its proficiency.

In some cases, even a novice who has just learned the spirit magic can make a contract with the Great Spirit if the Great Spirit likes them.

It seems that the spirit of the ancient tree and Fran have good compatibility with each other, but not with Urushi and me.

But come to think of it, could I even have compatibility with a spirit in the first place? I am a sword after all. There's a possibility that even a spirit couldn't notice me at all, right?

「Nn. I see」

「…」

「Hmm」

Fran, on the other hand, seemed to be able to converse with the spirit just fine.

『The spirit know Rhyn?』

(Nn. The spirit said that it was Rhyn's friend. It was happy to know that Rhyn has been freed from the great magic beast)

So, even spirits were interacting with each other, huh?

「Ah…」

『Ooh』

As I was thinking about that, the spirit's figure vanished. However, it seems that Fran can still sense the presence of the spirit and is now pursuing the place where the spirit seems to be with her eyes.

It seemed that the spirit had simply come to express its gratitude.

But for us, we gained something far greater than words.

《As a result of prolonged sighting of a high-ranking spirit, Fran has acquired spirit magic skill》

『Huh? What did you just say?』

「??」

《It looks like her talent has blossomed》

You're not joking, right!? I hurriedly checked Fran's status. Sure enough, she had acquired spirit magic. Certainly, due to the fierce battle the other day, both Fran and Urushi had risen by five levels.

But at that time, I was sure that she did not acquire any spirit magic.

Could it be that the spirit of the ancient tree dared to show up for this purpose? Anyway, I'm glad that Fran has gained a new skill.

『Fran, it seems that you've really acquired spirit magic』

「Really?」

『Yeah, how is it? Can you try to use it?』

「Nn…」

Fran looked excited and concentrated her mind. She already knew how to use magic very well. Even if it was a skill she had never seen before, it should be no problem.

That's what I thought, but she soon stopped her concentration. By looking at how her ears and tail were drooping limply, I could tell that it was not going well.

『Fran』

「It's no good」

『No good, huh? Is it that because you don't know how to use the skill?』

「I can use the skill just fine, but I don't know other spirits besides the tree spirit」

『You mean the ancient tree spirit we saw before? So, what are you trying to say is that you can't sense the presence of other spirits?』

「Nn. But I can't borrow the power of the tree spirits」

She could activate the spirit magic, but the spirit keeps rejecting her. They have good compatibility though…

It seemed that using spirit magic was more difficult than I had imagined.