“Ha… It’s been a while since I woke up in my own bed.”
The day after returning from the Great Forest.
Rosaria rubbed her eyes and woke up in her bed, which had already become familiar.
“Humans really are animals of adaptation… Before I knew it, this place feels as comfortable as my own home.”
Perhaps it was because this was the first time she had slept somewhere else since being reincarnated into this world, but the mansion felt even warmer to Rosaria.
Well, thinking back to the times when, no matter how terrible military life was, one would eventually start to think of the barracks as home, it was only natural.
As usual, Rosaria received Bennett’s service (now naturally accepting it) and combed her hair while heading to the dining room for breakfast.
“Yawn…?”
“*Munch* *Mmm* Ah, goood mmoorningg~”
When she entered the dining room, her family was nowhere to be seen. Instead, she saw an elf woman with her nose buried in her plate, eagerly shoveling food into her mouth.
Estelle had decided that, for the time being, she would stay in the Evergarden Territory to get a better understanding of human society. In that process, she also declared she would bring an elf who could blend into human society somewhat, and that elf turned out to be Shalle.
Shalle, unlike most elves who were distrustful of the human world and adhered strongly to elf-centric ideology, was actually friendly toward humans. Furthermore, she was not anxious about leaving the Great Forest but rather actively expressed her desire to go, which led to her selection.
Thinking about it, Shalle’s visit to the Evergarden Territory was actually a key event that led to these circumstances, so she had played a significant role.
When Shalle first visited the mansion, she had come in disguise, but now she was walking around in her true form as an elf.
Rosaria wondered if it was okay that she wasn’t in disguise anymore, but given that two distinguished guests had arrived at the mansion, one of them being a young woman and the other a female elf, it was hard to come up with an appropriate excuse. So, from the start, Shalle had appeared in her elf form.
There were sometimes elves who traveled around the human world, and elves visiting the territory were considered quite rare and honored. They were often invited by the territory’s lord, so it wasn’t a particularly unusual occurrence. Therefore, the mansion’s staff only thought the elf was fascinating but didn’t find anything odd about her presence.
“U-Um… Shalle?”
“Please, just call me Shalle!”
“Oh, right. Shalle, where are the others?”
“The others *munch* already finished eating!”
“But why are you still here?”
“I’m eating more! The soup is so delicious! The meat is delicious too!”
“…Alright, eat as much as you want.”
Shalle smiled brightly as she dipped bread into the soup.
Rosaria could understand, though. She must have been over 200 years old, and after spending such a long time in the Great Forest, only eating fruit, it was no surprise that she would go wild over different foods.
– Food!
“Oh, you’re here too? Right, do you eat bread too?”
Just then, Rosaria heard a faint voice and turned her head. It was Sylph, the spirit who had followed her from the Great Forest.
“Here, eat this.”
– Hehe! Nom nom!
Rosaria, sitting across from Shalle, grabbed a butter roll from the basket in the center and broke it into pieces to feed Sylph.
Sylph eagerly accepted the bread, and then plopped down beside Rosaria’s plate, happily munching away at it.
Then, suddenly:
– Clink!
“Huh, huh…? What… what is that…? Sylph…? What?”
Shalle, who had been happily eating her meal, suddenly dropped her spoon, her eyes wide with disbelief.
“Is that… Sylph…?”
“Huh? Oh, yeah, Sylph suddenly appeared in the Great Forest and clung to me. But she’s cute, so I just treat her like a hamster… Ah, more like a small pet.”
– Hehe!
“Huh? So, it’s really, uh… wait… what’s going on here?”
“…What’s wrong?”
Rosaria realized something was off when she saw Shalle staring back and forth between her and Sylph, looking confused and clutching her head. She furrowed her brows and cautiously asked.
“Why… how is she eating?”
“…What?”
Shalle pointed with her finger at the roll Sylph was holding and murmured under her breath.
– Munch!
But Sylph, undeterred, just kept eating the bread, clearly enjoying it.
“So… are you saying that spirits don’t usually eat food like this?”
After the busy mealtime had passed, Rosaria and Shalle moved to a quiet corner of the training grounds and began talking.
“Yes. Essentially, spirits are born in a different realm called the Spirit World, not in artificially created spaces like this one.”
“The Spirit World?”
“Hmm… how should I explain it? Well, if this land we’re standing on is the earthly realm, then there are other higher-dimensional spaces… yes, different ones? One of them is the Spirit World.”
“Looking at it now, that Sylph doesn’t stay next to you all day, Miss Rosaria—right?
She only shows up suddenly, right? When she disappears, she’s in the Spirit World, and then when she comes back, that’s what happens. Spirits can move freely between the Spirit World and the earthly realm.”
“Oh…”
At Shalle’s words, Rosaria recalled the things that had happened until now.
Normally, the sylph would not appear, but at some point, she would be perched on Rosaria’s shoulder or head, and Rosaria realized that this happened when the spirit was moving between the Spirit World and the earthly realm.
“And the rules? Well, the rules of the Spirit World and the earthly realm are different. So whenever spirits come to the earthly realm, they constantly consume magical energy, and when their magic is depleted, they are automatically summoned back to the Spirit World.”
“That’s why spirits either absorb pure mana that is scattered in nature, or absorb the mana of the summoner with whom they’ve made a contract, in order to extend their time in the earthly realm.”
“However… this is the first time I’ve seen a spirit eat food!”
“Is it really such a big deal?”
“Not so much a big deal… but it’s never happened before.”
“Spirits have no interest in food, and if they do, they treat it like a toy. They can’t really eat or taste it…”
– “NORAZO! NORAZO!”
“Wait, wait! I’m in the middle of talking here. I’ll play with you in a bit.”
– “Hehe! Okay!”
In the meantime, the sylph, seeming bored, nuzzled her face against Rosaria’s cheek, asking for attention.
“That’s a strange spirit. How did you meet her?”
“I don’t really know. She just suddenly appeared while I was outside.”
“Hmm… to see or touch a spirit, you need to have a high level of intimacy with them, and only then can you form a contract.”
“But this spirit seems to be visible to ordinary people as well.”
“Is she something special?”
“Well, as far as I know, I’ve never seen or heard of a spirit like this. The elders… I mean, the archpriests probably wouldn’t know about it either.”
“Is that so… well, I guess it’s not bad that she’s eating!”
– “KYAA HA HA!!”
With her arms crossed, Shalle seemed to be deep in thought, while Rosaria absentmindedly tugged gently on the soft cheek of the sylph, who was laughing happily. The sylph’s giggles echoed as they filled the air.
“Miss Rosaria.”
“Huh?”
After finishing her thought, Shalle quickly approached Rosaria and looked directly at her.
“Would you consider becoming a Spirit Tamer?”
“A Spirit… Tamer?”
A chance meeting, and a new opportunity.
Rosaria’s life was about to change dramatically from this point onward.
At that moment.
“Hm, no alcohol? This tastes fine, but it’s far too bland.”
“I’ll prepare some right away.”
Estelle put down the teacup she had been sipping from, grimacing as if milk tea wasn’t to her liking, and looked at Gordon. He immediately began uncorking a prepared bottle of wine and started pouring it into a glass.
“You still have the habit of enjoying a drink every time you deal with something important, I see.”
“Especially since elves don’t even have the hobby of drinking… Though if you dig around, you’ll find some, I doubt any of them are so obsessed with alcohol.”
“It seems you don’t remember drinking wine like water during the first dinner here and then sleeping in late because you were too drunk.”
“Ugh…! Grandson, a man should know how to drink boldly, don’t you think?”
Sitting across from Estelle, Freya quietly chimed in, her voice low enough that only the two of them could hear, lightly rebuking Estelle.
Even in her modern life, Estelle enjoyed drinking. Upon arriving at the estate yesterday, she had enthusiastically emptied seven bottles of wine before passing out. She had only just woken up.
“Gordon, I’d like vin chaud (a beverage made by boiling wine with various fruits and spices, non-alcoholic).”
“Understood.”
“It’s time to discuss something important, so getting drunk would be troublesome.”
“Do you think I’m such an immature rookie that I can’t handle my drink?”
“Right now, that’s exactly how you seem.”
“NAH…!”
When Freya outright dismissed the wine Estelle had requested and asked for vin chaud instead, essentially taking away her drink, Estelle glared at her in frustration. However, to Freya, it only looked like a sulking girl puffing out her cheeks, which had no impact at all.
“Ahem! There’s no need to waste time here. So, what’s the main topic?”
“Before we get to the main topic, there’s something we need first—”
Knock knock.
[My lady, it’s Fenrir.]
“Ah, perfect timing. Come in!”
Before diving into the main topic, Fenrir arrived at just the right time, signaling that the discussion could proceed.
“Oh… Is that the person…?”
As Fenrir entered the study, he perked up his ears, gazing at Estelle seated in the chair.
To the rest of the household, Fenrir had been introduced as a simple elven guest. However, Freya’s close aides had already been informed that Estelle was the third princess and that she would become an important figure in this territory.
“Oh… This young lady has wolf ears on her head. How fascinating…”
“Ah, Fenrir. This person recently left the Great Forest and isn’t yet accustomed to much, so please forgive the rudeness.”
“It’s fine. I understand, so there’s no need to worry.”
“Was that rude just now? If so, I apologize.”
“N-not at all! There’s no need for a princess of the elves to bow her head to a lowly knight like me.”
“That’s enough. A man should own up to his mistakes without dodging them.”
“Y-yes…”
‘A man? In what way…?’
Fenrir, meeting a beastman for the first time, didn’t quite understand Estelle’s comment about being a man. Even as he bowed his head, he tilted it slightly in confusion.
“Ahem. For now, let’s start with the report.”
“Understood.”
Freya, who had been holding back laughter while observing the situation, managed to collect herself and gave instructions to Fenrir.
“A report came in last night from the investigation team assigned to Viscount Bjor.”
Fenrir promptly pulled a document from his coat and handed it to Freya.
“It’s finally here.”
Viscount Bjor.
This was the first regular report from the investigation team dispatched a month ago to investigate Viscount Bjor.