Last night felt like I was dreaming.
At my one-sided request, she responded with a smile, and the time I spent walking through the brightly lit garden, which was more beautiful than ever, felt like a miracle.
However, I didn’t have the luxury of lingering in sentiment.
Just as Sylvia trusted me and responded to my request, I had to repay that trust by quickly discovering what was happening to her.
To do so, I increased my means of gathering information, and as soon as the day broke, I signed a contract with the Permilior.
A Permilior is a type of spirit that becomes a magical servant in exchange for magical power, working for wizards.
The difference between a general spirit summoned by a spirit user and a Permilior is that only one Permilior can be contracted by each wizard.
“Come forth.”
Zing.
Soon after my command, a small magic circle appeared on the floor, and faint light spread from it, but even as the light faded, nothing remained.
The summoning hadn’t failed; it was simply the nature of the Permilior I contracted.
The Permilior I contracted was named Primo, and true to its name, which came from an ancient word meaning “to imitate,” it had the ability to transform into various shapes.
Whether it be an object or a living creature, it could change.
“For now… a sparrow would be nice.”
Flap.
As soon as I said that, the creature quickly transformed into a small sparrow and flapped its wings vigorously.
Then, it raised one of its wing joints as if greeting me.
- Hello, Master! Nice to meet you!
“…You can talk?”
It greeted me with an overly enthusiastic tone, and its voice sounded like that of a 13-year-old girl, making me feel like I had an immature younger sister, even though I didn’t.
I thought the books never mentioned that Primo would be intelligent enough to hold a conversation, so I was curious about how this came to be.
Startled by the unexpected situation, I looked dumbfounded, and Primo, seeming excited, swayed its body left and right while explaining.
- Our intelligence is determined by the magic of the summoner. By the way, I was surprised too. I’ve never seen a contractor with this much magic!
“Well, I guess it’s all good as long as it works out. By the way, can you still communicate or follow orders even if we are far apart?”
- Yep, that’s right. We have a magic circuit that’s directly connected, so the commands are delivered straight into our minds. Convenient, right? Skilled, right? We’re on a whole different level compared to mid-tier spirits!
…Wait a minute, isn’t this thing also a kind of spirit?
It wasn’t out of a sense of racial hatred, but seeing it put down mid-tier spirits so casually left me with a strange feeling.
Of course, I agreed with the point that the level of intelligence was different.
Mid-tier spirits typically don’t have intelligence and just follow the orders of their spirit masters.
In that sense, this was probably a good choice.
- So, Master, what do you need from me?
“Information gathering. I’d be grateful if you could go to the Eleanor family’s Kaintreche Castle.”
- Kaintreche Castle?
“I’ll tell you the location. Anyway, there will be a very thin, gaunt man there who looks like this. Please focus your investigation on him.”
- Wow, he looks like a really unpleasant guy. Anyway, got it!
I’m not sure if spirits have aesthetic senses, but Primo looked shocked when it saw the portrait of Creed Eleonore. It shook its wings and stood on the window frame.
“And if there’s any mention of the words ‘Eyes of Dawn,’ ‘Mana,’ or ‘Sylvia Eleonore,’ let me know immediately.”
- I’ve heard of ‘Eyes of Dawn’ and ‘Mana.’ The last one… it’s a woman’s name, right? Is that yours, Master?
Primo raised the string part of its wings in a sly manner as if it was trying to point at a pinky finger, speaking in a tone that made my head ache.
Despite its abilities, Primo’s personality didn’t match mine at all.
I’d love to cancel the contract right now, but unfortunately, breaking and renewing a contract with a Permilior isn’t something you can do easily.
“Enough of that nonsense. Go now. I’m busy.”
- Tsk, is it wrong to accept a little joke? What a tough master.
Flap! Flap!
I waved my hand as if to dismiss the annoying creature, and when I issued the summoning order, Primo clicked its tongue and quickly flew high into the sky.
I sighed and was about to close the window when—
Knock knock.
- Lord Lyard, are you in? May I come in for a moment?
“Princess? Yes, you may come in.”
With the sound of knocking from outside, Silvia’s voice echoed.
Once I gave permission, the door opened, and Sylvia, with a mysterious look in her eyes, appeared and stared at me.
“I thought I heard you talking to someone just now… who was it?”
“Huh? Talking? There was no one here.”
She suddenly looked at me with an expression like a wife who suspects her husband of cheating, and I regretted not setting up a soundproof barrier sooner.
However, even if my voice was heard, when Primo spoke to me, it would have been delivered directly into my mind, like a telepathic spell, so she wouldn’t have heard Primo’s voice.
I had enough of an excuse to firmly deny it.
Still, Sylvia continued to look at me suspiciously and took a step into the room.
She scanned the room with hawk-like eyes, and I felt an unsettling pressure, swallowing involuntarily.
Somehow, this felt even more terrifying than when Duke Esfelt was right in front of me.
“Is that so? But I definitely heard someone say something. It wasn’t just muttering; it was loud enough to be heard clearly.”
“I have a habit of speaking loudly when I’m talking to myself.”
“Hmmm… huh?”
Sylvia, who had been exploring the room while making a dismissive noise, suddenly crouched down.
There, below the window, was a light brown feather.
Ah, it must have been dropped by Primo when it left the room.
“Did a sparrow come in here?”
“Oh, yes. I left the window open to air the room, and suddenly…”
“…Aha.”
Though my answer was incredibly flimsy, Sylvia’s eyes widened, and she finally seemed to understand something.
She walked toward me and smiled mischievously.
Every time she smiled like that, something bad happened, so I instinctively felt anxious.
“Hehe, it seems you have a cute side to you, Lord Lyard. I never thought you’d be talking so warmly to a sparrow…”
“…What?”
“At this point, you could’ve just told me honestly. I thought maybe you had a secret mistress sneaking in, and I was a bit surprised.”
With Sylvia’s words, I was left dumbfounded and couldn’t respond.
It seemed she was having a huge misunderstanding, thinking that I was so innocent that I had been talking to a sparrow in a friendly manner.
I mean, if we’re talking about a secret mistress, wouldn’t Sylvia herself technically be considered one too?
Of course, in terms of appearance, we were in a relationship, so it wasn’t necessarily wrong, but it felt somewhat off.
Well, at least it seemed like she wouldn’t be suspicious anymore, so that was a relief.
By the way, why had Sylvia come all the way to my room?
Her guest room should be quite far from here.
“By the way, Princess Eleonore, what brings you to my room?”
“Huh? Ah, well, it’s that, you see…”
“…?”
I merely asked what she needed, but Sylvia’s reaction was so flustered that I instinctively tilted my head.
Upon closer inspection, her face also seemed strangely flushed.
Was she feeling unwell and thinking of asking me to call a doctor?
If that were the case, she could have told the servants, it wouldn’t have been a problem.
“The truth is, I’d like to take a quick look around the Count’s estate. I was wondering if Lord Lyard would accompany me…”
“…Ah.”
As I kept pondering the situation, Sylvia, fidgeting with her hands, spoke, and I suddenly felt as if I had been struck on the head.
Honestly, what a fool I am.
No matter how much it was for Sylvia’s sake, if I had allowed her to stay in someone else’s house, at least I should have given her the proper consideration.
That’s the basic decency one should have, regardless of whether I acted indifferent or not.
She must have been so bored and lonely, staying locked inside the mansion all day long, without a clue about what to do.
“It wouldn’t be a problem. I’ll get ready right away, so please wait just a moment, Princess.”
“Really!? Thank you, Lord Lyard!”
“No, it’s only right for me to do this for a guest.”
As I lowered my head and said that, Sylvia made a slightly pouty expression, almost as if she were sulking.
“Guest… Hmm. I guess you’re right, I am a guest.”
Once again, I couldn’t figure out why Sylvia suddenly became upset, just like the many times before.
Meanwhile, Primo, who had been given instructions by Kyle, had transformed into an eagle and, flapping its large wings, made its way to Kaintreche Castle as Kyle had directed.
It was impossible to infiltrate the castle with such a large body, so Primo changed back into the form of a sparrow, as it had shown earlier in front of Kyle, and flapped its small wings diligently as it descended.
Fortunately, there was a window open, and entering through it wasn’t particularly difficult.
“Huh? What’s this…!”
However, since there was someone inside, the person tried to shoo the sparrow away, flapping their arms, but Primo remained unfazed, fluttering around the room and calmly escaping.
As it flew away, it glanced at the face of the person trying to chase it out, and its eyes widened in surprise.
The man, who had a slightly unpleasant and gaunt look, was none other than the one Kyle had shown in the portrait.
Swish.
“Leave it. But I’d like to ask you a few details about why Sylvia Eleonore isn’t in the castle.”
Then, a man in a dark blue robe appeared, stopping Creed’s actions with a reprimanding tone. Creed hurriedly approached the window, closed it, and bowed in front of him.
“I-I’m sorry! I don’t understand why, but that person said they’d be staying here for a while…”
“Isn’t it your job to make that happen?”
“Y-You are absolutely right.”
To Primo’s eyes, Creed seemed like a very high-ranking individual, and it was truly strange to see such a person bowing and trembling.
If that was the case, how significant must the person hidden in that robe be?
“You understand the importance of this, don’t you? Creed Eleonore.”
“Of course. I know it’s an urgent matter, and we can’t afford any delays…”
“I’m glad to hear that. I believe I can expect good news when I visit next time.”
“Yes, I’m sorry for making you come all this way.”
Swish.
After a conversation that Primo couldn’t make sense of, the man in the robe disappeared.
Primo, who had been observing carefully, noticed that Creed’s attention was briefly diverted. At that moment, it quickly transformed into a tiny insect and slipped through a tiny crack in the door to escape the room.
Although the term “Eyes of Dawn” hadn’t been mentioned, two of the three crucial words Kyle had mentioned were heard, so Primo was determined to report it as soon as possible.