Author's Note
As you can guess from the title, the actual war (or something resembling war) will begin from the next episode.
This may have been good enough as a short story at the end of Volume 6.
If I don't introduce it here, it won't have a chance to appear for a while, so I did.
When I woke up in the morning, my whole body was enveloped in a soft sensation.
When I opened my eyes, I saw a beautiful woman in her 20s lying naked in front of me, embracing me. I could feel magical power (MP) being absorbed from the area she was touching. I see, this beautiful woman is the spirit I wrapped in the blanket yesterday. She must have recovered enough while she slept to return to her original form as Great Spirit.
When I thought about it that way, her superhuman beauty made sense. The entire body, including her face, was constructed in perfect symmetry, giving it an almost artificial appearance. She had voluminous hair that was more like platinum than white, and her eyes changed to seven different colors depending on the angle I looked at her from. This would be highly unlikely to happen in the nature (hint: another world).
It's amazing how that soccer ball could change so much in just one night.
...But I'm really sleepy. It seems it's still early, so I guess I'll sleep a bit more... Good night.
After a blissful second nap, the Great Spirit appeared in front of me, just like when I woke up the first time.
When I tried to get up, the Great Spirit released her arms from her embrace and got up at the same time as I did. Of course, since she was completely naked, I could see a lot of things. The blanket I had wrapped myself in before going to sleep had fallen to the bottom of the bed. By the way, she had a very good style. The volume was impressive, but what's particularly noteworthy was the overall balance. It's like a work of art—In other words, she looked artificial.
"First of all, I guess I need to put some clothes on her." (Jin)
As I said that, the Great Spirit clapped her hands and her body was enveloped in light. The next moment, the Great Spirit was wrapped in what looked like a white cloak. The Great Spirit was not speaking, but from her expression it seemed as if he is saying, "Is this okay?"
When I got off the bed and stood up, the Great Spirit extended four pairs of eight shining white wings from her back and floated into the air. They were not bird-like wings, nor were they bat-like wings. To be honest, I was not even sure if I should call them wings—They're just shiny ovals. However, if they were floating in pairs on the back of a beautiful flying woman, they would look just like wings. Of course, no normal creature could fly with such wings.
The Great Spirit's shining silver (platinum) hair reached down close to the ground, with her floating about 20cm above the ground. She's about 170cm tall, so her hair is nearly 2m long...it's too long. By the way, do spirits need to get their hair cut?
[No.] (Alta)
Well, if she doesn't think it's a nuisance then it's not really my problem.
"Waaaahh..." (Blue)
"Hmm, maybe it's morning already..." (Elle)
Then, Blue and Elle woke up. The fact that they even wake up at the same time showed that Blue and Elle were really close (although this was an unfavourable assessment for them).
"...Master, who's that?" (Blue)
Blue looked at me and asked a very obvious question.
"It's the Great Spirit. After providing her with magical power (MP) overnight, it seems she has successfully regained her strength." (Jin)
"Really, anything goes with Master..." (Elle)
"It's okay, I'm getting used to it." (Blue)
Blue seemed to be surprisingly adaptable. Elle may lacked flexibility due to her age (she had lived a very long life).
It's about time to check the Great Spirit's status.
Name: None (Lv1)
Gender: Female
Age: 0 years old
Race: Great Spirit
Skills：[Spirit Lv-] [MP Absorption Lv10]
Notes: Great Spirit, who governs nothingness.
Most of the items that were marked as "none" until yesterday were filled in this time. Now, the questions are, "Why don't they have names?", "Do spirits have genders?", and "Why are they 0 years old?"
[This spirit lost most of its information when it was absorbed into Oni God. It is unknown whether it originally had no name, or whether it had one but lost it. Its age began to count again when it was released from the seal and regained its form as the Great Spirit. Its gender is generally undefined, but if the person strongly desires it, it will change to that gender. Once it is decided, it cannot be changed.] (Alta)
In other words, this spirit was absorbed into Oni God and then reborn when it was released. Therefore, there was no information immediately after release, and it was probably initialized when it became the Great Spirit.
Oops, if I'm back at the Great Spirit, there's one thing I need to check first.
"Do you intend to make contract with me using [Spirit Arts]?" (Jin)
—Nod nod nod—
When I said that, the Great Spirit nodded repeatedly with great vigor, and then, with an expression of deep emotion on her face, she hugged me. For the time being, I understood that the Great Spirit was more enthusiastic than I was. I also noticed that she was wearing clothes but no underwear. Look, the Great Spirit hugged me while floating in the air, right? The material of the clothes wasn't see-through, but it seemed to be quite thin so I could still see a lot of things.
"Ah... I have to make a spirit contract and that might take some time, so please have breakfast first." (Jin)
"Okay."
"Um."
Then they both left the room to have breakfast.
After watching the two of them left and the door to the room closed, I turned back towards the Great Spirit.
"Okay. There's no reason to put it off, so shall we go ahead and make the contract?" (Jin)
—Nod nod nod—
When I asked, the Great Spirit nodded vigorously again. I first pulled the Great Spirit away and took out the special [Spirit's Gemstone] from [Infinite Storage] that I had previously obtained in Gnome's Cave. Also, I set the [Spirit Arts] skill level to 10. This was just a guess, but making a contract with a powerful spirit would require a higher skill level.
I had confirmed this before, but when making a contract with a spirit, you need to be in possession of the [Spirit's Gemstone] and request the contract using [Spirit Arts]. This "demand for a contract" referred to the submission of a formation similar to that of [Monster Taming]. I was sure of it because I saw Yulia of the Kastal slave adventurer group made a contract before.
When I turned towards the Great Spirit with the [Spirit's Gemstone] in hand, the Great Spirit frantically took the [Spirit's Gemstone] from me.
WHY?
The Great Spirit tossed the [Spirit's Gemstone] onto my bed.
WHY?
While I was confused by the Great Spirit's strange behavior, the Great Spirit sent a shield used in [Spirit Arts] towards me. Looking closely, I noticed that the details of the shield were different from the ones I had seen before.
When the formation hit me, I finally understood the Great Spirit's purpose. The contents of this spell were the exact opposite of the spell I was about to cast. Simply put, it said, "Use me as your servant!" It seemed that the Great Spirit wanted to request a contract of her own accord. Of course, the chances of a spirit requesting a contract were almost zero—In this case, the [Spirit's Gemstone] was no longer required for the contract. That’s why she threw it away.
> [Great Spirit] is requesting a spirit contract. Would you like to allow it? (Y/N)
A game-like option had appeared. This probably wouldn't happen to an ordinary person, right?
[Yes.] (Alta)
There's no reason to refuse the spirit contract here, so I choose "Y"... If I choose "N", will Great Spirit cry?
[They think it will make you cry. On a completely unrelated note, there is a jewel called [Spirit's Tear] that is treated as a national treasure in most countries.] (Alta)
...Does that mean I should make Great Spirit cry? In other words, it's just another name for the gem, and it's not like you can get it just by making Great Spirit cry...
Alta's jokes aside, I chose "Y".
> A spirit contract (master) has been made with [Great Spirit].
> Would you like to give a name to [Great Spirit]?
Unlike taming, it seemed that it was up to the owner to decide whether or not to give a name.
"Do you want a name?" (Jin)
—Nod nod nod nod nod nod nod nod nod nod nod nod nod nod nod—
The Great Spirit shook her head up and down with more vigor than ever before.
If she wanted a name that badly, there was no way I wouldn't give her one.
However, I was sure you could imagine the sense behind it. Here we go!
> Name her "Rain"
> Name her "Prana"
> Name her "China"
> Name her "Yukari"
"Rain" is probably taken from the rainbow color of the eyes. "Prana" is thought to be a play on her hair color, platinum. "China" is probably from Platinum too. That's terrible though... Let's leave "Yukari" aside.
Let's just stick with "Rein" here. Since the Great Spirit also has "Rei"[1] at the end, it has a double meaning, which is perfect. ...It was a completely unnecessary joke. If there was one worry, it was that she might be mistaken for a water spirit.
"Okay, it's decided. Your name is Rein, whooaa?!" (Jin)
The moment I finished saying her name, the Great Spirit, now known as Rein, came hugging me. Rein, even though she's a Great Spirit, had a lot of emotional expression. Even though she didn't say anything.
After finishing the contract with Rein, I headed to the dining hall for breakfast.
The main members were all there at the time, so I explained about Rein to them then and there.
"I didn't think you'd regain your powers as Great Spirit in just two days. You're really the same as always, Master." (Sera)
"I didn't think it would happen in just two days either." (Jin)
Sera said in a surprised tone, but it was true that I hadn't expected that either.
"Because he's Jin-kun..." (Sakura)
(That's why) (Dora)
Sakura and Dora said what had become a standard line. It's more versatile than I thought, right?
"So Master, have you tried [Spiritualisation] yet?" (Mio)
"No, not yet. For now, I've prioritized eating breakfast." (Jin)
While eating bread, I answered Mio's questions.
"Well, let's try it after breakfast! I've been quite interested in it ever since Claude's group showed it to me."
"That's right. I'll try out [Spiritualisation] as an after-meal exercise." (Jin)
Furthermore, since [Spiritualisation] placed a heavy burden on the user, it was not something to be played as a way to work up an appetite.
Here I would explain a little about spirits, [Spirit Arts], [Spirit Magic], and [Spiritualisation]. There were many parts to review. And it would probably be long.
First of all, spirits are energy lifeforms that control the attributes that exist in this world. They are also beings that are the embodiment of magical power with a will of their own.
Spirits are classified according to the amount of magical power they possess, and are divided into Great Spirits, Medium Spirits, Lesser Spirits, and Micro Spirits[2] from the top down. You can also think of the amount of magical power as the strength of will, and Great Spirits have a sense of self that is no different from that of humans, while minute spirits have almost no sense of self and float in the atmosphere. Basically, spirits have various attributes, and they prefer places where the magical power of their respective attributes is strong. And by storing magical power of the same attribute, the spirit's rank increases.
Now, there's one thing I'm curious about. Rein's attributes. Looking at Rain's status, in the notes section, it says "Great Spirit, who governs nothingness." No, "nothingness" can't be an attribute, I want to say, but I'll hold back and consider it.
Being absorbed into the Oni God meant that Rein's existence (energy) was constantly being stolen from her. When we rescued her (although I wasn't there to be exact), Rein had been demoted to the level of a Lesser Spirit. At that time, she likely lost the attributes she originally possessed. Normally, it would take a long time for the healing to take place in a place with a high concentration of magical power, but because I poured my magical power into it, it only took one night. However, since I was human, I didn't have any unique attributes. To be more precise, I was a mixture of so many different things that there's no one attribute that I could say was the right one. Therefore, Rein, who absorbed that magical power, also became a Great Spirit without any attributes.
Therefore, it could be said that Rein had become a rather unnatural Great Spirit when viewed from the perspective of a natural Great Spirit. I would leave aside for the time being what impact this would have.
Next, the skill [Spirit Arts], which allowed you to make a contract with a spirit. In a way, it could be said to be similar to [Slave Arts].
With the [Spirit Arts] skill and the [Spirit's Gemstone], you could make a contract with the spirit. If the spirit accepted it, you would be able to control the spirit. Of course, there was a chance of failure. Spirits were usually contained within [Spirit's Gemstone] to reduce the consumption of magical power and could be summoned and controlled by declaring "[Call Element] - Various Attributes". While summoning a spirit, the caster would constantly be consuming magical power, but since spirits were better at handling magical power than ordinary humans, the same magic would be more effective if left to the spirit.
Although it was not something that usually happens, it seemed possible for a spirit to request a contract. Just like the contract between me and Rein this time, if a spirit requests a contract, neither the [Spirit Arts] skill nor the [Spirit's Gemstone] was required. The reason why this was usually not possible was because the spirits could only make contracts with the Great Spirit. And in this case, the spirits would make a contract under very unfavorable conditions. The Great Spirits had a strong ego. So, would they wanted to enter into a contract under unfavorable terms? Of course not.
Furthermore, one of the disadvantages was that the [Spirit's Gemstone] could not suppress magical power consumption and instead consumed the user's own magical power. By the way, even if the spirit offered to make a contract, you could prepare a [Spirit's Gemstone] later. So, I think I would put Rein into the discarded [Spirit's Gemstone].
[Spirit Magic] is a skill that allowed the Micro Spirits in the atmosphere to use magic.
Since micro-spirits have almost no sense of self, if you give them magical power using the [Spirit Magic] skill and ask them for help, they would listen to your commands relatively easily. The micro-spirits will chant for you, so once you ask, the caster's actions will not be hindered until the spell is activated. Another advantage is that they can use a wide variety of magic without being bound by the attributes of the spirit they have contracted with or the attributes of the magic they personally possess.
Instead, it has some drawbacks. Micro-spirits do not exist in places other than the attribute they control. This is because they instinctively want to raise their own rank. Therefore, magic cannot be used in places where there are few micro-spirits of the desired attribute. To put it simply, if you want water magic at a volcano, you cannot use it because there are no water micro-spirits. It can be said that this magic is extremely weak at exploiting weaknesses. Also, the micro-spirits take a margin to store magical power, so they consume a lot of magical power. It seems like they take quite a lot of it.
Finally, [Spiritualisation] is a special technique invented by the Claude's group of adventurer slaves, which allows the wearer to be clothed in spirits, greatly improving their combat abilities. Not only does it improve simple physical abilities, but it also allows the user to take on the attributes of the spirit, which can be quite advantageous in some situations. In addition, normally all magical power supply to the spirits must be provided by a [Spirit Arts] caster, but when using [Spiritualisation], the user can shoulder the consumption instead. This allows multiple people to be [Spiritualisation] at the same time.
Of course, it's not all about benefits, there were also major drawbacks and limitations. First of all, even though the magical energy consumption was being shouldered on behalf of [Spiritualisation], the magical energy consumption was naturally greater than if you were to normally summon and command a spirit. Therefore, you could basically think of it as not being able to use it for long periods of time. Furthermore, since it's reckless to be clad in spirits, it put a big strain on the body, and combined with the magical energy consumption, you would end up in a state where you could barely move after using it. It's truly a last resort. And, this was the biggest limitation, this [Spiritualisation] could even be performed in the first place unless the spirit was compatible with it. My subordinate, Claude, could only [Spiritualisation] with spirits of light. In most cases, he could only use [Spiritualisation] with spirits of one attribute, or at most two.
Now, back to Rein. Rein was a Great Spirit who had absorbed my magical power. This may be a rather rough explanation, but magically, you could say that she was the same being as me. Was it possible that such a being would be incompatible with me? Of course not. In fact, you could even say that they were a perfect match. That's why I never thought that [Spiritualisation] with Rein was impossible.
After breakfast, we went out to the courtyard and tried out [Spiritualisation] with Rein. As I had thought beforehand, Rein and I got along well, so we were able to perform [Spiritualisation].
"...indeed, [Spiritualisation] itself was possible." (Jin)
"But your status hasn't changed at all, right?" (Mio)
"What on earth is this?" (Sera)
Mio and Sera tilted their heads.
Even though I had taken the trouble to perform [Spiritualisation], my status hadn't been affected at all. In exchange, there was no MP consumption by [Spiritualisation]. Alta, do you understand what I mean?
[It is believed that [Spiritualisation] occurs when a person's magical power mixes with the magical power of a spirit, causing a chemical reaction that dramatically increases abilities. At this time, the two magical powers cannot mix unless they are somewhat similar. This is thought to be what Master talks about as compatibility. In Rain's case, her magical power is essentially the same as Master, so there should be no effect from mixing them.] (Alta)
…So, you mean, we're just a good match? Normally, [Spiritualisation] is performed by humans and spirits with similar magical powers that can be mixed together, but because it was performed by a human and spirit with almost identical properties, there was no way for her to react to [Spiritualisation]? What can I say, was it too much...?
"If this is the case, there's no point in [Spiritualisation]..." (Jin)
When I muttered that, Rein, who had deactivated [Spiritualisation], suddenly appeared and made a face that said, "Ahhh!" Even though she didn't say anything, her expressions were really rich.
"But Master, isn't [Spiritualisation] something that is originally done by someone other than the summoner with the spirits? Wouldn't it be putting the cart before the horse if Master, the summoner, were to perform [Spiritualisation]?" (Mio)
"Now that you mention it, I guess that's true..." (Jin)
When Mio said that to me, I thought that it was certainly true. The original purpose of [Spiritualisation] was to reduce the burden on the summoner while strengthening their fighting power. Claude and his group were also using [Spiritualisation] with the spirits summoned by Yulia, and the other members performing [Spirit Arts]. There's no doubt that my doing with [Spiritualisation] was straying from the original purpose.
"So, may I try out the [Spiritualisation]? No matter how much fighting power I have, it will not be enough to protect Jin-sama." (Maria)
With that, Maria stepped forward to perform [Spiritualisation].
"Hmm, I'd like to try Mio-chan if possible, but I wonder how well we'll fare?" (Maria)
"So why don't we all try it once?"
(Dora wants too!) (Dora)
Just as everyone was getting motivated, I looked over at Rein, who had a rather unpleasant look on her face.
"Rein, can you do me a favor?" (Jin)
—Nod nod—
When I asked her, her displeased look from before was gone and she nodded with a happy look on her face.
—In conclusion, Sakura, Maria and Mio were able to make [Spiritualisation], but Dora and Sera were not.
(Mmmmm…) (Dora)
"Could it be because of [Hostile Magic Immunity]? I can't think of anything else..." (Sera)
According to Alta, in Sera's case, [Hostile Magic Immunity] seemed to have repelled magic that was not very necessary and placed a heavy burden on the owner as "enemy." In the case of Dora, it's much simpler—monsters could not do [Spiritualisation].
Rein was raised with my magic, so apparently she could have a Spiritualisation with all of my subordinates (excluding monsters and Sera). Apparently, this was because she was influenced by my magic through [Bond of Contract]. The condition mentioned earlier of "similar but not exactly the same magic power" could be forcibly met.
"Amazing. Even though my stats have dropped considerably, just using [Spiritualisation] makes it much easier to move around." (Sakura)
"That's right. I think I can be of even greater use to Jin-sama now." (Maria)
"Rain-san is helping me, so even if I move fast, I don’t seem like I’m going to fall over… This is great…" (Mio)
All the other members seemed to be feeling the effects. It seemed that even if Sakura's stats were significantly increased, her chances of falling over would not be reduced to zero. I wonder if she was happy that she no longer takes damage when she falls... What a shame.
"It seems to have a definite effect on the other members besides me. Should I consider using it in that way from now on?" (Jin)
If it's not effective when I use it, it would be more effective to consider getting another member to use it from the beginning.
—Shake shake—
However, when I said that, Rein shook her head vigorously. Her face clearly expressed "I want to merge with Master!"
Then, she clenched her fist, made a look as if to say, "Well, as long as it works, that's fine," and then—she flew off somewhere. And in the blink of an eye, Rein was gone.
What?
[A message from Rain. "I'll come back stronger, so please wait for me."] (Alta)
Umm, I don't know what I want to do.
"Did she fly away somewhere?" (Mio)
"Did she run away from home...?" (Sakura)
Mio and Sakura muttered as they looked in the direction Rein had flown off.
"It seems like she's getting stronger. Well, I've given her plenty of magical power, so I can just take it back if things get bad, so I'll let her do as he likes for a while." (Jin)
Alta, please make sure you check on Rein.
[Leave it to me] (Alta)
"Understood." (Maria)
"Well, if that's fine with Master, then I have no complaints..." (Sera)
"You're a very mysterious person, aren't you?" (Mio)
"She's Jin-kun's contracted spirit, after all..." (Sakura)
(That's why) (Dora)
Huh? Is Rein's strange behavior my fault?
In the end, Rein said she was going on a trip and flew off somewhere, so the unveiling of [Spiritualisation] came to an abrupt end. It's a shame that we couldn't make [Spiritualisation] the new special move, but it seemed like Rein had a clue, so I would look forward to her return.
Since the matter of Rein had taken up quite a bit of time, it was about time for me to head to Kastal Royal Castle for the invasion of Eldia, scheduled to begin at noon. Normally, I should have started preparing not just first thing in the morning, but the day before yesterday, but unfortunately, I didn't need to. I was only going to the royal capital of Eldia for a bit.
After finishing our preparations at the mansion, [Portal] took us straight to Sakuya's private room. We were easily transported to the private room of the queen of a great nation. There was no privacy whatsoever.
"Whaaat?! Oh, it's you, onii-chan. What a surprise." (Sakuya)
Sakuya, who was working in her private room, cried out in surprise.
"I mean, it's fine to teleport, but I'd like at least one telepathic communication beforehand..." (Sakuya)
"I'll think about it." (Jin)
"Master is really merciless towards me and Sakuya-chan, isn't he?" (Mio)
Mio and Sakuya were high on the rankings and were easy to mess with. Quite recently, Blue joined them.
"Hmm, you're so mean, onii-chan... Ah, onii-chan. Since you've come to the royal castle, I assume that you're preparing for the invasion of Eldia, right?" (Sakuya)
"Yeah, I can't just skip a single meeting, can I?" (Jin)
"It's almost all over now though." (Sakuya)
I had heard reports from Sakuya about the progress of the knights' training. Apparently, they were able to master it by the afternoon of the second day, and were able to train for aerial combat by the third day. As expected, the Kastal knights were excellent.
"Also, I have one more question. How do you react to Jean? He suddenly showed up and is doing whatever he wants, so I don’t think he has very good feelings towards her…" (Jin)
"Master, you are aware of this, aren't you...?" (Sakuya)
Even I didn't expect that the knights on the scene would like me that much. It would be a good thing if they could just avoid blatantly disobeying orders.
"The Knights may have mixed feelings deep inside, but no one is willing to openly complain. After all, Jean's achievements are on the level of saving the country. At the very least, our country would not employ a knight who would treat the country's benefactor with ill will." (Sakuya)
"Well, that's fine. I trust Sakuya. Of course, I trust Kastal to a certain extent, too." (Jin)
There were some fluctuations, but overall this was a trustworthy country. This was especially true if it was within the area that Sakuya could keep an eye on.
"It'll be fine. I've thoroughly interviewed the knights I selected this time... I won't be directly in charge though. I've left it to my trustworthy vassals." (Sakuya)
Since Sakuya said it with confidence, there probably wouldn't be any problems.
After finishing our conversation with Sakuya, we headed off to meet the knights who would be accompanying us. Apparently they were making adjustments in the courtyard until the last minute, so we headed over there too.
In the courtyard, there were about 30 wyverns and the knights who would ride them. In addition, engineers were gathered there adjusting the riding equipment. When the knight representative us saw us appeared with Sakuya (I was wearing the "Mysterious Prince Mask (Hiding Mask)"), they came over to greet us.
"Jean-dono, thank you for your time today." (Gilbert)
"Yeah, I'll be in your care today." (Jin)
The representative who came forward was none other than Gilbert. I also greeted him in a knightly tone. Mio was trying to hold back her laughter.
Gilbert was a knight who had various interactions with the demon (Romarie) during the turmoil and was a very capable man among the younger knights. His personality was also something you could trust. He decided that the Wyvern Corps would become the new mainstay of the Knights, so when the opportunity arose, he volunteered without hesitation, becoming one of the first to become a dragoon. He also topped the training results, and was currently the strongest member of the army. It was said that if he fought well, he could even hold his own against the leader of the Knights, Gordon. However, he himself seemed to be adamant that he would be too humbled to accept such an assessment...
Gilbert asked me a few questions about the wyverns. Although the project had taken shape to some extent over the past three days, there were apparently limitations to training without experts present, and there were still many areas of concern. It seemed that Alta had conveyed the basic information through Sakuya, but it was probably not going to be that easy.
"Sorry. Your advice is very helpful... But are you sure? I'm confident that we won't be a burden to you, Jean, as we are now. We can't just deal with the cleanup at Eldia, we can also handle the battle with the Hero's party." (Gilbert)
Gilbert, who didn't seem to have much respect for the Hero's party to begin with, didn't back down just because he's facing them. In reality, with Gilbert's fighting ability, they would be able to do anything against the inexperienced heroes.
"I appreciate your kindness, but I will have to decline. It's not that I consider you a hindrance, but I want to settle this battle with our own hands." (Jin)
"Is there some kind of connection?" (Gilbert)
Gilbert asked, looking a little uncomfortable. He must had remembered that the Eldia Kingdom had been doing whatever they wanted with the Hero summoning. It wouldn't be strange if the Eldia Kingdom had people holding grudges against us wherever we went.
"Yeah, there's a bit of a deep-rooted connection between us." (Jin)
"...I understand. I won't ask any more questions. However, the future of Kastal depends on this operation. In the unlikely event that Jean-dono fails, would you allow us to take over?" (Gilbert)
"Of course, that's fine. In that case, I'll leave the rest to you." (Jin)
"Of course. I will protect Kastal even at the cost of my life." (Gilbert)
Although Jean had a proven track record, there was no guarantee that he would be able to win against the heroes. Gilbert probably could avoid asking about the worst-case scenario. That being said, if there was an opponent who could easily defeat me, I would have to say that the Kastal Knights, including Gilbert, would be overwhelmed. In that case, I had ordered the wyverns to return with all its might. Sorry. I have no intention of letting my allies die in vain.
Author's Note
The Great Spirit has gone off somewhere, but we'll reveal what she's doing in the short story next time.
In a way, this is typical behavior of the spirit of Jin.
Chapter title[3]? There's no deep meaning to it.
Translation Note
[1] The name is レイン (rein) from 大精霊 (daiseirei; great spirit)
[2] 大精霊 (daiseirei; big, great), 中精霊 (chuuseirei; middle, medium), 小精霊 (koseirei; small), 微精霊 (biseirei; micro); I don't know if there's a better naming.
[3] The original title is 大精霊と決戦準備 can be translated as "Battle Preparation with the Great Spirit" or "The Great Spirit and the Battle Preparation" (と(to) can be both "with" and "and"). Initially, I used the latter, but seeing this note, I think the former is more suitable.
Update: on second thought, I changed the title because all main chapter titles of this series seem following pattern "<A> and <B>".
Thank you for your patience. I have finished the other project, so after this, I can settle a schedule slot for this series.
Is there any other series do you want to read? Probably will start in 2025 though.