"Adel, you just need to name her name." I put my hand on top of Adel's as she excitedly looked at the blue spirit in front of her.
"Nissei." Adel reached her hand out and the blue spirit landed in the palm of her hand. It looked up at her and smiled before hugging her finger. Adel looked so happy I felt slightly jealous, but since it was her spirit, then this was normal.
"Since we are here, we should go see the spirit king." I felt it was not right to come here and take one of his kin away without at least talking to him first. I did ask S0phie if she wanted one but she only shook her head. She did find spirits interesting, but she did not seem to want one following her around.
When we reached the top of the mountain, the spirit king sat there staring at me. His gaze fell on Nissei. He did not say a word. It just seemed his aged gaze was very profound. It was only after almost a minute that he finally spoke. "I see a little one has formed a contract. I guess this is also destiny. Little dragon, please watch over this world. I am sure you already know that something sinister has already appeared. Our time is limited."
"I know. And I will do everything I can to make sure that I destroy this threat. My life, yours, and the life of my loved ones are all at stake now. As such, I will not sit by and allow my peaceful life to be disturbed. I will be sure to grow in power. I will be sure to gain enough strength to face this threat head on." I could only hope I had the time.
"If you are really willing, then you may be able to go to that place. Come back here in two years. At that time, I will send you and your companions to a place. A place not even your attendant can go. I will explain more the next time you stand before me. For now…. Go…." The spirit king looked down at us, and before I realized what was going on, we were standing at the entrance to the mountain.
"Faith? What did he mean to that place?"Adel asked. But I had no answer.
"I am not sure. Wherever it is, we will go together. We will grow stronger together." I smiled and rubbed her head. This seemed to appease her, so I did it some more.
"It seems we will not be able to live a quiet life anymore…." Sophie sighed as she hugged my arm. "I had hoped this time we could live peacefully…."
"As it is, besides Adel, we can not die anyways. But she will soon be on par with us once I bring her into the dungeons. We can only get ready for what is to come." This was the path I had to tread. I could not let this world get destroyed.
"I will follow you no matter where we end up. Even if we end up dying and going to hell." Sophie's eyes were firm. This was a girl who forced transported herself back in time after all just to be with me.
"Meto!" Adel's cute little cheeks were puffed out. I guess she felt left out.
"Yes, we will all walk through the fiery pits of hell together," I announced proudly. This brought smiles to the two girls' faces but strange looks from the knights who were guarding us.
"Please do not go to hell. It is not a nice place." Atolie suddenly said. She had a look of concern on her face.
"It is just a saying. I would not want to go to hell no matter what." While I do say this, and it is my true thoughts, the fact that I have already killed millions of people does not help my case. I am probably going to be reincarnated as some kind of bug in my next life if I truly die.
We all retired to the carriage for the night. Sophie and Adel were playing a card game, so I went to sit with Atolie. "Atolie, what do you think our chances of winning are?"
"I can not be sure. With all the time I have spent with you, I do know that you have overcome many strong opponents. But this one is different. I have no idea where the spirit from before will be sending you, but if I am not wrong, it already understands the situation. And normally, such beings are not one to joke around. So If we are really able to gain the strength we need in time, we might have a chance." Atolie did not seem too optimistic, but I could tell she was relying on this one chance.
"We will just have to make the best of it." This was all we could do.
"Faith! Come take a bath with us!" Adel called out to me. I smiled and thought for a moment before taking Atolie's hand. "Come, you too."
Atolie blushed and stood up. She let me pull her with me as we entered the bedroom area. As soon as Adel saw Atolie she got very happy. "Atolie! It's about time you joined us!"
Sophie came over to me and began helping me undress as she asked: "Are you planning to woo Atolie as well?"
"I am not sure. I did have such a thought, but it would depend if she was willing. Although I do plan to bring Grace into the circle. Are you okay with that?" I asked, looking into her dark eyes.
"As long as I am with you, I do not mind what you do. My love for you will never change. You gave up so much for me in our past life. And I am sure you went through a lot in the lives before that. No matter the timeline, I know you will always love those you are close to and protect them with your life. So please, do as you, please. I will always support you."
