She was still in a parking lot with many adventurers nearby, many of which could be listening in. If she gave her full report there, anyone would be able to hear as well, leading to all sorts of speculation about her search for the Nine Wisemen.
Currently there was an armistice treaty in place, which prohibited any form of war preparations. While searching for lost countrymen would not be an issue, the Nine Wisemen could be seen as powerful assets for war, making it a different situation.
Gathering the Nine Wisemen was essentially the same as equipping the best spear and shield in preparation for the moment when the treaty expired, making it a touchy subject to discuss.
Even Mira’s mission to search for the Nine Wisemen could be seen as preparations for war, and the other countries would hold them at blame for it.
At least they could still use the excuse that they were searching for their countrymen, so they had a way to argue against such accusations. But many other people would still be displeased with knowing the Nine Wisemen were gathering again, and would hamper Mira’s investigation.
Overall it could cause a lot of trouble for Mira, so she began to think of a way to avoid being overheard.
A Rosario Summoning Circle appeared inside the wagon, and Mira chanted with as low a voice as she could, and the moment the summon appeared, her voice seemed to vanish entirely.
「This is quite a cramped space compared to yesterday.」
The summon that appeared with seemingly no sound or presence was the Spirit of Stillness Worthramble. He had been summoned for two days in a row following the fight with Machina Guardian, and after looking around the wagon for a bit, he smiled happily and said, 「Ahh, this is the place where we first met, isn’t it?」
「I was asleep that time though.」
Meanwhile Mira grimaced slightly. That time she had been sleeping in the wagon, when Worthramble and other spirits snuck inside and smuggled her away. She only woke up when she was inside a lake.
「Oh right, that did happen.」
It was hard to say they really ‘met’ before Mira was awake, so it was more correct to say they met each other in the lake shrouded by shadows, which was a slightly creepy situation. But Worthramble seemed to think fondly of that memory.
「So what do you need me for today?」
Worthramble looked outside through the window and asked that, it was clear she was not in the middle of a fight this time.
「Well, I’m about to discuss some top secret matters, so I’d like you to prevent anyone from listening in.」
「I see. That’s a really simple request.」
Worthramble happily obliged and activated his powers, and while there was no visible change, the effect was immediate.
「I knew you could do it!」
His power of stillness isolated the sound within the wagon from the outside. That also blocked other noises from coming in, shutting off all the city bustle and making the wagon’s interior so quiet that they could almost hear each other’s breathing.
「Now I just have to make sure this connects…」
She could talk about anything without worry now, so all that was left was to get in touch with Solomon.
Mira stuck her upper body into the closet again and reached for the receiver, then hoping that the call was already made, she began saying 「Heyy, Solomon! Can you hear meee?」
She waited five seconds, hung up, tried again, waited five seconds, and so on. But in the end the call never went through, and she got no response.
「Hmmm… Maybe I do need to do something more…」
Mira hung up one last time, then began examining the various buttons and levers on the device, groaning in confusion.
「Mira? What’s that?」
After watching Mira seemingly talk nonsensically into a closet with a black box, Worthramble got curious and moved closer to look at the device as well, where he asked Mira what it was.
「This is a communications device that was built with Magic Engineering. It’s an excellent apparatus that allows one to talk with people far away.」
Mira spoke with an air of confidence, even though her hands were just randomly pressing buttons while hoping for a positive outcome. Such devices were still on the pricey side, and were heavily regulated, so they were not used by the public commonly. Only a handful of wagons had them too, usually being ones used by the army or high ranking nobles. That was another reason why Mira’s wagon was so special.
Mira obviously let that fact get to her head when Solomon explained it to her, but Worthramble’s reaction was rather tepid, as he was not very interested in vanity.
「I see. So this is what humans use to talk with each other when they’re far away.」
He was more impressed by its actual functions, and he moved a little to get a better look at the device. Spirits actually had a way to communicate over long distances as well, and was rather common for wind spirits, who used something called Wind Missives. They would use the wind to carry messages to other wind spirits across large distances.
「Though it only works if I know how to use it…」
A device to talk with people far away was a useful tool, but just like any other tool, in the wrong hands it was nothing more than a paperweight. Mira lifted the receiver one more time and held it to her ear, but the result was still the same.
「Ah, talking of sending messages across distances, I was entrusted with one as well, maybe I can pass it on before I forget?」
Worthramble seemed to remember something and asked for a moment after a bit of hesitation, seeing how busy Mira seemed to be.
「A message?」
Mira wondered who could have sent her a message. Unable to think of anyone who could be the sender, she turned around and with a slightly surprised face asked, 「From who?」
「Well, it’s actually from Anlutine. She asked me to tell you she really wants to form a summoning contract with you, but yesterday you seemed busy with other things so I didn’t mention it. When I got back she looked really let down that I hadn’t said anything though.」
Worthramble looked a bit awkward as he related his experience.
It seemed like the main reason for her desire was the Spirit King’s Divine Protection. Its power allowed all of the spirits Mira had as summons to connect with each other, letting them communicate even if they were far away.
Not to mention that it would also let them talk to their beloved Spirit King. That alone would be a great honor for any spirit, but then recently Mira had also formed a contract with the Originator Spirit of Nature Martel, who also stood as a prominent figure alongside the Spirit King. Not to mention that no one had heard from her in ages. The possibility of talking to her again was a major event for all spirits.
From what Worthramble said, it seemed like forming a contract with Mira had become extremely desirable amongst spirits.
「I can’t believe that’s all happening…」
While the Spirit King’s importance was common knowledge, Mira’s recent casual interactions with him had dulled her perception a bit. But now she was reminded of it, as well as Martel’s influence.
「I guess it was bound to happen eventually, all things considered. The Spirit King and Originator Spirits are something like paternal figures for us spirits. Even if they aren’t by our side, hearing their voices brings us immense reassurance.」
By forming a contract with Mira, spirits would be able to hear the Spirit King and Martel’s voice whenever they wanted. They would be able to feel them nearby, even if they were far away in reality. Worthramble tried to emphasize just how much of a blessing that was for spirits.
Worthramble was living together with Sanctia and Anlutine, but out of them only Anlutine was unable to hear the Spirit King and Martel. That had put her mood in a bit of a downturn, until she requested Worthramble pass on the message when possible.
