[CHAPTER 57]
“Really? You’re going to the capital?”
“Yeah. That’s how it turned out.”
After breakfast ended, I went straight to Leaf’s kitchen and met Noah and Ifrit.
I needed to let them know I was going to the capital and also make sure about something that had been bothering me.
“I don’t think I’ll be staying in the capital for that long, but what happens if the World Tree awakens while I’m there?”
“Ah, I wondered why you suddenly came to give us an update. So that’s what you wanted to ask?”
“Why else would I bother telling you where I’m going?”
I shrugged while grumbling for no reason in particular.
I didn’t feel sorry at all.
Honestly, ever since deciding to go to the capital, that had been the only thing on my mind.
Ifrit shrugged as well.
It almost felt like he was copying me.
He answered with a playful smile.
“It’s fine. As long as you’re wearing that bracelet properly, we can summon you anytime.”
“I see. Then I don’t need to worry—wait, what?”
“Huh?”
Summon?
Me?
“Who decided that?”
“Uh……”
When I pressed him, Ifrit’s eyes darted around.
The way he glanced at Noah looked like he was saying, Didn’t you explain it?
“We didn’t have time. You know that.”
“Hey, you still should’ve told her.”
……So what exactly is this?
When I stared at them, demanding an answer, the two exchanged awkward looks and cautiously checked my expression.
“Well……”
“Actually, if you’re carrying that branch, we can summon you. It’s the same way humans summon spirits when they try to form a contract.”
I felt like I’d just heard something incredibly important.
And they were only telling me now.
With a throbbing sensation at the back of my head, I dragged a hand down my face.
No. Let’s think about this positively. It means I can instantly jump to the World Tree no matter where I am, right?
Yeah, thinking that way, it wasn’t that bad.
As long as I can control when I get summoned……
Just as I was desperately trying to keep my hope alive, I suddenly lifted my head and looked at Noah.
“If you try to summon me, do I get dragged there no matter what? I can’t refuse?”
But my resolve to stay positive completely shattered at Ifrit’s hesitant reply.
“Have you ever seen a spirit refuse a summoning……? You answer it first, and if you really don’t like the summoner, then you refuse the contract……”
So in short, I can’t refuse at all.
“What if I’m asleep? Or in the middle of washing up?”
“Um, I didn’t think about that. Spirits don’t need to sleep or wash, so.”
“Hey.”
No matter how close I’d gotten with Noah and Ifrit, this crossed a line.
This was a violation of human rights…… no, spirit rights.
“You seriously put something like that on me.”
“L-listen! We didn’t have a choice! If you’re gone when we can wake the World Tree, the next chance is four hundred years later!”
Even so!
When I glared at him with narrowed eyes, Ifrit awkwardly avoided my gaze.
As my head filled with thoughts of just taking this stupid bracelet off and leaving it somewhere, Noah quietly cut in.
“It’s comparable to a high-grade holy relic in terms of protection, so we gave it to you on purpose. Was that too much?”
“……”
It was necessary…… I guess.
At his question, Seria’s face surfaced in my mind.
I didn’t know why yet, but the killing intent she directed at Sian could turn toward us, and toward me, at any time.
But you didn’t say it could invade my privacy like this!
I stayed seated without fully relaxing my expression as Noah continued speaking.
“Still, that summoning ability isn’t all bad for you.”
“What are you talking about?”
Was he trying to make me angrier?
A sharp reply slipped out before I could stop myself.
“I’m serious. We can only use it when we’re in contact with the World Tree anyway.”
I glanced down at the bracelet.
Only usable when they were touching the World Tree?
Then was it really just a direct ticket to the World Tree’s front yard?
If that’s the case, then maybe it’s not that bad……
I flicked my gaze toward Noah and Ifrit.
They were still watching my expression carefully, checking how I’d react.
Sigh, whatever.
They gave it to me for my sake, and staying angry would just be pointless stubbornness.
I relaxed my furrowed brow and made a request in a tired voice.
“Next time there’s a side effect like this, can you explain it beforehand?”
“……Yeah! We will.”
The silence before that energetic reply felt fairly long, but I decided to let it go.
Once the atmosphere eased up, the conversation naturally drifted back to my trip to the capital.
This time, though, in a slightly different direction.
“Anyway, we’ll have to close Leaf’s kitchen for a while.”
“Huh? Why?”
“Jahar is going too.”
I knew he did quite a bit of business with the information guild, but he was still an outsider.
And just because one outsider was going somewhere far, they were shutting everything down?
That was strange.
Could Jahar secretly be a key figure in that information guild or something……?
Jahar always acted a bit airheaded, but it didn’t feel like he had nothing to hide.
As I looked at Ifrit with suspicion, wondering if this was related, he answered as if it were obvious.
“Do you know how important confidentiality is? If there’s no mage to cast the magic, we have to close.”
“Ah…… that kind of problem?”
“What other reason would there be?”
Looks like I was completely off the mark.
“So what are you going to do in the meantime?”
“Who knows. We don’t really have anything to do, so maybe we’ll go to the capital too.”
Ifrit answered lightly, then turned to Noah.
“What do you think, Noah?”
“You’re suddenly going to the capital? There’s no reason to.”
“Come on, do you need a reason to go to the capital? Sometimes you just go. It’d be good for Theo to get some fresh air too.”
“I’m against it.”
“Why~?”
As Ifrit dragged out his words and Noah stayed firm, the two started bickering.
Around that time, I quietly stood up.
I’d resolved my questions and heard some unexpected truths, so it was time to head home.
Yeah, you two keep arguing. I’m leaving……
Whether they decided to visit the capital or not, it wasn’t like we’d easily run into each other in such a huge city.
We’d probably meet again after I returned to the territory anyway.
……Or so I thought.
Until the morning we departed for the capital, when I came face to face with three people calmly seated in our mansion’s reception room.
Ifrit, Noah, and Theo?
All three looked fully packed, as if they were about to leave on a journey at any moment.
“You’ve arrived, Jerena. As you can see, we’ll be traveling together with those three.”
“……Why are they coming with us?”
“We judged that it would be much safer and faster that way.”
Sian looked at me as if I were asking something obvious.
If I were being honest, I didn’t hate it.
Traveling with Ifrit and Noah would make things safer, not more dangerous.
The problem was how Seria would react when she saw Theo.
Ifrit and Noah were strong enough that I didn’t have to worry about Seria overpowering them, but Theo was different.
It hurt my pride to admit it, but Theo was weaker than even me, the weakest member of the group.
“Why, Jerena? You don’t want to travel with us?”
“Theo looks really happy about it.”
Sometimes I wondered if those two were demon kings rather than spirit kings.
Theo glanced at me nervously, and I could see a faint hint of anticipation in his eyes.
If they asked me like that, using Theo as a shield, how was I supposed to say no?
No, seriously, if they were planning to come along anyway, why did they put that summoning tool on me in the first place?
The doubt came too late to question it now.
With a sigh, I picked up my luggage and left the reception room.
As we loaded the bags onto the carriage Sian had rented in advance, I noticed Seria’s eyes lighting up as she questioned Sian about Ifrit and Noah.
Nothing will happen, right?
It really shouldn’t.
I turned my gaze to the carriage, calming the faint anxiety rising inside me.
It wasn’t flashy or huge, but it looked clean and sturdily built.
However, if there was one problem—
