Chapter 20 – 2. I First Met… Undine, an Intermediate Spirit

“If you sign a contract with Undine, what do you want to do first?”

After a simple meal, I asked Se-in, who was staring blankly into space.

Sein, who was dazed by my sudden question, evaded it with a flirtatious sound, then spoke calmly.

“I guess I’ll have to continue working as a mercenary, because that’s the only way I can make a living…”

“Okay? But if you make a contract with a spirit like Undine, you can earn money somehow.”

At my words, Sein looked at me with cloudy eyes.

“Even though I’m young, traveling isn’t as bad as making money. Like the aurora, a spirit that can only be seen on the famous beach or in the snowy mountains in the distant kingdom of Sweden…”

I was explaining places worth looking around, but Saein didn’t want to hear it, so he interrupted me and said in a self-deprecating voice.

“You have to be able to afford that too, I’m busy making a living right now.”

[Ugh- I want to go on a trip…]

“That’s so immature. Traveling when you don’t have anything…”

[Huh…]

Anyone could see that Undine was downcast, and Sain, who couldn’t even afford to take care of himself, seemed to have no intention of taking care of Undine anymore.
Should I help him regain his energy?” He thought and asked Undine, who stared at the bonfire with his head down.

“Undy, don’t you want to do anything else?”

[I want to go on a trip and see various scenery that I have never seen before-]

“I heard that there is a very large lake near the Furka Castle that I was originally going to go to.”

[Lake~? How big is it?]

After roughly estimating the size I heard, I couldn’t think of anything to compare it to, so it was a bit difficult to explain.

“I don’t know, anyway, the lake is so beautiful when the morning sunrise comes up, I can see it later.”

[The pond I lived in is also beautifully colored orange when the sun rises!]

“Originally, a journey starts slowly from a nearby place.”

[Sain- When we get out of here, let’s go see the lake first~ Huh?]

“…”

[Three…?]

Saein, who had been staring at Undine with her lips tightly closed, was soon called out as if urged on.

“Then… When we get out of here.”

[…Huh.]

Undine wasn’t a very careless spirit either, anyone could see that Sein’s heart was uncomfortable.

I didn’t want to forcefully break the maintained silence. I kept the fire burning by stoking only the poor bonfire with branches scattered on the floor.

Staring at the burning bonfire, Undine looked gloomy. It was quite pitiful to see that lively Undine, stunned while looking at Sein.

I was quiet because I didn’t have to do anything more to comfort Undine or to make Undine’s energy.

I put down the branch with a thump, and thanks to that, Undine and Sein’s attention was focused on me, and I quietly said a word in silence.

“Three.”

“…Yes.”

“Don’t be like that.”

“…”

A guy with a sense of shame would quietly answer yes or move on, but Se-in, who couldn’t even move, leaned against the wall, asked me back with strained eyes.

“I don’t know what not to do.”

Ha, you kidding me… I glanced to the side and saw a restless Undine. Yeah, what are you doing with the kid? I was annoyed for a moment and wanted to scold him, but I didn’t want to forget Undine’s good feeling.

On the contrary, I could see that Undine’s feelings had cooled little by little at Sein’s actions, so it seemed better to induce them there.

“It’s daunting, how many things do you want to do? You say you’ve been together since you were little, huh?”

[Stop it- Sein is tired, let’s stop sleeping huh? I’ll have to explore tomorrow too -]

“When I was young, uh… Just 3-4 years is how long.”

[Three…?]

“You must be tired, you must have held on to the patient too much. Sleep first.”

A sullen answer came out of Sein’s lips. Leaving behind Undine, whose eyes were shaking as if in shock, I stood up.

“No, it’s fine.”

“No. You’re tired right now, you don’t even know what you’re talking about.”

“You know what I mean enough? It’s because I keep wearing Undine around, isn’t it?”

He was silent for a moment at Sein’s words about Undine. He seemed to use my silence as an opportunity to open his mouth and express his displeasure.

“I don’t know what will happen now, but I don’t know how people talk, and now my legs are sick…”

“Three.”

I didn’t even say much longer. I just leaned against the wall and looked down at the chattering guy, peering through his eyes. His dark eyes glistened viciously, as if he had already lost his gun and been consumed by madness.

I let go of my life just enough that Undine didn’t notice. It’s safe to say that it was at the level of expressing anger at the annoyance coming up to this bastard.

“…”

The snowball fight, where they looked at each other without avoiding their eyes, ended with Sein lowering his head and avoiding them. It must be quite resentful to see her clenched fist resting on her lap.

“Undine, help Sein until he falls asleep. I’ll look around for a while and come back and stay up all night.”

[…Huh.]

Undine, who was exposed to the vortex of negative emotions, originally had a blue face, but her complexion seemed to have become paler. Well, I don’t think Undine, who doesn’t know the world, wouldn’t have experienced a fight or atmosphere like this.

I clenched the longsword at my waist once and started out on the road. After leaving the hall and entering the aisle, I leaned against the wall and focused my five senses on my ears.

Suddenly, I heard the sound of cloth rubbing against the wall. It was probably trying to fix the posture of Sein leaning against the wall and laying him down. Undine seemed to be in no mood to talk in the chilly atmosphere, so only the soft rustling of cloth could be heard.

An immature kid, it was clear that he was suspicious of something. Judging from his actions, it didn’t seem like Undine had told me that something had happened to him, and since Undine also had no clue, it seemed like Sein’s one-sided suspicion.

Bastard, if you’re that smart, I’ll comfort you or help you with Undine. If you look at the way you talk about your feelings, you are a child.

It seems that Undine has crossed the line to a certain extent, and with a decisive move, I think I can finish it quickly. At first, I didn’t have big feelings for Sae-in, but he recognized me as an enemy and started to sharpen his blade like that.

Do this, do that Why did she take care of the whining Sein and Undine? Actually, I didn’t say anything, but the stress I received while confined in the colony was considerable. It seems that people become ferocious because they can’t see the sunlight.

[…Uh. …Hey!]

As she was immersed in her thoughts, she caught a glimpse of Undine’s voice that spread like a thump in her ears.

I focused my attention on my ears and leaned more towards the cavity to overhear the conversation.

[I don’t know what you’re talking about… Huh?]

“What is she doing with that bastard? She doesn’t have many magic stones these days. It keeps getting smaller and smaller!”

[I told you that there are not many goblins you encounter… Don’t be angry and listen to me…]

Undine answered as if crying, and in the midst of that, I showed enthusiasm for the humanity of the people who called me that bastard. I couldn’t understand how a bastard like that could kill his temper and endure it. Even when I first met her, I thought she was a naive Anne who was friendly and didn’t know how to get angry, but I was fooled.

“It’s already been more than 5 days. At this rate, my legs will get sore and I won’t live like an asshole for the rest of my life…”

Well, I understand your anxiety. Even if one arm is crippled, you can somehow survive with the other arm, but both legs are crippled?

‘Oh… That’s terrible.’

I didn’t know if I was receiving treatment or blessing at the church, but it’s worth calling when it’s around that point. In fact, I couldn’t believe that Undine’s healer could heal that amount of legs.

[No, if you make a contract and collect all the mana, you can probably fix it, really…]

“Amarani, I believe in that Amaran and wait…!”

[…Sain must be having a hard time. Take a little rest…]

“That bastard’s hard…! Damn, that bastard is like that, and even you are becoming like horses?”

– Percussion!

[Kyaaah…!]

There was the sound of something blunt hitting. The sound of a rolling sound coming from the follow-up hit probably sounded like a stone being thrown. This bastard does it and even throws a stone at it? I was more dumbfounded than angry. How many sudden surges have you had since before?

[What are you doing…!]

“He said he would sign a contract with me, let’s stay together…! Look at me now!”

[No matter how angry you are, then! I’m frustrated too…! I want to fix you quickly and I’m worried, but why are you being so selfish!]

“Selfish? Mr. Ha… Fuck am I being selfish?”

[Do not say bad word!!!]

“Are you making sure you don’t swear?

[What? Change?!]

Oh, Undine couldn’t stand it. They raised their voices together and started fighting. It’s not bad to keep listening and watching, but it’s too bad to part with such emotional consumption. I gave strength to my foot on the ground and made a loud sound.

– Trudge

The screams of the two, who had been screaming like they were about to be eaten by the sound of their heavy boots, faded little by little. I couldn’t tell if he knew that it was ugly to fight openly, or if he had stopped, or if he thought that shouting and fighting in front of me would upset me.

“I just heard something…”

Undine averted her gaze when I asked her insinuatingly, and Sain showed her anger without avoiding my eyes. Looks like neither of the answers I thought of. I laughed at Sain’s indignant attitude, pulled the long sword I was carrying from my waist, and held it in my hand with the scabbard.

“You must still be a bit angry, yes I know how you feel.”

“…You wouldn’t know.”

“Do it in moderation, though. It’s the same thing… It’s hard to keep coming out like that.”

I put the long sword in my hand on one side of the wall and released my wrist. I loosened my wrists in advance because I thought I would end up in a losing situation. I wanted to put an end to the situation at the sight of Sein looking up at me while lying on the floor.

“Let’s go to sleep, I’ll wake up all night by myself today.”

“…”

“Cool down, there are not many magic stones left. Huh?”

“I heard everything.”

It was a magic stone that I brought up to comfort, but Sein seemed convinced that I had overheard everything. It’s true that I heard it, but I didn’t bring up the magic stone to talk about it… I ended the conversation with a shrug at the guy’s nonsense.

“Fighting so loud… I’m getting tired too, sleep?”

“…Yes.”

[…

The image of Undine looking at Sain who forced her eyes closed while lying down and Undine swallowing her words with a grimacing expression while floating in the air seemed very difficult.

That’s right- I was trying to do something for Sae-in, but it was clear that the person in question would hurt me too when he said something like that. Even so, Sein’s words were not wrong.

Undine, who had been tricked by me, stuck with me, so maybe Undine might have vaguely noticed it, but so far, it seemed that he knew sex with Fella as a really helpful concept.

She peered into the campfire and maintained her silence. Only the regular breathing of Sain, who was forced to close his eyes, resonated in the cavity.

Undine, who was floating in the air watching Sein and me, eventually quietly flew to my side. Undine, who came down lightly and sat down next to me, hugged his knee and cried.

‘It must have been much sadder…’

Is it love for Sein in the first place? I thought about it, but as I continued to observe her attitude and behavior, I came to the conclusion that Undine had the greatest desire to take care of Se-in who left with her.

However, his current attitude was as if he had been dumped by a child he liked, as if he had heard something he couldn’t hear.

‘That bastard kicks a real opportunity too.’

They might have hurt their feelings because of me, but what if Se-in handled it a little more maturely? Would I have had a chance to intervene if I had tamed her self-feelings and prioritized her undine?

In the end, it’s a consequential story, but my tricks worked to some extent, and Saein’s shoveling played a large part. Well, I only had to snatch Undine, so this kind of flow was a great welcome to me.

Undine sobbed for a long time. I suppressed her anger and looked at Sein, who was forced to fall asleep.

I felt Undine’s shoulders tremble slightly, but rather than hugging her tightly, I tapped her arms and shoulders to help her calm down.

– Pat pat

Undine, who was shaking her head while shaking her head, seemed to be conscious of Sein’s words that she should change clothes, so she seemed to be wondering what to do if Sein caught me approaching.

I glanced at Sein. Undine’s whimpering cries seemed to bother her, but she frowned and didn’t open her eyes.

I kept repeating in my mind that it was okay, that it was okay, and just continued to pat Undine.

Her shaking shoulders and head stopped little by little, and I raised my hand and put it on her head and spent a while stroking her.

-Tadaktaktak

Sain lying on the other side of a burning bonfire and a cage on the other side. The wounded Undine leaned against me, bringing her shoulder to me before I knew it. It may not have been completely over, but I think the scales have tipped to some extent because I was disappointed in Sae-in.