CH 98

The omnipresent stars covered the entire sky as seen from the Apollo Star System.

The universe seen from the periphery of the planet Delphoi was luminous to the night sky seen from a large city at night, but the stars with strong light emitted a corresponding brilliance.

Among the lights of these stars, there is also the brilliance of special stars that are invisible to most people. In the Apollo System, the name of the special star that emits the greatest brilliance is called Mira.

The special star, which was visible in Hart’s field of view even without projecting an external image of the fortress, was in the Commander’s Quarters of Fortress Kerviel.

Mira, who had reverted to her 10-year-old form, was sitting in a chair prepared by Hart’s contracted spirit, Alfrida, in a lush garden created temporarily repainting the living quarters, lightly poking a teacup on the table with the tip of her fork.

The high-pitched sound produced by the clash of the metal of the fork and the porcelain of the teacup echoed across the meadow that stretched far beyond the horizon.

Looking up at the starry sky, the original universe, which would be visible from the Apollo Star System, appeared distorted as if seen through frosted glass. The dimensional distortion indicated that this space was a gap between the spirit world connected by Mira.

“What are you guys doing?”

『As you can see, it’s an elegant tea party, isn’t it?』

To Hart, who had unexpectedly interrupted her, Mira replied nonchalantly.

Certainly, the time spent in a relaxed atmosphere, occupying a large space, is elegant.

However, the fundamental question is, why are Mira and Alfrida having a tea party while connecting Hart’s quarters to the spirit world? And while calling it an elegant tea party, why is Mira poking her teacup with a fork?

After more poking and prodding, Hart stopped asking questions and sat down in one of the three empty seats.

There was no doubt that one of the vacant seats was reserved for Hart.

The ruler of this space is the Spirit Emperor Mira, and Hart is Mira’s equal direct contractor. If there is one seat, Mira will sit in it, and if there are two, Mira and Hart will sit.

As long as the Spirit King Alfrida, who is lower in rank than the Spirit Emperor Mira, is seated, it cannot be said that Hart, who is equal to Mira, cannot sit.

Alfrida, smiling, offered a drink to the seated Hart.

『Please have one too, Lord Hart. I brewed something that humans can drink.』

“It won’t do anything weird to the body, will it?”

It is said that drinking the water of the rivers and springs where Naiads live can instantly cure people of their ailments.

This world is connected to the abode of Mira, her adult figure is a Naiad, so Hart imagined other effects besides the negative ones on the human body.

When asked, Alfrida replied after a short pause.

『It will make you less susceptible to injury and illness, but it will not affect your life expectancy. If you wish, I can prepare it for you, but since it will affect Lord Hart’s magic power, I will put it off for now.』

“I see.”

Nodding to Alfrida, Hart brought the teacup to his mouth.

A faintly sweet liquid, like the juice of fresh pear-like fruit, passed down Hart’s throat.

As he took the liquid into his body, Hart felt the vitality of the fruit permeate his body. At the same time, he arbitrarily deduced from the ecology of the spirits that if he drank something that affected his lifespan, he would suck the life force of the stars.

After moistening his throat, Hart exhaled, straightened his posture, and turned his gaze to Mira.

“Who’s going to come to the other two seats?”

If no one else was coming, she would not prepare the seats. Perhaps someone was coming, but Hart had no idea who it would be.

At least he is certain that they are not human.

This space is a gap between Mira’s spirit world and Hart, and no human is qualified to enter, except for Hart, who is the direct contractor. After Hart’s death, there is the possibility that his descendants will be invited, but now is not the time.

If there was only one seat left, Hart imagined the Spirit Emperor Janet.

Since they are Spirit Emperors under contract with Hart, and they also have a transition gate connected to each other’s realms, it would not be surprising if they visited each other.

For the same reason, if there were 6 remaining seats, he imagined the five Spirit Kings expanding their realms across five star systems: MacLir, Athena, Fukashiro, Artemis, and Podalley. If that many gather together, it would surely become a lively affair.

As for the two remaining seats at the half-filled table, Mira finally opened her mouth when Hart imagined Fleur and Rhea, who had at one time teamed up with Mira as a trio.

『Mr. Hart, you want to create a realm of Spirit King in the Machaon Star System, but you don’t want to lose the spirit at hand, do you?』

Asked, Hart nodded in affirmation.

The Machaon System is the only one of the nine star systems ruled by the Monarchy that has not been able to become a realm, except for the Solar System where the Royal Citizens do not reside.

With 4.6 billion inhabitants, it has been put on the back burner because it had the smallest population, but he would like to make it a realm if possible.

Hart himself doesn’t believe he needs to be responsible for everything.

If the Monarchy had decreed as a national policy, “Since there are not enough Spirit Kings, abandon the Machaon Star System, which has a high risk of being territorialized by the enemy Daemon King, and move to another star system that has been turned into a realm”, it would happen.

The Duke of Mauriac will fiercely oppose it, but Hart would probably be able to push it through. The reason they didn’t do it is that the Queen who is in charge of the Monarchy is Yuna.

Hart realizes from the presence of the Spirit King Alfrida in his possession, that the abandonment of the Machaon System is not the result of Hart’s best efforts.

If he wanted to do it, he could do it.

The reason why Alfrida is not allowed to create a realm is that the enemy has a Daemon King, and Hart, who is on the battlefield, cannot let go of the Spirit King.

If the Machaon System were to be made a realm under the current circumstance, Fortress Kerviel would not be able to invade the enemy systems, and the two sides would ceasefire. If Tenka’s side increased the number of National Mages dramatically, and after confirming that Hart had reached the end of his life, in several hundred years the tentative peace will be broken.

Hart believes that the short-sighted territorialization of the Machaon Star System is the path to the final bad end.

“I imagine the guests of these two seats, are they Senior Spirits with the potential to rise to the rank of Spirit King?”

『By and large, that’s right. Mira will help in Janet’s place.』

Janet, the Spirit Emperor who connects her realm to the Diete Star System, had been mass-producing Israfel spirit crystals and also provided Hart with Advanced spirit crystals.

However, after the Battle of the Apollo Star System, she announced the production cut and the end of the provision of the advanced level.

The reason Janet gave was that the energy budget was not balanced and the miasma generated in the Second Diete Star System Battle, which was the energy source, was consumed.

Comparing Janet to Mira, Hart didn’t think Mira was getting more energy than Janet.

3.75 billion people lost their lives in the Second Battle of Diete, but about 60 million died in the Battle of the Apollo Star System.

In both battles, hundreds of thousands of Tenka ships were also dropped, but if 600 people were on board, the same as a Monarchy cruiser, even if 300,000 ships were dropped, the death toll would be 180 million.

After all, the death toll in the Second Battle of Diete was overwhelmingly high.

“Diete probably had more deaths in battle. Will you have enough energy, Mira?”

When Hart was worried, Mira erased the fork that had been poking her teacup into the void, closed her eyes silently, and took a deep breath before answering.

『Mira has absorbed a Daemon King in the Apollo Star System.』

“That’s right. You had defeated the Daemon King, didn’t you?”

Hart, who had his oversight pointed out, revised his perception of the amount of energy Mira possessed.

The energy possessed by one Daemon King is equivalent to that of one Spirit King.

Even if the energy conversion efficiency is not 100%, the shortfall is large, including the 60 million Monarchy civilians who were killed in the Apollo Star System, the hundreds of millions killed on the Tenka side, and the large number of Daemons defeated in the Apollo star system.

Hart predicted that Mira’s energy would not be much greater than Janet’s, and that she would be able to create even a Spirit King.

『Since Mira is a vegetarian, I will use the undigested portions from the three former Coalition Systems, the portions I collected in the Apollo System, and the unneeded portions from the Daemon King to create one Advanced spirit first.』

“That alone should be enough to give birth to a Spirit King from the start.”

『The conditions are lacking, so it cannot become a Spirit King. Only the individual power may be on par with a Spirit King.』

The Tenka Hercules alliance used the Republic of Frodi to create a Daemon King, and the Monarchy will use said Daemon King to create a Spirit King.

Hart regretted investing Mira into the Apollo system, but as a result, he thought that by erasing the enemy Daemon King and obtaining a new Spirit King for the Monarchy, the investment may have turned into a surplus.

While Hart was thinking, Mira’s explanation continued.

『Even if you simply give it energy, it will only become a common spirit. Therefore, I will combine the special magical power of Mira, who only eats vegetables, with the peculiar magic power extracted from Mr. Hart, and pass it on to the child. If we do this, I believe a unique child will be born.』

Hart had an idea about the peculiar magic that Mira mentioned.

It was the magic power of 100 people that was added to Hart using the device installed in the middle school of the Magic Academy the Duke of Takrham.

If all the characteristics of magic power are inherited, in addition to the pure magic power of Hart, there would be various properties of 100 people.

“Is it safe to do that?”

『It’s okay because you can sort out and select the properties that will grow. The greater the amount of energy, the more solid the foundation for boosting up talent, so if you put in this much energy, you can expect much from it.』

Hart imagined genetic modification before birth, using humans as a standard.

And Hart, judging that the spirits understood what she was talking about, even if humans did not yet understand it, accepted Mira’s action.

“I understand. As long as my magic power doesn’t drop, you can extract it as you like. So we have two seats, but what about the second one?”

『The second child will be made from the purified energy that was not used in the first, 10% energy of the spirit crystal of the Spirit God, and the magic power extracted again from Mira, whose flesh has been emptied and purified, and from Mr. Hart, who got the hang of it.』

“You’re going to put in even more effort than the first one.”

In the Battle of Apollo, Mira used 10% of the energy to seize the realm from the Daemon King, who had suppressed the energy of the star system.

If 10% is the amount of energy that can push back the Daemon King, that alone is comparable to the power of the Spirit King. Moreover, the energy drawn from the Spirit God’s energy crystal is overwhelmingly superior because it does not mix with low-dimensional forces.

What Hart was curious about was the intention behind differentiating the method of giving birth to the two bodies.

“Do the properties of the first and second bodies change depending on the meat and vegetables used as ingredients?”

『Meat and vegetables make completely different dishes. And even with meat alone, countless different dishes can be made. Mira has always deliberately chosen to try things that no one else does. Chloe, whom I gave to Xuě Lì, was also born in that process.』

Mira, in her Naiad form, stood up from her chair, walked up to Hart and put her right hand on his left shoulder, closed her eyes, and began to glow.

The green glow emitted by Mira turns white as it mixes with Hart’s magic, floats like soap bubbles, and drifts around. The white, round mass created by Mira did not burst and disappear, but continued to multiply and fill the surrounding area.

When half of Hart’s vision was covered in white, the white glow finally contracted and converged into one of the empty seats, creating a white-haired girl.

The girl had the appearance of a middle schooler, often seen among D-class spirits, with purple eyes, and was dressed in blue.

Hart thought that her appearance would be that of a Naiad, like the smaller Mira, or a Nymph, a similar being that does not live in rivers and springs, even if not a Naiad, a spirit or lower goddess who lives in rivers and springs. Manifestation in inhuman form indicates that one is an advanced level spirit or higher.

“While strong in the water attribute, she also possesses the fire attributes and combines both to make a pseudo purple attribute, and yet her hair color is white. Is it correct to say that she is a white spirit that combines with purple?”

『That’s right. As expected of Lulu’s papa.』

Judged by her appearance, the white-haired girl replied with a smile.

Hart was doubly puzzled by the fact that he was suddenly called “papa” and before he knew it, the name “Lulu” had been decided.

“Am I Papa? And when did you decide on a name?”

『Papa is Papa, you know. And Lulu thought of the name herself, something Papa could easily recognize.』

Lulu smiled with childlike innocence, and Hart flinched, but wondered even more.

The spirits that Hart knows are born from the lowest class, drifting through the atmosphere like light and gradually accumulating energy, and eventually accumulating enough energy to take form and be promoted to a higher class.

A spirit that has reached a lower level can contract with a small body, learning minimal manifestation and minimal communication as well, build up its strength as they work, and gain opportunities to ascend to a higher level of existence.

Janet of the Diete Star System is mass-producing intermediate spirits, but recognizes that the intermediate spirits in the spirit world are generating energy crystals that can manifest in the world of Hart.

As a variant of this, she is thought to be mass-producing spirit crystals for fighter craft pilots by generating copies of android-like spirits for humans.

But Lulu was an Advanced spirit on par with the Spirit King from the start.

“When did Lulu acquire knowledge and ego?”

『Knowledge is handed down by mother at birth. The ego is initially formed by the inherited knowledge and characteristics, and what is necessary for continuing to exist in the environment and position in which we are placed. I will grow and change accordingly.』

“I see, thank you for telling me.”

『No, you’re welcome.』

The reason why Lulu taught Hart, who is a low-dimensional life form in the eyes of the spirits, is probably because Lulu considers herself to be Hart’s daughter.

Hart had some misgivings about the extent to which Lulu was willing to teach him, but Mira and Alfrida, who were present, didn’t point out anything in particular.

『Well then, do we make a contract?』

“Of course. Please.”

『Yes, it’s done.』

Lulu clapped her hands together with a pop, and the contract between Hart and the B-class spirit Lulu was easily concluded.

Mira, who was observing her newborn daughter, made a general comment.

『An Anomaly has been born, o it was a success as we had planned. Anomalies are spirits with powers that don’t fit into the molds of attributes. In fact, Chloe, who I gave to Xuě Lì, is also an Anomaly.』

“Tell me that sooner.”

Mira, who was in the form of an adult Naiad, ignored Hart’s sudden remark and put her right hand on Hart’s left shoulder again. And this time, she clutched a purple spirit crystal in her left hand.

『Then I will create a second one.』

“Right, go on.”

The light weariness transmitted from his left shoulder to his entire body conveyed the sensation of his magic powers being drawn out.

Then, from around Mira, a black fog-like mist began to form around her, blocking out the light and dimming the world in the void.

From daylight, beyond dusk, the curtain of night descends.

As the three spirits lit up in three colored glows, a fourth black light appeared in the empty seat, casting a shadow over the light of the three spirits.

When the fourth spirit appeared, the surrounding darkness was rapidly absorbed by her, and daylight returned to the world.

Relieved by the light returning to the world, Hart turned his gaze to Lulu’s newly born sister.

She was about the age of a middle school student, not much older than Lulu.

Her hair and eyes are black. The color of the clothes is brown, an old-fashioned Gothic Lolita with frills, but in terms of attributes, she is black.

“Black is the attribute of creation, right?”

Looking around, Hart casually mouthed the knowledge he had gained in the game, but there was no answer from the spirits.

Mira, who is mature and cool, turned pale and stiffened.

Alfrida, who was elegantly holding a tea party, stood motionless as if time had stopped.

Lulu’s purple eyes were wide open like a cat’s, and she was spinning her right index finger in an endless loop.

It was the fourth black spirit girl who moved in place of the three behaving suspiciously.

『Nice to meet you, Father, I’m Maya.』

“Oh, nice to meet you too, I will be in your care.”

In contrast to the cheerful Lulu, Maya wore a calm atmosphere.

Maya nodded in response to Hart’s request, then lightly extended her hand towards Hart before answering.

『I made a contract. Also, I’m going to say the same thing as my sister.』

“What?”

『As expected of dear father. Where did you learn about the Creation Attribute?』

Maya turned her dark eyes silently as if observing Hart’s insides.