“Then how on earth did my little sister become a spirit? Or rather, did the spirit become my little sister? What the hell happened?”
Shirud was confused.
To think that Pyris, whom he had only considered the little sister of Luke, was actually a spirit.
Wasn’t it a situation where he couldn’t help but ponder the family relationship of Luke, whom he had never doubted even slightly?
Saying that “Luke can do anything” feels like a rather significant revelation to brush aside.
“Are you perhaps a spirit too?”
So Shirud thought.
“Is it possible that Luke is also a spirit?”
It wasn’t such a strange notion.
After all, there had probably never been a child as mysterious as Luke, and there likely wouldn’t be in the future either.
If it turned out that he was actually a spirit and not a human? That would add an unexpected degree of persuasiveness.
In response to Shirud’s confusing question, Luke just smiled.
It was indeed quite a plausible hypothesis, but it was not the truth.
“Hahaha. The only spirit here is Pyris. Unlike her, I am bound to the Material Plane.”
“Then tell me, why is my little sister a spirit?”
“That is…”
In response to Shirud’s confused question, Luke merely smiled.
It was undoubtedly a very clear fact that Pyris was his little sister.
It wasn’t simply because they had registered as a family administratively.
Reflecting on the relationship between a spirit and a goddess, and his relationship with the goddess, it was clear that Pyris certainly matched the designation of being his ‘sister.’
The similarities in ‘spirit language’ and ‘goddess language,’ along with the resemblance in the traits of spirits and gods, could provide enough insight into this reality.
However, there was a bit of controversy regarding whether Pyris was actually a ‘younger sister’ or an ‘older sister.’
Applying human rules to a conceptual being like a god required an incredibly delicate approach.
It was because ordinary mortal terminology couldn’t perfectly explain transcendent concepts like spirits and goddesses.
However, he didn’t want to talk about that right now.
He simply wished to convey that spirits truly exist in reality and are not terrifying or incomprehensible beings. He revealed that Pyris was his little sister and a spirit without wanting to discuss the intricacies of their relationships and origins.
And that wasn’t a story that ‘he could reveal’ either.
As the ‘vessel that sealed the goddess,’ he couldn’t disclose such information.
Luke feared the ‘truth’ that would appear when the goddess opened her eyes and the resulting ‘end of will.’
This was something he himself never wished to happen.
‘Faith is especially dangerous for children…’
Children easily fall into ‘blind faith.’
And it doesn’t take long for blind faith to turn into fanaticism.
So, Luke responded nonchalantly.
“Just, something happened a long time ago.”
“Oh? What happened?”
Shirud adjusted his posture and asked.
It sounded like it would be a very interesting story.
However, Luke simply chuckled and shrugged.
“Hehe, that’s a secret. Think for yourself.”
Shirud, who was full of expectations, felt disappointed by Luke’s answer and shot back.
“…What is that? Oh, can a person become a spirit through magic?”
“Well… who knows.”
Thinking about it, it didn’t seem entirely impossible.
Because theoretically, there’s nothing impossible in magic.
But the problem is that he didn’t know how to do it either.
‘It’s not something I particularly want to research…’
A mage who values their own will above all else wouldn’t want to become an emotional spirit swept up in feelings, and in the first place, the existence of humans from the Material Plane and the spirits, who are merely ‘overlapping’ beings, differ in their very composition, making transformation extremely complicated.
It’s likely that proper efficiency wouldn’t be achieved either.
However, even so, isn’t there someone somewhere in this world researching such a method?
The world is vast, and human thoughts are even more numerous.
So Luke simply smiled.
He thought Shirud’s question was a typical child’s quirky imagination.
“What’s wrong? If there is a method, do you want to become a spirit too?”
He had no idea how that smile appeared to Shirud.
Shirud was shocked.
The fact that there was a ‘method’ according to Luke, based on what Shirud had been through so far, meant that it was already saying it was ‘possible.’
“Oh my god, Luke turned his own little sister into a spirit…!”
Moreover, it seemed he didn’t stop there, and now he was considering turning himself into a spirit too.
“Huh? Why are you so surprised?”
“Luke, you crazy mage!”
“…?”
Fortunately, the misunderstanding that Luke was a mad mage was quickly resolved as he clarified, saying, “I don’t know how to turn people into spirits.”
Or maybe it was a misunderstanding that hadn’t been resolved…
——–
“Spirits place great importance on the exchange of emotions. They quickly perceive not only sadness and joy but also anger and pleasure. Therefore, their language reflects these traits, allowing emotions to be easily conveyed and quickly communicated. That’s why spirit language is also very delicate.”
“I see…”
At that moment, as the two girls began discussing spirits, Shirud simply decided to give up.
In any case, there was no way to stop Luke now that his switch had flipped, and Shirud didn’t care about the magic class anymore.
The topic of spirits was, on one hand, a highly interesting subject for Shirud.
After all, most people likely knew that at the age of 11, gifts were typically given to spirits during Spirit Day by their parents.
Among children of his age, there probably weren’t many who truly believed in the existence of spirits.
But to think that spirits actually exist and aren’t just a fantasy created by adults?
How captivating is that?
Moreover, with Spirit Day approaching, it felt like he was inching closer to regaining his lost childhood wonder.
Furthermore, the fact that she was ‘Luke’s little sister’ was an even more surprising fact.
However, he felt a slight disappointment in that he couldn’t see the spirit form and that the spirit didn’t particularly like him.
From Shirud’s perspective, Pyris just looked like Luke’s gluttonous little sister.
Before all the snacks could be taken away by Pyris, Shirud quickly grabbed one more and put it in his mouth.
-Crunch.
“Yum, this is quite tasty.”
The tea was good, and the snacks were enjoyable as well.
Indeed, it seemed that Luke had a talent for baking.
Not to mention his mastery of magic, sports, studies, music, and art, he surpassed the top of his class.
Even in baking and botany, his knowledge overflowed, and his learning ability was excellent, allowing him to receive praise even for things he learned for the first time.
This fact could be understood when thinking of the case where someone who struggled with registration could grow to the point of being called a ‘cheat’ in a game.
In reality, finding a field where Luke didn’t have talent was challenging.
“So, spirit mages also possess a high level of empathy, and they tend to cry quite often. Helena, how about you? Do you cry a lot?”
“I’m not a crybaby!”
Helena shouted back to Luke’s question, but internally she thought, ‘Why does he know me so well?’
She had just cried after coming home from school for getting one question wrong on the last test.
However, the other characteristics Luke mentioned regarding spirit mages almost perfectly matched Helena’s personality.
She even wondered if he had secretly installed a watching crystal in the room.
‘Is this some kind of psychological test? It’s like he’s reading my mind…’
For a while, Luke talked to Helena about spirits.
What traits spirits have, what environments they prefer, and what kind of people they like.
And what abilities a spirit mage possesses and how to utilize those abilities.
Luke said, “The essence of spirit language is ‘sound.’ Helena, are you good at handling musical instruments? What instruments have you learned?”
“A bit of violin and piano. Why?”
“Oh, both are wonderful instruments. Those two are especially types that spirits enjoy.”
“Really?”
-Yes!
Helena’s eyes sparkled with interest.
Realizing the expectation slightly seeping through Helena’s voice, Luke smiled softly and asked, “Then, are you good at performing?”
“Well… I’m just better than other kids.”
“Then what if you entered the Tosk Competition? How do you think you’d place?”
“Is that even possible?”
Luke nodded.
To perform well on an instrument requires basic musical talent, as well as an additional talent for handling the instrument as a tool.
However, it seemed that Helena didn’t particularly possess immense talent in playing instruments themselves.
“Is that so? What a shame.”
“What a shame about what!”
Helena blurted out in bewilderment.
Thinking about it, Luke was also said to handle instruments excellently and was planning to enter the Tosk Competition soon.
It was likely that she wouldn’t seem that impressive to someone like him.
Of course, Luke wasn’t particularly thinking that way and was simply feeling genuinely disappointed.
Well, not every spirit mage could handle every instrument perfectly, and there were cases where, despite having the qualities of a spirit mage, they could only compose music while borrowing someone else’s hands to play, so Helena’s case wasn’t entirely unique.
She undoubtedly had talent, but it might be too early for her to stand out in ‘instrument performance.’
And Helena was just an 11-year-old little elf.
“I see, a lack of proficiency with instruments.”
Then what would be the best way for Helena to learn spirit language?
Luke’s contemplation was brief.
“Then, Helena. How about singing?”
““Singing?””
