Just as I think she has already figured out our identity, the Priestess smiles stupidly and then rubs the back of her head. The female Knight beside her turns around at that moment, sees us, and then smacks her in the head. The female Knight bows politely, forcing the Priestess to do the same. We are quite bewildered by the scene but still wave our hands out of courtesy. 𝔬𝒱𝑙xt.𝑐𝔬𝓜

We resume walking and then blend in with the people. I can still feel the scourging look trailing for me. Surprisingly, it doesn’t come from the Knight. Valeria and I turn to each other. We silently agree that those two are part of the people sent by the Empire. For the time being, we will watch them and see what they are doing.

We erase our presence, conceal ourselves, and then go back to the shop that sells the savory roasted chicken. We watch the Priestess and the female Knight from the building adjacent to the shop and listen to each word coming out of their mouth.

“You can’t stare at people like that here!”

“Eh… he’s handsome, though.”

“And he has a partner already!”

“You are so boring, Andrea. Infidelity is a common occurring act. Besides, I don’t mind sharing.”

The female Knight who is called Andrea sighs in the ‘I’m not paid enough to deal with this shit’ manner. She smacks the head of the Priestess again before telling her that she needs to mind her image as a Priestess. The interaction between the two is amusing but not informative. I am about to suggest we should leave them alone when the Priestess says something vital.

“This roasted chicken is so tender and savory. Ah, the juice bathes my mouth with tastes I will never get bored of.”

I need to buy that roasted chicken. I will scourge all of the roasted chicken stocks when our impromptu espionage is over. That gets me thinking. I asked Valeria to go on a date with me. This is not a date. I turn to Valeria with a guilty look and she merely smiles at me. She is indeed a very understanding girlfriend. I’m glad that got over my resentment against her.

‘Layland, it’s very faint, but I can sense Spirits from that girl.’

Luxia’s statement causes me to turn my gaze back to the airheaded Priestess. Luxia senses more than one Spirit from that girl. There is a high chance that the reason why she was staring at me a few moments ago was that she could feel Luxia. She must be quite a competent Spirit Master if she can do that.

However, it is weird. I have never heard of a Priest becoming a Spirit Master. They are an obnoxious bunch. They think their Holy Energy is the strongest force in the world, so they refuse to use any other form of power. No one forbids them, but it is highly unlikely that a Priest will use the help of a Spirit who uses a power that is—in their words—inferior to Holy Energy.

‘Do you have an inkling of what she is doing here, Luxia?’

‘I am not sure, but I guess it has something to do with whatever is buried in this place.’

‘Are you sensing a Divine Artifact?’

‘It is highly likely a dormant Spirit.’

That is not entirely surprising. Guatencia has cold but moist air. Normally, the temperature would be enough to make the water freeze, but it doesn’t happen here. Spirits are the only creatures capable of making such a contradicting natural phenomenon for an extended period. But it could also be a Mana Vein because Luxia is not so sure about it.

“There is a Spiritual Heart buried in this place. A Spirit is about to be reborn,” Valeria remarks, causing me to turn to her in surprise.

“You can tell?” I inquire in intrigue.

“I couldn’t until Luxia talked about it. I had checked for a Mana Vein in the past and this place doesn’t have it.”

“You can hear Luxia,” I state.

Valeria looks slightly hesitant before nodding her head. That makes me curious, but I don’t press her to explain herself. She will tell me when she thinks it is the time. A few moments later, the Priestess and the Knight duo move. They head to the north, the less crowded part of the city. We follow stealthily behind them.

At the end of the road, there is a hill that is bereft of buildings. The duo climbs the hill and leads us to the hot spring behind it. I wonder if this is where the Spiritual Heart is buried, so I ask Luxia about it. She doesn’t give me a certain answer. I turn to Valeria and she says that it might be the case. In the end, we watch as they approach the hot spring.

“Uwah… I don’t mind building a house here. Enjoying the hot spring while gazing at this beautiful scenery every day is a simple life that I am fine with,” the Priestess exclaims.

“I am sure you will get bored of it after a week, Sofia.”

“I am quite a simple woman, you know.”

The female Knight, Andrea, sighs at the smug look of the lavender-haired Priestess who is named Sofia. Getting over their argument, the two begin to undress. They don’t even bother to cast a Concealing Spell, highly likely, believing no one will come there. I feel bamboozled. I have just wasted my time following after two inexperienced brats.

When the two are about to remove the pieces of clothing that cover the parts that women don’t reveal easily, I turn to Valeria and tell her it is time to go. Much to my surprise, she tells me to wait. I didn’t know she had a voyeuristic tendency, but I won’t judge. Her upper lip twitches, telling me that she knows what I am thinking.

“That girl is doing something interesting.”

The ‘something interesting’ that Valeria refers to is skinny-dipping. We do that all the time, so I don’t get what is interesting about it. It makes me seriously consider the possibility of her having a voyeuristic tendency. Valeria pinches me on the side of my stomach this time. I stop playing around as I don’t want to get her cold shoulder.

Paying close attention to the skinny-dipping duo, I see what Valeria refers to as ‘something interesting.’ Sofia is closing her eyes, emitting Mana that lights up the pond in blue. Andrea has her hands on Sofia’s back, likely channeling Mana into her. A Mana Pulse sweeps the area, causing my heart to beat loudly once.

“They are trying to awaken the Spirit,” I remark.

“And I don’t think it is a good choice,” Luxia says with a frown, already materializing herself. “The Spiritual Heart is not corrupted, but I am afraid the Spirit it bears won’t be happy to meet a Spirit Master.”

“How so?”

“A Spirit Master sealed it here,” Valeria answers in Luxia’s stead.

“It is highly likely that you know the Spirit Master, Layland,” Luxia says, looking at me awkwardly.

In my whole life, I only know one Spirit Master and that is Spartus Haevali. He had a rough appearance, but he was a good man. He had a lot of Contracts with a lot of Spirits, so it is safe to say he is loved by Spirits. It can only be one reason why such a man sealed a Spirit. I am not Spartus’ successor, but I have a feeling that this Spirit will resent me.

Rumble!

The ground shakes as another Mana Pulse sweeps the area. My Spiritual Heart which I got from Ignio beats faster as if provoked. Blue veins come out of the pond, covering the ground nearby. The veins pulse and the Mana Pressure increases in each pulse. At the same time, my body warms up and red veins run through my body.

“Your Spiritual Heart is reacting to the sealed Spiritual Heart. It is related to the Spiritual Heart,” Valeria comments as she takes in my appearance.

“Is it another Fire Spirit?” I ask with a frown, recalling the chaos Ignio brought to where he was bound to.

“It is highly likely a Water Spirit.”

“They can’t be related.”

“Spirits can share a Spiritual Link. In a way, that makes them related.”

I sigh at the information. It means that Ignio and this Spirit both served Spartus in the past. I just don’t get the reason why Spartus kept his Contract with it if he found it troublesome enough to seal. Regardless of the reason, I am sure the moment it comes out, it will go for me.

Boom!

“Holy shit, Andrea! This Spirit is not kind!”

“What did you do this time, Sofia? What did you do!?”

The anticipated moment comes not long after. A Mana blast originating from the pond unceremoniously throws Sofia and Andrea out of the pond. The two land on the ground harmlessly, but Andrea is not happy. She smacks the sheepish Sofia on the head before quickly picking up their clothes to put them on.

“Andrea, my panties are missing!”

“Cut it, Sofia! It’s not like anyone will look under your robe.”

“Hey, I am sexy, you know!”

Andrea seems very tempted to smack Sofia again but holds herself in favor of distancing themselves from the appendages made of water coming out of the pond. The appendages grow a body similar to a jellyfish. Natural Energy overwhelms the surroundings before a huge amount of water comes out of the jellyfish, flooding the ground.

The water is quickly heading to the city. It is enough to drown the city, thus ruining our vacation.? I click my tongue in exasperation before using Earth Magic to create a massive gate to block the water. The action announces my presence to the idiotic duo, but I don’t care. Chaos seems to follow me everywhere.