Chapter 31: A Historical Discovery and Its Worth

"Hm? Where’s Irine?"

The next morning, just as the sun rose—

The party’s biggest sleepyhead, Karl, had already realized that Irine was nowhere to be found at the Yuri residence.

"She already left. With Yuri."

"Oh, is that so?"

"Apparently, there’s something she just has to do."

According to what he was told, it seemed something had happened yesterday that left Yuri feeling down. Irine, wanting to cheer her up, had invited her out.

"That’s so typical of Irine…"

"Hard to believe she turned out that pure, considering she grew up in noble society."

"The city where I lived is just… way too rough in comparison."

Being of noble blood herself, Sakura had a faint understanding of Irine’s peculiarity.

Her own city was basically run by gangs—growing up in lawless Raywin made her quick to start fights.

But even in a normal city, it was rare for a noble to grow up with a good personality.

"Nobles have commoners who bend over backwards for them since birth. It’s more unusual not to get full of yourself."

"Yeah, I guess that’s true."

"That girl never acts high and mighty. Maybe her father raised her well?"

Sakura always found that part of her curious. Irine was just too kind to be a noble.

In truth, the house creed of the Wermund family—that ‘guiding and protecting the commoners is a noble’s duty’—likely played a big part in shaping Irine.

But what truly made Irine unique—

"A sound body houses a sound mind. Meaning: it's time for a little exercise, Yuri."

"Hahh… haahh…"

"Come now, just one more set!"

—was her unshakable belief that cultivating strong muscles required a virtuous spirit.

Everything she did was guided by the path of muscle.

"Fuu… Let’s take a short break here, shall we?"

"…This… This isn’t the kind of torment I had prepared myself for at all…"

"My, is something the matter, Yuri?"

Before the sun reached its peak in the sky—

A noble young lady, fresh with a healthy sweat, and an out-of-breath indoor girl were hard at work training in a clearing near the forest’s edge.

"U-um, Irine? What is this little event we’re doing, exactly?"

"You’ll find out soon enough."

"I’d rather not find out after my stamina hits zero, if that’s alright…"

Yuri, face pale, staggered as she greedily gulped down water. She looked like she was hanging by a thread.

Irine, for her part, didn’t even consider this enough to qualify as a "warm-up" yet, but—well, that couldn’t be helped.

Yuri was just a child. There was no way she could keep up with an adult’s training regimen.

"You’ll get heatstroke if you don’t stay hydrated. Please drink plenty, okay?"

"Glug… glug… Hahh… Thanks…"

"Now then, after a bit more rest, we’ll move on to stretching. It’ll help ease your muscle pain."

Realizing Yuri had likely hit her true limit, Irine wisely decided to call off the morning session.

For Irine, this was actually a very reasonable training amount.

"…So. Mind explaining now?"

"You mean today’s objective? I’m afraid you’ll just have to wait a bit longer."

"Wait? For someone to arrive?"

Soaked in sweat, Yuri looked to Irine for answers.

She had no other plans today, sure—but Yuri was a top-tier researcher. There was always something to work on.

Especially now, right on the brink of having one of her core theories disproven by Irine. She needed time to reexamine and revise her hypothesis.

"I didn’t call anyone. But I thought, perhaps, something might come if we waited here."

"…Something? What do you mean?"

"Something you’ve been looking for, Yuri."

If she’d just been roped into another weird bullying scheme, Yuri might’ve understood. But this kind of wholesome training? That had not been part of the deal.

Yuri shot Irine a slightly irritated glare.

"────Ah, I knew it. It’s come."

"What?"

Irine pointed to something. Yuri instinctively turned to look.

"…What? I don’t see anything."

"But I do."

"…………No way!"

Yuri had no idea what was going on.

All she could see was a single large tree.

And yet—

"Won’t you come closer? Let’s play, dear spirit."

"……!"

Irine’s demeanor made it clear: something was definitely there.

Something Yuri had once dismissed as nonexistent—an honest-to-goodness spirit.

"Where? Where is it now?"

"Right now, it’s clinging to the tree. Has a rather mischievous little expression, too."

Yes—this was Irine’s gift to Yuri.

Before anyone else in the city, Yuri now had the right to conduct research on a real spirit.

"I’ll guide you, Yuri. Please, come this way."

"A-ah, right…"

Perhaps it was just the instinct of a researcher.

But the moment she stood before this unknown historical discovery, all of Yuri’s earlier frustration vanished.

"So, uh… where exactly is it? Where on the tree is it?"

"Right in front of your eyes."

How could she perceive it?

How could she record it?

Yuri’s brilliant eyes filled with renewed energy.

Forgetting entirely how drained she was from training, she stared at the tree with fervent focus.

---

"Phew. That was a good workout."

"Yep, training’s always best when you drag someone else into it."

"…Hmm? I sense traces of magical energy. Yet there’s clearly nothing here…"

Yuri muttered to herself as she stared intently at the tree I had pointed to.

I figured if we came near the forest, we might run into a spirit.

If we got lucky, I thought it’d be nice to show Yuri a real one for once… and judging by her reaction, I’d say mission accomplished.

"How strange. Now that you mention it, it does feel like something’s here… But still…"

Yuri’s the type who lives and breathes research. Even if it means calling her own theories into question, it’s only natural she’d want to study an actual spirit if she had the chance.

"Hey, Irine. You were talking to something earlier—did the spirit say anything?"

"Say anything, hmm…"

Now that she mentioned it, I had tried saying "Let’s play" earlier, but unlike the day before yesterday, there was no reply.

Maybe that spirit in Roppo was just unusually talkative?

"Spirit, oh spirit. Do you know any fun games we could play?"

Thinking maybe it didn’t hear me, I tried calling out again.

Would there be a response this time?

…Le’s take a na-aap, take a naaap…

Oh! There was a response!

The spirit grinned mischievously and pointed under the tree, beckoning me to take a nap there.

Huh… Wonder if something happens if you nap in that spot?

"Yuri, Yuri. The spirit says to take a nap under the roots of this tree."

"Hm. …Hm?"

"Though… it’s smiling way too smugly for my liking."

I’m getting a bad feeling about this.

You know, the kind of dumb bad feeling you get right before opening a door with a chalkboard eraser rigged to fall on your head.

"…According to legend, spirits are said to be quite the pranksters."

"Oho. So, it might be a trap then?"

"Can’t say for sure… Maybe I should try a divination spell."

Yuri began muttering an incantation in front of the tree.

The spirit, meanwhile, watched us with amused delight.

"Hmm. Doesn’t look like anything’s going to happen."

"Oh?"

"I see myself sleeping peacefully. What a strange result."

With that, Yuri flopped down right where the spirit had pointed.

Looks like she’s going to test it out for herself.

"This is the right spot, yes?"

"Yes, right around there."

As soon as Yuri lay down, the spirit beamed with joy.

Then it raised both hands and hurled a glowing orb of light into the tree.

"Huh?"

"What is it, Irine?"

Was that orb some form of magic?

The tree suddenly radiated with light—empowered by the spirit’s magic—

"GWAH!?"

"Yuri!?"

—and then, with a wet thud, it dropped several fruits right onto Yuri’s face.

---

"Hmm, a fruit out of season."

"Yuri-san, your face is all sticky... are you okay?"

"That’s not the issue. I saw it—clearly! This fruit ripened at an incredible speed!"

The genius girl had taken a direct hit to the face from the sweet, soft fruit, leaving her entire body soaked in juice. The spirit, pointing and laughing, found the sight thoroughly amusing.

Yet Yuri's expression wasn't gloomy. On the contrary, with a radiant smile, she began to explain to me.

"The spirit matches the descriptions in the literature! They say spirits commune with plants and make their fruits flourish!"

"Um, Yuri-san?"

"I had my doubts, but there’s no mistaking it now. Spirits really do exist, and I’ve just caught proof of them!"

...Wait, what? Yuri’s energy is kind of... intense right now.

I thought she might be a bit shaken by direct evidence of spirits, but she’s practically giddy.

"Uh, wouldn’t the fact that spirits actually exist be, well... kind of a huge shock for you, Yuri-san?"

"Of course it is! It’s a tremendous shock! Absolutely earth-shattering! And that’s what makes this world so fascinating!"

"W-Wait, what?"

From last night to now, Yuri had done a complete 180. Her eyes sparkled with excitement.

If she’s genuinely happy about this, then great, but...

"Irine, I owe you my thanks. This might finally bring my long-standing ambition within reach."

"R-Right. If it made you this happy, then I’m glad I invited you."

"So it’s spirits... That’s what I was missing all along!!"

Ecstatic would be the word for it.

Yuri, with the fruit still perched on her head, began to twirl and skip around with light, joyful steps.

...Did she finally snap from the stress?

"Yuri-san, what exactly has you so happy?"

"You don’t get it, Irine? My new precognition magic, which should always be accurate in theory—every time it failed, a spirit was involved."

"Hmm?"

"Think about it! Until I met you, my predictions were always spot-on. But including just now, there’ve been two cases where I missed—and both times, spirits intervened!"

"That’s..."

Her mood was almost musical—like I could hear her humming a cheerful tune.

But why is she so happy that her predictions were wrong?

"My divination formula never accounted for 'spirit interference'. I always dismissed the existence of spirits as unlikely!"

"I-I see..."

"But now that I’ve confirmed spirits exist, I realize the truth. My prediction magic only fails when a spirit gets involved!"

With a clap of her hands, Yuri laughed.

She was right. Now that I thought about it, both when she saved Rita and when that fruit hit her face—her predictions had been off only in those cases.

Whenever spirits interfered, Yuri’s foresight faltered.

"This is—this is an incredible discovery! Who cares if my original theory was flawed?!"

"W-Well... that’s wonderful, Yuri. So you’ve found a way to improve your prediction magic?"

"More than an improvement—it’s a breakthrough! Think about it, Irine. Spirits are beings that lend humans their power in exchange for magic!"

"R-Right."

"Then by negotiating with spirits, it should be possible to guide events toward the outcome you want, even after a bad prediction. This isn’t just some run-of-the-mill fortune-telling. I’ve just uncovered the fundamental theory behind manipulating the future!"

...

Only spirits can change a foretold future.

So if you enlist a spirit to do just that—you can alter fate itself.

...Which means this is, essentially, magic that manipulates destiny.

"...Wait. Is it really okay for a magic like that—one that defies even the gods—to exist?"

"But the theory is solid in my mind now. I’ve discovered a method to avoid tragic outcomes. Ah, what a day this has been!"

The white-haired girl, Yuri, danced in the sunlight.

This was the genius girl Yuri—someone who could take her own failures and not just correct them, but evolve beyond them.

"Thank you, Irine. I’m so glad I came here today!"

"It turned out a bit differently than I expected, but... if it brought you joy, then I’m glad, Yuri."

"Yes!"

Still only around the age of someone’s little sister, Yuri had just devised the foundational theory for one of the most fearsome magics in history.

She’s still young. But with her lifetime ahead of her, Yuri may very well master the art of manipulating destiny.

"I’m no longer just an 'observer of the age'! I’ll call myself 'the one who harmonizes history'!"

...Maybe I’ve created something truly terrifying.

Watching Yuri laugh maniacally, still drenched in fruit juice and lost in euphoric bliss, I felt sweat bead on my forehead.

---

"…Hm? Someone’s making a fuss at the forest entrance."

While I was calming down the overly excited Yuri, a familiar voice reached our ears from somewhere nearby.

"A noblewoman and a child, it seems. Are they sisters?"

"…Ah, that girl. Isn’t she the fortune teller I told you about before?"

"Oh, you’re right!"

Apparently, the group that just spoke recognized the genius girl who was now laughing with delight.

Meeting acquaintances while Yuri was in this kind of mood would definitely be embarrassing for her.

As I wiped Yuri’s face with a cloth to help her settle down, I turned toward the direction of the voices—

"…Hey there, Lady Yuri. What’s all the commotion about?"

"Ah."

I saw… a monster.

"Ew, that’s disgusting! Seriously!?"

I couldn’t help but shout.

And who could blame me? A mass of spirits was approaching us, clustered together like some cursed image from a horror site.

"Eh, disgusting…?"

"Ah, n-no, I didn’t mean it like that…"

But upon closer inspection, the mass of spirits turned out to be a familiar girl.

She was completely covered in red spirits, clinging to her from head to toe.

It was so dense, I couldn’t even see her face—spirits smothered her entire head.

This wasn’t just being popular with spirits. It was like she’d sprayed herself with some kind of spirit aphrodisiac. The affection level was ridiculous.

"I-I’m so sorry, that was terribly rude of me… It just slipped out!"

"S-So… I’m the kind of person who gets called 'disgusting' at first glance…?"

"N-no, wait, that’s not what I meant—!"

The girl began to tremble.

This was bad. I’d said something seriously offensive. I needed to apologize—fast.

"C-Calm down, Al. She was probably just startled. You’re not disgusting at all."

"Y-Yeah, that’s right, Leader. That lady must’ve just mistaken you for something else."

"Yes, I must’ve seen something strange for a moment! I truly apologize!"

"R-Really…?"

Her companions quickly jumped in to cover for her.

Good. I didn’t quite understand what just happened, but it seemed to be calming down. With this, we could hopefully—

"That’s right! Leader’s all-red outfit looks like a blood-drenched ghost in the dark! That must be why she seemed creepy!"

"Uwaaahhh!!"

"A-Al!!?"

From behind the mass of spirits, a rabbit-masked figure popped out and said something totally unnecessary, causing the girl to burst into tears.

Hrm. If that guy’s here, then…

"You’re Al-something, right? The self-proclaimed Hero and top-class magician…"

"Ah, so this is Miss Aldebaran?"

With so many spirits crowding around her, I hadn’t gotten a good look at her face, but so this girl was Aldebaran.

She was the fashion-disaster I’d given a style intervention to while wearing my monkey mask not long ago.

"—Wait, ugh! Sis…"

"Is something the matter?"

"N-Nope! Not a thing!"

Aldebaran started crying, the rabbit-masked weirdo made strange noises, and the plaza at the forest entrance was suddenly swallowed by chaos.

"I’m not some blood-drenched ghost… I’m supposed to be fire-themed…"

"It’s okay, Al, you’re cute!"