BSS 55

Chapter 55

[I cannot… acknowledge you as my master.]

“W‑what? Why? That’s never happened before!”

Maybe it was arrogance born from never having been rejected before, but I naturally assumed the ice spirit would accept a contract with me.

But I guess that was foolish.

[You are… a pitiful, lacking… human.]

—Crackle…

I barely had any mana left to begin with, and it ran dry almost instantly.

As my mana faded, the ice spirit’s voice grew weaker. I grew desperate, but there was no way to hold onto something that was fading away.

“Hey! Wait! I’m only like this because I’m low on mana right now—normally I’m better!”

[…I refuse.]

“What’s the problem then? Say it!”

[Everything about you is… insignificant…]

“Wait!”

No way.

“This can’t be happening! It really left.”

The spirit I had finally managed to summon rejected me, insulted me, and disappeared without leaving a single trace.

As if I had hallucinated the whole thing.

I stared blankly at the spot where the pillar of ice had stood.

“What the… unbelievable!”

[Master, forget about that arrogant thing. You have me, don’t you!]

“How could it do that? It rejected me!”

**[Well, Master already has Undine and that Ador fellow.
From the ice spirit’s perspective, that’s an extreme overload.
You don’t have the strength to comfortably maintain even more spirits.

Honestly, taking in Ador should’ve been impossible too… but that guy just stuck himself onto you.]**

“…It said I was pathetic.”

Rai was saying something comforting, but none of it reached my ears.

The ice spirit’s cold words kept echoing inside my head, making me feel humiliated and ashamed.

It struck me with the cold reality of how arrogant and overconfident I had been.

“It even called me insignificant.”

I clenched my teeth. I couldn’t accept this.

I was so furious I even teared up a little.

Apparently, my pride was dirtier and stronger than I thought.

[Master… are you crying?]

“Just wait, you brat!”

[You sound like a villain. You should stop saying things like that…]

“Aaargh! I’ll definitely make a contract with you and work you like a dog!”

[See? Villain.]

I was trembling with rage, and Rai was shaking his head.

In the middle of the room, that same blue spirit stone continued to glow arrogantly and unapologetically.

“You’ll pay for rejecting me! Just wait!”

*******

All trials in life are like this, I guess—unwanted.

The world was spinning so much I couldn’t even stand straight.

“Hnnnyaaa…”

“What—what’s wrong with her?”

“Uaaagh…”

I tried to speak properly, but my mouth only made weird noises, and my body couldn’t find its balance.

It wasn’t like I wanted to look stupid.

It was all the damned warp’s fault.

I couldn’t avoid using it, yet every time I did, I suffered from terrible motion sickness.

“Are you okay? Jeannie? You look worse than you did during the Lemally trip.”

As expected of an alchemist, Iruje’s observation was spot on.

I was far dizzier, more nauseated, and closer to death than when we warped from Valen to Lemally.

Warp‑sickness definitely scaled with distance.

My head was so heavy I couldn’t hold it up anymore, and I had to lean on Iruje.

Even standing still, the ground surged upward and the sky tilted like it wanted to swallow me.

“Sir Irito! Jeannie is about to die!”

“Heavens, don’t say such things, Iruje!”

“But her eyes are literally spinning!”

Before traveling to Elan using warp, I had taken motion‑sickness medicine, but it did nothing.

Maybe because the sickness wasn’t caused by a physical stimulus.

Apparently, people who suffered warp sickness were extremely rare… so why did I have to be one of them?

It wasn’t fair, but since it was basically innate, there was nothing I could do to fix it.

Unless I was reborn, warp sickness would be stuck to me for life.

For the rest of my life!

“At this rate, warping will be impossible. Miss Ji? Get on my back.”

“Thanku vellry mush.”

My mind was fine, but my body refused to cooperate. Pure torture.

Sir Irito now treated me like a regular patient—he was used to it.

Normally I would refuse, but I wasn’t in any condition to refuse anything.

I slumped over his back like a limp rag.

[Master, breathe! Breathe!!]

[Ugh, if I ever ride a warp again, I’m not human—]

[Huh? If you’re not human, then what?]

[…I have to take it again on the way back, so let’s postpone that vow!]

Despite my horrible condition, we had finally reached our final destination—Elan.

*******

Late evening.

The moment I dipped into warm water, I finally felt alive again.

“Haah… nothing beats a bath for fatigue.”

In this world, soaking in a bathtub was considered a luxury reserved for nobles. Simply being someone who enjoyed baths meant you were rather aristocratic.

Most commoners bathed maybe once a month, and even then it usually meant wiping with a wet cloth or washing their face.

Baths were done in lakes or rivers—not in tubs.

Bathtubs weren’t necessities—they were luxury goods.

People also refrained from washing often because clean water was hard to acquire.

“Undine, can you fill it some more?”

[Yes, Master.]

But I remembered a world where daily baths were normal, and luckily, I was now a water spirit mage.

Water was something I could use freely, almost like digging it out of the ground.

I created thick foam on my head, piled it high, and sank deeper into the water. A very unladylike groan escaped me.

“Uuugh… I’m finally recovering.”

Playing around with Undine in the bath was one of my greatest joys.

[Master! Master.]

“Hm?”

As I watched Undine create bubbles in the water, Rai crawled up the edge of the tub, eyes sparkling and tongue flicking.

[There were a ton of humans outside. Did you see?]

“Well, this is the Imperial Capital. And it’s festival season—of course it’s crowded.”

[Everyone looked excited.]

“Really?”

[Perhaps you should go out too, Master. It might help you feel better…]

“Feel better, my foot! Everything I’ve suffered is because of this stupid festival!”

The pleasant mood from the bath evaporated instantly.

I splashed the water in anger.

SPLASH!

“Everything happened because of this festival!
Almost getting killed by the swarm of bees!
Almost getting killed while being chased by orcs!
None of that would’ve happened if I’d stayed in the Academy!”

[Uh… weren’t you the one who said you hated the Academy—]

“What kind of world is this?! How is life outside so ridiculously dangerous?!
I’ve been out barely two weeks and almost died twice!”

[Well, Master does seem to attract mishaps.]

“What?!”

[If there were a spirit of accidents, it would definitely want to contract with you.]

This damn snake—what can’t he say lately?!

My temper flared. I grabbed his neck and shook him furiously, grinding my teeth, but Rai was not the type to fear such things.

The only things he feared were toilets and Iruje.

[Aaahhh, Master, your personality has gotten even nastier lately!]

I eventually grew tired and shoved him underwater, but Rai remained completely unaffected.

Water torture didn’t work on him because he wasn’t a real living snake.

Submerged in the water, the white snake’s crimson eyes glowed calmly.