TOYLCG 18 🍒

Chapter — 18 

Rosbell had a habit of always thinking about the possibility of failure before starting anything.

“You won’t look down on me just because I didn’t tell you first, right? And you won’t get angry either. Okay?”

“What are you talking about? It’ll work, so just try it!”

“And if it doesn’t work, then what…?”

“Don’t be scared first. Just try. You can do it. I’ll watch from the side. If it doesn’t work, you can just train harder.”

At Aren’s unexpected words of comfort, Rosbell felt her chest tighten.

If it fails, I can just try again.

It was such a small, simple sentence. It meant she didn’t have to be perfect.

She thought about her memories from her previous life. Back then, she hadn’t acted according to careful plans either. Instead of worrying about failure, she had focused on surviving. If she could do it then, it made no sense that she couldn’t do it now.

“That’s right! If it doesn’t work, I’ll just try again! Phew! Let’s do this!”

—Oh! Rose, you’ve improved a lot?

“What the—? If you were listening, you should’ve shown up sooner!”

—It was interesting to listen~ Anyway, you raised your level a lot in a short time, didn’t you?

“After sleeping for three days, I thought this wasn’t right… and we need to catch that spy.”

—True enough. But wouldn’t it be faster for you to contract with a Sylph instead?

“Am I really that hopeless?”

—I can’t see even a speck of possibility, that’s why.

The gnome, who appeared after a long time, seemed a bit bigger than before. It was a good thing she had listened to Aren and tried practicing.

“You look like you’ve gotten kind of… creepily big?”

—Creepy?! You should say chubby and cute!

“Stop joking around. Do you know where Ifrit is?”

She finally brought up the real reason she had summoned him. The gnome, who had been spinning in the air, grinned.

Even though he was basically a lump of mud, the moss hat on his head somehow made him look cute.

“Ah… it’s because of that moss. The gnome looks cute.”

“Huh?”

“You can’t see it?”

“No.”

Aren thought, as he watched Rosbell muttering to herself, that no matter how many times he saw it, he’d never get used to this.

Ignoring that, Rosbell drew a picture to explain the gnome’s appearance to Aren.

“He looks like this.”

“Oh… kind of cute, actually?”

“That’s the problem…! He’s just a lump of mud, but he has zero consideration for his contractor!”

—Hey! I’m not that ugly!

When the gnome shouted angrily, Rosbell didn’t hold back and punched him. With a dull thud, the gnome flew far away, making her panic.

But it was intentional. He came back just as fast as he had flown away.

“Were you bored because I didn’t play with you?”

—…No?

“Yes, you were.”

When Rosbell said it firmly, the gnome flinched.

Of course, he had been bored. But he had also been watching her train steadily and take care of the vegetable garden and orchard.

A contractor who didn’t neglect anything was admirable. He also knew she often looked toward the mountain where forest fires had once broken out.

Rosbell cared about Ifrit more than she realized.

—If Ifrit hasn’t even appeared, why are you looking for him? Do you want to make a contract?

“No, it’s just… being alone is lonely.”

The gnome was left speechless by the unexpected answer.

Lonely.

It was an unfamiliar word to spirits. Rather than loneliness, they simply lacked a sense of time.

They only felt the passage of years by watching the seasons change and humans grow older.

—Lonely… That’s an emotion we don’t really understand.

“Then aren’t you looking for other spirits because you’re lonely too?”

—I’m not sure about that.

The gnome answered honestly. It wasn’t because he was lonely. He thought it would be better for all four of them to gather in order to protect Rosbell.

And the human who had appeared last time had felt dangerous. If they lost their contractor again, who knew how long they would have to wait for the next one?

A contractor who could protect nature—no, more precisely, this land that was the source of the spirits’ power—was precious to them.

“Should we go to the mountain? If I approach first, it might be easier for him to show himself.”

Rosbell’s words made sense. Ifrit had a terrible temper, but if the contractor approached first, he might appear.

Ifrit, too, had been waiting for a contractor for a long time. With only his own strength, it was becoming difficult to protect this place. The spirits’ power had weakened too much.

“Rosbell, you’re going to the mountain? I think we should tell the Duke first…”

“Let’s just tell him and go.”

“…What?”

Saying they would “just tell him” meant it would be a notice, not a request. After what happened before, it was obvious the Duke wouldn’t allow her to go to the mountain.

If possible, it would be best if he wasn’t there. If not, she planned to simply inform him and leave.

It was extremely rude, but she thought it was more important to bring Ifrit back quickly—before the Crown Prince appeared.

Fortunately, when they arrived at the office, the Duke wasn’t there. Rosbell quickly left a note, grabbed Aren, and headed for the mountain.

The burned marks scattered everywhere made the scenery painfully bitter. She walked to the place where she had seen that man before.

“Is it here?”

“Yes. The gnome said there was the smell of rotting corpses. That means…”

“He might not have been just a spy, but an assassin.”

“For what?”

The word was far more chilling than she had expected, and goosebumps ran over her skin.

Aren calmly examined the spot where the man had collapsed.

“Rosbell, I’ll check this side. You focus.”

“Huh? O-okay…”

As Aren strode toward where the man had fled, Rosbell took a deep breath in and out.

“Gnome.”

—Yeah?

“If I call his name, will he appear?”

—Usually, yes. Aren’s far enough away, so try calling him.

Rosbell took another deep breath to calm her racing heart. She closed her eyes and tried to feel the air around her.

At that moment, the temperature around her rose sharply. More precisely, the moisture evaporated, and everything became dry in an instant.

Her heartbeat sped up, and sweat formed on her palms—but it evaporated almost immediately.

When she slowly inhaled, it felt as if sparks spread deep into her lungs. Her entire body felt like it was burning.

“…Ifrit?”

As Rosbell turned her head with her eyes still closed, the gnome jumped around in excitement, as if celebrating success.

—Contractor… I’m sorry. I was going to chase you away.

“Are you Ifrit?”

—Yes. But I thought you’d come looking for me before the gnome.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know you were this close. It’s because I’m not strong enough. I’ll try harder from now on.”

When Rosbell slowly opened her eyes, a small lizard was standing there, hugging its tail nervously.

—I didn’t mean to cause such a big fire. I thought you’d run away if a fire broke out…

“I understand. Do you want to make a contract with me?”

—I’ve been waiting for a long time. And thank you so much for coming to find me.

Rosbell held out both hands. The slightly uneasy Ifrit hopped down into her palms.

It felt completely different from the scorching heat earlier. A gentle warmth spread through her body, and at the same time, she felt something rapidly draining away.

“Ah… this is going to cause another scene…”

—As if it’s something new. Train hard! Next time, we’ll come together!

—Gnome, shut up! Rose! I’ll definitely see you again soon! Definitely!

Rosbell murmured as she closed her eyes.

“I’ll… try… my best…”

She collapsed to the ground, but her expression was perfectly peaceful. From far away, Aren came running—and froze in shock.

Aren kept thinking the same thing over and over.

I shouldn’t have left Rosbell alone.

Her steady breathing against the back of his neck told him she was fine.

But he didn’t know how long she would sleep this time. The golden sphere floating around Rosbell had become almost transparent.

“Is Rosbell’s mana… visible?”

Aren couldn’t understand why he could see the shape of her mana. Still, he felt that this would help him protect her.

The distance wasn’t far, but worried she might fall, he hurried carefully back to the mansion. There, they ran into the Duke.

It was definitely one of those days where nothing went right.

“Aren!”

“She’s asleep.”

“Asleep?”

“Yes. It seems she made a contract with a spirit. And what I’m seeing may be related to the amount of the young lady’s mana.”

The Duke had intended to scold them, but when he saw Aren’s expression, he couldn’t say a word.

There was frustration and guilt on his face—emotions the Duke knew all too well.

The helplessness of failing to protect someone precious couldn’t be expressed in any words.

“Rosbell carried everything on her own again.”

“Yes…”

“Watch over her well from now on.”

“…Pardon?”

Aren was completely stunned by the Duke’s words. He had already failed to protect her twice.

Yet the Duke wasn’t driving him away—he was asking him to stay and watch over her.

“Why do you keep me here?”

“Why would I drive away someone who treasures my daughter?”

At the Duke’s calm words, Aren’s eyes burned with emotion. Just then, her breathing against his neck grew a little rougher.

“You brat! You keep thinking about running off and leaving your master behind!”

Thud!

The girl who he thought would be unconscious for days suddenly sprang up and punched the top of Aren’s head.