Celestial Spirit Magic

This world had all eighty-eight constellations, exactly like Earth. Aibo had been rather surprised by this at first, but then he thought, even things like transmigration existed, so he did not look into it too deeply.

The eighty-eight constellations naturally corresponded to eighty-eight Celestial Spirits. Among them, the twelve zodiac signs had twelve unique Gold Keys. In addition, there were seventy-six types of Silver Keys that existed in multiples. These keys connected to Celestial Spirits residing in the Celestial Spirit World, forming the system of Celestial Spirit Magic.

The zodiac keys were relatively rare due to their uniqueness, but the Silver Keys of the other seventy-six signs varied greatly in the abilities of their Celestial Spirits and were not particularly valuable. Sometimes, they could even be bought at magic shops.

Aibo planned to try his luck at the shops in town, so he accompanied Cana on a shopping trip for the first time in a while.

Speaking of Magnolia, it was considered one of the more famous cities in the Fiore Kingdom. It was famous because Fairy Tail was there.

But Fairy Tail was both its making and its ruin. The people willing to stay in this city were basically those with the nerves to put up with the guild's antics. Naturally, everyone who could not stand it had moved away.

Although the city had a long history, only a little over sixty thousand people had settled here permanently after all these years. To Aibo, that was pitifully few.

He actually wanted to develop Magnolia. If the city prospered, the guild would benefit as well. But for the time being, he lacked the ability, and he had not figured out how to go about it.

Still, he had plenty of time to think it over.

"Aibo, Aibo, shall big sis buy you some new clothes? You've grown quite a bit taller this past year."

"Huh? Whatever. I don't really care about that..."

"Hehe, then let me pick them out for you~ Leave it all to big sis!"

"Okay. Thanks, Sis Cana."

Aibo actually had rather low material desires. He cared more about spiritual fulfillment, and he tended to be lazy about things he did not care much for.

As long as the food was edible, that was enough. As long as his clothes could be worn, that was enough. He knew he could put points into cooking skills, but he was too lazy to cook. Most of his clothes had been bought when he first arrived, and he wore the same ones back and forth every day.

He only had higher standards for where he lived. Sleep quality affected his mood, and he cared about that, so wherever he slept had to be comfortable.

Compared to the few new outfits Cana had bought him, he was happier about the fact that someone was willing to buy him clothes.

Yes, it was the thought that counted more than the gift. That was what Aibo believed.

After making several rounds through the shopping district, they had bought quite a few bags of things. If not for his Level 2 Space Magic, which could create a small portable storage space, neither of them could have carried so much.

At last, Cana brought Aibo to the largest magic item shop in town.

"Boss, boss, do you sell Celestial Spirit Keys here?"

"Oh, Cana. Are you switching over to Celestial Spirit Magic?"

"No, no, my little brother wants to buy some. Look! This is my little brother, Aibo. Isn't he adorable?"

Cana was very familiar with the owner of the item shop. Due to its "Holder-type" nature, Card Magic was a unique form of magical craftsmanship. Its niche in this world was similar to that of magic scrolls, and it was often used by wizards in trade.

In other words, Cana was essentially a talisman maker. A large part of why she had chosen to learn Card Magic was because magic cards could be sold for money.

After all, someone so stubborn that she did not even want to burden her own biological father would never comfortably accept the church's help.

Cana, like Aibo, had been six when she came to Fairy Tail. At the time, she could not take on many jobs, so from the very beginning, when choosing which magic to learn, she had to consider how to support herself as quickly as possible.

Cana had always done well over the years. Not only had she paid off all her debts, she often donated money to the church and bought food for the orphanage children. Now, she even had spare money to buy Aibo new clothes...

These "little secrets" had been pieced together from bits of information Cana had casually mentioned in conversation. She herself did not think there had been anything wrong with her choices back then, but Aibo felt rather sorry for this sister of his. Card Magic did not truly match her talent.

It was all that damn Gildarts' fault!

"We do have Celestial Spirit Keys in our shop. We even have three kinds: Canis Minor, Lepus, and Pegasus. The first two are very popular pet Celestial Spirits, while Pegasus is a mount-type Celestial Spirit that can fly. These keys are in very high demand~"

"How much are they?"

"The Canis Minor key is 20,000 J, the Lepus key is 50,000 J, and the Pegasus key is 200,000 J. Since you're with Cana, I can give you a ten percent discount."

When Aibo heard how cheap they were, he waved a hand grandly.

"I'll take all three!"

"Thank you for your patronage~"

Aibo flipped through the Celestial Spirit Contract Guide the shop owner had given him while accompanying Cana back toward the guild.

Although in Magnolia, getting anywhere was merely a matter of thought for him, and his teleportation could carry others as well, Aibo would not use magic to save a little time while strolling down the street with a girl.

"Celestial Spirit Magic is surprisingly interesting. It involves combinations of many types of magic. It's much more impressive than I imagined..."

"Hehe, little Aibo really does love learning all kinds of magic. You have such a scholarly air at such a young age. You'll definitely become an incredible great wizard someday!"

"Don't you think researching magic is interesting too, Sis Cana?"

"Umm, magic is interesting, but it's also difficult to learn. For ordinary people, mastering even one kind of magic is already very hard.

"And most wizards feel that as long as they know how to use magic, that is enough. Very few people investigate it so thoroughly like you do, Aibo."

Well, that's because I have a cheat. As long as I study books and research magic, I gain experience. No matter how difficult the magic is, as long as I have even a little experience, I can instantly learn it with Inspiration Burst. I've never suffered through being unable to learn magic at all.

And after learning a spell, looking back at its basic principles gives me the illusion that it was actually simple all along.

That was why Aibo, who had learned a great deal of magic, had such an astonishing foundation in magical theory. In turn, this rich accumulation of knowledge accelerated how quickly he gained experience while learning magic.

It was precisely because he had this snowballing method of learning—like stepping on his own foot to spiral into the sky—that Aibo had always felt learning magic was a joyful thing. The positive feedback was simply too strong.

"Huh? I always thought everyone only learned one or two types of magic because they lacked the energy. Is learning magic really that hard?"

An angry symbol popped up above Cana's head.

"...Even if it's you, Aibo, you should prepare to get beaten for saying something that outrageous!"

"Sorry, that was my mistake... In that case, I'll create a summoning magic that even you can learn easily, Sis Cana."

Cana froze, then suddenly pressed both hands onto Aibo's shoulders in surprise.

"Huh? Wait? Aibo, are you saying that you're learning Celestial Spirit Magic because you want to create a new summoning magic for me?"

Aibo nodded.

"That's right. I'm not sure whether I can succeed, but that is what I'm thinking. A lot of magic in this world actually isn't that complicated. As long as you understand the principles, creating magic isn't that difficult..."

But Cana's eyes sparkled. It seemed she was focused on something else.

"Just for me? You're creating magic for me!?"

"Uh... yeah."

"Wow! Mwah!! I love Aibo the most! I must be the happiest big sister in the world!"

"..."

Held in Cana's arms like a rag doll, Aibo smiled helplessly. It seemed he still did not quite understand a girl's heart.

Oh well. As long as Cana was happy.